Bearvet

In Anchorage, we enjoyed breakfast at Snow City Cafe (they take reservations for breakfast!!), Moose's Tooth Pizzeria and Glacier Brewhouse.

Talkeetna we loved Denali Brewpub (and were able to sit outside).

Denali - 49th State Brewing was our worst meal of the trip - poor service, bad taste to the fries and overall food was not good.  Beer was fine though 🙂.  We did enjoy a meal at Denali Salmon Bake and an ice cream afterward at Glacier Scoops!

Seward - we ate lunch at Seward Brewing, which came highly recommended.  It's near the Alaska SeaLife Center and it was really good!

Our husbands are really into brewpubs, so that was our choice most of the time. 

I believe the boat you see in my picture is Thor Too, which is Hoonah Whale Tour's boat.  They work closely with Glacier Winds.

On our day in ISP last year, we did a whale watch with Glacier Winds.  I'm not sure which company you're using, but it was a drive to the boat dock from where our ship was located.  They provided the transportation to the whale watch and then dropped us off in Hoonah.  We walked around for a bit and then she drove us back to our original pick-up spot near the cannery.  We walked around the cannery (there were some good shops), had a crabby bloody mary and were happy to board our ship early (we had been on the go a lot in other ports and didn't mind some downtime).  We didn't go to the Tribal Dance.

Hoonah is small and doesn't take long to walk around.  We enjoyed watching the totem carving. Our friend bought some of the delicious donuts at a stand near the cannery.  Maybe have a big/late breakfast, do the whale watch, then have a snack at the pier and walk through the cannery?  Check with your whale watch vendor to see where they leave from and if they're able to drive your group as I described above.  It worked out really well for us.  BTW Glacier Winds served a delicious salmon dip and crackers on our tour.

Our overall itinearay was very similar to yours! Have a great trip!!

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g31010-d4293812-r166319837-Oh_So_Goood-Hoonah_Alaska.html

We reserved in advance.  People also use Avis and I believe there's a location in town, so you don't have to go to the airport.  We didn't want to risk that there wouldn't be cars available.

We rented a car from Juneau Car Rental when we were there last July.  I think the cost was around $110, which was a great deal since there were 4 of us.  As soon as we got our car, we went stopped to buy lunch items and went directly to Mendenhall.  We were there before the buses arrived and had no trouble parking.  We spent some time at the visitor ctr, then walked the trail to Nugget Falls.  We really enjoyed being on our own time schedule and could spend as much time there as we wanted.  It was getting busy when we left.

We then drove out to Eagle Beach and had our picnic lunch. Then we stopped at the Shrine of St. Therese.  Returned our rental car and had a snack at Tracey's Crab Shack.

I believe the shuttles to Mendenhall are around $45/person, so we saved quite a bit of money and had freedom to do as we pleased.

I'm not sure if it's too late for Anan, but the other 3 places look available. Check with various vendors.  It's expensive, but it was the experience of a lifetime for us!

Depending on the time of year you go, a bear viewing trip is amazing!  We flew with Carlin Air to Anan Bear Observatory and it was the highlight of our trip! It was July 4 (2018) and permits are required starting on July 5 - there were only 10 of us at the observatory.  The salmon had just started running, so there weren't tons of bears, but we saw plenty of bears fishing for salmon, as well as many eagles.  You get the float plane trip and bear viewing - amazing!

https://www.experienceketchikan.com/bear-viewing-in-alaska.html#anan

3 minutes ago, Glaciers said:

Bearvet, I think if that is all I saw I would be satisfied with the trip. Most wonderful!

And this was his second breach!

Last summer we went whale watching with Shawn of Glacier Winds Charter.  We had a wonderful trip (we were 4 of the 6 on the boat) and Shawn and his wife Theresa made it extra special.  While we didn't see numerous whales, this guy put on a spectacular show for us!  I highly recommend Glacier Winds!!

