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Ive never been on one but maybe in a couple of years or so, might kick around the idea. Heck Ive never been on a cruise at all, except on a small ship in Japan, going to a very small island where my mom lives, this island is so small you couldnt land a plane of it, the only way there was by boat.
Heh. My father and step-mother took an Alaskan cruise and they loved it. Now that was some years ago. At the same time I was in the US Navy on submarines. During that time they were on their cruise, I was in transit on the USS Bremerton (SSN-698) to Ketchikan, AK for sound trials. We were at periscope depth and I was on the scope. We were in a huge fogbank and sonar was reporting propellor noise ahead and to our right. Suddenly I saw a raked back mast emerge and then the funnel with the prototypical head of a female with the hair blowing in the breeze. Obviously a cruise ship. I called out the visual and pressed the bearing repeater button which flashed it to the fire control system. We set up a practice torpedo shot. If we had fired for real, I would have sunk the ship my father was on!!
Any ideas on where to look for a great family alaskan cruise. Looking for something reasonable but nice. Thanks
We just went on the Star Princess from Seattle to Ketchikan, Tracy Arm, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria. I had been given a lot of ballyhoo on Princess but I didn't find it all that spectacular as a cruise line, mainly because I felt like I was being not nickel-and-dimed, but Granted and Benjamin. The route itself, however, is special. With a 20' tide variance twice per day, you go on a hike past a mudflat, and come back and find it a bay. The biggest annoyance for me is the jewelry traps that absolutely blanket the tourist portions of the towns. But then again, in any tourist district with a lot of copycat shops (be they t-shirt traps, jewelry traps, or sweater traps as in Ireland), I automatically assume everything's an overpriced ripoff and breeze on by as quickly as possible. I may not always be right, but I avoid wasting a lot of money on crap I don't need.
A cruise is an excellent way to see part of Alaska. If you're coming this far you should plan on at least one more week to tour more of the state on your own.
fOR aLAlaska, Princess and Holland have been there the longest. I also recommend Celebrity or NCL.
If you want to cruise and also do a land tour, Princess and Holland have excellent Cruise Tours. Remember though that Princess owns the Lodges there so their customers do get priority.
So I booked my very 1st cruise this morning!!
I'm so excited......
Answer to question I've already been asked...yes we have passports!
After lots of homework...we picked Celebrity Cruise lines going out of Seattle in June of next year.
And now for additional questions from the experts........drum roll please
I want to get my husband a salmon fishing charter. Ketchikan is pretty much the Port we've decided on for this.
Now which charter?
Of the ones I've seen that fit into our schedule, they've all ranged from $140-$200.00.
Any recommendations?
Skagway....I'd like to rent a car and go up to Whitehorse...if you've seen a map you can see that there's kinda sorta a circle that can be made around some ranges and lakes.
So the question is....anything a must see on the way? Can this trip be made without worrying too awful much about getting back to the ship? We'll be there from 7am to 8:30pm. Any other must see's in Skagway itself?
I'm sure I'll have more questions but.....I love and prefer to keep as much $$ local as I can..any suggestions on native crafts or trinkets in the following ports would be most welcome:
Best advice I can give you is to go to cruise critic dot com and then to the Alaska boards. There will be ppl that have just come back, or ones that are going the same time as you, you can even chat with ppl on YOUR same cruise. I could not do without that site! There is a lady on there "Budget Queen" who can answer just about any question you can think of! Plus others there have good, first hand info for you. Its been several years since I did my cruise, but I can tell that Alaska is wonderful! And, expensive! But, you have to do the tours to experience Alaska.
We did the White Pass Train in Skagway. We really enjoyed the tour, just dont buy the video! It was terrible. In Ketchican, we did a float plane trip with Michelle of Island Wings. She was awesome!! And, in Juneau, we did the Helicopter/Glacier Trek. And, for the life of me, cant remember who with, although it was one of the best tours I have ever taken! You have not done Alaska until you have trekked on a glacier! So beautiful and the different shades of blue are truly breath taking!
We really enjoyed our time in Seattle too, but next time (and there will be one!), I will leave from Seward and cruise down to Vancouver. Add some tour days onto the cruise.
But, anyway, CC is the way to go! Hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did! BTW, Ketchican is such a lovely little town, so dont miss spending the time strolling thru the shops right there off the ship. Dot
Yeah, if I had to pick one of the three Alaskan ports of call to walk around in, it would be Ketchikan. I'd definitely go out to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, but I wouldn't climb the hill to the governor's mansion just so I could see Russia. It's really steep. In Skagway we hiked a pretty rough part of the Chilkoot trail, then floated back down the Taiya--quite an adventure.
In general I think you'll find your guides diverse, expansive and fun. Most came from elsewhere and have a lot of personality. However, with regard to excursions, it is true that you can arrange many of them cheaper yourself if you have enough time in port (which we often did not). Take Juneau. Just getting off the shuttle bus it was like fireworks stands, except not selling fireworks--selling excursions, mostly glacier flights.
Victoria is a pleasant town. Kind of relaxing if you've been walking past blocks and blocks of jewelry traps and t-shirt traps in every port of call thus far. If you are looking for a great attraction besides Butchart Gardens, try the Royal BC Museum. When we were there we lucked into an exhibit on loan from no less than the British Museum! We were simply enthralled.
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Alaskan Cruise
