tlcoke
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Posts posted by tlcoke
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I did the flightseeing with Glacier Landing with Talkeetna Air Taxi and the Hurricane Turn Train with the Alaskan Railroad. Conductor Warren shares about life living off the grid and reliance on the railroad. Many wildlife sightings are possible on this trip, too. On my trip we saw a beaver building a dam, salmon spawning in Warren's Fishing hole stop and trumpeter swans and a rainbow over Hurricane Gulch. The train runs Thursday - Sunday during the summer (with an occasional Monday if it is a Holiday weekend)
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I was blessed with beautiful weather on my 20 day trip this past August, with the exception of one day - our disembarkation day in Seward which was our only rainy day. While hiking to exit glacier, I wished I had waterproof pants as my pants got soaked mainly from drip run-off from my raincoat. Unless you are planning a lot of outdoor excursions, I would not go out of my way purchasing them. My waterproof shoes and waterproof jacket was plenty for the most part.
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Thanks for sharing about your trip Yvette. Sorry, we never got to meet up on the ship. I hope to get time to write my trip report soon of my 20 day trip.
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From what I saw last year the PDF Airfare sale, it required to you to fly by mid May, so unless you are on a early season cruise most likely this sale will not affect your flight prices but it pays to watch the prices. I put a price watch on my flight options using Kayak.com and had a basis of where the prices started. I manage to get my flight price down below opening price in mid December and they held until the end of January before going up significantly ($100+) for my Late July/Mid August flights.
I got the Delta Sky Miles card to get the added points to give me enough points to fly my Anchorage leg for free as it was the most expensive leg.
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My trip, most days I wore a basic technical (moisture wicking) t-shirt. I had a couple of long sleeve t-shirts with me also. Since I was on a northbound cruise, I planned to and bought a heavier jacket ($20) and sweatshirt in Ketchikan ($8). I only used the heavier jacket on Hubbard Glacier day, then mailed it home from Anchorage. I used the sweatshirt off and on the entire trip. It was never cold enough that I had to use the second layer under my jeans that i had with me.
The one item I wished I had was waterproof pants for the one day we experienced heavy rain to go with the Eddie Bauer rain jacket I had with me.
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I had four pairs of shoes with me on my land/cruise trip in August. My Walk/Running shoes, Murrel mid cut waterproof shoe similar to picture above, crocs and a nice pair of dress shoes. I wore all more than once during my 20 day trip, however I found I wore my Waterproof Murrel's the most even on excursions unless otherwise was recommended other footwear. They are very comfortable for walking.
The weather on my trip was mostly sunny with very little rain during my entire trip we only had one washout day out of 20 and it was not in Ketchikan, it did rain overnight as we left a few ports, but mostly sprinkles nothing major. We did have some muddy terrain in a couple areas that had had rain the day before we arrived.
I bought my Murrel's on Black Friday at over 50% off their normal retail. They came in handy last winter for all the snow we got.
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Great, thanks for the information! How did you like Millennium in general?
@Coral: Thank you as well. I am wondering that even RCI does not offer them... in 2013, people I know of me were onboard of Radiance which had a lecturer. :confused:
Maybe not at the beginning or end of a season...
This was my first cruise with Celebrity, Overall, I had an enjoyable trip. Millie is a good ship for it's age, I enjoyed my Sweet 16 room. However, we did experience some major issues in the MDR with Special Dietary issues (noted prior to cruising) that was not handled per our expectations based on our experiences with another cruise line. Not sure if issue was our dining room team or Celebrity in general in how they handle non-traditional Allergy issues in the dining room.
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I was on the Millennium earlier this month. We had naturalist Dirk Y onboard. He had specific times each day he spoke in the Theater and additional times in the Cosmos Lounge for special viewing times for possible whale sightings and during the Hubbard Glacier Day.
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Just back yesterday from a 20 day cruise/land tour. The Worst spot was in Healy/Glitter Gulch at end of the Canyon Run White Water Rafting trip at the pull out site and some around shops in the Gulch area. I also saw some on the Fly/Drive trip to/from Arctic Circle coming down the Dalton Highway. The Park around Rika's Roadhouse near Delta Junction and around Matanuska Glacier area but these were minimal compared to the rafting site. I used 100% Deet and didn't have any issues with bites.
In Southeast during cruise - only encountered a few on the west trail near the Mendenhall Glacier.
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I set up a price watch on Kayak.com when prices became available and found my best prices in Late December - end of January for my flights to Vancouver and from Anchorage for my August Cruise. Which was roughly $10 cheaper than opening pricing.
