usvi-on-line
Anyone been to Alaska???
Anyone been to Alaska???
Hubby & I want to take advantage of a great promotion from Regent Seven Seas cruise line in August 2010. We have gone on few cruises in the past and vowed after the last one "never again" hated the cattle car feel. That being said, I guess we will never get to Alaska without taking a cruise so we are contemplating going back on our "never again" statement. Just wondering if anyone has gone recently and what your take is about alaska cruising- Is Alaska worth seeing or is it just another cruise ship stop?
... feel sure c3p1 will chime in here, but while you wait take a look at his pics...
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... ght=alaska+
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... no longer a stranger to paradise
My mom took a combo cruise/land tour to Alaska in May of this year. She did not see much in the way of wildlife, even at Denali. But she said the scenery is absolutely stunning. She did not care for the cattle call feel of the ship and said even viewing was difficult because of the crowds, said she probably would not do it again, but was not sorry that she did it the first time.
I also helped some friends plan a trip to Alaska, the just returned earlier this month. They flew into Anchorage, rented a car and spent 8-9 days in the Kenai Peninsula area (they skipped Denali). The first half of the trip on the eastern side, Seward. The second half on the western coast at Homer. They did different day trips on both coasts and saw alot of wildlife - bears, moose, whales, puffins. And of course glaciers and fantastic scenery. At any rate - if you have a chance - go, you'll see some fantastic sights and have a great time.
I also helped some friends plan a trip to Alaska, the just returned earlier this month. They flew into Anchorage, rented a car and spent 8-9 days in the Kenai Peninsula area (they skipped Denali). The first half of the trip on the eastern side, Seward. The second half on the western coast at Homer. They did different day trips on both coasts and saw alot of wildlife - bears, moose, whales, puffins. And of course glaciers and fantastic scenery. At any rate - if you have a chance - go, you'll see some fantastic sights and have a great time.
Deb
alaska cruises
I have been on several cruises on the Inside Passage in Alaska and I tink Regent Seven Seas has some of the smaller size ship so not so cattle car like. Make sure you book a veranda cabin to really enjoy the scenes. The scenery is absolutely beautiful and if you sign up for shore excursions at the different ports there is a lot of fun things to see and enjoy.
If you are adventuresome definately do one of the Helicopter to a glacier trip. The best shore excursion ever. It is definately an easy way to see some of Alaska. As a earlier poster said if you are going that far you should if you can take some extra time and rent a car at either end. Early or middle August is a good time but the latter end of August can get cold and rainy. Feel free to email me any questions
If you are adventuresome definately do one of the Helicopter to a glacier trip. The best shore excursion ever. It is definately an easy way to see some of Alaska. As a earlier poster said if you are going that far you should if you can take some extra time and rent a car at either end. Early or middle August is a good time but the latter end of August can get cold and rainy. Feel free to email me any questions
I can't help you on the cruise part of it, but definitely if you can go to Alaska, than go-it's worth it. My mom and I went 20 years ago in May to visit a relative in Homer. We flew into Anchorage, took a sightseeing train up to Denali (Mt. McKinley), and stayed there for a few nights in a hotel. Absolutely beautiful. Saw many animals, at that time of year there were young ones. Good time too because the mosquito population was down which I think I've read could be an issue. It was actually warmer up there in Homer than it was at home some of the days.
We then flew back to Homer in a tiny plane-first and only time I've even been asked for my weight!!! Mom and I looked at each other and figured honesty was the best policy for this scenario
They wanted to make sure the plane was balanced out.
Homer's beautiful too-again gorgeous scenery and many many animals, eagles etc. Fascinating to see all the fishing boats.
So however you can do it, definitely go and have fun!
We then flew back to Homer in a tiny plane-first and only time I've even been asked for my weight!!! Mom and I looked at each other and figured honesty was the best policy for this scenario
They wanted to make sure the plane was balanced out. Homer's beautiful too-again gorgeous scenery and many many animals, eagles etc. Fascinating to see all the fishing boats.
So however you can do it, definitely go and have fun!
Let me first say we LOVED Alaska and I would recommend getting there anyway you can.
I do have to say the cruise was our least favorite part. But it does make a few things possible and the stops are generally great. If your ship goes into Glacier bay and College Fjord, that makes everything worth it! Just simply stunning and hard to get to otherwise or more expensive.
If you do not go through there but have some great ports, you still can get to experience some great parts of Alaska as well. Depending on the cities you stop in, you should have a great opportunity to see amazing sites and wildlife (keep in mind, they are a tad costly-but worth it).
To avoid the cattle call---book all your excursions on your own. It is easy to do. For Alaska, the curisecritic.com web site has great information on Alaska (under ports of call section).
If you are so inclined, check into prices of doing it on your own---meaning not taking the cruise but flying up and renting a car. The downside of that is there is a lot of driving to do but in my opinion well worth.
