First Alaska Cruise! Our ship is the Golden! Lots of things I would love to know!

[jakejtown]

My family and I are going on this cruise to Alaska. Our ship is the Golden. This is not our first cruise but it is our first to ALASKA! We are so excited about it! It is my husband, two boys (18 & 14) and their grandmother. We cannot wait to go on this cruise. This is the grandmothers first cruise too! Anyone have any tips for us? Any suggestions on what to do in different ports or any excursions that are a must? What type of clothes would you suggest to bring along with us? We will be there May 21st. Any info is appreciated. This is also the first time on Princess. We have always cruised Royal Caribbean. Any and all information will help alot. See you guys in May!

[BIG_Steve]

What are your ports, and what times will you be there?

 

Clothes........ Prepare for most anything.

[Budget Queen]

You need to do your homework. Look over a shore excursion list and Narrow down your interests. There are hundreds of excellent tours to choose from.

 

Do a search of this board for packing information. You need layers.

 

Being that you are sailing the roughest potential routing, I suggest it may be a good idea to prepare, and consult a health care professional for motion sickness advice, if anyone is prone.

[jakejtown]

Here is our itinerary.....

 

Itinerary

 

Port Arrival-- Departure

1 Seattle, Washington 4:00 PM

2 At Sea

3 Juneau, Alaska 12:00 PM-- 10:00 PM

4 Skagway, Alaska 6:00 AM-- 8:15 PM

5 Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska (Scenic Cruising) 6:00 AM-- 3:00 PM

6 Ketchikan, Alaska 7:00 AM-- 12:30 PM

7 Victoria, British Columbia 7:00 PM-- 11:59 PM

8 Seattle, Washington 7:00 AM

[jakejtown]

Is this really one of the roughest routes? I have heard that this is a rough route and then others say that it is one of the smoothest they have ever been on.....

[vbmom87]

Is this really one of the roughest routes? I have heard that this is a rough route and then others say that it is one of the smoothest they have ever been on.....

 

Statistically sailing out of Seattle and cruising to the West of Vancouver Island has the greatest potential for rougher seas. Of course some people will have sailed this route and were lucky to have smooth waters. Just look at a map and you will see how the route goes out in the open ocean for the first day or so. Once you are in the inside passage you should be fine, unless, of course there is an unusual storm there. There are no guarentees for smooth sailing on any of the routes. However, if you read past reviews you will find many reports of Seattle sailings having a rough couple of days of sailing and very few reports of rough waters on the cruises out of Vancouer.

 

Make sure you are up really early and out on deck or in a great viewing lounge on your Glacier Day sailing. It is a wonderful sailing experience as you enter the bay and throughout your time there. If you sleep in you will miss part of the experience. You have a nice long day in Skagway, which is good, but your Ketchikan day is short on time. Plan it well so you can make the most of your time there.

 

It is difficult to suggest activities because you have not listed your budget or specific interests. There are many different excursions to take advantage of. I highly recommend you get away from the towns and see the "real Alaska." Excursions in Alaska are VERY EXPENSIVE. It is not like the Caribbean. Excursions can end up costing as much or more than the cruise itself, depending what you choose to do.

[cruzgryphon]

The Golden is a pretty nice ship - she was in drydock in 2009. A couple of suggestions:

1) A neat place to view things is on top of the bridge (typical for most Princess ships) - unobstructed view forward, nice and high (but can get windy so layer accordingly) - especially going to glaciers.

 

2) I find one or two pairs of waterproof overpants (the ones that will slip over jeans) is useful. They're easy to pack, and if the weather gets warm and sunny you take them off and store them pretty easily. If they get dirty - a quick rinse under the shower will clean them off easily. Also I find with them I pack fewer pairs of long pants for Alaska.

 

3) I'd also suggest a point and shoot camera with a decent zoom (say 10x zoom) or one of the ultrazoom Point and Shoots.

 

4) A small cloth (like one that you can use to clean a computer monitor) is helpful - good way to keep the camera dry if you get a little rain on it.

 

5) Take your camera along when you leave your cabin (for example to go for breakfast or other times)...you never know when a whale or dolphin will make an appearance. Sometimes if there are a few of them, there will be an announcement from the bridge...other times you'll see people suddenly shift from one side or another.

 

Enjoy,

CG

[Budget Queen]

Is this really one of the roughest routes? I have heard that this is a rough route and then others say that it is one of the smoothest they have ever been on.....

 

It IS the roughest sailing route of Alaska cruises. Has the most open ocean. As mentioned, take a look at a map. It is just about a given of at least one day of rougher sailing. It is VERY rare, and subjective, that you would get a "smooth" week.

[InternetAgeTraveler]

BQ is technically accurate...

 

I captured time lapse videos of over 150 cruises from 2010 and as she says the ones out of Seattle are rougher than those from Vancouver. However, the majority of cruises were in moderate seas at most and handled by the ships; but it is best to be prepared. There were some early May cruises in early 2010 that hit very large waves. Each year will be different and stormy weather is hard to predict.

 

If you are going with the odds, Vancouver is the better option but there are many reasons that cruisers like yourself sail out of Seattle.

 

If you click on the time lapse link in my signature and then search for "golden", you get an idea of what to expect. Although, these are lower quality and only give you a general feeling. Certainly not the same as being there in person.

