savannah2117

thanks so much, getting on this today!!! We sail out of Whittier next Saturday, fingers crossed!

I just saw on CC that veterans are eligible for OBC, we leave in days. Can we bring the discharge paperwork DD214 along and get the credit when we check in?

We have a motorcycle reserved for next week, (a car as a back up plan) has anyone rode the Klondike Highway? How was the weather?

Spend some time in Trip Advisor and read all of the reviews this summer and they mention lots of whale sightings. Nothing is guaranteed, but it seems to be a good summer. If OP is starting cruise in Seward, then they can do the Kenai Fjords cruise and if they don't see anything, they can then try to get a whale watch in Juneau. If they do see what whales in Seward, then maybe they can do something else in Juneau (like Mendenhall).

 

I do want to add one thing. Our boat was a major yak fest. So many people do not prepare themselves for the motion and it got pretty gross at the tables. We were wearing sea band and had no problem. Some believe sea bands don't really work, but it's a good idea to wear them anyway.

was this in Juneau?

This will be our first Alaska cruise and we have an inside cabin. I'm just wondering about the best places to view glaciers. I believe the Star has a covered pool area, i'm guessing that makes it a bit warmer? We are thinking about getting a 1/2 day pass to the Sanctuary for glacier viewing? Is that area warm with good views?

we found much better rental car rates with TURO. You deal with individuals, perhaps they would do a one way with an additional (but much less fee)

wow...those pictures!!!

I was wondering about the guided Matanuska glacier piece. We' ll plan on doing that. I also wondered if after doing 2 glaciers with a small group and walking on them, , that the Mendenhall would be less impressive--it would be the last of the three. That makes me lean more towards biking on Douglas Island if the weather cooperates. I'm going to check out that pioneer falls trail. That is the EXACT information I was hoping for. BTW, sorry, as I read my post this morning, the spacing is really messed up, I didn't notice that last night and I can't figure out how to edit it after it posts. I'd get a F in English class!!

Also, does anyone know of any other places to ride the motorcycle after we get back from Emerald Lake--if we still have time and want to keep going? I think we have to return it by 6pm and the ship doesn't leave that day until 8pm

We are in the process of planning our July 28thSB Alaska cruise on the Star Princess. I’ve found many helpful posts onCC and thought I’d share where we are in the planning process. We are doing a 4night land on our own before boarding the Star on Saturday evening in Whittier.I’ll try to keep it brief—

We are in our mid 50’s and have cruised before in theCaribbean, this is our first time to Alaska. We enjoy meeting people andlike to stay in bed and breakfasts when possible so that we can have a more personal experience. We are definitely budget minded but aresplurging on some quality experiences on this vacation—it’s our 30thwedding anniversary. 😊

We are flying Alaska Air on a Tuesday evening, we arrive inAnchorage at 10pm. (snagged a buy one get one free deal through Alaskaair. Total RT cost for 2 adults from Omaha—Anchorage—Seattle—Omaha is $680.) We are getting a 4 day rental car (an older SUV Lexus from TURO for atotal of $388) He is meeting us at the airport and was flexible with drop offtimes as well.

1st night, staying at the Alaskan Frontiers GardenB and B, we were able to book this through our credit card points so it wasfree! (10,400 points)

Thursday- driving to Girdwood Bike Adventures –this is aprivate fat tire bicycle tour, we asked to see the coolest stuff in the area,including riding the trail along the TurnAgain Arm , afterwards we’lllikely eat at the Bake Shop and stop by the Girdwood Brewery for a fewsamples.

Moving on…we drive 70 miles up to Palmer, stop at ThunderbirdFalls for a short hike up to see the waterfall, ( approx.. 45 minutes) Arrive at the Snowgoose Pond Bed and Breakfast for the next 3 nights. This place looks awesome, it was built in 2017 and looks like Joanna Gaine’shouse!! We are getting a king sized room with view and a huge, homemadebreakfast each morning for $130 per night. I’ve already had several emailinteractions with the owner and I think this is going to be one of our favoritehighlights of our trip. Can’t wait!!!

Thursday: we are planning on hiking the Matanuska Glacier inthe morning, ($30 per person or $100 if we decide to do a guided tour) and thenwe are doing a 2pm white water rafting trip through NOVA. ($109 perperson) . plan to have dinner somewhere in the area.

