masterdrago

I had subscribed to her YouTube channel months ago but never have received any notices. I know several times she has been asked about the drones but I've not seen a response to those questions. Chesneygirl has given me a number of tips as I'm a rank beginner using a video camera. She does fabulous work and must spend a great deal of time at the editing screen. I've enjoyed watching all of them. I suspect her gear bag is really full on her cruises. I've just begun using both Premiere Elements which will not edit HVEC, and CyberLink PowerDirector 365 which will. The learning curve, at least for me, has been steep.

I want to hop in here to support what Anita posted. We had a fear about booking excursions through off ship vendors. Especially being 1st time Alaska cruisers. Through my reading throughout CC, it became clear how that worked, as Anita mentioned. The only excursion that we booked through our cruise line got moved from 3:30 to 10:30. We discovered when we boarded day one and had to cancel due to conflicts with other tours.

I also support what she says about weather having a big impact on whale sightings. We took a 4 hr mid day Orca Watch through Major Marine on May 23rd. The weather was so stormy and windy that 2 full day tours had been cancelled and 2 others shortened. Our went out as scheduled at 1:00pm. The plan was to stay in Resurrection Bay. The weather was cold and hard but right out of the boat harbor we saw a Humpback and its youngster.

And we did spot a very few Orca.

But they we all singles far from our boat and not giving much of a show. It was rough and got much rougher as we approached the Gulf of Alaska near the bottom of Resurrection Bay.

The previous day, May 21, was perfect weather and many, many more Orca were seen from the same tour and several others. Multiple pods were seen with many playing and breaching. So my guess is that weather plays a really big role in whale sightings.

To add to the small boat benefit, I'll say that the largest boat we went on was the Orca Song with a seating capacity of 60. The day we went it was not full and most folks stayed inside due to the harsh weather. There were about 10-15 on top where we stayed the full trip out. All the other 3 boat tours we took were on 6 person boats. IMHO, it's they way to go.

Finally got around to producing one more day of video of our trip. This is day #6, Tuesday May 21 at Alyeska Resort/Girdwood. Sure is a learning curve for this old man using video editing software but I'm at least getting a bit more comfortable with some of the basics. 

On 9/9/2019 at 12:26 PM, bottom-dragger said:

or, if the lights don't treat you right...

 

Neptune will be in opposition (directly opposite the sun) on sept 10 and the closest to the earth for the year AND visible all night long. the light will have taken 4 hours to reach you.

 

Neptune! Possibly visible from a cruise ship with good sized binoculars. If you know where to look, it will look like any other "star" in binoculars but appear blue-green in color. It will be about 6 times dimmer than the dimmest star you can see naked eye from a dark location away from city and cruise ship lights.

We did both ports (Juneau & ISP) whale watching and also in Seward, an Orca watch (4 hrs) so you might fit that in.

On May 26th we went with Harv & Marv's in Juneau (3+ hrs). Small boat with only 5 passengers and a new Captain, I think Tracy.

I did not see the following event until I got back home and edited all the pictures. I was looking through the viewfinder but none of the others mentioned what it looked like naked eye to them either. The following sequence was taken in about 1 second and appears to be an Orca making an attempted attack on a Sea Lion swimming next to a Humpback Whale.

On May 28th, we did another 3+ hour Whale watch with Glacier Winds. Great family to work with. Teresa always stayed in contact with fast email replies. Her husband Shawn McConnell is awesome as a host/captain on a 6 person, very well maintained 33' Catamaran named Catabatic powered by twin Zuzuki outboards. He has written a couple of books. Check them out - Night Vision and Icy Passage. I could not put Night Vision down. These folks are a great team and know how to take care of guests. I shot over 500 images while on their boat. Many looked similar to these.

Recent aurora photo from Fairbanks.

https://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=156125

PRPLE, I've been wondering how the trip went. Any notes on your aurora viewing would be appreciated. We plan on making another trip to Alaska in 2021. Most likely late august through mid September and mostly land tour but still in pre-planning mode. I've got a bunch of friends that are also making plans to view aurora. Some this December. Brrrrr!

The day we were in Juneau, the other ship was Ovation. A monster ship. They left port several hours b4 us and it made for a much less crowded experience in town and at the tram center.

6 hours ago, ParrotRob said:

Get an aft-facing balcony, you can see both sides.

Be prepared to grab one early since they go fast and have your wallet handy. My limited experience says get the starboard for the sail. If you are close enough to see land, which you will only be sometimes, it will mostly be on the starboard side northbound. During our time cruising the inside passage, it was dark so did not matter. The image is looking portside (east) while sailing south of Hubbard Glacier. In ports, its a crap shoot because you will never know how the crew/captain might align the ship at the dock. Most of the time on our starboard balcony, (we were on the southbound cruise), we only saw the dock. Not the water so we could relax and watch for wildlife. After we got back, I found that for our cruise (southbound), port side balconies were ~$600 more.

