Back from Alaska!

[the cruise is on]

My husband and I just returned from our two week trip to Alaska. We had a great time, and really enjoyed our time there. I certainly do not have the knowledge that BQ or Yukon have, but if I can answer any questions, I'll be happy to help.

 

The following is a very brief summary of our trip. I've included a few editorial opinions.

 

We left on our trip Saturday, May 27. We flew American to Seattle and stayed there until Monday, May 29th. Seattle was a great stopping point! On Sunday, we did the Boeing plant tour. This was okay, but I wish I had spent my time doing something else. We took the Grayline tour, and it lasts about 1 hour too long.

 

On Monday, we flew to Anchorage. We then rented a car and drove to Seward. To be honest this was our first view of Alaska, and it was absolutely breathtaking!. All either of us could do was stare with our mouths open. The snow was still on the mountain tops, but was beginning to melt so there were lots of natural waterfalls. The drive from Anchorage to Seward takes about 2 hours, but it is time well spent!!!!! Thanks to BQ for this suggestion.

 

On Tuesday, we took the Kania Fjord Natural Parks tour. Again what a great suggestion. We saw whales, black bear, seals, numerous birds, glaciers, etc. etc. Seward is a beautiful place, and should not be missed. We stayed at the Edgewater Hotel, and liked it a lot.

 

Tuesday evening we drove back to Anchorage, checked in at the Captain Cook and began the Princess portion of our trip. Wednesday morning, we took the train and then bus to the Mt. McKInley Princess. It rained hard all day, so we never saw anything but clouds. The next day we were bused to the Denali Princess and spent two nights there.

 

Saturday morning we road the train (an 8 hour ride) to Whittier to get on he Diamond Princess. We cruised for the next 7 days and then spent a final night in VAncouver. Vancouver is an interesting city, and I'm glad we spend the extra day there.

 

The following are just a few observations -

 

1. The following comment is an opportunity for all of your cruise critic folks to say "I told you so!" If you like to plan and research, please do not waste your time on the tour portion of a cruise. We didn't listen, and soon after starting the land tour realized we would have been much happier on our own. We would not have wasted our time at the Mt. McKinley Princess - nothing much to see. Alaska appears to be a state that is very easily traveled. If I ever go again, I'm not even sure I will cruise - I may just map out a trip that includes one or more of the ports of call we visited.

 

2. Try not to miss Seward!

 

3. We did the Tundra Wilderness tour (again, based on info from this site). It was great, and hey, the buses are not bad. Eight hours is a long time to spend on any bus, but the scenery is so spectacular that you forget about the mode of travel!

 

4. If you have cruised previously on a line other than Princess but have decided to take Princess to Alaska, and you like a cruise with LOTS of activity options, I would suggest that you reconsider your choice of cruise lines. The Diamond Princess was a beautiful ship, and we had a nice time. But, to be honest, we were bored!! The food was so, so - we both thought Royal Caribbean had better food. The entertainment was okay, but there was just not that much to do. We spent many hours sitting on our balcony watching the water and mountains. That was fine with us, but if there had been more activities that interested me, I would have participated.

 

5. Whale Watching with Captain Larry - again another CC suggestion - not to be missed! The man knows his stuff. Captain Shawn went along with us, and he is also knows his stuff! Don't miss this trip.

 

6. The streets around each port have turned into shopping central! The same stores that you see in the Caribbean are now in Alaska. I can't tell you whether that's a good or bad thing, but if you like to shop, get ready.

 

I have about 500+ pictures, and if you are interested in any particulars, I'll check to see if I have pictures to share.

 

I hope that each of you have a great Alaskan vacation. The best parts of our trip came from suggestions from this board. Listen to these folks - they know of what they speak!.

[TONYB]

thnx for the report - sounds like you had a great time. We will be staying at the Edgewater this Friday night after arriving in Anchorage in the afternoon and driving down to Seward later that day. We are also taking the Kenai Fjords 6 hour tour the next day and then hopping on the Radiance for the week.

 

We were planning on checking out Anchorager for a couple of hours and then having dinner there, and then driving to Seward around 6PM. Do you think we would be better served driving down to Seward around 2PM w/o going to Anchorage and just having dinner and relaxing at the Edgewater that night?

[cruzingduo]

To the cruise is on, we are just starting to plan our Alaska cruise and have many questions, can we email you directly?

 

thanks,

Joanne

[ship n go]

My husband and I just returned from our two week trip to Alaska. We had a great time, and really enjoyed our time there. I certainly do not have the knowledge that BQ or Yukon have, but if I can answer any questions, I'll be happy to help.

