Alaska Cruise

[chefj]

My husband and I are cruising to Alaska next year for the first time. Any suggestions for excursions, must knows or just interesting stories?

 

Thanks,

chefj

[Guest maler]

I live in Seattle and I hear complaints from Alaskan cruisers all the time that they didn't expect it to be so cold!

The AVERAGE daytime high temps in Alaska during the summer months is 65. You may get lucky and have warmer weather.....or you may not, so go prepared.

[Toyz711]

make sure you check out the alaska boards...lots of great information.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

let them know what ports you are going to and when. all the ports have website, if you google them, you can get links to some of the local vendors for tours.

[mayfly511]

Oh how I envey you!!! We went to Alaska in June 2001 and can't sto thinking or talking about it. The temperatures were in the 70s and 803. We had about 10-15 minutes of a light mist over the course of 2 weeks. The one excursion that is a must is the helicopter tour to Mendenhall Glacier. I am petrified of flying but couldn't get enough of this one. It was quite cold up there but absolutely gorgeous. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at :

mayfly511@yahoo.com

I will be happy to answer any questions you have

ENJOY!!!

[RetireeWannabee]

We went dogsledding on Mendenhall and it was ... AWESOME!

 

During the day we took the bus to the glacier (I think it was $6/person?) then the heli took us on top of it. I would do this again and again and again.

 

I got to sit in the front seat of the chopper, between Russ the hot pilot and some other lady. WHOA, it was incredible!

 

Dogsledding was kind of a mix between water skiing and downhill skiing. I didn't wipe out at all, but boy, it was dicey a couple of times.

 

This is not a cheap excursion but it was soooo worth it! Plus, you get your flightseeing fix, also.

[gail811]

Binoculars, a good camera, and a lightweight raincoat are a must! Read the Alaska boards and ask lots of questions over there; there are some very knowledgeable people willing to share lots of great info!

[snowshh]

It has been many years since I did the Alaska cruise. We went in June and the weather was great - cool but great! We will be going on our 13th cruise next month, but we could never top Alaska. It's our favorite ever. The scenery is exceptional the entire route. We did the heli trip and walked on glacers. True, costly ($250.00 or so) back then and probably more now but we would absolutely do it again. I also took a plane ride over the glacers and then a ride on water in a rubber boat. It ended with a smoked salmon feast. It's the one cruise that we definately want to do again sometime. Next time we would like to spend more time on land - maybe taking the train. I remember taking a kayak trip in one of the ports, which was my least favorite excursion. You will LOVE IT!!!

[Fredr]

My husband and I are cruising to Alaska next year for the first time. Any suggestions for excursions, must knows or just interesting stories?

 

Thanks,

chefj

 

Hello,

 

Rent cars in Juneau and Skagway. From Juneau you can see Mendenhall Glacier and Auke Bay (do not miss St. Theresa's Church even if you are not of the Catholic faith). Rent a Wreck is a very good organization and will pick you up near the cruise dock in downtown Juneau.

 

In Skagway rent a car and drive up into the Canadian Yukon as far as Whitehorse. A wonderful restaurant in Whitehorse is the Yukon Inn. Avis has an office in Skagway. Ketchikan and Sitka can be seen on foot.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

Fred

[wsdwsd]

My wife, 2 sons, and daughter took Royal Caribbean (Radiance of the Seas) out of Vancouver to Seward in July, 2006 & had a great time. Would highly recommend the helicoptor glacier trip in Juneau--that was probably the best non-fishing excursion of the entire trip. You can do the identical helicoptor trip offered by the cruise line by scheduling on your own for quite a bit less. I found the White Pass railroad in Skagway to be interesting but the kids found it somewhat boring after awhile. As my wife & "kids" (ages 18, 20, 22 at the time) love to fish, we did 2 fishing trips (a 4 hr and a 6 hr) while on the cruise that I scheduled myself. At the end of the 1 week cruise, we stayed 2 nights in Seward at the Holiday Inn (right on the water) & spent one of those days Halibut fishing out of Seward. My daughter & I then took the bus to Anchorage to ship my daughter back home (she didn't want to spend another week fishing). Got a rental car at the Anchorage airport, drove back to Seward, picked my wife & sons up, & spent the second week fishing for salmon ---- that was great --- 3 days fishing on the Kenai for king salmon & 1 day on a flyout excursion via prop plane. My son caught a 63 lb female (very large for a female) & I caught a 53 lb male. I had those 2 mounted and should hopefully receive them after the 1st of the year (yes, it's taken a year & a half but they'll be soveniers of a lifetime for my boys). My wife says it was the best family vacation we've taken & I would agree.

[Fredr]

My husband and I are cruising to Alaska next year for the first time. Any suggestions for excursions, must knows or just interesting stories?

 

Thanks,

chefj

 

Hello (again),

 

If you go to Seward, take a boat tour of the Kenai Fjords National Park as this is truly a wonderful experience. It is a combination of boat ride, whale watching, wildlife viewing, glaciers, and some of the most spectacular scenery you will ever see. Keep in mind though that this trip to Kenai is not inexpensive but well worth it.

 

And a word on costs, I do not know your travel budget. Please remember that you can do many things in Alaska that won't cost very much at all. For example a tour of Juneau and outlying areas by city bus, is less than $6.00 per person. I have recommended renting a car in Juneau and Skagway as relatively inexpensive alternatives to ship sponsored excursions.

 

Frankly, some people who respond on these boards seem to believe that you must spend lots of money to have a great time in Alaska and this is simply not true. I am not cheap nor am I suggesting that you deprive yourselves of trips that you really want to do.

 

Simply stated if you go to Alaska, you can have a wonderful time and spend very little money.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

Fred