Train or No Train....Whale Watch Icy Strait or Not?

[Pusniski]

Sorry for the completely different questions, but I've been going back and forth on these. I've got hotel rooms and extra car rental reservations. I hate holding onto reservations I'm not going to use.

 

We have a couple things lined up for Seward: AK Sea Life Center, Exit Glacier and 9 hour Kenai Tour. I'm wavering between just switching vehicles in Anchorage and driving to Seward or stopping in Anchorage for the night and take the train the next morning. Is the train really preferred over driving yourself? Will I need a rental in Seward if we take the train with the activities were doing? We're staying at HI Express if that makes any difference. (Yes, just booked our rooms today! :D )

 

Since we're set on the 9 hour Kenai tour should I still consider booking a whale watching tour in Icy Strait? It seems like this is an active whale area, but I didn't know if I would be whale watched out by this point? :confused:

 

I appreciate your insight!

[Budget Queen]

The train is superior scenery compared to the Seward Highway, but you would need transportation to Exit Glacier which a car would come in handy. :) Both are good options., and really no specific answer for you. :)

 

Kenai Fjords are not "whale watches". If a priority, then book one out of Hoonah.

 

Overall, IF whales are seen on a Kenai Fjords boat trip, it's a chance sighting, with limited time viewing. I've only had about a 50% sucess rate on my Kenai Fjords boat tour with whale viewing. There is no way to predict, but some of the trips were loaded with sightings of both humpbacks and orcas.

[CruisinRoxy]

We are doing the Kenai Fjords tour, but as Budget Queen said, not necessarily for the whales, but for the scenery and other wildlife. IF we see whales, so much the better. Then we are doing Icy Strait Point with FISHES, which promises many whales. To my way of thinking, I only saw whales once in my life (other than Sea World), which was in Hawaii. I would be thrilled to see them many times in AK, after all, seeing them in Lake Erie is impossible:D

We are staying the night in Anchorage and the next morning, we are also doing the railroad because of the many good reviews on these boards. Good luck deciding!

[ilovefridays]

Just came back from Alaska on the Serenade of the Seas. Icy Strait Point (ISP) was one of our port of calls and we had a fantastic time whale watching there with F.I.S.H.E.S.!!!

 

Floyd, the owner was knowledgeable and friendly without being over the top. His wife, Marjorie was super efficient with our reservations and went out of her way to make things easier for us since we weren't based in the US.

 

When Captain Floyd and I chatted during our trip, I asked how he deals with customers' expectations and whether many have been disappointed. He told me that for as long as he's been in ISP, no one has ever left his boat not seeing whales. Answering my question as to which is the better place to go whale watching, ISP or Juneau, he immediately confirmed ISP although he lives in Juneau the rest of the non-tourist season.

 

Although we stayed a safe distance so not to disturb the whales, we were still awestruck by the number of sightings and one even surfaced 10m away from our boat. It seemed so close that I could have practically swam out and touched the thing (and I'm not even a good swimmer)! Most of the time, binoculars weren’t needed. One whale even did a half breach. There were many mothers and calfs in the area (or it could have been the same mother and calfs, I wouldn't know). Floyd had the hydrophone and I can't even begin to describe the haunting sound that they make underwater. All I can say is that it was a gazillion times better than what you see and hear in National Geographic!!! Of course, there's no guarantee when you're working with Mother Nature. Having read all the useful info on Cruise Critic, I had scaled back my expectations. I told myself I would be satisfied if I could see just one whale. Turns out that the entire trip exceeded my expectations beyond imagination. We even saw a whale swimming next to our window during dinnertime in the main dining room! :D

 

Oh. Just to be fair, we met a couple who went with G-Winds at ISP. They had a fantastic time with them too. The two captains were communicating frequently on where the whales were located that day.

 

Do request to be dropped off at The Office Bar, one of America's best bars as featured by Esquire magazine and try their Dungeness Crab. It was the sweetest, meatiest crab I have ever tasted in my life. Even Tracy's Crab Shack in Juneau couldn't compare (although her king crab legs were great too)!

 

I wanna go back to Alaska!!!!

[krogerlady]

I wanna go back too...as soon as possible....and in every port I will do a whale watch!! Once you see them in the water when you are in a smaller boat...not your cruise ship...you simply can not get enough. I got a few pictures, spouts and tails, no breaches, so, I have to go back to get a breach!!

