Top 10 Most Amazing Things You did on Alaska Cruise or Cruisetour

[weggs]

Saw some tours of fairly reasonable prices, as we are traveling with family and on budget. Are her tour groups of a smaller size? Any information regarding recommended non ship port tour operators would be appreciated.

[gertz]

To add to this wonderful list of which we have done many. And look forward to many more.

We were anchored out in Katchacan about 4 to 500 feet from the operating fish cannery. There were many hundreds of seagulls flying around feeding on the scraps. But waite there not seagulls there Bald Eagles. WOW.:)

But by far number 1 on our lists was taking our lovely and only 13 year old granddaughter to Alaska and seeing every thing through her eyes. That was wonderful.:)

[5waldos]

One of our favorites was something we threw in at the last minute- a small bus tour around Ketchican and out to Saxman park to see the totem poles. And stopped at the fish cannery where indeed there were lots and lots of eagles everyplace. I think we especially enjoyed it because it was something we walked off the ship and since it was raining decided to do at the last minute instead of walking around town. The totem poles were really great and it was fun just seeing the eagles close up and rather personal.

[nwwinelady]

This is a great idea also for people returning to Alaska.

Not in any order:

1. Watching Hubbard Glacier calve on a beautiful bright and sunny day.

2. Watching rare "bubble net" feeding by gray whales in Juneau.

3. Seeing resident Orcas in Juneau.

4. seeing the Northern Lights in August on what would have been my Father's 85th birthday:(

5. Sailaway from Seattle on a warm July day.

6. Hanging out on our balcony in Juneay enjoying a glass of wine with family and friends.

7. Cruising through Tracy Arm Fjord and taking many photographs of the beautiful scenery.

8. Touring on the White Pass Railroad.

9. Shopping for unique Christmas gifts.

10. Meeting new people; traveling with family and friends.

[5waldos]

This is a great idea also for people returning to Alaska.

Not in any order:

1. Watching Hubbard Glacier calve on a beautiful bright and sunny day.

2. Watching rare "bubble net" feeding by gray whales in Juneau.

3. Seeing resident Orcas in Juneau.

4. seeing the Northern Lights in August on what would have been my Father's 85th birthday:(

5. Sailaway from Seattle on a warm July day.

6. Hanging out on our balcony in Juneay enjoying a glass of wine with family and friends.

7. Cruising through Tracy Arm Fjord and taking many photographs of the beautiful scenery.

8. Touring on the White Pass Railroad.

9. Shopping for unique Christmas gifts.

10. Meeting new people; traveling with family and friends.

 

 

Wow- net feeding AND Northern Lights. You must have been doing something right!

[dolfansam]

I got the idea for this from another tread . . . if you have cruised or taken a cruise tour what where your 10 Most Amazing Things you saw or did while in Alaska -- excursions, places to stay, downtime, meals? I thought this would be a great thread for those of us who are planning on 2011 Alaska vacations. Thanks so much! Happy travels.

 

Most Amazing memoies I have from my cruise to Alaska:

 

1. Seeing the place I was born for the 1st time since I was 2. Being welcomed home by the customs person when they saw on my passport that I was born in Alaska. It made me feel special.

2. The train from Seward to Anchorage. I saw more wildlife on that ride than I did on the cruise.

3. Seeing and hearing the Hubbard Glacier calve 6x.

4. Hanging out with the naturalist on board and learning as much as I possibly could about the place where I was born.

5. Having a whale do a dance for us one night while we were eating. Have you seen the Insurace commercial where the whale comes out of the water and flips over? That is exactly what we saw. Amazing.

6. Sled puppies

7. Mendenhall glacier

8. Creek of full of salmon you could walk across it.

9. Having my own private balcony and not paying for it. The deck behind the buffet was rarely occupied other than sail away. I had breakfast there every day.

10. Song playing in the dining room the night before we went into the glacier field - Theme from Titanic. Not very funny.

[EatPrayCruise]

I have read numerous reviews about how great the Bering Sea-Crb Fisherman's Tour is on the "Deadliest Catch" boat, but no one is very specific about why it is so great other than the crew is nice and funny. My three ship mates are sold on the reviews alone. Can you help me understand? I was leaning towards a floatplane trip.

 

Obviously, it is different for some than others. For us, we were not huge fans of the t.v. show, but had caught it a few times. We read rave reviews before our cruise and decided it was for us.

