Alaska Vacation Help

[dmc1025]

I hope someone(s) on the boards can help me out. I am trying to plane an Alaska cruise vacation for my friend (41), my aunt (60), and myself (43) for 2010. I have been trying to read up on the different cruises and what to see and what not to see, but it is all very confusing. Every book I read and every travel agent I talk to seems to give me different information. What we are looking for is a reasonable cruise (not expensive not the cheapest) that does sea and land. Most we can be away is 11 days, and all would like to pick the best time to see the wildlife. I know that there is no for sure to make sure we get to see some, but there has to be better times to travel then others. Can anyone help me out getting some good information.

Thank you

[LizC]

End of July is the highest priced time but nicest weather.

 

End of August is reasonable and still pretty weather but a bit cooler.

As far as cruise lines I find RCL to be reasonable and not very expensive.

 

We book our cruise a month ago for end of august and are paying $909 per person for the first 2 people 3rd is often less. That is a balcony on deck 10. Consider a balcony very much worth it.

 

Now Northbound is best or so they say ! Because the scenery gets grander as you cruise North.

 

Even after you book you can have the price drop if you call and inform your agent or RCL if you book through them directly.

 

Do go a day early you don't want to miss your boat.

 

Land Packages I looked at this but work schedules would not allow for us we would have booked Radiance of the Seas with land package 13 out of vancouver gave us exactly what we wanted.

 

Hope this helps !

[ellbon]

i went on princess and added days both ends-to far to fly otherwise. i did the land tour first-then the ship-not A boat- and added on vancouver. to thsi day I wish i had gone N instead of S. princess and some other lines give more time in Juneau going N. After 2 tours that day I missed the chance to realax in a bar in town. that would of been fun.

 

HAL is to old a crowd for you. Ceelbrity is great but i was happy with princess. the problem you are having is the more peopel you talk to the more ideas/opinons you will get. makes it ahrd to think.

 

you might be better off cruising N and add on days in Vancouver first.. great city. then cruise and fly home. skip the land tour thsi time. without time for jet lag it will b e hard to enjoy anything.

[Mrsosci]

For land part I suggest Alaska Tour and Travel company. The land through the cruise line is not as good. They will plan and suggest whatever you want.

They did an excellent job with our land portion while others on cruise plan didn't get to see and do as much.

 

 

Mrsosci

[Texas Tillie]

I'm going to disagree with some of the previous posters - do the land part first - you get the longest flight out of the way and the most tiring travel too (Alaska is BIG and most of the roads are just 2 lane - so it takes longer to get between places than it does in the lower 48). Also, I think that Holland America and Princess offer the best "cruisetours" - they both have 8 ships each doing Alaska each year. (The 2010 schedules won't be out until sometime in 2009 - so that could change.) Keep reading - you need to decide what you want to see on land and which ports interest you. Also, be sure to do either the Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay.

[Blue Darter]

I'll agree and disagree with suggestions already posted...

 

Agree with Tillie, definately do the land first. As she said, you'll get he longest travel day out of the way first.

 

Now I'll disagree with Tillie. Go independent, DO NOT do a tour through the cruiseline or a land-based company in Alaska. Assuming your 11 day limit includes travel days, you really only have three days on the ground in Alaska before you board the ship. Tours always involve a lot of "hurry up and wait" time....with only three (or four) days, you want to take advantage of every moment you have.

 

Many on this board will advise that it's too risky to go independent on your first trip to Alaska...boloney! I did it and it's a piece of cake. Believe it or not, Alaska is not a foreign country, it's part of the good ole US of A. Everyone speaks english, you won't find a nicer bunch of folks than the ones that live there....It's impossible to get lost (if you stay on paved roads)...the same $$'s that work at home, work there. Having your own car allows small detours that will make every trip to this great place a once in a lifetime affair.

 

OK..let me jump off that soapbox. In spite of my opinion, a great many folks will attest (as strongly as I have) that cruise tours are the only way to go..if that's what you choose, you'll likely have a wonderful trip. Bottom line....any trip/tour that gets you to Alaska is a good one in my book.

