InternetAgeTraveler

and similar in Juneau but that was where we saw the pod of Orcas so not complaining about that!

I will admit to using "horrible" to be a bit dramatic, but the point being what you have said, make do what you get.

The one disappointment was that the star of an Alaska cruise, namely Alaska itself remained hidden for a lot of the trip. We got a few moments which offset all of the rest, but the examples below comparing our previous 2 times in Glacier Bay make the point I think,

We have sailed three times on Alaska cruises. The first two times we had amazing weather and the cruise crew even joked they wanted to keep us on because it was so good.

However our most recent cruise, it rained a lot and was very cloudy. We almost couldn’t see anything in Glacier Bay nor saw many of the mountains that are normally visible along the route. The only days we had good weather was before departure in Vancouver and in Skagway. In Seward, it was raining and very low clouds.

For the full trip report see this link https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2647072

But we still had a lot of fun. We did kayaking and saw a lot of wildlife (and only got a little wet). We saw bubbles net feeding right from our balcony while in port in Ketchikan. We saw an amazing pod of orca whales in Juneau. We went into the Yukon and did a dogsled ride. We saw many types of wildlife including bears and moose.

Fortunately, when we got into the Denali area the weather did improve and we got to see Denali as well as take a number of other adventures there.

It would have been even more amazing if we had better weather for sure, but we all agreed when it was over, it was one of the best vacations ever.

They used to stop at medenhall but it requires a permit and they no longer have them. You are in the same position as anyone else wanting to see it, see the general threqds on taxi vs shuttle vs renting a car. When we were there, it was quite rainy and wasn’t visible from the bridge.

Seeing whales happens all of the time. It’s how close are you to the whales and what do you see. If you watch from the ship for the whale to spout, you will see them and possibly them diving. But you may be a long ways away. The whale tours do the same thing but try to get you closer and they exchange info on where they are.

We saw bubble feeding right from our balcony while docked in Ketchikan so anything is possible. We also went with Harv&Marv and saw orcas so that can happen too. But both are more rare than the typical tail show.

Thanks for the review! I'm also on a northbound port side cabin in a couple of months and was worried I picked the wrong side .. I actually had no choice as that was the last balcony cabin available. It's good to hear that I'll also get some great views and not have to go deckside.

I always go deck side when there is nothing to see, just to be sure I am not missing a calving, etc., but it isn't essential. At Hubbard, it is OK to stay there as you sail in, but once the ship stops, get to the starboard side for the best views (at least on ours that was the case).

In my photo collection, here are 2 sets from Glacier Bay when we could see it. You can see how vivid the photos (most from the balcony) were.

Here is the link, posted originally in the Alaska forum

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2647072

More photos not in the report can be found here

Going southbound in August......curious if they have movies on the ship

yes, there were - check our the dailys I posted, they are listed in there.

heading home

We retired back to Touch of Wilderness for one last night before heading back. Night is somewhat relative as it never actually did get dark. As noted above, sunset was at 12:30 and sunrise was at 3:30 and the 3 hours in between were more like twilight.

Midnight view versus 3:30 am views

We did a leisurely breakfast, saw this cute chipmunk and started our trek towards home.

As we crossed back to the Anchorage side, we hit some light rain but the clouds were higher than on the drive in so we did get to see a few more snowy mountains. Denali was clouded in from this side again (still?).

It took just over 5 hours to drive from Healy to Anchorage with no stops except a short rest area stop and about 15 minutes at one construction zone. We ate lunch at Humpy's at the downtown location on recommendation from our daughter, who at the time was in Dutch Harbor (which is a long way from Anchorage). We headed to the airport and dropped our rental. It was quick and an easy walk to the terminal to check in. The security lines were modest and we were ready to go. We added a couple of souvenirs from the airport that we had waited to get, but it was an expensive place to get them.

We really enjoyed getting to sleep in our own beds finally. We had been gone 16 days but itwas a great 16 days…

The end… (for now)

Denali – Day 2

We had reserved the 9am shuttle to Eielson. Per various advice on the board, we elected to save about $100 each compared to theTundra Wilderness Tour.

