Footwear-Alaska

[Stanley]

We are wondering what the right footwear will be for when we are off the ship in Alaska. It's next month and we do expect it to be colder than the weather we are having here in Texas. Will sneakers and warm socks be OK or should we look around for some sort of book or hiking shoe. All suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[LARGIN]

Unless you want to go hiking in the snow and ice, regular sneakers will work..

[Coral]

I wore tennis shoes for my entire 14 days in May.

[mii]

My husband wore sneakers the whole time and I wore just a pair of walking tan oxford shoes. Just make sure they are comfortable. Have fund on the cruise.

 

Marilyn

[Love Cruis'n]

You might want to also bring whatever shoes you wear when it rains. We got quite a bit of rain in Juneau and I'm glad I brought a pair of shoes that I use in foul weather in the midwest, as I landed on a Glacier, and they were both warm and waterproof. Also provided good traction. On the other hand, DW usually wears her tennis shoes in the rain, and they worked fine for her. ;)

[Stanley]

Thank you all for your responses. I'm not too crazy about the cold so I think I will just be looking at snow and ice from a distance and not walking around in it. I'm most comfortable in my sneakers. I'll just be sure to take a spare pair in case one pair is wet.

[Cruisin' Chick]

All I brought for our trip (including train trip up the West Coast, pre-cruise and post-cruise in Seattle) was sneakers, dressy sandals, regular sandals. Yep. a woman actually brought three pairs of shoes for a vacation. Of course, we didn't do any outdoorsy-adventure excursions. We had rainy weather for the cruise and after.

[cowtec]

Just back from Alaska yesterday. My sneakers were fine in the rain - they were leather. DH had nylon tops on his and his feet were soaked. Either waterproof nylon or make sure they are leather!

 

Sue

[Stanley]

Can I ask when you went on your cruise? I know that September is the rainiest month in Alaska, or at least where we are going. We can go light o shoes. If women stick with a basic black or another color then they can get away with the same pair of black, white, red or whatever color shoe for each night.

 

I see you are from CA. You said you went on a train up the west coast. Was this the train to Seattle? I ask this because we are trying to get back to Seattle from Vancouver then rent a car and make our way to Wenatchee to visit some good friends. The Amtrak Service from Vancouver to Seattle is a bus and not a train. But, the train that would be best for us will not allow our luggage, just a carry on. To rent a car in Vancouver we would have to drop it off at the Seattle airport. Not counting gas, it's going to cost $600 for 3 days and it's just a midsized car. There is a $200 Canadian drop off fee. I think this is a bit much. To fly, it will cost $500 and then we have to rent a car and drive to Wenatchee. Do y ou know another way to get to Seattle fro Vancouver? I think it's too late to book the Princess transfers. We have less than 3 weeks to sailing.

 

Asking if you know a way is a shot in the dark but I think I've thought of every way I can to make the trip. If we have to fly then we will but we will spend a fortune the 3 days we're with our friends and I'm trying to cut corners.

 

Thanks.

[Love Cruis'n]

 

You might try posting this question on the Alaska or Vancouver boards.

[geoherb]

I brought along my waterproof Timberlands. They were dressy enough to wear with khakis on casual nights, very comfortable for walking, and didn't let my feet get wet when it rained all day when we were in Juneau. (Most of the time, it was just a misty drizzle, but it also poured a few times.)

[Stanley]

Thanks, you know I didn't even think of looking there. I did have some good news today. I called Princess and they said that we can request transfers up until 2 weeks before the cruise and not 3 as I thought. I used an agent so I have to have him to book the transfers. The people who book the transfers when they make their reservations take priority. So hopefully they will have a couple of seats available for us. It's by coach but will leave about 10 AM and the train, planes, etc were leaving in the middle of the afternoon.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Stanley, let's see if I can help:

 

"Can I ask when you went on your cruise?"

 

We were on the Sapphire 8/15 cruise out of Seattle.

 

"Was this the train to Seattle?"

 

We got on the train at Oxnard that goes up to Seattle. The Coast Starlight? There were closer stations (we're very close to train tracks that sometimes we can hear the train whistle) but Glendale and Simi Valley does not take on checked luggage. So the other options were downtown LA or Oxnard. So we rented a car to Oxnard, stayed the night (we're big fans of Ventura Harbor, so this was an excuse to spend time there) and then went to the Amtrak station. We had a family bedroom which is at the end of the car, has four beds -- two small and two a bit bigger -- and includes meals.

 

You can check out amtrak.com to see what options are available. I know last summer there was a train or bus that goes from Seattle to Vancouver but I can't remember which. I had checked that out because we were also considering starting our cruise in Vancouver.

 

The problems with the train portion of our trip:

 

The tracks aren't in the best of shape. Very shaky.

 

Freight trains have preference so you're consistently getting sidetracked. If you check out amtrak.com you can also see what times the different trains actually have been getting into a specific station for the past month. Usually three or four hours late for this train. I don't recommend the train if you need to get somewhere on time.

 

There's a limited menu for the meals. In fact the dinner menu for both nights going up were the same and both nights going down were the same. If you're going coach, these meals are pretty expensive to buy for the quality, IMO. Some people in coach brought on coolers, fast food, etc.

 

There's a weight requirement for luggage, and a maximum number of carryons. The guy at the counter in Oxnard was hassling us about the weight of our suitcase, saying it was over the limit, just by picking it up. But then, he put it on the scale and it was just under.

 

You do see beautiful scenary that you probably can't by road or by air. Because we were running behind, we saw Mt. Shasta during breakfast.

 

As you are just trying to go up north from Seattle, I know this may not help you (but someone else who's thinking of this trip, may be reading this). And who knows how long Amtrak will be operating in the Western U.S. Have you looked into the ferry system?

[calikak]

The Amtrak service from Vancouver to Seattle isn't just bus, there's an actual train too. It only runs once a day, leaving Vancouver at 6PM and arrive in Seattle I think at 10PM, if I remember right. It's a really lovely trip because it runs along the water most of the way, so the scenery is fantastic (until it gets dark out, then you really can't see anything :)). The name of the train route is Amtrak Cascades, here's the website for the route:

 

http://www.amtrakcascades.com

 

You can also take the Quick Coach from Vancouver to Seattle. I think that's the bus service that my friend did after a cruise in May and she said it worked out great for her. It dropped her off right in downtown Seattle (both Budget and Thrifty have downtown Seattle locations) but it also goes to SeaTac if you prefer to pick up your car rental there.

[Taters]

Until tomorrow (8/25/2005) at 10 pm Pacific time, Alaska Airlines is running specials on all of their flights. I just checked a one way flight from Vancouver to Seattle for September 14th and the price is $123.30 per person. If you are looking for more information on this, go to http://www.alaskaair.com

 

Have fun!

 

Oh - And I agree that leather tennis shoes will work... I am an Alaskan and that's what I wear, even in 40 below if I'm not going to spend much time outside.

 

Taters

[gambit57]

I wore leather sneakers. Did some excursions where I encountered wet conditions (but no heavy rain, just light drizzle and lots of mist). They were fine. I wore those nylon track suits as well. Comfy and kept me dry w/out me having to totally bundle up since it wasn't all that cold.