Making Sense of Glacier tours and Miscellaneous

[mlkmnsgrl]

I've spent days upon days reading the Alaska Ports of Call threads and I'm still trying to wrap my brain around a few things.

 

Background: First time cruisers on the June 16th N-S bound NCL Sun (just DH and I, 3 kids staying at Grandma's):

 

Day 1: Whittier

Day 2: Hubbard Glacier

Day 3: Icy Strait Point/Hoonah

Day 4: Juneau a.m., Sawyer Glacier p.m.

Day 5: Skagway

Day 6: Ketchikan

Day 7: Inside Passage

Day 8: Vancouver

 

I've got Anchorage and Vancouver planned and booked. We are in a guaranteed inside cabin at this point, but may upgrade to an obstructed outside...our travel agent said ncl recommended waiting a bit longer to see what we can do--price adjustment or upgrade without losing our OBC, although it's only $25, so not worth much.

 

Anyway, here are my remaining questions:

 

Glaciers:

I've heard so much about the excursion where the boat gets you off the ship and takes you closer to the glaciers. 3rd week of June is it worth it? Is that on the day in Hubbard Glacier, or the half day Sawyer/Tracy Arm? What companies do them and which do you prefer/why? Does NCL even do this kind, cuz I can't see it on the excursions lists.

 

We're on a tight budget, so if we do a glacier tour, it'll probably also have to be our "whale watching"...any chance we'll see whales, or just seals, etc on a glacier tour?

 

 

Whale Watching:

If we don't do a glacier tour, we'll splurge on a whale watch at either ISP/Hoonah or Juneau. Juneau seems to have cheaper options, though our port call is so short (7am-1:15pm) and the tours all start at 8 or 9, so it seems like the packages with whales and then Mendenhall aren't an option for our itinerary. I'm an archaeologist, so I know there's lots of walking around looking at stuff opportunities at both of these ports, so I think we can do either...how much more likely are we to see both Orca and Humpbacks in Juneau? F.I.S.H.E.S. in ISP has a couple spots for us on the morning trip (our port call is 9am-5pm at ISP), but we haven't sent in the depost yet because it works out to $170pp after tax and seems like the Juneau trips are $130s. For us, an $80 swing is a huge part of the budget.

 

 

Skagway:

We've got a place on the Dyea Dave Emerald Lake tour. Planning on bringing some lunch stuffs off the ship rather than buy lunch (is that allowed? Will we have to smuggle sandwiches?).

 

I've also touched base with Sourdough on the off chance that he's still got a small car available for rent that day. If we can get one, it's $80, so the equivalent of one Dyea Dave tour, but then we'll have gas expenses and the need to self-narrate our tour. Is it easy enough to self-guide up to Emerald that we can save the few dollars and be on our own, or should we just stick with Dave?

 

 

 

Other:

Whichever of ISP or Juneau we don't do a whale tour, we'll just walk around the town and find a museum or something. And we're definitely not doing anything formal at Ketchikan.

 

What time should we be in the observation lounge for Hubbard? Sawyer? (Obviously if weather's good, we'll be on deck, but if not, I want the best indoor seat in the house I can get!)

 

How early can you board? NCL seems to be saying only a couple hours before, but I've seen threads with folks getting on before cabins are ready and just hanging out. Our shuttle drops off at 3:45 and I'd like to check out the little PWS Museum in the Inn, but that'll take all of 30 minutes. Can we just go board at 4:30 and start getting acquainted with the ship? Can we eat dinner on board?

 

 

NCL Specific:

I'll ask this on our roll call, if no one here has an opinion, but what do you think of the ultimate dining package deal to have all time access to the specialty restaurants? The Sun has a churrascaria, which is easily my favorite "fancy" type of restaurant besides fondue. (When I'm pregnant, all I can think about is meat, so I live at the Brazilian steakhouse :D) They've got the package listed at $120/person right now. My DH's twin sister and spouse did a roundtrip NCL last summer and I think she said there's was only $70pp. They bought it on board and felt like it was very very worth the price, but they're also much wealthier than we are.

 

Is NCL likely to offer a lower price on the unlimited plan once we're onboard? In your opinion is it worth it? Some ppl have said the specialties are crowded, but SIL said they were deserted and much faster than standing in line at the MDR or buffet.

 

 

All opinions/wisdom/recommendations VERY much appreciated. Sorry to be long-winded...daughter of an English Teacher. :o

[stilley9]

i'm on your ship, and i'm so glad you asked that question about the sawyer glacier thing, because i couldn't figure it out either. i'm thinking that maybe NCL just doesn't do it? will be interested to see the responses.

[mlkmnsgrl]

Just saw you on the roll call--we're from North Carolina! Gonna be a load of us, it looks like! =)

[stilley9]

that's awesome! we're from charlotte area - what about you?

[sherryf]

Skagway:

We've got a place on the Dyea Dave Emerald Lake tour. Planning on bringing some lunch stuffs off the ship rather than buy lunch (is that allowed? Will we have to smuggle sandwiches?).

