T.p. Cruisers To Alaska 2008 - Kodiak?

[whale-watcher]

Whale Watcher - what are you going to do in Valdez? That is another of those ports not visited by a lot of cruise ships so there is not a lot of info. Are you booking all your port trips independently are some thru TP. You have been very busy - I barely have time to get to the boards. I have to get busy and get things booked but work seems to keep getting in the way.

so far we are planning the Columbia Glacier cruise through princess. Have not yet had time to check into private excursions for Valdez, but the princess excursion sounds OK and the price isn't too bad (not $299/pp like the Kodiak half day boat trip). I will let you know if I find out anything more....I probably have been a little too busy planning, but I tend to to that;)

[sophieb]

With a short port stop, you won't see much. And IMHO, I don't think there is much to see. Been there two times-DH goes fishing, I am bored. Been to the old WWII stuff, sat on the beach, wandered around town. I still question the wisdom of the Kodiak port stop-dumping 700 people in a place where there is not a lot to do as far as organized tours. Kodiak is pristine wilderness-best seen in a 2/3 day trip, with a very small group of people. I wonder what the future impact on the Island will be with all the cruise pax.

 

Unless you make some VERY expensive (about $800pp) arrangements with a private operator to take you to the North East side of the island (where the Kodiak bears fish all the time), you can contact Kingfisher Aviation.

 

They fly to Frazer Lake on an organized tour. They also fly to the Katmai coast (which is NOT Kodiak). But if you want to see grizzly, you are there the PERFECT time. But it will take a flight to get you to the bears. The bears in Katmai will be much more accessible, as they are all on the shore sucking up the salmon. The Kodiak bears are much harder to see and more costly as a general rule.

 

http://www.kingfisheraviation.com/beartours.html

 

Who does your DH go fishing with? The ship is offering an expensive fly in salmon fishing excursion - but at that price I want to make sure he will catch and see lots of salmon running. We are there July 4th.

 

I thought I posted this earlier but don't know where it ended up. Sorry if I'm asking again.

[sophieb]

so far we are planning the Columbia Glacier cruise through princess. Have not yet had time to check into private excursions for Valdez, but the princess excursion sounds OK and the price isn't too bad (not $299/pp like the Kodiak half day boat trip). I will let you know if I find out anything more....I probably have been a little too busy planning, but I tend to to that;)

 

I know, I also go a little crazy until I have everything planned. I have been looking but have a hard time deciding and there is also that darn money thing. And being from Florida, will have to worry about clothes also. I keep asking my kids what they want to do and they are getting irritated at me.

 

You sound like you like all the boat cruises - and being from Florida - we are looking more at hiking excursions, etc. Spend too much time on the baot - although I realize it is a totally different experience in Alaska. We are doing a boat tour in Sitka with Capt. Davey which was recommended by so many people. And in Skagway, we are doing the heli/hike/railroad tour. Tried to book that independently, but they said I had to book thru the ship.

 

We are doing the dogsledding in Seward - one of my girls said that is the main thing she wanted to do - and is willing to go fishing with her dad if she can do that.

 

Hope you stay on the June 26th TP trip - it should be fun.

 

Donna

[whale-watcher]

I know, I also go a little crazy until I have everything planned. I have been looking but have a hard time deciding and there is also that darn money thing. And being from Florida, will have to worry about clothes also. I keep asking my kids what they want to do and they are getting irritated at me.

 

You sound like you like all the boat cruises - and being from Florida - we are looking more at hiking excursions, etc. Spend too much time on the baot - although I realize it is a totally different experience in Alaska. We are doing a boat tour in Sitka with Capt. Davey which was recommended by so many people. And in Skagway, we are doing the heli/hike/railroad tour. Tried to book that independently, but they said I had to book thru the ship.

 

We are doing the dogsledding in Seward - one of my girls said that is the main thing she wanted to do - and is willing to go fishing with her dad if she can do that.

 

Hope you stay on the June 26th TP trip - it should be fun.

 

Donna

I tend to favor the boat excursions because of the wildlife sighting possibilities, but I still have to convince DW and the rest of the family. We are trying to fit in Kayaking someplace (perhaps seward or Sitka) and will probably end up exploring Kodiak on our own. The dogsledding should be fantastic...we would do this, except that my mom is coming along, so we are trying to find excursions she can do as well.

