A Travel and vacations forum. TravelBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » TravelBanter forum » Travelling Style » Cruises
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Alaska Cruise August



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old March 27th, 2008, 02:59 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Anne Chambers[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 19
Default Alaska Cruise August

I'm a first time cruiser, doing a 7 day Holland America Inside Passage
Glacier Cruise round-trip from Vancouver in late August. What sort of
weather can I expect, both on the cruise and in Vancouver, where I have
4 days before the cruise ? I'm 60+ and won't be doing an extreme
activities!
--
Anne
South Australia
  #2  
Old March 27th, 2008, 08:17 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Brian K[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,329
Default Alaska Cruise August

On 3/26/2008 9:59 PM Anne Chambers consulted a Magic 8 Ball and declared:
I'm a first time cruiser, doing a 7 day Holland America Inside Passage
Glacier Cruise round-trip from Vancouver in late August. What sort of
weather can I expect, both on the cruise and in Vancouver, where I
have 4 days before the cruise ? I'm 60+ and won't be doing an extreme
activities!

For outdoors, pack clothes you can wear and remove in layers. It's
possible to encounter a day of 80F or as low as 40F. Also pack some
kind of rain gear as it may rain on and off. If you have a cabin with a
balcony, it's possible to view marine life right from your balcony.
August is kind of late for some types of whale spotting, as they have
begun to migrate to Hawaii for calving in the island's warmer waters.
Still there are Fish Eagles, Bald Eagles, Sea Lions, Penguins and
resident Orsa to spot. Field glasses or a camera with a large telephoto
lens (or both) will aid in marine wildlife spotting. If you already
have your booking number. Go to Holland America Lines web site. On the
excursions page, click on the link marked passengers. Enter your
booking number when prompted. A page will open that lists excursions
specific to your cruise. You can review them as HAL will list
excursions by degree of activity or physical effort involved. While it
is possible to book these excursions online, wait. I would wait until
embarkation as some excursions may be canceled.

Traditionally, the spa and the specialty restaurant offer discounted
rates on disembarkation day. They fill up fast. So be sure to book
these as soon as you board. Spa appointments don't have to be for
embarkation day in order to benefit from the discount. They just have
to be booked on that day. There are usually signs on easels displayed
somewhere on the deck where you board. Check these for details.

Even if you don't have a balcony, there are blankets available on the
Lido deck. You can borrow a couple of these and stake out a lounge on
the outside Promenade deck. If you let one of the Lido waiters know
where you plan to be, they can arrange to bring you hot cocoa and
refills or stronger stuff if that's your pleasure.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951
  #3  
Old March 27th, 2008, 10:58 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Anne Chambers[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 19
Default Alaska Cruise August

Brian K wrote:

snip extremely useful information

Thanks for that, Brian. I do have a verandah suite, so I will remember
to pack the binoculars.

--
Anne
South Australia
  #4  
Old March 27th, 2008, 11:56 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
-hh
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 420
Default Alaska Cruise August

Brian K wrote:
Anne Chambers wrote:
I'm a first time cruiser, doing a 7 day Holland America Inside Passage
Glacier Cruise round-trip from Vancouver in late August. *What sort of
weather can I expect, both on the cruise and in Vancouver, where I
have 4 days before the cruise ? *I'm 60+ and won't be doing an extreme
activities!


For outdoors, pack clothes you can wear and remove in layers. *It's
possible to encounter a day of 80F or as low as 40F.


Agreed. Its harder to do for a longer trip like this...and for
Alaska... but what I find useful in overseas business travel is to
check the local weather report on the Web a couple of times before I
leave, to see if I might want to do some 11th hour tweaking of what
I'm packing. For places I've been to before, I'll do this at 4-5 days
before, the day I pack and a final check ~12 hours before leaving for
the airport.


*Also pack some kind of rain gear as it may rain on and off. *


Rain gear that's comfortable to wear when its warm or cold can be a
challenge. In general, it means paying the bucks for a good
breathable GorTex shell and then layering with Polartech. Don't
forget gloves.

If you have a cabin with a
balcony, it's possible to view marine life right from your balcony. *
August is kind of late for some types of whale spotting, as they have
begun to migrate to Hawaii for calving in the island's warmer waters. *
Still there are Fish Eagles, Bald Eagles, Sea Lions, Penguins and *
resident*Orsa to spot.


Penguins? The closest wild one is around 2000 miles to the South, in
the Galapagos. You probably mean Cormorants, although I think that
the ones in that region aren't the flightless variant.

