jormot

My husband & I are trying to decide between these two excursions in Juneau. First time to Alaska for both of us. The Tracy Arm excursion would be a small boat trip via Allen Marine. Can anyone give me their thoughts on either or both of these options?

Other than the big price factor are there other benefits of going in May vs late July? Or vice versa I guess?

Based on personal opinion which are the best interior cabins on the Nieuw Amsterdam? Looking to book for Alaska 2017 and would prefer interior cabins to save money for excursions. We are looking for a cabin that is quiet and centrally located. Thank you!

From what I can tell all the 2016 sailings

I was researching Alaskan options again and noticed the Amsterdam is now going to Hubbard Glacier instead of Tracy Arm? Has anyone heard why the change? And do you think it will switch back to Tracy Arm?

We are looking at the 3hr glacier trek with helicopter tour from Juneau. Reviews seem to be really good.

I'm sorry, I meant round trip not one way.

I am a big fan of our Facebook page. I grew up in St. Joe and my family still lives there. You do very nice work. Curious about your Alaskan cruise? Did you enjoy it? Would you go again? Did you feel a bit let down sailing from Seattle vs Vancouver? We are looking at 2016 and a lot of people on this board have sailed Alaska over and over again, looking for a first timers opinion!

There are way too many options for cruising Alaska. We can only do a one way, either via Seattle or Vancouver. My husband wants to see Hubbard Glacier which leaves us with Celebrity R/T Vancouver. I would prefer Glacier Bay. However, if we do Glacier Bay it leaves us less money for excursions. If we chance Hubbard we can do the Glacier Trek in Juneau which will still give us a glacier experience. I know everyone feels differently about their experiences but based on yours which would be the most value and leave you with the most memories?

Is late May (week before Memorial Day) a bad time for Hubbard Glacier. I understand that there is always a chance the ship won't make it to the Glacier but is going earlier in the season a bad idea? Do we have a better chance later in the season?

Looking at a R/T Vancouver cruise on the Star Princess. Looking to book a balcony (not an aft). What would be the best location regarding both which deck and where on ship? For instance, is the wind quite a bit less towards the rear of the ship?

We are looking at two different Princess cruises that are R/T Vancouver in mid-May. One allows us time to do the R/T Tracy Arm excursion via Adventure Bound from Juneau. The other allows us time in Sitka (skipping SKagway). Of those of you who have been which do you think is the better option. Both allow us plenty of time in Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and Juneau to do the excursions we want. We had no interest in the train in Skagway so that is not a concern either. This will be our first cruise to Alaska and possibly our only cruise....although we want to do a land trip in the future. I understand each person has their own opinions but I am curious what you Alaskan experts think!

I know this is a cruise forum but many are very familiar with the interior of Alaska too. So my question is we would prefer a land tour over a cruise. Are there any glaciers available by land that would be as spectacular as Glacier Bay? We've never been but hear it's amazing. Hoping to find an alternative by land.

We Had a great trip! Ended up packing pretty much the right things, but I wanted to take my Uggs, mostly for around the ship, which I felt I would look strip leaving FT Lauderdale in them cause they take up too much room! Shudda brought them! Our weather mas marginal.

Seattle - sunny and warm. Do an underground tour in Pioneer SQ. Very interesting an precursor to Alaska from a history perspective.

We were on X Solstice. Great ship & Crew. Between the on-board Naturalist Brent Nixon's fun and informative talks on the ship - his live narration of Tracy Arm was so cool, and the Top Chef and other cooking demos (love that) I was very entertained on the ship.

Weather had a marine layer that just hung over the whole coast. But I must say offered some really interesting cloud and rolling fog over water and mountains.

Ketchican - Rainy, but a nicely laid out town. Take the Fox Creek lodge tram up to top and have a nice lunch. It at Creek street. Shocker - Diamonds intl is there.

Juneau weather was the worst. They cancelled all flight tours after 3pm. I would not have want to do any before that either. Too cloudy. I was forced to do a cruise tour to Mendenhall Glacier park for $95. True value maybe $40.

