OT: Cruise to Alaska
- Thread starter fg7321
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there's football in September. You should consider July or August instead.
Cruised the Inside Passage a few years ago for a second time. Absolutely beautiful country. Also recommend July or August.
I hope you booked the land/sea vacation. We did royal carribean cruise line mid August- inside passage cruise then 4 day land tour to anchorage/Denali NP. Included a glass roofed train ride to anchorage, toured through Denali, took a plane tour and landed on Mount McKinley. Flew out of Anchorage. Once in a lifetime experience.
We cruised last September after seeing the game at Washington. We hit a lot of rain and for the port cities, it was the endo of their season as the pretty much shut down when the last cruise ship arrives in mid-September. Alsaka is beautiful. If I had to do it again I would go earlier than September and do a Land/cruise option.
We didn't do the cruise, we were way too young for it. But we did stop in Anchorage, flew to Fairbanks just above the peak of McKinley at midnight with full sun. Later did a day trip to Denali. We had to leave but other went to Sitka, did some fishing for Halibut. Incredible place to visit. But you should do it in July
Fare are cheaper in September, but weather is more iffy. Make sure you do Land and Sea option. Denali is a must. Get a veranda cabin so you can observe Shoreline on Inside Passage without hawking seats or a viewing area. Royal Caribbean is more family oriented (although in Sept not so much) Holland America is said to have better dining. Both lines use the same Land facilities. Enjoy!
If Cruise leave from Seattle or Vancouver, plan extra time to explore either of those cities. Both are great in their own right.
Following, as this is a trip I'm planning to take one day. Are you all recommending July/August because of the weather or because you'll see more wild life? Or both?
We did two road trips, one roughly from Anchorage to Valdez to Fairbanks, the other in the Kenai Peninsula, both in September - weather was good and there were NO crowds. Stayed in some very interesting places. I would highly recommend seeing Alaska this way.
My wife and I took the cruise from Seattle in June of 2013. It was wonderful and was the most relaxing trip we ever took. We took Holland America and I would certainly recommend it.
Been to Alaska TWICE ON LAND TOURS - HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Denali IS TREMENDOUS. Kenai peninsula is great, however I feel the Wrangel St Elias area is must se over Denali. That is due to weather at MT McKinley - you may only have a one in three chance in actually seeing the mountain.
If you do go - opt for July or early August (sunshine and daylight). If you go to Denali - do the raft ride through the rapids - its a once in a life time experience.
You can also do a one day cruise out of the Kenai into Prince William Sound - there is also the Portage Glacier that you can walk to and tour (or what's left of it).
If you do go - opt for July or early August (sunshine and daylight). If you go to Denali - do the raft ride through the rapids - its a once in a life time experience.
You can also do a one day cruise out of the Kenai into Prince William Sound - there is also the Portage Glacier that you can walk to and tour (or what's left of it).
I had never watched or heard of the show until we started out from Fairbanks. The rest of my group was hoping we would run into some of the cast.
They were all there and we put them to work by contracting out them and some of their equipment.
Very, very nice people in the village. It was an honor to help them. True salt of the Earth.
Smoke was so bad at one point that supplies could not get thru by air and the villagers petitioned the Governor to fish for salmon in the Yukon and be allowed to bring down a moose to feed us (if needed).
Slept in a tent along the Yukon the whole time I was there. Sun never set too.
My wife and I did this a few years back. You tour the coast line of Alaska in a kayak. You kayak from cabin to cabin in a group with a guide. The trips vary in length for each trip one day may be 4 hrs, a longer day maybe 6 hrs, where you stop and they have lunch set up for you at a certain spot. You arrive at the cabin, your stuff is there. You can choose the amount of days you want to travel. It was awesome, made you feel like Lewis & Clark while whales and all types of animal life go about there business.
We are booked for the sea/land excursion in July on the NCL Sun. Leaving from Vancouver (we are flying into Seattle, few days there, then a few days in Vancouver before we board the ship). Looking forward to it! It's expensive (I think estimated total about 15K), but supposedly worth it.... Have a flight to a dogsled event planned, plus a fight to a glacier as well. Land portion has Denali/train/etc. Any tips would be appreciated!
While my wife and I stayed in Denali we drove to Talkeetna and took a plane that landed on one of the Glaciers near Mount McKinnley. It was awesome. I think Talkeetna Air was the outfit, but all the Glacier flights to Mt McKinnley leave from Talkeetna.
If you are staying in Seward or Kenai, take one of the Kenai Ford boat tours. Amazing sites.
Take the kayate tour at mendenhall glacier, it's immense and you really get to feel it when your in a kayak. Balcony on the cruise ship is a must!! Our ship stopped at the Hubbard glacier and from our balcony he spun 360 degrees around a few times! Nothing like sitting on your balcony experiencing the calving!
Spetember is a terrible month to do this. You are most likely going to experience torrentail rains, literally buckets of rain. There is a good reason why cruises in Sept are cheaper!
3 nights in Seattle, only two in Vancouver before boarding the Norwegian Sun. Using Viatour for Seattle (Pan Pacific Seattle) and Vancouver (including Capilano Suspension bridge) tours. Tour from Ketchikan using Island Winds seaplane. Dogsledding on Mendenhall Glacier via helicopter ride there out of Juneau. White Pass Scenic Railway ride out of Skagway. Dome Rail out of Talkeetna to Denali a few days later. Then Dog Kennel visit and Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali. Riverboat tour in Fairbanks. Then home.
Ought to be fun!
Ought to be fun!
If they offer it and you enjoy fishing, take a halibut fishing excursion. The ship will usually cook the catch for you as well.
We did the same thing as husk in Talkeetna - had to wait a day for the weather to clear and it never really did. We ended up going as far up a glacier as the pilot could go before turning around. The woman behind the counter at Talkeetna Air was from Margate!
We did Seward (the port for Anchorage) to Vancouver two years ago in July with classmates and our wives on Holland America. The ship was very good, but the food was somewhat disappointing. The best day was spent in Glacier Bay, where we took two Park Rangers on board and they narrated that day's tour. We spent some extra days in Vancouver and Victoria after the ship docked. Two great places to visit! Good luck!
BTW, July weather in Glacier Bay was outstanding!
BTW, July weather in Glacier Bay was outstanding!
I took the family and my mom and her sister on a Disney Alaska Cruise in Early August of last year. It was awesome Cruise started in Vancouver please get a room with a balcony it is worth the extra cost. We saw plenty of wildlife from the Balcony. Brown bears eating fish. Dolphins wales bald eagles it was all there to see sitting on your balcony. Please get the balcony all in all it was an awesome trip that I will def do again one day. Everyone had a blast and Disney does it right if your 6 or 86.
More information here too:
https://rutgers.forums.rivals.com/threads/ot-alaska-cruise-advice.126079/
Glad this thread resurfaced (thanks tango). Going on Princess in August, both cruise and land tour. We’re staying in Vancouver for 2-3 days prior to the cruise. What should we do/see in Vancouver? Come to think of it, I haven’t even booked a hotel yet in Vancouver.
What tour company did you use for your land package and who was the outfitter for the river package.