 

Just to set the tour up, here is a bit of info: We enjoyed being on their ship and the hospitality was amazing. The entire crew treated us like their good neighbor instead of paying guests. The day we took the tour it was a bit blustery and cold with a bit of drizzle and the crew provided us lap blankets if we chose. Hot coffee, tea and hot chocolate were available as well as very clean restrooms.

 

As others have mentioned, the boat traveled to different crab pots that were lifted into the boat and the contents removed for us to not only see, but we could get up and walk around and actually feel or hold the catch in our hands. I held a starfish, several different types of crabs and even a large shrimp. All of the creatures were alive and treated humanely. They were then put into huge aquariums so that we could see them scurry around.

 

One pot contained a huge squid or octopus that Kiwi (Deadliest Catch Guy) held up for all to see which was pretty incredible. The crab boat traveled to Alaskan Indian islands/waters where the locals are permitted to feed the eagles. I know, some people say that they are a dime a dozen in Alaska; more like we see seagulls in Michigan, but for us, that was one of the most incredible highlights of our tour. We watched as dozens of eagles came for the cut-up fish (none were harmed in the making of that tour - they were frozen:rolleyes:) that they threw into the waters. It was truly a spectacular photo opportunity as well as just observing those majestic creatures in their wild habitat.

 

We walked away with more memories for a lifetime than with any other excursions that we had taken. Hard to really put our finger on what was so wonderful for us as so much of it was thrilling. To each his own, but we really enjoyed the trip. Let me tell you though - we had a two-for-one coupon, so that made the decision to spend the money a little easier than buying two tickets at full price.

 

I hope that that helps you a bit.

 

Sue

[EatPrayCruise]

A few more photos.

[CruisenLexie]

Dog sledding, helicopter ride over the glaciers and taking a flight plane to watch bears come and eat fish out of the water.

 

And those flowers were huge and beautiful...

[charlielinda]

Just moving up to see what folks are enjoying this year!

[shutterbug285]

In cronological order ( i couldn't pick a favorite)

 

1) seeing the huge trees and racoons in Stanley Park, Vancouver

2) seeing whales and Dall porpoise from our Balcony

3) kayaking with southeast sea kayaks- all the starfish, everythign up close

4)Icy strait with Misty Bay lodge, bears, whales otters magical day!

5)Mendenhall Glacier such a beatiful place

6) Going into the Yukon with Dyea Dave ( Barry was driver)

7) Hubbard Glacier

8) Kenai Fjords tour- amazing!

9) Matanuska Glacier with MICA

10 Denali Park

[vbmom87]

In cronological order ( i couldn't pick a favorite)

 

1) seeing the huge trees and racoons in Stanley Park, Vancouver

2) seeing whales and Dall porpoise from our Balcony

3) kayaking with southeast sea kayaks- all the starfish, everythign up close

4)Icy strait with Misty Bay lodge, bears, whales otters magical day!

5)Mendenhall Glacier such a beatiful place

6) Going into the Yukon with Dyea Dave ( Barry was driver)

7) Hubbard Glacier

8) Kenai Fjords tour- amazing!

9) Matanuska Glacier with MICA

10 Denali Park

 

Which glacier tour did you take at Matanuska Glacier?

[Colexis Mom]

We just got got back two weeks ago. Here are my favorites:

 

1). Seeing Mt. McKinley

2) Hiking on Matanuska Glacier with MICA

3). Hubbard Glacier

4) Kenai Fjords Cruise (Major Marine)

5) Whale watching in Juneau with Orca

6) Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour (Ketchikan)

7). Fishing on beach at Icy Strait and having a humpback tail come up right off the beach

8). Driving thru the Yukon to Emerald Lake

9). Ziprider at ISP

10). Eielson shuttle at Denali

[Quigley10]

1) Hiking on Mendenhall Glacier by ourselves - just us and the guide. (We used Above and Beyond Alaska.)

2) Kayaking in Ketchikan.

3) Sailing the Inside Passage.

4) My husband's participation in the Polar Bear Plunge.

5) Private salmon picnic on a boat near Ketchikan.

6) MDR brunch while at Hubbard Glacier, since the glacier itself was fogged in.

7) Sitting on the sunny aft deck with a blanket, watching the mountains pass by.

8) Riding a lifeboat to Icy Strait Point.

9) Giving bunny ears to Palin cut-outs in Juneau's stores.

10) Cold weather!!! (Hey, we're Floridians...)

