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Perhaps some future Alaska visitor direction :)


Budget Queen
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I am just back today from a 5+++ week Alaska visit.

 

This particular visit, I seemed to run into some visitors who, my opinion only- had no idea what they booked.. On the cruise not one person, I talked to, had accurate distances known- or basic details of some locations. A lot of attempted planning seemed to be going on the ship. A lot of people just wandered around ports, then were negative in their comments- not much to do. This continued to my mainland travels with Denali visitors, having no walk up space availability for getting INTO the park. Many didn't know that was the reason to go there.

 

Day before leaving a ship in Seward, several people upset at having to meet at 6am- (it was way too early for them), "complaining" and asking for it to be changed to later. Then finding out they were going to Denali. 9 hours by road. Oh boy. A few not having transportation to Anchorage, thinking they'd just get a cab to Anc. This continued all the way to yesterday in a shuttle when people were asking me what there was to do in Denali- then finding out they were staying at the McKinley Princess, and not probably accepting my comment they were 100 miles from the National Park.

 

Since readers on this forum likely are wanting to enhance their visits and open to detailed information, I will caution- to continue doing "homework", and find out all the details to give you a fantastic trip. Way too many wrong assumptions I seemed to run into, too often, this trip.

 

I find, Alaska paradise, it's a breathtaking adventure to experience. I sincerely wish everyone a memorable trip.

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Thanks so much for this post! Having never been to Alaska, I'm still hoping to avoid some of this ignorance when we arrive in August. This is why my favorite stop on the internet right now is right here. I find this to be true of visitors at all places. One of my favorite places to visit is Disney World and it always upsets me when people have a subpar time there due to their lack of planning and research. I find that it just makes things so much easier when you get somewhere to visit. My husband likes to kid right now that he doesn't know where he's going to eat lunch today, but he can tell you where he is eating in August!! LOL

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Doing research before a trip is a must! We visited Alaska last year for two weeks and spent about 9 months researching and then deciding on the best things to do at each stop and the best excursions! There is so much to see both from the ship and in Denali ... all of it spectacular! It is a very different type of cruise. This is a great place to look but also read about the ports and Denali to be prepared. Alaska is spectacular ... and the people are so welcoming ... be sure to meet them.

 

 

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I remember being ***** a flight to Vancouver and just before landing asking the lady seated next to me if she was going on a cruise. Answer was yes but when asked what ship she was on she had no clue. Next question was which cruise line and again a blank stare. She said family had arranged the trip but I guess she could not be bothered to learn where she was going or how she was getting there. Hopefully she had a good time, but I think she needed a sign pinned to her back that said "if Lost return to..."

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Our first Alaskan cruise is this coming September - I've been doing research since we booked last July

 

Wonder if these people are used to cruising the Caribbean where they get off the ship and have a multitude of excursion choices available.......

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My family all needs that "if lost return to" sign pinned to them. I am the planner and they count on me to find all the best things while they just show up and participate. It works well because I'm very detailed and good at trip planning and they trust me with it.

 

I saw tons of clueless people. I think they just thought, "Hey, let's go to Alaska. It will be fun!" So they googled Alaska Cruises and picked the first one they saw. People on our tours had no idea about differences between Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay and also that no large ship had gone to Tracy Arm yet this year. They read the stuff from the ship and picked excursions, not realizing they could have had a much better and sometimes cheaper experience. One our Glacier Point Wildlife Safari (Davidson Glacier) excursion almost everyone booked through the ship and paid $20 pp more for the exact same trip. I didn't share this with my excursion mates. Didn't want them to feel bad! LOL!!!

 

I think these people still have a good time. They don't realize how much more amazing it could be. Maybe they don't suffer FOMO like I do. I want to always pick the best thing and not miss out! So I plan extensively! My family likes surprises and don't want me to ruin it for them!

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And these people vote! :mad:

 

For what a person has to pay for an Alaska cruise, let alone a cruise with land portion, planning and detailed research is a must.

