Assateague Island Princes

Super cool video! I was laughing out loud at some of your antics. You all look like MY kinda folks:D! Enjoy the Great Land, and I do hope you'll come back and share your AK video with us.

I think that excursion is new this year - I remember reading something about it being a start-up by a well-known Juneau vendor in a travel article I recently received from the Juneau Visitor's Bureau. Perhaps no one has been on the excursion yet, but as the previous poster stated, can't hurt to ask on the Alaska boards.

We actually checked it out when we had 7056 and our friends had 7055, and no, you couldn't see in at night with the drapes open....well, not unless someone goes right up to the window and presses their face against the glass.:rolleyes: Even then, it was more of just seeing blurry shapes, not an actual clear view.

Welcome home, CP! Hope you had a wonderful time on this amazing itinerary. Can't wait to hear more of your experiences as time permits. Tell me - did your DH enjoy it????;)

If you think Skagway was the most beautiful place you've ever seen, Sitka would knock your socks off!:D

Definitely whales in ISP. More varied sealife in Sitka - including not only humpbacks, but perhaps gray whales, and the opportunity to see puffins in Sitka is also a huge draw. I've done both ports for waterbased trips over the years and have never been disappointed. If you can afford it, I'd highly recommend both.

For Sitka, we love going out with Capt. Davey (www.puffinsandwhales) for the small, 6-pak boat experience. He is such a knowledgable man and so interesting to hear his stories of living in beautiful Sitka. Saw my first gray whale with Capt. Davey - it was such a thrill!Plus his wife's homemade chocolate chip cookies don't suck!:D

For ISP, I've always gone whale watching (and a bear search) with Misty Bay Lodge, and have always had great success. Love their comfortable six passenger boat (though I hear they also acquired a new larger - 18 passenger maybe? boat over the winter to add to their fleet). Stop at the Lodge after your tour and try some of their delicious salmonberry ice cream, halibut pizza or seafood chowder - yum!

I'm a big fan of Misty Bay Lodge for both whale watching and bear searches. Have gone with them twice and was not disappointed. Felt like we were with old friends on their 6 passenger boat. Capt. Dan found us the whales and Hope, his wife (and van driver) is a dear. Highly recommend Misty Bay Lodge.

The wildlife viewing in Sitka will be more varied than just whales. You may see puffins (if you are lucky!), sea lions, and perhaps gray whales or Orcas along with the humpbacks. We've always been very lucky with varied sea life on our Sitka excursions (we use Capt. Davey w/www.puffinsandwhales.com for the small, six passenger boat experience). While in Juneau, you are almost guaranteed to see humpbacks. If it were me, I'd do both. Never can see enough whales in my book!;)

You picked a winner! I've done this itinerary 3 times since 2010 - haven't been disappointed yet. Here are some on the fly recommendations:

ISP - whale watching and/or bear search with Misty Bay Lodge. Fantastic!

Kodiak - 3 hour tour with Dake from MemoryMakers. Interesting, quirky guy with excellent insights to life in Kodiak.

Anchorage - rent a car and head north to Wasilla to visit the Iditarod Headquarters, then travel a bit further north to Big Lake to visit Martin Buser's Happy Trailers Iditarod Kennel for an amazing personalized tour of his mushing kennels and his take on life on the Iditarod trail. (Are you sensing a theme here? We love dogs:D). Stop at Thunderbird Falls or Eagle River recreation area on your way up or back for a great hike. Visit the Reindeer Farm in Palmer. Go to the Anchorage weekend market for a glimpse into Alaskan life - excellent regional foods, beautiful handmade crafts, etc. Go to the Aurora show in Anchorage - gorgeous photos and videos of the Northern Lights set to music.

Homer - my very favorite! Rent a car and go to Dr. Linda Chamberlain's Howling Husy Homestead off East End Road for a tour of her recreational mushing kennel (....those dogs again;)). Stop at the Homer Brewery for some brew tastings and be sure to try their Chai tea - delicious! Stop at the Pratt Museum. Take a flightseeing tour to Dick Proenecke's cabin on Twin Lakes with Stellar Air. Walk along the large boat harbor to search for the crab boats from the "Deadliest Catch" tv show - the Time Bandit homeports there and we've seen her every time. Have a delicious meal at Capt. Paddies on the Spit - amazing fish and chips or Kachemak Bay oysters. Go out to the Lands End Resort at the end of the Spit and watch the fishermen - both human and of the eagle variety - hauling in their catch. Keep an eye out for the sea otters floating right off shore. Visit the shops along the Spit for handcrafted, non-touristy, very unique items - particularly the sea glass jewelery.

Have a wonderful time, enjoy the Great Land. You'll be back....;)

You're welcome, mcrcruiser. I've done this itinerary 3 times since 2010 and can't recommend it highly enough. Hope you will give it some consideration.

