laughing husky

that is true as of this year....the Herbert glacier is now under a different management company and it is basically the same as the other one...whether you get to go or not depend solely on the weather and if the camps are lower or higher...and the weather....and the weather....and the weather....If you are coming into Anchorage, there is another option not far from Anchorage on the colony glacier near Palmer....Snowhook Kennels runs it through the Knik Lodge...It tends to have better weather because it is not directly on the coast....

An 8 year old would love the Kroschel Films Wildlife Center in Haines.

 

 

I second that....and that place is wonderful.....

I live here and I have done it twice. No way would I fly into that box canyon unless I know how many bush hours he has in Alaska...(or she)....They have a naturalist on board, we saw petroglyphs, whales.....it was wonderful. It can be bumpy however...if the weather is bad...but then, if the weather is bad, the boat goes, and the planes stay home....I think the scenery is some of the most spectacular in Alaska....Go for it....my opinion.....it is an amazing sight...and yes, the colors are beautiful...as are the waterfalls...

http://www.alaska.org/detail/visit-exit-glacier This should answer several of your questions about the hikes that are available. You are not allowed to climb on this glacier...while many of our glaciers are growing...(most people will not tell you that) many are also receding, and this is one of them...and it is quite dangerous. You can see....but not touch...However, if you go up on the Harding icefields there are some exceptions....You can also visit the Seavey dog kennels which are very close to the Exit Glacier..and there is an excellent little aquarium that features some Alaskan marine animals as well as birds. It is excellent. There are also animal encounters that you can sign up for early...It is the Sea Life Center in Seward. I believe it is about 8-9 miles from the Lodge to the glacier...Renting a car would allow you to explore more. there are also a couple of beautiful hikes that are not long and mostly flat right in back of the elementary school. It is a very cool little town. Nice restaurants....wonderful glacier and wildlife tours via boat, good coffee....and great fishing...You could even go out on a fishing charter and have the fish flash frozen and shipped to you at a time when you would be home....

So disappointed that this tour is even offered... hopefully as pax stop booking it, it will be faised out.

 

We never take tours that involve animals , their welfare are rarely taken in consideration and they are terribly exploited.

 

That goes for Seaworld type parks, swimming with dolphins, sled dogs, etc.

 

Wondered if sled dogs would get pulled in....I have a few words on that subject.....I have sled dogs....they love to run, they love to race....they live on the couch...right now I have 3of them on the bed....they love to run 150 miles a day...and eat 20,000 KC a day.....all of them have done 1,000 mile races....all but one...he wasn’t interested so he didn’t go....they tell you, and you can’t make a sled dog run, if it doesn’t want too...BTW, sled dogs develop a telepathy with their owners....please don’t put sled dogs in the same category as elephants...

I swear I can tell the difference in flavor between farm raised and wild caught shrimp. IMO, there is no comparison.

 

Fortunately, where I live it's only about a 20 minute drive to the docks where the Gulf shrimping boats bring their full holds of fresh wild-caught shrimp into port, and that's one of the few places I will purchase shrimp. Beautiful pink Gulf shrimp!! Nothing else compares.

 

I'd prefer to do without than eat farm raised shrimp and fish. I never order the shrimp cocktail on cruises any more. The few times in the past that I have had it, I found that the only flavor is in the cocktail sauce, not the shrimps.

 

I used to live in the Keys, my husband used to shrimp in the gulf when he was a kid....we now live in Alaska....and the shrimp we gwere eat here, IMHO, are superior. they look different...we catch them in Pots instead of nets, they are a bit smaller than the big golf shrimp, but they are sweet and briny....if and when you come to Alaska, hope you give them a try....they are called Alaskan Spots....

As someone has mentioned, don’t mix up fresh vs frozen with wild vs farmed. Also Atlantic salmon is a specie which tells you nothing about where it comes from.

My commercial fishermen friends all feel that their “flash-frozen” catch (frozen onboard the boat) is fresher than fresh fish that has been transported for days to get to a market or end user. The freezing stops or slows the deterioration. If you are ever offered wild salmon of any specie, you will be told it is wild. No restaurant would ever forget to trumpet that news.

Lobster is a scary one as it is offer warehoused at near-freezing temperature to slow or stop the metabolism for years before it is sold.

But whether it is salmon, shrimp, crab or lobster, whether you will like it probably depends more on the cooking than anything.

 

 

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yukky to say, but it also kills the salmon tapeworms....and until you have pulled a 3' salmon tapeworm out of a kid, you have no idea what you have missed.....NEVER eat fresh salmon sushi...it always should be frozen to kill the worms...cooked where it is cooked...not half raw also kills the worms...

I doubt that the OP knows what time they will be dropped off for lunch. Hard to make a reservation without knowing that.

 

It is roughly a 5.5 hr trip from Denali to Anchorage when they use the buses.....you can sorta figure it out...and if they are staying at the McKInley Lodge, that is in Trapper Creek which is about 2 or 2.5 hrs from Anchorage....so even easier...

I question why they would drop you off at a hotel. My guess is that they will drop you off at either the Dena'ina Convention Center or the Egan Convention Center. It appears to me most cruise lines use these locations as staging areas for guests waiting for coaches, etc. Either way, they are right in the middle of town and surrounded by excellent eateries. Our favorite on theatre nights downtown is Ginger, however for lunch I would look close at Simon & Seafort or Sacks.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g60880-Anchorage_Alaska.html

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60880-d507232-Reviews-Simon_Seafort_s_Saloon_Grill-Anchorage_Alaska.html

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60880-d518697-Reviews-Sacks_Cafe-Anchorage_Alaska.html

 

 

Sacks doesn't exist any more as Sack's. It is now Crush....same place...bigger....No matter where you want to go in downtown Anchorage...you should make reservations...Otherwise, you will have a 2 hr wait..We have 3-4,000 people day all crowding into the downtown area. Many are not from ships, and occasionally there are 4-5 ships in port between Anchorage, Seward, and Whittier....