We booked a 9am departure because we didn’t want to get there too early but despite the advice that animal viewing in the park varies,our own personal experience said that animals are more active in the mornings and evenings. Since the B&B we chose was outside of Healy, we needed to allow about 30 minutes to get back to the Denali entrance. We picked up a box lunch in town and were at the park by about 8:20.

We elected for the port, I mean left side of the bus mainly due to the course that the road follows along the right side of the canyon. For the most part, that worked well for us. Tracy, our driver seemed to know every nook and cranny and went out of her way to make sure everyone saw the animals and got the photo they wanted. We saw a big bull moose on the way in (still on the paved section), dhal sheep, several bears and lots of caribou, plus the assortment of ground squirrels, arctic hares and a ptarmigan. For the most part, except the moose, the animals were quite a distance from the road and view-able via binoculars.

At the first observation point, Denali was clouded in…

As we crossed the ridge into Eielson, Denali was visible about halfway up. It was quite impressive compared to the view we had yesterday, we were now about half the distance from it. But the top was still cloudy. But with binoculars, you could occasionally see a bit of the mountain peeking through. Tracy commented that it was only the 5th time this season that she had seen this much.

We elected to take the same bus back but the majority of people on our bus stayed. We considered it, but had another activity planned that evening and wanted to get back. During the stop, the north peak became more and more visible but the clouds remained on the south peak. It was funny, you kept seeing a little more with clouds above it, but as the clouds cleared, there was still mountain above the spot your had seen. Eventually, it was just mountain.

As we were leaving, the south face started also peaking out and Tracy stopped for more pictures. But it wouldn't stay clear long enough to get a good picture. As we reached the Toklat area, it finally showed both north and south summits.

But shortly after, it appeared to completely cloud up again. But we were happy, we got to see it up close and saw both peaks.

The bus trip back was another 4 hours. We were ready to be back so it sure would have been nice if they had some kind of teleporter at the end to get you back quicker. We did see some wildlife but it was too hot for most to be out. The animals were trying to keep cool since it was in the mid 70’s.

On the way back into town, we stopped at the Prospector’s Pizza again since we really liked their pizza. We ordered a variety of meals, but they weren’t nearly as good. I guess when it has pizza in the name, you should stick with the pizza.

We had also booked an ATV ride that evening at 9 pm. If you noticed, this was the only time we booked multiple planned excursions in a day. One per day was sufficient and we always found ways to spend the time.We chose one operated by Denali ATVs, it was called the Midnight sun ride. We elected for the explorer option which meant we had a private tour for the 4 of us rather than being part of the larger group which at the same time we went was about 20 vehicles. We opted for 2 side by side ATVs. It was dry on the trails and we were pretty dusty when we got off but we also got a chance to ride in Dry Creek (which it wasn’t).

We felt that the private option gave us more time to do what we wanted and it was worth it. They took us a few places they said they wouldn’t take the bigger group. We took turns driving as well. My wife’s sister had never driven an ATV but when we reached one of the vantage points, she already was ready to do more.

We rode for 1.5 hours and were due back at 11pm. We did this tour on June 20th so we are close to the longest day of the year. In fact, the sun didn’t set until 12:30 so it was very bright yet.

It really was a highlight of our trip and we spent a lot of time reliving the experience.

All that is left now is the trip home :-(

HI internet Traveller. Love reading your report. Just a question re your time at Tagish Lake Kennels, operated by Michelle Phillips - was it easy to find? I havent decided yet about hiring a car as its only me and I'm Australian so driving on the other side of the road scares me but I would love to visit those kennels.

thanks

Very easy, it is on the right hand side of the road at milepost 74.5 (actually in KM at point not miles) and there are signs posted for it too.

I will be in the UK next week driving on your side of the road. I can say that I find it pretty easy since it is a mirror image so perspective doesn't change. The pedals are the same and most US cars are automatic so you don't have to worry about shifting. The road isn't too bad. Maybe post a message on your cruise roll car and see there is anyone looking to share a ride?

