Anniversary Trip - Help me make decisions

[mlfallis]

So in June 2016 we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary and I want to go to Alaska.

 

Currently we are booked on Celebrity Millennium Southbound with pre-cruise Tour (2B). Here is the itinerary:

 

31 MAY - FAIRBANKS HOTEL

01 JUN - GOLD DREDGE 8

01 JUN - FAIRBANKS HOTEL

02 JUN - RAIL AM - FAI TO DNL

02 JUN - DENALI NATURAL HISTORY TOUR (will upgrade to Tundra Wilderness Tour)

02 JUN - DENALI HOTEL

03 JUN - MOTORCOACH DNL TO ANC

03 JUN - TRANSFER TO SHIP ANC TO SWD

03 JUN - SEWARD, ALASKA depart 8pm

04 JUN - HUBBARD GLACIER (CRUISING)

05 JUN - JUNEAU, ALASKA 9am - 9pm

06 JUN - SKAGWAY, ALASKA 7am - 8:30pm

07 JUN - ICY STRAIT POINT, ALASKA 7am - 4pm

08 JUN - KETCHIKAN, ALASKA 9am - 6 pm

09 JUN - INSIDE PASSAGE (CRUISING)

10 JUN - VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA arrive 7am

 

We will probably fly to Fairbanks on May 29 or 30 and take a day or two to explore the area.

 

Things we would like to do are whale watching, dog sledding, kayaking, a flight tour of some sort. I find the boards so over whelming with ideas and with everything going on in life I am ready to hand the excursions over to a travel agent.

 

We will both be in our mid 30s and have 3 very active boys so we are up for a lot. With that being said we only booked Celebrity since we were on Royal recently and got great perks for booking on board and Royals for 2016 to Alaska are not out. When Royals' do come out I am considering booking a similar trip with them in Canadian $ since it is tanking these days and hoping the dates for flying are close enough I can wait for final payment to decide which one to actually take.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated beyond belief. Also I know about the discount books that come out in November for the following year but is there some shore excursions that should be booked ASAP?

[deerhuntingal]

I booked a tour our of Skagway with these folks: http://www.mountainflyingservice.com/

We are doing the #2 tour with glacier landing in Glacier Bay. Super nice folks and easy to book.

 

I also booked a orca whale tour out of Victoria with Eagle Wing Tours. They are a 5-10 min walk from the cruise ship dock and if you ask, they sometimes can apply a 20% off coupon to you booking making it very reasonable.

 

I suggest you look at the excursions offered by the cruiseship and list the ones that appeal to you. I did that then researched on line for independent operators and found those listed above. I also used the cruise line to book 3 others that were no cheaper by an independent so there was no benefit going outside the cruiseline on those.

 

There is no way I would leave excursions up to my TA! They do not know what you truly want to do while there and they may not be able to get a deal like you can on line. If you leave it up to another to make your vacation a dream one and it turns out a costly, depressing

endeavor, It is not their fault. I'm sure they tried. I took into account the best place for whale watching (Icy Strait on most forums)

Best salmon fishing at the time of year we will be there, and whether or not the weather will be a factor in port on things like the Tram ride or zip lining. Some things you can book the same day but others will be sold out.

 

Have fun on your cruise! It is our 20th anniversary and we are doing a 9 day Norwegian in May! So excited!

[xlxo]

So in June 2016 we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary and I want to go to Alaska.

 

10 JUN - VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA arrive 7am

 

Things we would like to do are whale watching, dog sledding, kayaking, a flight tour of some sort. I find the boards so over whelming with ideas and with everything going on in life I am ready to hand the excursions over to a travel agent.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated beyond belief. Also I know about the discount books that come out in November for the following year but is there some shore excursions that should be booked ASAP?

 

I hope you have 3 or more days planned for Vancouver. If you didn't get enough glaciers and whale watching.... you can do that in Vancouver too!

[mlfallis]

Thanks deerhuntingal I will into that.

 

xlxo, no time planned for Vancouver as we have a trip west planned in 2017 with the kids to see family in Edmonton and drive to the west coast. Will probably do a two week trip then.