Reply to thread

Let me first say that you MAY want to consider doing the land portion first and the cruise last. The reason I say this is usually the land portion can be hectic and many say they get tired out on the land portion. If this is the case you would be able to relax on the cruise while sailing to Vancouver. It is up to you this is just a suggestion and something to think about.


1. Cruise line: Princess and Holland America have some of the best land setups as well as excellent cruise reputation for Alaska.  Alaska is truly beautiful and any line can do a good job however these to lines are known for their experience in Alaska.


2. Suggestions for shore excursions in or out of:

a. Seward: There are some very good glacier and whale watching tours out of Seward.

b. Anchorage

c. Ketchikan: Excellent place for fishing, Kayaking and Totem Park tours.

d. Skagway: Excellent place for flight tours, especially out onto a glacier, a trip into the Yukon and the White Pass Railway tour. Gold Rush museum and Red Onion Saloon are big attraction in town. The town has a lot to offer as far as information on the Gold Rush Days. You can also take a tour over to Haines Alaska from here.

e. Sika

f. Juneau: Excellent place to do a whale watch. Flight tours are big here especially out onto a glacier. A trip to Mendenhall Glacier is good here as well as a raft ride down the river created by the Mendenhall Glacier. There are tours of gold mines and panning for gold here. Red Dog Saloon is big attraction in town as well as the tram.


3. Land tour excursions in or out of :

a. Fairbanks

b. Denali

c. Talkeetna


4. Pros and cons of the other above mentioned locations. With the exception of Ankorage all the towns are fairly small, Ankorage is a the biggest city in Alaska and holds half the Alaskan population. Ketchikan is a rain forest so the chances are that it will be raining there regardless of when you go.  You can walk most of the interesting parts of the towns in a small amount of time. If there are a lot of ships in a port, especially Skagway, the town can be quite crowded.


The one thing you will find in Alaska is that it is extremely beautiful. There will be many sites that will amaze you. Alaska is never the same twice do to the changing glaciers and the fact that you never know when and where you will see wildlife both on land and in the sea.


I hope this helps you some.  I hope someone else will help you with some of the things I did not answer or with other ideas for places I did comment on.


Top