Alaskan Cruises?

babakanoosh45

babakanoosh45

Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
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Hey all, the Wife and I are considering an Alaskan Cruise Vacation. I was wondering if anyone here has gone on one in recent years and was it good or not so much? Maybe someone could share some booking info or a decent travel agent? Any info would be great. I'm not even sure what time of year would be best to go? The one thing "Sue" my wife, is insistent on is that we see whales! Thanks in advance. ~kevin & sue~ :)




:D
 
I'm not much help as to what line to take, etc., but I had a friend that went a few years ago on one of the smaller ships - he said it's key to get on a SMALL ship - those get much deeper into the fjords and closer to the glaciers.
 
wintermute said:
I'm not much help as to what line to take, etc., but I had a friend that went a few years ago on one of the smaller ships - he said it's key to get on a SMALL ship - those get much deeper into the fjords and closer to the glaciers.
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Thanks! That actually sounds cooler anyway. I have been sifting through a bunch of online stuff, but of coarse everyone says their deal is the best. I have seen a few for the smaller vessels though. I will run that by the wife and see what she thinks.:D


~kevin~
 
Be sure and pack plenty of your favorite brand of mosquito spray for protection from the state bird. We took a cruise not many years ago and did the inland tour as well. Took a trip on the Alaskan Railway. Toured Denali (sp?) State park and other sites. Needed the spray. One Motel furnished fly flappers for each guest to kill the birds. Our walls were covered in blood the next day. Looked like a scene from the Texas chain saw murders. :D

Great Scenery from the ship and land tours. You will enjoy it.

Jim
 
Alaska is great, making port in the tourist towns might be good for you, but as an Alaskan, I'd find it somewhat insulting what with the carriage rides and the cheap tourist oddities.

I think you'll love the cruise, great sights to be seen, the glaciers are truly an amazing sight. whales are fun to watch etc.

The unofficial state bird IS the mosquito, so yeah a bottle of deet is very helpful.
 
My wife and I just got back from an Alaska cruise tour in June for our honeymoon and it was so awesome! We went via Princess cruises and traveled up the inside passage from Vancouver to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord then we took a land tour into Copper River, Denali national forest and Fairbanks.

http://ian-and-christie.com/category/travel/

You can read through our blog and we have tons of photos. Let me know if you have any specific questions, I would be glad to help

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Our entire family went in August of 2007 (nineteen of us, from mom and dad, 3 of their kids and spouses, to grandkids, and one great-grandkid). The travel company we used was clubcruise.com. They were great to work with, but we did have a connection, my daughter is friends with the owners niece. We went with Princess, too. My wife and daughter had previously cruised on Celebrity and thought the food was much better, but Princess was very decent.

It was an enjoyable experience, Alaska was great, but if I did it again, I think I'd like on of the smaller ships more (like others have mentioned, like CruiseWest. They can get to smaller ports that aren't yet taken over by the major cruise lines. I'd guess that there'd be a lot less of the exact same tourist shops that we saw in each port.
 
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Here are some pictures from our cruise.

Our ship at the dock in Skagway.
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The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad excursion out of Skagway was worth every penny.
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Our sister ship in Tracy Arm Fjord.
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A CruiseWest ship in Tracy Arm Fjord.
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We sailed from Seattle and visited Juneau, Skagway, Ketichkan, and Victoria.
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BTW: Bring rain gear! :D
 
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As always, you folks are awesome. This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the info and the great photos! I've had the wife online looking at websites all night. She will enjoy reading these post.:D:thumbup:
 
How are the security rules on these cuises in the north? Do they let you take fixed blades for trips on land. I would think they are more lienient than tropical cruises.
 
Bufford said:
How are the security rules on these cuises in the north? Do they let you take fixed blades for trips on land. I would think they are more lienient than tropical cruises.
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My cruise was before my recent obsession with knives, so I just took a Leatherman or Gerber multi-tool and it pretty much stayed in the cabin. We did go thru metal detectors getting back on the ship, though.
 
I have an irrational fear of cruise ships because they troll too fast. The fish only bite at about 6 to 8 nautical miles per hour.:D
 
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