need help planning DIY land itinerary for 8 days and nights on the Kenai Peninsula

[allisons]

[quote name='greatam']1/2 the size of a cruise ship shower. Most cruise ship showers are "full sized"-meaning 2-2.5 feet wide by 5 feet long-just about the same size as a normal tub/shower combo in a house. An RV shower (other than the $1,000,000+ rock star RV's) is about 2 foot x 2.5 feet.[/QUOTE]

Well, you must stay in suites on cruises. Out of 21 cruises, the only time we had a shower that was rectangular and full-sized like at home was on Holland America when we had a bath tub. Every other cruise, we've had a small square shower. So maybe an RV shower is the same as a standard cruise ship shower, in which case we'd be just fine.

[PennyAgain]

[quote name='greatam']

Ain't that the truth!!!! Screaming "you didn't get the water hose completely drained and now I am covered in water" is VERY common around here. DH unhooked the water hose in December, rolled it partially up and handed it to me to put away. It had NOT been completely drained. I had on fairly decent clothes-not Levi's and a t shirt as usual. We were leaving the RV park going home but first, to a waterside (Colorado River) bar/restaurant for prime rib. I got SOAKED putting it in the compartment. BAD way to start the evening. Not the first time he had done it.[/quote]

During one trip in Quebec, someone forget to put the valuable clothing into waterproof compartments. Super heavy rains came as we were driving all day. All the clothing not seriously secured got soaked. Some ruined. It was a 'who didn't do it right?' argument of epic proportions. DH's stuff was perfectly dry. Everything I wasn't wearing was soaked and muddy. It was about that time my DH gave up driving trips with frequent changes of location for nights. He now is a big fan of staying in one place for many days and nights.

I became a huge fan of Zip-Loc bags after that! And supervising every inch of the packing and repacking. It's no fun to have all your stuff soaked and some ruined in a wet, chilly climate.

[PennyAgain]

[quote name='allisons']Well, you must stay in suites on cruises. Out of 21 cruises, the only time we had a shower that was rectangular and full-sized like at home was on Holland America when we had a bath tub. Every other cruise, we've had a small square shower. So maybe an RV shower is the same as a standard cruise ship shower, in which case we'd be just fine.[/quote]

You need to do a walk around in a real RV. Test it all out.

I have a feeling that the chemical potty will be your breaking point issue.

[allisons]

[quote name='PennyAgain']During one trip in Quebec, someone forget to put the valuable clothing into waterproof compartments. Super heavy rains came as we were driving all day. All the clothing not seriously secured got soaked. Some ruined. It was a 'who didn't do it right?' argument of epic proportions. DH's stuff was perfectly dry. Everything I wasn't wearing was soaked and muddy. It was about that time my DH gave up driving trips with frequent changes of location for nights. He now is a big fan of staying in one place for many days and nights.

I became a huge fan of Zip-Loc bags after that! And supervising every inch of the packing and repacking. It's no fun to have all your stuff soaked and some ruined in a wet, chilly climate.[/QUOTE]

The inside of the RV is not waterproof?! It leaks?! Your stuff gets wet?! What the heck?!

[allisons]

[quote name='PennyAgain']You need to do a walk around in a real RV. Test it all out.

I have a feeling that the chemical potty will be your breaking point issue.[/QUOTE]

We're going to a Winnebago dealer on Saturday. If that doesn't scare us off, we will rent an RV for a weekend in the fall. I don't like the sound of "chemical potty!" Is it like a port-a-potty??

[greatam]

Well, you must stay in suites on cruises. Out of 21 cruises, the only time we had a shower that was rectangular and full-sized like at home was on Holland America when we had a bath tub. Every other cruise, we've had a small square shower. So maybe an RV shower is the same as a standard cruise ship shower, in which case we'd be just fine.

 

I don't stay in suites. And cruise ship showers are generally more rectangular than square. About 2 feet wide by 4.5-5 feet long. The depth of most cruise ship bathrooms is about 4.5 to 5 feet and every cruise ship I have been on the shower has run the entire length of one wall.