[amyk757]

1) The oysters rockefeller in the Whale Tail at the Captain Cook hotel. 2) First sighting of Denali from the train. 3) All the grizzlies we saw on the TWT. 4) Going north on the Dalton Highway. 5) Stopping for lunch on the Dalton at the place run by the former Playboy Bunny. 6) Coldfoot- basic room, good food, really nice Ranger station, all in the middle of nowhere. 7) The Brooks Range- the wildlife, the colors in late August, the breathtaking views. 8) Wild herds of muskox. 9) Deadhorse. Talking to oil workers hungry to talk to ladies who remind them of their Moms. Dipping our toes in the Arctic Ocean. Picking up thunder rocks. The flight back to Anchorage. 10) Oh the Whales!

 

Haven't tried the oysters Rockefeller at the Captain Cook, but I second everything else on this list. And will add in a heli-hiking trip in Denali S.P. that couldn't be matched for the sheer beauty of the scenery.

 

Can't wait for my third trip coming up in August!

[bamacruizin]

We got home on Sunday, the 17th...in no particular order:

 

• Wading in 31 degree water in the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe Bay
  
• Dog-sledding on Norris Glacier with two past winners of the Jr. Iditarod (2011 and 2008)
  
• Flying in the front seat of a helicopter for my first-ever heli-flight
  
• Flying in a floatplane and landing in Misty Fjord
  
• White-water rafting and swimming in the Nenana River (DH and I were the ONLY ones to jump out for a swim in the glacier-fed river)
  
• Riding the Dalton Highway, and staying in ALL the best truck stops it had to offer!
  
• Tundra Wilderness Tour at Denali, and the Grizzly bear who performed beautifully for us, scratching his belly and rolling around in the grass scratching his back -- and the fact that we actually got to SEE Denali
  
• Numerous Orca and Humpback sightings, including being about the only person to catch a photo of a breaching Humpback, and the infant Orca we spotted
  
• Seeing glaciers calving, and seeing MY college's glacier in College Fjord
  
• Meeting some really wonderful people, including our wonderful table mates, and a set of 20-something honeymooners who became friends (we are in our 50s, and most of the folks on our land tour thought they were honeymooning with their parents -- that's how much fun we had together)
  

All in all, a magnificent, tough-to-repeat trip!

[operadiva]

1) Hiking on Mendenhall Glacier by ourselves - just us and the guide. (We used Above and Beyond Alaska.)

2) Kayaking in Ketchikan.

3) Sailing the Inside Passage.

4) My husband's participation in the Polar Bear Plunge.

5) Private salmon picnic on a boat near Ketchikan.

6) MDR brunch while at Hubbard Glacier, since the glacier itself was fogged in.

7) Sitting on the sunny aft deck with a blanket, watching the mountains pass by.

8) Riding a lifeboat to Icy Strait Point.

9) Giving bunny ears to Palin cut-outs in Juneau's stores.

10) Cold weather!!! (Hey, we're Floridians...)

Who did you use for the kayaking in Ketchikan?

[laughing husky]

Not in any given order or importance....that would be so hard.....I have taken 3 inside cruises....and I live here....but these are all things that one can do...and we did....from a cruise ship...

 

Bears in Katmai flying over glaciers with KBear out of Homer seeing bears...some as close as 15'...and yes, it is safe and scary...Never had an accident...(KBear not me) LOL

 

Dog sled ride with Coastal Helicopters to see friends and some of my dogs working on the glacier and loving every minute of it....I have a sled dog team...34 dogs.....and I still love to go with other people as I always learn a new trip....Expensive? yes...again but worth it..as the helicopter ride is spectacular..

 

Ride out on Resurrection bay from Seward...You can see Steller sea lions, orcas, whales, seals, otters....it is never the same twice and is always wonderful....

 

Renting a Zodiak out of Ketchikan....dressing warmly and seeing orcas within 20' of our boat. They came to look at us...not the other way around...One of the males dorsal fin was over 6' high and he lifted himself and looked right at us.....that was way more scary than the bears...:)

 

Flying out to Caribou Lodge for 2 days outside of Talkeetna....and staying with Mike and Pam and their wonderful hospitality...It showed us how Alaskans lived off the road system and how reliant one had to be....

 

Driving up to Hatcher's Pass....always a beautiful drive...and you can now see a real working gold mine on top of the pass. They drill at night...give tours in the daytime...You get to see the gold...and stop by the reindeer farm and the musk ox farm on the way up or down....

