anniemoll

We are planning our first trip to Alaska in late May/early June. We are particularly interested the smaller boats that can take us to the Inside Passage. Both of these ships seem similar in size, price and itinerary. Does anyone have a preference of one over the other? Thanks so much for any information you could give me.

BudgetQueen

Both will give you an EXCELLENT trip. The posibble factor I would consider is if there are tours included in the package- Glacier Bay cruises used to include some. This may be a negative as you won't have much option for added tours and no refunds if not of interest?? I would also suggest you take one of the runs between Ketchikan and Juneau- far more inside and remote sailing.

laurie_ann

I can't compare since I have only done Glacier Bay Cruiselines (May 2004). You're right, from what I could tell the two are about the same. We had a delightful time on the Glacier Bay, one of their smaller boats, sleeps about 65, we had about 55. (See my posting by clicking on my name above.) Service, attitude of crew, food, ilderness aspect, all was excellent. I originally picked Glacier Bay because it was owned by a native american corporation and thought that was a plus, but between the time we booked and the time we sailed the company was sold to another tour company in the West. The crew included mostly returning members however, so the "on the ground" would not have been different, I just like the idea of putting some of my tourist $ back in the pockets of the "first peoples". You might pick based on the exact itinerary available as not all the lines offer all their itineraries in the early part of the season. We were on one that focused on remote sailing in the inside passage and Glacier Bay, from Ketchikan to Juneau, the only "town" stop was Petersburg, otherwise we were in remote areas from which we hiked or kyaked during the day. That's what we preferred. Other itineraries included other towns like Homer or Seward or whatever. After 1/2 day in Ketchikan before we embarked that was enough "town" in Alaska. Although I would highly recommend the heritage center right in Ketchikan, a contemporary museum of wildlife and native cultures very well presented and with an excellent book store. We are from a big city in the Midwest though so what we wanted was fresh air, mountains, ocean, wildlife etc. It was a wonderful week. Enjoy planning your trip.

(P.S. as for the other posters comment about excursions included, we didn't really have any "excursions" but the hiking and kyaking were always guided by one of the naturalists, and you could hike or kyak as much as the schedule allowed -- there were limits to the group size because of the numbers of kyaks and for hikes bears and the skiff that would take you from the ship to shore -- but we often did 2 or 3 or a combination in one day for 2 hours at a time or more, can't imagine you would have the energy to do more, and all was included in the one price, except sodas and alcohol from the bar (ice tea and ice water and coffee was available at meals and really all day and night for free).

anniemoll

To laurie_ann thanks very much for all the wonderful posts you have made about your cruise on Glacier Bay last May. I have copied them all and placed them in my planning folder. We too are going in May 2005 on Cruise 410. I think they have changed it a bit as it is now a roundtrip from/to Juneau. We will probably do the May 21 trip avoiding the maiden voyage of the season on May 14th. I know we need to pack warm clothing but can you tell me how cold and damp it was when you were there. We are also debating on the cabin choice. For two people is AA worth an additional $600? The A cabins are on the same deck as the dining room/galley and may not be as quiet. Were you towards the front or rear of the ship. Any info you can provide would be appreciated as we are planning to book the trip in the next week or so. Many thanks. Diane.

laurie_ann

As for cabin, I don't think it matters. We paid extra for AA (we were with my husbands parents and we had the last room at the end and the one next to it AA) but they are all about the same. The boat just isn't all that big or all that noisy that it makes a difference. All the levels have a deck around the outside and it is so quick and easy to get outside the exact location just doesn't matter. We actually spent most of our time on the top open deck which takes about 30 seconds to get to even from the last cabin in the back on the level below.

As for weather we went the last week of May this year. We dressed in layers, including silk long underwear, jeans or rainpants (buy some, I had the "cheaper" version from LLBean and they were worth it I wore them every day!), a cotton turtleneck, fleece or down vest and goretex raincoat, warm socks and waterproof hiking shoes. Also hat, gloves, an extra of each in case they get wet. It's not that it is so cold (in the mid 50's) but everything outside is so spectacular that you never want to go inside! Other things we invested in and were glad we did are waterproof kayaking gloves and very good binoculars enough so everyone has their own pair. If you need a hotel in Juneau we recommend the Silverbow Inn. You can walk to and from from the dock and all over town from there. Enjoy planning your trip!

anniemoll

Thank you so much for your quick reply. I looked at the Silverbow's website and was quite impressed, thank you for that recommendation. I also did a search on Fodors for the Silverbow and there was just a horrible recommendation from a couple who stayed there 3 nights. I tend to think there was more to their story than was stated but I am concerned about loud music and crowds of people outside the inn, did you find that to be the case? Also, is the Glacier Bay ship within walking distance or is it at the Auke Bay Ferry port 14 miles away - I don't recall seeing the exact location of embarkment on their website. Again, many thanks.

laurie_ann

Glacier Bay docked right downtown. (So do a number of the other big cruise ships.) As for noise, we were there on a Saturday and Sunday night, during a major local culture festival and had no issues. Our room actually faced the L shaped side where the bagel bakery and cafe side are and I think all the rooms do. Just so you know what to expect, the Silverbow is an old building, almost industrial style, with the bagel bakery and cafe downstairs, it is comfortable and the owners are very friendly but it is not fancy by any means. Also, during our stay at the beginning of June this year, the restaurant part of the cafe was under renovation. In other seasons they have served dinner in the restaurant and shown old movies too, which sounded fun, but it was closed when we were there, maybe the noise at night is different when the restaurant is open. Otherwise it is a quiet street. Enjoy your trip.