[WeBCruisin]

Ilovefridays - thanks so much for the F.I.S.H.E.S review!! We leave this Saturday on the Serenade and will be whale watching with Floyd on Monday!! Your glowing report has me even more excited than ever for our whale watching excursion!

 

Glad you had a great time - anything else noteworthy regarding the Serenade you would like to share? I LOVE getting advance information about my ship!!

[travelbuds]

We got back from our trip a couple of weeks ago. Did the 6 hour Kenai Fjords Tour and FISHES. Saw a couple of orcas (I think by chance) on the KFT, and many humpbacks with Floyd. If you want to see whales up close and personal, FISHES gets my vote. The whales were almost in the boat! (An exaggeration, but you get what I mean.) We really enjoyed the KFT for the wild life. Would do both again, but if I wanted those whales, I'd do FISHES.

[GranMona]

Yes to the train and Yes to ISP whale watch! Great tours to choose from out of ISP. We've used TECKK many times, and you'll get lots of other options to choose from on this board. Here's a link with some of the tours from ISP: http://explorenorth.com/alaska/hoonah.html

[Pusniski]

You guys are awesome! Thank you for clarifying the Kenai tour. I want to have very realistic expectations for our activities.

 

I've put FISHES on my trip spreadsheet for Icy Strait. :D I kept our one night reservation in Anchorage and will plan on the taking the train. I'll pick up a car in Seward once we arrive.

[RoofingPrincess]

Another happy F.I.S.H.E.S. customer! I was amazed - and we were one of the lucky 1 in 7 (Floyd's estimate) trips who got to see a full breach.

Pix are included in my Serenade album if you follow the link in my signature.

[Pusniski]

Another happy F.I.S.H.E.S. customer! I was amazed - and we were one of the lucky 1 in 7 (Floyd's estimate) trips who got to see a full breach.

Pix are included in my Serenade album if you follow the link in my signature.

 

WOW! :) What great shots.

 

I was thinking of that corner GS on the Radiance, but I keep hearing I want port side for a SB so I'm further forward.

[stacyb44]

We just got back from Alaska. We didn't do whale watching in Hoonah, but did in Juneau and saw bubble feeding which was awesome.

 

We also did the 6 hour Kenai boat tour and saw LOTS of whales and very close, much closer than in Juneau. We also saw tons of puffins, sea lions and a couple of sea otters.

 

I thorougly enjoyed the Kenai tour. It was a highlight!

 

As for transportation in Seward, we did rent a car, but I don't know that it was necessary, especially if you are staying at the Holiday Inn. There are shuttles that will take you to Exit Glacier, and Seward is a very easy walking town.

[ilovefridays]

Ilovefridays - thanks so much for the F.I.S.H.E.S review!! We leave this Saturday on the Serenade and will be whale watching with Floyd on Monday!! Your glowing report has me even more excited than ever for our whale watching excursion!

 

Glad you had a great time - anything else noteworthy regarding the Serenade you would like to share? I LOVE getting advance information about my ship!!

 

Despite my glowing report, remember that it's still wise to scale back your expectations when dealing with Mother Nature. That way, you won't be disappointed.

 

I would be more than happy to share all the insider's tips and info on the Serenade, the ports and the excursions with you! Just ask away! However, for fear of going off topic and hijacking the thread, do you think we should start a new thread? Perhaps we could attach the link here?

[admiral nelson]

We did the Kenai tour in June. It was terrific for the variety of wildlife, but we saw only one whale in six hours. In Hoonah we had them bubble-feeding, breaching, flapping fins, playing with seals -- you name it. We went with Capt. Shawn of Glacier Wind and he kept us out a long time so we could savor the experience. GO HOONAH!

[Pusniski]

ilovefridays - I'm sailing on the sister ship, Radiance OTS. Is there anything on the ship you consider "not to be missed." I tend to go OT quite often. :D Conversations happen. ;) If you do start another thread please link it so I can follow.

 

 

I'm very excited about the glowing whale reports in Hoonah/Icy Strait.

[ilovefridays]

ilovefridays - I'm sailing on the sister ship, Radiance OTS. Is there anything on the ship you consider "not to be missed." I tend to go OT quite often. :D Conversations happen. ;) If you do start another thread please link it so I can follow.

 

 

I'm very excited about the glowing whale reports in Hoonah/Icy Strait.

 

The excitement that my glowing report has created in a few of you is starting to have me worried. Please remember to scale back your expectations. Mother Nature can be pretty fickle-minded. Now I'm starting to sound like a broken record.