 

As far as cruiselines, we've only done Royal Caribbean in Alaska (always do RCI everywhere else too and always love the cruise) so we've not experienced Glacier Bay (RCI goes to Hubbard Glacier). We've done mid-July and late August...weather was comparable both times (caveat..weather is always a crapshoot in Alaska...suggest you plan for rain and enjoy the days when the sun shines). Price wise, early (mid-May to early June) and late (late August to September) are less expensive, but there's really no "cheap" cruises in Alaska. Given those two (less expensive) options, I'd choose late because it gives you more options to see wildlife on your brief land tour.

 

Alright...you didn't ask, but I'm gonna give you a suggested intinerary that assumes you cruise out of Seward...would also require you to squeeze in a 12th day (really need two full days in Denali).

 

Day 1 - Fly to Anchorage....overnight downtown (note: most flights arrive into Anchorage later in the day...you likely won't have the time or energy to do anything else on day 1).

 

Day 2 - Pick up rental (suggest you register with Avis) at downtown Avis office (I saved ~40% over airport rental). Drive to Denali National Park (~235 miles)...enjoy visitors center, take in sled dog demo, drive to Savage River (1st 15 miles of park road are paved and open to the public), pick up day 3 bus tickets at Wilderness Access Center. Overnight at local B&B...we've enjoyed Touch of Wilderness twice (they have a two night minimum), but there's other options (including hotels) close by as well.

 

http://www.touchofwildernessbb.com/

http://www.alaskabba.com/

 

Day 3 - Early morning bus trip to Wonder Lake (road to Wonder Lake usually doesn't open until mid-June....hence my suggestion for the August or September trip). IMO, this tour makes the whole trip to Alaska worthwhile. Great scenery and endless opportunities for wildlife viewing. You'll need to bring your own food and drinks (note: Touch of Wilderness will pack a free "to go" breakfast and makes a great lunch for ~$10 per person). The trip to Wonder Lake is roughly 11 hours...yeah I know it sounds like an interminable amount of time on a bus, but the time passes quickly. At any rate, most of the day is spent when you complete this tour. Overnight again at Touch of Wilderness.

 

http://www.nps.gov/dena/

 

Day 4 - Leisure return trip to Anchorage with brief stop in Talkeetna for lunch and shopping. Talkeetna is a quirky little town about halfway between Denali and Anchorage. It's the starting point for all the "adventuresome" souls that climb Mt McKinley (aka Denali) each year. Either West Rib Cafe and Pub or Mountain High Pizza Pie would be a good choice for lunch as well as people watching.

 

http://www.westribpub.info/

http://www.mhpp.biz/

 

Still have time to to stop at the Alaska Native Heritage Center Museum on the way back into Anchorage. If you're into history/culture it's well worth your time.

 

http://www.alaskanative.net/

 

Return rental and overnight downtown close to train depot.

 

Day 5 - Alaska Railroad to Seward (6:45 departure...arrive in Seward ~11:00). This trip is like a bonus "excursion", the scenery is awesome and a majority can only be viewed from the railroad.

 

http://www.akrr.com/

 

I consider a cruise into Kenai Fjords National Park a "must-do" while in Alaska. You'll have wildlife viewing here (as well as awesome scenery) that won't be available on any other part of your trip. You also get an up-close (~1/4 mile) experience with a tidal glacier (Aialik Glacier). Renown and Major Marine offer tours that are timed with the arrival of the train and also return in plenty of time to board the cruise ship. Both will also store your luggage as well as provide pick-up (at the depot) and drop-off (at the pier) service.

 

http://www.renowntours.com/default.htm

http://www.majormarine.com/

 

Board your ship for night 1 of your cruise.

 

Days 6-11 - Enjoy your southbound cruise to Vancouver.

 

Day 12 - disembark, fly home

 

On the surface, the land tour I've suggested may sound rushed, but you should have plenty of time most days (except day 2 @ Denali) to meander a bit a casually enjoy your brief stay in southcentral Alaska.

 

Hope this helps a little....keep researching and have fun planning your trip!

