Please post your planned or completed itinerary

[cma2008]

GOLDEN PRINCESS R/T SF - JULY 21-31

1st time on Princess and 1st time to Alaska!!

Thanks to cc and these forums for all the info and help!

 

1. July 21 - Drive 45 min to SF and board Golden Princess

2. July 22 - at sea

3. July 23 - at sea

4. July 24 - Juneau: Harv & Marv Whale Watching

5. July 25 Skagway and Ed's Birthday!! We are booked on a helicopter ride to glacier with dog sled ride (booked directly with Princess)

6. July 26 - Glacier Bay: cruising

7. July 27 - Ketchikan: "Deadliest Catch" boat trip (booked directly with company), lunch and walking around town, 3:00 Lumberjack show

8. July 28 - at sea

9. July 29 - Victoria: no excursions planned; will walk around waterfront or maybe rent a car to visit Butchard Gardens

10. July 30 - at sea

11. July 31 - back home in SF!

[theriac]

Carnival Legend RT Seattle 6/23-6/30

 

6/20 Fly from Tampa to Seattle

6/21-6/22 Tour Seattle

6/23 board the ship

6/24 Sea Day

6/25 Tracy Arm-Booked the small ship excursion here

6/26 Skagway- WP/YK Railway and Yukon bus tour 7.5 hours booked through Chilkoot Charters

6/27 Juneau- Whale Watch/Mendenhall/City Tour booked with Juneau Tours

6/28 Ketchikan no plans yet, still looking into different things

6/29 Victoria- Grab a drink in town and walk around as we're only here for 4 hours at night.

6/30 Seattle- debark, get to airport to fly home.

7/01 St. Petersburg, FL- get my dog and apologize to her for being gone 10 days while I spoil her with treats.

 

I wish bear viewing was a possibility while I'm in Ketchikan, but it's way too early in the season from what I've read.

[mapleleaves]

I see quite a few folks saying they don't have plans for Ketchikan. For budget friendly activities, I highly recommend the city bus out to Totem Bight Park , the totems are fascinating and it's location on the water offers wonderful views.

 

http://www.experienceketchikan.com/things-to-do-in-alaska.html

 

Free maps are available for a self guided walking tour of Creek St , Married Mans Trail, Salmon Ladder. Or print the map on this link:

http://www.experienceketchikan.com/creek-street-ketchikan.html

[BigGuy25]

We've taken many cruises but this our first time to Alaska. We're sailing the Crown Princess out of Seattle. Really looking forward to the adventure. Here are the plans so far. We've left time in each port for some general "wandering around town!" Learned a long time ago that, after careful researching on Cruise Critic, you can often save money and have more enjoyable (less rushed and less crowded) excursions by booking yourself and not through cruise line. We booked all of these ourselves.

 

Depart Seattle (Sept 5)

Juneau (Sept 7) - Harv & Marv Whale Watch and Mendenhall Glacier

Skagway (Sept 8) - Chilkoot Yukon trip

Cruising Glacier Bay (Sept 9)

Ketchikan (Sept 10) - Island Wings trip

Victoria (Sept 11) - No plans yet

Seattle (Sept 12) return

[Lady_Jag]

I'm still planning our upcoming cruise for June, but here's what I have planned thus far. Note that there are 4 of us in the group, including my mom, who has limited mobility, and my daughter, who just turned 9:

 

Saturday:

Depart Florida at ~10:00am EDT. Layover in Denver almost 4 hours later at 11:45 MDT. Grab lunch at the airport and change planes, which departs @~2:00pm MDT and arrives in Seattle 3 hours later @~4:00pm PDT. (Yes, 7 hours of total flight time! So *not* looking forward to this part!)

Call hotel shuttle and check in at Best Western Executel Sea-Tac, then grab dinner.

Two choices after dinner: Bullwinkle's Family Fun Center for 9yo (I have a Groupon.) or hang out at the hotel and enjoy the indoor pool then call it an "early" night.

