MellyBell

We did a back to back whale/bear with Hoonah Travel and had a wonderful time. They are locals who love to share their history and are so proud of their town.  When possible we try and do independent tours.  What Donaldsc mentioned is correct they do contract out but this way you can choose the company you use and we feel like they give you special attention because all of your money goes to them.  

On 9/14/2022 at 9:29 AM, ermedchyc29 said:

Can you tell me more about the bear search part of your excursion please?  We want to do a bear search and some companies will drive you around for hours looking for bears and then I also heard that you can walk on a boardwalk to viewing platforms.  I was looking at Hoonah Travel Adventures and Icy Strait Whale Adventures.  Thank you for any response.

They drive you around in vans for several hours looking for bears.  Our van was the only one that didn’t see any bear but we did see a lot of bear scat. 😂. When the groups did see a bear they would stop and get out of the van if it was safe.  Because they are a local company they give a lot of history and we found it fascinating.  

We used them for both whale watching and bear watching.  They have amazing customer service.  We booked with them originally in 2020 and had to keep moving the date.  Because they are all locals they have amazing information and history to give you about the city.  We really enjoyed them.

I highly recommend the Sea Life Center.  If you have Disney plus they have a show Alaska Animal Rescue that features the Sea Life Center. My daughter was so excited to go and see some of the animals she saw on TV.  Also if you are looking at dogsledding or other glacier tours I recommend Turning Heads Helicopter Tours.  We did it in Seward because we were afraid it would be cancelled in Juneau which it was.  Kenai Fjords was also great.  

On 7/28/2022 at 8:06 PM, Northern Aurora said:

Some some random thoughts --

 

Given the itinerary proposed by @PennStateMom I don't know what they would do if they drove north to Fairbanks.  Not much time to drive to the Chena Hot Springs Resort (which  has an ice museum/hotel), spend much time at the Museum of the North (which is the museum on the University of Museum campus and should not be confused with the Fairbanks Community Museum which is downtown), visit the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, tour Gold Dredge No. 8, take the Riverboat Discovery tour down the Chena to the confluence of the Tanana, enjoy the Running Reindeer Ranch and so forth.

 

When planing driving itineraries it is important to build in some time for potential delays due to road construction.  At this point I have no idea of our Department of Transportation has some major projects scheduled on the Parks Highway.

 

In addition to the Anchorage Native Heritage Center also consider the Anchorage Museum.

 

Regarding Denali we have not had any recent reporting in our local newspaper (which has a full time reporter who lives year round in the Healy area) regarding updates on the plan to bridge the single park road at the Pretty Rocks area.  Baring a miracle I would plan on the road remaining closed at Mile 42 for next year.  If so there will be no 8 hour shuttle buses to Eielson Visitor Center.

I am not a fan of auto museums and didn’t want to waste the time when there were a lot of other things to do.  I was outnumbered and we ended up going.  I am so glad we did.  I think it’s a hidden gem.  We spent about 2 hours there and we could have easily spent several more hours.  They have over a hundred different cars and clothing that would be worn during that era.  Every single car runs except for one they take them out once a year for everyone to go and see.  I would definitely recommend doing it.  Even my 11 year old daughter didn’t want to leave.
We also did Gold Dredge 8 and Riverboat Discovery Cruise and they were great. 

We just got back and ours was also canceled.  They waited until last minute we were already on dock and 10 minutes before they were supposed to pick us up they gave us notice.  By the time Celebrity got word it was too late for us to sign up for another excursion.  We ended up booking a whale watching on our own.  We were worried about it getting canceled in Juneau so we found a company in Seward and they were fabulous.  

We just got back it was pretty mixed.  For evening chic we saw women in anything from black pants and a top to nice dresses.  We saw a couple men really dressed up but most of them either with or without ties but a sports coat.  It seemed much more relaxed than other cruises we have been on.  

Good Luck!!

    We were also canceled with Celebrity they have canceled all Alaska cruises thru July 1st.  This is our understanding:

     If they cancel your cruise you have the option to take 100% cash back or 125% towards a cruise sailing up until December 31, 2021.  If you take no action they automatically give you the 125% future cruise credit.  If you choose to keep the 125% Future Cruise Credit you also have until December 2021 to change your mind and choose to take it as 100% cash.  
     As for the shore excursion, internet, dining, photo, etc. 100% will automatically be refunded back to your credit card unless you fill out an application requesting for them to give you 125% for OBC.  You have until April 8th to decide.  
     If you choose to cancel the cruise using the 48 hour cruise with confidence you get 100% future cruise credit. 
 

I have no idea.  I found a post that asked the same thing last month and couldn’t figure out how to delete this one. 

Perfect!  Thanks.  We ended up doing the $100 package and hopefully it works out.  I called celebrity and they said the difference is that with the $200 you get the unlimited digital and 12 prints however the description doesn’t say that so I’m not sure he knew what he was talking about.

Does anyone know the price of the Unlimited Digital Photo Package if you purchase it on the ship?  We will be taking a 7 Night Alaska Cruise.  I see you can purchase it for $200 pre-cruise price which they say is 20% off the ship price.  We have the elite status which would automatically give us the 20% however right now it looks like they have an option to purchase it for $100 online.  Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.

Perfect thank you so much!

Wow that is beautiful!!! Thank you so much that is exactly why we were thinking about booking it in Seward too.  Now I just need to find out if there is time to do it before our land tour.

Has anyone done the glacier dogsledding in Seward?  We are taking the land and cruise tour with Celebrity Millennium and the land portion end in Seward.  Resurrection Bay Wildlife Cruise is already included but it looks like we have an option to do a glacier dogsledding.  I’m not sure if we would have time for both.  We have dogsledding booked in Juneau but I know it’s one of the most cancelled excursions.  I figured if we book both we would give ourselves a better chance of doing the dogsled.   

I remember people talking about this months ago but I can't find the thread.  Has anyone done this excursion and was it worth the money?

Thanks everyone!

Fantastic.  I'm glad you had a great time with them.  We ended up booking with them.  

Has anyone flown into Fairbanks at a time other than 2 am.  We are coming from Florida and so far we can only find flights that arrive into Fairbanks at 2am.  We are willing to fly into somewhere else and stay over a night if it means we don't arrive in Fairbanks in the middle of the night.  Thanks in advance.  

Wow thank you so much for all the suggestions!!

We will be going on the Celebrity Millennium June 2020.  We will be spending a day in Talkeetna and we are looking for things to do.  We aren't interested in any helicopters or float planes.  Do anyone have any suggestions?  Thanks.

On 6/21/2019 at 2:54 PM, pbenjamin said:

We did the "Wildlife and Bear Search Tour" from Alaska Shore Excursions at Icy Strait Point and were quite pleased.  They also offer a "Whale and Brown Bear Combo Adventure".

 

 

Thanks I will look into them!

On 6/21/2019 at 2:52 PM, karatemom2 said:

Here is a link that has a post with someone who toured with them:

 

 

Thank you that is so helpful!!!!

Does anyone know of a company they recommend that does a Whale Watch and Bear Search Combo in Icy Strait Point.  The only one I have found is Misty Bay Lodge but I have not heard them mentioned on Cruise Critic.

Thanks in advance.

4 minutes ago, przyk said:

 

In all my reading about Alaska cruises I have not heard of anyone stranded by a private tour operator.  I'm guessing they have contingency plans for break downs and such, but maybe I'm wrong about that.

 

We did finalize the bus first train back option with Dyea Dave, but not for fear of being stranded. 

Sounds good.  I'm sure they have something in place that was just my fathers logic but he does not have as much experience as most of the other posters on Cruise Critic.  Hope you enjoy!