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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. |
#12
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Alaskan cruises
"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. |
#13
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Alaskan cruises
- 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. |
#14
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Alaskan cruises
"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. Google for NCL forums..hundreds of Q & A s there |
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