SightCRR

All of these messages are making the painful decision we made yesterday to cancel our scheduled Alaska cruise a little easier. sightcrr.

Ours was also great. Once they picked us up and once we drove rental car so could do other things before and after.

In the past moose have been very uncommon in the places where cruise ships go. I think it is still very uncommon to see them in the southeast AK. Interior, Denali, ANC or Fairbanks is a whole different story. I think NA is correct about people hurt. Car accidents with moose take a large toll and often because of their mass is above the legs the car air bags don't go off and the moose ends up in the windshield. Sorry to hear about NA's experience. sightcrr.

Be sitting down when you see the price. If your trails include Kodak, Sitka or Skagway I would recommend it. I think that you are allowed to bring it on the ship. (In Canada you can't carry pepper spray but bear spray is ok). You can give it to park ranger in your last port. Mid Aug will have bears at the streams but they will be busy eating fish. sightcrr

Here is a great video about their Ak trip. It covers a lot of ground and is 2 hrs. All kinds of highlights. It is from June 2021 so c-19 in full swing and got to go on bus ride to m/p 66 in Denali. Shows where they stayed and ate. Alaska 8 Day Road Trip: Anchorage, Fairbanks, Glaciers, Wildlife & Denali over 1,000 Miles - YouTube We made it to Fairbanks and Ice bar in the first setting of the video. Great interaction and camera work. Some trails in early part of park. Watch for the signs where they pan for gold. sightcrr

In Juneau we have flown with Costal with group of six including 4 adults and 2 teens. All in one helo. They assigned us which seat based on weights. (teens in front). I think 4 or 5 helos fly at the same time so if you have 6 or more adults you could be in more than one helo but will be on the ice at the same time. Some company's pilots don't stay with the group on ice so fly one group up & take another group down. I would second CB's idea to book all at once. sightcrr

As soon as you can people better check the times in ISP. Some cruises do ISP after Glacier Bay with real short hours and leave after sunset. sightcrr

Not only time changes but dropped Skagway and going to ISP instead because of rock side at pier. sightcrr.

You can try this site but if it recently changed it may not be updated. 2022 Schedules | Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska (claalaska.com) My recommendations: Skagway- train to summit (if full go to train station) Juneau-whale watch and glacier Ketch-crab boat tour. Several may be full now and have been for weeks. sightcrr

Here is a 2 hr youtube video that drives the many of the roads in Ketch and points out many sights. It is like your friend picked you up at the airport and is showing you around. Stuff you never get from a tour book. "go beside the Safeway to view the water and look for whales after checking f/b for whale sighting group" "there is nice secondhand store where I found nice pair of shoes" . Video shot before Ward Cove open. I really enjoyed it but did skip some of it. Make sure to check out Herring Cove. Ketchikan, Alaska Complete Drive North & South Tongass Avenue - YouTube sightcrr

I think but I could be way off that the HAL staff used them to measure the height of the glacier face on approaching the glacier. It would be something to track the Southern Cross with one. I would be tempted to take a 23 buck one from H/F instead of trusting the baggage folks with "Grandpa's" altho I did take some fishing lures from the 1930s that my dad used, and I caught one salmon with them. (One fish was enough to make sure I didn't lose it). sightcrr

I really appreciate your review and shore excursions experiences. Second one I have read about seeing bear near ANC. I am glad about no mention of C-19. sightcrr

With Aug/Sept time frame check out Herring Cove. We really like Crab boat tour and how easy it is and have been more than once. We are currently struggling with excursions in Ketch in May 23. sightcrr

Now time to figure out Juneau. 2-10. Sunset is about 9. Whatever you plan check the hours that tours/busses run and things are open. Sunset whale tour after glacier visit is first thing that comes to mind. Maybe call Costal Helo and see if they have something. If they do you will never forget the tour but it will be pricey. Forgot to add 4-7 Aug the Blue Angles will be in Seattle for air show so keep your ears & eyes open for fly overs. sightcrr