I do have to say the cruise was our least favorite part. But it does make a few things possible and the stops are generally great. If your ship goes into Glacier bay and College Fjord, that makes everything worth it! Just simply stunning and hard to get to otherwise or more expensive.
If you do not go through there but have some great ports, you still can get to experience some great parts of Alaska as well. Depending on the cities you stop in, you should have a great opportunity to see amazing sites and wildlife (keep in mind, they are a tad costly-but worth it).
To avoid the cattle call---book all your excursions on your own. It is easy to do. For Alaska, the curisecritic.com web site has great information on Alaska (under ports of call section).
If you are so inclined, check into prices of doing it on your own---meaning not taking the cruise but flying up and renting a car. The downside of that is there is a lot of driving to do but in my opinion well worth.
Paul
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dejavu
PostPosted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:26 am Post subject:
After I posted I saw the pictures-beautiful! That's the whole reason I am considering it- Do you know if they took a cruise?
Sorry--should read all the way through--but I get excited!
We did take a cruise on Princess plus we spent 8 nights on our own.
The cruise stopped at Glacier bay/College Fjord ( you don't get off the ship), Skagway (we drove up to Yukon Territory it was cheap and beautiful!), Juneau (went on a whale watch-terrific), and Ketchican (Went to Anan Creek by float plane--incredible)
On our own, we flew into Anchorage and went to Denali, Seward, Homer, Whitter and everywhere in between. We did a ton of driving, but loved it.
I hope this helps.
Paul[/quote]
PostPosted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:26 am Post subject:
After I posted I saw the pictures-beautiful! That's the whole reason I am considering it- Do you know if they took a cruise?
Sorry--should read all the way through--but I get excited!
We did take a cruise on Princess plus we spent 8 nights on our own.
The cruise stopped at Glacier bay/College Fjord ( you don't get off the ship), Skagway (we drove up to Yukon Territory it was cheap and beautiful!), Juneau (went on a whale watch-terrific), and Ketchican (Went to Anan Creek by float plane--incredible)
On our own, we flew into Anchorage and went to Denali, Seward, Homer, Whitter and everywhere in between. We did a ton of driving, but loved it.
I hope this helps.
Paul[/quote]
Paul
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My wife and I went on an Alaska cruise for our 15th anniversary and we loved it!
You can look at our pictures on webshots - it should be easy to figure out which of the photoalbums are from the Alaska trip by the names!
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You can look at our pictures on webshots - it should be easy to figure out which of the photoalbums are from the Alaska trip by the names!
http://community.webshots.com/user/augiegator
Come see us!
Thanks everyone for the replies- As with most things, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is, the cruise really wasn't all that it advertised. Hubby and I will look into a alternate way of seeing Alaska- a driving trip perhaps after flying in. We really hate organized vacations, which is why we love St John- no tour buses!!!
We took a Princess cruise-tour in August 2005. We loved it, but we are retirement age and were traveling with my sister who is disabled with rheumatoid arthritis and her daughter. I'll tell you our favorite parts.
We flew into Anchorage a few days early, rented an SUV and drove to Seward for the day. We took the train to Talkeetna where we stayed at the Mt McKinley Princess Lodge about 25 miles away. It is closer to Mt McKinley than the lodges at Denali and we had clear unobstructed views of the mountain the entire 3 days we were there. My husband and niece took a flight in a small plane with skis up to a glacier on the side of Mt McKinley. They booked it on their own immediately after we got off the train in Talkeetna, and the plane took off about a half hour later. It was one of the highlights of their trip.My sister and I took a horse drawn wagon ride, panned for gold, and kissed a reindeer! Kissing the reindeer involved holding a graham cracker in your lips from which the graham cracker addicted caribou took them. One day we toured a musher's kennel where we saw the sled dogs train by pulling an ATV and held some new puppies. We had to take everything rather slowly, but we had a great time there.
Then we went to Denali and stayed a couple of days and took a wildlife tour. Saw caribou and moose and grizzly bear.Took the train from Denali down to Whittier where we boarded the ship.
Don't miss Glacier Bay! My co-worker when I was a travel agent was an Alaska expert and she always said that going to Alaska without seeing Glacier Bay was like going to Disney World and staying in the parking lot. We had verandah mini-suites next to each other with adjoining balconies. We did book an SUV on our own in Skagway and drove up to Carcross. It was a beautiful drive, but our niece was ticketed by Mounties for speeding! She could appear in court up in White Horse or pay an $80 fine by mail. We all had alot of fun out of it and we bought her a Mountie bobblehead for her car at home. To be fair-they had speed limits posted ambiguously in KMs rather than MPH.
We finished the cruise by staying a couple of days in Vancouver then driving down to Seattle and staying a couple of days there before flying home.