 

Andy

[cruzingmissy]

First time to Alaska for me was this past Memorial Day. We flew to Vancouver and spent four days which gave us time to enjoy and adjust to the time change. Then did the northbound cruise on Coral Princess and a five night land tour. While I thoroughly enjoyed the land tour I would tell you that since you are short on time make sure you spend two days in Denali and that your tour includes the 8 hr Wilderness bus tour in the park. There is a four hour Natural History tour that we heard folks were disappointed with. The 8 hr trip gets you far enough into the park to see lots of wildlife. May was a good time because the animals have their litters that time of year and we saw some bear cubs and baby moose. There is a subway across the street from the Denali lodge and you can order lunch the night before and pick it up in the morning to take with you on the bus. They give you a box lunch but it was a celophane wrapped croissant, a piece of reindeer sausage, cheese and bbq chips. I ate the chips with my sandwich but was the envy of the bus when I pulled out my sub. Glacier bay was freezing but spectacular. Be sure to take a hat and gloves and thermal underwear and get a balcony. We used our balcony a lot and had coffee and hot chocolate delivered to the room (for the cost of a tip) to help keep warm. It was the trip of a lifetime. May is cheaper too!

[irishcropper]

We did our 1st Alaska cruise/tour #16 Holland America in June. June is considered a "shoulder" season so the prices were also cheaper. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience.We booked everything through the ship, yes it was pricey but well worth it and my husband doesn't want to drive or hassle with anything on vacation. The weather was the biggest surprise - we left June 10th and returned June 21st - we had rain 2 hrs. in Skagway and the sun shone the rest of the time so it's hard to say anymore when is the best weather. In Glacier Bay the rangers on board said it was too hot for them. We have beautiful pictures of us with just long sleeve t-shirts on and the glaciers in all their beauty behind us. We did land tour first and covered lots of territory - we were so glad we did cruise last. The highlight for us was the dog sledding in Juneau on top of Mendenhall Glacier. I booked that 6 months ahead and at the time was disappointed because all the morning times were wait listed. We booked for 1:45. As it turned out all of the morning flights were cancelled because of fog - we had bright sun, the helicopter ride was awesome and the dogs were great. The only disappointments we heard regarding the whole land tour cruise experience were from people who went golfing in Denali and Haines - said they were the worst courses and in the worst shape of anywhere they played! My husband is a golfer and I had tried to talk him into golfing - so glad he wanted to spend the time with me! We did a river rafting trip in Denali, went ATVing (1st time for both of us), the train and bus in Skagway,and so much more. We were suppose to do floatplane/boat in Misty Fjords and that got cancelled because of boat trouble - we could have booked just floatplane, but it was last stop and we decided nothing could top our day in Juneau so we would just spend time checking out Ketchikan. In your plannning if you are doing landtour remember Denali stays light to 3:00 a.m. in June. We got there at 2 from Fairbanks (on domed train -wow) headed out to go atving, got back at 7 - left at 7;30 for the rafting trip and found ourselves eating a pizza for dinner at 11:30 and just couldn't believe where we were, what we did and what time it was. The next morning our wilderness tundra tour left at 6:30 a.m. You can see why we were glad we did the land tour first! Also - our tour director said some people who cruise first are disappointed in the"rugged" accommodations on land. They weren't really rugged, but not quite as posh as the ship. Enough from me. Just plan and enjoy!

[Blue Darter]

I've got to chime in again. When at Denali do not use the "tour buses". The shuttle bus will get you further into the park (equals more wildlife opportunities) for less than half the money. I've done both (TWT and shuttle bus to Wonder Lake) so I feel I'm qualified to offer this comparison/critique.

 

note: There's a $10/person national park entrace fee added to ALL bus trips. There's only one road into Denali National Park. The patrons of the TWT and the shuttle bus see the same scenery and are afforded the same oportunities to view wildlife. Both also use the same tried and true wildlife spotting technique....everybody on the bus watches for wildlife, if you see something, shout out and the bus stops along the road.

