One week to Alaska cruise..Yet to look at travel doc's!

You??? No, Really!

 

Enjoy yourself. Alaska is wonderful. Been a bit chilly lately.

 

Peter,

I've done that trip but on a ferry during a move from Fairbanks to Fort Rucker, Alabama. If you're concerned about sea-sickness, there's only a brief period in the open water. The rest is inlet water and smooth sailing. Bring some 'nocs as you never know what you may find. I saw a flight of Killer Whales. They're an impressive site. Ketchikan has a great museum which is a short hike away from your port. Juneau's fantastic with some cool stores and streets to stroll around. Bring some rain gear as the rain moves in and out pretty quickly and is difficult to see coming.

If there's one thing you remember from this post, it's this. If you are going all the way to Haines, SEE THE BALD EAGLES. It's the largest congregation in the world and is a site to behold.

Bring some cigars (if you're into that) and have a smoke on a secluded deck for sunset. You're in for a great time. Jen' and I are going when I return from overseas.

Have fun. Dane

 

What cruiseline?

 

Could it be this one? My wife gets ads from them all the time

http://www.olivia.com/cruises/description.cfm?tripId=58

 

Why, Alaska KingCrabLines, of course!
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Excellent. Best laugh I've had in a while. Of course, those are the summer pictures.

 

Go with an open mind, and have fun. I thought doing this cruise would be once in a lifetime, but I had so much fun in '01, that I did it again last May! Went on the Sea Princess and Island Princess.

You can order multiple appetizers, entree's, deserts. Great on lobster or king crab nights. I've seen people order every desert item.

Ship photographers are more annoying than mosquitos, so they will probably take multiple pictures of you. I wait until the last night, then gather up all the shots in the photo gallery and sort out which ones I like the best.

Bring bonine if you think you might get seasick. It's a form of meclazine that supposedly don't have the side effects. A lot of cruisers I've met swear by it. The inside passage is pretty calm, especially in the bays and fjords. When I went, we did hit a bit of 10-15 ft waves just above Victoria Island where it's open. It was a little rocky but not bad.

Try to figure out which tours you want before boarding, and sign up for them before via Internet, or on the first day. The popular ones seem to be Helicopter rides and fishing.

Ketchikan: I did a Princess tour, 'Best of Ketchikan by land/sea'. The sea portion was fun, the land stunk, spent way too much time in an old cannery. The town is easy to walk around, check out Creek Street. If you like salmon buy it here, it was cheaper (sales) than the other ports. Smoked, yum, yum!

Juneau: Went whale watching, saw orcas and humpbacks. Then did a 1-hour helicopter glacier walk. I think this is well worth doing. If the weather is good, take the tram up Mt Roberts, nice view of the ships from above. If you can't see the top tram station don't waste your money.

Skagway: Rented a car and drove into Canada to Carcross/Emerald lake. Took 4-5 hours. If you do this, don't forget the passport! Otherwise, the big thing is to ride the train. If you do, sit on the LEFT side going up, best view. The town itself is compact, very small shopping street.

Haines: The Chilkat Eagle Preserve does host the largest bald eagle gatherings, but that is during the winter months. All the rivers ice up, except this one, which also has a late salmon spawn, which attracts the eagles. I did a float trip down this river, and only saw 3 eagles. You will spend a LOT of time in transit getting from Skagway to the Preserve. The ferry ride was nice, but you cover the same route the ship takes, so no new scenary. IMHO, not worth the trouble. I would love to go up there during the gathering though, seen pictures of tree's with 10-15 eagles perched on the limbs.

You will see lots of bald eagles everywhere. Just keep your eyes open, and look for white blobs near the top of the trees.

You can often spot whales near the entrances of the fjords leading into the glaciers or towns, you just need to be on deck or on your balcony looking.

Be sure to bring binoculars. If you can, one set per person, it's kinda hard to share during brief wildlife sightings.

Be prepared to take a LOT of pictures. I took about 400 digital pictures, plus another 100 panoramic photos.

Not sure how it is on your ship, but I've been told that a lot of them have red in the carpeting on the left side of the ship. Left=Port=Wine. (Right=Starboard) This is helpful when you lose track of which way the pointy end of the ship is, especially on the cabin decks.

 

Good info in the above post. Some supplemental items:

We did Juneau and also did the helicopter glacier tour, really worthwhile. Feel like you're on an alien planet.

We did Ketchikan and kayaking/bald eagle sighting. Some people did float planes to some mountain lakes that they raved about.

We did Skagway and rented a car and drove into Canada. Terrain/tundra is unique, also alien planet. Came back and did the tour of the original "gold rush" camp/cemetary area next to Skagway (forgot the name, 1-2 miles away).

In all cases, book tours as soon as you get on the ship or even before as the popular ones sell out. The rental cars in Skagway book up often and it is best to call directly and book 1-2 weeks before the trip.

Hubbard Glacier was our last stop, but pure sightseeing, no exursions you can book.

Depending on the ship, food & entertainment will vary; but you will get way more calories and food options than you could possibly want. My claim to fame is that I'm the only person in my circle that has gone on a cruise ship (I've done 6-7 by now) that *lost* weight at the end, while still eating double entrees and desserts. The price I paid was 1-2 hours per day in the gym in port and 3-4 hours per day in the gym while at sea.

Read/skim Michener's Alaska on the flight and during idle times. Provides some good color.

 

I've lived in AK all my life (24 years) and have just recently realised how much I take for granted in living here. In the past couple years I have started to get out and enjoy it much more. Next weekend, the owner of the company I work for is taking us all on a Glacier cruise which in all my time here, I've never done.

Enjoy your time here, and if you ever come to Anchorage, let me know.

- Chris

 

Bring a jacket and learn to love Halibut!