Trip report : June 11th - NCL Jewel First Ever Vancouver to Seward Cruise

Since I can't post this all at once, I will submit it with an overview first and then arranged by date and activity. I will include pictures although a few more in our photo album and more to be added.

This was the very first Vancouver to Seward sailing by the Jewel so we didn't have much history to base it on as far as timings and activities but we had a lot of fun. I captured the dallies and will post them as well but in the mean time, if anyone wants them, let me know.

Itinerary and cabin.

Our cruise was for our 30th wedding anniversaryand was 2 couples, myself and my wife (60+) and her sister and husband(50+). It was our 3rd Alaskacruise and their 1st. Webooked over a year in advance. We chose this cruise specifically for theitinerary. When originally booked, itwas on the NCL Sun which wouldn’t have been our choice had it not been thisroute. It was later changed to the NCLJewel which was a much better option. The main considerations were a northbound tour that did Glacier Bay andpreferably Hubbard Glacier. Most cruiselines do Hubbard only on Southbound cruises. We preferred northbound because the scenery gets more spectacular as itgoes. That is, starting with capped hills,leading to snow capped mountains, glaciers, and ultimately Denali instead ofthe other way around. We also chose portside balcony rooms mid ship. Whileconventional wisdom says the starboard is better for northbound, from myexperience, Glacier Bay is better enjoyed from a port cabin. See notes below on Glacier Bay fordetails. We were in 10604 and 10606, adjoining cabinsthat we had opened so we could occasionally communicate without going out inthe hall or over the balcony. We werehappy with the rooms, they were convenient to the elevators and allactivities. We did some noise from thekid’s club and arcade but typically only during the day. Because of the weather we hit during thecruise, some of the outside kid activities were forced inside so the roomsunder it on the 11th deck were likely quite noisy at times so cabinsto avoid just in case.

The good

Great itinerary. Ithink it is one of the best options available with long port times, Glacier Bayand Hubbard Glacier, in a northbound cruise.

Ship officers. Creditgoes to Steven Jacobsen, the hotel director, but this was one of the best crewsI have sailed with.

Entertainment – overall was pretty good, a few exceptions,but NCL does a good job of providing a variety of optins

The not as good

Bingo / Deal or No Deal – the cost outweighs the potentialwinnings

Smoking in the casino – I know its tradition, but notdesirable for the average person these days.

Photos – always expensive on cruise ships, but we typicallybuy a few. The pictures that theyprinted out had some filter process applied that made your teeth very white andalso highlighted other white areas and for us looked very unnatural. We got a number of different answers aboutthem but eventually talked to someone that said if we committed to buying them,they can reprint without it. I talked with a few others and they didn’t haveas obviously bad photos as our original so it may depend on the photo itself butdon’t accept them if you don’t like it.

The General

Cabin Steward – every cabin steward has their ownstyle. On this cruise, ours was verylow key. We didn’t actually see her muchat the start but finally we did see her more regularly. We found that she relied on us setting thedial outside our room to make up or turn down the room which we didn’toriginally do.

Now for our complete trip report…

Before cruise.

We flew into Portland and rented a car. For $400, we had a 3-day rental from Alamothat we could drop off at Canada Place. This worked well for us to visit family along the way and still reachVancouver the day before.

It was a nice drive up with the only unexpected delay ofover an hour and a half at Canadian customs. Be sure to watch the road signs to see which of the 2 routes offer theleast wait times, but still expect some delay and plan accordingly.

Vancouver

In Vancouver, we stayed at the Sandman Hotel. The first impression of the hotel was verydirty looking from the outside. But theinterior was much nicer and the rooms were comfortable and we had no complaints. While probably true of any hotel in thedowntown area, it was convenient to everything. Hobson street was 2 blocks up, the Gas light district was 4 blocks down. Canada Place was a bit further and an easywalk without suitcases. The Soccer/Footballstadium was right next door and the couple we were traveling with even took ina match.

