My name is GloBug, and I am a Cruise Addict! I want to go to Alaska next year...

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GloBug

Guest
up from the California coast, from SF would be nice, since I don't fly... but if i have to, I'll drug myself and fly to Seattle.

In your expert opinions, what is the best ship/line to take, and why? I want to see wildlife, iceburgs, all kinds of things.

Do all cruise lines have the "experts" on board, to give us a discussion prior to ports?

Not such a newbie, but still asking questions!



Post Edited (07-30-04 00:30)
 
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halfdome86

Guest
It sounds as if you're thinking of the round trip Inside Passage cruise and not a one-way to/from the Anchorage area.

IMHO...two words...Glacier Bay. For a first Alaskan cruise you must see Glacier bay. Save Hubbard for a future cruise. It's beautiful but not like Glacier Bay. This will reduce your choice of cruiselines as well. I believe that of the mainstream lines Holland America, Princess, and Norwegian are the only lines that go there. And not every one of their ships go. RCCL and Carnival might but I'm not sure. Celebrity doesn't.

We've been 3 times and there were park rangers brought aboard while in Glacier bay and Hubbard.

If you can do it I would also suggest the roundtrip to/from Vancouver instead of Seattle. That route is more scenic because it goes inside of Vancouver island and winds through more tight channels. That's been our experience at least.

From the ships you will certainly see a lot of wildlife. We saw Humpback whales, Dahl porpoise, and Orca although from not very close. Bald Eagles are everywhere although better seen from the towns. From the ships they look like white dots in the trees.

We've been there in August and the salmon were running. There is a salmon ladder about a 5 minute walk from the ships in Ketchikan.

There are many options of what to do while in port as well. A lot of that will depend on budget and likes/dislikes. I would suggest at the very least to go to Mendenhall Glacier while in Juneau. 10 bucks round trip from the dock on a bus. Extra charge for the visitor center (have you figured out by now that I love glaciers?).

If the weather is clear take the sky tram to Mt. Roberts in Juneau as well. Spectacular views and this also is right at the docks.

In Skagway the White Pass Rail is great. Wonderful scenery and great history. Some people are bored with it however and it's a bit pricey. We felt it was worth it.

In Ketchikan the Duck tour was fun....very silly...but fun. And you get a good idea of the area. Go up the funicular and walk down the married mans trail. Scenic and easy to do.

In all of these towns, and Sitka as well if you go there, are easy to walk around and shop and enjoy the area. The ships (that don't tender) dock pretty much in the middle of the towns. We really enjoy doing our own walking tours.

Enjoy your cruise. I'm sure you'll love it as much as we do.
 
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Griffen

Guest
Hey Glo-Bug!

If you plan on going RCL like on your previous cruise, You'll probably end up leaving from Vancouver, so you'll have to fly either to YVR (airfare can be brutal!) or SEA (cheaper airfare) and drive about 3 hrs+ north (depending on customs/ crossing the border). We sailed on The Radiance of the Seas, which only went to 3 ports (Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway) which can be either a good thing or a bad thing depending if you'd rather have more sea days or more port days (We decided sea days were better!). Compared to the Monarch, the Radiance might seem huge! As in the previous post, we did the $10 Mendenhall Glacier shuttle in Juneau. In Skagway we did the White Pass Train for $89 (worth it, although we didn't see any animals except for one duck!). From the ship, we saw seals and eagles, and that's about it, but the animals we did see impressed us. We thought the Hubbard Glacier was great! But we don't knoiw anything about Glacier Bay so we can't compare the two. Onboard there were lots of activities (rock climbing, mini golf, darts, shuffleboard). If you do end up going on RCL, you'll probably go on the Radiance or the Serenade. They're identical, except for a couple of changes. The Serenade is newer, but we chose the Radiance because we thought the arrival and departure times in port were better. Good luck!
 
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cruisemadame

Guest
Is there a shuttle that goes from seattle to vancouver? Where would i find info on this?
 
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nerak

Guest
There is a shuttle from Seattle to Vancouver. We paid $100 pp RT in May. It was not huge, but comfy...and had a bathroom. We made one stop on the way,each way. They did give us a box lunch to eat on the way to Vancouver. BTW...we were on our first Alaskan cruise and loved it. We were on the Serenade which we had been on in March, so the ship was familar.



Post Edited (07-31-04 23:12)
 
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dusty

Guest
hi globug

i just saw your post and thought i would give just a little info that i have. i am going back to alaska next may on the carnival spirit out of vancouver. it is a great ship and is roundtrip. i absolutely loved it. it is one of the few ships that go to glacier bay. its ports are skagway, junea and ketchikan. my friend and i are saving over $300 each on airfare by flying into seattle and taking the quick shuttle bus to vancouver. we get on it right at the seattle airport or it picks up passengers at a hotel downtown seattle for vancouver. of course we are getting in the day before so we can relax the night before we board and not worry about missing the departure time for the ship. go to www.quickshuttle.com and you can see the times the bus goes and comes back to seattle and vancouver. it is around $70 roundtrip but worth it too us. no driving and we will have our luggage taken care of too. they drop you off at the vancouver airport and hotels downtown vancouver. some of my family members just got back from the alaska cruise roundtrip on the princess diamond out of seattle. they loved it and had a great time. of course on this trip you are out in the open water more than being more inland like the ships that leave vancouver. i hope you can find just the right ship and route to take. you will love this cruise and want to go back. my best advice is, if you want to see wildlife and especially whales, book a tour. you have a 99% chance of seeing them if you do. have a great time.
 
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