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July 2018 Alaska Cruise Norwegian - Help me make the best plans possible, please :)


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:confused: I've been reading posts and trip reviews for months but would like some help from anyone willing.

I will cross post this on the Alaska board as well. Hopefully that's ok. :D

 

This will be our 3rd Norwegian cruise. 5th cruise overall. Two of us traveling.

 

Norwegian Jewel - Chose the Norwegian small ship option in hopes of getting as close to glaciers as possible.

 

7/21 Flying into Seattle to take in the sights. Should arrive around 10 am if all goes as planned. What's your favorite hotel accessible via the Link close to things such as the Space Needle, glass museum, Pikes Market? We are able to walk several blocks or Uber. We don't plan to rent a car. We will spend at least one night or two in Seattle. Is it easy to find the Link at SEA-TAC? I'm assuming we just follow the signs? This is not a train you need to make reservations for, right? Cost? Just buy a ticket and hop on?

 

7/22 or 7/23 We cruise out of Vancouver on the 23rd. We are planning to take the train between Seattle and Vancouver. I'm assuming there's only one train option? Amtrak Cascades - 4hr route - Choices either 7-11 pm or 7:45 to 11:45 am. Has anyone done this recently? What's the cost? I'm assuming reservations are recommended? Safe to take the morning train the day we cruise or better to go the day before? I think I read some reviews that indicate it's generally always on time....but if it wasn't, yikes!

 

7/23 4pm Cruise out of Vancouver British Columbia - Is the port called Canada Place? Does the train arrive near the port? If we plan to stay a night in Vancouver, what's the best option for a hotel that's near the port? If we have time to sight see in Vancouver, what do you recommend?

 

I'm overwhelmed and needs some help narrowing down excursions in the ports. Whale watching is very high on my list. I think hubby might love the Deadliest Catch excursion. He's watched that show for years so would probably enjoy that. Have you done it and did you think it was worthwhile? We can hike and that's neither high or low on our list of things to do. We have a bit of OBC that would probably cover one excursion through Norwegian so if you have an idea of the "best" one to do through Norwegian, I'm all ears. The dining and beverage packages came with our cruise so won't need the $$ for that.

 

7/24 Inside Passage

 

7/25 Ketchikan 7am to 4 pm - Favorite things to do and with what tour company? I have several things on my list for this port including the Deadliest Catch tour.

 

7/26 Juneau 11 am to 9 pm - Is this the best port for whale watching tours? As mentioned above, I really want to see whales but would also like to make it to Mendenhall Glacier. Have you used Juneau tours for the combined excursion and how did it go? Other recommendations? Does our time in port allow for it plus a bit of sight seeing in town? Looks like NCL has a whale watch/Mendenhall Glacier tour so maybe this is the one we need to do through NCL??

 

7/27 Skagway 8 am to 8 pm - White Pass Railroad or Chilkoot? Your thoughts? If you can share contact information, great! What else in Skagway? Emerald Lake? We've hiked miles and seen some beautiful lakes in the Rockies. Is Emerald Lake a must see? Does Chilkoot go there?

 

7/28 Cruise Glacier Bay - Time frame says overnight....will it be light? Just wondering what we'll see if anything. We do have a balcony cabin.

 

7/29 Cruise Hubbard Glacier - Praying for good weather! :)

 

7/30 Seward 5 am - Ok, this is where I really need some help. The tentative plan is a DIY land tour from here and fly home from Fairbanks on Friday 8/3 or Saturday 8/4. We want to go to Denali but hit some sights along the way. What is "must see" in Seward before we head north? Can we rent a car out of Seward or is the best option for car rental in Anchorage? I know there's a train to Anchorage but haven't looked at the times yet. Or, would you do it all via train vs rental car. I'm open to ideas although I think we'll want to stop here and there which makes me think we'll want a car. It doesn't appear there are many roads so getting lost shouldn't be a big issue. Right? Seems that flying home from Fairbanks is about the same cost as flying home from Anchorage so thinking of going that route versus backtracking.

 

What are some of your favorite places to stop between Anchorage and Denali?

How about between Denali and Fairbanks?

Are there lots of choices for touring Denali or only one?

We are going to have four or five nights on the road, where would you stay?

 

I understand that preference plays into this but I value your opinons. We've never done this before so all of my ideas thus far have come from research on Cruise Critic & Google searches. The only reservations I've made so far are our flight to Seattle and the cruise. The rest is still fluid and changes minute by minute the more I read. I know it's time to start getting some of this nailed down. Those that would like to share, thank you!