 

Stop at Iditarod Headquarters and see the films of Iditarod...(It is near and dear to my heart)..meet Ramey Redington...the son of Joe Redington and his wife who is a native from the north. Barbara is a wonderful woman and can tell great stories...Everyone who is anyone in the dogsled world stops by on their way up or down the highway to say hello....Ramey has run just about every race in Alaska...

 

Take a detour to Hope...See an authentic town that has changed since the gold rush days...and have a beer outside..if it isn't raining at the Seaview Hotel...it is the real deal...and not many tourists have found it...

 

If possible and you are up north in Fairbanks, consider flying out to Barrow and see the polar bears coming in off the ice...Expensive...yes...but the cost of gas is enormous here....

 

And last, while you are at Caribou Lodge, before or after....take a Denali flight. There are many options and it is an amazing thing to do....

 

and Last...but not least....Come back in the winter and see our great land at its best....Most of the time, it is not as cold as you think....nor as dark as you hear...:) and if you are at Caribou Lodge in September, there is a good chance that you will see the Northern lights dance in the sky.....

[hbear]

1. Getting to go through Grenville Channel (the historic Inside Passage) Sept 2010

2. Tracy Arm Fjord on a sundrenched PERFECT day with huge white & blue chunks of ice in the turquoise and emerald water Sept 2010

3. Looking over the edge and seeing a big, weird fish right by the ship. BIG. Asking myself why I could see a fish from the enormous distance. "Fish" surfaced and it was an ORCA -- I'd been looking down on an ORCA -- how many people have seen a whale from that perspective? Sept 2010

4. Outside Sitka, on a wildlife viewing tour, seeing SO MANY humpbacks in the water around us (both near and far) that it was unnerving. Sept 2010

5. The Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan, getting my own Tsmishian (sp?) guide who spoke with me at length about the spirits and the spirit world, and her experiences after the place closes at night May 2009

6. An enormous calf from the Marjerie Glacier. The captain had gotten very close to the glacier face, and the calf hitting the water ROCKED the ship. May 2008

7. A foggy morning in Juneau, standing on deck, and the universe/God/higher powers tapped me on the shoulder and said "If not now, when?" and that's when I put in motion huge personal changes July 2000

8. Sitting on the topmost deck, eating sushi and suntanning in Glacier Bay July 2000

9. Meeting Chief and his family on a walk in Skagway. May 2008

10. Being up at dawn and getting a personal whale show on a beautiful still morning -- it was SO CALM the blows from the whales hung in the air like cartoon captioning balloons. Sept 2010

 

There's more -- I've gotta run though :)

 

 

Yes, this is a great thread. So interesting and helpful.

 

Your number seven moved me to tears. I experience an epiphany on every cruise and always thank the universe/higher power/God for putting me there - Caribbean, Europe, Mediterranean, Alaska, Mexico - wow!

[ruecatt]

The most amazing thing we did was to take a helicoptor up to Mendenhall glacier to go dogsledding. It was incredible!

[Bucket Listed]

After a lot of time planning, we finally realized our Alaska Cruise Dream. :) It was everything I expected and more! To us, it was all about the destination, and not so much the life aboard ship. We couldn't have had such a wonderful experience without being prepared. Cruise critic was a great help. Thank you.

 

ATV Adventure: Princess McKinley Lodge, through streams, pure fun! (The lodge: Only saw the peak of the mountain for about an hour during our stay there. :) The ground are very retreat-like.)

 

Tundra Wilderness Tour: Denali Lodge, long day on the bus but saw countless caribou, dall sheep, 2 lynx, 2 grizzlies, 2 cubs, 2 moose; awesome scenery even if there wasn't wildlife! Probably would have taken the shuttle if husband was up for it. :)

 

Husky Homestead Tour with Jeff King: Denali Lodge: Jeff drove our van to/from the homestead, great presentation, personalized books for us to bring home as gifts. He still does many of the evening tours.

 

Princess train transportation: It is beautiful. Bring sunglasses and your camera. We saw moose, swan, and eagle, as well as Denali in full view along the way. We went to Whittier from Denali. Had lunch in the dining car right before arriving in Talkeetna. Turned out to be a good time as far as the wait not being long.

 

Anan Wildlife Observatory with Family Air: Ketchikan, saw countless bear and eagles, including brown w/ 2 cubs, just awesome. Enjoyed exchanging quips with our floatplane pilot, Dave. Was a misty day. Overcast and drizzly. It didn't matter. :) You do need to be able to walk along a narrow boardwalk with steps to get there. A little over 1/2 mile.

