July 4 - 18 Alaska Northbound on Radiance

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My family of 4 includes my husband, 2 children (8 & 10) and me. We arrived in Vancouver on July 4th and spent 1 1/2 days there before departing on the Radiance of the Seas on July 6th.

 

July 4 - Arrived in Vancouver and checked into the Blue Horizon Hotel. Cannot complain about the hotel - the restaurant was very good and overall, the hotel and restaurant was very reasonable by Vancouver standards. The only complaint was from my children - the pool wasn't very big. A plus of the Blue Horizon is they have a bus stop right outside the front door that most of the tourist buses stop at - including the free Capilano Suspension Bridge bus.

 

July 5 - Capilano Suspension Bridge Park & Stanley Park - First, be advised - the suspension bridge SWAYS! YIKES - I was not expecting that. Granted, the only person in my party who was bothered by the swaying and constant feeling of plunging 250 feet to our death was me but it was not a great start to my vacation. We still had a lot of fun at the park and thoroughly enjoyed the treettop adventures and other activities, but I just wanted to provide fair warning to anyone contemplating a visit. You really only need a half day at Capilano. So, we took the free bus back to the Blue Horizon and went to rent bikes and go through Stanley Park. When you go, make sure you enter the park and proceed to go counter clockwise on your bikes.

 

July 6 - Checked out of hotel at 11am and took a taxi to Canada Place for ship boarding. I highly encourage anyone to get to the ship this early - the check in and boarding process was a piece of cake! There was no line for customs, we were on board by 12pm and immediately went to the Windjammer for lunch. Remember, there are great outdoor tables located out the back of the Windjammer after walking through Ritas' Cantina. We had a nice, leisurely buffet lunch outside, did lots of people watching and Vancouver scenery watching! After lunch, we played mini golf, walked around the ship and found our room. We were actually at the Solarium indoor pool by 3pm.

 

July 7 - Day at Sea

 

July 8 - Ketchikan - Booked a 1/2 day salmon fishing excursion with Dan Dan Leathers of North Pacific Charters. We trolled using 4 lines and ended up catching 6 salmon. We had 11 on the line but lost 5. Dan was at the dock waiting for us as soon as our ship docked at 7 AM. We walked a short distance to his boat and he kept great care of us for the rest of the morning. After our fishing trip, we grabbed a quick lunch and went to the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. If you're looking for top notch acting, you're not going to find it here. But, if you're more interested in some fun entertainment - especially for the kids, then this is a great hour show. Basically, this was more of a thank you to my daughter after spending 4 hours fishing. She had some great laughs at the lumberjack show. Following the show, we did a quick walk around town and Creek Street, picked up a few souvenirs then headed back to the ship.

 

July 9 - Icy Strait Point - Unfortunately, it poured the entire day we were in Icy Strait. We did not have any excursions planned for this day but did get off the boat to walk around Icy Strait and hike into Hoonah. Due to the rain, we didn't last very long and ended up returning to the ship after only an hour or so.

 

July 10 - Juneau - my favorite port! I would have loved 2 days in Juneau as we packed a lot into our 1 day. We started the day by taking the Mt. Roberts Tramway. We went all the way to the top then hiked for 2 miles while up there. Originally, we thought of hiking from the bottom up the mountain but because everything was so wet, we were afraid of it being slippery and muddy. It actually worked out perfectly to do what we did as we still had a long day ahead of us. Following the tram back down, we met our Coastal Helicopter Tour guide at the cruise terminal. We had booked the glacier dogsled tour with them. Everything went very smooth. They picked us up, drove us to the heliport and we quickly made our way to the helicopter. It was such a great time! My son and I were in the front row of the helicopter (co-pilot seats) and my husband and daugher were right behind us with another couple. Coastal assigns seats based upon weight (they weigh you when you arrive at their business). It was about a 15-20 minute flight to the glacier where we were met by our musher and team of dogs. We piled into our sleds and took off on our dogsled tour. It was amazing! We must have spent an hour on the glacier before flying back to Juneau. Once back we hopped on a bus out to Mendenhall Glacier and hiked to Nugget Falls. This is a very easy hike and definitely worth doing! Then, back to the ship for dinner and departing.

 

July 11 - Skagway - We booked the White Pass Summit Rail & Bus with Chilkoot Charters and Tours. The pickup was at the end of the dock - note that this can be a very long walk depending upon where your ship docks. Our driver drove us to the rail and informed us that we are very lucky to have the last rail car today. This worked out perfect as I stood on the back platform for the majority of the train trip and got some amazing unobstructed photos without having to go through a window. The scenery on this trip just blew me away - so beautiful that words cannot do it justice. Once at the top, we disembarked the train and our Chilkoot driver was waiting for us to drive us back to Skagway. He made several stops along the way for us and gave some great recommendations for when we got back to town. We walked around Skagway for a few hours, grabbed some snacks and returned to the ship.

 

July 12 - At sea - Spent the morning at Hubbard Glacier. ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! And, the captain did such a wonderful job turning the boat so everyone would get all views of the glacier. We were able to sit on our balcony and have an amazing view.

 

July 13 - Arrived in Seward. Disembarked and ready to begin our self-guided land portion of our trip.

 

I've run out of time tonight and will have to write of the land portion later. Be sure to check back as we had some amazing land experiences!