 

No, it's not allowed. Please don't smuggle. Just buy something in town.

[mlkmnsgrl]

No, it's not allowed. Please don't smuggle. Just buy something in town.

 

Good to know! We'll plan on eating in Carcross with the group.

 

Is it a pain to re-board to eat, like during our day in Ketchikan? Budget says if food is included on board, that's where we should try to eat, but I don't want to lose hours if getting on and off is a pain.

 

 

Stilley, we're in Morrisville up by Raleigh. Husband is dissertationing at UNC-Chapel Hill and working in RTP. We've been through Charlotte several times--really like it down there...and it's my nearest resort when the Ikea-crave comes on. ;)

[mlkmnsgrl]

I've spent days upon days reading the Alaska Ports of Call threads and I'm still trying to wrap my brain around a few things.

 

1. What companies pick you up from the ship and take you to Tracy Arm? Hubbard Glacier? If one or the other (mid-June), which would you do?

 

2. Do you see whales much on a glacier tour?

 

3. Relative advantages to Icy Strait vs. Juneau for whale watching. Juneau cheaper and more orcas, right? Is there a selling point for ISP to beat that?

 

4. Would you drive to Emerald Lake or let Dyea Dave take you?

 

5. NCL Sun southbound June 16: What time should we be in the observation lounge for Hubbard? Sawyer? (Obviously if weather's good, we'll be on deck, but if not, I want the best indoor seat in the house I can get!)

 

Thanks...trying to find answers with forum search, but still confused. :o

[Chenega]

The most reliable glacier viewing from a cruise ship is one that goes to Glacier Bay. Since your itinerary does not include that, Hubbard and Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier both offer good viewing if weather and ice conditions cooperate.

 

Having said that, probably the best glacier viewing is from a small boat trip out of Whittier into Prince William Sound. You can do that prior to the departure of your ship from Whittier. There are two tour operators (http://www.26glaciers.com and http://www.majormarine.com) with two different route. Both go to areas with very active glaciers (the picture below is one of those).

 

You can see whales from these trips but sightings are not guaranteed. The Juneau and ISP trips are both excellent whale trips but both lack close-up visits to glaciers.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Chenega

[tickford]

Didn't cruise NCL, cruised Princess.

 

As already said don't take food from ship, big no no.

 

We hired a car from Sourdough for the day and drove ourselves up the highway to Emerald Lake and Carcross. It was just hubby and I and was great, able to stop wherever we wanted.

I bought the ebook Murray's Guide to the South Klondike Highway, only cost $5-00.

 

Sourdough at that time was getting a bad rap from some people however they were great, down to earth people. Cars were not brand newish like you get from Avis but the one we had was fine. I actually spoke to them by phone from Australia before I commited to booking with them.

 

We did whale watching in Juneau but it was a very hit and miss day, only saw tails from a great distance, a blink and you miss it affair.

[bonvoyagie]

Well it looks like NCL only offers the Tracy Arm Explorer on the Jewel and Pearl - too bad as they could also run it on the SB Sun -the small boat would leave Juneau ahead of the Sun and beat it to the end of the Fjord where you would then re-board the Sun in front of the glacier - this is how they do it on the Jewel.

 

As for whales I would shoot for Icy Point - Juneau has more other things to see.

 

Dyea Dave usually does not stop at Caribou Crossings and prefers to stop at another place in Carcross for lunch. Driving is also a OK option as well, it is hard to get lost and the roads are good. Self guided tours are available.

 

Here is a site with lots of info on the AK ports www.cruiseportinsider.com

 

Enjoy your trip.

Edited May 13, 2014 by bonvoyagie

[Budget Queen]

 

Is it a pain to re-board to eat, like during our day in Ketchikan? Budget says if food is included on board, that's where we should try to eat, but I don't want to lose hours if getting on and off is a pain.

 

 

QUOTE]

 

In my opinion, this is a BIG waste of time which is already too short in Alaska. Instead, consider eating big just prior to getting off the ship, then "snack" if you are short on funds, eating bigger again, upon return to the ship.

[mlkmnsgrl]

Def the route I would take. My dh however is a rigid eat by the clock type...

 

Thanks for all the input! Probably going to see if any isp whale trips are cheaper than fishes and go there.

 

As a follow up, given our itinerary would it be safe to say that if we skip Mendenhall we'll still get in some good glacier time?

 

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[Budget Queen]

Def the route I would take. My dh however is a rigid eat by the clock type...

 

Thanks for all the input! Probably going to see if any isp whale trips are cheaper than fishes and go there.

 

As a follow up, given our itinerary would it be safe to say that if we skip Mendenhall we'll still get in some good glacier time?

 

Sent from my SCH-S738C using Tapatalk

 

Frankly, your best glacier opportunity is a Prince William Sound tour, that is the one, "not to miss". Mendenhall is a nice visit, but any Juneau visit is going to have compromises, you will have to determine, what choices YOU want to make, and your priorities.

 

The major factor with basing your whale watch on price, is you are likely to get a shorter tour. Whale watching is ALL about time, the longer you are out, the more you see.