Comments, please, on proposed Anchorage itinerary

[TravlnMom]

My two teen boys and I are going on a 14-day CruiseTour with HAL. We’ll start with a trip above the Arctic Circle to Anaktuvuk Pass, then the normal tour stops in Fairbanks, train to Denali and then on to Anchorage. We have one full day in Anchorage and I have already reserved a rental car.

My ideas so far include the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum, the Alaska Native Heritage Center, possibly the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, and possibly the Saturday Market. For lunch or dinner, a friend has recommended the Roadrunner Restaurant.

Our limiting factor is that most of these places are only open from about 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, so I feel the need to plan carefully.

Once we return the car, we plan to walk over to the Alaska Experience Theatre and Gift Shop, see the movies, and let the kids shop for souvenirs to take back to their friends (not talking Native Art-type stuff here!).

SOOOO …. Looking for comments and suggestions, along with a recommendation for dinner (assuming we have lunch at the Roadrunner).

Thanks to all the knowledgeable folks on this board! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

Alaska at last! 'Till the Veendam
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=800080&cdt=2004;6;20;20;0;00&timezone=GMT-1000[/img]

[tinydancer21]

The Brewhouse is on Fifth Ave and it's SUPER good! The atmosphere is great too. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] It's in a great area of Anchorage where you can walk around all downtown, it's near the market also.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=8b0000&cdt=2004;9;5;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]
9/04 Pride Second Anniversary, First Honeymoon!

[jrbrand]

I second the recommendation for the brewhouse! Great location, fabulous salmon--call ahead for reservations, if you can.

[schoolmarm]

Is that the name of the restaurant (the brewhouse)? We're looking for a place near the Captain Cook hotel. Thanks!

[Budget Queen]

Your ideas are good and will be enjoyable. You may also want to consider the good walking tour that is mapped out in the Anchorage visitor guide. As a side- be forewarned very very few kids are on the land tours- be sure to take plenty of batteries and games. What are you doing in Anaktuvuk Pass. If you are able to speak up??? Try to get 2 different flight routes- since there is usually a lot of cloud cover- you want above and below. BUT it will be up to the pilot and usually they just do the above. I got lucky- a native on the plane "shamed" the pilot into the two routes for me. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[TravlnMom]

Hey, BQ, thanks again for another great idea! I’ll work on the pilot, if I can. Sort of depends on the weather, the other pax, and how much I want to embarrass my kids on the first day out.

The idea behind Anaktuvuk Pass was to get above the Arctic Circle, see some of Alaska from the air, and have the opportunity to see a really remote, subsistence Native village. We aren’t expecting shops ,entertainment, or for that matter, plumbing.

We also expected to see few other kids on the entire HAL CuiseTour. They have the itinerary we want, without the party-focused atmosphere of some other cruises. We do a lot of travel in pretty remote places – there will actually be more folks in Alaska (@ tourist season) than we are used to dealing with. I will stock up on games, music, and books, though.

I think I’ll add the walking tour to the next morning, before we get on the bus to Seward.

Thanks again to all! We’ll add the Brewhouse to our list! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[Budget Queen]

Anaktuvuk Pass does have plumbing. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] I met an engineer who worked on the "project". About 300 residents- Pizza resturant- right outside the airport. 8to 1 men to women ratio. Funniest thing I heard was from the above guy-(who shamed the pilot), telling me of his first trip to North Carolina- he said he couldn't believe all the girls talking to him and couldn't understand what was wrong with them. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[champton18]

I wouldn't try and "shame" the pilot into doing something he is not comfortable with. Safety is a big issue with flying in Alaska. We have too many small aircraft accidents due to pilots not taking into account the weather and terrain. I've read too many reports of accidents that could have been avoided if the pilot had not been pushing the limits. The weather here can change in a matter of minutes. We've had commerical pilots in emergency conditions before they new what had happened. Better a Safe trip. The bush pilots are great and know their stuff. Let them pilot the aircraft.

Radiance of the Seas 2/04
Enchantment of the Seas 2/04
Monarch of the Seas 4/04
Radiance of the Seas 7/04

[Budget Queen]

champ- safety was of utmost concern and perhaps I should not have made light of the routing in my post. The pilot was in full agreement with suggestion. IN FACT we had to fly at least 30 miles further as he could NOT find a "hole" in the cloud cover to see through to land. Stated on the way back that he was glad he was able to fly under the clouds on the way back and it was perfectly acceptable. I am well aware of safety issues, my husband has been a private pilot for about 20 years and is also an A&P Mechanic. I apoligize for this not being the most important item of the post.