I've read that binoculars are a MUST on an Alaskan cruise. Trouble is, I don't know much about them. Any suggestions about the better/best brands, size, price range etc. to look for. I can't see using them much again after the cruise, so I don't expect I would purchase a pair that would cost big bucks.
Thanks for your help.

Binoculars should be taken. You can probably purchase a pair aboard ship at one of the stores at a good price.

A good place to start:

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/sp...fullstory.html

Note: I am not, in any way, shape, or form, affliated with this or any other URL. I simply concluded this one had the best info. Those who conclude there is a better URL for binoculars info, just post it here.

Paul,
Thanks for the website. It's very useful. I usually look at Consumer Reports for these things, but they don't have an updated report.

I certainly would not wait until I'm on board the ship to purchase binoculars. I would think they would be more expensive there!

I thought I would throw in a suggestion. We took our Alaskan cruise at the end of July. Before we started, I packed a pair of gloves and a wrap around scarf to wear on deck. My Mom made fun of me when I gave her a set, too. But both of us really made use of them while viewing the glaciers because it can get pretty cold out on that deck for any period of time.

I'd break the binocular question into two categories:

Binoculars and scopes.

We took both. A local photo store sold a scope for $99, originally $250. A scope is a monocular (???), which is very, very powerful.

While we were in Alaska, the scope was excellent for viewing bears, eagles and Dall sheep from board ship. It is much harder to steady a scope than binoculars, but the difference was worth having both.

Go to a photo store; they should sell both binocs and a scope. Check out each on some road sign a 1/4-1/2 mile down the road. You will see a difference.

hi, i did a little research on buying binoculars last year before my purchase. i ended up buying a bushnell zoom 7-15 x 35 pair. i orginally wanted a small, compact pair, but after doing some reading, this was my compromise. you could probably get a decent pair for under $100 if you shop around.

for a technical explanation of what the numbers mean check out this site:
http://www.binoware.com/cgi-bin/perl...ER_ID=!ORDERID!

good luck! definitely bring a pair to alaska! there will be much to see with them!