Our activity the day before leaving was the Capilano Suspensionbridge. One of the free shuttles leftjust 2 blocks from the hotel. There was rain in the area, but after checkingthe weather, we felt a 10am start would work. By the time we got there, the weather in the area had cleared. They weren’t any crowds at this point, andwe were able to buy tickets enter quickly. We had considered buying the tickets online but since we weren’t sure wewould do it, we waited. We both got $4discounts (hotel guest and AAA) which we wouldn’t have got online. When we left the lines were longer andclearly at peak times could be long so buying online is probably the bestoverall but waiting worked for us. Thebridge and surrounding area was very nice. The bridge was fun to cross and the cliff walk interesting, but wereally enjoyed the tree top walk and rain forest trails on the opposite side ofthe bridge. We hadn’t anticipated thisgoing in, but we spent the majority of time over there.

Returning back to Vancouver, we considered stopping atStanley Park, but everyone was ready for lunch and a rest break so wedidn’t. A lot to see on a futurevisit.

In the evening, we walked down to the Gas light district,checked out the clock, did a bit of shopping and grabbed dinner. Everyone was raring to go cruising the next day.

Embarkation

When we had completed our online check-in, our check in timewas 9:30-10:00. That was a lot earlierthan we had planned to go but come morning, we were ready so went ahead andleft. Because we had our bags, wegrabbed 2 taxis at the hotel to Canada Place. They took us right to the bag drop off. One challenge is the Taxi credit cardmachines did not work at this level of the parking garage so we ended payingcash ($10 US). If we hadn’t had thecash, they driver said he would need to go out and then come back in.

We got to the check in area and there were about 100 peoplethere. We grabbed a seat and waited fora while before they started checking us in. It went relatively smooth and we proceeded to customs, this also wentquick as there were no lines and we were in the next waiting area by shortlyafter 11. They said that boarding wouldbegin at 11:30 but that ended up being delayed because the crew was performinga safety drill. We were on the boat bynoon. That of course meant time to hitthe buffet and grab a seat by the window.

Rooms were ready at1:30 and we got our first chance to check out the staterooms. A surprise to us was that our wife’s sisterhad purchased an anniversary package for our room so it was decorated withstreamers and balloons. It wasn’t acomplete surprise because the package showed up in our NCL account. I had noticed it and hadn’t mentioned it tomy wife, but I thought it was our travel agent that purchased it. It would have been nice if it could havebeen tracked on their room so it would have been a complete surprise.

Since we boarded early, we checked out a few things aroundthe ship but a lot wasn’t open yet but it gave us a chance to relax.

Our departure time was listed as 4:00 PM but left at 5:00after the typical emergency talk. Thesail away party kicked off and we sailed under the Lion’s Gate Bridge and were on our way.

Well, almost. About an hour out of Vancouver, the shipmade an unexpected U turn and we were on our way back toward Vancouver. It was quite a while after we turned, buteventually there was an announcement that they had to do a medicalevacuation. We had to wait for theCoast Guard by boat to arrive and it was a couple of hours later that wefinally were on our way again.

We had reservations at Le Bistro for that evening and hadplanned to be sailing but were still in the outer harbor but it was still anenjoyable meal. This restaurant has adress code of no jeans and a collared shirt for men and it was generallyfollowed. The meal was excellent. We really enjoyed the French Onion soup (astep above the French Onion in the main dining rooms). My wife said she could eat the 4 somethingall day long.

After a beautiful sunset, we were ready for bed and skippedthe welcome aboard show.

next post day 2 (A sea day)

Day 2 – Sea Day

Day 2, a sea day started out beautiful. We were still in the confines of insidepassage East of Vancouver Island and it was peaceful and calm. We had our first whale sighting. All was good.

We typically hit the buffet for breakfast, mostly becauseyou have more selection over what you eat. The restaurants offered similar menus, but less customization to yourpreference. Seating was always achallenge, but if you were willing to walk to the back or the La Cucina, therewas always seating to be found.

The cruise critic meet and greet was in the morning and itwas fun to meet some of the other posters on the forum. The entire bridge staff was there to greetus and it was clear that they really appreciate the effort that we put in towrite reviews and offer assistance. Notto mention that they were really great people. It takes a lot to run any kind of hotel and this was a top-notch group.

