Alaska - on board

[queenie_texas]

10. And MOST IMPORTANT ..... delighted to announce the birth of our first granddaughter, Victoria Luisa, on June, 11.

 

Huge congratulations and many thanks for the update!

[jenidallas]

Yay for grandbabies! Congratulations Roxburgh! Champagne all around.

 

Isklaar... I do have content elsewhere as well. But trying to contribute here as much as I can keep up!

 

Speaking of moose - we had to hit the brakes on our way to Seward yesterday because we had one blocking our lane on the highway! (Between that and having a tire come off a truck and come rolling down the road toward us, it was quite the bus adventure!)

 

Yes, the internet servers seem to now have a few higher bandwidth sites blocked. I could not access Pixabay (which I use for stock images for my blog) now that you mention it. Maybe that will help some. Access was definitely still very difficult at times!

[zelker]

To anyone who just got off - or is onboard now .... would appreciate knowing about availability of those great Swarovski binoculars to use for wildlife viewing when hanging with Expedition Team members. In Antarctica they usually had them out on the bow or stern. Thx.

[Roxburgh]

Just finished lunch after an outstanding catamaran trip to the Aialik Glacier this morning.

 

We were blessed with good weather and the catamaran was a great way to visit the glacier. There was food and drink on-board for those that wanted it, there was plenty of space on deck for viewing and, for those who felt cold, the possibility of going inside. In addition, there was a very knowledgeable commentary on the geology and the wildlife.

 

We were fortunate to see a lot of calving activity on the glacier though not so close that it could pose a danger. Not sure I would have wanted to get too close in a zodiac. We also saw different species of bird and a few harbor seals who were hanging out on ice flows. One of them swam close to the boat and was checking us out.

 

In retrospect, I think the catamaran was a better choice than the zodiac. Although the latter sounds appealing, the catamaran offered a more informed tour, offered a more stable platform for taking photos, and, even though the weather was good, offered a warmer environment. The wind in Alaska is still cold even though the sun is shining.

[frantic36]

Hi Roxburgh,

 

Congratulations on your granddaughter. An exciting time for your family.

 

Thank you for keeping this thread going and giving such detailed information. Two questions I hope you can answer please.

1) How passengers are on the catamarans?

2) Could you tell me if they still do the kayaking tours at Inian Islands?

 

Marazul and jenidallas thank you for the information you provided. Jenidallas I hope the rest of the journey home was enjoyable. Your bus journey sounds quite the adventure.

 

Julie

[marazul]

In a similar fashion, I was also surprised on the way back from the aborted crab feed in Ketchikan that the tour operator, seeing that our bus was not full (again a Seabourn norm), filled the rest of our seats with Disney passengers.

 

Jen-

For the crab trip, we had our own bus and were supposed to arrive at George Inlet, board the boat and have lunch after. Unfortunately, the boat had a load of Disney passengers when it broke down and didn't make it back on time for us to get on. That is why the restaurant management sent us into the restaurant to eat lunch. Most of us decided to leave at about the same time the boat returned, so we boarded the same buses that were carrying the Disney people back. The screwup was not Seabourn's. Just bad luck.

 

In Denali today on our own. Wonderful sunshine and the mountain was out! Perfect ending to a great trip that had some teething problems for Seabourn, but was nonetheless up to the usual standard.

[Roxburgh]

Hi Roxburgh,

 

Congratulations on your granddaughter. An exciting time for your family.

 

Thank you for keeping this thread going and giving such detailed information. Two questions I hope you can answer please.

1) How passengers are on the catamarans?

2) Could you tell me if they still do the kayaking tours at Inian Islands?

 

Marazul and jenidallas thank you for the information you provided. Jenidallas I hope the rest of the journey home was enjoyable. Your bus journey sounds quite the adventure.

 

Julie

 

There were approximately 50 people on-board the catamaran.

 

Don't know about the kayaking but will try to find out.

[Roxburgh]

Jen-

For the crab trip, we had our own bus and were supposed to arrive at George Inlet, board the boat and have lunch after. Unfortunately, the boat had a load of Disney passengers when it broke down and didn't make it back on time for us to get on. That is why the restaurant management sent us into the restaurant to eat lunch. Most of us decided to leave at about the same time the boat returned, so we boarded the same buses that were carrying the Disney people back. The screwup was not Seabourn's. Just bad luck.

