Post cruise advice (independent land tour)

[TeeBuccs]

For all of you experienced Alaska travelers, I thought I would run a brief 2008 intinerary by you for your advice. Is this doable and have fogotten anything significant? DH and I were in AK last summer and did Denali/Fairbanks, so trying to expand our visit this time to new experiences.

 

• Day 1 -NB cruise arrives Whittier -Get transportation to Anchorage - get rental car (not sure where?), visit Saturday Market and spend night somewhere
  
• Day 2 - Drive from Anchorage to Seward (stop at Portage Glacier/Girdwood), visit SeaLife Center and possibly brief Kenai Fjords (dinner cruise to Resurrection Bay) Spend night somewhere?
  
• Day 3 & 4 - Drive to Homer - spend two nights. one day do fishing trip and second day some bear viewing activity
  
• Day 5 - Drive and spend day and night in Soldotna. Should we fish here instead?
  
• Day 6 - Look for moose early in AM as heading out to Anchorage..Drive and return to Anchorage and catch late afternoon/evening flight home

Obviously I have not worked out the specifics as in places to stay. DH and I like nice places where you actually feel like you are in AK (not a Best Western). Also open to suggestions for "not to miss" activities in these spots. I really have my heart set on learning about and spending our land time in these areas south of Anchorage.

 

Thanks in advance!

[fti]

Here are my thoughts:

 

Since you are renting the car in Anchorage, rent downtown. You avoid a lot of airport fees. But you can still return the car to the airport location for no charge (except Enterprise will charge you $40 or so to pick up downtown and return to the airport). Book this early. Car rental prices generally only go up. You can always change/cancel once you book it, but if you do change, your rate adjusts to the rate at the time of the change.

 

I would recommend a longer Kenai Fjords tour. The shorter ones don't get out of the bay. The longer ones give you wildlife viewing options. If this won't work into your schedule, you might also consider a Prince William Sound cruise in Whittier. They would probalby not depart until the early afternoon so you would not get to Anchorage until the evening. These are very worthwhile. You might consider visiting Exit Glacier while in Seward.

 

In Homer, try to book your bear viewing for the first day you are there. That way in case of bad weather and the flight is cancelled, you can reschedule it for the second day. Note too that these day flights are not cheap. I think Hallo Bay is better for the day trips than Brooks Falls from what I have read (I am going to Brooks Falls this summer for three nights).

 

I would also recommend that you book accommodations early. Many allow cancellations for no charge if you find something later on that you like better or is cheaper or if your plans change. By looking/booking early I was able to get decent accommodations in Anchorage for $50/night and the Holiday Inn Express in Seward for $100/night (normal price $250/night).

 

Another option to gain a day on your itinerary is to rent a car from Avis in Whittier and drive straight to Seward. The one-way car rental between Whitter and Anchorage will be costly, but it saves you the transportation costs between Whittier and Anchorage and gains you a full day extra in Seward.

[tapia]

Here are my thoughts:

 

Since you are renting the car in Anchorage, rent downtown. You avoid a lot of airport fees. But you can still return the car to the airport location for no charge (except Enterprise will charge you $40 or so to pick up downtown and return to the airport). Book this early. Car rental prices generally only go up. You can always change/cancel once you book it, but if you do change, your rate adjusts to the rate at the time of the change.

 

I would recommend a longer Kenai Fjords tour. The shorter ones don't get out of the bay. The longer ones give you wildlife viewing options. If this won't work into your schedule, you might also consider a Prince William Sound cruise in Whittier. They would probalby not depart until the early afternoon so you would not get to Anchorage until the evening. These are very worthwhile. You might consider visiting Exit Glacier while in Seward.

 

In Homer, try to book your bear viewing for the first day you are there. That way in case of bad weather and the flight is cancelled, you can reschedule it for the second day. Note too that these day flights are not cheap. I think Hallo Bay is better for the day trips than Brooks Falls from what I have read (I am going to Brooks Falls this summer for three nights).

