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Post by californian on Sept 17, 2014 2:05:10 GMT
I am thinking on a Alaskan vacation for next year, don't even know where to start, any recommendations on itineraries, time of the year? all the adds I see seem to be quite similar, even the ships are more or less of the same size, I would prefer something smaller, maybe 500 passengers or so. is it such a thing?
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Post by Stoker on Sept 17, 2014 18:29:33 GMT
My wife and I did this for our 25 anniversary only we did it on our own, no cruise line. We went by the Alaskan Marine Hwy. (ferry boats) We were walk on passengers so it was fairly inexpensive. We stayed in local hotels, saw more wildlife from our smaller ships. IE: Whales, humpback and Killer, dolphins, bears, sea otters etc. The ferries went in much shallower waters than the cruise ships. They do have rough cabins for overnighters.
Now for advice.
Some cruise companies sell a tour called See the Bald Eagles. Take it you want but they sit in the trees like sparrows up there. We saw on flock in Ketchikan that was at least 50 mature birds.
We went at the end of June, beginning of July. The days are the longest then.
Balcony rooms or rooms with large windows are worth it on the Alaskan cruise as there is always something to see. You will be surrounded by mountains and or glaciers as you travel through the inland passage. Unlike in the Caribbean when you leave port at 7 when it is getting dark and there is nothing to see but blackness and sometime just the lights from another ship.
That's all I got for now. happy travels.
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Post by californian on Sept 17, 2014 19:13:21 GMT
Thank you Stoker, great help, I prefer something similar, not very fond of cruise ships and a couple of thousands getting off at the same time! Trafalgar has one by land or combined by ship, I have to do lots of homework, you gave me a good idea.
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Post by Boop on Sept 17, 2014 19:46:14 GMT
Thank you Stoker, great help, I prefer something similar, not very fond of cruise ships and a couple of thousands getting off at the same time! Trafalgar has one by land or combined by ship, I have to do lots of homework, you gave me a good idea. Hi Cali! The following link may give you some ideas from the packages available through BC Ferries. BC Ferries travels as far as Prince Rupert with breathtaking scenery included! http://www.bcferriesvacations.com |
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Post by Owen on Sept 27, 2014 15:07:46 GMT
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Post by californian on Sept 27, 2014 15:38:26 GMT
Thank you very much Owen, one of my girlfriends and I are studying all the possibilities, Holland American looks very good, we are not much into the amenities on board, spa, casinos, etc, but the wonderful itinerary. Trafalgar has a good land schedule and I think it's combined with 7 days of this cruise. I hope all the discounts we get from Trafalgar also apply to the cruise part. Hopefully we get all the ducks on a road by next September. Looking forward to traveling on the same time zone and shorter flights! Thanks again.
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Post by marielouise on Sept 27, 2014 15:48:20 GMT
My late mother took my daughters and I on the Inside Passage cruise cruise about 7-8 years ago. I would have preferred to go all the way to Anchorage but my mother was in her late 80s and it would have been too stressful for her. We went with Celebrity cruise lines, the ship was huge. What I didn't like was that there were 5 or more cruise ships in the harbour at the same time. The towns are very small so they were overun with tourists, there are shops with all the same stuff run by the various cruise lines.
We had an incident the first evening, where someone had to be airlifted off the ship so we were delayed coming into the harbours in the beginning, so we had to take a launch. It took a very long time to get off the ship, particularly if you hadn't signed up for an activity.
We went the last weekend in August, a last minute decision, which I believe wasn't any cheaper, it would have been cheaper to buy the tickets earlier plus most of the optionals were already full then. We were unlucky with the weather, drizzle and low lying clouds. We still enjoyed the trip, the food was very good, we ate dinner always in the dining room. We had no rain at the Hubbard glacier although it was overcast, it was amazing to see the calving of the glacier.
We didn't see much wildlife, I think only 1 bald eagle, we have them here in Calgary and there are many in the Vancouver area.
Like you, I don't like the big cruise liners, they are too big. When I was a teenager we would travel many times to Europe by ship, Cunard, Holland America Line and the best was the Italian Line from New York to Naples.
My sister loves cruises, her favourite cruise line is Oceania which have somewhat smaller ships.
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Post by californian on Sept 27, 2014 16:23:48 GMT
Marielouise, my sentiments exactly, just cringed at the idea of going to some small town with thousands of others! If we do this, I pretty much decided that I would take in the views from the ship, get a good book and be totally unsociable! As you said, all the souvenirs, little towns are probably more of the same. That is why we would like to do the land part which includes the Alaska Railroad and Denali Park, after that I think we will be ready for a rest (we are both in our 70's) I have only done very small cruises, 4 days or so, with 600 or so passengers, and a 7 days in Patagonia, in a very small, only 130, which was wonderful. Can't even think of 2000 people all in one place!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2015 10:49:22 GMT
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