 

We met more than a few of the clueless masses last week and that was a simple Seattle round-trip. One (very nice) lady had no idea what to do in Juneau so we gave her a few suggestions that should have been fairly easy to do. At least there were plenty of last minute tour options available at the pier there. Ditto for Sitka.

 

At least the people visiting these CC boards have made a good first step to self education.

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We cruise in August on a round trip from Seattle. I started researching cruises, flights and hotels last year so I could make a budget. I didn't discover this board until after I made my down payment and I've been reading it everyday since then. I've bought items for the trip after reading comments from people who have already cruised. I LOVE the trip reviews and I also watch YouTube videos of the excursions I've booked. After all that, I still feel a little unprepared but that's just me.

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All I can suggest is, for many of us we need to plan these types of adventurous vacations, while others just go with the flow and figure it out as they go along.

 

I, personally, like to half-plan my vacations leaving open the possibility that something will pop up that I never knew about or thought about and can take advantage of it right then and there or do nothing at all except gander at the beauty and wonder of the surroundings from the ship....

 

I use to be a control freak when it came to vacations, yet over the years have come to accept that I will have a number of 'must visit' and see things to do or not while sailing.

 

Now, my only must see and do thing is zip lining, never take a vacation without it... that I will do in depth research on (hitting five lines on this sailing)! ;p

 

I understand that there will be a few (more or less) who arrive in our 49th state to visit without a clue rather they are cruising or not. I only trust that by the time they leave, like myself, they find how wonderful the state and its' residents are AND wish we had more time to linger around to find out more!

 

Alas, the need for another trip for sure...

 

Thank you all for your input to help me in my planning for sure...

 

Quyanaa and bon voyage!

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This is part of the reason I started my travel blog...http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com. Educating and informing people of the options available in different ports if so important. And the differences between the glaciers. Not everyone are big planners though. I have a friend who admits to being a "joiner", not the planner. She has no idea which ship or line they are traveling on....lets someone else handle the details. But at least SOMEONE is handling the details! :)

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I've said this before on the "cruise air" board and elsewhere. It baffles me that people will spend less effort informing themselves about flights, cruises, or vacations that will cost thousands of dollars per person than they do shopping for a vacuum cleaner or a microwave oven, never mind a new refrigerator.

 

With cruises, I lay part of this at the feet of the cruise lines and the travel agency industry. We all know that selling excursions is a big profit center for the lines, so maybe they're better off having a big portion of their passengers remain ignorant of their choices, and let the on-board marketing blitz push the undecided toward profitable excursions or activities. Maybe that's the cynic in me, of course.

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I am just back today from a 5+++ week Alaska visit.

 

This particular visit, I seemed to run into some visitors who, my opinion only- had no idea what they booked.. On the cruise not one person, I talked to, had accurate distances known- or basic details of some locations. A lot of attempted planning seemed to be going on the ship. A lot of people just wandered around ports, then were negative in their comments- not much to do. This continued to my mainland travels with Denali visitors, having no walk up space availability for getting INTO the park. Many didn't know that was the reason to go there.

 

Day before leaving a ship in Seward, several people upset at having to meet at 6am- (it was way too early for them), "complaining" and asking for it to be changed to later. Then finding out they were going to Denali. 9 hours by road. Oh boy. A few not having transportation to Anchorage, thinking they'd just get a cab to Anc. This continued all the way to yesterday in a shuttle when people were asking me what there was to do in Denali- then finding out they were staying at the McKinley Princess, and not probably accepting my comment they were 100 miles from the National Park.

 

Since readers on this forum likely are wanting to enhance their visits and open to detailed information, I will caution- to continue doing "homework", and find out all the details to give you a fantastic trip. Way too many wrong assumptions I seemed to run into, too often, this trip.

 

I find, Alaska paradise, it's a breathtaking adventure to experience. I sincerely wish everyone a memorable trip.