 

TWT = 53 miles to Toklat. Cost $93.50/person and you get a rather disappointing (Missy was way too kind with her description) boxed meal. TWT buses ARE a bit nicer (upholstered high-backed seats, little better sound system) and are piloted by "certified driver-naturalists". They also have a camera mounted on the bus that allows to driver to zoom in on wildlife. I don't consider that a perk...if I wanted to see wildlife on TV, I'd save the travel $$'s and watch from the comfort of my lounger.

 

Shuttle Bus - the same 53 miles to Toklat costs $22.75 per person and no boxed meal (I can buy a lot of lunch for the $70 saved). The bus is more akin to a school bus with the same type of vinyl covered bench seats. Drivers aren't "certified" as they are on TWT but are (at least on our trip) just as knowledgable and provide a narrative similar to what is offered by the TWT (again, only comparing my trips). A definite perk offered by the shuttle bus is the ability to get on/off to try your hand at hiking. You get off when you want and catch the next bus (assuming there are empty seats) that comes along.

 

My recommendation is to take the shuttle bus all the way to Wonder Lake (85 miles). Price is only $40/person and you get an additional 60+ miles (3+ hours) of scenery/wildlife for less than half the price of the TWT. Can't beat that deal.

 

Andy

[dmc1025]

I wanted just wanted to take a minute and thank everyone that has given me their advise and ideas. I have been able to take a lot of the information and narrow down some of my choices.

 

Thanks for all the help

Dawn

[alaskamt]

Not only do the local prices go down a bit, but late August, early September may be a better time to see animals. They are going into the 'rut' or mating season at that time and get really 'focused' on finding the perfect Mrs. Moose or Bear or Caribou, etc. So they tend to be more visible and a lot less spooked by viewers. And the colors get really pretty up here in the fall, with the colder nights tending to kill the bugs. And it actually gets dark enough to sleep at night. The novelty of daylight 20-23 hours a day may seem great, but it can be exhausting. And there is always the chance you will see the northern lights.

 

As you can see, I really like the later season up here...

[dudboom]

I agree that you can do your own land tour. That way you can do things according to the weather. We drove ourselves and another couple and had a grand time. If you do stay in Anchorage, look for a minus low tide and go to Turnagain Arm. When that bore tide comes in you may get to surfers! I love telling people we saw surfers in Alaska.

 

Also, try Gwennies Restaurant on Spenard Road a couple of miles from the airport. It's pretty much a place where the locals eat and is good. They have the biggest crab salad and you can get reindeer sausage with your eggs in the morning!

[NancyIL]

We did a northbound cruise last year on the Coral Princess, followed by a 9-day independent land trip with a rental car. Our travel dates were June 3-20. I'm returning next week with friends, and we're doing a northbound cruise on HAL Veendam (for a different glacier and some different ports) plus another land trip with a rental car. Our travel dates are July 24-August 10.

 

I liked the "wow factor" of the ship going north. Perhaps people on cruisetours need to do the land portion first because they are so rushed, but I liked cruising first and then doing the land trip. I got more sleep on the land trip than on our cruise! Yes, the flight time home from Anchorage is longer than from Vancouver. Big deal - rest on the plane and sleep when you get home!

 

I wouldn't avoid HAL because of it having an older crowd. Most Alaska cruises have more "mature" passengers than the same line's Caribbean cruises. Personally - I would prefer an older crowd to one that's overrun with kids.

[NancyIL]

Not only do the local prices go down a bit, but late August, early September may be a better time to see animals. They are going into the 'rut' or mating season at that time and get really 'focused' on finding the perfect Mrs. Moose or Bear or Caribou, etc. So they tend to be more visible and a lot less spooked by viewers. And the colors get really pretty up here in the fall, with the colder nights tending to kill the bugs. And it actually gets dark enough to sleep at night. The novelty of daylight 20-23 hours a day may seem great, but it can be exhausting. And there is always the chance you will see the northern lights.

 

As you can see, I really like the later season up here...

 

I'd like to do a late August/early September Alaska trip next time, and maybe I'll even try a southbound cruise! I know it won't be in 2009, but perhaps 2010 will be a good year. :)