dhmom99

there are many different binoculars available these days. My personal experience is to make sure that you get waterproof binoculars that have fully multi-coating glasses. My first pair of bushnell binoculars didn't have waterproof feature. The water leaked in there and we missed some good whale watching opportunity that day. We typically packed our Zen-Ray Summit 10x42 and Leupold GoldRing with us.

we had 5 days of rain on one of the early September cruise a few years back. But you cannot beat price.

Hey does anyone know when the best time of day is for opportunities to see whales etc. we have two days of scenic cruising and am curious when I should be up on deck. :)

we have seen many whales out of Tracy Arm going south to Ketchikan.

they do fill up quickly

DH and I used 10x42 Summit waterproof binoculars for our Alaska trip. We didn't want to spend thousands of dollars for binos, like what our birding friends did. But those binoculars work very well for us over the last few trips.

Hi again, thanks for all your advise so far.

We are travelling in May 2015.

I am an Aussie who is spending 2 weeks travelling around BC followed by a 7 day Alaskan cruise. We have a 20kg pp weight limit. My "plans" are to take 3 pairs of shoes. A black pair of mid heels (sandals) to be worn most nights, a comfortable pair black leather walking shoes, to be worn most days and a pair of mid heeled wedge boots to be worn some nights with pants (or winter dresses) or some days with jeans. My husband will take one pair leather walking shoes and one pair leather dress shoes. Most hotels offer disposable slippers should we want to visit the pool in Australia, is this the same in BC and on cruise lines?

Tell me your thoughts on the "plan" and what I should / shouldn't include.

Thank you in advance.

Should ask your husband pack his stuff light so you can have all the space needed for those shoes. Go girls!

Why don't you get an AVIS reservation in the meantime? Far nicer cars is one plus. :) Then at least you have something while waiting for responses. Easy to cancel if your plans change.

+1. We booked with Sourdough only because Avis was all booked up. Plus they don't have a van to sit all 8 of us. I was always wondering when our Durango would break down on our way to the Emerald lake.

How did that work? I would love to see one of the photos!

We mounted binoculars on a tripod using an adapter. Then, place the phone's camera next to the binoculars' eyepiece until we have clear view of everything.

This is the tripod adapter we are using..

http://www.zen-ray.com/shop/accessories/tripodadapter.html

But you can handhold the binoculars and phone as well, or maybe work with someone in your party as a team effort.;)

we rented a car and drove all the way to Canada. It was the highlight of our trip

reading CC can be very addictive. :) But definitely don't forget to bring your camera and binoculars

we just spent a couple of hours strolling in downtown area, which is about 20 mins walk from the dock

If the captain does not believe it is safe to get the boat out, he must have his reason. Not worthy risking everyone's life to see some whales if the water is rough out there.

you should have plenty of time to do that

This is exactly why I also prefer the southbound cruise. I like doing all my exploring pre-cruise. Plus, you get the longer flight out of the way first.

that makes sense

we just wore our running shoes, which worked out fine.

we had a good time with NCL Star many years ago. But that was before we sailed with DCL:D. Cannot wait to go back to NCL again to see how the perception changes.;)

we took both camera and binoculars and didn't have any problem. My DH has a 400mm zoom lens on his camera. We spotted a bear on the shore when cruising into Tracy's arm. Even at 400mm, the view through the viewfinder of his camera is still a tiny dot. But we can see all the actions with the binoculars. We even snapped some pictures with the iphone through the binoculars.

I purchased my 7 day Westerdam cruise last July for $999 PP balcony and received a $250 OBC. Got free airfare for signing up for a SWA credit card. This is my first cruise to Alaska. So excited!

that is a great deal.

DH used a 17-40mm zoom lens, which works out pretty well

We used Harv & Marv in May of 2014. There were three couples including my husband and I, plus the captain. It was a truly intimate experience - there was the small indoor part, an open deck on the back that could fit everyone, and small "hatch" part in the front that could hold two people if they sat. At one point it was me and my husband sitting on the small front part with a mother whale and her smaller child swimming nearby. It felt like it was just us and the two whales gliding through the water.

 

I've been on a larger whale watching boat in the San Juan Islands. That was a great experience too. The ability to watch from the second story was a good view, you definitely had more protection from the elements, and choppy water wouldn't have been as much as an issue as I would imagine it would be on the small boat.

How long is the boat? Did it feel safe out there in a relatively smaller boat (but picture can be deceiving)? Are you required to wear life vest?

Sorry for so many questions. I really like the idea of going with a smaller group of friends.

I'm assuming that not only are binoculars a must, we each need a pair--if there are really cool things to see, I won't want to share--but won't want to deprive DH of viewing. So, we'll each bring a pair. (We actually each have a pair already.)

 

We don't share a camera either--we each bring our own and take pictures of the same things. When we get home, I merge all of the pictures and sort them by date/activity. Without fail, his pictures are better than mine--but I'm still going to take my own!

DH and I both have our own binoculars. Sharing just does not work. DH has different eyesight between his eyes, which requires different setting on the binoculars. We figure it is much easier to have our own, which works out great. We use Zen-Ray SUMMIT binoculars. We also get kids some Leupold compact binoculars

6hours seems sufficient for transfer from Amtrak station to SeaTac

thanks for sharing the blog. We enjoy reading it

we got a good deal from Westin for $129/night

The Caribbean, the Greek Islands and towns along the Adriatic Sea were wonderful places to cruise to and I would do them all over again. Would you redo an Alaskian cruise or visit this most beautiful, rugged, natural area another way?

 

I thought Alaska and the Yukon were stunningly beautiful but I think I would have liked seeing it from somewhere other than the fantastic Celebrity Solstice. I felt leaving a walk to a glacier and whale watching and returning to a busy, modern and rather luxurious ship took some of the Zen out to me.

you betcha