Anyone been on an Alaskan cruise?

We live in Seattle and my wife is paranoid of flying, so this was one of our trips a few years ago. 

The cruise was set to go up the inside passage and stop at Juneau.  Then Skagway, then Glacier Bay, then Ketchikan, then Victoria BC, then home.

The boat disembarked from Seattle about 4 hours late because of port issues.  Because of that, the captain didn't go up the inside passage.  He took to the staight to the Ocean and was hauling butt.  It was really rough and unpleasant.  Other than that, life was good.

The destinations were more 'settler' style destinations, as apposed to 'summer vacationer'.  They are all very old and small towns with lots of history and it was really neat to learn about.  It isn't so much about "We get to get off the ship and go Jetskiing!!" but more about learning about the treasures of the destinations and seeing some amazing and captivating sights. 

 It is much more beautiful than other cruise desinations as you have snow-capped mountains dropping right into the water and a lot of lush forests and wildlife.  My wife saw a bear one morning as it was running along the shoreline.

It is not *warm*.  We went in May and the temperatures were about 40-55 degrees.  Don't plan on using the pool or many of the outdoor features of the ship aside from the hot tub(depending on weather and temperature).  We rarely got off the ship without our coats.

Glacier Bay was amazing.  The water was so thick and 'slushy' that rocks were floating and partially submerged.  It was eery.

So it isn't the volleyball/jetski/sun bathing cruises of the south that younger people love.  But if you are into "Goonies"-type adventures, these destinations are great.

The entertainment was awesome.  We got to see a cirque de soleil - type circus act, a great magician, singing, dancing.

The main dislikes was the "shortcut" the first night and morning.  It was quite nauseating and there were many signs of nauseated people (yuck).  This wasn't the fault of the cruise, but the port of Seattle had a screw-up.

We were pretty done by day 5.  The last day at port was Victoria BC, and by that time we just walked around random neighborhoods.  The Hotel was closed and the gardens cost $50, so it wasn't worth it to do anything.  We actually considered just going and seeing a movie.

We would definately do it again.

I'd recommend visiting sans the cruise just for flexibility. I went out there for an extended week to fish and sight see. It was beautiful!

Flew to Kenai, immediately got my fishing license and drove to the Spit in Homer. Stayed the night and up early for a day boat charter to Halibut fish deep waters- awesum time!

Drove back to Kenai for 3 days of salmon fishing on the river at a friends waterfront fishcamp. Saw a few Russian churches in the area and some nice eateries. (shipped home MANY pounds of halibut and salmon vacuum sealed and prepped)

Then drove to Seward to go on a Fjord half day (go in the morning) cruise and visited a couple glaciers afterwards to hike. Then drove to Alyeska for some fine dinning and luxury accommodations for the eve before my trek into Denali.

Took a day to  drive out into Denali- get a book called "Milepost" if you do...it tells you every interesting site/ fun facts at each milepost on the way out. Stop in Talkeetna- it's the sight were all the expeditions begin when challenging the Mt McKinley summit climbs!

Did a bus tour inside Denali- you can choose to hike off the buses a get on later, but its your arse when you're out there as we did see grizzlies and wolves and stuff and they all looked hungry!!!

Bottom line, get out AK any way possible, you won't be disappointed!

If many AK pics interest you, you can check them out here: http://ncbimma.kodakgallery.com/

 *They say only 20% of visitors to Denali see the mountain in plain view and not covered in clouds*

not bad for a non dSLR, eh?

Yes, but a very long time ago. June 6, 1988, for our honeymoon. Flew to Vancouver, spent a day there, then 10 days cruising Alaska. We helicoptered out to the glaciers, fished for halibut, and everything else they offered. It was awesome, having drinks while watching whales, eagles, and other wildlife is incredible. Some of the town visits were just OK, more of a tourist trap, but typically there is a wide variety of (expensive) side trips and activities offered.

Getting off the plane at 2am and finding a 80lb box of rapidly defrosting halibut was NOT a highlight, but standing in the kitchen at 3:30am with my mother-in-law breaking it down into manageable portions and packaging it  was pretty funny.

edit: Vancouver is a really beautiful city. Wish we'd spent more time there.

