Alaskan cruises

On Mar 25, 11:38 am, Judy Heuman wrote:
My husband and I are planning to go on an Alaskan cruise in June with
our two adult sons and their spouses. We have collected brochures and
have limited our choices to Princess, Norwegian or Royal Caribbean
cruise lines.

We're interested to know your personal experiences with these cruises
- which had good on-board activities and good excursions. Which
excursions do you recommend?

There are so many choices -- it's hard to decide without more
information.

Thanks. Judy

================================================== =============
Judy Heuman

I took the inside passage cruise from Princess last June with stops in
Juneau, Skagway, (no stop) Glacier Bay NP, Ketchikan, and Victoria
BC. I won't comment on the cruise itself since it's my only and to me
it was more transportation than the destination. I LOVED Alaska and
cannot wait to go back and explore in more depth. I'll give you my
opinion and you can make your own choices.

Juneau - did the Mendenhall Glacier, Salmon Hatchery, and Salmon Bake
excursion (my mildly handicapped mom was with me). I like factory
tours so the hatchery was educational to me - but could have been
skipped. The Mendenhall Glacier was a must see and there is a nice
short hike to the waterfall right next to the glacier. If you want ot
go out to the fall you must go out right away when you get there or
you won't have time. It's a beautiful spot, not to be missed. Next
time I would probably take a helicopter out onto the glacier. Skip
the salmon bake - it was staged and mediocre except the walk up the
river's edge was pretty to 2 minor waterfalls. I wandered around town
on my own - don't blink you'll miss it. Beautiful art on the Juneau
city hall building. Typical tourist shops and bars. I'm told the
marine mammal excursion did see lots of orcas.

Skagway - take time to visit the National Park Building and tour and
wander around a lovely little town. I didn't take the rail tour that
many rave about. I wanted to hike and see something out of the
tourist usual route. Took the Haines rainforest hike excursion with
only 3 other people and a former NPS ranger as our guide. Easy hike,
reminded me of NH but more open in the forest. Picniced at a
beautiful beach. Lots of bald eagles, and a golden, wildflowers and
local knowledge. The fast ferry from Skagway to Haines is a great
ride with lots of eagles and waterfalls down the fjord. Leave extra
time before you return to explore Haines and the old Army Fort.

Get a cruise that goes into Glacier Bay National Park. This is perhaps
the most beautiful place in America.The changing of our landscape is
almost palpable. One of the most emotional sceneries I've
experienced. Stay on deck as you come out of the NP to see humpback
whales

Ketchikan - did the salmon fishing excursiion with 5 guys - my first
guided fishing "6 pack" - awesome and unforgettable experience -
caught a 25 lb king salmon and had it filleted and frozen (best fish
I've ever had and I eat a lot of fish). Bald eagles were as plentiful
as seagulls are in CA.

Victoria BC - excursion: Butterfly and Butchart Gardens. Nothing more
need be said. The gardens are probably the finest in North America.

My most important advice is: you've travelled all that way to see
Alaska - don't cheap out on excursions: do exactly what your heart and
dreams tell you.

"Judy Heuman" wrote...

My husband and I are planning to go on an Alaskan cruise in June with
our two adult sons and their spouses. We have collected brochures
and
have limited our choices to Princess, Norwegian or Royal Caribbean
cruise lines.

We're interested to know your personal experiences with these cruises
- which had good on-board activities and good excursions. Which
excursions do you recommend?

There are so many choices -- it's hard to decide without more
information.

Thanks. Judy

Judy,

You didn't mention ....what are your interests ? I mean - WHY did you
choose Alaska ? To go hiking ? Fishing ? Glaciers ? the boat etc. I've
used Holland America twice. They started Alaska cruises and have a lot
of experience doing it. Also their ships are physically smaller - easier
to get around. Compare itineraries as different lines have different
stops. Also the biggest choice I'd say is - one way trip or round trip
? You'll find a lot are 7 or 10 days but check the route. Both times I
did southbound only : Anchorage = Vancouver to see the most. Others
start in Vancouver - halfway up - then turn around.

