paying it forward--review of northbound cruise 6/28-7/5 and DIY land 7/5-7/13

[MLindaG]

Why were you "incredibly sorry that we included Fairbanks?" What so disappointed you in our community? Are you just not outdoorsy enough to understand our lifestyle here? And I somehow have missed that Fairbanks is so dismissed by posters on Cruise Critic, which is what I am reading in to the comment that "You all tried to tell me."

 

I too was wondering about this comment - I have not seen negatives about Fairbanks.........planning two nights there in August.......already booked on the discovery cruise - since I like Disney maybe we'll like it! LOL :o I also planned going to Chena Springs and the Ice Museum. :cool:

[MLindaG]

I forgot to mention........I loved your review.......I've been up for over an hour taking notes of the restaurants/excursions etc. While we are only doing 4 days after the cruise all your info was great! Thanks so much for taking the time to write it. :) We leave on August 17th and we can't wait! Someone mentioned two different hop on and off companies in Vancouver but I've not seen that.........did you??

[allisons]

I too was wondering about this comment - I have not seen negatives about Fairbanks.........planning two nights there in August.......already booked on the discovery cruise - since I like Disney maybe we'll like it! LOL :o I also planned going to Chena Springs and the Ice Museum. :cool:

 

That's interesting. When I was in the process of planning our itinerary, I got lots of comments to skip Fairbanks, there's nothing to do there, it's not worth the drive. I sincerely hope that you like the Riverboat Discovery. I've heard many good things about Chena Hot Springs and desperately wish we'd gone there instead.

[allisons]

I forgot to mention........I loved your review.......I've been up for over an hour taking notes of the restaurants/excursions etc. While we are only doing 4 days after the cruise all your info was great! Thanks so much for taking the time to write it. :) We leave on August 17th and we can't wait! Someone mentioned two different hop on and off companies in Vancouver but I've not seen that.........did you??

 

You're welcome! Thank you for the positive feedback! I hope you have as fabulous of a vacation in Alaska as we did! The two hop-on-hop-off options in Vancouver are Big Bus and Vancouver Trolley Company.

[Marylandteachergirl]

Hi allisons,

 

What wildlife did you see during the Major Marine cruise from Seward?

 

I am so on the fence about adding a day in Seward to our 5 day before cruise DIY land trip. One day I think yes, one day, no...

 

We are also planning to do a whale watching tour in either Juneau or ISP. Would you recommend both, or do they seem repetitive?

 

Thank you so much!

[allisons]

Hi allisons,

 

What wildlife did you see during the Major Marine cruise from Seward?

 

I am so on the fence about adding a day in Seward to our 5 day before cruise DIY land trip. One day I think yes, one day, no...

 

We are also planning to do a whale watching tour in either Juneau or ISP. Would you recommend both, or do they seem repetitive?

 

Thank you so much!

 

Wow! What wildlife didn't we see?! Let me think . . . Whales! We saw lots of humpback whales showing us the typical fin shot and then several good tale shots! But at the very end of the cruise, we saw a mama and baby whale, we spent about 20-25 minutes with them, the baby was very acrobatic, he/she breached about 35-40 times! What else? Dolphins/porpuses, seals, sea lions, sea otters, puffins, eagles, salmon, etc.! Plus a few huge, calving glaciers very upclose! It was incredible! I can't recommend it highly enough!

 

As for Seward, I recommend that you spend at least one day there! It was our favorite place we visited in Alaska! We absolutely loved it! The cruise, plus the Sea Life Center and Exit Glacier! And it's just a great Alaskan town! Beautiful scenery! I can't recommend it highly enough!

 

We only did the whale watching in Icy Strait Point, not in Juneau. So I can't make a comparison for you, sorry! The whale watching in ISP was very good. We saw lots of humpback whales showing us the typical fin shot and then several good tale shots. Unfortunately, we did not see any bubble net feeding, breaches, or Orcas. I don't know if that's a function of ISP instead of Juneau, or if that is just luck of the draw.

 

You are so welcome! Have fun planning! I know it's a lot of work, but it's worth it! I hope you have as fabulous of a vacation in Alaska as we did!

[Marylandteachergirl]

I think you have convinced me! :D

 

We are not going until 2015, but I have to request leave far, far in advance (we are a very small organization), so trying to at least get a good estimate of days.

 

Thank you for all of the detail and also your personal observations in the trip report. It really does help to read what real people think - not just look at great commercial websites - though that seems to be what I want to do rather than work!

 

Again, thank you.

[allisons]

I think you have convinced me! :D

 

We are not going until 2015, but I have to request leave far, far in advance (we are a very small organization), so trying to at least get a good estimate of days.

 

Thank you for all of the detail and also your personal observations in the trip report. It really does help to read what real people think - not just look at great commercial websites - though that seems to be what I want to do rather than work!