Field glasses or a camera with a large telephoto
lens (or both) will aid in marine wildlife spotting. *


For either, having Image Stabilization (IS) technology in your optics
is often help here. FYI, the Canon binoculars with IS tend to eat
through their batteries, so do *not* travel with a battery installed
in them unless you want to have a dead battery to throw away, and
carry a spare since its a harder battery type to find. The good news
is that they'll continue to work (merely unstabilized) after the
battery goes dead. If you're looking for a reputable place to buy
them at a good price, use B&H's website ( www.bhphotovideo.com )


-hh

  #5  
Old March 27th, 2008, 06:53 PM posted to rec.travel.cruises
rosie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 23
Default Alaska Cruise August

On Mar 26, 8:59�pm, Anne Chambers wrote:
I'm a first time cruiser, doing a 7 day Holland America Inside Passage
Glacier Cruise round-trip from Vancouver in late August. �What sort of
weather can I expect, both on the cruise and in Vancouver, where I have
4 days before the cruise ? �I'm 60+ and won't be doing an extreme
activities!
--
Anne
South Australia


We took and Inside Passage cruise in August. the weather was very
mild, a light jacket was all we needed, the days were partly sunny to
sunny, and had maybe one shower.

Vancouver was about the same, mild weather, everything was green and
beautiful , quite a difference from Texas weather. We were told that
there was usually more rain, I don't know if this is true, but the
beautiful green city looked as if it got planty of rain.

Rosie
  #6  
Old March 27th, 2008, 06:54 PM posted to rec.travel.cruises
rosie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 23
Default Alaska Cruise August

On Mar 27, 4:58�am, Anne Chambers wrote:
Brian K wrote:

�
snip extremely useful information

Thanks for that, Brian. I do have a verandah suite, so I will remember
to pack the binoculars.

--
Anne
South Australia


those are a must! We saw all sorts of marine life, whales etc and
many different kinds of birds.

Rosie
  #7  
Old March 28th, 2008, 12:10 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
J Carnaghie[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 80
Default Alaska Cruise August



rosie wrote:
On Mar 27, 4:58�am, Anne Chambers wrote:

Brian K wrote:

�
snip extremely useful information

Thanks for that, Brian. I do have a verandah suite, so I will remember
to pack the binoculars.

--
Anne
South Australia



those are a must! We saw all sorts of marine life, whales etc and
many different kinds of birds.

Rosie

With a Verandah Suite you may find that there are
binoculars supplied in the suite. Check with the
cruise line.
You may want to have a pair of binoculars with a
Zoom capability, since high magnification is not
always the best for spotting things. Of course, if
you really want to do it "right" a pair of
stabilized zoom binoculars is really fantastic for
use from a ship.
Have a great trip, and you really need to think in
terms of layers for clothes. A nice sweater and a
windproof jacket along with some rainwear should
take care of your outside clothing needs.
Vancouver is very green in August, because it gets
lots and lots of moisture.
Cheers,
John in LALALand (On the US Left Coast)
  #8  
Old March 28th, 2008, 06:07 AM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Brian K[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,329
Default Alaska Cruise August

This is a no brainer, but I thought I'd mention it any way. When you
meet your room steward, ask him for extra blankets you can wrap around
you on your balcony. You can also dial Room Service and ask for a pot
of hot cocoa, tea or whatever if it's chilly outside.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951
  #9  
Old March 28th, 2008, 10:36 PM posted to rec.travel.cruises
Anne Chambers[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 19
Default Alaska Cruise August

Anne Chambers wrote:
I'm a first time cruiser, doing a 7 day Holland America Inside Passage
Glacier Cruise round-trip from Vancouver in late August. What sort of
weather can I expect, both on the cruise and in Vancouver, where I have
4 days before the cruise ? I'm 60+ and won't be doing an extreme
activities!


Many thanks for all the responses - duly noted!

--
Anne Chambers,
South Australia
anne dot chambers at bigpond dot com
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Alaska - August - Two Adults, Two Teenagers keybdwizrd Cruises 17 February 25th, 2005 12:31 AM
First cruise - Celebrity Mercury to Alaska in August Aaron Cruises 5 July 17th, 2004 03:11 PM
First cruise - Celebrity Mercury to Alaska in August Bicepeak Cruises 20 July 17th, 2004 06:12 AM
alaska kayak adventure with cruise in alaska steve Cruises 3 May 16th, 2004 05:37 AM
Alaska (First Cruise) in August - Help. Pierre Bellavance Cruises 7 February 26th, 2004 03:40 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 06:09 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 TravelBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.