Skagway weather damp on arrival. But cleared up and we did White Pass Train. Gotta do it. So beautiful. Hang out on the platform to get great shots. Town and stores are fine and yes, Diamonds International. Our last chance to get Ulu knives. Love my caribo antler one. Use it every day.

The diesel motor coach pollution that hangs in all the towns was horrible - probably because of low ceiling, but I got overwhelmed a couple times.

Sea Days back were sunny maybe mid 60's.

I would go back to Alaska, but probably not on large cruise ship. I love to cruise, would just like a more Alaska experience. Small charter type cruises are available I hear. Hit ports when there aren't 4 big ships in port!

We all had a wonderful time, but can't wait for our 10 days in s. Carribean and relaxing on the sea and enjoying the ship (and Diamonds Intl :eek:).

So.....would you go again for the scenery? Even though the weather was less than desirable?

We are planning out our excursions for our July 2016 trip. Juneau and Ketchikan are done. However, we are unsure of what to do in Skagway. The train in not necessarily our favorite idea as we like something a bit more active & adventurous. Other than the train what has been your favorite excursion while in Skagway. Thanks for the input!

I let the boards talk us into the Yukon excursion for our last trip. Was soooooooo boring we could hardly stand it. DH wanted to see the sled dogs but the puppies are just exhausted from all the visitors and the older dogs are begging for treats all the time. The food served to us was awful so we ended up paying even more for ice cream at one of the stops to keep us happy.

 

The train was great so I'd stick with just that. It's a lot of sitting either way and the scenery from the train was enjoyable.

Can I ask which vendor you used? I am also very concerned about being bored on this excursion but not much else in Skagway has my interest and so many people get excited about this excursion.

We are leaving for Alaska in 2016. I have an Olympus Micro 4/3 camera and a standard 12-40 lens which I use for most of my day to day photography. Which other lenses would you suggest for both landscape and animal photography. We are going to Glacier Bay, Tracy Arm, and bear watching so I know I will need more than my 12-40 to cover everything.

We are technically docked from 1pm-10pm but are doing the small boat Tracy Arm excursion which gets us back at 3:3pm. Than at 5:30pm we want to do the Taku Glacier & Lodge float plane excursion which includes dinner. So, we are not worried about eating while in port and not really looking for anything in particular. Like I said, souvenirs which would be like a t-shirt or Christmas ornament. Nothing in particular.

How much time is needed to explore the port area (shopping etc) in Juneau? We are looking at taking two excursions while there but that only leaves about an hour to an hour & a half to explore the port itself. Is that enough time? We are not big shoppers but want to find a few souvenirs and stuff.

IMO you will get the same crab at a better price away from the dock. Tracey's was more expensive last year than it was to get crab at home, and since it is all frozen anyway we kept on walking.

Any suggestions on where to go instead? We will also be in Skagway & Ketchikan.

We have the option to take the small ship excursion to Tracy Arm via Allen Marine I believe. It picks us up from the ship and we arrive back in Juneau at around 3:3pm. I am curious if this excursion and glacier bay are too similar? There are several options in Juneau we are interested in so we are trying to decide if those are better alternatives since we are already going to glacier bay. Those who have done both I would really appreciate your thoughts on this.

My husband wants to eat at Tracy's but I am not a fan of crab at all. Is there anywhere nearby that I can grab something and we can eat together outside? It does not look like Tracy's has a dining room or anything of the sort. I like seafood, just not crab or lobster.

We are looking at a May 21st cruise that offers a Tracy Arm excursion via Allen Marine and a small boat. The first official cruise of the season that offers this excursion is the week after we are going, however they did say there is a 75% chance the excursion will be offered the week we go. Has anyone done the Tracy Arm excursion this early in the season and what was your experience? The itinerary included Glacier Bay so I am not sure how much they compare. Also, if Tracy Arm is not the best choice this early in the season we may switch itineraries and take a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay & Sitka. Any thoughts from those experienced Alaskan cruisers our there?

We are considering these options also. I would like to hear some more opinions from people who have been.

First time cruising with HAL. So far I plan to book my specialty restaurants and excursions prior to the cruise. Is there anything else I should be booking ahead of time?