Princess Southbound

[l2f]

Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay, and Port stops Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan.

 

We have never been to Alaska.  Will the glaciers we see cruising thru Hubbard and Glacier bay be enough....  We are debating between a helicopter / seaplane excursion in Juneau or whale watching.  We would lean towards whale watching if the glaciers we see thru Hubbard & Glacier Bays are enough.  We get the aerial view is much different.

 

We don't have anything planned for Ketchikan but don' think whale watching or any type of aerial tour is best there either.

 

Thanks.

[1025cruise]

There's a difference in seeing the glaciers from the ship versus stepping on the glacier from the helicopter.

 

Personally, I'd do the viewing from the ship, then go whale watching. If you plan to come back, then do the aerial.

[nordicacres]

It depends on how much you like glaciers! I was afraid that we had overdone it with the number of, but we did not tire of them! We did Glacier Bay, Hubbard small boat tour, helicopter to Mendenhall, and then saw multiple glaciers on our Kenai Fjords tour in Seward.
 

Also - it is possible you won’t see Hubbard Glacier unless you take the small ship tour from your cruise ship. We were at Hubbard last Sunday, and the Jewel only got about 4.5 to 5 miles away from the glacier. It was so foggy no one on the ship was able to even catch a glimpse of it. We were very thankful we had chosen to take the small boat tour. We were able to get very close, despite the ice in the fjord, and saw incredible calving!

[l2f]

12 minutes ago, nordicacres said:

It depends on how much you like glaciers! I was afraid that we had overdone it with the number of, but we did not tire of them! We did Glacier Bay, Hubbard small boat tour, helicopter to Mendenhall, and then saw multiple glaciers on our Kenai Fjords tour in Seward.
 

Also - it is possible you won’t see Hubbard Glacier unless you take the small ship tour from your cruise ship. We were at Hubbard last Sunday, and the Jewel only got about 4.5 to 5 miles away from the glacier. It was so foggy no one on the ship was able to even catch a glimpse of it. We were very thankful we had chosen to take the small boat tour. We were able to get very close, despite the ice in the fjord, and saw incredible calving!

 

We do have the small boat tour @ Hubbard Glacier booked.

[l2f]

Another dilemma we have been debating.  Right now we are scheduled for a 11 day.  4 day land, then 7 day cruise.  Signed up with other cruise friends and debating dropping the land part and doing a DIY for those days.  Just seems like a wasted time and some activities we "think" we may do better on our own.

Land portion is fly into and stay in Fairbanks.

 

Fairbanks Hotel 1 night

 

Day 1 Riverboat 8:15-12:45 (guess this may be an OK excursion); then 1 - 4 coach to Denali Wilderness Lodge.

 

Day 2 Free morning; History tour in afternoon which we are going to try to switch to Tundra tour

 

Day 3 Free morning; coach to McKinley Lodge; free evening.

 

Day 4 Coach to Talkeetna to catch train to Whiter.  Train ride is 1:45 - 7.  Get on cruise ship.

 

Seems like the potential for much dead time, or being forced into excursions (which don't seem like many on Princess website) to book once at lodges.

 

Debating flying into Anchorage.  Getting a rental car.  and spending those 4 land days around Seward and/or Kenai.

 

But our first trip to Alaska.  We do all our own planning / private excursions in Caribbean, but Alaska seems overwhelming.

[nordicacres]

We stayed in Seward for two days after our cruise. I highly recommend considering Seward. It may have been our favorite part of the trip. There are so many things to do: Alaska Sealife Center, Exit Glacier, Kenai Fjords NP boat tours (4-8 hours), kayaking, helicopter tours, hiking, etc. We will definitely be back some day!

[1025cruise]

Personal opinion, if you can manage to DIY yourself versus the cruise tour, do it. Spend more time in Alaska.

[NWA395]

We're southbound on the Grand Princess in September.  We stated planning over a year ago and looked very hard at the cruise tours.  We elected to do the land portion DIY for 11 nights instead of the cruise tour and then board the Grand southbound after the land portion.  We rented a car over a year ago and will visit Valdez, Fairbanks, Denali (staying in Healy) Palmer, Seward and Anchorage.  While the cruise tour makes logistics easier, to me, Alaska is about the scenery and experiences and we want the freedom to stop and go as we please.

 

YMMV

 

Edited July 7 by NWA395

[zqvol]

45 minutes ago, NWA395 said:

We're southbound on the Grand Princess in September.  We stated planning over a year ago and looked very hard at the cruise tours.  We elected to do the land portion DIY for 11 nights instead of the cruise tour and then board the Grand southbound after the land portion.  We rented a car over a year ago and will visit Valdez, Fairbanks, Denali (staying in Healy) Palmer, Seward and Anchorage.  While the cruise tour makes logistics easier, to me, Alaska is about the scenery and experiences and we want the freedom to stop and go as we please.

 

YMMV

 

You are going to spend all your time driving. 

[NWA395]

3 hours ago, zqvol said:

You are going to spend all your time driving. 

A fair amount of driving yes, with Valdez to Fairbanks being the biggest day.

Day 1: Pick up rental car in Anchorage and overnighting in Glacier View.  

Day 2: Glacier View to Valdez with a planned stop at Glennallen for flightseeing Wrangell-St. Elias National Park with Copper Valley Air, then on to Valdez overnight.

Day 3: Overnight Valdez

Day 4:  Long day driving from Valdez to Fairbanks, overnight Fairbanks

Day 5: Fairbanks

Day 6: Fairbanks and drive to Healy/Denali, overnight Healy.

Day 7: Denali, overnight Healy

Day 8:  Leisure drive from Healy/Denali to Palmer.

Day 9: Drive Palmer to Seward, overnight Seward.

Day 10: Overnight Seward

Day 11:  Seward to Anchorage, overnight Anchorage turn in rental car.

Day 12: Anchorage to Whittier via Alaska railroad to embark Grand Princess southbound.  After the 11 night road trip, I believe we will take advantage of the leisurely time on ship.

 

Yes, a fair amount of driving but plenty planned and with the exception of the Valdez to Fairbanks leg, I think its very manageable.  

 

Edited July 8 by NWA395

[1025cruise]

Just keep in mind that distances are longer than they appear in Alaska.