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You'll get a lot of guidance on the AK board, but I'll second the vote for Harv and Marv for whale watching in Juneau. That is the best stop for whale watching, and they are outstanding. They include a very short stop at Mendenhall- enough to see it and grab a couple pictures, but not enough to do a hike.

 

In Seward you should really consider taking a Kenai Fjords boat trip (the 6 hour one at least)- they time these with the cruise ship arrivals and train depart, so it's possible to do it when you get off the ship and then still take the train to Anchorage that night, I'm pretty sure (though we didn't do that way). The trip was excellent- different than the glacier experience you get from the cruise ship, with a ton of wildlife viewing opportunity (though of course everyone's trip is different- we saw lots- orcas, humpbacks, sea lions, seals, puffins, otters, and a mountain goat). And the goal is wildlife viewing, so the captain stops the boat when stuff is seen, plenty of opportunity to get pictures, etc unlike on the cruise ship. Very much worth it. We used Major Marine for this- there's a second company too.

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Pre cruise- Have you thought about just flying into Vancouver instead of Seattle for just a day or two and then need to get to Vancouver? The Seattle addition seems like a lot of extra work. Vancouver is just as nice a city, has just as many things to do and I don’t think I’d want to mess around with two big cities, in two different countries, in two days time.

 

If you have your heart set on seeing Seattle I’d do it at the end of vacation. Alaska Airlines runs flights from anchorage to Seattle all day and night, they are non stop and don’t cost much. Delta has quite a few flights too.

 

In Ketchikan we did southeast kayak excursion with a float plane pick up from boat/misty fjords tour and loved it. If you decided to do one of the more expensive excursions, you can always save $ in other ports by doing some hiking in some ports. There’s some great hiking available in just about all the ports and all it costs is the energy you expend.

 

We’re also sailing the Jewel this season (doing the reverse sailing). Love the Jewel class ships. Have fun planning. I love Alaska cruises. Depending on time of year you should see plenty of whale activity right from the ship too. Bring binoculars. They sell onboard too just in case you forget.

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If you have a bunch of obc I’d compare the more expensive Ncl excursions. I don’t see it available yet but I think NCL typically has an excursion that is only available for Ncl bookings out of Juneau. The excursion vessel meets up with the Jewel after it has departed Juneau. So you get an up close and personal Glacier trip and then meet up/reboard the Jewel that doesn’t go as far into the fjord.

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For the not-specifically-a-NCL-issue you will get more eyes on your posts, and thus more responses, if you post on the destinations boards. West Coast board is actually the most relevant to both Seattle & Vancouver and you'll find tons of relevant posts about hotels, transportation etc. already asked and answered. However, since I'm here anyway I've added some replies in red to some of your Qs below:

7/21 Flying into Seattle to take in the sights. Should arrive around 10 am if all goes as planned. What's your favorite hotel accessible via the Link close to things such as the Space Needle, glass museum, Pikes Market?

Any airport hotel with a shuttle will drop you at LINK station so pick a hotel based on points you collect and TripAdvisor etc. reviews. Personally I'd rather stay downtown-ish; Seattle Center hotels are usually enough cheaper than downtown proper to be a bargain, and are also closest hotels to many of the big attractions including 2 of your 3 above.

 

We are able to walk several blocks or Uber. We don't plan to rent a car. We will spend at least one night or two in Seattle. Is it easy to find the Link at SEA-TAC? I'm assuming we just follow the signs?

Easy to find yes, but a long walk around the perimeter of the car park from the gates.

 

This is not a train you need to make reservations for, right? Cost? Just buy a ticket and hop on?

Yes - it's technically NOT a 'train' per se but a Commuter Light Rail system - think of it like a subway or a bus on rails, not like an inter-city Amtrak type service.

 

7/22 or 7/23 We cruise out of Vancouver on the 23rd. We are planning to take the train between Seattle and Vancouver. I'm assuming there's only one train option? Amtrak Cascades - 4hr route - Choices either 7-11 pm or 7:45 to 11:45 am. Has anyone done this recently? What's the cost? I'm assuming reservations are recommended? Safe to take the morning train the day we cruise or better to go the day before? I think I read some reviews that indicate it's generally always on time....but if it wasn't, yikes!

ALWAYS make resos. Always. Trains sell out in cruise season, and cheaper tickets ALWAYS sell out completely so book the train as soon as you are definitely confirmed for your dates (i.e. you should have done it already if you're definitely going on this cruise!) $32 regular coach fare is the Saver price - in theory available up to 2 weeks beforehand, but actually sells out months in advance in cruise season. Business Class has comfier seats and a 'free' $3 voucher for the bistro car - but we have not personally found it worthwhile for years for a short ride like this. There's only one real improvement - first off the train in Vancouver are the Bus Class carriages, so if you do decide to travel on day of cruise it will be less stressful as you will ALMOST certainly walk off and find a cab waiting whereas the last few carriages in Coach may have to wait a while for more cabs to arrive.

