USVI-On-Line

We're doing an Alaskan cruise in May! I'm soooo excited.

Has anyone gone on one before and have tips/advice?

We're sailing out of Seattle and plan to arrive a day or 2 early to see the city. Suggestions?

Alaska was my first cruise in 1991 I think! I loved it and have wanted to go back ever since but haven't quite gotten to it.
We sailed out of San Fran though.
What are your ports?
Enjoy!

mbw1024 wrote:Alaska was my first cruise in 1991 I think! I loved it and have wanted to go back ever since but haven't quite gotten to it.
We sailed out of San Fran though.
What are your ports?
Enjoy!

Ports are: Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan & Victoria. I can't wait!!!!

I took my mother on an Alaskan cruise in 2008 end of Aug/first of Sept. We had a great time. We were near the end of the season and every day it was a little cooler. I suspect May will also be quite cool. Pack accordingly.

Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Sitka were our ports. We departed from Vancouver and our cruise ended in Whitier.

In Skagway we took the train trip up in the mountains. Very scenic. It was one of the highlights of our trip. I highly recommend.

Glad to answer any questions you have. Have a great trip!

-mkb

canucknyc wrote:

mbw1024 wrote:Alaska was my first cruise in 1991 I think! I loved it and have wanted to go back ever since but haven't quite gotten to it.
We sailed out of San Fran though.
What are your ports?
Enjoy!

Ports are: Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan & Victoria. I can't wait!!!!

In Juneau we did a helicopter tour to Mendenhall. It was fantastic and I'm glad I did it when I was younger. Now I probably wouldn't do it.

Victoria is lovely. We went to Butchart Gardens and had a great day in that city.

canucknyc wrote:Ports are: Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan & Victoria. I can't wait!!!!

We may have done the same cruise in 2004 - for our 15th anniversary - it was awesome. We stayed at a hotel on the waterfront for a couple of days before the cruise. We could walk into town to the Fish Market, etc. And we woke up early and watched our ship sail into port on the morning of the cruise - so that was cool.

In Juneau we were supposed to take a helicopter ride up to a mountain where we'd do a dog sledding adventure, but the mountain was too fogged in. We decided to take the tour operator up on their alternative offer to go and walk on a glacier, which we enjoyed. Later in the day we went on a whale watching trip.

In Skagway we took a tour that began with a hike through a rain forest and ended with a raft ride down a river. After that we rented a car and drove into the Yukon territory to Emerald Lake.

In Ketchikan we started the day with a kayak tour of Orca Cove, then were picked up by a seaplane to visit the Misty Fjords.

One of the best days was when the ship went into Tracy Arm - the scenery from the balcony was unreal!

After the cruise we spent another day in Seattle and stayed at a hotel downtown.

You can see our pictures from that trip among the photo albums here - http://community.webshots.com/user/augiegator

Have a great trip!

Thanks for the input, folks! And thanks for sharing your pics, Augie. Fantastic!

So far the only excursion I know we're doing is a helicopter ride to walk on a glacier. Still trying to figure the rest out.

What time of year did you go, Augie?

canucknyc wrote:What time of year did you go, Augie?

We went in mid-June.

We went 4 years ago, Best day and cheapest is to rent a car in skagway and drive up to emerald lake and the yukon. The drive is beautiful. Our son who was 14 at the time still talks about the trip.

Have a great trip.