riostoker

Sorry, your thinking is inaccurate. Skagway certainly, cancels too, (has happened to me) and you have more chances of helicopter flights in Juneau, since, there are 3 vendors, and alternative areas.

 

Take a look at a map, ice fields are all close by.

OK... Well I had read things like this on CruiseCritic when I was making the decision:

So... I was basing my comments off other things I had read on this board. Certainly helicopter tours can be cancelled in either location. I was not trying to say it was a sure thing in Skagway by any means. I don't have loads of knowledge on the weather in one port or the other...was just basing it off other comments. I apologize if my information was incorrect.

I thought I would update this thread post-purchase and post-cruise! Based on all of your advice, I decided it was time to ditch the old 5D and start with something new. Several of you mentioned the mirrorless cameras, and after a bunch of research, I decided to go that route. I just couldn't resist how small and lightweight they are! I was originally planning on a Sony, but after spending many hours in Best Buy playing with them, I just felt much more comfortable with the Canon since I've been using Canon for so long. I'm sure I could have adapted to the Sony, but I didn't have a ton of time to learn something new. I got the Canon M50 with the two-lens kit. I loved it on our Alaska trip. It was so small and lightweight to hang around my neck or have the bag slung over my shoulder. The kit lenses aren't the highest quality, but they did the job for what I wanted. Thank you so much for all the advice. I knew absolutely nothing about the mirrorless options before posting here. Thank you!!

Did the Deadliest Catch tour last week and loved it! Exceeded expectations for all the reasons mentioned above!

I can't compare the two, but I will say that my 13 year old absolutely loved our Princess cruise. She loved the teen club and made lots of friends. Outside of teen club, she enjoyed the movies under the stars, arts and crafts, and LOVED the Voice of the Ocean show! There were lots of opportunities for trivia and other types of games, but we somehow didn't end up doing any of those. The one thing that I thought really made Princess stand out for Alaska was their "North to Alaska" programming. We had a naturalist onboard all week who did several presentations and would also point out things like pods of whales as she saw them. There were presentations from one of the Deadliest Catch captains and also from a woman who won the Iditarod. Also, in Skagway, they bring on sled dog puppies that you can play with. Since your daughter is into the scenery and wildlife, she might really enjoy the extra Alaska-specific programming on Princess. We learned so much about Alaska that way. Our travel agent recommended Princess to us for that very reason... I had said I was more interested in the scenery and wildlife than having all the latest and greatest ship amenities. My goal was to see and enjoy Alaska... not just interact with the ship.

My 10 year old loved whale watching. It was her favorite excursion that we did. We went with Gastineau Guiding on a boat with about 18 people. I thought that was a great size boat... not quite as small as Harv and Marv's private tour, so you could move around a lot, but not as big as the 50-75 person boats where I think it would be hard to get from one side of the boat to the other when whales are spotted.

We did not do the train because I worried the kids (10, 14, 16) would get bored. In Skagway we did glass blowing at Jewel Gardens and the helicopter flight with glacier walk. My kids really enjoyed both of those.

We chose to do it in Skagway because you have a better chance of good weather in Skagway. Helicopter tours often get canceled due to weather, so we wanted to do everything we could to maximize our chances of being able to do it. We went with Temsco in Skagway, and it was a trip of a lifetime... just absolutely epic, and far surpassed what were already high expectations!

Whatever you do, do NOT do the double-decker bus tour. It was awful!! We were wishing there was some way we could have jumped out halfway through. It was really almost painful. We would have had so much more fun just going for a little stroll along the waterfront or literally doing ANYTHING other than the double-decker bus tour. :(

I've only been to Tracy Arm, so I can't compare, but I will say that in hindsight, I wish I had done the small boat excursion there. We were not able to get all the way into Tracy Arm due to ice, so that is my one small regret of our trip. What we saw of Tracy Arm was still absolutely beautiful and I loved it, but I wish I had gotten closer to the glaciers. So... like several posters above, I would recommend doing the extra excursion if you go to Tracy Arm.

I know you said you aren't Deadliest Catch fans, but I'm going to plug that excursion anyway... maybe I can change your mind! We did that one last week with my 16, 14, and 10 year old girls. We all loved it! It was my 14 year old's favorite excursion of the whole trip. You really don't have to be a Deadliest Catch fan at all. The guys who run the tour are all former Bering Sea crabbers (some who were on the show, some not), and they just tell all their stories about their adventures in the dangerous, adventurous, daunting world of crabbing in the Bering Sea. Their stories are so raw, honest, and heartfelt. It did not feel like a canned, scripted tour. It felt like a bunch of fishermen buddies telling you about their adventures. It was also really hands-on which was great for the kids. We got to hold a couple different crabs and prawns. We also saw octopi and other marine life. The best part for me was getting to see the bald eagles. They pull the boat into a little inlet where bald eagles typically hunt, and then they throw out some fish. You have 30+ huge bald eagles flying all around you! I got the most amazing photos, and it felt almost like pigeons flying around a park where someone is throwing out bits of bread, but they were bald eagles with 7 foot wing spans! Amazing! I've never seen anything like it. Seriously though... I think this is a great one for kids. Read a few reviews, and give it a bit of consideration even though your first instinct is that it isn't your cup of tea.