Alaska doesn't raise farmed Salmon. It is illegal. Princess has had a contract with a local supplier to deliver wild caught Salmon. Other than in Alaska, they serve farmed fish. Personally, coming from Alaska, I would not eat it....We have wonderful oysters....and wild caught shrimp also...Have no idea what the plan is for this season...

thanks for posting those videos...It is on my bucket list....

Typically the first night from Whittier is anytime dining. While this is not true for the first inside passage....it is true for the rest of the season....the train from Denali does not get into Whittier until around 8:30 PM....Everyone eats....and the ship waits for the train....Have no fear. I will be getting off in Whitter from the Transpacific....

I have booked Golden Princess for the 2019 Transpacific Sydney to Los Angeles.

 

I know Golden Princess is old and will be heading to P & O, but other than that tell me about her.

 

Thank you in advance. :)

I am on the transpacific that leaves japan on April 27. Prior to that cruise (including the Singapore part) she will have just come out of drydock. Some place on the board...or maybe a roll call there are the plans for what they are going to do with her. I don't think it is much...mostly refurbishing...but check back in May to see what people have to say about her.

There is nothing scientific about the polling in these awards. It is totally a popularity contest based on who can scare up the most votes. I didn't get any FB or e-mails from Princess with a link to the voting site.

 

I received more than a few.

This afternoon i logged into my Emil to grab the confirmation number to check us in to pour flight to Ft Lauderdale tonight and i had an upgrade notification from Princess! I screamed and danced and giggled for 10 minutes! I actually considered cancelling this cruise to change cabins but when i logged on to see what was available about final payment time this cruise was showing all balconies and mini suites sold out! I'm in happy shock waiting for pour flights to escape the beautiful Alaskan cold...

 

 

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You give me hope for me to escape the beautiful....and getting lighter....Alaska cold....but I would be happy for the wind to go away.....Congratulations....Maybe your Alaskan luck will rub off to me too...:)

Thank you so much for all of the suggestions. some really good ideas.

interestingly enough, if you are an Alaskan native, you do not need a visa to visit Kamchatka...You can go because they assume (I guess) that you have relatives there. there are flights there from Anchorage several times a week, and also from Nome, AK. It is only a short boat ride away in the summer.....from some of our villages...they visit back and forth all the time.

What are some of the nicer crafts...especially if size is not much of a problem....that you can buy in Japan? Especially cookware? or ???????

There are 2 places to view reindeer in Alaska...Reindeer are farmed caribou....One is the large animal research station in Fairbanks. Occasionally they have tours, but mostly it is for research of various varieties. the other place is the Reindeer farm in Palmer, Alaska about an 1.5 hours outside of downtown Anchorage. https://www.reindeerfarm.com/ It is a commercial venture where you can pet and feed them. Great for kids and you can learn all about caribou....and some of it is very interesting. Doesn't take very long, and then you can go to the Musk Ox farm near by...You do need a car, however, as there are no tours that go there. https://www.muskoxfarm.org/

If you take the river boat cruise in Fairbanks you stop and get to check out the reindeer. I got some good pics of my wife with the reindeer. You also get a talk with the indigenous people. I was surprised that they referred to themselves as Eskimos as I had been told previously that Eskimo was a pejorative term. I asked about it and they said, "Nope. Eskimo is fine".

 

We had the river boat excursion included as part of the connoisseur cruise tour. We thought it would be hokey but we ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

 

They are being nice to you.....but they laugh after you leave. It is not a good term. what they call themselves, and what you can call them....2 different things...it is sorta like the other nationalities in our country. You can't say it and sound very nice, but they can call themselves that...

Lots of room to store luggage under the bed. If you bring more, it can go into the closet.

 

When packing, pull out everything you think you might want. Organize it into three piles: need, want and would like. You’ll find that there’s a lot of duplication in types, style, and colors. Pack clothing that can mix and match. I never pack anything that can’t be worn with at least one other piece of clothing or worn only once. Even then, I find I pack too much.

 

The rule of thumb is to pack half of what you think you’ll need.

 

 

AND, bring twice as much money...:)

Do wish they would put USB ports in the new ships...several.....and redo the old ones so we can plug in and charge....One more thing to carry...:( and almost eveyone uses USB's these days...old or young.

Thanks. I'd like to bring a small gift for the 3-day tour guide but have no idea what to bring (heck, I'm not even sure if the guide is a man or woman). Guess I'll have to give it some thought.

 

I did know about the taxi doors...now I just have to try to remember that.

 

Thanks again.

 

 

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I know that most of the Japanese that come to Alaska seem to love baseball more than anything. Perhaps something baseball related? T-shirt from a team or some kind of memorabilia?

Princess sells what they claim is scotch. Johnny Walker Red and Cutty Sark. These are only palatable if you mix them with something and what is the point of scotch you have to mix?

 

No. You can't buy any other bottles of liquor for onboard consumption. Period. Any duty-free bottles you buy onboard are kept by the ship and given to you the last night before disembarkation day. If you want to drink that night there is nothing stopping you but you'd best drink the entire thing as they want your checked baggage put out that evening and it won't get past security in an airport in a carry-on bag.

 

One of the things that I wish Princess would seriously think about changing.....After all they are a UK based company....more or less...is their brand of scotch. What they sell is not scotch...it is a mixed bag of something or other that has to be mixed. they would do so much better to have some real single malts for sale. I know there are some at the bar....but it might be nice to be able to buy a small bottle for room consumption.....and rum also. There are some excellent rums available....God knows they go where they are made. PLEASE...Princess...think about it...