 

Again, thank you.

 

I know the feeling! It felt like a part-time job for the better part of a year planning our Alaska vacation for this summer! It was a labor of love! But at the same time very stressful! I actually developed TMJ disease from the stress and am now seeing a TMD specialist! And I've already started back up again for next summer! I promise you that it is so worth it! I hope that Alaska exceeds your expectations as much as it exceeded mine!

[Marylandteachergirl]

Oh, allisons, I am so sorry to hear that. I had TMJ for 20plus years, and about 1 1/2 years ago had complete jaw reconstruction - top and bottom and rebuilding of both TMJ joints. I am sure yours will not be so bad (mine was partly skeletal as well). The TMJ/TMD specialist will fit you with a mouth/bite guard, and it really does help. Best of luck to you!

[allisons]

Oh, allisons, I am so sorry to hear that. I had TMJ for 20plus years, and about 1 1/2 years ago had complete jaw reconstruction - top and bottom and rebuilding of both TMJ joints. I am sure yours will not be so bad (mine was partly skeletal as well). The TMJ/TMD specialist will fit you with a mouth/bite guard, and it really does help. Best of luck to you!

 

OMG! That's awful! I'm so sorry to hear that! Thankfully, mine is not that bad! Unfortunately, the bite guard did not work. The TMD specialist realized that it was rheumatic in nature. He sent me to a new rheumatologist. She recently diagnosed me with Sjogren's Syndrome. Which TMD specialist do you see? Where in Maryland do you live? I've been seeing John Droter in Bowie. I'm going on Monday for a second opinion with Sylvan Mintz in Bethesda.

[Marylandteachergirl]

I went to Walter Reed Med Ctr in Bethesda. And coordinated with orthodontists in Howard County. It was a long process, but worth it in the end. There are several types of guards. There is a very small one called an NTI that I thought worked better. Hope all this Alaska planning doesn't cause a regression! Your

posts are very informative and helpful. I live in Carroll County.

Edited July 24, 2013 by Marylandteachergirl

[allisons]

I went to Walter Reed Med Ctr in Bethesda. And coordinated with orthodontists in Howard County. It was a long process, but worth it in the end. There are several types of guards. There is a very small one called an NTI that I thought worked better. Hope all this Alaska planning doesn't cause a regression! Your

posts are very informative and helpful. I live in Carroll County.

 

Wow! Small world! I did my undergrad in Carroll County! I went to Western Maryland College (McDaniel College) in Westminster. I grew up in Baltimore County in Owings Mills. I live in Montgomery County in Rockville.

[Marylandteachergirl]

I went to grad school at McDaniel!!! A small world indeed. I am looking forward to reading your next Alaska installment, too! Planning is stressful but fun. Sooo many lists to make and details to plan. :)

[allisons]

I went to grad school at McDaniel!!! A small world indeed. I am looking forward to reading your next Alaska installment, too! Planning is stressful but fun. Sooo many lists to make and details to plan. :)

 

Wow! Small world indeed! You are totally right about planning for an Alaska vacation being stressful but fun! It was the most challenging vacation to plan by a mile, but it was the best vacation ever!

[bren61]

You're welcome! Thank you for the positive feedback! I could never write one of those long reviews with the prose and the pictures! I, too, find them way too much to read!

 

My cruise was supposed to include a scenic cruising day of the Inside Passage and a scenic cruising day of Hubbard Glacier. Unfortunately, the weather was too bad and too foggy to do either. On the Inside Passage day, we started out in the morning and did it for a couple of hours, but it was so foggy that we had to go so slowly that they'd never make it to Ketchikan in time, so they went way out to see instead. On the Hubbard Glacier day, we sat at the entrance of the bay for hours in thick fog surrounded by icebergs, then they finally announced that we could not go into the bay and would have to skip Hubbard Glacier.

 

The puffins were fabulous! I highly recommend it! If you ever go back to Seward, do it! It's worth every penny!

 

I didn't not enjoy Vancouver. I did enjoy it. I just didn't love it. I expected it to be so fabulous because everyone talks it up so much, and it just wasn't as wonderful as I expected.

 

Teckk Outfitters was so disappointing! Shockingly so! The worst private tour we've ever taken out of 21 cruises! I really want to write a letter and ask for my money back!

 

When is salmon season? When would be the best time to go? What would be the best place and way to see bears? What would you recommend?

 

No, Paul did not tell us that we would not be able to fly over Glacier Bay or offer us a refund. In fact, he didn't even mention it when he was flying. I realized it and asked. Then he told us, and I wonder if he would have if I hadn't figured it out.