 

In Denali today on our own. Wonderful sunshine and the mountain was out! Perfect ending to a great trip that had some teething problems for Seabourn, but was nonetheless up to the usual standard.

 

We spent a day in Denali pre-cruise. Saw grizzlies, wolves, moose and caribou.

 

The day before we took a small plane (Beechcraft) from Talkeetna with a landing on the glacier below Denali. Fantastic experience.

[jenidallas]

Jen-

For the crab trip, we had our own bus and were supposed to arrive at George Inlet, board the boat and have lunch after. Unfortunately, the boat had a load of Disney passengers when it broke down and didn't make it back on time for us to get on. That is why the restaurant management sent us into the restaurant to eat lunch. Most of us decided to leave at about the same time the boat returned, so we boarded the same buses that were carrying the Disney people back. The screwup was not Seabourn's. Just bad luck.

 

I definitely know the issue was the tour operator, not Seabourn. I do think Seabourn should have had a bit more "oversight" on the tours - at least for this first sailing.

 

For the number of guests that were on that particular shore excursion, I was a bit surprised that Seabourn had not sent a staff member along. Having someone who can help with communications and act as a central contact can go a *long* way and that tour was bad communication from start to finish. It probably also didn't help my personal feelings that one of the staff members at the restaurant was incredibly rude. While we were all seated and waiting for an explanation about the broken boat situation, I was talking with my mother about how messed up the day had become. I must have been looking in the general direction of the door/gift shop while we were talking because she caught my eye and walked across the room to our table and (hand on hip) asked me "do you have a problem or something?" When shortly after that, they announced that the boat was broken and we could leave at will, I was more than glad to get up and go!

 

And no... that's not Seabourn, but it IS an operator they've chosen to work with. If Seabourn is taking the price markup, they should take a tiny bit of the accountability. ;)

[wovoka]

We were looking at Seabourn's July 7th Alaska cruise, when it occurred to us that Desiree had just applied for a new passport - which means she mailed away her present one! Lord knows how long it'll take for the U.S. gov't to return a fresh one. :o We live in Washington state and have "enhanced" driver's licenses which allow us entry into Mexico & Canada ... but I'm wondering if Seabourn requires a passport in order to cruise through Canada?

Alan & Desiree

[Chairsin]

If it is any help I recently renewed mine and it took exactly four weeks from the day I mailed the old one with the application until the new one arrived in the mail.

 

Not sure about requirements in Canada but my guess would be a passport is required. You might call the Seabourn desk and ask to get the definitive answer.

 

We'll hope we see you on board on the 7th.

 

 

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[MightyQuinn]

Good excursions:

Haines – Wilderness river adventures (saw four brown bears and a spirit bear, moose and some eagles)

How lucky you were to see a Kermode aka Spirit Bear! I thought they were only found in the Great Bear Rainforest in the north-central coast of BC and along the northern tip of Vancouver Island. I had no idea they were also in Alaska. That's another good reason to visit again. Thanks so much for your excellent travelogue.

[Chairsin]

Just now I received the email from Seabourn "officially" informing us of the Alaska zodiac cancelations. Also the new catamaran tours show up on their website. I suspect the remaining two zodiac tours (Klemtu and Alert Bay) will sell out pretty quickly so if of interest I encourage those going to Alaska this summer who usually sign up on board to consider signing up in advance on line.

 

 

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[galeforce9]

Just now I received the email from Seabourn "officially" informing us of the Alaska zodiac cancelations. Also the new catamaran tours show up on their website. I suspect the remaining two zodiac tours (Klemtu and Alert Bay) will sell out pretty quickly so if of interest I encourage those going to Alaska this summer who usually sign up on board to consider signing up in advance on line.

 

 

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Hi Chairsin

 

Thanks for the breaking news. We haven't received anything yet but it could be with our travel agent still (26 August sailing). Does it mention whether it's for the whole season, or is your letter specifically for your cruise?

 

Also, does it mention when we will be refunded for zodiacs already booked and paid ahead of sailing?

 

Are there any catamaran tours you're going to pick? I know we make the best of a bad job but a 50 share catamaran isn't the intimate glacier experience I was after. The zodiacs in Canada don't have the same appeal for me as it was glaciers I wanted to see up close most.

 

Kind regards

Eleanor

 

 

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[galeforce9]

Hi Chairsin

 

Thanks for the breaking news. We haven't received anything yet but it could be with our travel agent still (26 August sailing). Does it mention whether it's for the whole season, or is your letter specifically for your cruise?