Denali – Day 1

After our breakfast, we played a game of suitcase Tetris and we on our way toward Healy. The rain was not as bad as the day before and clouds were a bit higher. We had hopes that the weather was improving. While the forecast for Anchorage/Talkeetna was continued clouds and rain. The forecast for Healy was for broken clouds and no rain. That sounded promising. We had several opportunities to capture more moose photos. I don’t really know how many we saw over the 4 days, but a lot for sure. The drive itself was nice, although the clouds were still lower than the peaks.

We stopped at the south viewpoint in Denali State Park and of course got a great view of clouds. We felt compelled to take a picture and technically you can see Denali, the very faint snowy portion in the lower left is thebase of Denali, but the remainder remains hidden behind the clouds.

We had a 2 pm reservation to do rafting in Denali so that gave us sufficient time to make the drive. I took this picture below, noting at the time, it was kind of boring but I felt compelled to do something.

But things were looking up, the closer we got to the Denali park entrance area, the nicer the weather starting to look. At least it wasn’t raining anymore…

We had lunch at the Prospector’s Pizza. The pizza was really good.

The rafting check- in was just back a mile so that worked perfectly. Once we got there, we met up with the guide and the other rafters going with us. We elected to do the “they row” option versus “we row”. We got dry suits and boots to keep us mostly dry and headed down. As we approached the river, I think everyone was second guessing this one. The river was pretty high due to all of the rain they had been getting. They said it was close to the point they would have to close it (some of the other companies in town did cancel some that day).

But once we were on the river, it really was a lot of fun. Our guide, Mudflap, was great and entertaining and we never felt the least bit afraid. The river being so high did reduce some of the rapids (too much water) and shortened the trip time (it was flowing fast) but it was a blast. We would have done it again if they had offered.

Our next stay was at the Denali Touch of Wilderness B&B. It was in a very peaceful location just outside of Healy. They put a lot of effort into the place and while it had its quirks, our room had an outside entrance and their room had a window into the common area, we really enjoyed our stay. They offered made to order breakfast and a variety of snacks during the day.

If you want to stay here, the best place to book is Expedia. We had booked on booking.com but they currently don't n reserve through there. You book by the specific room you want and they offer pictures and specifics for each room.

We had dinner at the Totem Inn and it was good but nothing fancy. By dinner the weather had continued to improve. As we were finishing up, I said “we can drive up to 15 miles up the park road and we don’t have anything else to do”. Everyone agreed, let’s take a drive. And as luck would have it, we spotted a white object in the distance and when we got to a good vantage point, there was Denali.

What a relief, our land tour was looking up. We had the shuttle to Eielson tomorrow so we could hope for even better views, but at least we weren’t going home without at least 1 glimpse.

On the way back to the hotel, we saw even more moose,including 2 sets of twins. Since the clouds had cleared, the approaching summer solstice was very obvious, we were taking pictures at midnight and it was still quite light.

What will tomorrow bring?

Seward

We elected to rent a car in Seward and drop in Juneau. There wasn’t a drop charge but the price perday was more expensive. We looking at dropping in Fairbanks too, but that we quite a bit more. We considered a variety of options for getting from Seward to Anchorage, but for the 4 of us, the bus or train didn’t save any money and/or cut into the time that we had. We had 4 days to spend and wanted to have the freedom to do what we wanted. One option we considered was renting the car from Hertz for a single day in Seward, dropping it in Anchorage on the same day and picking up a cheaper vehicle from another car company for the remaining 3 days, but while it would have saved money, we weren’t familiar with the car rental at the airport in Anchorage. Having now been there, it would have been a simple option to have done since all of the car companies are in the same location.

Getting from the cruise terminal to Hertz was easy as therea check in right there and a shuttle to the Hertz location. I went ahead and picked the car while therest of the group finished breakfast. Our first challenge was fitting all of the suitcases in the car. I had gone for a full size, but with 4 of usand bags, we needed something larger. We eventually worked out the right sequence (like a game of Tetris) to get all of our bags in,but it was a challenge. A largervehicle with more trunk space really was needed. Oh, and of course, it was pouring rain as notedabove while we tried to work this out.