 

Hiking is a great choice...especially nice to stretch your legs after a few days at sea. Last time in Alaska we went hiking near Haines and in Juneau (from the Mount Roberts tram) and had a great time.

[Aussie Gal]

Whale Watcher - what are you going to do in Valdez? That is another of those ports not visited by a lot of cruise ships so there is not a lot of info. Are you booking all your port trips independently are some thru TP. You have been very busy - I barely have time to get to the boards. I have to get busy and get things booked but work seems to keep getting in the way.

 

We are on the Sept 4th cruise on the T.P. and we have booked a cruise in Valdez with the ship going to Colombia Glacier, as being so late in the season, one of the operators we were going to use has been snapped up by the ship and the other ones have finished for the year.

 

Again in Skagway, we were going to do the train trip with a private operator but unfortunately the ship docks about 30 minutes too late for the morning trip and if we had done the afternoon departure, there was a risk of not getting back in time. Instead we are now doing the full day excursion with the ship.

 

We are only doing one private tour and that is in Seward. All the rest are with the ship. We normally do a mixture of about 50% of both but for Alaska, it hasn't worked out that way.

 

Jennie

[whale-watcher]

...We are only doing one private tour and that is in Seward. All the rest are with the ship. We normally do a mixture of about 50% of both but for Alaska, it hasn't worked out that way.

 

Jennie

What are you planning in Seward...we arrive too late to make any of the longer Kenai Fjord boat trips....we are planning to visit the Sea Life Center (something mom and my 9yo DS really want to do), but still have a half day open.

[Aussie Gal]

What are you planning in Seward...we arrive too late to make any of the longer Kenai Fjord boat trips....we are planning to visit the Sea Life Center (something mom and my 9yo DS really want to do), but still have a half day open.

 

We are doing the Resurrection Tour and Foxes Island with Alaska Heritage Tours. We leave at 12 noon and it includes lunch. The ship docks too late for the earlier cruise. Hopefully we will still see lots of wildlife.

 

Jennie

[vbmom87]

We are doing the Resurrection Tour and Foxes Island with Alaska Heritage Tours. We leave at 12 noon and it includes lunch. The ship docks too late for the earlier cruise. Hopefully we will still see lots of wildlife.

 

Jennie

 

Don't want to disappoint you, but the Resurrection Tour has never been recommended on this board. Budget Queen, who offers much good advice, stated in an earlier thread: "There is no point in even considering the bay tours, you need 6 hours on the water." She has also stated: And NO you will not see any wildlife on the bay cruises. You need at least 6 hours on the water."

 

 

Have you considered the Sea Life Center, Exit Glacier or Seavey's Dog cart rides? There are also the Godwin Glacier Dog Sled tours. The Sea Life Center has some add-on tours. Two that get a lot of good reviews are the Behind the Scenes Tour and the Puffin Encounter. Reservations are recommended for the add-on tours.

[Aussie Gal]

vbmom87,

 

Thanks for your advice but we are happy with what we have planned to do. If we don't see any wildlife that day, there are lots of other days when we will be on the water, in fact on one shore excursion, if we don't see wildlife we do get our money refunded.

 

We will be happy with whatever we do as Alaska is so different from home.We have been very fortunate to have the opportunity visit so many great places in this world and have have seen some fantastic wildlife in our travels.

 

I spoke to the lass from Alaska Heritage Tours before booking this trip and she was very helpful. We have also been on dog sleds in Switzerland and we do not want to pay out a fortune to repeat that experience.

 

We have found Alaska to be so expensive for tours etc. It has to be the one of most expensive place for visitors. We have worked out a good combination of tours and have had to fit in with the ship's itinerary as well.

 

Jennie

[vbmom87]

vbmom87,

 

Thanks for your advice but we are happy with what we have planned to do. If we don't see any wildlife that day, there are lots of other days when we will be on the water, in fact on one shore excursion, if we don't see wildlife we do get our money refunded.

 

We will be happy with whatever we do as Alaska is so different from home.We have been very fortunate to have the opportunity visit so many great places in this world and have have seen some fantastic wildlife in our travels.

 

I spoke to the lass from Alaska Heritage Tours before booking this trip and she was very helpful. We have also been on dog sleds in Switzerland and we do not want to pay out a fortune to repeat that experience.