Friday: Signed up for the Knik Glacier Tour—this tour startsout in a hummer-type truck and drives through the river, then we get on anairboat and get to the glacier. The website is sparse but the reviews onTripAdvisor and the pictures are amazing! He has been extremelyresponsive to my emails, I think it is $150 per person. He also told mewe could use kayaks at the glacier for an extra $50, weather permitting. (thisis on my Alaska bucket list)

After this tour, (about 2-3pm) we are going the FridayFling, the Palmer Farmer’s Market. They are suppose to have lots ofvendors, crafts, local music, food, ect. We plan to take a brewery tourat 6pm in Palmer at the brewery for $5, this is a 30 minute tour with samples.

Saturday: yet to be determined, perhaps fish inAnchorage or go to Eklutna Lake for kayaking ( $40 for 2 hours) and hiking—Weneed to return our rental car and catch our bus to Whittier by 3pm. ( ACT bigbus, $40 per person)

We should be on the Star by about 530pm. Plan: go to 6pmdinner in the dining room. We like the dining room and will eat there eachevening. We are also wanting to try The Sanctuary for a ½ day, we have aninside cabin on the Lido deck, we thought we’d enjoy the Sanctuary for glacierviewing and a little spoiling.

Tuesday is Skagway. We have a 2018 Harley Davidson reservedat Skagway Scooters to ride up to Emerald Lake. (back up car isreserved) This is a huge splurge but I’ve read about how amazing the trainis, ---we think seeing that scenery from the view of a motorcycle willamp it up even more! We plan to take our time and stop whenever wewant. We are also planning on visiting Michelle Phillips summer dog campto see the sled dogs and do a cart adventure. I believe she mostly hasprivate tours but I contacted her and she said we were free to come on ourown. Yea!!!!! Puppies to cuddle.

Wednesday- Juneau—we have a whale watching tour with AlaskaHumpback Adventures. It is a small boat, (max 6) that had AMAZING reviewson TripAdvisor. The captain/owner Steve has been extremely responsivewith emails. I believe he used to work at Harv and Marv’s and started hisown company. This excursion looks amazing. He said he would justtake us two out, even if he didn’t get more bookings. (feel free to joinus on August 1st!) After the tour, (we’ll be done at 1130am) we might either goto Mendenhall glacier or perhaps get a tandem bike and explore Douglas Islandfor a couple of hours. (might need a rain backup plan.)

Thursday- Ketchikan – nothing planning in the morning. Wehave a 3pm flight with Island Wings with Michelle, super excited!!! She hasamazing reviews on TripAdvisor as well.

Saturday- Vancouver—we are doing a 5 hour city biketour that we also booked through our credit card points. This looksamazing as well. We need to be at the Amtrak train by 5pm to headto Seattle. ($40 per person) We are then spending the night at ahotel in Seattle and fly (nonstop) back to Omaha at 1030am. ( side note, it was $400 more and a 13 hour flight to flyfrom Vancouver to Omaha, this little Amtrak addition seemed to be a nobrainer.

As far as packing and clothes, I’m planning on bringing acouple pairs of leggings, a couple of pairs of jeans, hiking boots, fashionboots, tennis shoes, a couple of dresses with black wedges. I have2 pairs of cute colored jeans I think I will dress up for a couple of nightsand dress down with sweatshirts and tennis shoes during the day.

We are getting a coffee card and a couple buckets of beerfor the DH, I don’t drink much, I prefer to eat my calories! Also, I hadread about people bringing a bag of candy for the kitchen guys and “behind thescene workers” so I’m going to do that as well as bring a little personalgift, (maybe Nebraska homemade beef jerkey) for the tour guides and my B&Bhostesses. I enjoy bringing little gifts to people, we did thiswhen we went to Hawaii and it was well received. We have alreadyprepaid our tips but will surely leave additional tips for our servers and roomsteward.

I'm sure there is more to plan...but this is my tenative schedule.

what did you wear for your white water rafting trip? Did you need gloves? We are doing on near the Manatuska glacier.

Does anyone know if it is possible to rent kayaks or a canoe at Emerald Lake? We are getting a rental car and driving up there as well, the beginning of August.

Thanks so much for that positive feedback. We are doing the Monday through Friday am cruise. I certainly don't need to have more bells and whistles, sometimes that almost get exhausting to try and experience it all. I feel so much better about looking forward to this cruise. I'm looking forward to giving a review when we get back. (going 4/23-4/27)

We've been on 5 different cruises that were each 7 days. (Princess, Carnival, NCL, Holland) We'll be on the Majesty for a 4 day cruise to Nassau. I've seen lots of negative reviews. Is the food and ship really inferior to the 7 day cruises? I know time will go fast, and to expect an older ship. Still, I'm hoping the service and quality of food would be similar to the 7 day cruises.

