Heat wave in Alaska! Inside Passage cruise/tour report.
Jul 17th, 2009, 02:19 PM
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Heat wave in Alaska! Inside Passage cruise/tour report.
My family of four returned yesterday from a two-week trip to Alaska to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It was a standard mass-market Inside Passage cruise and land tour that was arranged by my parents' travel agent - a method of travel they have done frequently but that was a first for me. In case anyone is in a similar situation, I'll share our experiences and my thoughts about them.
Our party numbered 14 -- two grandparents, their three adult children with spouses, and six grandchildren, ages 8, 10, 11, 11, 13 and 15. The weather was unseasonably warm -- 80s -- and bright and sunny everywhere. Beautiful, but rendered moot the several kinds of fleece, Gore-Tex, turtlenecks, gloves, hat and scarves, lots of long pants, sweaters, etc. we had all packed.
We departed from Vancouver, which I found to be a delightful city. We spent two nights there and I wish it had been longer. Stanley Park is a gem. Bicycling around it was a highlight. It is a very diverse, friendly city. My family all agreed we'd go back.
Our ship was the Radiance, from Royal Caribbean. Each couple had a balcony stateroom and there was a boy's inside room and a girls' inside room for the cousins across the hall. Booking separate cabins made the cruise portion MUCH more enjoyable -- I can't imagine the four of us staying in the same cabin, which we have done before successfully on the Disney Magic. Booking the separate cabins also resulted in our having separate rooms for the children while on the land portion, a definite advantage.
I won't go into detail on my thoughts about the cruise, other than to say (1) the evenings we had dinner in the specialty restaurants for which you pay an extra $20 or $25 per person (they are called Chops and Portofino) were much more enjoyable than dinner in the main dining room, and (2) having a balcony cabin can make it hard to get enough sleep! That's my fault, though. The weather was so good and the sounds of the ocean against the boat so enjoyable that I kept the sliding glass door and the curtains open all the time -- and with 20 hours of daylight each day our stateroom stayed bright and I stayed awake, not wanting to miss a moment! Finally after the third day my patient spouse insisted we close everything and we did sleep much better. So much better, actually, that I asked my children if they'd trade places for a night and they both said no, they liked their dark caves for sleeping.
Our itinerary and excursions/activities:
Depart Vancouver
Day at sea
Ketchikan -- lumberjack show. Cheesy but kids liked it.
Juneau -- Four did salmon fishing, the other 10 did whale-watching. Both fun, fishermen successful and we're having the catch processed and shipped to us, and whale-watchers saw whales. Mendenhall Glacier also worth a short visit.
Skagway -- My small family took a helicopter glacier trip to Chillkoot Glacier. Fascinating being on the glacier. Didn't think much of the town....its "charm" eludes me.
Icy Strait Point -- Most of us (8) did the zipline. The 25-minute bus ride to the top, including trip through the town, was interesting. Zipline ride down was great.
Day at sea -- viewing Hubbard Glacier. Good weather got us 350 yards from the Glacier, and luck showed us some calvings. Nice to have a balcony for that, but early viewing hour (6 or 6:30 a.m.) meant the teenagers tolerated it for 5 minutes then went back to bed. A later arrival time would have been much better.
Disembarkation in Seward -- would have loved to have stayed longer in Seward but the land portion of the trip put us on a tour bus immediately, and we headed to Anchorage for a night. I second the recommendations for the Glacier Brewhouse for lunch. In Anchorage we were taken to the Native Heritage Museum and given 2 1/2 hours to see the museum. (It's more time than you need -- but you're stuck with the group).
We then traveled to Talkeetna for one night. Happened to be there during the annual Moose Dropping Festival, which was fun. (You could buy a piece of numbered, varnished moose dung for $5, they dump a sackful of them (close to 3000) over a target, and give a money prize ($1500) to the person who bought the piece that landed closest to the target. The town elders are out there on hands and knees with measuring tape to measure the poop's distance. Talkeetna seems to attract an interesting crowd. Tattoos, the aroma of illegal substances, crafts, etc. abound. We stayed at McKinley Village Lodge, which has lovely grounds and a beautiful view of the mountain (we heard we were lucky to see it).
Our excursion in Talkeetna was one of my favorite of the trip -- a summit airplane ride over Denali (Mt. McKinley). 8 of us went and everyone liked it .I took BudgetQueen's advice on that and I am so glad -- it was a fascinating view of the mountain, both summits, base camp, the glaciers all around, etc. Pricey but worth it.
Next we headed to Denali, staying at the Grande Denali Lodge for two nights. On our first day we visited Jeff King's Husky Homestead and the kids (well, all of us) got to hold puppies - definitely a hit. I would not have done that outing if I had not seen such happy reviews of it ("My children loved it! It was their favorite outing!") and now I am glad we did it. I learned more about the Iditarod than I had known before, and we will be looking for news of it in March.
On the second day we took the Tundra Wilderness Tour into Denali National Park. Beautiful wilderness with sweeping vistas and we did see wildlife. The bus was actually more comfortable than I thought it would be, but it is a school bus.