 

Sunday: Seattle

Breakfast at the hotel, then Woodland Park Zoo or Seattle Aquarium, depending on our mood and the weather. Ride one of the ferries and maybe visit the Space Needle in the evening. Plans for activities are flexible and depend on how my mom is feeling and whether she opts to use her wheelchair or her cane. Might consider renting a car. If we skipped Bullwinkle's on Sat, we might give it a try Sun. Evening.

 

Monday: Seattle

Pike Place market first thing in the am. Maybe a HOHO trolley tour to catch various other sites in the city. Again, we'll have to play it by ear, depending on mom's health.

 

Tuesday: Cruise Embarkation!

I've reserved a shuttle (Seattle Express) from our hotel to the pier for $12/adult (9yo is free.) check out of hotel and take the shuttle to the pier. I am Platinum status, so we should be in the first group to board. Go to Guest Services on board and ask for balcony divider to be opened. Go to Shore Excursions and book Behind the Fun tour for me and DH. Drop off luggage in cabins, lunch on board, then get reacquainted with the ship (Carnival Legend). DD will want to swim and/or ride the slide. I will hang back with mom and decorate cabins/unpack. Enjoy whichever onboard activities strike our fancy.

 

Wednesday: Day @Sea

Enjoy balcony views and any onboard activities, as desired. Take mom to afternoon tea. DD will likely want to be in and around the water areas.

 

Thursday: Tracy Arm Fjord

Repeat of Wednesday, enjoying the views from our balconies.

 

Friday: Skagway

We booked the "Best of Skagway-Rail Summit, Trail Camp, Salmon Bake" tour that includes a train ride to the summit, a stop in Liarsville with a salmon bake, and a return via bus.

 

Saturday: Juneau

I booked a Whale Watching & Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari for just me. The rest of my group will be exploring on their own - possibly the aerial tram.

 

Sunday: Ketchikan

Nothing booked yet. We might just catch a cab to some of the totem spots as soon as we get off the ship. Do a little shopping, perhaps.

 

Monday: Victoria, BC

We are here from only 7:30pm-midnight, so we're going to wing it. I doubt my mom and DD will be up for too much of an adventure so late in the evening, but we'll see.

This might be the Behind The Fun tour day, if it wasn't on Wednesday.

 

Tuesday: Seattle/Debarkation.

Seattle Express will pick us up at the pier and take us to the airport. Our flight leaves at ~11:30am PDT and arrives 4.5 hours later in Nashville around 6:00pm CDT. We'll have dinner somewhere in the airport, then board a plane home at 8:00pm CDT to arrive back in FL 1.5 hours later at 10:30pm EDT. Total time in flight: 6 hours. [emoji53]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited April 7, 2015 by Lady_Jag

[VermeulT]

I've been planning this for 2 years...

 

Aug 22 - fly to Seattle. Arrive approx 3pm. Light Rail to downtown. Stay at Pensione Nichols.

Evening of 22nd and Aug 23 timing may be subject to weather. Space Needle. Gold Rush Museum, Ferry to Bainbridge Island, Chihuly Gardens.

Aug 24 - Pike Place Market. Board Statendam.

8/25 - at sea

8/26 - Ketchikan - Bering Sea Crab Fisherman tour. self guided Walking Tour of Creek St.

8/27 - scenic cruising Tracy Arm

8/28 - Juneau - Whales & Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari. Mt Roberts Tram. Extra time at Mendenhall(?)

8/29 - Icy Straight Point - Cannery Tour. Wander.

8/30 - at Sea

8/31 - Anchorage. Rent Car. Drive to Mantauska Glacier. Hike Glacier. Stop at Iditarod Headquarters on way back, Independence Mine, Hatcher Pass

9/1 Homer - wander spit, Pratt Museum, Nature Center (on our own)

9/2 Kodiak - bear flightseeing with Sea Hawk Air

9/3 scenic cruising Hubbard Glacier

9/4 Sitka - Raptor Center, Fortress of the Bear (on our own)

9/5 at sea

9/6 - Victoria - wander downtown (on our own)

9/7 - Seattle. Kerry Park. Anything we didn't get to do Pre-Cruise. Fly home 11pm.

