ALASKA - First Time

[burwick]

Hi All . . . I am trying to plan the ultimate cruise vacation for when my husband returns from Iraq -- home for good -- after an 18 month deployment. Given that he has been in extreme heat, sun and sand, I decided a cruise to Alaska might be perfect. We will be traveling with our 16/18 year old sons.

 

I would be intersted in knowing your thoughts and opinions. We are looking at going at the end of July or beginning of August. Cost will be important. The things I really think I want to see are: Denali, the Misty Fjords and the Hubbard Glacier.

 

We've only sailed on Royal Caribbean, but does anyone have other preferences? What about your favorite excursions -- train rides, dog sleds, logger competitions?

 

Thought we wanted a 10 day land/sea adventure to include Denali. Does anyone have a preference over just a seven day cruise or the seven day cruise with additional land tour?

 

Has anyone ever exchanged a time share week (i.e., RCI) for a cruise? Did you find it significantly cheaper?

 

Thanks.

 

Marianne

[calicruzer]

We did Alsaka on Celebrity's Mercury the first week of July and the weather was perfect! 70 degress on Hubbard Glacier!

 

My kids loved kayaking in Ketchikan (book independently of the cruise line and had a private tour for 3 hours! Unbelieveable)

 

I would also suggest if your ship goes to Sitka, do the raptor center. They care for injured eagles, falcons, etc. Your boys would love it.

 

In Jueanu (sp?) we did whale watching with Captian Larry.

 

Check out the Alaska boards for lots of ideas and specifics.

 

We can't wait to go back again and do the helicopter and sled dogs. It is expensive, but everyone told us it was amazing and worth the $$.

Consider the ships that are sailing round trip out of Seattle for better air fare prices than Vacouver or Anchorage.

 

Have fun planning. It will be a treat when your hubby returns. I rememebr when my husband returned from Desert Storm many years ago, we did a trip to Napa Valley and drank way too much wine!

[dougp26364]

 

 

 

Has anyone ever exchanged a time share week (i.e., RCI) for a cruise? Did you find it significantly cheaper?

 

Thanks.

 

Marianne

 

Timeshare exchanges are generally bad deals once you figure in the cost of MF's paid to the resort and exchange fee's. On an Alaskan cruise you can typically count on a disount of $600 to $800 depending on what you own and what cabin type you want. The more expensive the cabin the higher the discount. But, If the discount is only $800 and your MF's for your timeshare is around $600, then you don't have much of a discount and you've given up your week in the timeshare.

 

We've sailed Alaska twice but have only done the cruise. Hubbard Glacier can be hit of miss as to how great it is. On our first cruise, we couldn't get close enough to see much. The second cruise we got up close and were able to see quite a bit of calving. Misty Fjords was really nice but, be sure to check what time you're sailing through and compare it to your choosen dinner time. We had early seating and it was during that period we were cruising through Misty Fjords. You can always eat in the specialty restaurant or Windjammer if need be on that night.

 

If you choose not to do the land/cruise, I'd recommend sailing on Vision out of Seattle and spending some time in that area before or after the cruise. Since Vision is a Friday/Friday cruise, it's easy to spend the rest of the weekend in Seattle after the cruise. I spent 13 weeks working in Seattle and there is much to see and do there including driving over to Mt. Rainer and Mt. St. Helens.

 

I'm not sure that the Vision would have the itenerary you'd want and it's not nearly as nice a ship as the Radiance class ships IMO. I really enjoyed the itenerary on the RT's out of Vancouver but, we've done that route twice and wanted something a little different. We also were not nearly as impressed with Vancouver as most other people are. So sailing out of Seattle will be a better choice for us.

 

If money was no object and the Itenerary was a little different, I'd consider strongly taking the land/cruise sailing sailing southbound. In fact, it may be a future cruise for us sometime.

[rtb]

Marianne, found your thread interesting.....our son is also returning from Iraq in about 10 days after serving in South Korea for 11 months and Iraq 12 months, the only thing he wanted to do on his block leave was take an Alaskan cruise. We have it scheduled for the end of August on the Radiance, counting the hours. Hope that it works out for you and please thank your husband for everything he is doing to help protect us. Take care, Pat and Ron

[Mylisa]

Marianne,

Please thank your husband for all he has done to help keep us all safe. His efforts are deeply appreciated.

 

Pat and Ron,

Please thank your son as well.

[demodawn]

Thanks to both sons, our son-in-law will be home in 11 days according to my daughter for his 2 weeks! We have a family vacation planned but close to home! He is in kosvo and still has 7 months. God bless all of them

[winterstar]

We did an Alaska cruisetour with RCCL in May/June. It was our first, so I can't really compare it to the other routes offered, but Hubbard Glacier was absolutely spectacular! We did a lot of really fun (but expensive) excursions. I have a review in the member review section under Vision of the Seas. In a nutshell, however, my favorite excursions were (not necessarily in this order):

 

1) 2 hour glacier helicopter trek with Northstar Trekking in Juneau

 

2) Over the Summit flight in Talkeetna with Talkeetna Aero

 

3) whale watching with Captain Larry in Juneau

 

4) combination Orca's Cove kayaking/Misty Fjords flightseeing with Southeast Sea Kayaks in Ketchikan

[threeofus]

I hope RCL gives a nice discount or an upgrade to these soldiers and their families...

 

Please let me know...I hope there are lots of perks