Just be aware, the airlines WILL adjust their flights and schedules within a couple months of your trip. I have had an outright cancellation which after a 45 minute call with the airline, I was upgraded to a exit row for free and the extra money paid for extra legroom was refunded as the new flight did not have any seats in this category available. My other flight legs have had minor adjustments in schedules also.
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I second the Airline Credit card - if you apply online at purchase of airline tickets and make your purchase with the pre-approved card, they sometimes have additional promotions giving you a rebate on your ticket as well as additional bonus air miles if you spend $1000 in the first 60 or 90 days of receiving the card. If you cancel the card prior to the 1 year mark you do not have to pay the annual fee. As a card holder, you then get the first bag free as stated above.. Some airlines give you free companion tickets. Best to look for the best offer to meet your needs.
I like you, normally travel via Southwest, but had about 20,000 delta skymile banked and by getting their Amex card with my flight to Vancouver purchase, I was able to get the bonus Skymiles and book my flight home from Anchorage for free using my miles. Price out all options and choose what is best for you. Check other airports in your area to see if you can find a better deal on your flight cost. For me, I am traveling 100 miles from where I live, over my local airport as the savings was well over $100.
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Nice Video of your trip. Thanks for sharing.
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This is a good review to check out regarding fishing excursions - LJ and family did some type of fishing excursion in every port you are visiting. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1679447
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Per Scott at the Disney Cruise Blog - Late 2016
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Thanks for answering questions - Did you by chance get any photos of the menus in the MDR? The ones I have found online are almost 2 years old and not sure if they are still the same.
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Dang, HAL doesn't have such a thing as a personalizer.....
Have your TA note it on your reservation or if you book direct, call them and have them add it to your reservation.
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I look forward to your review. I am doing a Northbound on Millie in a couple of weeks.
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I have decorated my door on Caribbean Cruises - plan to do a Frozen theme for Alaska with Olaf and something to signify my Birthday - since it will fall during the cruise.
It just makes it easier to find my stateroom in a sea of doors.
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Tracey,
I am not a gal who exercises on a regular basis so you should be fine if you are actually "training."
Kelly
Thanks for the encouragement Kelly. My "Training" is rebuilding my endurance up for the longer trek.
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BCHappyGirl:
You might want to take #17 off your list of places to visit:
From their facebook page from the link provided in your list: "Regretfully, The Society will no longer be operating wildlife conservation & breeding programs, nor our guided educational tours. We continue to offer support to the Northern Spotted Owl Program, that is now managed by the B.C. Ministry of Lands & Forests. The Vancouver Island Marmot program will conclude this year, after 15 years of successful breeding at Mountain View.
More information on how you can continue supporting wildlife conservation programs will be posted here soon, or you can register your support now at info@mtnviewconservation.org
Thank you."
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BCHappyGirl:
You might want to take #17 off your list:
From their facebook page from the link provided in your list: "Regretfully, The Society will no longer be operating wildlife conservation & breeding programs, nor our guided educational tours. We continue to offer support to the Northern Spotted Owl Program, that is now managed by the B.C. Ministry of Lands & Forests. The Vancouver Island Marmot program will conclude this year, after 15 years of successful breeding at Mountain View.
More information on how you can continue supporting wildlife conservation programs will be posted here soon, or you can register your support now at info@mtnviewconservation.org
Thank you."
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"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed in the things that you didn't do then by the ones that you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour, and catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain.
I love this quote.
Thanks Jolucy and Trip Biatch for your reports on the Glacier Trek. I hope I am not the weak link in our group. Since I booked this last December, I have suffered some set backs in my exercise routine due to an injury. I have finished Physical Therapy and will have about a Month of full training in before I do this trip next month - so I plan to be ready to conquer the Glacier.
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I don't know if Alaska Airlines is an option for your location.
Also, sometime in Oct, Alaska has its annual 'sale'. It coincides with the PFD checks that Alaska residents receive.
Last year from what I saw of their flights in the October sale the offers ended in late April/Early May before the majority of the summer travel season began.
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I started watching pricing of flights when they opened up last summer - then set up a watch on Kayak.com so I had a benchmark on prices while I finalized my plans. I saw a little fluxuation in the first 3 months before the prices dropped lower than opening price at roughly about 8 months out around the end of December - first part of January.
Just know if you book early - most likely your flight schedule will change drastically or possibly be cancelled and reassigned before your trip.
Binoculars a must?
in Alaska
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I took Binoculars with me last summer on my 20 day trip and only used them a couple of times and that was on the bus trip into Denali. I found, I used my camera more often, and would probably leave them behind on any future trip.