 

The following is a very brief summary of our trip. I've included a few editorial opinions.

 

We left on our trip Saturday, May 27. We flew American to Seattle and stayed there until Monday, May 29th. Seattle was a great stopping point! On Sunday, we did the Boeing plant tour. This was okay, but I wish I had spent my time doing something else. We took the Grayline tour, and it lasts about 1 hour too long.

 

On Monday, we flew to Anchorage. We then rented a car and drove to Seward. To be honest this was our first view of Alaska, and it was absolutely breathtaking!. All either of us could do was stare with our mouths open. The snow was still on the mountain tops, but was beginning to melt so there were lots of natural waterfalls. The drive from Anchorage to Seward takes about 2 hours, but it is time well spent!!!!! Thanks to BQ for this suggestion.

 

On Tuesday, we took the Kania Fjord Natural Parks tour. Again what a great suggestion. We saw whales, black bear, seals, numerous birds, glaciers, etc. etc. Seward is a beautiful place, and should not be missed. We stayed at the Edgewater Hotel, and liked it a lot.

 

Tuesday evening we drove back to Anchorage, checked in at the Captain Cook and began the Princess portion of our trip. Wednesday morning, we took the train and then bus to the Mt. McKInley Princess. It rained hard all day, so we never saw anything but clouds. The next day we were bused to the Denali Princess and spent two nights there.

 

Saturday morning we road the train (an 8 hour ride) to Whittier to get on he Diamond Princess. We cruised for the next 7 days and then spent a final night in VAncouver. Vancouver is an interesting city, and I'm glad we spend the extra day there.

 

The following are just a few observations -

 

1. The following comment is an opportunity for all of your cruise critic folks to say "I told you so!" If you like to plan and research, please do not waste your time on the tour portion of a cruise. We didn't listen, and soon after starting the land tour realized we would have been much happier on our own. We would not have wasted our time at the Mt. McKinley Princess - nothing much to see. Alaska appears to be a state that is very easily traveled. If I ever go again, I'm not even sure I will cruise - I may just map out a trip that includes one or more of the ports of call we visited.

 

2. Try not to miss Seward!

 

3. We did the Tundra Wilderness tour (again, based on info from this site). It was great, and hey, the buses are not bad. Eight hours is a long time to spend on any bus, but the scenery is so spectacular that you forget about the mode of travel!

 

4. If you have cruised previously on a line other than Princess but have decided to take Princess to Alaska, and you like a cruise with LOTS of activity options, I would suggest that you reconsider your choice of cruise lines. The Diamond Princess was a beautiful ship, and we had a nice time. But, to be honest, we were bored!! The food was so, so - we both thought Royal Caribbean had better food. The entertainment was okay, but there was just not that much to do. We spent many hours sitting on our balcony watching the water and mountains. That was fine with us, but if there had been more activities that interested me, I would have participated.

 

5. Whale Watching with Captain Larry - again another CC suggestion - not to be missed! The man knows his stuff. Captain Shawn went along with us, and he is also knows his stuff! Don't miss this trip.

 

6. The streets around each port have turned into shopping central! The same stores that you see in the Caribbean are now in Alaska. I can't tell you whether that's a good or bad thing, but if you like to shop, get ready.

 

I have about 500+ pictures, and if you are interested in any particulars, I'll check to see if I have pictures to share.

 

I hope that each of you have a great Alaskan vacation. The best parts of our trip came from suggestions from this board. Listen to these folks - they know of what they speak!.

Oh no! I've been telling my DH the same about booking with a cruise. We usually do our own touring but this time we are leaving with other couples and my DH says Alaska has to be seen with tours. I keep reading marvelous things about the Capt. whale watching... can you give me the info on how to contact them... just in case I can change myDh mind!

[mmo]

alaskawhalewatching.com for Capt. Larry's Orca Enterprises. We are going out w/ them next week on our cruise.

Is the drive to Seward really 2 hours? That would be great as I mapquested it and it said 4 hours 47 minutes!!!

[jimcat]

alaskawhalewatching.com for Capt. Larry's Orca Enterprises. We are going out w/ them next week on our cruise.

Is the drive to Seward really 2 hours? That would be great as I mapquested it and it said 4 hours 47 minutes!!!

 

Where are you driving from? Anchorage to Seward can be done in a little over 2 hours.. if you want.. it took us closer to 5 with all our stops.. in Girdwood and all the Kodak picture moments to pull over at.. the drive from Anchorage to Seward is one of the best scenic highways I have been on in a long time.