As we reached the end of the Vancouver Island, the wind hadkicked up and the seas became a lot rougher. Tolerable, but you could see some people feeling it a bit.

About 2 to 3 hours in, we felt the shipchange course and shortly after an announcement was made that we were turningaround in order to do another medical evacuation. It was unclear how far back we were headed,but after a couple of hours, we heard a helicopter outside our room. And it was literally right above us. We watched as they maneuvered and droppedpersonnel. It left and shortly returnedto pick up the patient and family members. Great work by the ship crew and the Canadian Coast Guard completing thistransfer considering the weather. Once completed, we circled back north.

Although we had spent at least 4 hours making this loop, thecrew said we expected to arrive in Ketchikan on time.

There were 2 rounds of Bingo that day and we didn’t play ineither, but it was a great money maker for the ship. The bargain round was $20for 2 games with less that $200 in payouts. The prizes really don’t seem tomatch up to the cost. I wish they wouldoffer some even cheaper alternatives that might be just more enjoyable to playsince people do enjoy it.

That evening we had reservations for Moderno, the Brazilianrestaurant. There seemed to be someconfusion with our reservation but they did seat us. The meal there was as typical, more food thanyou can imagine. They made sure tobring out items we wanted. One itemthat I had asked for, came late after the table had been cleared and they evengot me a clean plate and silverware to be sure I got some.

We had dressed up a bit for the first “Dress up or not”night. A small percentage of guestschose to dress up. We had photos takenhoping to get a nice anniversary shot.

That evening we went to the show, Band on the Run. The singers were not suited for some of thesongs, and while entertaining, it had a lot of room for improvement. Some guest enjoyed but it wasn’t anythingspecial. Looking back, the sameproduction company also performed during the Le Cirque Bijou performance laterin the week and we much better. So Ithink it was more of a case of the show not being suited to the entertainers.

Next - Ketchikan, what a day

Day 3 – Ketchikan (2 ships in port)

As promised, we rolled into Ketchikan at 7am. I mean right at 7. In most ports, the ship gets in with as much as an hour to spare and has time to setup before letting guests off. Amazingly, within a matter of minutes after docking, they gave the all clear. We were off the ship and headed to our excursion by 7:10. It was raining a bit but we had brought rain jackets for the trip so these got used right away. It wascloudy all day but rained off and on.

We had booked the Eagle Island Kayak direct with South East Exposure. We had looked at doing it with NCL but the $50 markup compared to the direct price made no sense. For the 4 of us, that would have been $200 more. They met us at the visitor centerand it turned out it was just the 4 of us. So not only did it save us money, but we got a private tour. Even with the light rain, we had a blast, saw eagles and many seals and with a very low tide at the start, sea cucumbers, anemones and more starfish than you could count.

We were back at the docks just before lunch. As we got off the bus, someone pointed out that there were whales in the harbor. There were several and very active but they disappeared from view so we went in search of lunch. Since Ketchikan is known for the DungenessCrab and is my favorite, we went to the Crab Cracker restaurant. While $40 for a full crab and chowder was a lot for lunch, it was REALLY good. I had looked at the George Inlet excursions but these were out of my pricepoint.

We did the obligatory walk along Creek Street, checked out a few shops and checked for salmon (too early) and headed back to the ship.

As we reached our cabins, the most amazing thing happened. I was walking toward the balcony and 6 humpback whales came up doing bubble feeding right outside our room. All I could say to my wife was“look, look, look”. All 4 of usmanaged to see them and it was really cool. We went out on the balcony and as we were watching them, they did it again. We had seen the thing that mostpeople hope for, right from the ship! Of course, no one was ready for it and no good pictures (see fuzzy image below), but it is etched in our minds.

They proceeded down the bay, but we never saw them do itagain. Only a handful of people on the ship saw it, and we just happened to be in the right place at the right time. We had reserved whale watching the next day and I really concerned, our travel companions would be disappointed since they had just seen the crown jewel.