For the whale watching in Juneau, check the details on your booked excursion to see how many people will be on the whale watching boat. I had several friends recommend doing whale watching on one of the smaller (6-24) person boats rather than the really big (50-75 person) boats. Our boat had 18, and I was so glad I was on a smaller boat. You can see the whales so much easier that way. That was one of my criteria when choosing the whale watching excursion we did. I know on the Princess site, if you looked at all the details, it provided the capacity for each boat/bus/shuttle. Whale watching and some sort of wildlife or glacier excursion should be great, but I think you'll have a better whale watching experience if on a smaller boat.

We cruised July 1-8. We took packable down jackets and only wore them in Tracy Arm (scenic cruising) and on our helicopter ride and glacier walk in Skagway. We appreciated having them, but we also probably would have been fine without them as long as we had a couple good layers and a hat.

Adding to my confusion a little, but this is all great information! I'm so out of the loop, that I didn't even know these small mirrorless options existed. That may be the route I need to go. I'd love to have something smaller, lighter, and more portable, but I really like the ability to change lenses. I think I'll head out this weekend to touch and feel some of these to figure out what I want to do. Thanks so much!

Thanks for all the great suggestions! Keep 'em coming! You are right pierces... the wheel issue may just be the beginning of the old 5D showing its age. I would hate for it to have additional problems mid-Alaska trip! And TheOldBear… I hadn't even seen the EOS M series before. Those are pretty neat and worth considering too. I'll look into rentals. My husband used to have the 70-200 2.8 (he had a couple of the big white Canon zooms), and it was always too heavy for me to really use at all... so I'm hesitant to get anything too big/heavy.

Background... 7-10 years ago, I was very into photography... mostly when my kids were little. I have a Canon 5D mk II, 50 mm 1.4 prime and an 85 1.8 prime. I have one other lens, but I can't remember what it is because I never use it.

Now that my kids are older, aren't cute little babies/toddlers, roll their eyes when I try to take pictures, and iPhone photos have gotten so much better, I rarely pull out the old dSLR.

That said, we are cruising to Alaska next month. I KNOW my iPhone is not going to cut it there.

I pulled out my 5D mk ii to discover that the main wheel on top was not working. I called a camera shop to see what it would cost to fix it, and the estimated cost was $150-$200 plus shipping to Canon. I didn't think it made any sense to put $200 into a 10 year old camera with 10 year old technology, so I made the decision to buy a new, lighter, smaller dSLR to replace it.

I had tentatively decided on the Rebel t6i with the 18-135 kit lens. It has a lot of similar stats to my old 5D but just not full frame. It is lighter, smaller, and has wifi connectivity, so I was feeling excited about it. I figured the 18-135 would be a good all purpose lens plus give me a little bit of zoom for Alaska.

Before I clicked "buy" though, I decided to take another look at my 5D. After messing around with the wheel for a while, it seems to be working again. It must have just been dusty, and I worked the dust out.

So... now I'm back to making decisions all over again!

I had already budgeted for the t6i with 18-135, so I could go with that... consumer level camera, but that's probably fine for me now. lighter, smaller, and wifi.

Or, I could keep the camera I already own (free!)... professional level, but big, bulky, old, and no wifi, and just buy a new zoom lens for the trip. If I do that, I can do the 18-135, 75-300 (4-5.6), 70-300 (IS 4-5.6), 55-250 (IS 4-5.6), or anything else in the sort of $100 - $300 general price range.

Help!! I had my decision all figured out, but now getting my old camera functioning again has gotten me all confused! And if you recommend I keep my old 5D mk ii, which zoom?

Also, we are planning a helicopter excursion in Skagway. It says you can bring a camera, but no bags, so I can't figure out what I would do for a lens in that case. A smaller prime? A zoom? That was part of the appeal of the 18-135 was it gave me a bit of a range.

Would love any and all advice! I honestly don't think I need a professional level camera any more, but it seems sort of silly not to use it when I have it, I guess.

Thanks a bunch! Good to hear others have enjoyed it a lot too. It sounds really fun and interesting... there are just so many amazing sounding excursions in Alaska, it has been hard for me to narrow down the best ones for us!

Has anyone done glass blowing at Jewel Gardens in Skagway. A friend did it and told me it was her and her 8 year old’s favorite thing they did on their cruise, so I booked it for myself and my girls (16, 14, 10). Now I’m second guessing myself thinking we should do something more Alaska and outdoorsy. We are doing the helicopter/glacier hike in Skagway as well, so we are getting in some Alaska/outdoorsy adventure that way. Anyway, have you done the glass blowing? Enjoyed it? Thought it was worth your time/money? My youngest is interested in panning for gold, so maybe that makes more sense?