[paradiseisaprincessaway]

May 16 - Flight YMM to Anchorage

Skagway - photography tour, and white pass senic railway

Juneau - dog sledding & gold panning with salmon bake

Ketitchan - wilderness exploration cruise and crab boil & misty fjord sea

May 23 - flight home

[knbcruisers]

For what it's worth, I though some who are getting started planning might be interested in where I started and where I ended up with final plans. I did a lot of research and things changed quite a bit based on price/convenience and things we really wanted to do. Here is my original post with what our final plans are in red. About us--I am traveling with DH and we are 49/51, celebrating our 20th Anniversary and early 50th Birthday for me. We are most interested in wildlife, scenery, moderate hiking, photos, and getting a feel for the local towns. Shopping is a very low priority--shirts for the grandkids. Hoping to get some great photos, I have a new camera I bought special for this trip.We do not like to be on someone else's schedule so no ship sponsored cruise tour for us. There are so many great Alaska tour websites and forums here and at tripadvisor that I was comfortable planning this on my own. I am planning to post a review here after the trip.

I have the structure of our trip but not the daily activities yet. All of the bookings so far are flexible and can be cancelled or refunded. When final payment time comes I want to be sure that we can add the planned 5 days after the cruise for interior tour.

June 9-Depart Orlando, currently using Princess EZ air flexible fares. Arrive Vancouver 8 pm, and have reservation at Radisson Airport. Since we arrive late , dinner and drinks at hotel and then bed. If an earlier arrival becomes available at better price, I have back up reservation at Best Western Chateau Granville so we can tour Vancouver in the afternoon/evening. Both booked through Hotels dot com.

 

Air and hotel are totally different as I was able to book cheaper on my own, and by booking through expedia, was offered a downtown hotel (Best Western Chateau Granville) at about the same price as the Radisson-Airport--$190 USD. Notably the initial air booking was American inbound but due to merger with USAir they changed my flight to include a 8 hour layover at LAX. NO WAY, so I was able to re-book out of Tampa at 7:30 am, through Phoenix, and now we arrive at 1:30 PM and have time for a little Vancouver touring.

 

 

June 10--Rail line to Canada Place, drop bags and do some touring, pick up wine/drinks and snacks for room. Board ship by 2 pm and start enjoying our mini-suite, D726 last port side cabin.

 

I changed cabins twice!! moved up to Caribe, then down 2 cabins so as to have a partial covered balcony. No price issues as it was withing the original category booked. Since we are downtown, will get some supplies in the morning and will take a short cab ride instead of rail.

 

6/10--6/17---Cruising, do not have any port plans yet. Top of list is Skagway train, and Misty Fjords flight tour or boat tour.

 

6/12--Ketchikan--Zodiac boat tour booked through the ship as it offered similar price as booking on my own, and we get the earliest departure possible, leaving time for walking tour of town or bus to Totem Bight Park.

6/13--Juneau--this is a busy ( and expensive :eek: )day for us. Morning whale watch aboard the MV Scania, then at 3 pm we are taking Taku Lodge flight tour and salmon dinner. This was DH's choice as it came highly recommended by his boss. I booked on my own as ship only offered it at 12:30 and we would not have been back from whale watch in time. In between whale watch and flight tour, see some of downtown. I am interested in buying a local art piece. After flightour, if time allows I would like to have a drink at the Alaskan Bar.

6/14-Skagway---reserved car from Avis at $105 plus tax and will drive to Emerald Lake, with stop along the way. We didn't want the structure of a train tour, we like to do our own wandering on some days.

6/15-16 Scenic cruising

 

6/17--arrive Whittier, take bus transfer to airport to get rental car. Booked Hertz with coupon code found on line, $42/day for full size (Chev Impala or similar), fully cancellable.