 

We have found Alaska to be so expensive for tours etc. It has to be the one of most expensive place for visitors. We have worked out a good combination of tours and have had to fit in with the ship's itinerary as well.

 

Jennie

 

Sounds like you did your homework. As long as you know what you are getting and it appeals to you, I am sure you will have a great time.

 

I know what you mean about the cost of vacationing in Alaska. We went on a 17 day trip to Europe in 2000. Our extra excursions came to $450 a person. We went into a bit of sticker shock with the excursions in Alaska. We are so excited we got our cruise for $300 a person less. There have been two price drops. That will help us out with the excursions. Don't forget to check for your cruise also.

[Aussie Gal]

vbmom87.

 

When is your cruise on the T.P. and when did the price drop? Would you mind letting me know as I would be very interested.

 

We are leaving in a couple of weeks time on a cruise from Hong Kong to Athens (35 days) and even though different people say that Oceania's excurisons are expensive, they are nothing like the cost of visiting Alaska. I haven't yet broken the news to my DH about the prices up there!

 

I have done my homework regarding Alaska, I started the minute we booked our cruise which was in June last year and I was amazed with how much there was to learn. I printed it all off and then started to organize everything early in January.

 

I wanted to have everything booked and organized before we left on this current cruise. Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything and if I have it is just too bad.

 

Jennie

[vbmom87]

vbmom87.

 

When is your cruise on the T.P. and when did the price drop? Would you mind letting me know as I would be very interested.

 

IJennie

 

I am sorry for the misunderstanding. I am not on the T.P. I am on a HAL cruise in June. However, I do recall reading a few weeks back that the prices on the T.P. had dropped. Of course, not sure if all dropped, or just certain weeks. It doesn't hurt to ask.

 

I booked my cruise with a travel agent. After I booked I would often check different online agency's prices to see what the cost of my cruise was on a particular day. When I noticed a price drop at an online agency, I called my agent. She called HAL and sure enough there was a $100 drop in price. The first week of March, HAL was having a 3 day promotional sale. I called my agent again and she was able to drop my price another $200 and move me from inside to a guarenteed unobstructed oceanview. None of these price drops were ever shown on the HAL website. So, I just suggest you keep checking with whomever you booked with. You may also benefit. I have never cruised before. If it weren't for the people on this board who mentioned checking prices before final payment was due, I would have never known that I could take advantage of price drops. We are just happy to have that extra $600 to work with for excursions. I am even keeping my fingers crossed for maybe another $100 drop, but I do feel we are at a very good price for a June cruise date.

[Aussie Gal]

vbmom87,

 

Thanks for all that info. I will start looking at the Princess Board first of all and then I will send an email to my T.A. just in case there has been a price drop. It doesn't hurt ever to ask.

 

Have a wonderful cruise. We love HAL and have been on quite a few cruises with them. We have over 100 days cruising with them but I do prefer the smaller ships like the Tahitian Princess so that is why we are doing Alaska with Princess instead of HAL.

 

Jennie

[StarTrkGeek]

I spent three days on Kodiak this summer - rent a car, visit the town brewery, go out to the old WWII fort, hike, picnic on the beach if it's a nice day, eat seafood at one of the restauraunts, visit the NOAA lab, etc. There's really a lot to do.

Where did you rent a car? I heard that the Budget rental office in town is 1 - 1.5 miles from the cruise dock. Is that correct?

[Grego]

Yes, but you can get a ticket for the shuttle bus that drops you off in town and the rental office is just across the street. We rented a car in August and drove from one end to the other. It's really not that far, there isn't a lot of roads in Kodiak. Anyway, the view is beautiful and plenty of wildlife. If you can't afford the plane, take a car.

[StarTrkGeek]

[quote name='Grego']Yes, but you can get a ticket for the shuttle bus that drops you off in town and the rental office is just across the street. We rented a car in August and drove from one end to the other. It's really not that far, there isn't a lot of roads in Kodiak. Anyway, the view is beautiful and plenty of wildlife. If you can't afford the plane, take a car.[/quote]
One other poster said that the Budget office was at the pier, just a short walking distance. So I'm confused. Is it in the town of Kodiak, or is it at the pier?