 

An RV shower is 1/2 the size. As someone posted, they kept their water, soda and staples in there and didn't use it for a shower. And my best friend stacks boxes of water in hers when we all go to the Colorado River.

 

The water boxes don't leave much more than about 6" each side all around if that gives you an idea. And she has a Class C almost identical to what you would be renting. In fact, it was a used Cruise America rental she purchased.

[PennyAgain]

The inside of the RV is not waterproof?! It leaks?! Your stuff gets wet?! What the heck?!

 

The inside of the RV's are fine. The outside storage areas vary with manufacturer, cost of the RV and how the RV has been used by others. In Quebec in a very fierce, day long rain, the outside storage where my stuff was stowed leaked very badly. This particular vehicle was owned by our friends.

 

We were traveling with another couple and the men had done the loading while the women packed up all the stuff that needed to be secured inside.

 

We have also given up traveling with another couple as that put too much pressure on the situation for me/us. In fact we only ever saw that couple one more time after decades of being friends.

 

You know it has gotten tense when you refer to your spouse and life partner as 'that idiot'.

 

I would skip the Portage Glacier cruise. It's not that big a deal. The Visitor's Center is very nice. We used to winter camp around there when you could still see the glacier from the parking lot. I don't care about the Alyeska Tram Ride either (used to ski up there) but the restaurant at the top is nice.

[frugaltravel]

Well, you must stay in suites on cruises. Out of 21 cruises, the only time we had a shower that was rectangular and full-sized like at home was on Holland America when we had a bath tub. Every other cruise, we've had a small square shower. So maybe an RV shower is the same as a standard cruise ship shower, in which case we'd be just fine.

 

greatam readily admits she hates cruising and hasn't done it in years, so her comments about the shower might be a bit outdated.

 

You need to decide what fits your interests and schedule best. If you are indeed still cruising in early to mid August, have you thought about a day trip to Pack Creek to view bears during your Juneau port stop? That is prime bear viewing time at Pack Creek and you don't have anywhere near the weather issues that you would have in Homer/Katmai.

 

Also, with that much time pre-cruise I might consider splitting up my time between Homer and Seward. Lots of nice things to do in/near Seward.

[allisons]

I don't stay in suites. And cruise ship showers are generally more rectangular than square. About 2 feet wide by 4.5-5 feet long. The depth of most cruise ship bathrooms is about 4.5 to 5 feet and every cruise ship I have been on the shower has run the entire length of one wall.

 

An RV shower is 1/2 the size. As someone posted, they kept their water, soda and staples in there and didn't use it for a shower. And my best friend stacks boxes of water in hers when we all go to the Colorado River.

 

The water boxes don't leave much more than about 6" each side all around if that gives you an idea. And she has a Class C almost identical to what you would be renting. In fact, it was a used Cruise America rental she purchased.

 

You're very lucky then! We've only ever had small square corner showers that ran half the length of the bathroom wall, sharing one wall with the toilet! I didn't even know that there were non-suite cabins that had large rectangular showers that run the entire length of the bathroom wall! In that configuration, where is the toilet?

[allisons]

The inside of the RV's are fine. The outside storage areas vary with manufacturer, cost of the RV and how the RV has been used by others. In Quebec in a very fierce, day long rain, the outside storage where my stuff was stowed leaked very badly.

 

We were traveling with another couple and the men had done the loading while the women packed up all the stuff that needed to be secured inside.

 

We have also given up traveling with another couple as that put too much pressure on the situation for me/us. In fact we only ever saw that couple one more time after decades of being friends.

 

You know it has gotten tense when you refer to your spouse and life partner as 'that idiot'.

 

I would skip the Portage Glacier cruise. It's not that big a deal. The Visitor's Center is very nice. We used to winter camp around there when you could still see the glacier from the parking lot. I don't care about the Alyeska Tram Ride either (used to ski up there) but the restaurant at the top is nice.

 

Outside storage areas?! We have to store our stuff outside?! We can't store our stuff inside the RV?! I don't understand!

[allisons]

greatam readily admits she hates cruising and hasn't done it in years, so her comments about the shower might be a bit outdated.

