huskyguy

Many people in Haines, Skagway and even Whitehorse were tossed awake 45 minutes ago by a 5.8 earthquake in Glacier Bay, near Russell Island (the mouth of Tarr Inlet and John Hopkins Inlet). It's a safe bet that a lot of ice was shaken off the glaciers. That should make for some bad ice conditions everywhere in the region for at least a few days, for ships trying to approach. http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/Seis/recent/macsub/quakes/2014155_evid11281644/evid11281644.html

If you stay on the cruise ship you may not even see either of the Sawyers Glaciers - many ships that go into Tracy Arm don't get within sight of them. And you don't have any other options except by doing excursions.

Thanks for info, but I was trying to nail down the actual address.

690 n Douglas highway is what I find is that the actual heliport?

Yes, it is.

They're between downtown and the airport. The Alaska Heli-mush Web site says: "Era Helicopters is only 4 miles from downtown Juneau. We will be more than happy to pick you up and provide round trip transport at no charge to you."

The seasonal stores stay open as long as there are people on the street, but many of the locals close at normal hours. So if you want a diamond or $2.99 t-shirt, there will be lots of shopping choices :)

I've never rented from them (or even seen their operation), but the reality (IMHO) is that there are no deals in Alaska - when something is really cheap, there's a reason. This company used to have the Rent-a-Wreck franchise, but RaW corporate has a quality standard, and that may be why they're completely independent now.

We took a Dyea Dave tour to Carcross and back last year. Our tour driver lives in Dyea, and I swear she said about 7 people lived there. I don't think she was kidding.

There are a dozen or so homes out there now - some weekenders, some full-time.

For me, as a photographer and lover of history and trains, the Bennett run is the easy choice - it's the one that gives you the most of everything. Don't expect any wildlife on any of these trips though - in August, the animals are high in the mountains, far from the highway and railway. I ride the WP&YR often - 5 times last year, most recently 10 days ago.

I know it will take some research & I just wasn't sure where to start, but it looks like Canada might be where to look first. Thanks again everyone!!

Actually, if you're going to be in the Seattle area, Friday Harbor is the closest community to where the orca usually hang out. The crossing from Victoria can be better described as "exciting" rather than "enjoyable" - my last time out with Prince of Whales was VERY rough.

No, I was specifically talking about resident orcas, which is supported by the 2nd line of the paragraph you quoted.

"Southern Resident Killer Whales are consistently sighted April through November." Not "between May and late Sept" as you stated, which is Alaska humpbacks.

There are resident pods around Vancouver Island ... the northern pods at the northern tip of the island and the southern residents hang out between Victoria and WA state. The viewing season is between May and late Sept because they winter elsewhere.

That's humpbacks you're thinking of. The largest orca viewing operation in Victoria says:

"Our success rates vary throughout the year. Southern Resident Killer Whales are consistently sighted April through November. Humpbacks sightings have increased steadily over the last 10 years and now we enjoy the opportunity to spot them at almost any time of the year (although the vast majority of sightings occur in August through to December). Gray Whales are occasional visitors throughout the year as they transit seasonally, with a small number that take up residence in our waters. Transient Orcas can be sighted at any time during the year as they come to our waters to hunt marine mammals, particularly seals and sea lions. Most summer days we also know where to find Minke Whales. Between November and May we spend time looking for Killer Whales, seals, sea lions & porpoises. We have a 50-75% success rate of finding whales in the winter months."

It will "work" - they will let you in wearing that - but you will be in the minority.

On my 3 Alaska cruises with Princess there have been far more people dressed like that than there are wearing tuxes. While I always wear a suit, I certainly didn't see any reason for anyone to be uncomfortable. Well, except the guy who kept his baseball hat on, but he wasn't :)

It IS a reasonable question, and Princess IS more casual in Alaska. A shirt and tie and dockers will work for you on formal night.

It is different, but probably only good if you have a very strong interest in local and Gold Rush history. There are 2 cemeteries with 52 headstones and headboards, some rotting pilings from the main dock (best seen at low tide), and a propped-up wall that's completely out of context (one of the online guides says that there are "a few propped up buildings" - there aren't). Don't know whether DD does it, but in theory you could also hike some of the Chilkoot Trail.

Am I imagining it, or are you told you can't take food with you on the trails around the glacier?

Food attracts bears. I don't think that it's an official ban, just a posted recommendation.

I just found information today on the new shopping center in Carcross: http://www.carcrosscommons.com/

 

Looks like a few restaurants:

- Bistro on Bennett

- Gold Pan Pizza

- Frisky Fresh Fish

- Caribou Coffee

 

It looks like the official opening was just a couple of weeks ago, and it's not clear if all of these restaurants are open for business yet. Not much info on their web sites.

 

I'd love to hear from anyone who tries any of these new places!

I just stopped in for a latte at Caribou Coffee an hour ago but had a look at the other places. Frisky Fish is operating in a trailer, Gold Pan Pizza's building is empty, and the Bistro looks great, though they won't have their beer taps set up for a couple of weeks ago.

Had lunch at Skagway Brewing, and while the quality of the halibut is as excellent as always, the portions are much smaller. It just went from being one of the two best halibut-and-chip places in the North to being a distant 2nd (the best is in Whitehorse).

We always use our Discover card. No foreign charges.

But not accepted at many places. It's tough to even find places that take AmEx - in small towns especially.

It's a short couple of blocks; you can see the hotel from the little park/pick-up area right where the ships are docked.

The OP is at the AJ Dock with NCL - the furthest docking position.

Hi - do you know if the Goldbelt hotel is walkable from the cruise ship? It looked to be on paper. That is where the Avis pickup point is for ours.

It's a half-hour walk - 1.4 miles according to GoogleMaps.

There's a shuttle bus running to the Wilderness Access Center (where the park shuttles depart from) every 90 minutes 24/7 from the salmon bake across the highway from your hotel - http://www.denaliparksalmonbake.com/shuttle_schedule.html

Pretty much everyone in Victoria (or Carcross if you're doing an excursion from Skagway) accepts $US but you'll usually get change in $CDN, so a credit card saves you from having a bunch of $ you can't use.

Princess almost always has empty cabins, and prices for them generally drop substantially after Final Payment date for a given sailing has passed. If you're a gambler, your odds are good that it would work. The downside, of course, may be that you get a cabin that nobody else wanted - for us, that's the deal-breaker but YMMV.

We go for convenience much more than price on port days. National/Alamo is right at the NCL dock (the AJ Dock), and in 2012 it cost $135 for a minivan for my group of 6.

Well there ya go :)

It's sometimes surprising what you can find by ignoring signs. The Coral Princess also has 2 great viewing decks forward on decks 11 and 12 - the best viewing on the ship, to me.

http://www.youralaskacruise.com/reviews/2010-coral_princess-n2/2004-3348.jpg

For those of you wondering about weather and clothing (and maybe thinking that you'll come in July when it's warm), that was shot on July 2 in College Fiord :)

It's never too early. Sometimes rates go down but sometimes they go up. The handful of cabins on our Solstice cruise to Hawaii in September are sky-high in price now. If prices do go down, your TA can have the lower fare applied right up to final payment date - but check to see if he/she charges to do that - some do, as it's extra work that lowers their commission.