The White Pass & Yukon Railway is in the port of Skagway and you can go into the Yukon.  So, as long as your cruise ship stops in Skagway, you can do it! I highly recommend Dyea Dave's tour - we took the van up to Emerald Lake and then the train from Fraser back to Skagway. http://www.*****/tours.htm

https://wpyr.com/excursions/product/fraser-one-way-service/

We took the Amtrak Cascades train from Vancouver to Seattle in July 2018.  The price was around $35 per person.  Very scenic and easy to get through customs. Two pieces of luggage are included.  Not sure how many are in your group or your dates of travel, but you may want to consider it.

http://www.amtrakcascades.com/our-train-schedules

Major Marine is again offering a 40% discount on all cruises on Cyber Monday (Nov. 26)!  https://majormarine.com/specials-packages/?fbclid=IwAR05EbEUK_anMic1U9IHrOfNxBUrWbOTRuA1HqIRjObdr2bNz0W62FWdM-g

This is a huge savings - we took advantage of it last year!

SPECIAL PRICE: Take 40% off ALL CRUISES this Cyber Monday, November 26th

• Enjoy the following discounted rates on all of our Seward cruises:
  • 8.5 Hour Northwestern Fjord Cruise: $224 $134
  • 7.5 Hour Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise: $179 $107
  • 6 Hour Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise: $159 $95
  • 5 Hour Kenai Fjords Wildlife Cruise: $98 $59
  • 3.5 Hour Kenai Fjords Wildlife Cruise: $89 $53
  • Orca Quest Cruise: $89 $53
  • Gray Whale Watching Cruise: $89 $53
• Don’t know when you want to cruise? No problem! Book on Monday and pick your dates later.
• Cyber Monday sale valid on November 26th. Book online using promotional code CBM or call our reservations line at (907) 274-7300. Open-dated reservations can only be made by calling our reservations line.

Not valid with other coupons or discounts. Taxes, fees, and cruise meal not included. Sale price is not valid on previously purchased cruise tickets.

We booked our dog sledding trip in Seward on the day of our cruise.  They recommended that we book in the morning and they'll try to reschedule later that same day if necessary.  It was raining, but we could still fly, however the afternoon flights were cancelled.  We were very lucky!

We figured that if our flight was cancelled, we'd try to book in Juneau and then Skagway.  On the day we were in Juneau, most (maybe all, I'm not sure) dog sledding trips were cancelled.  Not sure how Skagway turned out, but I think there are fewer vendors there. I'd suggest calling the vendor(s) and see what they suggest.  It's expensive, but so worth it!

We did the 6 hour tour this past June.  My husband (57 years old) has never been seasick in his life - until this cruise. So many people were seasick.  The crew was incredibly compassionate and helpful - we were very impressed.  I'd call Major Marine and ask if you book a longer one and conditions aren't ideal that day if you can change to the shorter one.  For our trip they said it would be rough in the open water, but not enough for the trip to be cancelled.

I recommend everyone take meds before you board even if you've never been seasick before.

All that aside, it was a great trip, although we didn't see any whales.  The glacier was the highlight!

ETA: On 'Cyber Monday" last year they offered 40% off, so check their website and facebook page around Thanksgiving.  The savings was fantastic!

We went with Carlin Air to Anan Creek this past July.  We were in Ketchikan on July 4 and they were the only vendor that would book on that date.  This is also the day before permits are required, so we didn't have to worry about that. And we really lucked out, because there were only 2 other people there!!

I highly recommend Carlin Air.  Heidi picked us up and is very personable and loves living in Ketchikan.  The pilot could have talked a bit more, but did point out the basics.  The take off and landing were very smooth and the scenery is spectacular.

Anan Creek was the highlight of our group's visit to Alaska.  I think any of the vendors will be fine, but I'd book asap, since there is limited space on the plane and for the permits.  Worth every penny!

We were in Ketchikan this year on July 4 and booked a floatplane trip to Anan Creek with Carlin Air. It was the highlight of our trip! The "official" season opened on July 5, so we did not need to worry about permits. There were 6 of us on the plane and only 2-4 others there during our time - we practically had the place to ourselves!! We watched one bear for a while and then he gave up. With no bears to look at, we focused on all of the eagles! Then we had a lot of bear action - a mother and 2 cubs (1 was swept downstream and separated from its mother - happily they were reunited after an hour), a huge male that came within 6 feet of us and others. We could go to the blind as often and as long as we wanted.

While we didn't see 20 bears at once, we saw amazing activity! It was an incredible experience!

My favorite saying is: Failing to plan is planning to fail!

I find that the planning is half the fun! We travel with another couple and my friend and I do all of the planning. Our husbands are always amazed how seamlessly things happen and how much they love everything we do on our trips.

