karatebarry

Hello,

I am an avid international traveler and also love cruises. I have posted trip reports here in the past and would appreciate the wisdom and guidance of followers of this board.

I am scheduled to go on a 7-day Carnival cruise on 5/24. It departs from Seattle and goes to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and Victoria. The cruise ends back in Seattle. I was thinking that it would make sense to add on 2-3 days of Alaska exploration on the start of the trip but I am having difficulty in deciding on what to do. I am considering Denali National Park, Anchorage, and maybe Seward. This might be too ambitious, given my time constrains. I will probably fly from NY/NJ to Anchorage and explore from there, then fly from Anchorage to Seattle for the cruise.

What are everyone's thoughts on what to do in 2-3 days? Thanks very much in advance!

Barry

emalloy

Is there a reason you are doing a round trip cruise from Seattle instead of going to or from Alaska so that you would be closer to the places you want to visit in the state? Many leave from Vancouver, BC.

The state is large enough so that 2 or 3 days would be mostly spending time getting from place to place and not much at the sites. You also lose time getting to or from Anchorage to the boat

karatebarry

I agree. Carnival's cruises only leave from Seattle and Vancouver. Leaving from either city is about the same distance to Anchorage and Denali.

I wonder if it's best to just focus on one land destination? I can't imagine anyone would say to just to do the cruise and skip land touring...

Thanks,
Barry

Gardyloo

Due to US maritime law, all Seattle departures are for round trips. If you want to tour places like Denali or the Kenai Peninsula, you'll have to book a one-way cruise, either to or from Vancouver BC.

The cruises out of Seattle only visit southeast Alaska, hundreds of miles from Anchorage and Denali.

Gardyloo

I'd also add that late May is pretty early for Denali; many years access to the interior of the park is limited until mid-June.

karatebarry

Yes, I understand. I was planning on flying into either Anchorage or Fairbanks and enjoying the scenery, mountainous ranges for 3 days. I am just debating whether it makes sense to fly into Fairbanks and out of Anchorage, or to just use Anchorage as my main hub.

Gardyloo

Apologies, I surmised you were trying to connect the land portion with the rest of the trip. I assume you can't switch for a north- or southbound cruise covering the same dates?

Anyway, assuming it's before the May 24 Seattle departure, I'd probably fly to Anchorage and focus on the Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula areas. Denali (and Fairbanks) are not convenient destinations at that time and for that short a period.

Do some homework on visits to the Kenai Fjords (out of Seward) and on a glacier cruise out of Whittier. Have a look at Girdwood, possibly staying overnight at the Alyeska resort. These are easily reached by road from Anchorage.

Now that said, two or three days isn't very much time, and the additional cost will be pretty high - accommodations are expensive, as are rental cars. You'll see plenty of terrific mountain and glacier scenery on the cruise, of course. But it's obviously your call.

mlgb

It doesn't make much sense. You will see plenty of scenery from the cruise ports.

If you wanted to do Denali I would go do a one way cruise ending in Anchorage and fly home from there.

And probably not in May.

karatebarry

I am probably going to fly from NJ to Seattle, then immediately to Anchorage. I will have the weekend (Fri night - Tues morning) to explore Anchorage and the vicinity. The alternative is to simply do the cruise, which I'm sure will be wonderful on its own, but the weekend in Anchorage sounds exciting and fun.

Does anyone think this is not a good idea?

Thanks again.

mlgb

Maybe jetset will weigh in.

I was in Anchorage recently before my cruise. I would say the city itself is not going to add much to your stay.

Why are you against doing a one way cruise as suggested? (Seward to Vancouver or vice versa?)

karatebarry

Interesting. The Carnival cruise I booked is RT from Seattle. It might not have the best starting/ending points, but it has all of the major necessary stops. If the cruise didn't begin on a Tuesday, so close to a weekend, I would probably save Interior Alaska for another visit. I feel that I may as well spend the weekend in Anchorage versus staying at home. I could probably plan a few interesting day trips.

Do most people here think that 3 days in the Anchorage vicinity will be memorable and worthwhile, or not a good use of time and money?

Barry

Gardyloo

Can you have an enjoyable weekend in Anchorage? Sure. Like this:

Fly in on Friday night and pick up a rental car. Stay someplace close to the airport. You will be four hours' time-changed, so while the sun will still be up (until after 10 at least) just hit the sack.

Saturday morning (you will be awake very early due to the time change) get in the car and head south on the Seward Highway. This one of the most beautiful roads in North America, but try not to be too distracted by the scenery; there are cars coming from the opposite direction.

Around 30 minutes after leaving Anchorage you'll see a turnoff for Girdwood and the Alyeska ski resort. Follow the road to the Alyeska hotel and have breakfast at the Bake Shop, where the cinnamon rolls are the stuff of local legend. http://www.thebakeshop.com/

After breakfast, back in the car and drive farther south along the Seward Hwy to the turnoff for Portage Valley and the Whittier Tunnel. Go through the tunnel and head for the Phillips cruise dock. Take one of Phillips' glacier cruises - https://www.phillipscruises.com/ - having booked ahead. This will put you face to face with numerous tidewater glaciers, spectacular mountain scenery... terrific.

Following the cruise, head back through the tunnel and Portage Valley, back to the Seward Hwy. Turn left and head to Seward, around 1 1/2 hours down the road. Watch out for moose along the way. Spend the night in Seward.

Sunday morning, go on a Kenai Fjords cruise, see http://www.alaska.org/destination/seward/day-cruises for options. Again, book in advance. This will be much more wildlife-oriented than the Whittier cruise.

Following the cruise, drive back to Girdwood and spend the night at Alyeska. Take the gondola up to the Seven Glaciers restaurant, or just go up for the view. http://www.alyeskaresort.com/

Monday, hang out in Girdwood for part of the day, or head back into Anchorage and visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center - http://www.alaskanative.net/ - to get an insight into the various Native Alaskan cultures and traditions.

Spend the afternoon biking on the Tony Knowles trail, or if you're feeling flush, do a flightseeing tour on a float plane from Lake Hood - http://www.flyrusts.com/ - for a never-to-be-forgotten experience.

In fact, even if you skip the Seward and Kenai Fjords day, a Denali flightseeing trip from Anchorage would blow your mind. At that time of year it's (in my view) the best way to see Denali, and one really can't appreciate the vastness of Alaska, and how close you are to real wilderness, without getting up in the air.

Monday night or early Tuesday, back to Seattle. You do NOT want to miss your cruise. Frankly I'd take one of the red-eye Alaska Airlines flights and have the whole morning to get to Pier 91 in Seattle. You can sleep on the boat; the Seattle departures sail west of Vancouver Island on open ocean, so the first day is often pretty bumpy and there's not much to see, so use it to catch up on your rest.

Just a suggestion.

janisj

Have you already booked the cruise? If so -- do what Gardyloo suggests. If by any chance you haven't booked - I'd definitely take a one-way cruise (preferably out of Vancouver) and then do some ground touring after you get to Alaska. Fly home from Anchorage. IMO/IME a much more efficient use of time.

karatebarry

Thanks for everyone's replies, though Gardy.. took it a bit literally!

I decided to forgo going to Anchorage. I will save Interior Alaska for another trip and will focus my efforts on the cruise and ports!

Thanks again,
Barry

vincenzo32951

Too bad. Gardy's itinerary sounded good to me, if you just add a suggestion to try the all-you-can-eat soup at The Bake Shop.

mlgb

Here's an example of a one-way cruise departing Anchorage that might fit into your schedule.

http://www.alaskancruise.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=13101