 

Oh. And unless you're from the cold part of the world, thermal long johns really helped me to stay nice and toasty on deck throughout the entire journey. Water resistant jacket, gloves and a cap/hat will be useful too in case it rains (which happened to be to case for us)!

 

Since I have the permission of the OP to go off topic, I shall hijack away!

 

We boarded the Serenade 20 June at Vancouver’s Ballantyne Pier for a roundtrip journey to Sawyer Glacier, stopping at ISP, Skagway and Juneau. It's a lovely ship, about six years old and very well maintained.

 

Places with expansive windows for whale watching (as advised by experienced CC members prior to my cruise) but also perfect for lounging, reading or chatting with friends with or without drink orders would be the The Viking Crown Lounge on deck 13, at the far end of Safari Club (which is called the Congo Bar inside your deck plans), Champagne Bar, Latte-tudes (which serves Seattle's Best Coffee) and the exterior part of Windjammer which is shielded from the elements. There's actually a games room (aka Serengeti Card Club) hidden within the Safari Club with cupboards filled with a variety of board games. Large picture windows allow you to search for whales while your partners struggle over a game of Scrabble.

 

We only had lunch at the Windjammer on the day of embarkation. Not terribly impressed, we decided to stick to the dining room for the rest of the trip. We chose the second seating which offered us ample time to get rested and then dressed for dinner (especially useful for the not-so-formal Formal Night dinner – a suit and a tie and a cocktail dress with a shawl would suffice). It also gave us excuses to try out snacks from the different venues on board. My personal favourites would be the Chili con Carne and the Caesar salad with Grouper from the Seaview Café (deck 12) although our friends highly vouched for the Cuban sandwich citing its authenticity. During all the meals, we made it a point to dine at the Main Dining Room even for breakfast during port days. Some of the dishes that still make me drool would be: the Smoked Salmon Plate with cream cheese and bagel on the side (breakfast), Shrimp Cocktail (dinner), Cherries Jubilee, (dinner) Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (lunch), Strawberry Soup (dinner), Angus Steak (dinner), Medallion of Veal (dinner), Banana Crème Brulee (dinner), some frozen mango cake (can’t recall the name). If only I had the menu with me. Sigh… Order as many dishes as you like, they won’t mind as long as you don’t waste food. Remember that many of the staff members come from developing countries where food security is an issue.

 

Not sure if that was too long-winded or the least bit helpful but it was definitely fun to write.

 

Any room left in your suitcase to squeeze me in??? :D

[Pusniski]

We'll just be excited to see a whale fin at this point. You had an amazing whale watch experience. No worries on expectations from this group.

 

I've been hearing the food on RCCL has slipped. I'm making a note to make a point to eat in the dining room instead of Windjammers. Thanks for the heads up! I've only cruised Disney & Princess. I was happy eating onboard both lines (with the exception of poolside food and coffee - Disney wins hands down). I love coffee so I know where I'm going.

 

Your food review is making me hungry. All of us love seafood and look forward to the ship cuisine as well as in port local hangouts. We don't order extra entrees. It's just the way we are at home. We don't typically have leftovers even. What we have done is have them bring out a dish for us all to sample. It's usually something that has really caught our eye like a dish you don't typically see.

 

We're skipping formal wear to cut down on packing. I was thinking of booking Chops & Portofino's for each of the formal nights and dress in dressy casual. Another couple that I know says it's totally doable and even encouraged it. They are frequent RCCL cruisers and are actually embarking on Radiance this Friday with this exact plan. I guess I can take the snickering and stares in exchange for not being confined in heels, pantyhose and lugging an extra case just for suits and shoes. :p

 

Did you eat in port? If so, what were you favorite spots?

[WeBCruisin]

Ilovefridays - Thanks for going off topic - love hearing about my ship. Don't worry - I'm fully aware that mother nature often has different plans. Second trip to Alaska so I know how varied the weather can be. Even in the Caribbean I have had to skirt hurricanes!!

 

This is my first time on a Radiance Class ship and so excited to be taking her to Alaska!! Perfect itinerary for this ship with all the glass and views.

 

Not a fan of the windjammer - have two children and buffets are simply a pain with children.....Have heard amazing things about the Seaview Cafe and looking forward to eating there. LOVE cuban sandwiches so glad to hear they are getting good reviews!

 

Did you get a chance to eat at the solarium cafe' ? Just wondering if they still had crepes available there. My boys LOVE crepes and are hoping they are still available!