The last city was Fairbanks. We stopped by the Pipeline, then headed to a 5-hour riverboat ride experience on the Discovery III. I could happily have cut that riverboat ride out of my life and spent the time better elsewhere. At that point in the trip you have already learned eveything the guy with the microphone won't stop talking about.
That's also a current theme of this kind of group travel -- seems like there's always someone with a microphone talking at you, and you're always stuck in the middle of a group traveling.....on a ship, a bus, a train, you name it. "Bags out" early in the mornings, eat breakfast, board the bus for more travel, arrive somewhere in time for lunch, board the bus for more travel, arrive at the hotel, get to your room and decide what to do for dinner. It's all about getting up early, getting somewhere and meals. At the end you're tired but you didn't really MOVE.
The other part of the trip I did NOT like is the abundance of jewelry stores that appear to hail from the Caribbean. They are everywhere.
This kind of travel I now know isn't for me, but it is for my parents, and that's what it was all about. The 14 of us enjoyed two memorable weeks together, we saw a great state, had a good time together and I am so glad we went. My family is weary (the 1:30 a.m. departure time and three flights to get home were factors) but happy we spent the time with family and happy we saw Alaska. My daughter announced that we should go to Sydney, Australia -- for her grandparents' 75th anniversary!
Many thanks to all who helped me plan our activities by answering questions and sharing your own thoughts and experiences.
Our party numbered 14 -- two grandparents, their three adult children with spouses, and six grandchildren, ages 8, 10, 11, 11, 13 and 15. The weather was unseasonably warm -- 80s -- and bright and sunny everywhere. Beautiful, but rendered moot the several kinds of fleece, Gore-Tex, turtlenecks, gloves, hat and scarves, lots of long pants, sweaters, etc. we had all packed.
We departed from Vancouver, which I found to be a delightful city. We spent two nights there and I wish it had been longer. Stanley Park is a gem. Bicycling around it was a highlight. It is a very diverse, friendly city. My family all agreed we'd go back.
Our ship was the Radiance, from Royal Caribbean. Each couple had a balcony stateroom and there was a boy's inside room and a girls' inside room for the cousins across the hall. Booking separate cabins made the cruise portion MUCH more enjoyable -- I can't imagine the four of us staying in the same cabin, which we have done before successfully on the Disney Magic. Booking the separate cabins also resulted in our having separate rooms for the children while on the land portion, a definite advantage.
I won't go into detail on my thoughts about the cruise, other than to say (1) the evenings we had dinner in the specialty restaurants for which you pay an extra $20 or $25 per person (they are called Chops and Portofino) were much more enjoyable than dinner in the main dining room, and (2) having a balcony cabin can make it hard to get enough sleep! That's my fault, though. The weather was so good and the sounds of the ocean against the boat so enjoyable that I kept the sliding glass door and the curtains open all the time -- and with 20 hours of daylight each day our stateroom stayed bright and I stayed awake, not wanting to miss a moment! Finally after the third day my patient spouse insisted we close everything and we did sleep much better. So much better, actually, that I asked my children if they'd trade places for a night and they both said no, they liked their dark caves for sleeping.
Our itinerary and excursions/activities:
Depart Vancouver
Day at sea
Ketchikan -- lumberjack show. Cheesy but kids liked it.
Juneau -- Four did salmon fishing, the other 10 did whale-watching. Both fun, fishermen successful and we're having the catch processed and shipped to us, and whale-watchers saw whales. Mendenhall Glacier also worth a short visit.
Skagway -- My small family took a helicopter glacier trip to Chillkoot Glacier. Fascinating being on the glacier. Didn't think much of the town....its "charm" eludes me.
Icy Strait Point -- Most of us (8) did the zipline. The 25-minute bus ride to the top, including trip through the town, was interesting. Zipline ride down was great.
Day at sea -- viewing Hubbard Glacier. Good weather got us 350 yards from the Glacier, and luck showed us some calvings. Nice to have a balcony for that, but early viewing hour (6 or 6:30 a.m.) meant the teenagers tolerated it for 5 minutes then went back to bed. A later arrival time would have been much better.
Disembarkation in Seward -- would have loved to have stayed longer in Seward but the land portion of the trip put us on a tour bus immediately, and we headed to Anchorage for a night. I second the recommendations for the Glacier Brewhouse for lunch. In Anchorage we were taken to the Native Heritage Museum and given 2 1/2 hours to see the museum. (It's more time than you need -- but you're stuck with the group).
We then traveled to Talkeetna for one night. Happened to be there during the annual Moose Dropping Festival, which was fun. (You could buy a piece of numbered, varnished moose dung for $5, they dump a sackful of them (close to 3000) over a target, and give a money prize ($1500) to the person who bought the piece that landed closest to the target. The town elders are out there on hands and knees with measuring tape to measure the poop's distance. Talkeetna seems to attract an interesting crowd. Tattoos, the aroma of illegal substances, crafts, etc. abound. We stayed at McKinley Village Lodge, which has lovely grounds and a beautiful view of the mountain (we heard we were lucky to see it).