 

Based on the comments on this thread and the people I have encountered when traveling, I wonder how some of these people manage to make it across the street from their homes. I guess that Darwin was wrong - the monkeys are smarter.

 

DON

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I will say, that when I originally booked my cruise tour to Alaska, I researched and thought I had it all down. Then after reading these boards for the past year and a half, I still feel clueless.

 

I guess there is no right way or wrong way to visit Alaska.

 

I booked what cruisetour and cruise I wanted, the other 3 traveling with me are relying on me to make their vacation special and exciting.

 

I was originally told I should book my cruise port excursions right away when I decided what I wanted to do in each port.

I was told that the land portion of the cruisetour, the excursions and options would be available to book when I got on the land portion. Now i'm reading where people are booking their own excursions on the land portion of their cruisetour so i'm totally confused on what I should be doing.

 

Charlie

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I will say, that when I originally booked my cruise tour to Alaska, I researched and thought I had it all down. Then after reading these boards for the past year and a half, I still feel clueless.

 

I guess there is no right way or wrong way to visit Alaska. There is a wrong way and that would be not doing any preplanning. I can't imagine doing this trip without some preplanning.

 

I booked what cruisetour and cruise I wanted, the other 3 traveling with me are relying on me to make their vacation special and exciting. Since you are doing all the planning, they won't know what else is available. They obviously trust you to find things that they will enjoy.

 

I was originally told I should book my cruise port excursions right away when I decided what I wanted to do in each port.

I was told that the land portion of the cruisetour, the excursions and options would be available to book when I got on the land portion. Now i'm reading where people are booking their own excursions on the land portion of their cruisetour so i'm totally confused on what I should be doing. This is a disadvantage of doing the land portion through the cruise line, you're stuck with their schedule. While you may have a few options in the location you're at, you have no choice on the location or the amount of time spent in that location..

 

Charlie

 

It sounds like you're trying to plan for a great trip. In the end I'm sure it will be.

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The problem with this thread is it is "preaching to the choir". We folks visiting sites like cruisecritic, are the ones seeking information and planning accordingly. The clueless-cruisers mentioned are probably those who just phone their TA or the cruise company and book.

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I have loved doing the research but my husband doesn't care to do any! He just trusts that I will figure it all out for him. yikes! At least I have some sense of what he likes to do.

 

My old boss's dad was planning to be on our cruise, had booked it through a travel agent and everything, and did not know that the cruise ended in Seward and he had to find a way back home! He was on the same cruise as us, just by coincidence. I kept telling my old boss that the cruise went from Vancouver to Seward and was not round trip, and he got his dad's itinerary, and sure enough, on our cruise, ending in Seward. So instead of trying to figure out a way to make it work, he just cancelled his cruise, and didn't re-book anything! Such a shame.

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My first trip to Alaska was in 1972. I’ve been all over Alaska in my travels. Now we just cruise round trip out of Seattle or fly up and stay relatives inland. It’s always interesting when I’m on the cruise ship and ask someone what they are going to do or what they want to see. Most of the time I get this lost in the headlights look. Some people don’t know the name of the ship there on or the cruise line. I’ve been to Glacier Bay with people in the hot tubs & swimming pools, completely unaware as to what was going on around them, I’ve been on a small boat excursion up in Tracy Arm with people who were sound asleep, I’ve been up in the Yukon and have someone bitching about not seeing any wildlife, like the wildlife is going to pose for them. On the cruise ship I think most people are in this fantasy that it’s going to be like “LOVE BOAT” so their expectations are pretty high only to have those dreams vanish. Granted cruise lines have had to make cut backs to stay profitable and I understand that. I've always found the food to be good, I’ve never gone hungry on a cruise, sometimes the food isn’t to my liking but I’ve never gone hungry. I've seen a lot of clueless people on the cruise ship, it's actually very amusing sometimes.

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Cruiseguy - I was originally going to Alaska on my own and felt better with a cruisetour than trying to explore Alaska solo. Since booking my sister, brother in law and my grown niece have decided to join me. I figured I'll love Alaska and want to go back and if I can, i'll probably do the land portion on my own next time.