I think that you'll find most cruise lines have similiar excursions.
( I was told by locals) that here HA has an advantage too, with their
long relationships they have the best slips. A few times HA pulled up to
dock and other ships park in the ocean and used small boats to shuttle
passengers to shore. Sometimes the port stop is only 4-6 hours: you
don't want to spend 2 of those getting to/from the ship. Regarding
excursions... I think that you'll find a lot of the optional tours fill
up quickly. Some of these towns are pretty small and - all of a sudden
there are 4 cruises ships in town and everyone wants to take a tour. So
if you see one that you REALLY want, I'd sign up for it in advance (
before you leave home). The wildlife boat rides/bus tours will happen
even in rain - they are prepared for it. The only things that we did NOT
sign up in advance were the helicopter flights. THOSE I waited until on
board. I checked the weather the day before boarding and since the
forecast was OK, we signed up as soon as the "excursion office" opened.
We were debating - glacier helicopter or fishing - and didn't want to
commit to fishing if helicopter was available. On those, there are very
definitely a limited number of seats and they fill up in an hour or two
( since everyone does what I mentioned). The first time, we took an
excursion in every port. Some of these stops are very small towns and
other than shopping, you can see the entire town in ... 1-2 hours, so we
did the excursions then saw the town ( they do leave enough time for
you to spend some money it town too) I went fishing in each town and
loved it. The wildlife boat rides were great. The second time I went
I noticed that Holland America ( and the others) had a few " cheaper
excursions" which had a fancy name, but was merely a bus ride around
town and a cookout on a small chunk of land. Specifically I remember
they added one of these to the Mendenhall Glacier trip too. All of them
were a la carte so, I'd suggest taking the Mendenhall Glacier trip and
eat in town. The cookout was something like you'd have as a fund raiser
in your hometown - nothing special for food - but big prices - you can
do better in town - or on the ship where it's free.

- Bobb - wrote:

"Judy Heuman" wrote...

My husband and I are planning to go on an Alaskan cruise in June with
our two adult sons and their spouses. We have collected brochures and
have limited our choices to Princess, Norwegian or Royal Caribbean
cruise lines.

We're interested to know your personal experiences with these cruises
- which had good on-board activities and good excursions. Which
excursions do you recommend?

There are so many choices -- it's hard to decide without more
information.

Thanks. Judy


Judy,

You didn't mention ....what are your interests ? I mean - WHY did you
choose Alaska ? To go hiking ? Fishing ? Glaciers ? the boat etc. I've
used Holland America twice. They started Alaska cruises and have a lot
of experience doing it. Also their ships are physically smaller - easier
to get around. Compare itineraries as different lines have different
stops. Also the biggest choice I'd say is - one way trip or round trip
? You'll find a lot are 7 or 10 days but check the route. Both times I
did southbound only : Anchorage = Vancouver to see the most. Others
start in Vancouver - halfway up - then turn around.

I think that you'll find most cruise lines have similiar excursions. ( I
was told by locals) that here HA has an advantage too, with their long
relationships they have the best slips. A few times HA pulled up to dock
and other ships park in the ocean and used small boats to shuttle
passengers to shore. Sometimes the port stop is only 4-6 hours: you
don't want to spend 2 of those getting to/from the ship. Regarding
excursions... I think that you'll find a lot of the optional tours fill
up quickly. Some of these towns are pretty small and - all of a sudden
there are 4 cruises ships in town and everyone wants to take a tour. So
if you see one that you REALLY want, I'd sign up for it in advance (
before you leave home). The wildlife boat rides/bus tours will happen
even in rain - they are prepared for it. The only things that we did NOT
sign up in advance were the helicopter flights. THOSE I waited until on
board. I checked the weather the day before boarding and since the
forecast was OK, we signed up as soon as the "excursion office" opened.
We were debating - glacier helicopter or fishing - and didn't want to
commit to fishing if helicopter was available. On those, there are very
definitely a limited number of seats and they fill up in an hour or two
( since everyone does what I mentioned). The first time, we took an
excursion in every port. Some of these stops are very small towns and
other than shopping, you can see the entire town in ... 1-2 hours, so we
did the excursions then saw the town ( they do leave enough time for
you to spend some money it town too) I went fishing in each town and
loved it. The wildlife boat rides were great. The second time I went
I noticed that Holland America ( and the others) had a few " cheaper
excursions" which had a fancy name, but was merely a bus ride around
town and a cookout on a small chunk of land. Specifically I remember
they added one of these to the Mendenhall Glacier trip too. All of them
were a la carte so, I'd suggest taking the Mendenhall Glacier trip and
eat in town. The cookout was something like you'd have as a fund raiser
in your hometown - nothing special for food - but big prices - you can
do better in town - or on the ship where it's free.




One excursion caution. They may be able to cope with rain. However
they will haul you from Skagway up the White Pass RR even in the fog.
It is safe enough but you will pretty much see nothing. Consider this
carefully if you are booking this excursion. You do get the RR trip but
little to see.

"Judy Heuman" wrote in message
news
My husband and I are planning to go on an Alaskan cruise in June with
our two adult sons and their spouses. We have collected brochures and
have limited our choices to Princess, Norwegian or Royal Caribbean
cruise lines.

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