For some reason, I would think the lighting on a cruise ship might prohibit good viewing of aurora. I remember looking at the sky from Liberty of the Seas hundreds of miles out in the Gulf of Mexico and being underwhelmed by the night sky. I'm an avid amateur astronomer and wanted to spot some more southerly faint but naked eye nebulae. Didn't happen - just too much light pollution onboard. If you are using online services onboard, you can easily get alerts to possible aurora activity at several web pages. AuroraAlerts on FB, spaceweatherlive, and Aurora_Alerts on twitter.

We had rented in Skagway with diyjeeptours. It was $302 for the full day. Make Emerald Lake your destination and with a DIY rental, you can stop when and where you want at your own time.

12 hours ago, Elliern said:

Thanks for the thoughtful response. Great information.

I should receive them on Tuesday.  I also have a pair of monarch 7  that are 10x42. 

Unfortunately there is a lot of color fringing on them and they are a little heavy.  Looking forward to trying out my new Vortex. 

Strange. I have an 8x42 pair of the Monarch 7 and I would put them right up there with the Swarovski. They are tack sharp and have a slightly wider FOV than the less expensive versions of the Monarch (same power). I've never noticed color fringing although there may be some in the 10x version but I've mostly used them for birding (never astronomy). I don't recommend 10x for any small boat whale watching - too much magnification, IMHO. My Monarch 7 are slightly sharper than a pair of Merlin 10x42 Steiner that DW uses all the time. For astronomy, I use Nikon Astrolux 10x70 which are sharp to the edge of the field with near perfect color but need a bino chair to use them.

On 8/29/2019 at 11:22 PM, Elliern said:

Thanks all for the information and suggestions.  After doing a lot of research  and talking with others,  I think I have decided on a pair of Vortex HD Vipers. Probably 8x42.  Hoping they are as good as their ratings say they are.  

Just saw your question. I can absolutely vouch for the Vortex 8x42 that you've decided to get. I own more pairs of binoculars than I can count. I've looked through but do not own both the 8x42 pair you are getting and a pair of 8x42 SLC 42 Swarovski (@ $2 grand). I can tell you with all honesty that the only difference is that the Swarovski are sharper at the edge of the field of view. And believe me, nobody ever looks at the edge of the field when using binoculars except amateur astronomers using them to look at starfields. The 8 power is the most reasonable magnification to be able to hand hold unless you go to the image stabilized variety which cross over your spending limit as well as become much heavier. The 42mm objective size is an ideal size coupled with 8x due to having an excellent low light gathering ability (5.25mm exit pupil). Really a good choice and if I were looking to get another pair for just all time general purpose use, the Vortex 8x42 would be very high on my list. I have several pair of the Nikon Monark and I would put them up near the top pick also.

Again, thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed the very good pix. We did the SB Radiance May 24. Very much liked the ship.

On 8/26/2019 at 3:50 PM, reallyitsmema said:

I would also check out the Bore Tide schedule.  It is an easy, beautiful ride on the Turnagain Arm.  There are six dates in September, including September 1st and 2nd.  We missed viewing it by about 12 hours last year, hope to catch it when we sail in 2021.

 

https://www.anchorage.net/blog/alaska-bore-tide-viewing/

Ditto on hunting the Bore Tide. We planned a day around that in May but a very strong easterly wind did a number on all of the folks waiting for it to roll by. I definitely plan on working it into our next trip.

12 minutes ago, fourcruisin said:

Thanks again to everyone that responded and put my mind at ease.  We have been looking forward to this trip for a long time and we are very excited!

Make sure to stop in at The Sourdough Bakery in Carcross for some lunch. The food was a great break. Check their hours because they close at the end of the season. The scenery is the big reason to either rent a car or take a small van tour. I found it some of the best on our 16 days in May. You will love it but plan for many photo stops and keep your eyes peeled for Bear, Moose, and other wildlife. I found the most interesting aspect along the way when we stopped at a very small (1 sq mi) desert.

I will ditto the light weight outer thin rain jacket with hood. DW borrowed a nice 3n1 from a friend. She is very cold sensitive. I had from hiking Alaska in 1995, a light weight Gore-Tex rain jacket. You will definitely want something like that. Borrow it if possible. Get it from the thrift store and make sure to treat it with something like Nikwax TX. Direct Spray-On water repellent. One bottle will protect a single jacket. Bit more for shoes. Like everyone mentions - thin layers work best because the weather can change in minutes and open water excursions can be really cold. Especially in early May. Don't forget thin gloves and head cover. Look around for a pullover thin wrap that might also cover your neck.

Just got this in my mailbox. Sad. http://rvlife.com/mckinley-fire-2019-alaska/

12 hours ago, przyk said:

We just did the Misty Fjords flightseeing tour with Michelle last week and agree it was worth the price.  We also did a helicopter glacier landing tour with Coastal Helicopters in Juneau. As wonderful as the Misty Fjords tour was, the glacier landing was even better.