 

Also, does it mention when we will be refunded for zodiacs already booked and paid ahead of sailing?

 

Are there any catamaran tours you're going to pick? I know we make the best of a bad job but a 50 share catamaran isn't the intimate glacier experience I was after. The zodiacs in Canada don't have the same appeal for me as it was glaciers I wanted to see up close most.

 

Kind regards

Eleanor

 

 

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Update - just checked our account and we are still showing as booked on the zodiac excursion for Tracy arm which is no longer available to purchase. It has been replaced with one catamaran trip. So I would be very interested to know whether I have to take the initiative and press the cancel button on my account to get the refund or whether it will be automatic. Whichever I expect the refund to be prompt. Also the catamaran excursions seem to be priced as high or almost as high as the zodiacs. The focus is on the "complimentary hors d'oeuvres and beverages" (misty fjords quote) - I suppose they add these in to charge a similarly high price but I'm not interested when I can have better on board the ship.

 

 

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[zelker]

We received the email yesterday directly from Seabourn rather than our TA. We're on the August 1 sailing and I believe this impacts all Alaska itineraries this season.

 

RE: cancelling and rebooking, this is directly from the email -

 

The alternate excursions offered can be rebooked at www.seabourn.com and have adequate capacity to facilitate this change. A full refund will be applied to your credit card for cancelled Ventures and excursions within 24-48 hours. You will receive a system generated notification that will advise you of the cancellation and associated refund.

 

 

We booked this cruise and these excursions in March and to say that it's very disappointing to have this happen at this late date is an understatement as we would have likely canceled the cruise had we known we would be relegated to large catamarans rather than small zodiacs. This will be our fifth cruise in Alaska and we've already done excursions on Allen Marine's vessels as well as kayaking so were looking for a completely different way to see Alaska from the water. I also agree that we were expecting a much lower price compared to what we were paying for the zodiacs and could care less about drinks and snacks. So now what was going to be a true expedition-type experience has turned into a bunch of people on a party barge. :mad:

Edited June 16, 2017 by zelker

[restlesssoul]

Hi,

 

We have been following this thread with some interest as we are booked on the June 26th Vancouver to Seward cruise, so, a Very Big Thank You to everyone for providing this invaluable reference. We hadn't booked the zodiacs but have booked a couple of Ventures Kayaking trips in Tracy Arm & Misty Fjords. We received the Seabourn e-mail this morning & it sounds like these will still be going ahead. However, as it is our first trip to Alaska and we are keen to see as much as possible, we are wondering whether the catamaran trips would prove a better option in that they cover more ground, so to speak, and provide a glimpse of Alaska that we would not otherwise see. Has anyone done both kayaking & catamaran - are they mutually exclusive? Also, what does the Sojourn 'do' during the kayak/catamaran excursions - sit at anchor or cruise the area?

Any information would be appreciated.

[Roxburgh]

So .... two more days aboard and two more tours.

 

Yesterday we were in Hoonah and we did the Whales, Wildlife and Bear Search tour. For such a small place Hoonah has done a very nice job for receiving cruise ships. The bear safari was good but we only got to see one brown bear and at a distance. The bear viewing places have been set up overlooking the river. When the salmon are running you will see a ton of bears. Unfortunately, we were a little too early for the salmon and hence the bears. Later voyages will probably see more.

 

We then went out on a whale watching boat and that was very good. There was one humpback whale doing his/her thing, there were sea otters galore and quite a few sea lions too.

 

Today we are in Juneau. This morning we went out on the Whales and Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari tour. This is a tour designed for people who want to improve their photography skills and was also very good. We started off waiting for the whale watching boat. As we were doing so a very large black bear came out of the woods and ambled across the parking lot. That was quite a surprise!. We then went out on the boat and saw two whales as well as sea lions. The tour guide, who was also the photography expert, helped everyone with their camera settings to try to get the best photos.

 

After the whale watching we went into the rain forest and hiked about a mile up to a viewing area for the glacier. On the way, more fun with cameras as well as explanations of the flora and fauna. Other than that, Juneau is too touristy for my tastes. After lunch we wandered around the down town passing rows of T-shirt and gimmick shops interspersed with the usual jewelry stores.