 

So far I feel like Alaska is way more planning than my 14 night med cruise was. But it's been fun planning Alaska.

 

A couple years ago when I originally booked Alaska to go in 2016, I was told that the "land portion" excursions would be offered by the tour director when we got to Anchorage, and that there would be all the things available. In reading threads this is where i'm finding that people are pre-booking independently so they can get better times or not be sold out. If it's true to get the same things offered when I get to Alaska and not have to pre-book i'd be fine with waiting as long as all things are equal and best times and excursions are available.

 

Charlie

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Cruiseguy - I was originally going to Alaska on my own and felt better with a cruisetour than trying to explore Alaska solo. Since booking my sister, brother in law and my grown niece have decided to join me. I figured I'll love Alaska and want to go back and if I can, i'll probably do the land portion on my own next time.

 

So far I feel like Alaska is way more planning than my 14 night med cruise was. But it's been fun planning Alaska.

 

A couple years ago when I originally booked Alaska to go in 2016, I was told that the "land portion" excursions would be offered by the tour director when we got to Anchorage, and that there would be all the things available. In reading threads this is where i'm finding that people are pre-booking independently so they can get better times or not be sold out. If it's true to get the same things offered when I get to Alaska and not have to pre-book i'd be fine with waiting as long as all things are equal and best times and excursions are available.

 

Charlie

Thought this we have cruised Alaska before this is our first trip into the interior. I have planned my own eight day pre-cruise tour and even for this experienced planner, it was a bit daunting. With the help of the wonderful people on this board we are ready to go next week. I would use this experience to understand what you want to see next time. Enjoy. Alaska is a place you'll want to revisit many times.

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JanetAlice - I believe this will probably end up being my favorite destination, though I truly love the Med. For my brother in law ,he says this is his only time he'll go. He has way to many other things on his bucket list to get done so he can't go more than once. I feel differently, so money permitting I am already planning that i'll probably visit Alaska more than once.

 

Charlie

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Budget Queen: I agree and disagree with you. There are truly clueless people in this world. My brother's teaching assistant and her husband are clueless about everything in life. They love the Alaska cruise. I think they like it because it is on the west coast, like us, and they just have to get on the ship and go. I doubt they have done much of anything in the ports and yet the continue to go time after time and have no interest in going on another cruise location.

 

Now, in fairness to not knowing the ship etc my DH fits that bill. My DH loves to travel and likes to go to new places and have new adventures. He has zero interest in planning even where we are going or how we get there. His interest is putting his head down on the pillow in the bed next to me. That's it. Sometimes he gives some input into something but as long as I'm there next to him that is all he needs to be happy.

 

I love to do the planning. I'm fanatical about it. I have a binder divided into port sections, transportation to and from pier, flight or hotels if needed and parking at the airport. I do all that. About a week before we leave he starts getting involved to see if he can find a discount for the parking. If he gets curious he opens up the binder or looks at the cover page which gives him the destination, time frame and ship. When he worked he asked for the time off work and then forgot when it was a year later.

 

We also have cruised with family and friends. Sometimes up to 26 people in our group. My rule is (after many years of cruising) I pick what I want to do and plan it out. I let them know the details and cost and if they want to join me, great. If not, that is fine too. If enough people I will organize a bus to and from the airport and everyone chips in. It isn't that they are clueless it is just their priorities are different then yours. They are busy working and taking care of parents or children and having the planning burden taken away from them is something they find appealing.

 

Some like to get to the port do an excursion then spend the rest of the time sitting at the pub having a local beer. For them, just handing over the money and knowing that I have planned perfection for them is enough involvement in the planning.

 

My DH comes home with fond memories of where we were and what we did. He has definite opinions of whether he wants to go back there or not but whether we do something is generally left to me. His happy place is lying next to me in bed at night. Everything else after that just isn't something that matters to him.

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