 

You need to decide what fits your interests and schedule best. If you are indeed still cruising in early to mid August, have you thought about a day trip to Pack Creek to view bears during your Juneau port stop? That is prime bear viewing time at Pack Creek and you don't have anywhere near the weather issues that you would have in Homer/Katmai.

 

Also, with that much time pre-cruise I might consider splitting up my time between Homer and Seward. Lots of nice things to do in/near Seward.

 

Ah! That makes more sense! I just assumed that everyone on these message boards was a cruising fan and avid cruiser! Huh!

 

We didn't know about Pack Creek. We'll have two days in Juneau since we stop there on both cruises.

 

We are not really considering going back to Seward. We absolutely loved Seward when we stayed there this year, but we want to visit different places next year.

[greatam]

Well, you must stay in suites on cruises. Out of 21 cruises, the only time we had a shower that was rectangular and full-sized like at home was on Holland America when we had a bath tub. Every other cruise, we've had a small square shower. So maybe an RV shower is the same as a standard cruise ship shower, in which case we'd be just fine.

 

Out of curiosity, I just measured both the bathtub/shower combo which is "normal" sized (meaning what is in most tract homes) and the motor home. I have one bathroom with the tub/shower combo, 1 with a giant sunken tub and one with only a tile shower. The tub/shower combo measured 29" wide x 58" long.

 

The shower in my motor home (which is smaller than the shower in my travel trailer because of the slideouts in the TT)-22" wide x 34" long. Just about 1/2.

[allisons]

Out of curiosity, I just measured both the bathtub/shower combo which is "normal" sized (meaning what is in most tract homes) and the motor home. I have one bathroom with the tub/shower combo, 1 with a giant sunken tub and one with only a tile shower. The tub/shower combo measured 29" wide x 58" long.

 

The shower in my motor home (which is smaller than the shower in my travel trailer because of the slideouts in the TT)-22" wide x 34" long. Just about 1/2.

 

Thank you! In that case, I would definitely say that it is equivalent to the size of a standard cruise ship shower. A cruise shower is at most half the size of a standard home shower. This is very good to know, since we're both absolutely fine with cruise showers.

[greatam]

greatam readily admits she hates cruising and hasn't done it in years, so her comments about the shower might be a bit outdated.

 

.

 

Where did you get that idea?

 

I won't cruise Alaska again-just too much other stuff to see in Alaska besides the touristy port stops. AND I won't go to the Caribbean-absolutely no interest. But I sure cruise to other places. Last cruise was December 2012-Celebrity Infinity repo to South America. Next cruise is Celebrity Silhouette repo out of Italy in December 2013. And since I rarely cruise on anything BUT Celebrity and Cunard, maybe the showers are smaller on other ships. But I have spent a lot of time on the Infinity, not in a suite, usually an FV cabin on the stern and the shower runs the full length of the wall with the toilet to the left if you are facing the shower faucet and the vanity between the shower wall and the opposite wall. Even an ocean view cabin on Mercury had the same full length shower along one wall.

[PennyAgain]

Outside storage areas?! We have to store our stuff outside?! We can't store our stuff inside the RV?! I don't understand!

 

You need to see a real RV in the make, model and size you are considering.

 

With 4 adults in an RV which I recall was about 28 feet long, we had to use the outside storage areas. In any case the guys were doing the loading and cared not at all that the items they were stowing may not have been appropriate for the spaces.

 

They were loading up as fast as possible to beat the rain. We had many weeks worth of stuff with us. Not just a week.

[allisons]

Where did you get that idea?

 

I won't cruise Alaska again-just too much other stuff to see in Alaska besides the touristy port stops. AND I won't go to the Caribbean-absolutely no interest. But I sure cruise to other places. Last cruise was December 2012-Celebrity Infinity repo to South America. Next cruise is Celebrity Silhouette repo out of Italy in December 2013. And since I rarely cruise on anything BUT Celebrity and Cunard, maybe the showers are smaller on other ships. But I have spent a lot of time on the Infinity, not in a suite, usually an FV cabin on the stern and the shower runs the full length of the wall with the toilet to the left if you are facing the shower faucet and the vanity between the shower wall and the opposite wall. Even an ocean view cabin on Mercury had the same full length shower along one wall.