We flew into Anchorage a few days early, rented an SUV and drove to Seward for the day. We took the train to Talkeetna where we stayed at the Mt McKinley Princess Lodge about 25 miles away. It is closer to Mt McKinley than the lodges at Denali and we had clear unobstructed views of the mountain the entire 3 days we were there. My husband and niece took a flight in a small plane with skis up to a glacier on the side of Mt McKinley. They booked it on their own immediately after we got off the train in Talkeetna, and the plane took off about a half hour later. It was one of the highlights of their trip.My sister and I took a horse drawn wagon ride, panned for gold, and kissed a reindeer! Kissing the reindeer involved holding a graham cracker in your lips from which the graham cracker addicted caribou took them. One day we toured a musher's kennel where we saw the sled dogs train by pulling an ATV and held some new puppies. We had to take everything rather slowly, but we had a great time there.
Then we went to Denali and stayed a couple of days and took a wildlife tour. Saw caribou and moose and grizzly bear.Took the train from Denali down to Whittier where we boarded the ship.
Don't miss Glacier Bay! My co-worker when I was a travel agent was an Alaska expert and she always said that going to Alaska without seeing Glacier Bay was like going to Disney World and staying in the parking lot. We had verandah mini-suites next to each other with adjoining balconies. We did book an SUV on our own in Skagway and drove up to Carcross. It was a beautiful drive, but our niece was ticketed by Mounties for speeding! She could appear in court up in White Horse or pay an $80 fine by mail. We all had alot of fun out of it and we bought her a Mountie bobblehead for her car at home. To be fair-they had speed limits posted ambiguously in KMs rather than MPH.
We finished the cruise by staying a couple of days in Vancouver then driving down to Seattle and staying a couple of days there before flying home.
Chiming in kind of late here: We took an Inside Passage cruise a few years back the second week of September, on the Carnival Spirit, with a large group of extended family.
A balcony room was TOTALLY worth it. We got room service every morning and spent a couple of leisurely hours watching the scenery. The food in the dining rooms was not great but it didn't kill us. And there was a nice "fine dining" restaurant on the ship for a small extra charge that was quite good.
Did some of the same things as others have posted, booked all our excursions on our own. Spent a couple of days in Vancouver pre-cruise at the Westin on the harbor at $62 a night (thanks, biddingfortravel.com)
Did a whale watching cruise in Juneau. Rented a car in Skagway and drove to Emerald Lake in the Yukon, and back through Dyea. Took a float plane in Ketchikan that landed on a tiny island. Cruised around in Glacier Bay and saw the glaciers calving. Shopped in all of those towns.
Saw humpback whales bubble net feeding, saw pods of killer whales up close, dolphins, seals, sea lions, lots of eagles. Some of our family members went to see the bears fishing in the creeks, and did rock climbing and fishing excursions.
Do go to cruisecritics.com and those forum people can help you find out how to get the cheapest rates. I got a HUGE car rental discount in Alaska with a code someone gave me, and another person mailed me some $100 off the cruise coupons they didn't need.
Just don't try and get off the ship the minute it docks in each stop because you will get crushed. They have these weird people in animal costumes who create bottlenecks at the exits and try to grab you for pictures, and this slows down the de-boarding process considerably. Plan your activities with some time to spare after docking so you don't feel rushed.
It was awesome.
A balcony room was TOTALLY worth it. We got room service every morning and spent a couple of leisurely hours watching the scenery. The food in the dining rooms was not great but it didn't kill us. And there was a nice "fine dining" restaurant on the ship for a small extra charge that was quite good.
Did some of the same things as others have posted, booked all our excursions on our own. Spent a couple of days in Vancouver pre-cruise at the Westin on the harbor at $62 a night (thanks, biddingfortravel.com)
Did a whale watching cruise in Juneau. Rented a car in Skagway and drove to Emerald Lake in the Yukon, and back through Dyea. Took a float plane in Ketchikan that landed on a tiny island. Cruised around in Glacier Bay and saw the glaciers calving. Shopped in all of those towns.
Saw humpback whales bubble net feeding, saw pods of killer whales up close, dolphins, seals, sea lions, lots of eagles. Some of our family members went to see the bears fishing in the creeks, and did rock climbing and fishing excursions.
Do go to cruisecritics.com and those forum people can help you find out how to get the cheapest rates. I got a HUGE car rental discount in Alaska with a code someone gave me, and another person mailed me some $100 off the cruise coupons they didn't need.
Just don't try and get off the ship the minute it docks in each stop because you will get crushed. They have these weird people in animal costumes who create bottlenecks at the exits and try to grab you for pictures, and this slows down the de-boarding process considerably. Plan your activities with some time to spare after docking so you don't feel rushed.
It was awesome.
