Alaska Cruise Advice -- Please

[TV Dad]

Planning a cruise with wife and 13 year old daughter to Alaska late May or early June 2007.

 

We chose HAL because the inside cabins are larger than any other cruise line offers, and we enjoyed several HAL cruises we took pre-kid!

 

We're probably going roundtrip from Seattle, since we're on a budget and that appears to be the cheapest way to go with airfare from our home in Florida.

 

Here are my questions . . .

 

1) Is it worth the extra money to do a one way voyage ending in Anchorage -- or vice-versa? What are the benefits if we're not doing a cruise tour?

 

2) I don't mind spending a little extra on shore excursions. What have you guys done that you suggest we try?

 

3) Will they stow your luggage for you -- or will I be tripping over suitcases all week long. My wife is a notoriously heavy packer. I think she figures if she packs all her clothes, maybe she'll get to stay longer !:)

 

Thanks for yuor help !

 

TV Dad

[Krazy Kruizers]

Most suitcases will fit under the bed. But seeing as there will be 3 of you, you will have extra luggage. Your cabin syeward will gladly take your luggage and store it for you and then bring it back to you on the last full day of the cruise so that you can back.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Do keep in mind that if you sail out of Seattle -- those cruises are round trip. Only the cruises out of Vancouver do the North bound and South bound cruises out of Seward.

 

If you wish to do a one way, your air fare will be very expensive - flying into Vancouver and then flying out of Anchorage. Also you will probably have to count on hotel stays both pre and post cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Since you haven't decided on a specific cruise yet, ports will be different.

 

Juneau -- glacier flight seing, whale watching, Mendenhal glacier. Depending on how many ships are scheduled to be there on the day you are there, you could end up tendering - it happened to us once.

 

Sitka - Whale watching, nature center for eagles, walk the town on your own after a tour -- see the Russian heritage there. Remember that this is a tendering port.

 

Ketchikan - White & Yukon Railroad - beautiful scenery, walk around the town on your own, glacier flight seeing here as well.

 

Skagway - Saxman Village, Totum Bight, Creek Street, best place to shop.

 

Toss up here -- some people like Glacier Bay, others like Hubbard Glacier - both are beautiful.

[ghouck2532]

Ketchikan - White & Yukon Railroad - beautiful scenery, walk around the town on your own, glacier flight seeing here as well.

 

Skagway - Saxman Village, Totum Bight, Creek Street, best place to shop.

 

 

You just have to flip flop Ketchikan for Skagway and you've got it right.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks -- I knew I that I had mixed them up -- tried to get back on to edit -- didn't work.

[griswalds]

Just another point on one way airfares. They are not always more money. Last we went on the one way Alaskan cruise and did a one way. The fare was very reasonable, it all depends on seat sales etc. However, they can also be very high. So check the airfare first book your cruise second.

 

Griswalds

[Newfies]

We took our 10 year old son on Westerdam to Alaska in August. We left from Seattle. We relied on other CCers' advice and experiences, and it was one of our best vacations. Everybody's suggestions above are absolutely great.

 

A couple of suggestions from a tween's perspective . . . take your daughter to the HAL Kid orientation on the first day. That will introduce her to all the other kids from the beginning, and she will have a blast. That will give the adults tiime by themselves as well. My husband and I enjoyed every minute of our cruise. However, children can be a bit more selective . . . Our son's favorites were

• the Hubbard Glacier (go to the Crow's Nest early, camp out and get a seat to watch the approach to the Hubbard. And then you can go to any deck or get a table by the window in the Lido to take in the awewome view. However, the favorite is to watch it from the outside . . . on the verandah or any open deck.)
  
• floatplane ride to the Fjords (due to weather we didn't get to do the helicopter ride and dog sledding - I think that would have been THE favorite. This is great for adults as well. The view is totally unbelievable.)
  
• sea wildlife boat ride (we were unsure initially, but seeing the whales, eagles and sea otter every where was great fun for our son)

If you stop in Juneaux, have to stop by the Red Dog Saloon (children allowed - at least during day time). Talk to the bartender and the waitresses - they will tell you some great stories.

 

I know you and your family will have a totally fabulous cruise. And one more thing . . . enjoy everything on the ship. Sometimes we get so busy that we forget to explore and enjoy everything the ship has to offer.

[Jsipes]

We went on an Alaska Cruise this Summer.......being from Arizona we thought it would be freezing (we were going Dog Sledding on the Glacier). We took WAY TOO MANY cold weather clothes. It was so warm on the Glacier we strippd down to T-Shirts. SO....lesson learned: Normal clothes are just fine in Alaska in the Summer.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The past year we noticed that the Red Dog Saloon in Juneau had a person at the door checking ID's - actually saw them turn away a few young people who were not accompanied by an adult.