Have booked Alaska Tours and Travels shuttle to airport, got discount for booking in December. Pick up rental car at Airport. I got the best price using a shopping service, called Marketplace, through my company which got me a discount on the car through Hertz, $346 for 5 days mid-size car. I didn't trust the validity of the coupon code I had. Another service like this is called "working advantage" so if you work for a big company see if it's available. .

 

 

 

Depart Anchorage north to Denali, stopping at Walmart or other store for supplies, small cooler/drinks/snacks/sandwich items/breakfast items. 3 nights at Carlo Creek Cabins which is south of park. DH wanted a cabin with private bathroom, so booked the $120/night small cabin. Did have to pay this in full to get 5% discount, but can cancel with small fee. Found this from Denali Chamber of Commerce site. Since we will arrive later, dinner at restaurant near Carlo Creek, Creekside or The Perch.

 

I found a groupon back in January for a flight tour of Mt Mckinley, $220 for 2--nearly half price. I am to call Sheldon Air that day and if weather permits we will stop in Talkeetna for tour. Back up day would be Saturday after leaving Denali. Cabin booking remains unchanged.

 

6/18--Exploring: visit access center, some short hiking, Husky homestead tour? maybe a rafting tour in afternoon? Would like to have drinks on the deck at Princess Lodge since I can't afford to stay there even if there were openings! DH likes to mix scheduled days with unscheduled, so this is a free form day.

 

6/19--Denali Park bus to Wonder Lake, then maybe visit Healy or a little walk around Carlo Creek property, they have 13 acres along the creek. Reserved the shuttle bus at 8 am, $45 pp

 

6/20--Depart Denali, and take our time driving stopping at Talkeetna for coffee and pastry, and anywhere else we want on the way back to Anchorage. Depending on traffic and weather will try to drive Turnagain Arm, need to figure out where to overnight--Girdwood or Anchorage??? Would like to see Wildlife Center

If we go to Talkeetna on way to Denali, will skip on way back. Still working on where to stay. I have a reservation for Hilton Garden in mid-town Anchorage ($199), but this week I might see if there are any B&B openings in Girdwood. I can't justify over $250 for one night at Alyeska Resort, plus I think they are booked full.

 

6/21--Last day, more free form touring, Wildlife center, Alyeska Tram ride, Anchorage museum? Right now, flight scheduled to depart 9 PM so have a good amount of time. Return trip is booked on Sun Country Airlines, one stop in Minneapolis.

6/22--arrive home, interestingly we got better price on airfare and better flight schedule by leaving from Tampa but returning to Orlando. This let me get one stop flights on both ways. We are lucky that Tampa is only 20 minutes farther in the other direction so we can take advantage of different schedules and prices from either airport.

[BenjiRodney]

This will be our second cruise to Alaska.

 

Day 1 Flight to Seattle, staying downtown

Day 2 Amtrak to Vancouver, staying downtown

Day 3 Carnival Legend 8 night Glacier Bay Cruise

Day 4 Day at Sea

Day 5 Cruise Tracy Arm (Booked Tracy Arm Explorer through the ship)

Day 6 Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier Explorer

Day 7 Skagway - Dog Camp Discovery and Mushers Camp

Day 8 Cruise Glacier Bay

Day 9 Ketchikan - Highlights Express tour

Day 10 Day at Sea

Day 11 Seattle staying downtown

Day 12 Fly home

[kiwicruiser55]

May 17th - Fly from Auckland, NZ, to Vancouver direct

May 17th & 18th - Empire Landmark Hotel, Vancouver ( taxi to hotel)

May 18th -Visit Stanley park, loved it last time.

May 19th - Get picked up from hotel by Fraserway motorhome rental

May 19th - Hopefully get on Tsawwassen ferry to Victoria (vancouver island) and meet up with our friends from Oregon for a few days.

May 19th - 20th - 2 nights at Fort Victoria RV park, visit Butchart Gardens

May 21 - 22nd - 2 nights at Rathtrevor beach Prov. park, might stay longer

May 23rd - get ferry to Port Angeles, head down to Portland via coast, then head inland. Not planned much after this just see where we end up. Will go to Glacier N.P. and then work back towards Vancouver, via Banff etc.

