wolfie11

I did research cruises year round in the Gulf of Alaska on a boat we not-so-affectionately called the Ralph-a Helix. Many memories of being tossed out of my bunk at night and being called out to wield a baseball bat to break up ice freezing on the decks as we ran full speed for shelter in Prince William Sound. Ah! The Good Old Days!

The greatest possibility for rough seas will be the first night out of Vancouver in Queen Charlotte Sound and the last day crossing the Gulf of Alaska. Storms are more frequent and severe in April-May and September-October.

Absolutely. Whitecaps and 6-10 foot sea is a normal sea state in the North Pacific. If you want to avoid the 20+ foot seas, sail out of Vancouver from mid-May through mid-September.

They’re building their own. https://www.cruisehive.com/construction-begins-on-new-alaska-cruise-port-destination/84233 https://www.ncl.com/port-of-call/cruises-to-whittier

I have a Bluetooth speaker. It is very loud. I use it to drown out the noise of the screaming toddlers in the cabin next door.

Wait til they open their new dock in Whittier…

Frog Togs

The steam train to Bennett Lake is one of my top Alaska excursions (and I’ve done a lot of them). It runs two days a week in 2024.

Yes

I have been on several Royal cruises. They do have smaller ships that go interesting places. I cruise for the itinerary not the ship.

The city buses go out to Saxman and Totem Bight. It’s $2 each way. Buses run once an hour.

Yes, but I’d have to go on a monstrous big ship for that and I refuse to get on a ship with more than 3500 passengers and would prefer under 2000.

I cruise for ports, not the ship. Mediocre food and lackluster entertainment is something you live with to get to that bucket list exotic port. Then I took a Virgin cruise. Damn, but it was fun! I enjoyed myself on the ship. I went to the shows for the first time in years. I loved the food. I loved my hammock. I loved the diva, and the tattoos on the crew, and fact that the crew was having as much fun as I was. And now the new ship will be going to places I’m actually interested in going to see. Thank you Virgin for making me happy to be on the ship itself and not just looking forward to the next port!

Your cruise doesn’t go to Skagway. Day 6 is Icy Strait Point.

With the exception of Virgin, cruise line shows seem to be endless slight variations on the same theme. I can’t even sit through 90% of them. Even the talent is the same as most cruise lines use many of the same agencies.

The road up Cadillac Mountain is severely restricted as to numbers in the summer. You have to reserve a specific day and hour to drive up. Unless your tour description specifically says it goes to the top, it probably doesn’t. Of course NCL loves bait and switch, so I’m not sure I’d believe it even if it did say Cadillac Mountain was included.

No. If you’re talking about the free downtown shuttle it loops past the docks to the lumberjack show, Creek Street, the Totem Heritage Museum, the town museum, and the Safeway mall. It does not go to Totem Bight or Saxman. It is free. There are city buses that go to Totem Bight (allow 3 hours).

The locals avoid the glacier when the cruise ships are in town and they are the ones who drive their cars there, so it’s usually pretty easy.

This is the same tour and company as the cruise line. One of my favorite tours. I highly recommend it!

I would not trust NCL on this. Bait and switch seems to be their modus operandi. I will book Sapphire Princess, which I know has a great naturalist on board who does Alaska in the summers, and which also has scientists get on and lecture.

I have many fond memories of Dave and Nancy from when I lived in Skagway in the 90’s and subsequent years working on ships. I’m glad you’re starting up the business again and I wish you the best of luck.

The new ore dock is complete. Things should be back to the (new) normal by mid-May.

True. If you sail in Arctic waters, especially in the presence of sea ice, such as around the Pribiloffs or off Utkiavik, foggy conditions are prevalent and persistent. However, Southeast Alaska is in the temperate zone with both sea and land temperatures well above those found further north. The glaciers are on land and only touch the ocean so the environmental conditions are different. Weather in Southeast Alaska is variable with unstable atmospheric conditions and frequent low pressure systems.

The friendly cruise consultant is lying to you.