But shortly we were on our way. The stormy weather also meant we didn’t get to see much of the scenery between Seward and Anchorage. The original plan had been to take our time, stopping along way and reaching Talkeetna for our first stop late in the day. We elected to not make any stops and just head there. We did get our first MOOSE picture of the trip shortly outside of Seward. 2 together in a small pond. The clouds were not as thick as they had been so it was better but it was still disheartening to have the rain. To give some context, of the 4 of us, other than the moose, no one took a single picture on Monday.

Talkeetna

We arrived by lunch. We had chosen to stay in Talkeetna the first night to avoid trying to make the drive all the way to Healy in one day. It seemed like a good stopping point,although a bit touristy but at least it was a destination to have. We even considered a flight tour in case of nice weather. We stay at Talkeetna Love-Lee cabins. The cabins were nice,although a bit out of town which was both good and bad. They offered full kitchens and a jacuzzi tub. While we ate both lunch and dinner in Talkeetna, this allowed us to pick up some groceries to do our own breakfast in the morning. They are a relatively new venture and constantly adding on. I think they would have been a better option if we had elected to stay several days versus a 1 night stay.

During the afternoon, we toured the nearby Denali Brewery. It was quite an interesting tour, taking about an hour, offered a variety of tasting option. We had actually ate their restaurant in Talkeetna for lunch and had already sampled some of the beer. They asked for $10 each and it was worth it. We also picked up some t-shirts of course…

Our goal of course was to get a view of Denali, but inTalkeetna, all we got were more clouds and periodic rain.

found a few more whale pictures from Ketchikan and Juneau

nice shot of the 3 of the 6 taking a dive, still amazed that this happened within 100 yards of the ship

just after surfacing

a final shot

for the Orca. a similar but more detailed shot to the one earlier

although the best experience to me is still the 2 minute video i posted previously

Most noticeable to me is the hours of daylight. In most cases, it will be when cruising but as an example, when we sailed in August, we arrived in the dark and left Skagway at 8PM and it was already getting dark, we didn't see any of Lynn Canal. When we sailed in June, it was light until almost midnight so the potential to see a lot more. Of course, these are also times when you might be in shows or eating, etc. so whether that matters to you or not is really up to you.

Before I move on to land tour, a few other observations that came to mind

Best investment: A rain jacket. We needed it almost every day. We chose ones that were just jackets, no lining, and went over whatever we were wearing.

Best advice: Layers. For us, it was crucial, we had weather all over the place so being able to strip a layer as needed was essential.

Best deal: The laundry bag on Day 4. Amazing how much you can get into the bag. We calculated about $200 worth of washing compare to the $19.99 it cost

Most fun: Elevator roulette with the cruise staff. Although it did annoy the people on the elevators I think.

Best planning: Book independent when you can. Not only is it cheaper, but smaller groups make it so much more enjoyable.

correction for Day 3 - there was an issue with the original link

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ue963d62lth90ny/Daily3.pdf?dl=0

Thank you. Very informative. We're going on the July 9 Vancouver to Seward cruise, so this is very helpful.

 

 

In disembarkation at Seward, you mentioned 7:30am slot. How long did it take you (customs, getting luggages) to be out on the dock? We're doing the Major Marine Kenai Fjord 7.5 cruise. They said they'll pick up 8:30am from the dock, for their 10am cruise. Sounds like an early pick up. We'd rather stay on the Jewel for as long as we can, including having a good breakfast without rushing. So we're wondering how easy or hectic the disembarkation is.

It was pretty fast, in the links below, i included the schedule they posted but we didn't rush - but as you note, the bus and other tours started after we left.

Can you please check the Daily 3 for Ketchikan. I downloaded all other days but Day 3 gave error message.