[LEtue]

Welcome home! I was on the Island Princess 5/29 sailing and loved every minute of the trip!

 

I booked a return trip while on board and can't wait to get back! Why did it take me so long to cruise Alaska??????? :rolleyes:

[Chenega]

Allow a minimum of 2.5 hours for the Anchorage-Seward drive since it is 129 miles from Anchorage to Seward. Of course, it will probably take longer since there are many great stops along the way.

 

Alaska does NOT have to be seen with tours - just imagine touring Walt Disney World the same way and how many attractions you would miss because someone else did the planning.

 

Tour packages are big business up here in the summer and one can certainly argue for their efficiency. However, you will sacrifice spontaneity and the fun of discovering something on your own.

 

There is no way you can see everything on your own up here in one trip so do some research on your own and find out what really interests you.

[FSUNole]

thnx for the report - sounds like you had a great time. We will be staying at the Edgewater this Friday night after arriving in Anchorage in the afternoon and driving down to Seward later that day. We are also taking the Kenai Fjords 6 hour tour the next day and then hopping on the Radiance for the week.

 

We were planning on checking out Anchorager for a couple of hours and then having dinner there, and then driving to Seward around 6PM. Do you think we would be better served driving down to Seward around 2PM w/o going to Anchorage and just having dinner and relaxing at the Edgewater that night?

 

Tony, I've been to Anchorage and Seward. I would skip Anchorage and start the drive to Seward. Stop at all the scenic points. Not to be missed in Seward is the Sea Life Center... Here's a tripadvisor link with traveler reviews:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60873-d523661-Reviews-Alaska_SeaLife_Center-Seward_Alaska.html

[tapia]

Thank you so much for the great review!!!!!!! Can you post some whale pictures???

[the cruise is on]

I like lists so I'll just put my answers to all of you in list form.

 

1. TONYB - Seward is beautiful, and the drive there is more so. We picked up our rental car and headed for the Seward HIghway. If I go again, that would also be my plan. The Edgewater is nice but basic - it is not the Hilton. We were very comfortable and the view is wonderful.

 

As I said the drive on the Seward HIghway is wonderful!. We did not stop often, but slowed down quite often. We saw our first moose on this drive! We ate at Ray's (in Seward) and enjoyed our meal! Hope you have a great time.

 

2, Cruzingduo - Sure, please give me your email address and I will send you mine.

 

3. ship n go - Again, if you like to plan and research, and if you will rely on the great info you receive on this site, I would skip the tour portion of the cruise. You will save money and you will have more time to do what appeals to you. You can still book excursions that appeal to you- most outfits have websites. Most of the cities have their own travel guides and you will get a lot of info there. I have the Anchorage guide and the Seward guide. They were very helpful.

 

4. MMO - Captain Larry is a character but he knows his stuff. I would not hesitate to recommend this group, and would go out on one of their tours again in a heartbeat! I think another poster has already provided a link to their website. Unless you stop really often, the drive to Seward should not take more than 2 1/2 hours! Some of it is a 2 lane road with a 65 mph speed limit.

 

5. Tapia - I finally got a chance to start reviewing my pictures last evening. I realized I have over 750 pictures, so it will take a little while to get through them. I'll be happy to post a few. To be honest whale pictures are difficult. By the time you get the camera focused in the right spot - they are diving for food. I will tell you that when we went our with Captn. Larry, we had a whale surface within 10 feet of his boat. Shocked us all, including Captn Shawn (who was assisting on our trip). He said this was the closest whale so far this year and maybe ever! Lucky, lucky us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I think I covered everything, but if you have more questions, I'll do my best.!!

[HRM]

the cruise is on,

Thank you! We're getting ready for our 7/1 cruise on the Diamond and are grateful to you for sharing your review.

 

Heather & Mom

[swansonia]

750 pics !!! I hope you post some of them...Now I am wondering if I need another memory card... :D

[the cruise is on]

I have a Sony CyberShot 8 mega pixel camera. We used two and 1/2 memory cards.

 

I hope you have a great trip! It will be hard not to have a great time when you are surrounded by all of that beauty. I keep telling the folks I work with - Alaska is jaw dropping beautiful!

[jimcat]

Thank you so much for the great review!!!!!!! Can you post some whale pictures???

 

let me see if I recall how

[jimcat]

Thank you so much for the great review!!!!!!! Can you post some whale pictures???

 

the whale was from our Kenai Fjord trek with Renown tours.. here is a bit of a relaxed clan. Enjoy :)