 

At home, we go white water rafting in warm water. We wear summer clothes, splash each other, and don't worry about the temperature of the water if we fall in. There is no beautiful mountain scenery. The rapids are much more intense.

 

Yes, we were incredibly sorry that we included Fairbanks. You all tried to tell me. I didn't listen. I will never, ever disregard CruiseCritic advice again.

 

We too are eager to head back to Alaska! While in Alaska, we canceled our planned Mediterranean cruises for next year and booked Alaska cruises instead! Partially because we loved it so much, and partially because of the disappointment of missing our scenic cruising days in the Inside Passage and Hubbard Glacier! We'll start with a week of DIY land on the Kenai Peninsula either in RV or car/hotel, then a southbound cruise on the Crown Princess, and finally a roundtrip Seattle cruise on the HAL ms Amsterdam!

 

I am in the beginning stages of planning our next cruise. I'm curious as to why you are going Princess the next time around? We usually cruise RC but considered Princess because they go to Hubbard and Glacier, on our last cruise we bought next cruise certificates so I would like to use one of them so reconsidering doing Princess and trying Radiance to use the certificate. Also, if we do decide to do Princess is it better to go Coral or Crown?

[allisons]

I am in the beginning stages of planning our next cruise. I'm curious as to why you are going Princess the next time around? We usually cruise RC but considered Princess because they go to Hubbard and Glacier, on our last cruise we bought next cruise certificates so I would like to use one of them so reconsidering doing Princess and trying Radiance to use the certificate. Also, if we do decide to do Princess is it better to go Coral or Crown?

 

We went this summer on RCI Radiance OTS only because we could get a free Alaska cruise for two by cashing in 250,000 Visa Royal Points. Otherwise, we would never have gone back on RCI or chosen RCI for Alaska. When planning for next summer, we agreed that we would base our decision only on itinerary, regardless of cruise line. We looked at all of the Alaska 2014 itineraries from all of the 6 major cruise lines. We picked the Princess southbound for Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. We picked the Holland America round trip Seattle for Sitka, Victoria, and Tracy Arm. The overwhelming feedback that I've received is that Coral/Island Princess is better than Crown Princess. Therefore, we chose the Island Princess. We chose the HAL ms Amsterdam, because that was our only option for the itinerary we chose. Good luck!

[bren61]

We went this summer on RCI Radiance OTS only because we could get a free Alaska cruise for two by cashing in 250,000 Visa Royal Points. Otherwise, we would never have gone back on RCI or chosen RCI for Alaska. When planning for next summer, we agreed that we would base our decision only on itinerary, regardless of cruise line. We looked at all of the Alaska 2014 itineraries from all of the 6 major cruise lines. We picked the Princess southbound for Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. We picked the Holland America round trip Seattle for Sitka, Victoria, and Tracy Arm. The overwhelming feedback that I've received is that Coral/Island Princess is better than Crown Princess. Therefore, we chose the Island Princess. We chose the HAL ms Amsterdam, because that was our only option for the itinerary we chose. Good luck!

 

Thank You, I'm sure I will have many more questions once we decide which cruiseline we will be going with.

[allisons]

Thank You, I'm sure I will have many more questions once we decide which cruiseline we will be going with.

 

You're welcome. Of course. I'm happy to answer any questions. Believe me, I ask tons of questions on here.

[gretnagirl]

Hi allisons,

 

I've done some searching on these boards about aft cabins and understand that you had one for this sailing. Can you give me some insight as to how your view was from your balcony? We're doing a northbound cruise on the Millennium in less than two weeks and could change our midship starboard balcony to an aft for nothing but my dad is concerned that we'll see the sights after the fact with the aft rather than as they're happening with our midship. Does that make sense? I think the aft would be fantastic, but it's not my room so I don't get to make the final call. Any advice you can give, or pictures you have from the balcony, would be greatly appreciated!

[allisons]

Hi allisons,

 

I've done some searching on these boards about aft cabins and understand that you had one for this sailing. Can you give me some insight as to how your view was from your balcony? We're doing a northbound cruise on the Millennium in less than two weeks and could change our midship starboard balcony to an aft for nothing but my dad is concerned that we'll see the sights after the fact with the aft rather than as they're happening with our midship. Does that make sense? I think the aft would be fantastic, but it's not my room so I don't get to make the final call. Any advice you can give, or pictures you have from the balcony, would be greatly appreciated!

 

I can give you limited feedback. Due to weather, our cruise was only able to do a couple hours in the inside passage and had to skip Hubbard Glacier completely. I guess the view is after the midship balconies. But the view is a panoramic view to both sides, which you wouldn't have on a midship balcony.

[cruisequeen3311]

Are formal nights 2 and 6 on the alaska cruise ? Is lobster moved to day 6 to accommodate formal night. Usually it's five in the Caribbean cruises

 

 

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