 

They are expensive tours, but I suggest you try to figure out a way to budget both tours.  I'm normally the kind of person who would second guess whether it was worth the money, but I have no regret at all that we invested in these excursions. 

Totally agree. We were a bit apprehensive about booking the Denali flight trip around the mountain including glacier landing due to the cost. It was the highlight of our 16 days in Alaska. By a fortunate chance, we were able to do the landing at their base camp since they were dropping off and picking up skiers and campers. You might only get one chance at this.

We tried like crazy to get the combo tour but it required 6 people and some of the others booked on our flight had a 2:30 departure on a different ship. We were also warned that weather might play a bigger role in the cancellation of that portion of the flight. We did end up doing the Misty Fjords with lake landing on "Manzoni Lake". It is a gorgeous lake with cliffs surrounding parts of it that are very dramatic in appearance. It's a long dogleg shaped lake that feeds from its west end two other lakes, dropping about 400' in doing so. The scenery on the flight is filled with beautiful waterfalls and alpine lakes all around. I believe that it is Soule Glacier that Michelle does the flyover and if you can work it in, I would think the view could be outstanding.

What I found when we were on our 16 day trip in May.... Verizon

58 minutes ago, Coral said:

Others may disagree with me. Though some of those who really like RCCL in Alaska have not sailed other lines in Alaska. 

I have to toss in my $0.02 worth here. Our 1st and recent cruise in Alaska was on Radiance. We (I) went to "see" Alaska and spent very little of my time touring the ship. In fact we did not even take in any late night shows. Unlike Caribbean cruises. Our loss, I'm sure. I spent the majority of my time trying to view scenery from the ship. When it got dark, which was late, we enjoyed sitting in the Centrum listening to some of the small entertainers and people watching. Then we slept. Our port times were long and we did an extensive (8 day) land tour prior to sailing. We ARE looking to possibly sail on Westerdam next time (smaller ship) and are even looking at the really small ships that sail Alaska like Alaska Dream Cruises or American Cruise Lines or Fantasy Cruises.

When we booked our May cruise this year in June of last year, we were also so stoked it hurt. This place is where you'll find most if not all of the answers you're looking for.

I've been trying to research the "which side is better" question for a few weeks since only one time did we have a view not looking at the docks. I've been watching several ships recently (Radiance and Westerdam) using https://www.livecruiseshiptracker.com/

It seems to be really difficult to figure it out. I think one way that might give you a clue is to look at the pricing structure of any future planned cruise to see which side (port or starboard) is higher $$$. Recently, I did notice about a $600 difference on one Radiance cruise. I know that the dock side can be changed by the pilot/captain on the spur of the moment so not sure there is a positive way to find out ahead of time. Maybe talk with a TA or cruise planner.

Our 1st Alaska cruise on May 24th was going to be a balcony for sure. We wanted to be able to relax and watch the sea and land float by. I don't regret it. I'm not sure that next time we would save the $$$ for other expenses.

Sometimes, you can get a hell of a deal by waiting til the last minute but we were not gamblers in any way. I've read several places that 53 days out on a flight booking is the ideal time to book. When we were watching flights b4 booking that did not work as we wanted very specific seats and had to pull the trigger early. We did get good prices with Alaska Air since we use the BOA Alaska Mileage Plan card so get Companion Fare and mileage discounts. I used http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

to watch flight pricing.

These boards are full of tips and tricks but you have to prowl around and ask specific questions. My very long and as yet unfinished trip report is at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2660632-trip-report-may-24-2019-radiance-of-the-seas-seward-vancouver/

You will find tons of advice on many other trip reports at the top of the Alaska pages.

On 7/25/2019 at 11:10 AM, shark&minnow said:

All good tips! Thought you would be glad to know that Fanny Packs (now called a waist purse -fanny pack being a crude phrase for our european friends) are back in style! LOL😄 

 

On the extension cord/extra outlets discussion: This will be our 15th cruise and I have never needed extra outlets

I call mine a European Man Bag! Unless of course, it's got a DSLR packed inside. At that point it just becomes a camera bag.

Ptroxx, I've been tracking the Radiance of the Seas since I'm now looking at a future cruise. When we were on her in May, being on the starboard side gave us only one day when we were not looking at the dock. It appears to be random and not really predictable to know which ship booked when, will be parked for the best view. I'm also watching the Westerdam since we might book on that ship instead of the Radiance next time. Today both ships are docked starboard side facing away from pier. It appears to be a crap shoot when picking port or starboard for best view.

As for packing memory cards, for us it was a once in a lifetime trip so I backed up all shots every night b4 retiring. Turns out, we will go back but I wasn't taking chances with memory cards taking a dump during travel. I also made sure to carry the cards separately from the portable HDD.