Book, Video?

[Snook]

Does anyone have any suggestions on some good books (travel guides type) or videos that might be good for Alaska? We will be going in May and really would like to have something up-to-date.

[AmberCascades]

Frommers and Fodors put out new books each year. The Alaska Cruise Handbook by John Upton and Alaska by Cruise Ship by Anne Vipond are also good books.

[CobbClan]

For a quick fix, I like to search YouTube videos of others cruises. There are ones on there from different cruise lines themselves, but since we have chosen which line, I don't need to see the "commercial". We have gathered some good stuff. We had considered the Deadliest Catch excursion, and we could see how the boats were set up, how the seating is, what they show you, etc.

[SeaBands]

there are a bunch of videos you can watch on line or borrow from Netflix. Amazon has loads of Alaska travel books.

[MichiganStateMom]

I bought books and videos for Alaska (first trip) and the best information I got was from this website! I lot of people have links to their photos and videos of their trip or complete posts about their trip, and I looked at them and got a LOT of info. I specifically looked at people who were traveling on the same ship as we did, or doing the same land tour we did. There is an incredible amount of detailed info here, unlike the generalized info I got in the tour guides. Each destination port also has its own website. Felt right at home when I got to Alaska, because I kinda knew what to expect at the ports, the excursions and the ship I was traveling on! Good luck and have fun!

[Snook]

Thanks 'Spartans' mom. I see what you mean. There is a lot of information out there, if you dig for it, especially on this board. I'm learning how to navigate the many web sites. We have an extra day in Anchorage so we plan to rent a car and drive to the Alyeska Resort, which, as I understand it is only about an hour drive. Information on this resort was on the Anchorage web site along with a lot of other good info and videos.

[CruiseGirlKS]

Frommers and Fodors put out new books each year. The Alaska Cruise Handbook by John Upton and Alaska by Cruise Ship by Anne Vipond are also good books.

 

Love those! :)

[mapleleaves]

Thanks 'Spartans' mom. I see what you mean. There is a lot of information out there, if you dig for it, especially on this board. I'm learning how to navigate the many web sites. We have an extra day in Anchorage so we plan to rent a car and drive to the Alyeska Resort, which, as I understand it is only about an hour drive. Information on this resort was on the Anchorage web site along with a lot of other good info and videos.

 

Have you checked your library for books and video in the travel section?

 

The Alyeska Resort is very nice but there's lots to see and do in that area.... pan for gold, the Wildlife Conservation Center, hikes, Portage Glacier, Potters Marsh. Suggested stopping points in this link: http://www.alaska.org/guide/turnagain-arm-drive

Or look at another drive called "portage valley and whittier".

 

alaska.org has lots of useful info. There's even a photo/video gallery where you can watch short video of various activities. excursions.

[Snook]

Thanks mapleleaves. I'll check those out. Panning for gold is something I've got to do.

[kjeanne2001]

Frommers and Fodors put out new books each year. The Alaska Cruise Handbook by John Upton and Alaska by Cruise Ship by Anne Vipond are also good books.

 

Does the map in The Alaska. Cruise Handbook have the map of the Inside Passage from Vancouver?

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Does the map in The Alaska. Cruise Handbook have the map of the Inside Passage from Vancouver?

 

Yes:)

[cruisefan07]

Does anyone have any suggestions on some good books (travel guides type) or videos that might be good for Alaska? We will be going in May and really would like to have something up-to-date.

 

A few years back HAL line had a suggested book reading list that I used and enjoyed. It included: The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Klondike by Pierre Burton, I Married the Klondike by Pierre Burton's mother, Laura Beatrice Burton, The Poetry of Robert W Service, Looking for Alaska by Peter Jenkins, Learning about Nature along the Inside Passage by the U.S. Forest Service, Glacier Bay Handbook by the National Park Service, Tisha (a young teacher in Chicken, AK) by Robert Specht, The Milepost by Morris Publications, A Schoolteacher in Old Alaska, the story of Hannah Breece (a non-fiction diary). If you don't get a chance to borrow or read some of these, look for book stores in the port stops for some special souvenirs!