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Just Returned From Our Trip - My Review

Mzhelen

By Mzhelen,
in Alaska

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Mzhelen

Mzhelen

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We were on the Celebrity Millenium, leaving out of Vancouver. I'm going to do a city-by-city summary of what I learned, along with some tips. These boards were such a great resource when I was planning, so hopefully my experiences might help someone else!

 

Vancouver: Stayed at the Hotel le Soleil. GORGEOUS upscale hotel. Pricy room-service breakfast. Great location (Starbucks right across the street).

 

Took a Vancouver City Highlights tour with Landsea Tours. They picked our luggage up separately and took it directly to the pier. We brought our carry ons with us on the mini bus. Very nice tour, great guide (Lars). Stopped at Stanley Park and a few other places. My only "complaint" is that depending on what side of the bus you are on, you may miss some of the things he is pointing out (for instance, I barely caught a glimpse of the famous Steam Clock). Had an hour at Granville Market and that was definitely NOT enough time! :D So much to see & do there, and restaurants. We actually want to come back to Vancouver and spend a full day there.

 

Dropped off at the pier. Walked about 3 blocks up and one block to the left and bought a case of water & of diet coke. Stuck room stickers on them and dropped them at baggage drop and they were delivered to our cabin.

 

Ketchikan: Lots of bald eagles are around. Having breakfast we looked out the window and saw one sitting on a chimney on the shore, and several others in flight.

 

Creek Street is a short walk. It's the former "red light" district, and many of the buildings there have plaques telling the stories of the madams who lived there. Most of it is shopping now.

 

We were booked for a 8 am Misty Fjords flight with Island Wings. Never happened. It was rainy and foggy so all the sea planes were grounded. Island Wings made no effort to rebook us - they offered us someone else's flight around the bay, but we all had to accept it or none. We said no. I then went into the green Visitor's building where all the other excursions were, and found a very nice man named Dan who helped me re-book for 2 hours later with another company.

 

LOVED this excursion! Flying over the fjords is amazing. So much beautiful, unspoiled land. It's a national park, and the old growth timber is very dense, so much of that land has probably never had a human foot set upon it. Waterfalls like crazy, snow & ice, simply gorgeous. Our pilot, Jim, has been flying up there for over 30 years and really knows the terrain. He kept flying into little inlets/bays hoping to spot bears but no luck. One of the creeks (almost a river) we flew over he said once the salmon are running will be packed with lots of bears.

 

Unfortunately because of the delay we never made it out to Totem Bight (we had planned to do that after the flight tour). So did a little shopping. Tongass store has some GREAT deals - with the coupon book we got a great windbreaker for only $9.99. I never saw another deal as good. The closest was $19.99 for something similar in Skagway. (I didn't want/need a heavy fleece-lined ones. THOSE you can find nice ones for very cheap just about everywhere).

 

Icy Straight Point: It's a very small town and only 1 cruise ship a day is permitted. You take tenders to the shore and meet your excursion there. Went whale watching with Misty Bay Lodge (Captain Dan Anderson). Nothing but good experiences with them. Correspondence with his wife, Hope, was wonderful. She met us at the pier and waited patiently for someone who was almost 1/2 hour late. Captain Dan was great - very knowledgeable. All of the whale watching companies there work cooperatively, so when someone spots a pod of whales or a whale breaching, they alert the others so everyone can get a chance. We never saw a breach, but we did see whales and then seals on the buoys. Dan was great with my mother, telling her all sorts of stories while we went out on deck to take pictures. There is room for only 6 people on his boat, so it's a very small, intimate tour and everyone gets lots of TLC from Dan.

 

Some of the people on our ship took 2 excursions: one first thing in the morning, and one right after that. There was enough time with our ship. We heard from folks who did the wildlife/bear excursion that it was terrific - they saw bears and eagles and fox and all sorts of "critters."

 

We chose to buy lunch at Dan & Hope's restaurant instead of going back to the ship (they actually do have a lodge - a few rooms to rent out and a restaurant). The menu is very limited: burgers, pizza, and fish-related items based on whatever fish is fresh. We had halibut chowder made fresh that morning, and halibut fish & chips. Fresh fresh fresh halibut that was delicious!

 

There's also a zipline at Hoonah that some of the younger folks did and swore it was fantastic. It certainly looked very high.

 

It's a tiny town - we walked over to the little church, and in one of the trees there was an eagle's nest. The mama bald eagle was sitting in it, so we got some great pictures.

 

Juneau: This is the state capital, so it's bigger than the other places. There are a lot of excursion vendors right on the docks, so you can always wait and choose what's available. We had ours pre-booked to guarantee we'd get what we wanted, but a lot of people waited and negotiated with the operators there on the dock, and got great pricing. Definitely an option if you are flexible.

 

We chose helicopter flight and landing on the Mendenhall Glacier with Temsco Helicopters. They pick you at the pier and drive you out to the airfield. There you are outfitted in boots that go over your shoes, and have nubs on the bottom so you can walk on the ice. We wanted to do the glacier landing & dog sledding with them, but they didn't have enough room by the time I went to book it. We never needed the boots we'd brought, since this would have been the only time to have worn them and they were totally unnecessary.