We had made our dining reservations shortly after the window had opened, so the difficulties with our reservation at Moderno had me worried since we had booked Teppanyaki later in the cruise which of course was a popular one and completely booked up already. I went to the reservations desk and found out that my online reservations had not transferred properly to the ship’s system. Of course, Teppanyaki was booked up but they said that they would see what they could do. We did get our dinner there, although not on the original night. The cruise staff really went the extra mile and we really appreciative of the effort that they put into working this out. It wasn’t just us, I saw several people with the same problem. They were doing their best to accommodate everyone. I guess I would suggest to others to check at the reservation desk just to be sure. Although, I am sure they will have corrected the issue, I know I will still check in the future.

The latitudes reception was held in the Spinnakerlounge. They offered drinks and snacks,plus a band for dancing. It was well put together and another chance for the senior officers to make their presence known.

This evening we ate in the Tsar dining room. The meals were good and a wide selection although not quite as same as the specialty ones we had done the first 2 nights.

The show that night was a Duo Elegia, a Russian husband andwife acrobatic team we had seen previously on the Jewel on an early Caribbeancruise. They were worth seeing again andsome of their skills were right up there with the best.

Next up - Juneau Whale watching, can we top today?

Day 4 – Juneau (3 ships in port)

I woke up early and the sun was out, but there was forecastfor rain, looking up to the north toward Juneau, it was more cloudy for sure.

We docked in Juneau about an hour before scheduled time andgave the all clear about 30 minutes early. We had a whale watch with Harv and Marv scheduled at 11:30 so this gaveus ample time to finish breakfast and get off the ship. Much nicer than the stampede we hadexperienced previously on the Pearl in Juneau although I still noticed some of the mobility challenged guests had issues getting elevators.

It was cloudy but not raining when we arrived, but some ofthe flight tours were canceled. The forecast was for improvement but it didn’t and rained off and on. The mountains remained shrouded in clouds all day.

We booked the max 18-person tour through Harv and Marv,their largest boat. They were only 13 on our tour. Just the right size for us compared to the larger cruise line affiliated boats but big enough to be comfortable. After seeing the bubble feeding in Ketchikan, I wasn’t expected we would see much to top that. But we came pretty close. After looking for a couple of humpbacks but not much action, we went to an area where there were between 15 and 30 Orca whales. It was impossible to count. tt was amazing to see so many, right up close and a complete family from young to mature whales. We spent quite a while alongside them before heading back. On the way, we saw 2 humpbacks but that was enough to satisfy everyone having seen the killer whale pod.

Also available as a 2 minute video here

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Frichard.nikula%2Fvideos%2F10211959271553360%2F

The rain and clouds were even more obnoxious in the afternoon and completely hid the mountains and glaciers.

We were back in Juneau by 4 PM and stopped at the Red Dog Saloon, just because we were tourists. Average food with some good beer and entertainment. It was fun, but definitely not a stop to takeyour kids to.

This night was our Teppanyaki reservation and it fun asalways. The food is top notch and thechefs have a lot of fun it seems. Wewere commenting that one shrimp at Teppanyaki was the size of 3 in the maindining room. The steak was so tender, italmost melted in your mouth.

We did the comedy show afterward with Michael Sommerville and he was pretty good. Of course, with a 45 minute show,he was just getting warmed up and it was over.

The water was calm though as we made the short trip to Skagway.

Tomorrow Skagway – a drive to the Yukon

Thank you for posting, we will be on the Jewel July 9 North Bound....

Thank you for posting, we will be on the Jewel July 9 North Bound....

We’re on the Jewel northbound on July 9th and I do appreciate your review and all the details (especially regarding entertainment - glad to know we may have a comedian onboard!).

Looking forward to the remainder!

Thank you for posting, we will be on the Jewel July 9 North Bound....

Sorry Buddy1755...replied to your post by mistake [emoji12]

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

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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).

Love your whale pictures! Thanks for sharing!!

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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.

Thanks for sharing. I am staying at the Sandman as well. Great to hear you thought the hotel was OK

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.

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

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.

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

Thanks.

Thanks for the review we are very excited to be on the Carnival Legend that you posted a photo of doing the northbound round trip from Seattle for 8 days including Glacier bay I do hope its a clear day! Even thru we are starboard passengers on this one.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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

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?