We did this in 09. Flew to Anchorage. Drove up to Denali. Denali was kind of a let down as they didn't allow cars in past a certain point. You had to get on a NPS bus and ride around where they wanted to take you. Get some blinders to sleep in before you go if you plan to spend time in Alaska before the cruise. Then we took the train from Anchorage to Seward. The train ride was amazing and one of the highlights of our trip. Got on the boat in Seward and managed to hit Glacier Bay on a crystal clear day. Pretty awesome sights and sounds in the bay. We hiked to the top of the hill in Haines and spent time watching all the eagles. Juneau was pretty nice. We went to the top of the mountain there. Amazing view of the town from the top. Ketchikan... well lucky for us it was raining that day, it was pretty much a tourist trap. Inside passage to Vancouver. Amazing sights all the way. Get an outside or balcony cabin for this cruise. We wound up in Vancouver for the day and spent most of it in Stanley Park. Lots of cruise lines offer a land/sea combo where they bus you up to Denali and drive you around to places for a few days. i think I would avoid that and book your own accomodations.

 Above the clouds in Juneau.

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Our family did one a couple of years ago, and my wife, a cruise travel agent, has done two.

It's a very different cruise experience from your typical Caribbean/Mexican cruise which we've done tons of.  It will probably not be warm & sunny, but the scenery is fantastic, the history in the ports is interesting and the excursions are excellent.

We spent one entire day going up a fjord with chunks of ice floating downstream and fabulous scenery close aboard on both sides.  Got within sight of a glacier but we couldn't get too close that day because there was too much ice.  But they sent a couple of guys out in a boat to break a chunk off an iceberg and shortly afterward one of the chefs carved it into an ice sculpture of a bear up on the pool deck.

Two favorite excursions:

• White Pass and Yukon Railroad in Skagway.  Very scenic and historical.  Saw a bear.
• Various ports will have dogsled excursions.  The one we did was run by Ryan and Erin Redington, top Iditarod racers.  We got some history and explanation of the equipment they use, a ride on the carts they use to train the dogs in the summer, and (highlight for my wife and daughter) they brought out some sled dog puppies to hold & play  with.

Another option that might interest you is a cruise/rail package--generally you cruise north and then take a train for a few days back south.  My parents did this a few years ago and really enjoyed it.  They lucked out and caught Mt. McKinley on a clear day.

I went at the end of July. The darkest it got was similar to a sun just setting outside...pretty eerie.  This was the middle of the night actually:

I agree with others that say to ditch the cruise - my wife and I went years ago without the cruise and loved it.  We flew to Anchorage, drove to Denali.  Then an overnight rafting trip outside the park - thru luck, we were the only ones - just the two of us and the guide - awesome.  Then we stayed in the park at a place called North Face Lodge - blew the bank account on this, but worth every penny - great hikes and access within the park. ?Never forget canoeing on Wonder Lake at 9pm, with McKinley and the moon in the twilight - unbelievable.   ??Then drove down to Kenai peninsula - out to Homer Spit.  Then to Kenai Fjords - out on the water for glaciers, then hiked on Exit Glacier.  Great hikes in all these areas - saw bears, moose, caribou, mountain goats, dall sheep, etc.  Will never forget it....dont think you can get that from a cruise.

Chris

I don't know about ditching the cruise.  I guess it's what you want.

I loved our cruise.  Again, it's what you like to do.  If you want to sit in a pool side lounge chair and drink lava flows.  Well, this is not the cruise.  It's pretty chilly and the pool is pretty much out.

What's nice about the cruise?  I think you get to see more destinations than if you go up and just stay at a place.  I also suggest looking in each port for the touristy sight seeing things to do, if that's your thing.  It's mine and the wife's, so we had a blast.  We love history, so we went and saw all the historical things we could.  Tours and such.  We didn't go throught the ship.  It's easy to make arrangements on your own when you get to each port for a fraction of the cost.  We even bartered to get even cheaper prices.

It's some of the most beautiful scenery you will see.  Very unique.  It's crazy to see glaciers and mountais rise up straight out of the water.  And the wild life?  Amazing.  Bald eagles, bears, whales, seals, etc.

I also like the cruise because it's a bit less stress.  The food is fantastic and included, so you don't have to worry about finding something to eat every meal.  The places we visited were a bit small, so your choices are limited.  We liked getting lunch in port, but it was hit or miss with finding a good meal.  It would be tough to find a variety of things to eat for three meals a day for a week in some of these small towns.

I keep saying it, but it's sort of what you like.  If you want to just visit one or two places, and exhaust them with everything you can do there OR, visit a half dozen places and hit the big items.  I see the pros and cons in both types of traveling, but I don't think you can go wrong with a cruise, IMO.  We REALLY enjoyed it.

I totally agree - its what YOU want - I was just giving my opinion, based on what my wife and I like to do.  Some people love cruises.  I would prefer to have the flexibility to change plans, or spend more time in a place I really like.  Since we were there for 2 weeks, we did see a lot of places - both inland and on the water.  

As stated by the last poster - its up to you and what you like.

Chris

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