 

Things you need to be aware of - risk of same day arrival missing the cruise is vanishingly small. It's happened once that I'm aware of, so less risky than a same day flight. Still not ideal though, as you will be hitting the pier at peak busy period if the train is on time or even delayed about an hour - Canada Place truly sucks when there are 3 ships in port; your date is a 2-shipper but both are good-sized (your Jewel plus Disney Wonder - and the latter has a metric buttload of families with kids so expect meltdowns, screaming, strollers to fall over, and even worse than usual CBP delays as the tots are filtered through immigration).

We've learned to avoid 11am to 2pm like the proverbial plague for embarkation at Vancouver - just too many people trying to get through too many bottlenecks. If you stay overnight you have the option of coming early - 10am is good, before queues build - but if you arrive day of the ONLY way to minimise queuing is to arrive as late as you possibly can. NB: you MUST arrive 90mins before sailing for immigration purposes so carefully check your documents! Getting as close as you are comfortable with to that cutoff is key - personally I would drop bags first thing, so that a) you know exactly where you need to be and b) you don't have big bags to lug around, then head off for lunch or sightseeing until 2-3pm.

 

7/23 4pm Cruise out of Vancouver British Columbia - Is the port called Canada Place? Yes Does the train arrive near the port?

Yes - not an easy walk with bags, but a very short cab ride (well under 2 miles).

 

If we plan to stay a night in Vancouver, what's the best option for a hotel that's near the port?

No such thing as Best for everyone - what's your budget? Do you collect points? Have points to spend? Are you arriving evening train so it''s just a bed for the night or morning so you have time to sightsee? If the latter, what are your priority visits? Without answering these Qs, advice can only be very general! Literally ANY hotel downtown is convenient for the pier. Very close means a premium, e.g. Pan Pacific literally on top of pier and Fairmont Waterfront and Pacific Rim across the street/down the block. Cheapest is YWCA Hotel - great deal, v popular, does sell out on precruise nights. Get familiar with Google Maps and check relative location of potential hotels to Canada Place, price them up on Trivago/Expedia/Hotels.com etc. etc. etc.

If we have time to sight see in Vancouver, what do you recommend?

How long is a piece of string? Again, without knowing YOU this is impossible to answer usefully. Are you outdoorsy people, garden people, gallery people, foodie people, boozy people? We're a big enough city to have dang near anything urban you could ever want to do, and in an outstandingly beautiful and accessible natural setting to the full gamut of outdoor activities is also possible! Opinions of other people are worthless unless you share their views; for an 'Average Joe' mindset of what is good/bad to see you can't do better than Best Of lists on e.g. Tripadvisor which ranks stuff based on popularity - that's always the best place to start unless you can share specifics about your tastes.

 

Overall with a one-way like this, I tend to agree with the poster above that hitting Vancouver straight away at the beginning makes the most sense, as Anchorage flights via SEA are about the most plentiful options you can find, so it's trivial to add time in Seattle on the end. If you cannot change your flight to YVR at a reasonable cost, then take the earliest transfer up to Vancouver. As well as the train you can book a one-way car rental - even for just 2 people this is often the cheapest way to travel, and it's always the most flexible. As long as you avoid booking too early non-refundably, as far in advance there tend to be drop fees applied - the closer to your actual date the better the rates, as there are always US cars left in Canada and vice versa which need taken back (it's no longer illegal for Canadians to drive US rentals into Canada one-way, but there are still rules about how long cars can be in the 'wrong' country). I've always been able to find a car for <$100 all fees included and some regular Seattle/Vancouver travelers have reported rates under $50.

 

There are also buses - while QuickShuttle pads their pricing too much for my taste for the convenience of their SEA pickup/Canada Place drop off (2 people can use Bolt Bus and pay for cabs on both ends, getting a nicer bus and a still saving money!) but they do have several departure times and they are convenient. Bolt & Greyhound go from downtown Seattle to the same station as Amtrak here in Vancouver. The only service that's never worth the cash is Amtrak bus - these are more expensive than the train as they don't have Saver ticket pricing, stop at all the train stations so are slower than any other bus, the fleet includes some of the most ancient pieces of cr*p on the road; they just suck in every possible way - and I'm a huge fan of the Cascades train service so have no beef with Amtrak in general!