 

Weather yesterday was okay. Today, in Juneau, it has been pretty rainy. The Seabourn parkas have come in handy as did the waterproof over-pants I brought with me. Gloves, a warm hat (that doesn't blow away), nd sturdy walking shoes are recommended.

 

Food on-board has been very good. The day before yesterday we had the formal night and we were at a hosted table in the restaurant. Service was pretty average to be honest. Yesterday evening, we just dined on our own and the service was superb. I think that the 'average experience' was a blip as, overall, service has been really good.

[renny]

I am booked on the June 26 sailing. I would love to see a moose! What excursions would rovide the greatest opportunity? Thanks so much.

[zelker]

Haines, Wrangell, "maybe" Juneau (although we've never seen them in Juneau on our previous 4 cruises). Re: excursions, you're best chance is to book something that gets you near water (e.g., a river, stream, lake) but then you could get lucky and see them crossing roads or even wandering through populated areas.

 

Post cruise, there's definitely a good chance of seeing them in the Seward/Anchorage/Denali areas. Good luck!

[Fr8K9]

Hello Roxburgh,

 

Just checking the boards here and stumbled upon your posts from Alaska. We are Rob and Sharlene, your neighbors on the Sojourn Med cruise, Lisbon to Rome, quite a few moons ago.

 

I don't know if you remember us, but we live in Alaska and although a bit of a busman's holiday for us, we just couldn't pass up the chance to drive to port for a Seabourn cruise! We just missed you guys by a few weeks. We are on the July 7th cruise. This will be our 4th Seabourn cruise now and strangely enough, they've all been on Sojourn. Every one of them has been a delight.

 

Thanks for posting from the ship. Greatly anticipating the cruise!

[marazul]

Hi,

 

We have been following this thread with some interest as we are booked on the June 26th Vancouver to Seward cruise, so, a Very Big Thank You to everyone for providing this invaluable reference. We hadn't booked the zodiacs but have booked a couple of Ventures Kayaking trips in Tracy Arm & Misty Fjords. We received the Seabourn e-mail this morning & it sounds like these will still be going ahead. However, as it is our first trip to Alaska and we are keen to see as much as possible, we are wondering whether the catamaran trips would prove a better option in that they cover more ground, so to speak, and provide a glimpse of Alaska that we would not otherwise see. Has anyone done both kayaking & catamaran - are they mutually exclusive? Also, what does the Sojourn 'do' during the kayak/catamaran excursions - sit at anchor or cruise the area?

Any information would be appreciated.

 

Seabourn remains at anchor during the kayak/catamaran excursions. The catamaran gets closer to the glaciers than the kayaks are allowed to for safety reasons. However, the kayaks would get closer to shore when there are no glaciers involved.

[Roxburgh]

Hello Roxburgh,

 

Just checking the boards here and stumbled upon your posts from Alaska. We are Rob and Sharlene, your neighbors on the Sojourn Med cruise, Lisbon to Rome, quite a few moons ago.

 

I don't know if you remember us, but we live in Alaska and although a bit of a busman's holiday for us, we just couldn't pass up the chance to drive to port for a Seabourn cruise! We just missed you guys by a few weeks. We are on the July 7th cruise. This will be our 4th Seabourn cruise now and strangely enough, they've all been on Sojourn. Every one of them has been a delight.

 

Thanks for posting from the ship. Greatly anticipating the cruise!

 

Hi Rob & Sharlene. Remember you well from that Med cruise and we thought of you when we were in Anchorage. Shame that we didn't end up on the same cruise. It would have been fun!

[Roxburgh]

We were in Haines yesterday and did the Eagle Preserve Float Adventure. That is a rafting trip down the river. Another excellent tour which delivered Bald Eagles galore. We also saw airborne Trumpeter Swans. No bear or moose, sadly, but we did see bear tracks on one of the sandbars we stopped at.

 

Woke up to a beautiful morning today. Sunny with fog sitting on the water and which makes for spectacular scenery. We just went past a humpback whale with, I think, a calf in tow. We were not close enough to see properly and, by the time we grabbed the binoculars they were gone.

 

Going for a massage at 9.15 and then, even though this is a sea day, the catamaran tour to Endicott Arm Fjord and Glacier. We are told that the area around the glacier is full of harbor seals so should be exciting.

 

Trivia at 5pm!!

[Chairsin]

Roxburgh

 

Since you are lucky enough to have Chef Jes on board can I ask you if he has been able to procure some local products such a salmon, elk jerky, or berries?

 

 

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