Novice Cruisers - Doing Alaska Southbound in August

[h2dcruise]

I have only cruised once before, a 3 night Bahamas cruise on the RCC Monarch in February. Me and my wife liked it so much that we convinced the rest of her family to go on an Alaskan cruise with us this summer. So 6 of us are booked on the Alaskan Cruise - Southbound on the Millennium for August 23rd.

 

I am a planner. I plan the crap out of every vacation. I am trying to consolidate everyone's excursion requests. It's hard because there are so many choice at all four stops. Are there any recommendations from people who have done this cruise? Or recommendations in general? Book with Celebrity or book directly? Book now or later?

 

Also, has anyone created a list of all excursions in to a spreadsheet? I wanna do that so that I have give it to everyone and they can pick there favs.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We did the northbound cruise in August 2 years ago. We booked private whale watches in Juneau & Icy Straight Point. In Skagway we took the ships excursion on the White Pass Scenic Railway with lunch & a show at Liarsville and a stop at the Red Onion. In Ketchikan we took the ships Dungeness crab feast excursion.

 

Instead of a spread sheet why not down load the excursions from Celebrities site into a PDF. That way everyone can see prices and descriptions.

 

We had such a great trip we're going again next year.

 

Mary Lou

[Northern Aurora]

A number of us who live in Alaska post on the Cruise Critic Alaska forum. You will find an array of recommendations and opinions about what to do in Alaska ports on that forum. Just use the search function to speed the process.

[varoo]

......I am a planner. I plan the crap out of every vacation. I am trying to consolidate everyone's excursion requests. It's hard because there are so many choice at all four stops. Are there any recommendations from people who have done this cruise? Or recommendations in general? Book with Celebrity or book directly? Book now or later?

My top recommendation would be not to try to plan and consolidate everyone's excursion requests.

Instead, plan and book the excursions you want for yourself, and let the others do the same.

 

We always find that traveling with a group works best when you let the others know what you will be doing and leave it at that.

Then they can choose to join you or not, as they wish, without feeling they owe you an explanation if they want to do something else.

 

If they change their minds at the last minute, it is no problem for anyone else because it does not affect anyone else.

That way there are no hurt feelings and you don't get the blame if something goes wrong or someone is unhappy. ;)

If you get to Seward early on the embarkation day, or the night before, you can take a wonderful Kenai Fjords excursion from the Seward harbor before you board the cruise ship. It is one of the top Alaska excursions for scenery and wildlife.

 

But be sure to book at least a 6 hour trip that gets you out of Resurrection Bay and up into the fjords.

There are also some shorter cruises offered that only cruise around inside the bay and those can be very disappointing. The best scenery and wildlife come after you get out of the bay.

 

The longer excursions briefly pass through a section of rough water on the way to and from the fjords, so if you have a tendency to seasickness, be prepared and take precautions.

 

 

You can find many threads here on these boards discussion the pros and cons of booking directly with Celebrity or booking with a travel agent.

Some of us prefer to book directly with Celebrity first, then shop around to compare offers from travel agents and transfer our booking to the travel agent who offers us the best deal.

 

Alaska cruises have become very popular so prices now are much higher than they were a few years ago.

 

You can keep watching for price drops and call to request the lower price if you see one offered before final payment, unless it states that the lower price is for new bookings only.

 

After final payment, they will no longer honor price drops but they will still let you pay the difference in price to upgrade to a higher priced cabin. So if another category drops in price, you can sometimes pick up a good deal that way.

 

 

Here is a link to the Cruise Critic Alaska Forum

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

[fredflint]

We went last year and coming from Colorado White Pass was kind of a yawn we did do a van tour which was nice since we could stop. We could see the train most of the time.

 

WE have done whale watching in Juneau with

 

http://www.orcaenterprises.com/1-Our%20Tour.htm

 

the funny part was out Naturalist is actually good friends with the folks there and went on our tour so we had 2 experts onboard for the price of one. They are very good and have a very fats boat which means less time getting to and from where the whales are. The have an observation deck on the roof so you can get really good views and pictures.

 

our last cruise some people did this and raved about it

 

found more info here

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g31030-d1840020-Reviews-Snorkel_Alaska-Ketchikan_Alaska.html

 

 

KE26 Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure

 

Prices: Duration:

Adult 113.00 / Child 113.00 USD 3 hr(s)

Restrictions: De parture Times:

Minimum Weight : 80 pounds, Max imum Weight : 260 pounds 12:00 pm

Immerse yourself in Southeast Alaska's breathtaking underwater world as you snorkel the calm and clear waters of Mountain

Point . You'll stay toasty warm in a state-of-the-art 0.25-inch (7mm) wetsuit complete with hood, boots and gloves as you hover

among Alaska's diverse and colorful marine life. Thanks to the Japanese Kiroshio current , long summer days and the lack of

glaciers in this area, water temperatures reach a surprising 65 degrees in mid-summer! Mountain Point is Southeast Alaska's

premier snorkeling destination. The site has shallow tide pools teeming with marine life and steep underwater rock walls for free-

diving, all j ust five miles from your ship. You will change into your wetsuit in the comfort of our heated dressing rooms on the way

to Mountain Point . There is secure storage for your belongings and all equipment is provided for this truly unique adventure. Your

guides are all PA DI professionals with Rescue Diver, Divemaster or SCUBA Instructor certifications with CPR and First Aid

training. The highest quality equipment is used, complete with prescription masks, Scubapro Twin Jet fins and optional weight

belts for free-diving. Complete instruction, in-water supervision and entertaining narrative make this award-winning excursion

suitable for beginners and experienced snorkelers alike. During your one-hour guided marine life tour you will observe and handle a

variety of multi-colored sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers and the giant sunflower star. Discover the myriad of fish and

colorful invertebrates that inhabit these waters while snorkeling over the kelp forest . Back at the shop, enjoy a hot beverage before

returning to your ship.

[flames9]

Yep, like the others stated the Alaska forum her eon CC. I arranged all-private (not via ship) tours for all our ports and all were great

[Keith1010]

Be sure to check out the Alaska Ports Of Call Board as mentioned above.

 

Keith