Our excursion in Talkeetna was one of my favorite of the trip -- a summit airplane ride over Denali (Mt. McKinley). 8 of us went and everyone liked it .I took BudgetQueen's advice on that and I am so glad -- it was a fascinating view of the mountain, both summits, base camp, the glaciers all around, etc. Pricey but worth it.
Next we headed to Denali, staying at the Grande Denali Lodge for two nights. On our first day we visited Jeff King's Husky Homestead and the kids (well, all of us) got to hold puppies - definitely a hit. I would not have done that outing if I had not seen such happy reviews of it ("My children loved it! It was their favorite outing!") and now I am glad we did it. I learned more about the Iditarod than I had known before, and we will be looking for news of it in March.
On the second day we took the Tundra Wilderness Tour into Denali National Park. Beautiful wilderness with sweeping vistas and we did see wildlife. The bus was actually more comfortable than I thought it would be, but it is a school bus.
The last city was Fairbanks. We stopped by the Pipeline, then headed to a 5-hour riverboat ride experience on the Discovery III. I could happily have cut that riverboat ride out of my life and spent the time better elsewhere. At that point in the trip you have already learned eveything the guy with the microphone won't stop talking about.
That's also a current theme of this kind of group travel -- seems like there's always someone with a microphone talking at you, and you're always stuck in the middle of a group traveling.....on a ship, a bus, a train, you name it. "Bags out" early in the mornings, eat breakfast, board the bus for more travel, arrive somewhere in time for lunch, board the bus for more travel, arrive at the hotel, get to your room and decide what to do for dinner. It's all about getting up early, getting somewhere and meals. At the end you're tired but you didn't really MOVE.
The other part of the trip I did NOT like is the abundance of jewelry stores that appear to hail from the Caribbean. They are everywhere.
This kind of travel I now know isn't for me, but it is for my parents, and that's what it was all about. The 14 of us enjoyed two memorable weeks together, we saw a great state, had a good time together and I am so glad we went. My family is weary (the 1:30 a.m. departure time and three flights to get home were factors) but happy we spent the time with family and happy we saw Alaska. My daughter announced that we should go to Sydney, Australia -- for her grandparents' 75th anniversary!
Many thanks to all who helped me plan our activities by answering questions and sharing your own thoughts and experiences.
Jul 19th, 2009, 11:48 AM
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It sounds like it was a great multi-generational family trip but not the type of trip you would have chosen for yourself. Skagway is weird during the day when a cruise boat is in town and so different when the streets are empty of tourists. I, too, did not care for those jewelry stores but in a different Skagway store I was able to buy a lovely locally handmade ulu with a horn handle. I use it a lot.
Glad the sled dog puppies were such a hit with your kids. It will make next year's Iditarod news more interesting for all of you.
Glad the sled dog puppies were such a hit with your kids. It will make next year's Iditarod news more interesting for all of you.
Jul 19th, 2009, 11:56 AM
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Hello bakerstreet, I sure understand your not being thrilled with the cruise and tours but how wonderful for your parents to have all of you together for their 50th wedding anniversary! Beautiful memories I am sure. I wish your parents many more joyous years together.
I enjoyed reading your trip report. And I hope you can get back to beautiful Vancouver, I love that city and Stanley Park is indeed a gem!
I enjoyed reading your trip report. And I hope you can get back to beautiful Vancouver, I love that city and Stanley Park is indeed a gem!
Jul 19th, 2009, 09:09 PM
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Interesting comments regarding the regimentation of the land part, not surprising of course, they have to do that.
Wife & I want to do the inside passage trip but have pretty much decided to do any land portion ourselves via car or RV rental. Tentative plan for next year is some land tourism, duration dependent upon $$, which might not amount to more than a bit of fishing in the Kenai area, then doing a southbound cruise to Vancouver to recover
Just hope next year's prices are as good as this year.
Wife & I want to do the inside passage trip but have pretty much decided to do any land portion ourselves via car or RV rental. Tentative plan for next year is some land tourism, duration dependent upon $$, which might not amount to more than a bit of fishing in the Kenai area, then doing a southbound cruise to Vancouver to recover
Just hope next year's prices are as good as this year.
Jul 20th, 2009, 07:33 AM
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Sounds like a great trip. Even if the land portions were a bit tiring, I would not have wanted to be the person who had to try to get a trip together for 14 people. For that many people, it was probably arranged the best way it could be for the amount of people involved.
I had a balcony room on my cruise and I wouldn't cruise any other way now.
I had a balcony room on my cruise and I wouldn't cruise any other way now.
Jul 20th, 2009, 07:36 AM
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Oh, I meant to comment about the jewelry stores. I just could NOT figure that whole thing out. Like I can't buy jewelry at home? The ships push shopping, shopping, shopping.
I did purchase a couple of really nice pieces, but from local people.
I did purchase a couple of really nice pieces, but from local people.
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