 

Yukon and White Pass Rail Excursion with Dogsled at Carcross w/ Chilkoot: Skagway, van up/train down from Fraser. Sat on the right side as suggested here. :) Emerald Lake is gorgeous. Simple BBQ chicken lunch OK and enough (donuts were delicious); we both enjoyed the dog cart ride. On return to Skagway, I spent most of my time on the train on the platform enjoying the fresh air and getting great photos. Part of the charm is learning the history of the trail, and how difficult those that traversed it had it.

 

Mendenhall glacier:MGT bus $8 each way from near the pier, Juneau; simply beautiful, especially the blue icebergs in the water. Be sure to spend time in the visitors center and walk in closer if you can. Still great views if walk/hike isn't possible for you!

 

Whale Watch with Harv and Marv: Juneau, saw bubble netting, better than the best fireworks I've ever seen. :) They were nice enough to pick us up at the glacier since all participants on the tour wanted to go there first. Wore rainpants as it was overcast and drizzly. Got right out on the front of the boat. They had binoculars available on the boat.

 

Saw Denali in clear view on the train ride to the ship. She hid herself, and it rained when we were supposed to take a flightseeing tour. But, we enjoyed visiting with locals in Talkeetna, looking through the art at the open air art show, and eating lunch at the Roadhouse, sampling a pastie and a local brew. Peanut butter balls are awesome!

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the awesome scenery and wildlife from our ship balcony, or those at the front and back of our deck. Whale, otter, porpoise, seals...the naturalist was great at announcing viewings. If you turned to the webcam channel, they had some wonderful classical music playing, but would break in with information as it was available. You could listen from your balcony if your door was left open.

 

I also enjoyed every minute of the float through Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. We had fabulous weather, and were fortunate enough to see and hear calving. The scenery is breathtaking. Saw whale when entering areas, and seal and/or eagle floating on some of the icebergs.

 

Also enjoyed being a part of the champagne waterfall on the ship. Took the Ultimate Ship Tour on the last sea day, and learning a lot about what makes the workings of the ship tick.

 

Enjoy your cruising.

[shutterbug285]

Which glacier tour did you take at Matanuska Glacier?

 

We did the ice climbing tour with MICA

[joseph41]

Best

 

1. Whale watching/Mendhall Glacier in Juneau (thru Oosterdam excursions)

2. Kayaking with my son in Sitka (thru Oosterdam)

3. Going fishing with with a friend who is a pilot in Ketchikan. He fished for king salmon from the shore a few miles out of town. Saw some 30#+ snagged.

 

Not worth the money, would not recommend: Semi-Sub glass bottom boat excursion. Saw very little of the sea life. (thru Oosterdam)

 

Misrepresented by degree of difficulty: the Orca Rainforest tour in Ketchikan thru Oosterdam listed as a 2, but had a few hundred steps. Should have been listed as a 3 with the steps described.

[burky12]

In no particular order:

 

Seeing a grizzly come out of the woods on Redoubt Bay to enter the water to fish for salmon

 

Our floatplane ride and seeing grizzlies and eagles below us.

 

Dog sledding on Mendenhall

 

Seeing more moose, eagles, sheep, whales, and seals than we could count!

 

Standing nervously on a zipline platform waiting my turn and seeing a eagle fly below.

 

Seeing Mt. McKinley! Awesome!

 

Sitting on my balcony from 7am until 9pm on Glacier Bay day so I didn't miss anything!

 

All the friendly fellow cruisers, cruise ship employees, excursion guides and Alaskan natives we met.

 

Witnessing the frenzied sled dogs when they hoped it would be their turn to run.

 

Alaska Summer Ale

 

The beauty of the Wrangell Mtns.

 

Riding "Donner" in the pouring rain and sharing life stories with our horseback trail guide while a mama moose and her babies eyed us cautiously.

 

Meeting Jeff King and hearing his first hand accounts of the Iditarod.

 

Hearing the glaciers creak and moan

 

Hearing a whale spout and moan

 

Sitting on my balcony with an Alaskan Summer Ale looking at glaciers, listening for whales and seeing other cruise ships and fishing boats pass in the dusky sunset all lit up.

 

Seeing it all with my teen aged son.

 

I wouldn't trade any of these precious memories!!

[charlielinda]

Less than three weeks until my trip and I can't wait!