 

 

Thanks.

here is updated link, not sure what happened to the original

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ue963d62lth90ny/Daily3.pdf?dl=0

From my review

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=56355056

https://www.dropbox.com/s/r4fhpwp8of...aily1.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/byhff3ie2p...aily2.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vxomcghrep...aily3.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e00xtua4gr...aily4.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5dlkyq492...aily5.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bts0bpvgfv...aily6.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zwr1edj63q...aily7.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tqwldllb46...mbark.pdf?dl=0

as promised, here are the dailys

day 1 Vancouver - Embark

https://www.dropbox.com/s/r4fhpwp8ofgmr62/Daily1.pdf?dl=0

Day 2 Cruising

https://www.dropbox.com/s/byhff3ie2pv1xaf/Daily2.pdf?dl=0

Day3 Ketchikan

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vxomcghrepyhttps://www.dropbox.com/s/bts0bpvgfv9aedm/Daily6.pdf?dl=0nybh/Daily3.pdf?dl=0

Day 4 Juneau

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e00xtua4grdix9g/Daily4.pdf?dl=0

Day 5 Skagway (also includes laundry special)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5dlkyq492ecfkm/Daily5.pdf?dl=0

Day 6 Glacier Bay

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bts0bpvgfv9aedm/Daily6.pdf?dl=0

Day 7 Hubbard

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zwr1edj63q78qo0/Daily7.pdf?dl=0

Disembark Info

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tqwldllb46n27cg/Disembark.pdf?dl=0

Day 7 – Hubbard Glacier

We woke to the ship’s foghorn and fog. Nothing to see except white. As we approached Hubbard, the fog waslifting a bit so we had fingers crossed. Theice in the bay was amazing, really hard to describe and as the ship passed sounded like pop rocks.

We got as close as the small island in front. For Hubbard, the starboard side got their chance to see it first. We went to deck 13 and had great viewing.

Again, they opened the bow for viewing. It was not as rainy as Glacier Bay, but still pretty cold and all of the surrounding mountains were hidden. The ship stayed in this position for a good period of time and then rotated again so we retreated to our cabin to watch some more. We got some calving and the cracking was amazing. It was really a treat even with the poor weather. But soon it was time to go and we headed back out into the fog.

Once we got in the Gulf of Alaska, we really started rocking and rolling with the waves. The Jewel handled it well, but for some people, enough to make them nauseous. The Jewels sails directly across from Yakutat to Seward so a lot of time spent in the open gulf.

We did a final dinner in Azure. For reference, a dinner in Azure or Tsar took about 2 hours. The buffet was a good option and was about30 minutes. We did a few more sit-downdinners this cruise because we had the time to do them. For breakfast on the other hand, we always ate in the buffet.

We got our luggage tags and since were doing the land touron our own, our selected time off the ship was 7:30.

We took in one last show, the combined magic and comedy show. The rocking was noticeable and our wives didn’tgo but as long as you were laughing, it was hard to notice.

Disembark

When we arrived in Seward, it was raining and windy with a special weatherstatement. Getting off the ship was easy with no linesand since we did the land tour on our own, our luggage was ready and waiting. It seems most cruises were taking alternateforms out, either the train or cruise tours so that made it easy for us.

I will cover the landtour in the next update.

Day 6 – Glacier Bay

The forecast was not good for our day in Glacier Bay and aswe entered the bay, there were a lot of clouds. I had seen in reviewing the webcams (see mysignature) that it can clear as you head north but today was not one of those days. It was foggy and rainy all of the way. No mountains were visible. Around the glaciers there was some clearing so visibility was actually better there but not great.

They opened the bow of the ship on Deck 8 for viewing. There were some brave souls,but it was cold and rainy. Fortunately,we had our port cabin and were just cold. We stopped short of Margerie Glacier for considerable time. When we had sailed the Pearl on our 2 previous Alaska cruises, we went further in so we could see the whole of the glacier valley but on this cruise, we only saw the face.

I think it was a combination of the low tideand the abundance of icebergs around kept us from getting in. We turned so the back of the ship and starboard rooms could view. I went up ondeck, but the steady rain kept most guests inside.