Edited by martincath
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For excursion recommendations, I'll share what we have done in the past:

 

Juneau - whale watching and fishing excursion through Rum Runners - can't say enough good things about Captain Chris (and his adorable lab Brandi) - just a wonderful day - and we now have a freezer full of salmon!!

 

Ketchikan - we did a float plane trip to Anan Creek through Island Wings to go bear watching. This was a day we will never forget - so many bears and eagles!!

 

Skagway - We used Skagway Private Tours for a trip into the Yukon and Emerald Lake. This was a wonderful day. Touring with Sherry is not like your typical tour. It's like spending the day with an old friend. We still keep in touch.

 

As for renting a car in Seward - yes you can. Hertz does one way rentals between Seward and Anchorage, so I would assume you can also drop off in Fairbanks. They also have a free shuttle from the port to their office. When I checked prices last summer the price difference between a one way rental vs renting in Anchorage was minimal and in no way justified the cost of getting to Anchorage from Seward by either bus or train. We had been to Denali (and Fairbanks) previously on a land based trip, so we opted to spend the week on the Kenai peninsula. We spent four nights in Homer and honestly, it wasn't nearly enough. It's probably our favorite place we have been in Alaska. One day we used Alaska Ultimate Safaris to fly by helicopter to Lake Clarke National park to look for Alaskan brown bears (basically grizzlies). At one point we were completely surrounded by about 20 of them. Honestly, the coolest thing we have ever done in our entire lives.

 

Have fun planning! As others have mentioned, the port of call boards will have tons of info for you.

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If you have a bunch of obc I’d compare the more expensive Ncl excursions. I don’t see it available yet but I think NCL typically has an excursion that is only available for Ncl bookings out of Juneau. The excursion vessel meets up with the Jewel after it has departed Juneau. So you get an up close and personal Glacier trip and then meet up/reboard the Jewel that doesn’t go as far into the fjord.

 

This cruise does NOT do Tracy Arm, Bliss does. so the tour you are referring to is not an option.

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With your excursion in Skagway, I suggest Chillkot. We took the van/train combo, and enjoyed it the most. A lot less than the ship excursion, and much more scenic, plus you get a different perspective when in the van (several stops a long the way).

You will have better weather in July than we did last May, so hopefully Glacier Bay, and Hubbard Glacier will be great.

Be prepared to dress in layers. :D

 

 

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In Seward, I would recommend the Kenai Fjords tours. Great wildlife and natural beauty. Also check out the sealife center. I would take the train from Seward to Anchorage, just for the views. However, if you do rent a car, you could stop in Cooper Landing for a night if you want to do some salmon fishing. Book early, the guides sell out quickly. I would also recommend Gwin's lodge for lodging.

 

In Anchorage, I'm not sure if you are looking for food recommendations, but Haute Quarter Grill is my favorite Anchorage restaurant. Simon & Seaforts, Sullivans, and Spenard Roadhouse are all good options too. Downtown Anchorage, I would recommend the Hilton, the Sheraton, or the Westmark. The Hilton has ridiculous parking costs though, and they only have valet. If you don't want to stay in Downtown, I also like the Crowne Plaza in midtown.

 

If you're looking for some hiking, Flat Top in Anchorage is good or Hatcher Pass in Palmer.

 

For your drive to Denali, I would stop for a bit in Palmer and Talkeetna. If the mountain is out, there are great views from Talkeetna and there is a national park building there with info on the mountain. Have lunch at the Talkeetna Roadhouse or the pizza place.

 

In Denali, plan on either camping or booking one of the lodges. But do it soon because they book up quickly in the summer. There is an 8h bus trip that I would recommend. It's 4h in and 4h out. This is your best bet of seeing a lot of wildlife, including bears, mountain goats, and eagles. There are shorter tours if you don't want to do 8h. I believe all tours are run by the park service. You can also look into the ranger walks. I believe there are 2 different ranger walks offered a day.

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We have been on three Alaskan cruises.

1. A balcony is a must as you are in sight of shore almost all of the time and you don't want to find yourself crowding the rail with everyone else. And, the ship faces on side to the glacier when they stop and after about a half an hour they turn 180 degrees so that those with balconies on the other side get their half hour also.

2. A helicopter ride is a must even if you are apprehensive of getting on a helicopter. We have done two of these; one was the cheaper excursion which had three helicopters shuttling people on and off the glacier, dropping off five and picking up five for the return. Not very personal.

The pilots choice which involves five people and the pilot goes to two different spots chosen by the pilot depending on conditions. We went onto a glacier where there were no other helicopters or people around and when the engine finally wound down it was dead silent. Very nice. The next stop we were taken to a mountain top, landed and were allowed to walk around a little. We could look down from where we were and see a couple of glaciers that came together and formed one.

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