 

The glacier is impressive. Believe it or not, it's more beautiful on a cloudy/overcast day because that makes the ice & water pools even more vivid blue. It is cold/windy - that was the only time we needed our hats/ear muffs. My mother is a little unsteady, and they have "picks" available for you to use (basically like a ski pole) which helped her balance. We were on the glacier for around 30-40 minutes, taking a guided "tour" where info was explained.

 

Back at the docks, we took the Mt. Roberts Tram up to the top on our own ($29 per person). They also offer a couple of additional options like a steamboat trip, but they were sold out. At the top is a small theatre, a gift shop with a fair amount of "Made in Alaska" items. You can hike around, and even see Lady Baltimore, a bald eagle who was rehabbed and resides there. She was shot in the beak and blinded in 1 eye, so cannot be released back into the wild. But you can get very close to her, which is a real treat!

 

The State capitol building is a straight shot up Franklin Street and is open to the public, and they give free guided tours or you can take your own tour with the map they offer. No security, just walk in. And up the street is the governor's mansion. A pretty building, right in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

 

If you are looking for the Alaska Brewery, they have a store in town that sells all kinds of branded items (clothes, etc.) but if you want the BEER you have to go to a bar, or take the shuttle from the store out to the actual brewery for a tour.

 

If you are looking for free internet, the Juneau public library is right near the Red Dog Saloon. They have a bunch of computer terminals, and people are only supposed to use them for 1/2 hour (the computer logs you off). Unfortunately some people abuse that, so I ended up having to wait quite a while but was able to get a full 1/2 hour on line for free. A couple of the restaurants have free wi-fi if you have an ipad or tablet computer.

 

Skagway: This is a small little town, and easy to navigate. We booked Chilkoot Charters for the Yukon White Pass railroad excursion with the bus up and the train back down (cheaper to book with them than the exact same excursion via our cruise line, and our bus was a small mini bus with fewer people than the large ship excursion - more personal). We were told to try and get on the right side on the train down, but to be honest the views were great on BOTH sides of the train!

 

You MUST bring a passport if you want to do this excursion, as you cross into Canada and you'll need your passport to get back through US border control.

 

Walking around Skagway from the train depot is easy, but if you want to make it easy on yourself, for $5 you can get an all-day shuttle pass. The shuttle takes you up and down the main rood and back to the cruise ship docks. So if you're running late (like we were ;)) it's faster than running.

 

We actually found the best shopping at the far end of that main street at Skagway Outlet. We used a coupon from the coupon book and got several discounted items there, and a free wooden train whistle. There's also a lot of cool train-related stuff at the shop there at the railroad depot.

 

There's a historic saloon, the Red Onion. It is very touristy and was PACKED with people trying to get souvenirs, etc. so we never even tried to get in there.

 

At skagway dot com you can find a walking tour and a city map.

 

Seward/Anchorage: Our ship docked in Seward, and we needed to get into Anchorage to a hotel. Instead of taking the glass-topped train offered by the cruise line, or spending the day in Seward, we chose a bus tour with Anchorage Tours & Transfers. It was more than we could have hoped for! Heidi was our driver/guide. She is amazing! She's lived in Alaska for close to 30 years, raising 2 kids there. She's built cabins in the woods, lived in cabins with no electricity or running water, has run her own dog team, and has so many incredible stories of life in Alaska. This was no standard "tourist fare" but instead was an in-depth look at life in Alaska in all sorts of circumstances. I cannot say enough great things about Heidi!

 

The tour/trip itself is very convenient. She met us at the ship, loaded our luggage into a little trailer, then we got on the bus. Because it's a mini-bus it's much more intimate and personal. She took the time to explain so much about the terrain and history of Alaska, made several "photo op" stops, then took us to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. There we saw the herd of Wood Bison that are being raised to be released back into the wild in 2013. We saw moose (including 3 adorable babies), Musk Ox, Elk, Reindeer, black bears & brown bears.

 

On the way into Anchorage we were lucky enough to see a brown bear on the side of a hill, playing on the remaining snow! Even though a stop wasn't scheduled, Heidi stopped the van so we could all take pictures of this rare bear-sighting, before finally dropping everyone at the airport or their hotels.

 

We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Anchorage. Because there were 3 of us (me, my SO and my mother) we needed 2 rooms. It turned out to be cheaper to get a 2 bedroom suite than 2 rooms. Two full bedrooms with baths, and the middle room a full living room with kitchenette. They also have a nice restaurant downstairs with room service (the fresh salmon was delicious LOL). We had an early flight so weren't able to take advantage of the breakfast.

 

The shuttle to the airport is free, but they share the shuttle with several other local hotels so keep that in mind when planning your trip. You need to be in the lobby ready to go before they will call the shuttle, and then it can take around 20 minutes for it to arrive. It may then make another 1-2 stops before taking you to the airport, so plan accordingly.

 

ADDITIONAL TIPS:

Make sure you get the coupon books when you first board your ship, and the ones around town. You will find all sorts of coupons, some more worthwhile than others. We used ones like getting a free/discount hat with purchase, getting a free shopping bag, discounted local goods, free shot glass, free train whistles, etc.