 

Interesting! I did not realize that the large showers are standard on Celebrity! When we cruised on the Celebrity Solstice, we had a shower like you described, but we assumed that was because we were in an AquaClass cabin! We assumed that the showers in the standard cabins were smaller, but I guess we were wrong, which is good to know!

[allisons]

You need to see a real RV in the make, model and size you are considering.

 

With 4 adults in an RV which I recall was about 28 feet long, we had to use the outside storage areas. In any case the guys were doing the loading and cared not at all that the items they were stowing may not have been appropriate for the spaces.

 

They were loading up as fast as possible to beat the rain. We had many weeks worth of stuff with us. Not just a week.

 

We'll figure out the storage when we view it on Saturday. We'd definitely need to have enough room to store everything inside the RV. It's just the two of us. I think we can pay to store our extra cruise suitcase at Great Alaskan Holidays for the week.

[PennyAgain]

More than likely you'll have room for the luggage that an airline allows you to check.

 

We had tons of camera gear on that trip which had to stay inside. Also with 4 passengers, 2 ride in the captain's chairs and 2 ride elsewhere.

 

And Great Alaskan shows people who to load in their stuff. Gosh their WEB site is a treat.

 

One interesting thing to do is to measure the length and width of the car you usually drive and then measure the RV you want to rent for Alaska. An RV sales yard near where I live has outlines of the various size and models of the units they sell painted on the ground. They have folks park their cars on those drawings to see the relationship to car and RV in size.

[allisons]

More than likely you'll have room for the luggage that an airline allows you to check.

 

We had tons of camera gear on that trip which had to stay inside. Also with 4 passengers, 2 ride in the captain's chairs and 2 ride elsewhere.

 

And Great Alaskan shows people who to load in their stuff. Gosh their WEB site is a treat.

 

One interesting thing to do is to measure the length and width of the car you usually drive and then measure the RV you want to rent for Alaska. An RV sales yard near where I live has outlines of the various size and models of the units they sell painted on the ground. They have folks park their cars on those drawings to see the relationship to car and RV in size.

 

That's a really good point. We drive a very small car, a Toyota Prius. It will be a huge difference. Although, my husband did drive a U-Haul (Ryder?) truck from Florida to DC.

[vbmom87]

Ah! That makes more sense! I just assumed that everyone on these message boards was a cruising fan and avid cruiser! Huh!

 

We didn't know about Pack Creek. We'll have two days in Juneau since we stop there on both cruises.

 

We are not really considering going back to Seward. We absolutely loved Seward when we stayed there this year, but we want to visit different places next year.

 

Pack Creek is a different experience than the videos of Katmai NP. At least in the area we were taken, there is no waterfall, just a stream that the bears fish in. In fact, the vendor I went with, warns you that if you are looking for flying fish that the bears catch, you need to look for another trip.

[allisons]

Pack Creek is a different experience than the videos of Katmai NP. At least in the area we were taken, there is no waterfall, just a stream that the bears fish in. In fact, the vendor I went with, warns you that if you are looking for flying fish that the bears catch, you need to look for another trip.

 

Thank you for the info. Who was the vendor? Would you recommend them? What month did you go? Did you see lots of bears?

[PennyAgain]

That's a really good point. We drive a very small car, a Toyota Prius. It will be a huge difference. Although, my husband did drive a U-Haul (Ryder?) truck from Florida to DC.

 

Likely your Prius is something like 15 feet long and 6 feet wide. You would not be gaining a huge amount of length for a 22 ft Winnebago, but plenty more width.

 

The advantage to the Winnie goes in height as you can really see a lot more from higher up. For a long time I drove a van that was 24 feet long. I really miss what I could see from the driver seat of that van!

 

If you could magically transport your Toyota to Alaska you could have a lot of fun with it but it would never be the same.

 

About bears! I don't pay to go see bears but see plenty during every visit to Alaska. It has a great deal to do with knowing where to go and being still and watching. I've seen bears near to visitors at both Portage and Mendenhall Glaciers and the tourists never noticed the bears.