Return m/home on 7th July, stay at Empire Landmark for one night.

July 8th - Board HAL Volendam at Canada Place.

July 9th - Inside passage, AK - cruising

July 10th - Tracey Arm (Twin sawyer glaciers) & Juneau

July 11th - Skagway - will hire car, spoke to Avis and they have given us

an itinerary to do by car.

July 12th - Glacier Bay National park, AK (Cruising)

July 13th - Ketchikan - Might do Aleutian Ballad trip, booked Le Cirque dinner in the evening, have done that before and really enjoyed it.

July 14th - Inside passage AK cruising

July 15th - Disembark Vancouver - My 50th birthday and fly home that

night back to NZ, think I will need a holiday!!

[ImmNo19]

This will be our second cruise to Alaska, traveling on the Star Princess

Day 1 fly into Vancouver

Day 2 depart

Day 3 at sea

Day 4 Ketchikan, Bear Creek zip lining

Day 5 Juneau, Taku lodge and flight over glacier

Day 6 Skagway, no excursion yet. We've done the train and can't decide :/

Day 7 glacier bay national park cruising

Day 8 college fjord cruising - massage booked

Day 9 dock in anchorage, travel to talkeetna, river float trip

Day 10 Talkeetna to Denali

Day 11 Denali to Fairbanks

Day 12 Fairbanks to home, actually won't get home until day

[SJS]

I'm just starting to research my cruise to Alaska for 2016. Which cruise line is best? Which city to depart out of? Would like to add on a land tour. Approximately how much will a trip like this cost per person?

[Alaskanb]

I'm just starting to research my cruise to Alaska for 2016. Which cruise line is best? Which city to depart out of? Would like to add on a land tour. Approximately how much will a trip like this cost per person?

Best place to ask this is as it's own thread on the Alaska forum. Your questions are very open ended and require opinions--maybe do some research first, read reviews, scour the Alaska forum, and then come back with more specific questions.

[Lois R]

Completed Itinerary.........May 8th--15th Celebrity Solstice

Sailed from Seattle

Ketchikan....I did Island Wings in the morning:D and then went to the

Lumberjack show:)

Juneau.......Tracy Arm Fjord in the morning and whale watching

tour in the afternoon....saw lots of whales!

Skagway.....did the train......really wonderful scenery:)

Victoria......we docked in the evening......I went into town with

a friend who works on the ship....we had dinner at "Irish Times":)

in Victoria

[coco33]

Completed Itinerary Carnival Legend May. 18-26/2015

 

Day 1 Depart Vancouver

Day 2 Out at Sea

Day 3 Cruising Tracy Arm (did the Tracy Arm Excursion, booked through Carnival, it was amazing, highly recommended)

Day 4 Juneau.

Orca enterprises Whale watch (excellent company, highly recommend them for whale watching)

Tram up to the top of the Mountain, hiking the trails, taking in the view.

Day 5 Skagway Chilkoot Charters Train Up and Bus down Excellent as well

Day 6 Glacier Bay

Day 7 Ketchikan walked around. Did some tourist shopping. Ate at the Ketchikan Fish House

Day 8 Out at Sea

Day 9 Seattle Took Northwest Tour company to get a tour of the city. Pretty good company.

[crazygirl61]

My mom and I are traveling to Alaska next week! looking for ideas for things to do in Anchorage before sailing out of Seward on Monday! There are so many things to do but would like some ideas of what others have done. Keep in mind my mom is 81 but still in good shape but not one to go zip lining! Lol

[clc6p]

I read a post yesterday where someone posted their itinerary and I found it very helpful. Thanks for sharing.

 

Please post your planned or completed itineraries in this thread. It would be nice to see them all in one thread. I know it will give me a lot of ideas and I'm sure it will help others too.