Any advice/tips? BTW, we are going cheap, inside for 4 days was $360--that includes all the taxes and port charges, I figured that was a very cheap get away to relax and enjoy a week away from work. We have a good attitude so I think it will be a great getaway, but those darn negative reviews always get to me. :o

Those are gorgeous pictures! Thanks for the detailed itinerary--it helps us make an informed decision.

We took the Amtrak Cascade from Vancouver to Seattle after our cruise in 2015. A scenic ride and quite interesting.

Here are some photos of that trip.

Thanks for the link. I was wondering about what to do with our luggage. The hotel "holds" it for $5 ? How do I reserve that?

Good responses. I'm going to pack for ANYTHING! ...and enjoy whatever weather blows in.;)

...and is there a notable difference between their brewed coffee and their "non-brewed" --what it is anyways?

I purchased the 15 premium coffee card for our Alaska cruise this summer. It says it includes unlimited brewed coffee. Do they have separate coffee pots for the "included with cruise coffee" and then "premium brewed coffee" pots? I get the 15 coffees are like a coffee shop and are specifically made, but what about the unlimited coffee and premium tea?

I saw on the Princess website they have a Voice of the Ocean show type of thing. Do you think this will be on the Alaska cruises? Has anyone went and watched it? We love watching The Voice on TV and I think this would be so fun to see fellow passengers compete in a contest like this.

Thank you so much Martincath-- you are a wealth of information. I'm definitely going to check out the bicycle maps and such for Vancouver. I appreciate your insight.

Goodness, I tried to use the quote feature, but I can't figure it out!!!

We've been on two Alaska trips that were in July, once in early July and once in late July 70s/80s. Our last one, Star Princess, two years ago, Glacier Bay scenic cruising day was around 86f outside. We loved it - were in shorts and tank tops with flip flos, or in the pools and taking in the gorgeous scenery - and cracking up at the folks bundled to the nines because they hadn't checked weather predictions before the day or so before they left, or hadn't packed layers and options."

 

 

I hope we get that weather!!!!:)

thanks for the information. I'm glad to hear the Amtrak is less than I thought!! I thought i saw shuttles from $17 per person but i didn't put all our information in so maybe there are extra charges or a bait and switch type of thing. I'm leaning towards the train.

BTW, what are some "must sees" in Vancouver. I've been looking at bicycle tours and it seems like they see lots of the "popular" areas. We love being outdoors and riding bikes. We did a city bicycle tour of Atlanta last fall and it was absolutely awesome!

We will be getting off the ship on Saturday morning in Vancouver and our flight leaves out of Seattle on Sunday morning. We are looking at the best options to get to Seattle. This is what it appears to be--

1. Amtrak train- 4 hours, about $65 per person.

2. Shuttle transfer- about 4 hours, i think about $20 per person

3. Rental car- 4 plus hours (depending on how much we dink around) maybe $100-150.

I'm trying decide if the train is worth the extra money. Will we see more? I'm guessing we can move around a bit more, and... it is a "hip" way to travel, I've never actually been on a train before. I'm guessing we'd end up saving about $100 by using the shuttle-- add that to some spending money on the cruise if we choose this option.

I see the advantage of the car as being able to stop and look at things-- but is there much to see and do on a drive from Vancouver to Seattle? My husband wouldn't be opposed to driving 4 hours, but it is nice to sometimes completely not worry about things and just be the passenger.

The current plan is to do a 3-4 hour bicycle tour of Vancouver after getting off the ship, so I'm guessing we would potentially be ready to leave Vancouver by 2-3pm. The train leaves about 5pm, so we might end up with downtime in Vancouver.

Thoughts?

We will be on the Star Princess out of Whittier this July. We have been on several Caribbean cruises but this is our first Alaska trip. Do people sit out by the pool or use the hot tubs much? What would be "typical" deck clothing? I didn't bring jeans to the caribbean but I'm guessing more of a jeans, sweatshirt and tennis shoes or leggings and a sweat shirt?

Also, is the pool area covered? We are considering getting a couple of half day passes to the Sancturary, is there a hot tub back there? I guess I'm trying to envision what our sea days are going to look like. We have an inside cabin so that is why we were considering getting the sanctuary. Also, does it sell out or is that something we can decide to purchase on a day by day decision?

We are very excited!! We chose Alaska for the ports but of course we will enjoy the ship as well.