 

There are big bears and smaller bears and fundamentally a bear is a bear. I've seen bears along Turnagain Arm (slow down and park when you see a bunch of folks doing the same thing.) I've seen bears in Anchorage. Moose as well.

 

If you really want to go to Katmai fine well and good, but there are many bears to see.

 

One woman's opinion.

[allisons]

Likely your Prius is something like 15 feet long and 6 feet wide. You would not be gaining a huge amount of length for a 22 ft Winnebago, but plenty more width.

 

The advantage to the Winnie goes in height as you can really see a lot more from higher up. For a long time I drove a van that was 24 feet long. I really miss what I could see from the driver seat of that van!

 

If you could magically transport your Toyota to Alaska you could have a lot of fun with it but it would never be the same.

 

About bears! I don't pay to go see bears but see plenty during every visit to Alaska. It has a great deal to do with knowing where to go and being still and watching. I've seen bears near to visitors at both Portage and Mendenhall Glaciers and the tourists never noticed the bears.

 

There are big bears and smaller bears and fundamentally a bear is a bear. I've seen bears along Turnagain Arm (slow down and park when you see a bunch of folks doing the same thing.) I've seen bears in Anchorage. Moose as well.

 

If you really want to go to Katmai fine well and good, but there are many bears to see.

 

One woman's opinion.

 

I think we've decided not to do a fly-in bear tour. It would cost us $1200 minimum. We saw bears this year, 3 from the train in Skagway and 3 from the bus in Denali. We just wanted the up close and personal experience with many bears.

[allisons]

Last night, my best friend asked me what my favorite part of Alaska was. I replied Seward. Later, I asked my husband the same question and he gave the same answer. So we've decided to go back to Seward again next summer.

 

potential itinerary #5:

day 1 - fly into Anchorage

night 1 - Anchorage

day 2 - drive from Anchorage to Homer

night 2 - Homer

day 3 - Wildlife Cruise of Katchemak Bay, Pratt Museum

night 3 - Homer

day 4 - Seldovia Bay Ferry from Homer to Seldovia, explore Seldovia, ferry back to Homer

night 4 - Homer

day 5 - sightseeing in Homer

night 5 - Homer

day 6 - drive from Homer to Seward, Kayaking

night 6 - Seward

day 7 - Kenai Fjords Tours National Park Tour or Northwestern Fjord Tour

night 7 - Seward

day 8 - drive to Portage Glacier, Portage Glacier Cruise, drive to Girdwood, Alyeska Tram

night 8 - Girdwood

day 9 - drive from Girdwood to Anchorage, train from Anchoarge to Whittier, board ship

 

potential itinerary #6:

day 1 - fly into Anchorage

night 1 - Anchorage

day 2 - drive from Seward

night 2 - Seward

day 3 - Kenai Fjords Tours National Park Tour or Northwestern Fjord Tour

night 3 - Seward

day 4 - Kayaking, drive from Seward to Homer

night 4 - Homer

day 5 - Wildlife Cruise of Katchemak Bay, Pratt Museum

night 5 - Homer

day 6 - Seldovia Bay Ferry from Homer to Seldovia, explore Seldovia, ferry back to Homer

night 6 - Homer

day 7 - sightseeing in Homer

night 7 - Homer

day 8 - drive to Portage Glacier, Portage Glacier Cruise, drive to Girdwood, Alyeska Tram

night 8 - Girdwood

day 9 - drive from Girdwood to Anchorage, train from Anchoarge to Whittier, board ship

[PennyAgain]

The Portage Glacier cruise will be a let down for you. Stopping at Exit Glacier on your way to or from Seward will be a better thing to do as you can hike on very nice trails up to a safe distance from Exit Glacier and be in a very nice area on your own too feet.

 

The Alyeska tram is only worth the time and cost if the day is clear and/or you are going to have a meal at the top. I know that area very well. Yes you can see Turnagain Arm from the top but only on a clear day.

 

If you enjoy a nice long walk, the Bird to Gird trail along Turnagain Arm is a good thing to do in total or in part.

 

Just south of Anchorage is Potter Marsh just off the highway. A great place for animal and bird watching and a really good place to stop for a while. Most people rush along Turnagain Arm. I've spent years along that area and can't get enough of it.