 

Thanks so much to all those that post to help all of us!!!:D

 

Here are the individual links to blogs from our Alaskan cruises and info about each port. I plan to add one on Hubbard Glacier/glacier viewing days, and our DIY post Alaskan cruise tour to Anchorage and Denali over the next few weeks.

 

http://www.iluvwineandtravel.com/?p=1906 - Vancouver

 

http://www.iluvwineandtravel.com/?p=1930 - Ketchikan

 

http://www.iluvwineandtravel.com/?p=1954 - Icy Straight Point

 

http://www.iluvwineandtravel.com/?p=1967 - Juneau

 

http://www.iluvwineandtravel.com/?p=1993 - Skagway

[clc6p]

My mom and I are traveling to Alaska next week! looking for ideas for things to do in Anchorage before sailing out of Seward on Monday! There are so many things to do but would like some ideas of what others have done. Keep in mind my mom is 81 but still in good shape but not one to go zip lining! Lol

 

Read my blogs on the links below your post.

[RaiderCruiser]

Started planning for this trip more than a year in advance. And I will say for us it worked out very, very well.

 

Day 1 - Vancouver - Fairmont Waterford Hotel.

 

Toured the city on Vancouver Trolley. All the usually tourist sites in the downtown area; China Town, Dr. SunYat-Sen Garden, Gastown, Steam Clock. (Do be aware the shuttles stop running fairly early, around 6?) Fly Over Canada(very nice). Ate dinner in in Gastown.

 

Day 2 - Ate breakfast at Red Wagon cafe(as seen on DDD) and it was great. Continued the rest of the morning and mid afternoon on Vancouver Trolley. Spent most of our time at Stanley Park and Granville Island. Boarded the ship around 2:30 and boarded in record time. Never slowed down as we went through all the stations.

 

Day 3 - Sea Day

 

Day 4 - Ketchikan 6:30 a - 2:00 p.

7:30 - 9:30 -Misty Fjords Seaplane Exploration with Taquan Air.

9:30 -11:45 - Sightseeing

11:45 - 1:00 - Great American Lumberjack Show

 

Day 4 - Juneau 8:00 a - 9 p

8:30 - 1:00 Harv & Marv Whale watching

1:00 - lunch

2:15 - 5:45 Coastal Copters - Glacier dog sledding with extra landing

5:45 sightseeing Juneau

 

Day 5 - Skagway 6:30 a - 8:30 p

7:45 - 4 Dyea Dave's Tour to Emerald Lake

8:00 - 9:45 WPYR train to Fraser.

9:45 - 3:00 Dyea Dave to Emerald Lake to Skagway

 

Day 6 - Cruising and Glacier Bay

 

Day 7 - Cruising and College Fjord

 

Day 8 - Disembark Whittier. Visit Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, Alyeska, planned to have lunch here, but it was still early so we traveled on. Sightseeing on our way to Talkeetna. Lunch/Dinner at Wild Flower Cafe. Shopping.

 

Day 8 - Depart Anchorage to Houston

[DentoAlaska]

We leave in 21 days!!!

 

Day 1 - Fly to Anchorage staying at Captain Cook. Planning to explore the city and meet a friend who lives there for dinner.

Day 2 - Native Heritage Center visit.

Day 3 - Cruisetour begins. Travel to Princess Copper River Lodge.

Day 4 - Flightseeing to Kennicott/Wrangell/McCarthy

Day 5 - Travel to Fairbanks Princess Lodge

Day 6 - Riverboat and Gold Panning

Day 7 - Travel to Denali Princess Lodge - Tundra Widerness Tour (2:00 pm to 11 pm).

Day 8 - Travel to Princess Mt. McKinley Lodge

Day 9 - Train to Whittier for cruise.