We sailed down to Lamplugh Glacier and got in very close toit. It was a beautiful sight. We spent a long time there and eventually turned so the other side got views. On the Pearl, we had also sailed into the mouth of the bay to see John Hopkins Glacier, but we didn’t do that either sothe extended stay at Lamplugh was appreciated.

We sailed out into the bay and it continued to get more and more cloudy to the point of being a total white out for the rest of theday. A disappointment in this beautiful area to not be able to see anything. ;-(

As I mentioned in my intro, Glacier Bay is one of the primary reasons we get port cabins. When you sail in to the bay, you are headed north, and in the morning the sun lights up the mountains on the west side. This make great photo ops as soon as youroll out of bed. On the starboard side,there are mountains too, but you are looking into the sun. As you sail up the bay, glaciers are all on the port side and the commentary matches what you are seeing. So again, you can get views right from the comfortof your balcony. As you approach Margerie Glacier, this is also on the port side. The ships generally maneuver along this side first before turning and heading out. The port side gets the majority of time although the Jewel did a goodjob of giving both sides views, I wouldn’t want to wait on the starboard side for it to spin around. I still suggestgoing on deck when it does but there’s just a different feel to seeing itapproaching from your Balcony. When theships sail out, the commentary is over and you can now see the mountains to the east better because the sun has moved west. Of course, on deck when you cant see is also advisable.

see our pictures from our 2010 cruise to demonstrate the point

In our case, both sides didn’t get to see any of the beautiful scenery but that isn’t under anyone’s control.

The show tonight was Le Cirque Bijou. A pretty good exhibition with acrobatics combining the Duo Elegia and the production cast. Really worth going to see (second time we had seen in on the Jewel) with a lot of energetic performances

.

Tomorrow is Hubbard Glacier, lets hope for the best.

Day 5 – Skagway (2 ships in port)

After leaving Juneau, the Carnival Legend passed us, also on its way to Skagway and the lighting was perfect to capture this beautiful image.

We arrived Skagway early as well and all clear was issued about 30 minutes early. We were booked at dock 2 which is the furthest from town. It is a long walk down the pier and then into town. The organized tours are on the pier, but we had rented a car to go into the Yukon.

There is the “Smart Bus” which for $2 each direction or $5 for all day pass goes between the end of the dock and down town. The distance is walkable, but the fare is reasonable to make it not necessary to.

When we arrived at Avis, there was one person in front of usand our rental was completed quickly. Shortly after we got there, a large group getting multiple cars showed up, another clerk also helped with cars, but it paid to get there early.

We had done the drive before and it is a great way to seethe Yukon on a budget. Car and gas was $180 total for the 4 of us. Just be sure to take your passport and get a copy of Murray’s guide which is a great reference for the area. We made the loop up to Emerald Lake and back, stopping for lunch in CarCross. We saw mountain goats, a porcupine and a bear (right on the side of the road).

When we started, there were clouds obscuring the mountains, but cleared as the day went on, especially on the Canadian side with high clouds over the Alaska range.

The highlight was a stop at Tagish Lake Kennels, operated by Michelle Phillips and Ed Hopkins, Iditarod sled dog competitors. They offer puppy viewing and dog cartrides. When we got there, no one else was there. She previously did the rides at Caribou Crossing but is independent now and doesn’t do the large tour groups. Since it wasn’t busy, she gave the extended ride and it was so much fun. She answered all of our questions as we went and both us and the dogs had a great time. She uses an ATV nowcompared to the cart she had at Caribou Crossing which gave her more control,was not nearly as bumpy but also can aid the dogs when needed.

With all of the stops and lunch, total time from car pickup to drop off was 8 hours.

Back on ship, we did dinner at Azure, which has the same menu as Tsar’s Palace but no dress code. As we ate, we left port a bit early and were headed up Lynn Canal, offering views of spectacular waterfalls and some mountain views amongst the clouds.

So far, things had been going pretty well, but they were about to change, and not for the better.

Tomorrow, Glacier Bay (and not the one from the photos from our previous 2 trips).

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2647072

NCL Jewel Northbound

Vancouver

Ketchikan

Juneau

Skagway

Glacier Bay

Hubbard

Seward