 

We like to stop by there in the afternoon when the guy is playing the piano and getting everyone invloved in the show.

 

Since we had done back-to-back cruises, we were there twice - on different days of the week. The man that played the piano the first week didn't do a good job and most people ignored him. There was a different guy the second week -- so much better -- everyone was having a ball.

[Krazy Kruizers]

In Skagway after we did the train ride, we ate at the Fish Place. Then we stopped by the Red Onion Saloon just for a drink.

[lougee1043]

suggest you talk with the wife because being a heavy packer means overweight luggage at the airport that you will have to pay for- the rule is take half of what you think you will need

 

also imo the duck boat ride in ketchikan is a waste of time and money

[Mary Ellen]

We strongly prefer the r/t Vancouver cruises to the Seattle ones (have done both) because of better scenery and less risk of 'bumpy' seas. There is a shuttle service (Quick Coach) between the Seattle airport and Vancouver. During the summer season on Sat/Sun there is even an express between Sea-Tac and Canada Place (the pier HAL uses). With a family, a rental car can also be a good choice.

 

Our favorite thing has been to rent a car in Skagway for the drive to Emerald Lake in the Yukon (about 1 1/2 hrs each way). BEAUTIFUL trip and cost less than $80 for all of us (1 day rental and gas).

 

Juneau can also be inexpensive with the bus out to the Mendenhal Glacier ($5?).

[RuthC]

Some additional advice: go out at least one day before sailing.

First off, there's the practical aspect that if some of your luggage doesn't arrive with you there is time for it to catch up. Your first day is at sea so there is no opportunity for reunion that day.

Second, there is a 3-hour time zone change to start off (it goes to 4-hours later). You will be very tired from travelling anyway, then napping away the whole first day---thereby missing 1/7 of your cruise---if you don't go out ahead.

If it were up to me, I would take the Vancouver round-trip. If you save any money over the one-way route then spend it on shore excursions. This is one itinerary where you don't want to skimp.

Have a great time planning and cruising. Alaska is fabulous.

[TudorSue]

My two cents having done Seattle R/T on HAL Zaandam earlier this month: definitely look into the Vancouver departure option before committing to Seattle R/T. Don't get me wrong. DH and I had a fantastic cruise (my first), but the two sea days traveling outside of Vancouver Island in the Pacific were very rough. Fortunately, thanks to reading CC posts in advance, we were prepared with various seasickness precautions. It turned out that the pitching and rolling did not bother us. Also, as other posters have already observed, you will see more scenery as you will be in the Inside Passage for more of the cruise period.

 

I enthusiastically second many of the suggestions here. Go over to the Alaska section of the Message Boards for additional information and suggested packing lists. We went with Orca Enterprises "Capt Larry" in Juneau for whalewatching and Michelle of Island Wings in Ketchikan for Misty Fjords flightseeing. Both were "pricey" excursions but I have to agree with what others have said on these boards: Alaska is not the place to be penny-wise and pound foolish if your budget permits. Make arrangements well in advance. Service providers praised on CC are in demand and fill up quickly.

 

I also agree with suggestions to get to your embarkation destination the day before. Murphy's Law is alive and well...

 

Alaska is awesome. Don't forget the binoculars and rain gear!

[lougee1043]

this is going to be sujective

 

i live in portland oregon and could have driven to seattle for my alaska trip which would have included hubbard glacier but after reading comments i decided i wanted to sail into glacier bay so we flew to vanc -- didnt regret the decision

[arabrab]

We went on an Alaska Cruise this Summer.......being from Arizona we thought it would be freezing (we were going Dog Sledding on the Glacier). We took WAY TOO MANY cold weather clothes. It was so warm on the Glacier we strippd down to T-Shirts. SO....lesson learned: Normal clothes are just fine in Alaska in the Summer.

 

Weather in Alaska during the summer varies quite a bit. Layers are best, and a good waterproof layer best of all. You don't visit someplace with 150 inches of annual rainfall and not expect rain. I'd also expect May to be cooler -- and perhaps much cooler -- than July. (I live in Colorado -- and the weekend before last my husband and I took a ride up to Estes Park (near Rocky Mountain National Park) and then over the divide. Saw LOTS of tourists shivering in t-shirts because it was hard for them to imagine that the weather could be like this in mid-September. We couldn't have done this trip this past weekend -- two feet of snow had fallen and the pass was closed. It was pleasant shirt-sleeve weather down on the flats.)

 

If you can do some of the active shore excursions (mountain biking, sea kayaking, rafting) I'm sure your daughter will have a great time. Mine was just a bit younger than this when we went and really liked these activities, but didn't particularly enjoy any of the cultural, historic or scenic stuff other than the icebergs.