 

I would also recommend that you book accommodations early. Many allow cancellations for no charge if you find something later on that you like better or is cheaper or if your plans change. By looking/booking early I was able to get decent accommodations in Anchorage for $50/night and the Holiday Inn Express in Seward for $100/night (normal price $250/night).

 

Another option to gain a day on your itinerary is to rent a car from Avis in Whittier and drive straight to Seward. The one-way car rental between Whitter and Anchorage will be costly, but it saves you the transportation costs between Whittier and Anchorage and gains you a full day extra in Seward.

 

I agree with everything said here. Another option if you don't want the one-way rental or the hassle of driving all the time: get transportation from Anchorage to Seward and then take the train from Seward to Anchorage (scenery is supposed to be nice). Then do a round trip Anchorage rental.

 

On the bears: Depending on what time of year you're going, Katmai National Park is also very nice..... There are other people on the board that know a lot more than I do about this subject, but check out all possible bear excursions & the time of year before you book. Prime season is a must (as I found out).

 

Have fun!

[Budget Queen]

I also, would never recommend the bay tour of Kenai Fjords, not even worth going on. Consider only ones of at least 6 hours on the water. I would also add a day , if more activites are of interest. I would also do a boat trip out of Whittier, just excellent scenic vistas. My opinion only, the Saturaday market is not a priority for me. But if it is for you, make a list of your must dos and go from there.

 

I would not book any accomdations until your routing and planning is firm. 2008 is a long way off, and you are bound to change and change and change again. :) (take a look at Nancy- the queen of change :) ) No need for firm plans this early out. Keep refining and doing your homework. There is a lot of opportunity for some great touring. :) You then will end up with a FANTASTIC tour for yourself.

 

There are plenty of excellent B&B's to consider perhaps?

[NancyIL]

I would not book any accomdations until your routing and planning is firm. 2008 is a long way off, and you are bound to change and change and change again. :) (take a look at Nancy- the queen of change :) ) No need for firm plans this early out. Keep refining and doing your homework. There is a lot of opportunity for some great touring. :) You then will end up with a FANTASTIC tour for yourself.

 

 

I saw that! ;)

[TeeBuccs]

Just to follow on a bit...

 

We are considering sailing Carnival Spirit late May - early June. (We did RCL same time in 2006 and loved it). Although I am not a Carnvial fan (for reasons that will remain unmentioned ;) ) I selected them due to the itinerary. It appears that they have an 8 day cruise that not only hits the usual ports of Ketchikan (new to me), Juneau, Skagway and Sitka but they cruise through Lynn Canal, Prince William Sound, and College Fjord.

 

With this itineary will I see anything different by doing a sail on the Kenai fjords?

[fti]

Just to follow on a bit...

 

We are considering sailing Carnival Spirit late May - early June. (We did RCL same time in 2006 and loved it). Although I am not a Carnvial fan (for reasons that will remain unmentioned ;) ) I selected them due to the itinerary. It appears that they have an 8 day cruise that not only hits the usual ports of Ketchikan (new to me), Juneau, Skagway and Sitka but they cruise through Lynn Canal, Prince William Sound, and College Fjord.

 

With this itineary will I see anything different by doing a sail on the Kenai fjords?

 

The Kenai Fjords boat tour (which I will be doing for the first time this coming summer) emphasizes marine wildlife which will be hard to see on your larger cruise ship. You also see a glacier much closer than from your cruise ship. Since these are smaller boats, they get closer to things.

 

You would see some whales in Juneau if you did a whale watching excursion for example but from the ship, your viewing options are limited and at a distance.

[NancyIL]

Just to follow on a bit...

 

We are considering sailing Carnival Spirit late May - early June. (We did RCL same time in 2006 and loved it). Although I am not a Carnvial fan (for reasons that will remain unmentioned ;) ) I selected them due to the itinerary. It appears that they have an 8 day cruise that not only hits the usual ports of Ketchikan (new to me), Juneau, Skagway and Sitka but they cruise through Lynn Canal, Prince William Sound, and College Fjord.