Day 10 - Scenic cruising Hubbard Glacier

Day 11 - Scenic cruising Glacier National Park

Day 12 - Skagway - Rail ride to White Pass Summit, Suspension Bridge and Jewell Gardens

Day 13 - Juneau - Helicopter landing onto Mendenhall Glacier/Dog Sledding

Day 14 - Ketchikan - No excursion. Taking city bus to Totem Bight/shopping

Day 15 - At Sea

Day 16 - Arrive Vancouver. Visit with family/friends in Vancouver

Day 17 - Fly home. :(

 

I am getting sooooo excited! I have already begun putting out things like binoculars, camera equipment and such for our trip.

Edited June 20, 2015 by DentoAlaska

[Deeliteful]

This was my planned itinerary and in red what I actually did! Cruise just completed 7th June - 14th June Celebrity Infinity.

 

Flight from Leeds/Bradford to London Heathrow then direct to Vancouver. Stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel and upgraded to a Harbour View room. Great hotel for cruising as the basement is the cruise terminal. Bellhop takes luggage from your room and you next see it in your cabin on the ship.:D

Day 1 Vancouver - HOHO trolley Bus City Tour and Stanley Park Tour Paid online before I went and got 2 days for price of one plus discount.

Also did the free shuttle bus to Capalino Suspension Bridge. This was around $CAN37 - well worth a visit and Fly over Canada at Canada place $CAN17 I think, excellent too.

Day 2 Had booked Rocky Mountaineer train to Whistler and back which was amazing. Fabulous scenery all the way. Still some skiers and snowboarders in Whistler.Took the Peak2Peak cable car between Whistler and Blackcomb mountain. Bought ticket on the train $CAN5 discount and additional discount for senior. Again well worth it for majestic views

Day 3 Boarding the ship was recommended to do this earlier which I did - bit of a line but on the ship early (less than an hour wait) and cabins were opened by 12.45

Day 2 at Sea

Day 3 Icy Strait Point - Whale Watching with Misty Bay Lodge - excellent, lots of whales and well run excursion.

Ate halibut and chips at the harbour - fabulous. Nothing like eating fish and chips by the sea! :)

Day 4 Hubbard Glacier - awesome

Day 5 Juneau. Booked Whale Watching trip with Hank & Marv - excellent trip lots of orcas and some humpbacks, very well organised.Visited Mendenhall Glacier and walked around a little and took pics excellent. Took the Mount Roberts Tramway ($37) excellent views couldn't do the trail with my legs! I thought this was good but felt the price was steep for what it was IMO. Visited the Red Dog Saloon. Fish and chips and a couple of beers great entertainment. An excellent day all round"

Day 6 Ketchikan I had booked a flight through Misty Fjords with Michelle at Island Wings this was a superb flight through majestic scenery, landed on a lake and got out to stretch our legs onshore and then took off again. You're also given a DVD of flights. Wandered around Ketchikan a litte. Another excellent day.

Day 7 Inside Passage cruising - fabulous scenery again, unfortunately saw no wildlife but had a lovely relaxing day and great end to a fab cruise.

Day 8 Took the Vancouver sightseeing tour and airport drop off and flew home!

Edited June 22, 2015 by Deeliteful

[travgurl]

We leave one month from tomorrow!

 

Day 1 depart home day of travel to Fairbanks

Day 2 Tour Fairbanks (Thompson Morris Cultural Center/Pioneer Park or

Museum of the North

Tour begins this night with Holland

Day 3 Riverboat tour in Fairbanks transfer to Denali

Day 4 Tundra Wilderness Tour

Day 5 McKinley express to Anchorage

explore the town and visit with some friends that live there

Day 6 Train to Seward/board the Oosterdam

Day 7 Day of cruising

Day 8 Tour Glacier Bay National Park

Day 9 Haines--take the fast ferry to Skagway

Excursion with Trails of 98 up to Emerald Lake 7 hours

Return to Skagway to explore the town and then return

to Haines to explore the town before boarding the ship

Day 10 Juneau--whale watch with Harv and Marv with stop at

Mendenhall Glacier lunch and explore town of Juneau

Day 11 Ketchikan--tour Misty Fjords with Island Wings

others in the group have a city tour and Saxman Village

Day 12 cruise down the inside passage

Day 13 arrive in Vancouver

Land Sea tours--Sea to Sky tour

Day 14 Vancouver city tour and enjoy the town

others in our group are going on tour to Victoria

Day 15 Travel home

 

Looking forward to all of the exciting adventures that we will be doing on the trip! Have a great time everyone!!!

