Just Back from Alaska on the NCL Sun

[riggins]

Hi Everyone-

We just returned from a great week in Alaska aboard the Norwegian Sun (6/14 sailing). I’ve posted a review of the cruise itself over on the NCL board (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1013845), but thought I’d share the details of Alaska here. There were 7 of us in our party. DH and I were with our two daughters, ages 6 and 7. My parents were also along with my 8 year old nephew. My dad was the only one who had been to Alaska before, but that was on a hunting trip several years ago.

Vancouver- Pre-Cruise

We flew into Vancouver the day before our cruise. We used Star Limo to take us to the Pan Pacific hotel. We had made a reservation for a super-stretch, so that all of us would fit. The kids thought it was so cool, and with a party our size, it was about the same price as any other transportation. My experience with Star Limo was great.

The Pan Pacific was really nice. The service was great and the rooms were excellent. I love hotels with really nice linens and the Pan Pacific didn’t disappoint me. We used the luggage service on sailing day and had the Pan Pacific luggage service take our bags to the boat for us. It was so nice to not have to worry about them at all. We had breakfast at the buffet at the Pan Pacific, and although it was a little pricey, the food was great.

Ketchikan

We had a short day in Ketchikan, just 6-2. My husband and dad went kayaking with Southeast Sea Kayaks, which we booked on our own. They did the 4-hour Orca Cove tour and were glad they did that over the shorter tour that stayed closer to town. They saw lots of seals and eagles and had a great time.

While they were kayaking, my mom and I took the kids to see the Lumberjack Show. I booked this through NCL since it was only $1 more that buying tickets directly and the NCL excursion included a bus ride to the show. The show is not far from the port, but since the show was early in the morning, we didn’t want to get lost finding it. The show was entertaining and the kids loved it. I was impressed with the things the lumberjacks could do, but the kids certainly enjoyed the show more than my mother and me. After the show, we took our time walking back to the boat, stopping to shop through town. We got back to the boat in time for lunch and the guys in our group returned around 1:00.

Juneau

Our day in Juneau was also short 7-1. My dad and nephew went on a fishing trip booked through NCL. They decided to book this excursion once we got onboard. Originally, the shore excursion people said they may not be able to offer it since they needed at least 6 guests to sign-up. They said they would call prior to our day in Juneau to let us know if enough other passengers had signed up. The night before, they called and said that they didn’t have enough people for their normal fishing excursion, but they had found another operator who would take just the two of them. The cost was the same . . . $225 each. Unfortunately, the trip was not so good. The boat and equipment were filthy and the boat broke down twice. So they only ended up fishing for 1 hour of a 5 hour excursion. It was a big disappointment!

While they were fishing, my mom, husband, me, and my daughters took the tram up to the top of Mt. Roberts. It was kind of foggy that day so I thought it would be a wasted trip, but DH insisted. From the top, we had patches of fog and patches of clear, so the view was often blocked, but still nice (so I guess we both were right!). We hiked the ½ mile loop at the top and had a really great time. It was one of my favorite parts of our trip. We had planned to then go to Mendenhall, but we spent so much time at Mt. Roberts that we would have had to rush at Mendenhall, so we just shopped around town before going back to the boat.

Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier

After leaving Juneau, we sailed Tracy Arm to Sawyer Glacier. This was another one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was so beautiful! There really isn’t much else to say . . . it was incredible. I have pictures posted in the link at the bottom, but they really don’t do it justice.

Skagway

We rented a minivan from Sourdough rentals to drive out to Carcross and Emerald Lake. I was very nervous about using Sourdough because of the mixed reviews, but Avis didn’t have vehicle big enough for all us. The people at Sourdough were very friendly and helpful and the price was right. I paid $114 for van, which is a small fraction of what 7 train tickets would have cost. The van was definitely past its prime and had 150k miles on it. But, it ran just fine and was as clean as I could have expected for a car that old.

I got Murray’s guide before leaving and followed it all the way. It was nice to have the guidance! The drive was really easy and absolutely beautiful. When we got to Carcross, we stopped at Caribou Crossing so the kids could see the sled dogs. You can buy “admission” for $7.50 each. This gets you in the museum and in to visit the dogs. The sled ride itself is $30 each. Since the sled ride was so expensive and most of the adults really didn’t care, I took all three kids on the ride. The sled dog ride itself was a lot of fun, but the museum wasn’t anything we really enjoyed. If we had to do it over, we would have saved a lot of money by simply having one adult take the kids in to see the puppies and ride the sled while the rest of them sat outside and enjoyed some ice cream.

We had lunch at the Spirit Lake Wilderness resort. I had read positive reviews about it on Cruise Critic, which were right on. It was about 1:30pm when we pulled in and we were the only customers there and no one else showed up the whole time we were there. It was actually kind of spooky! But the place was pretty nice and very clean. We all had burgers and the kids ate chicken strips. The food was much better than I had expected.

Vancouver- Post Cruise

We had one day in Vancouver before our 6:30am flight the next day. We reserved a mini-van through Avis to pick up at the port and return at the airport before our flight. After leaving the ship, the line at the Avis counter was really short, which initially made me happy, but it was anything but short. There were two parties ahead of me. Neither had a reservation and they were asking about cars and prices and debating about what to do. As an over-the-top planner, I will never understand why these people hadn't already made plans for their transportation after the cruise. It took 20 minutes for me to get to the counter! When I told him I had a reservation, he checked my name off his list, gave me a card that said I had checked in, and sent me to the shuttle outside. It took 30 seconds . . . ugh. Once outside, the shuttle came right away. They loaded the luggage in one van and the people in another. It took less than 5 minutes and we were on our way to the Avis office a few blocks from the port. When we arrived, I had to go in and wait in another painfully long line to actually get the keys. All in all, it took over an hour from the time I got in the first Avis line until we got in the car!! I’m not sure if any of the other rental car companies have a better system, but I wouldn’t recommend Avis. The staff was friendly and helpful, but it simply took way too long.

After finally getting our car, we headed to Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium. Both were really great and I wished we had more time to spend there. The Aquarium was really packed by noon and were pretty tired, so we decided head for the hotel earlier than planned. We reserved two suites at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond near the airport. After spending a week in a cruise ship cabin, the huge suites at the River Rock were heavenly. The hotel also has a nice indoor pool with a waterslide. So, the adults lounged in the hot tub while the kids went wild on the waterslide. I hated that we were missing the chance to see more of Vancouver, but this was just what the doctor ordered for my group at the end of our vacation. It took less than 5 minutes to get to airport the next morning, which was perfect.

All in all, it was a really great vacation. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to try to answer.

Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/user/leslieandbilly

Thanks

Leslie

[terrymtex01]

Thank you so much for posting your videos of Alaska. When we went last year we were diverted to Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier so we did not get to see Tracy Arm. I do have to say Endicott Arm was the highlight of our trip for us but it was nice seeing your videos.