 

With this itineary will I see anything different by doing a sail on the Kenai fjords?

 

The Carnival Spirit is a 7 -day cruise (as are most) - counting the day the cruise ends as day 8. If you went from Juneau to Skagway on your previous cruise, you went through Lynn Canal. Any ship that goes to College Fjord will go through some of Prince William Sound. Princess and some HAL one-ways go to both Glacier Bay and College Fjord, along with Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway.

[greatam]

Just to follow on a bit...

 

We are considering sailing Carnival Spirit late May - early June.

 

This time frame is very early for bear viewing in the Katmai out of Homer. The bears will be in the meadows, NOT catching fish. The fish have not arrived yet. You will do quite a bit of walking to get to the meadows. You should see bears, but if the main purpose of the trip is to see wildlife (especially bear), you would be far better off scheduling a late season (late August/early September) trip. The bears are absolutely SPECTACULAR when they are "power" feeding to get ready for winter. They are also much more tolerant of people that time of year-they are concentrating on fish and not on you.

 

In late spring/early summer, the bears are more interested in mating and staking out territory. They do NOT tolerate people nearly as well and the guides will not let you get as close. In early September I have been within 30 feet of full grown bears for over 1/2 hour. Quite the experience.

 

And you are pretty darn early for salmon fishing. Peak King salmon season is mid June (about the 10th-15th). The silvers come in mass in mid August. And that is what the bears feed on to get ready for winter.

 

Now you have to decide-are you going for the cruise or are you going for the post cruise trip??? JMHO, but I would forget the cruise (you've already done that) and spend the money on more of interior Alaska.

[Budget Queen]

The Kenai Fjords boat tour (which I will be doing for the first time this coming summer) emphasizes marine wildlife which will be hard to see on your larger cruise ship. You also see a glacier much closer than from your cruise ship. Since these are smaller boats, they get closer to things.

 

You would see some whales in Juneau if you did a whale watching excursion for example but from the ship, your viewing options are limited and at a distance.

 

This sounds like my description. :)

 

I have been to Kenai Fjords many times via boat tour. It is significant for varied wildlife. Depending on the route, also a glacier view- these are- overall smaller glaciers, but you can expect some activity. The stop at the glacier is about 30 minutes. Aialik and Northwestern Glacier is usually more active than Holgate. This is a sightseeing tour- so far superior to anything seen from your ship in the way of wildlife. Here is a photo sample of a Northwestern Fjord trip. http://community.webshots.com/user/budgetqueen

 

I have sailed Carnival 3 times to Alaska, in no way, does this itinerary have anything similar to the Caribbean in the terms of passengers. Bulk is still middle aged and above like most other Alaska cruise ship demographics. The have a full time naturalist which is superb.

[Chat Noir]

Just to follow on a bit...

 

We are considering sailing Carnival Spirit late May - early June. (We did RCL same time in 2006 and loved it). Although I am not a Carnvial fan (for reasons that will remain unmentioned ;) ) I selected them due to the itinerary. It appears that they have an 8 day cruise that not only hits the usual ports of Ketchikan (new to me), Juneau, Skagway and Sitka but they cruise through Lynn Canal, Prince William Sound, and College Fjord.

 

With this itineary will I see anything different by doing a sail on the Kenai fjords?

 

As mentioned, Carnival is the same length as other lines, and if you sail Whittier (and some Seward itineraries) you'll sail Prince William Sound and likely College Fjord with any cruiseline. If you sail into Skagway, you'll cruise through Lynn Canal with any cruiseline.

The Carnival Spirit offers one more port, and one less glacier sailing than most itineraries. Be aware that if you have mechanical malfunctioning or other issues, with only one glacier cruising, you have no second glacier day as added 'insurance' for glacier sailing. Our first AK cruise (Spirit) missed both the glacier cruising and Sitka. To some it matters, to some it does not. I am not a Carnvial fan for Alaska, but I will give them credit for their naturalist onboard.

[fti]

This sounds like my description. :)

 

You and several others who have posted in the past year :)