Three cruises to Alaska:
1982 on SS Universe - 2-week Vancouver to Anchorage to Vancouver. Small ship, unique itinerary: Valdez, Homer, Anchorage, both arms of Glacier Bay. Ship was for the Semester at Sea college program. Juneau - raft trip on river ending near Mendenhall glacier. Sitka - I booked our own float plane trip. Hard to sleep when cruising, so much to see.
2009 RCCL Seward to Vancouver. Flew to Anchorage, did a 3-night bus trip to Denali prior to cruise. good contrast to cruising the coast. Our guide as a child survived the earthquake because she and her sister had just stepped into their home. Their yard sunk 12 feet. Caught a glimpse of Denali while on the park short bus trip. We were offered the opportunity to take the scenic train from Anchorage to Seward. Spectacular!
2012 Celebrity - took 2 of our favorite excursions: Float plane trip to Taku Glacier Lodge with Salmon bake. Expensive, but so worth the price. Flew over a mountain, saw 5 glaciers, eagles fishing, heard wonderful true stories ate fresh salmon cooked on open grill. We did not see any bears. Next was a private boat ride (6 passengers) from Hoonah (Icy Straight Point) saw whales up close & saw a bear on the shoreline.
I research. Milepost magazine excellent resource - found the floatplane. A book on the Inside Passage mile-by-mile clued us to be on the look for Orcas and sure enough, at dinner I looked out window and there was an Orca.