 

Re: formal night - this gal may be overdressed - I've accrued a closet full of formals over my years of cruising and I need to get my money's worth - so I will be in formal gowns each formal night. The rest of the family is going a little less formal this year with jacket and tie instead of tuxes. My boys are especially happy with this concession!

 

We are definitely looking forward to eating in both Chops and Portofinos. Any recommendations on the best nights to skip the Main Dining Room - i.e. which nights did the MDR have the weakest menu.

 

OK - one last question - do you happen to know if US Direct was operational from Pier to Airport during your cruise.

 

Thanks!!

[ilovefridays]

 

Did you eat in port? If so, what were you favorite spots?

 

Being the obvious gluttons, we tried to as much as possible! I mentioned The Office Bar (ISP) which has been discussed in other threads here but was actually recommended to us by Captain Floyd. Do try the dungeness crabs. The people at the bar told us they just caught the crabs. One taste of it had me convinced. When I was living in Vancouver, we had dungeness crabs coming out of ears but none ever tasted like they did in ISP.

 

We didn't have much time in Skagway but did stop by Cinnamon Cache on our way to Emerald Lake. The home-made cinnamon buns were delicious! But it might be due to the fact that we skipped breakfast that day and that I've always had a soft spot for cinnamon buns with cream cheese icing. Unfortunately, you have to drive across the border over to Yukon for them. On the upside, the views of Emerald Lake, Bove Island and many other lakes make this drive worthwhile. We went with Dyea Dave's assistant, Becky and she thoughtfully scheduled mini hikes everywhere to burn off those pesky calories!

 

The last place we stuffed our faces at would be Tracy's King Crab Shack in Juneau. It's very well hidden at the side of the pier. Ask for directions if you have trouble finding it. Just go for the King Crab legs (even though it might not be king crab season yet) and skip the dungeness crab if you've had them in ISP already. There's simply no comparison. The King Crab legs were nice though. If you like carbs, their warm buttery buns were heavenly too.

[ilovefridays]

 

Did you get a chance to eat at the solarium cafe' ? Just wondering if they still had crepes available there. My boys LOVE crepes and are hoping they are still available!

 

Re: formal night - this gal may be overdressed - I've accrued a closet full of formals over my years of cruising and I need to get my money's worth - so I will be in formal gowns each formal night. The rest of the family is going a little less formal this year with jacket and tie instead of tuxes. My boys are especially happy with this concession!

 

We are definitely looking forward to eating in both Chops and Portofinos. Any recommendations on the best nights to skip the Main Dining Room - i.e. which nights did the MDR have the weakest menu.

 

OK - one last question - do you happen to know if US Direct was operational from Pier to Airport during your cruise.

 

Thanks!!

The Solarium Cafe had crepes?!!!!! Arrrrgh!!!!!!

Guess that answers your question. :D

 

Re: formal night - I was like you. The cruise allowed me to get more mileage out of those dresses, shoes, and accessories. The great thing I noticed about Serenade (or RCI in general?) was that there were those dressed to the nines and there were those dressed quite casually on formal night. On the daily compass, they clearly indicated it as "suggested dress code" so both you and Pusniski will fit in just fine. No one will stare or snicker.

 

As for which night to skip dinner in the MDR, I'd say Casual Nights dinner. There seemed to be a slight drop in quality on those nights. Fortunately, they always had a few reliable entrees to fall back on every night (e.g. Angus steak).

 

Hmm... can't help you on the last one since I'm not based in the US. :confused:

[kidnk9]

Went whale watching with FISHES on June 16th (I believe). WOW! Wouldn't do anything differently. Floyd and Marjorie are fabulous people and you will enjoy every minute of your excursion. Saw tons of wildlife including bald eagles, sea otters, and plenty of whales.

We sailed the Radiance. Had no complaints at all. We have only sailed with RCCL and don't understand some of the complaints regarding the food. We are fairly picky eaters and have had no problems and feel that the quality is very good both in the Windjammer and MDR. When everything is taken in to consideration, the number of meals per day that are prepared for the entire ship to please people from various walks of life, I think they do a fabulous job!

Seward was another great stop while we spent the majority of the day with Dyea Dave. What a great man! Someone who will never be forgotten. He "made" our excursion! If you want a fabulous time that gives more than your monies worth, then Dave is your choice! Be patient in him contacting you back. Leaving a phone message for him is the best method since he does have internet problems from time to time. Remember he is out with his tours during the day. Be patient! you will not be disappointed!

Enjoy your trip!

Karyn