Prince Rupert, Icy Straight, Wrangell, Seward

I would be interested to know if any of you much enjoyed any or all of these four ports. And, if you would be willing, to tell what excursion you took.

No matter how much reading I do, I can't seem to get interested in any of these ports. If we enjoyed fishing, we'd enjoy at least one of the ports. If it were late enough in the season to see bears, there's another port that sounds as if it'd be quite special. If I didn't get sea-sick on rough waters, I know I'd like the Kenai Fjords trip out of Seward. (We did that a number of years ago, and the trip was interesting and scenery quite handsome, except for....)

Thanks.

(I may have said this already in another post: We like the idea of a 14-day itinerary instead of a 7, but we very much wish that Regent would spend more than one day in some of the "usual and regular" Alaska ports, the ones that have such a wonderful variety of things to do and see.)

Of these, I have only been to Prince Rupert and Seward. In Seward, the sea life museum is really quite nice, and the Regent excursion also takes you out to see the glacier. That is what we are doing.

In Prince Rupert, we were on a fishing expedition. So I really can't comment on any of the excursions there.

We stopped in Icy Straight two years ago on Regent. We took the Spaaski River Valley Wildlife & Bear Search and saw a number of brown bear at fairly close range. Most exciting tour we have ever taken! We were there in late August, though. Not sure if the bear viewing is as good earlier in the year.

Poss

Agree with you on the staying longer. I could have easily spent an overnight in Sitka, Junau, and Ketichkan.

If Regent stayed longer in port, some people may feel that they have seen enough and may not want to return. Instead, it leaves us wanting more. Although we thought we would not like Alaska, we have now been there three times and have not ruled out another cruise sometime in the future.

We were booked on the cruise the poss is looking at and agree that we could not find much to do in some ports. Although we had to cancel due to a conflict with another vacation, I think that the 2 week itinerary is a really good one (especially on the Mariner rather than the Navigator).

The thing that really attracted us to the 14 day itinerary was flying round trip to/from Vancouver. I hate the flight to Anchorage. This will be our 6th trip to Alaska, and we haven't run out of stuff to do yet.

Thanks for the responses. I continue to mull.

Rachel: One of the reasons that I liked the idea of the 14-day cruise is that I thought of Vancouver as being not so far away, and flying is not so great for us these days. Curiously, it turns out that getting home (FL) from Vancouver is more of a problem than getting home from Europe. Unless we want to arrive past midnight (not!), we have to overnight in Dallas and fly the second leg the next day. We could fly from Europe and arrive in mid-afternoon. All has to do with direction of travel of course.

Tc: I don't think that what you say would be the case. I.e. in each of the "usual" ports there are literally dozens of choices for things to do. It'd take quite a while to run out of new things to try-- and of course many people look forward to doing exactly what they loved first (or second or third) time around. But no question that many people look forward to new ports as well, even if less glorious.

journeyfan: I keep reading that May bear searching excursions don't reveal much. Plus, I read that the road out to Spaaski is terribly bumpy, and I'm somewhat afraid for my husband's back (fractured and repaired nicely, but still). Would probably be ok, but since bear viewing isn't especially likely, it probably makes sense not to do that one. If we do this itinerary, we will most likely just take the tram ride through the forest (whatever is meant by "forest") and tribal dance after. Not awfully exciting. There's a whale watch out of Icy Straight as well, but we're doing so many other little boat excursions, so would probably pass that one by.

Many thanks again.

journeyfan: I keep reading that May bear searching excursions don't reveal much. Plus, I read that the road out to Spaaski is terribly bumpy, and I'm somewhat afraid for my husband's back (fractured and repaired nicely, but still). Would probably be ok, but since bear viewing isn't especially likely, it probably makes sense not to do that one. If we do this itinerary, we will most likely just take the tram ride through the forest (whatever is meant by "forest") and tribal dance after. Not awfully exciting. There's a whale watch out of Icy Straight as well, but we're doing so many other little boat excursions, so would probably pass that one by.

poss,

Yes, the drive to Spaaski is pretty bumpy. The tram ride, though, is only about 1/2 mile long and it definitely is something that can be passed up. The whale watching off Icy Point, however, usually is spectacular.... one of the best (if not the best) spot for whale viewing in all of Alaska. So that's an excursion that I would encourage you to take even if you are doing lots of boat tours elsewhere.

We were in Prince Rupert many years ago. A group of rail fans who owned private cars and engines were gathering in PR and Regent chartered the private train to take us on a scenic ride. It was great. My wife went shopping. It's a small port and they love to have you. Be aware you will go through Canadian customs there, but that saves doing it in Vancouver. I guess it's an alternative to Katchikan which can be crowded and touristy with a number of ships in port.

Since you would like more time in each of the "regulat" ports, why not put 2 7 day cruises together. B2B Vancouver-Seward/Seward-Vancouver may work for you. I did this and it worked well, allowing you to do different excursions in each port each week. You also get the chance for different weather in each port😉 Our first week was 50's and rainy and the second week was 70's and sunny. It gives you completely different views of the glaciers as well with the different lighting. You are kind of left on your own in Seward, but it is a lovely town and has a great aquarium.

Thanks for the responses. We've been away for a while, so hadn't checked CC.

Aunt Elaine: I thought of doing exactly what you suggest, but it turns out that putting the two separate cruises together costs half again as much as doing the 14-day cruise. If prices were similar, that's definitely what we'd do, since I'd like more than just 7 days. Actually I'd love a 10-12 cruise in Alaska; that would do it for us, especially as my husband doesn't love being away from home these days.

I have a feeling that we'll not do this cruise anyway, since we have virtually no cold-weather clothes anymore. Have no interest in buying a whole lot of clothes that will presumably never see use after the cruise. Otoh, cruises to places like the Med or Northern Europe are so much more expensive than Alaska cruises. I've really got to get on the stick and figure this out as time is running out.

Poss, did you actually price the B2B 7 day cruises with Regent or a TA? I believe a combination discount is applied which may make it a bit less expensive. Though there are always better deals on "repositioning" cruises.

I had Regent do the bottom line pricing (and double-checked with TA). The "real" 14-day cruise (as opposed to b2b) costs several thousand $$ less (and has more bonuses of various sorts). But I just can't get interested in those 3 ports: Nothing attracts me about them. Maybe time for a coin flip.