[BIG_Steve]

Here is our itinerary.....

 

Itinerary

 

Port Arrival-- Departure

1 Seattle, Washington 4:00 PM

2 At Sea

3 Juneau, Alaska 12:00 PM-- 10:00 PM

 

The popular things to do in Juneau are whale watching, Mendenhall glacier, and Mt Roberts tramway. We booked a combo whale watch and Mendenhall tour independently through Orca enterprises. It was quite nice. We didn't get up to Mt Roberts because it was foggy.

 

4 Skagway, Alaska 6:00 AM-- 8:15 PM

The popular thing to do in Skagway is the White pass railway. If you book an independent tour, there are many more tour options then if you book through the ship. We used Chikoot, and highly recommend them.

 

5 Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska (Scenic Cruising) 6:00 AM-- 3:00 PM

6 Ketchikan, Alaska 7:00 AM-- 12:30 PM

 

Lots to do, even at that ungodly hour (our stop was the same times) We took a boat tour to Misty Fjords National park. We booked through the ship, because it was a long tour, and wanted some "insurance" if we got back late. I think the only tour boat is contracted by all the ships (I could be wrong) so you might have to book through the ship anyway. Misty Fjords is great. It's best (as far as I can tell) to see it by air. But the boat makes a great second choice. We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

7 Victoria, British Columbia 7:00 PM-- 11:59 PM

 

We decided to book a quick 1 hour tour, and then do some shopping. It did not work out. There was a lot of traffic, so the 1 hour tour didn't get around to a whole lot of places. The shopkeepers were all delightful, but their customers (the cruisers) were very pushy and inconsiderate. No fun on either count. Probably would have been better to take a longer or different tour and forget shopping.

 

8 Seattle, Washington 7:00 AM

 

There is so much to do in all ports, it can be overwhelming. You should check your cruislines excursion lists to get an idea of what's out there. Also go to Google and search the port name and "tour." If you find something interesting, check back. If these ports have a tour, I guarantee you many here have been on it.

[mapleleaves]

It would be more beneficial if you did some research rather than ask for random recommendations. Your cruiseline will have a long list of excursions for every port. Look thru them and see which ones match up with your families' interests. Another good resource is to read the MEMBER REVIEWS of the ports; many people post mini reviews of the activities they chose at each port plus dining options and DIY recommendations. You can also use the SEARCH feature to retrieve information. And as BigSteve suggested you'll find plenty of good info by googling. I usually google Visitor Information or Tourism. You can also borrow books for the library, like Fodors or Frommers etc.

Once you narrow down your options come back to the forum with specific vendors and activities that you would like feedback on.

[Jen1000]

You don't list budget and interests so I will tell you what we did. We were 11 in our group ages 11 to about 70, sometimes we did things together but most of the time we broke off according to interests and budget considerations.

 

Juneau- 10 of us rented a van from Rent A Wreck and did our own tour of Juneau and the surrounding area, including Mendenhall Glacier. This was an economical way to see Juneau and we could visit attractions at our own pace. If I return I will rent a car again and go see additional sites and Mendenall again. My Dad did booked a tour through Carnival and did a salmon bake, hatchery tour and Mendenhall Glacier. He enjoyed that.

 

Skagway- Chilkoot Tours Rail/Bus combo with dog cart ride and lunch. Great day, this hit everything, train, bus, sites, scenery, good lunch and a dog cart ride. It is not cheap though, $206 for adults. If the train is not a priority, you can do all the same things yourself with a rental car and Murray's Guide much more economically. My Mom, Dad and aunt did the Skagway Street Car tour and they enjoyed that.

 

Ketchikan- kayak with Southeast Kayak, used coupons from Tour Saver Book, good time if you like to kayak. We got lucky and saw orca whales very close. Then to Lumberjack Show (very overpriced and I would not advise doing this with such a short port time) and then a self guided walking tour around Creek Street and up the creek to see the salmon using the free walking tour guide available at the tourist office on the pier and on to shopping. My cousin did a float plane to Misty Fjord and loved that, booked through Carnival. My Mom did a nature tour, booked through Carnival and enjoyed that. My Dad did a tour to Saxman Village and really liked that.

 

The only disappointment on the trip was the Lumberjack Show. It was not worth the money and there are better things to do with your time.

 

Jen in SoCal

 

My family and I are going on this cruise to Alaska. Our ship is the Golden. This is not our first cruise but it is our first to ALASKA! We are so excited about it! It is my husband, two boys (18 & 14) and their grandmother. We cannot wait to go on this cruise. This is the grandmothers first cruise too! Anyone have any tips for us? Any suggestions on what to do in different ports or any excursions that are a must? What type of clothes would you suggest to bring along with us? We will be there May 21st. Any info is appreciated. This is also the first time on Princess. We have always cruised Royal Caribbean. Any and all information will help alot. See you guys in May!

[psyfi]

With 2 teens, I bet they would enjoy the helicopter flight/glacier hike in Juneau, but it is expensive (about $400 each). You are likely going to need to split up your group so everyone will get to do things they would like.

 

Definately be up VERY early for your Glacier Bay day, we saw large pods of whales on the way in...