Opinions on May 11th sailing...

[Chat Noir]

Have friends intersted in this sailing. It is RT out of Seattle, visits Glacier Bay. Juneau port time is just right for a Tracy Arm excursion add on.

 

Opinions on this being too early to sail??? To early in the season for Tracy Arm via small boat???

 

I may just decide to join them!:)

[NancyIL]

May 11 is Mother's Day - a perfect day to go on a cruise, in my opinion! :) Which ship is it?

[Chat Noir]

HAL Westerdam. Never sailed HAL yet... :) With 4 ppl in a cabin, the price is right!

[NancyIL]

The itinerary looks great. I was thinking you'd finally get to see Sitka - but did Mercury go there this past season?

[Yukon]

It's too early in the season - we just don't have good odds of getting warm weather until about the 20th of May. Yes, you could get lucky, but the odds are against it. Even things such as walking on the trails on Mount Roberts aren't available yet - still deep in snow.

 

Murray

[Chat Noir]

No... still no Sitka for this gal! But it is on this particular itinerary.:) It is on your upcoming HAL itinerary as well??

 

Ha ha... love that deep in snow comment! That's for sure, the last 2 years we've visited Mt. Roberts late May, and definitely still deep in snow then, too! Early June was good for Mt. Roberts, if I recall...

 

I also recall how beautiful and green it is up your way in June, but when we visited in May it was nothing but white. Really missed seeing the Tormented Valley area due to nothing but snow. I knew the haunting beauty was under there... somewhere....

 

How about Glacier Bay so early? Is it difficult to distinguish between snow and the glaciers?

 

Since these friends have never been, I'd like them to be able to experience Alaska to the fullest, yet stay within a good budget. I suppose I'll discourage one this early for them, bargain though it is...

 

"Penny wise and pound foolish."

Thank goodness for this board!

[Coral]

Hi,

 

We sailed that week and the week after on a B2B on the Sun Princess. We mostly had great weather that week. It was the first week that we did the Tracy Arm excursion. We did not make it to the glaciers (at Tracy Arm) but Steve indicated it was very rare for him not to make it. Actually, he said he could make it but it would take another 3-4 hours on our trip and some of us had to get back on a cruise ship. He made it worth it to us as we spent time seeing other things that most of the time he doesn't spend time on. Even with out seeing Sawyer Glacier, we thought the tour was one of the best we had ever gone on.

 

I hope you get to go on Steve's tour again!

 

Our Glacier Bay pics didn't turn out that great on that trip. It was like the sky was colorless (almost white) and the glaciers blended with the sky. I don't think it had anything to do with the day/month - it just happened to be a poor day for pictures of Glacier Bay. Calving was great though.

 

Theresa

[GATOR MOM]

I went May 4 this year...& will go again May 5th next year...we had great weather...& I know Yukon knows more than me...I guess Mom Nature was good to us...& I (for one) LOVED seeing snow...only had it on the Skgway Train...at the top. We also got very close to Sawyer Glacier...just my opinion...but no crowds was a big plus in going early May:)

[NancyIL]

No... still no Sitka for this gal! But it is on this particular itinerary.:) It is on your upcoming HAL itinerary as well??

 

Ha ha... love that deep in snow comment! That's for sure, the last 2 years we've visited Mt. Roberts late May, and definitely still deep in snow then, too! Early June was good for Mt. Roberts, if I recall...

 

I also recall how beautiful and green it is up your way in June, but when we visited in May it was nothing but white. Really missed seeing the Tormented Valley area due to nothing but snow. I knew the haunting beauty was under there... somewhere....

 

How about Glacier Bay so early? Is it difficult to distinguish between snow and the glaciers?

 

Since these friends have never been, I'd like them to be able to experience Alaska to the fullest, yet stay within a good budget. I suppose I'll discourage one this early for them, bargain though it is...

 

"Penny wise and pound foolish."

Thank goodness for this board!

 

Yes, the Veendam will go to Sitka, and I'm very excited about that.

 

Is there a big price difference between the May 11th and the May 18th sailing?

[truthandkeidy]

It's too early in the season - we just don't have good odds of getting warm weather until about the 20th of May. Yes, you could get lucky, but the odds are against it. Even things such as walking on the trails on Mount Roberts aren't available yet - still deep in snow.

 

Murray

 

 

Hi...we just came back from Alaska last week (Sept. 7) and the weather was spectacular! Sunny most days with only 2 small rain showers. Next year we want to go back and see the mountains blanketed with snow...not just on the mountaintops! Will the first 2 weeks in June give us the snow we are looking for?

 

Thanks for any responses.

 

Trudy

[Budget Queen]

Next year we want to go back and see the mountains blanketed with snow...not just on the mountaintops! Will the first 2 weeks in June give us the snow we are looking for?

 

Thanks for any responses.

 

Trudy

 

No, mostly too late, look at going in May.

[Budget Queen]

 

 

 

How about Glacier Bay so early? Is it difficult to distinguish between snow and the glaciers?

 

QUOTE]

 

No early season has no impact on Glacier Bay overall. Plenty of green since the elevation is low.

[Chat Noir]

Glacier Bay, Sitka, and Juneau port schedule (for Adventure Bound to Tracy Arm) are top priorities, and at least both Glacier Bay (thanks BQ) and Tracy Arm (thanks Coral) don't appear to be an issue so early.

 

That leaves Ketchikan and Victoria, both with short port times and more southern anyway, and Sitka, which surely has something worthwhile even early in the season?

 

The difference in fare between May 11th and May 18th for cabin with 4 passengers is over $600. Enough to weigh the pros and cons for sure. That'd pretty much cover the cost for Adventure Bound!!!

 

Still, I think I won't book this yet, and likely will discourage friends from booking at the moment, too. I think there will be more sales, but I sure like this itinerary for a Seattle sailing... Funny how this evolved from me looking up cruises for friends (who've never been to Alaska) into looking up cruises for myself!

[NancyIL]

Glacier Bay, Sitka, and Juneau port schedule (for Adventure Bound to Tracy Arm) are top priorities, and at least both Glacier Bay (thanks BQ) and Tracy Arm (thanks Coral) don't appear to be an issue so early.

 

That leaves Ketchikan and Victoria, both with short port times and more southern anyway, and Sitka, which surely has something worthwhile even early in the season?

 

The difference in fare between May 11th and May 18th for cabin with 4 passengers is over $600. Enough to weigh the pros and cons for sure. That'd pretty much cover the cost for Adventure Bound!!!

 

Still, I think I won't book this yet, and likely will discourage friends from booking at the moment, too. I think there will be more sales, but I sure like this itinerary for a Seattle sailing... Funny how this evolved from me looking up cruises for friends (who've never been to Alaska) into looking up cruises for myself!

 

How many will there be, including your friends? I've read great reviews of Capt. Davey's wildlife tours in Sitka, and just got an e-mail back from him. His boat can take 6 passengers: http://www.puffinsandwhales.com