 

It's not as cold as we feared. We brought way too many layers, some of which never made it out of the suitcase. The only time I actually needed my hat was when we landed on the glacier, and I only needed my gloves on the glacier, and when we were outside approaching the Hubbard Glacier on the ship. I had brought multiple hats, ear muffs, etc.

 

If you choose to buy meals, etc. in Alaska be prepared for high prices. Except for fish, most things need to be brought in from far distances.

 

Shopping: Look for the icon/symbols on items. The Bear symbol “Made in Alaska” means a resident artist, craftsperson or manufacturer made the item in Alaska. The silver hand/palm symbol means that a native Alaskan made it.

Totems: the real thing is expensive. A 6" "made in Alaska" one can be around $100-$125. Most of the gift shops have the ones made in China (check the bottom or the tag).

I hope this gives some help/ideas!

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vbmom87

vbmom87

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Thank you for an interesting and well written review. It is sure to be helpful to others.

 

A few comments:

 

Island Wings was probably fully booked for the day. Michelle is the pilot and she just doesn't have another plane/pilot that can pick up her cancelled passengers later in the day if the weather clears. I am sure this is the same with other vendors too. Depending on whether or not they are fully booked that day will determine if they can add anyone else in later in the day. I am sure sometimes it works out, but other times it does not. I am glad it worked out for you and you were able to find another vendor that could take you out.

 

I did not take boots, but did take waterproof low hikers, as did my DH. We always wore them on port days. We definitely needed them for both rain and hiking unlevel paths and trails.

 

You are fortunate you did not need all the layers you packed. If you ever go back to Alaska, I still suggest you pack them again. The next time you could have much different weather.

 

I am sure many will appreciate your review of your transfer from Seward to Anchorage. Many people come onto the boards looking for reputable companies for the transfer. Sounds like you chose a good one.

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DragonOfTheSeas "Live from...." Rare

DragonOfTheSeas

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Thanks for all of the information. It is good to know that there are a lot of tour operators at the dock in Juneau. We have one excursion booked for the morning that ends at 12:30pm. But, since we are there until 8:30 we could arrange another for the afternoon is the weather is OK.

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Italy52

Italy52

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Thanks for taking the time to post your review --- I always like to see what excursions others have chosen and their thoughts about their decision.

 

You made a statement that I would like to repeat: "All of the whale watching companies there work cooperatively, so when someone spots a pod of whales or a whale breaching, they alert the others so everyone can get a chance." This is so true! We were out with F.I.S.H.E.S. a couple of weeks ago and were the first to spot whales breaching --- Floyd got on the horn and let everyone know where the action was happening --- they really do try to help each other out.

 

Karen

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Mzhelen

Mzhelen

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Thank you for an interesting and well written review. It is sure to be helpful to others.

 

A few comments:

 

Island Wings was probably fully booked for the day. Michelle is the pilot and she just doesn't have another plane/pilot that can pick up her cancelled passengers later in the day if the weather clears. I am sure this is the same with other vendors too. Depending on whether or not they are fully booked that day will determine if they can add anyone else in later in the day. I am sure sometimes it works out, but other times it does not. I am glad it worked out for you and you were able to find another vendor that could take you out.

 

I did not take boots, but did take waterproof low hikers, as did my DH. We always wore them on port days. We definitely needed them for both rain and hiking unlevel paths and trails.

 

You are fortunate you did not need all the layers you packed. If you ever go back to Alaska, I still suggest you pack them again. The next time you could have much different weather.

 

I am sure many will appreciate your review of your transfer from Seward to Anchorage. Many people come onto the boards looking for reputable companies for the transfer. Sounds like you chose a good one.

 

I definitely agree on the waterproof low hikers - those were ideal. I got a great pair and then doubly water-proofed them with a can of waterproofing spray. On the days it was raining they were ideal instead of sneakers, which would have been soaked.

 

We also brought rain pants which we never needed, but had it been raining the day we went onto the glacier we absolutely would have worn them. And they are so light weight and roll up so small in the suitcase that I would still recommend anyone bring them. We got ours on sale on Cabelas web site - I think I paid $10 each for them - and they were more light weight than the camping rain suits/pants at WalMart.

 

One of the most convenient things we brought was those light weight backpacks (the ones with just a couple of strings instead of straps). They were ideal for cramming our layers into, and since they weigh nothing it wasn't painful to carry them around all day.

 

As for Island Wings, I never met Michelle just the young man who was there to meet us. I totally understand that she only has one plane, but the young man didn't suggest checking out other companies. I went into the tourist building thinking I'd be booking some other type of land excursion, and Dan, the man who helped us, actually checked with every one of the flightseeing tours, making multiple phone calls, until finding one that could fit us in at 9:45.

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Mzhelen

Mzhelen

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i was debating between a flightseeing tour and a helicopter tour and i am doing the TEMSCO helicopter glacier tour in Skagway I hear its alot better than the plane tour.

 

Since we already had booked the Temsco helicopter glacier tour for Juneau, we decided to do the Misty Fjords. BOTH excursions are well worth doing, so you will love the glacier landing!

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