We do try to be as flexible as possible, but that means choosing A over B at the moment or deciding to skip something.

We did the southbound cruise on Celebrity (Millenium) in June and loved it! The cost was very reasonable compared to Princess and we chose an oceanview cabin instead of a balcony. The savings enabled us to splurge on our excursions - a floatplane trip to Anan Creek to watch bears fish for salmon and a helicopter ride to a glacier to go dogsledding. It really depends on how you want to spend your money.

We agonized over the fact that we wouldn't go to Glacier Bay since everyone says you must take a cruise that goes there. I'm sure it's beautiful, but Hubbard Glacier was also incredible and we got within 4/10 of a mile to watch the calving! We had a naturalist onboard, who was very informative and enthusiastic!

Our port times were ideal; we thought the food and service was very good; the size of the ship and the number of other ships in port were perfect for us. We loved everything about our experience! I do wish people would stop insisting on a Glacier Bay itinerary!

I just returned from the 7 day Alaska Southbound cruise on Celebrity, so I can only comment on that specific cruise and itinerary. I was concerned with our choice at first because of the "you MUST go to Glacier Bay"-itis everywhere. Hubbard Glacier was magnificent and our ship came within 4/10th of a mile - it was massive. And we saw many other glaciers during our time in AK. Would Glacier Bay have been incredible too? Probably, but we considered many other factors in choosing our cruise.

1. Itinerary - I just looked at Holland's southbound itinerary: Day 1: At sea Day 2: Glacier Bay (stay on ship) Day 3: Haines Day 4: Juneau Day 5: Ketchikan (11 am - 7 pm) Day 6: At sea Day 7: Arrive Vancouver

Our Celebrity itinerary: Day 1: Hubbard Glacier (stay on ship) Day 2: Juneau Day 3: Skagway Day 4: Icy Strait Point Day 5: Ketchikan Day 6: At sea Day 7: Arrive Vancouver

As you can see, we had 1 extra port day if that matters to you.

2. Price - Celebrity had the best price when we booked because we could include the basic beverage (alcohol) package and received onboard credit in addition. It was great to not think about the price of each and every drink we ordered.

3. We decided to book an oceanview room rather than a balcony. The savings helped pay for some of our expensive excursions (and they were worth every penny!)

4. Time in port - our arrival and departure times in each port really were perfect. Holland's arrival in Ketchikan isn't until 11 AM, so if there are other ships that have arrived before you, it may be more difficult to book an excursion (on your own).

Bottom line: I don't think you can go wrong either way. Just compare all of the details, so you get what you want.

@luckybecky - Thank you so so much for your detailed reviews! We are doing this exact cruise beginning on June 29. It was so helpful to have the pictures of the dailies, the menus, price lists, etc. Also, the pictures of the ship, the food and the shows. I love the positive reviews of the shows - most are so negative! So thank you again for taking the time to post all of these details - it has helped us sooooo much!

I found this very helpful http://www.experienceketchikan.com/bear-viewing-in-alaska.html

It shows where and when you'e most likely to see bears.

We're planning a floatplane trip to Anan Creek in early July! Our only problem is that we're in Ketchikan on July 4 and most vendors won't operate that day due to the parade and other festivities happening. We did finally find one vendor who would take us that day and booked them right away!

@Miaminice - Thank you so much for sharing your trip report! You had some amazing luck seeing wildlife! Your pictures and descriptions are awesome and made me even more excited for our June/July 2018 trip!

@Ajpesina - We booked with Carlin Air. Island Wings (and the other vendors) wouldn't book flights on July 4.

We booked a car rental for $67 through Juneau Car Rental for next summer. For 4 people, it's a great deal and we are on our own schedule and can visit other places too! We plan on Mendenhall Glacier, Eagle Beach, etc.

Thank you for posting this! That's exactly what we've decided to do in Juneau, so it's great to hear that you had a good experience with Juneau Car Rental. What is parking like at Mendenhall Glacier? I think from there we'll drive to Eagle Beach as well as the hatchery and brewery. Thanks again!

Thank you for posting! We have a trip booked July 4, 2018, which is 1 day before permits are needed and because of the July 4th festivities, we've only found 1 operator who will fly that day. Hoping the bears are out early next year too! Very exciting!