Look into Herring Cove board walk in Ketch. (It won't be free to get there especially if at Ward Cove). Also look into the Juneau fish hatchery a little way toward glacier from piers. Also likely at the creeks near the glacier. One tip whenever you are viewing them watch for flying hooks from people fishing. Also follow your nose since by Sept it will be pretty stinky. sightcrr

Here is a pretty good video on how to do it. From my understanding you can enter much of the groups personal data (passport, c-19 info etc) prior to the 72 hours. Just not the travel specific info. 2022 Alaska Cruise: How to Fill Out ArriveCAN - YouTube Disclaimer alert: I have not done this yet. sightcrr

It is required by Canada and likely will be required by cruise line for you to board even if you don't get off the ship in Canada. The timing is based on when you depart in Seattle. I suspect that many people who don't bother with it prior to boarding will be looking for smart phone /wifi on the pier while others who have it completed are in their cabins or having lunch. sightcrr

Time to start checking out what to do in ISP. With 5-8:30 I would think that you don't have time for whale watch. Figure out everything you can about the gondola systems. It is new this year so I can't make any recommendations. Call shore excursions and see if they have any tours that are of interest then check if booking on your own is any cheaper if they have a good cancel policy. While coming and going from port keep a close watch for whales. There may be some nature trails to look into. Not much to do beyond the pier area towards town. At one time Zip line was longest in the world and now in the world's top ten. 75 lbs is minimum weight to make sure kids make it to the bottom. On this site the 6-camera view is from the top of the gondola. TheSnowCloud Juneau area Webcams sightcrr

Something about the posted itinerary looks suspect. Often G/B and ISP are done on the same day and not a day later. G/B to ISP in 26 hours looks odd. 8:30pm leaving ISP to 6 pm in Victoria seems pretty optimistic. My guess is that it should read Wed 8/24 ISP 5-8:30 Thur, At SEA. Then again who knows what it will be and it might be completely different. sightcrr

Not sure about Aug but here is latest info I saw: Where is this vessel going to? The vessel departed from HOONAH, US on 2022-07-20 20:40 LT (UTC -8) and is currently sailing at 18.3 knots with Southeast direction heading to VICTORIA, CA with reported Estimated Time of Arrival at 2022-07-22 17:30 LT (UTC -8) local time (in 4 hours, 44 minutes ) Ship CROWN PRINCESS (Passenger Ship) Registered in Bermuda - Vessel details, Current position and Voyage information - IMO 9293399, MMSI 310500000, Call Sign ZCDM6 | AIS Marine Traffic With this site you can follow Saturday's cruise. The Juneau Webcam site with Hoonah is to foggy to see anything. sightcrr

My guess is that the road work won't even be started by Jun 23. I hope I am wrong. sightcrr

This couple is at the start of a 3 part series in Denali that shows what to do in the first 15 miles and how to do it. Skip over the part about driving own vehicle and concentrate on how to use the park busses, trails and displays. Videoed the early part of June 22. Our FIRST time in DENALI National Park! (Savage Alpine, Mount Healy, sled dogs, & Horseshoe Lake) - YouTube sightcrr.

I vote for another day on the park bus maybe different time like one of the early trips. That will double your chance to see the mt and chance to see more wildlife along with knowing where to sit and where to look. Remember only 33% of visitors see the mt and now your odds are 66% with two trips. sightcrr

JT gave you some great advice. Train fun and shorter. Yukon more chance to see wildlife with the basic same scenery and longer and more stops. Ketch, crab boat great with bald eagles like you will never see again. Juneau, Whales and glimpse of glacier from a ways off. On the ride out of town keep watching for bears. Check youtube for each tour. I would recommend that you have what you want to do nailed down so you are not wasting valuable port time. Here is what to keep eye open for. Not sure when this was filmed. WE KIND OF SAW BEARS | I Work On A Cruise Ship | Royal Caribbean Crew VLOG - YouTube Start at 9:50. sightcrr

I was wondering about diy trip but looks like CCL stops cruising AK before the park closes so it may work. Not much more help. How to Visit Denali in Fall or Spring - Denali National Park & Preserve (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Both ones that I looked at did Denali before cruise. sightcrr.