[amc155]

July 5 - Capilano Suspension Bridge Park & Stanley Park - First, be advised - the suspension bridge SWAYS! YIKES - I was not expecting that. Granted, the only person in my party who was bothered by the swaying and constant feeling of plunging 250 feet to our death was me but it was not a great start to my vacation. We still had a lot of fun at the park and thoroughly enjoyed the treettop adventures and other activities, but I just wanted to provide fair warning to anyone contemplating a visit. You really only need a half day at Capilano. So, we took the free bus back to the Blue Horizon and went to rent bikes and go through Stanley Park. When you go, make sure you enter the park and proceed to go counter clockwise on your bikes.

 

Thank you for this information. This is the thing I am most nervous about on my trip as I am afraid of heights. At least now I'll be prepared. Nice review!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I can't wait to read the rest of yur review. We are on the Radiance for the last northbound cruise of the season on Auguat 31.

 

What did people wear for elegant night? My DH is planning to take shirts and ties rather than his usual suit. Is that formal enough?

[Keith1010]

I always think it's great when people take the time to write and share trip reports so I thank you for doing this.

 

Keith

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I can't wait to read the rest of yur review. We are on the Radiance for the last northbound cruise of the season on Auguat 31.

 

What did people wear for elegant night? My DH is planning to take shirts and ties rather than his usual suit. Is that formal enough?

 

 

DragonOfTheSeas - There were 2 formal nights on the cruise and there was a wide range of acceptable attire. Some passengers were in gowns and tuxes (minority), others were in suits or shirts & ties and others didn't get dressed up at all. My DH wore a dress shirt & tie the first night and then no tie the second night. Your DH should be fine.

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July 13 - Seward - Picked up our rental car at Hertz. It was very conveniently located at the pier and well organized. We were in and out in under 10 minutes. We then headed towards Exit Glacier as we were going to go for a hike before checking into our lodging for the night. On our way to Exit Glacier, we passed the Seavy Ididaride Center. My son is a big Iditarod fan so we stopped in to see what it was about. We had so much fun. They had about 100 dogs there and showed us how they train during the summer, gave us a summer sled ride and then introduced us to some of the newest pups. We got to hold the tiniest of puppies - only 2 weeks old! Then they gave a presentation on what it's like to be a musher - very interesting. Following our stop at Seavy's, we continued down the road to Exit Glacier and did the mile or so hike from the Nature Center. If you plan to do this, be sure to use bug spray as you will be walking through a wooded area and the bugs are fierce! Once down at the Glacier, it was amazing how close you are able to get. On the way back to Seward, we stopped at Le Barn Appetit for lunch. It was not like any other dining experience I've ever had. The couple runs it out of their home and you actually feel like you're part of their family. They make the most amazing crepes I've ever had. We got 2 and split them between the 4 of us and we were stuffed by the time we finished. We then proceeded to the Alaska Saltwater Lodge for our check in. The lodge is very outside of the town - you have to drive down a long dirt road and the surroundings are not the most ideal. But, the lodge does sit on a beautiful spot overlooking the water and it's fun to watch the sea otters play right outside. While I loved the view, I'm not sure I would recommend the lodge as the service wasn't the best. Prior to our arrival, I had requested several times for a written confirmation and never received an email or phone call back. In addition, the breakfast was very basic - toast, eng. muffins, fruit and oatmeal. All ok but not spectactular.

 

More to come later.

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July 14 - Today we had a full day Aialik Bay kayak trip planned with Kayak Adventures Worldwide. If you are in Seward, you must do this trip! This trip exceeded all our expectations! We took a water taxi through the fjords, saw humpback whales, puffins, seals, sea otters and a pod of orca whales. And, we hadn't even got into our kayaks yet. After arriving at the beach, we set out with our guide, Johnny, on our 3 mile kayak trip to Aialik Glacier. AMAZING! It was so surreal to sit in kayaks, while eating our picnic lunch, in front of a calving glacier! Talk about peaceful! We spent several hours on the water then returned to beach for the taxi trip back. When we docked at the beach, we saw a bear! We got back on the taxi and headed back to Seward. It was a long day (7:15 am - 6:00pm) but so worth it! My words don't do it justice other than to say I can't recommend it enough!

 

We left Seward this evening and drove to Girdwood where we stayed at the Hidden Creek Bed & Breakfast. What a beautiful place to stay! There was a plate of fresh baked cookies waiting for us in our beautiful room. they hit the spot as we were hungry after our day on the water.

 

July 15 - Girdwood - Our original plan was to do Crow Creek Mine and then hike Winner Creek trail to Alyeska resort for lunch. But, by this point in the trip, we were all quite content to relax and enjoy the amazing breakfast experience that we had at Hidden Creek B & B. Ron and Michelle are amazing hosts. They provided us with menu options and we each selected a "cooked to order" breakfast. We decided to have a leisurely morning before setting out for the long drive to Denali & Healy.

 

We left Girdwood around 11:00am and took our time driving to Denali. We stopped for lunch and snacks (Walmart) along the way. Note: When you see the sign that says "last stop for gas for next 95 miles", make sure you top off your tank. Not only is it the last stop for 95 miles but it's also much cheaper than the gas you'll find once in Denali. We arrived in Healy late that afternoon and found our lodging at Aspen Haus. Our family cabin was very roomy with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and kitchen eating area. There was a fridge & microwave, as well.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

DragonOfTheSeas - There were 2 formal nights on the cruise and there was a wide range of acceptable attire. Some passengers were in gowns and tuxes (minority), others were in suits or shirts & ties and others didn't get dressed up at all. My DH wore a dress shirt & tie the first night and then no tie the second night. Your DH should be fine.

 

Thank you--that is good to know. That means we can leave the sports coat at home. It takes up too much space.:)