Holland America has a true 14 day Alaskan itinerary (no repeat ports) sailing RT from Seattle. Includes several little visited ports like Kodiak, Homer, Anchorage (the city itself - not Whittier or Seward), Sitka, and ISP, along w/the usual 'suspects' of Ketchikan and Juneau, a full day in Victoria, BC, and glacier sailing of Tracy Arm.

Yes, jeans are permissable on HAL ships in the MDR on non-formal nights.

Hi Linda - yes, definitely try the Pratt Museum. We just loved it - spent several hours inside, lots of interactive and hands-on exhibits, pretty little outdoor gardens, videos to view, etc. Very enjoyable, and quite a collection for such a tiny museum. We enjoyed it even more than the Islands and Oceans Center. Although the outdoor walkways to the beach at I&O Center was really nice and we saw several moose on our stroll down to the water.

Another fun thing is to go into the Seafood Co-op on the Spit. If you like oysters, you can buy them fresh there, take them out to the picnic tables on their deck right on Kachemak Bay and have a picnic of your own!

Surprisingly, we found lots of great 'souveniers' at the local hardware store in Homer (can't remember the name of it right now - Gear Shack, maybe?). It is on the right as you are heading out of town on East End Road. They have great buys with some unusual items, and you can't beat shopping where the locals do!

If you happen to be in town on the day of Homer's Farmer's Market, it is on the left as you cross the bridge from the Spit into town. Wonderful handcrafted items for sale, lots of homemade jams, jellies, wines, meads, pickled veggies, etc., along with seafood (of course!) - the Halibut cheeks are DELICIOUS! They had entertainment, food stands, and just good, homespun fun browsing the local farmer's market. In 2013, it was on Saturday mornings when we were there in early May, however we were told they would expand to twice a week in the dead of summer - Saturdays and one day during the week, so perhaps you'll get lucky when the Statendam docks there.

I so wish I was going with you on this voyage. Hope you and your fellow Roll Call members have a splendid time. Enjoy!

Hi Carricruiser - would be happy to provide some recommendations for Homer. If interested, definitely rent a car - take a drive out East End Road for some spectacular views. Maybe go to Dr. Linda Chamberlain's Mushing Kennel - Howling Husky Homestead for a private tour of her kennel - so much wonderful and interesting information imparted by both her and her husband. Stop at Fritz Creek General Store for lunch (on East End Road) - quirky little place - part Post Office/part General store. Excellent food! Or if you don't mind the expense, a flight to Lake Clark to visit Dick Proenecke's homestead is downright amazing! Stop at the Homer Brewing Company for some delicous Chai Tea and craft beers. Visit the Islands and Ocean's Center or the lovely little Pratt Museum in town. Search the large boat harbor for some crab boats from the Deadliest Catch. Visit the Time Bandit shop in town and meet Capt. Andy/Capt. Jonathan's mom, Mary. Take the ferry to Seldovia - you can book this independently for a cheaper price. Have a delicious lunch of halibut or Kachemak Bay oysters at Capt. Paddies on the Spit.

Have to hit the showers now to get ready for work (after a long holiday weekend, that is tough;)) but I'll be back later with some more suggestions.

Welcome to Homedam, Clipper! Glad Mum is feeling better and you're all settled in from your adventure. Sucks that you both got hit by the dreaded 'plague' - can't imagine how awful that must be. But this too shall pass (pun intended;)) and it sounds as though you are both well on the road to recovery.

And hey, how about that? my two favorite Canadians met up onboard a HAL ship! (Hi Sue!:D) I too wish you could have spent more time together - I'm sure you would have hit it off like we did with each other!

Thanks again for posting as often as you did, Kathryn - it was a joy reading about your adventures. Next?!?

Absolutely, leave the formal stuff at home and plan on eating in the Lido (buffet) on formal nights, or get room service. Most cruiselines permit jeans in the dining room on other than formal nights (with a nice button up or polo shirt), so you wouldn't need to always eat in the Lido and/or room service unless you wanted to. We almost never eat in the MDR, even on non-formal nights - always in the Lido - just our preference, and not a priority for us. I prefer to be able to get a quick meal, and then get back out on deck to scan the seas for wildlife and enjoy the beautiful Alaskan scenery. Also take advantage of your ship's laundry service (or self-service laundry if your ship has it). On HAL ships, for a week cruise it is $49/per cabin for unlimited laundry service. You can send out a bag of laundry every day. Best bargain on the ship! Or you can take advantage of their $20/stuff a bag of laundry if that is preferable. That way you only need to pack for 4 or 5 days - trust me, no one cares if you wear an article of clothing twice;). Have a great time - you will just be enchanted by the Great Land!