[AryMay]

I realize this thread was started quite some time ago...but I wanted to bring it back up to the top because I think it has a lot of valuable information that is still relevant. (All of the tours/excursions we did 2 years ago are still available.)

 

I know this is the time of year that many people are starting to plan in earnest for their Alaskan cruises coming up next summer (myself included!) and sometimes it is just hard to know where to start. I remember how lost and frustrated I was when we began planning our first trip to Alaska...I felt like I was working a puzzle but couldn't get the pieces to fit!!

 

Hopefully reading through itineraries that others have done will give people some ideas and a place to begin (and even share) their own planning. ALSO...if you were one of the lucky ones to have visited Alaska this past summer (2016), please share what you did...not a trip report or anything, just a day-by-day list of activities/tours.

Edited October 31, 2016 by AryMay

[Italy52]

2016 - Back-to-Back Cruise on the Radiance of the Seas

 

Vancouver-Embark

Cruise the Inside Passage

Ketchikan-nothing planned

Icy Strait-Glacier Wind Whale Watching

Juneau-Harv & Marv Whale Watching

Skagway-nothing planned

Hubbard Glacier-cruising/viewing

Seward-Major Marine 7.5 hr. Kenai Fjord National Park Tour

Hubbard Glacier-cruising/viewing

Juneau-Harv & Marv Whale Watching

Skagway-Photography Tour

Icy Strait-F.I.S.H.E.S. Whale Watching

Ketchikan-Rainforest Sanctuary Raptor Center and Totems (saw bears)

Cruise the Inside Passage

Vancouver-Disembark

 

2017 - Back-Back Glacier Cruise on Princess immediately followed by Vancouver-Vancouver cruise on Holland America --- it's all about the glaciers for us in 2017!

[dustyroad]

You are going to love Alaska. As you can see from my past cruises that I loved it so much I kept going back. My first Alaska cruise was from Vancouver. It was a wonderful city. I took a tour before the cruise with Land/Sea Tour Co. We went to Grouse Mt and went up on the tram. It was a awesome ride. Then we went to Capallino Bridge. What a great experience that was. Stanley Park is beautiful and Granville Market has wonderful things to purchase. Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway are great ports. I saw many whales, eagles and dolphins. The Mountains are gorgeous and the Glaciers are something you will never forget in Alaska.

 

The best advice I can give for your Alaska cruise is-- take a sea sick medicine before you even get on the ship if you think you might get sick. Taking it when you get sick is not going to prevent it!!! I used bonine a day before and 3 days into the cruise and never got sick. It just worked for me.

 

DO NOT OVER PACK. That is the biggest mistake I see people do. If you need a tshirt or sweatshirt they sell them cheap in the ports. And no one remembers what you wear on the ship anyway if you wear something twice. Alaska is casual compared to other cruises. And remember, if you buy a ULU, put it in your checked bag not your carry-on too fly back home.

 

Wear comfortable shoes that are broken in. You will be doing a lot of walking and those new shoes will give you blisters. I only took my every day well broken-in tennis shoes that I had sprayed with a water proof repellent in case it rained and a pair of comfortable flats for dinner. If you plan on swimming bring a pair of flip-flops. And please wear a cover-up over your bathing suit if you leave the pool area!!

 

Take a extra sim for your camera and a comfortable strap for it too put on your neck. You will be taking a lot of pictures. Cell phone service is very spotty so don't expect too get good reception up there.

 

Don't forget too take a lot of one dollar bills too tip the room service people and a give good tip at the end of the cruise for the room steward. They work their butts off and get paid very little.

 

I hope this helps. I don't presume too be a know it all for cruising or going too Alaska but I did pick up some tips during my trips that helped me. Have a wonderful cruise.