alaska cruise with mom ~ Need help & suggestions

[Katbeatina]

I am cruising with my mom to Alaska in May and need some suggestions on the excursions and packing :confused:

1st off the excursions. She is 75, had hip replacement so we cant do a lot of walking, does NOT like to get her hair wet (has it done in a salon every week) ~ So I'm interested in what others say on what do to. Also if we should book from the cruise line or Ive been told to wait and book from the dock.

I don't have a interest in whale watching, I live near the ocean so this isn't a big WOW for me.

Now for clothes ~ I'm clueless and can only pack 50 lbs of stuff for the airline flight. Do I need a lot of warm clothes? scarves? gloves? jackets? Its hard thinking of packing for 2 dress up nights with fancy (warm) jackets and still have room for my necessities.

thanks to all who respond :)

[crazycath]

What ports are you visiting?

 

Cathy

[5waldos]

I am cruising with my mom to Alaska in May and need some suggestions on the excursions and packing :confused:

1st off the excursions. She is 75, had hip replacement so we cant do a lot of walking, does NOT like to get her hair wet (has it done in a salon every week) ~ So I'm interested in what others say on what do to. Also if we should book from the cruise line or Ive been told to wait and book from the dock.

I don't have a interest in whale watching, I live near the ocean so this isn't a big WOW for me.

Now for clothes ~ I'm clueless and can only pack 50 lbs of stuff for the airline flight. Do I need a lot of warm clothes? scarves? gloves? jackets? Its hard thinking of packing for 2 dress up nights with fancy (warm) jackets and still have room for my necessities.

thanks to all who respond :)

 

The train trip is supposed to be wonderful. the helicopter trip over the glaciers is expensive but magnificent. You may not like the whale watching but what about your mother- my mother was older and adored it- not just whales but lots of other major animals. I think she saw bear and maybe moose? As well as smaller animals. Get your mother a rain hat! Also many of the excursions provide transportation so not a lot of walking is necessary. There is a dinner in Tinglet (sp?) village and a cultural experience.

 

As far as clothes- 50 pounds is a huge amount of clothing. Layer for warmth. You do not HAVE to do both dress up nights, nor do you have to do full ball gowns. Long skirts and dressy blouses work- a black skirt and two fancy blouses will do it if you are worried. Dressy dinners on Carnival run the gamut so I wouldn't worry about getting too dressed up if you don't want to.

[LMHC]

Hi and congrats because I know you and Mom will love Alaska, I would search and review posts on the cruise critic Alaska on port of call boards which was an invaluable source of info prior to our Alaska cruise. We sailed Norwegian so I am not sure what the Carnival ports of call are, but all had numerous activities geared to all age and activity levels. Our favorite non-active excursion was the Yukon Railway in Skagway which has beautiful vistas. Many people on the cruise also raved about small ship glacier excursions and plane/helicopter sightseeing excursions.

 

Now about packing. This will depend alot on when you go. Layers are the key regardless. We travelled first week of June and temps ranged from mid 60's during some ports to low 40's in others. It is quite rainy in some ports so yes hat, gloves and layers. Everyone in the family packed close to the 50 pound limit and used most clothes at some point. Many said July and August can get close to 80 degrees during the day, but locals report weather varies greatly. We loved Alaska and know you will too.

[cruisebie]

The key to packing for Alaska is to take things that can be layered. It can get cool, so a blouse or t-shirt with a heavier sweater or sweatshirt and jeans would be good for ports. The weather can be changeable, so it's also a good idea to take some rain gear. Those fold up clear plastic parkas they sell at WalMart would be fine. If you will be cruising by the glaciers, you will need a jacket, gloves & scarf.

 

If one of your ports is Skagway, your mom might enjoy the White Pass Railroad. Great scenery and should be very little walking. You can book this through the ship or on your own.

 

I wouldn't wait until I got to the dock to book excursions. The good ones could sell out. The Alaska board in the Ports of Call section has great information on what excursions are good. I got a lot of ideas there before my Alaska cruise.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

[DarthGrady]

When are you guys going? We're heading out for our Glacier Bay cruise in 17 days!

 

We are doing the following excursions:

 

Skagway: White Pass railroad.

 

Juneau: Whale watching boat tour and Mendenhall Glacier tour.

 

Ketchikan: Combination half hour flightseeing plane ride/crab dinner/motor coach tour.

[Katbeatina]

When are you guys going? We're heading out for our Glacier Bay cruise in 17 days!

 

We are doing the following excursions:

 

Skagway: White Pass railroad.

 

Juneau: Whale watching boat tour and Mendenhall Glacier tour.

 

Ketchikan: Combination half hour flightseeing plane ride/crab dinner/motor coach tour.

 

17 days and counting also !! Same ports - sorry I should of mentioned earlier. Lots of good advise !! Thanks to everyone - Ill check back here if anyone has anything to add.

[renalrn]

Plan to layer (t shirt under turtle neck under sweat shirt etc..).

 

If going to skagway take the whitepass railway, close to the ship,great for not alot of walking and the most beautiful scenery ever.

 

If going to Ketchikan they have a "duck tour" that is virtually no walking and is a nice land/sea sightseeing event.

 

While there are so many great tours/excursions to take I actually did an Alaskan cruise as a poor student once and did no excursions, still loved it because the best part is the scenery from the ship.

[DarthGrady]

17 days and counting also !! Same ports - sorry I should of mentioned earlier. Lots of good advise !! Thanks to everyone - Ill check back here if anyone has anything to add.

 

If your going on the Spirit on 5/6, stop by the Roll Call and say hi. :D Theres about 15 fellow Cruise Critic folk going. Heres a link to it:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=532630&page=42

[Molly the Cat]

My 80-year-old Mom did a Princess cruise last May. We found it REALLY COLD. take gloves and hats and scarves as well as layers.

 

We did 2 ship excursions: in Juneau we did a fish hatchery and glacier tour that was really good. In Victoria, we took a horse-drawn wagon city tour. as this was in the evening, it was REALLY, REALLY cold. This was a lovely, leisurily tour that went through pretty areas of downtown and the coast, but it would have been better in the earlier in the day.

 

In Ketchican, we did the duck tour. THis goes through the city and then down a ramp into the harbor. There's eagles on the breakwater. All on board wanted to speed down the ramp and splash into the water....but they oozed gently in. Oh well.

 

In Skagway, we did a garden and summit mini-van tour. It was too early for the gardens to be in bloom, but there was more to see than flowers. The summit was great - and cold and snowy. Excellent guide who could recite Service's longer poems.

 

both these excursions have web sites and are also on city site lists.

 

Alix