Absolutely have seen many, many whales (even several breaches!) from that aft deck on the Amsterdam, as well as from our balcony on the Oosterdam. I live for whale watching from the ship - every waking moment finds me with binoculars around my neck and camera handy. A bit of an obsession, to be sure;). Its the best part of sailing to and from the Great Land, don't you think?

So sorry you are sick, Clipper. Hope you're feeling better soon and are sprung from quarantine. Been following your blog and loving it - thanx so much for keeping everyone informed. How sweet that you had your own personal bowl of soup made - great staff on those HAL ships always come through, don't they? Now get some rest, drink plenty of fluids, and get back to your old self real soon, ya hear?;) Hugs to Mum for me.

On the Amsterdam, on the 'secret' aft deck on the Navigation Deck - sailing Alaskan waters, gazing at the wake and scanning the seas for whale blows/tails/humps. Bliss! Life just doesn't get any better than that!;)

Twice we have rented a car on our port stop in Anchorage on the HAL 14 day itinerary. We grabbed a cab at the pier (they are lined up, one in - one out, right at the same area where the shuttle busses loaded). I believe the cab ride was approximately $12 for the two of us (last time was in 2011). We rented from Enterprise - 5th Street/Avenue(?) downtown. They do permit after hours drop off and we had no issues. We were sure to photograph the car before we left and again when we came back to prove there was no damage when we returned it, in the event it was questioned (never was). Really enjoyed the flexibility of having a vehicle on that very long port stop. Both times we drove north - the Iditarod headquarters in Wasilla, Hatcher Pass/Independence Mine, Eagle River Rec. area, the Reindeer Farm near Palmer, Martin Buser's Happy Trails Kennel in Big Lake, and several other unplanned stops that we just pulled over for when we saw something of interest.

I was also on last year's 14 day itinerary, and while my traveling companion and I did not rent a car that time, we did see the cab line-up as we'd seen in the past, and we did take advantage of HAL's free shuttle to town. Not sure what will be available this year, but I can't imagine they would not have the free shuttle since as previous posters have stated, there is no other way to get in and out of the Port of Anchorage - no private vehicles permitted.

Hi OP - not on the Veendam, but did get a peak inside the I's on the Navigation deck (deck 7) of the Amsterdam and they were HUGE! Another advantage of those insides on the Amsterdam was the proximity to the little known/little used public aft deck just down the hall. Like having a balcony without the pricey cost. Not sure if the Veendam has one of those 'secret' aft balconies on the deck you mentioned though. If those I cabins are anything like those on the Amsterdam, you would be wise to take it.

Sherry - we loved our stop at Eagle Beach, probably spent more time there than most others. The salmon were running at the time, thick in the water. My niece reached down and caught one with her hand - LOL! The eagles were everywhere. We walked along the water, took a peek inside the new forest service cabin they had just built, and ate lunch on the picnic table in front of the forest service cabin. We had the whole place to ourselves. It was just lovely. I think it is well worth a drive out there, and even to the end of the road, if you have a mind. There are several great view spots along the way looking out over Auke Bay, just stunning.

How about a stop at the Skater's Cabin across from Mendenhall? That is where we put in for our self-guided kayak tour of Mendenhall Lake, and it was a really pretty area. Maybe check out the marker dedicated to Romeo the black wolf while at Mendenhall? I'm not sure exactly where it is, but I did read the book after we were there last time, and was disappointed that I hadn't known about it before hand - would have loved to see that.

I've also heard that there are some nice beach walks over on Douglas Island, but I have no first hand experience.

Have fun! Like you, we've been to Juneau numerous times and really enjoyed the time we chose to rent a car for the day. Beautiful drive out the road - enjoy!

I've done the DIY kayak at Mendenhall w/Above and Beyond and we had a fantastic time! Seeing the glacier from water level was just awe-inspiring! Paddling around huge hunks of ice and bergie bits was so much fun - despite the headwind we paddled into and the liquid sunshine that was falling on us. We were taken to their 'equipment shack' at Auke Bay via van where we suited up and then were taken to the launch point with some basic instructions and what time to be back. Two others with me had never kayaked before but they quickly got the hang of it, and we were off. A word of warning to avoid the island because of nesting birds who were not adverse to dive bombing anyone who paddled too close was heeded by us, but not by another group. We could hear their shrieks and laughter as they got to close! :D All in all, a great time was had by all. Would do it again in a heartbeat!

YAY! I've been combing the boards hoping to find a 'live from' or 'blog' I could sail vicariously to on THE most special place on earth! Have a wonderful time - I'll be here, popcorn in hand and a cup of Chai tea from the Homer Brewery in hand to enjoy the 'view'. Thanks for taking us along!

Holland America ships have port stops in Sitka - one of my favorites!:D