saxmangeoff

I know the Disney Wonder has gone into Endicott every week so far this season. Yesterday the Wonder and the Emerald Princess both went into Endicott.

For an overall guide to an Alaska cruise, I highly recommend the "Alaska Cruise Handbook" by Joe Upton.

• Ketchikan welcomes cruisers to watch them fill their rain gauge.
  https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/28/3d/76/283d76cb6d07ffee7740d774610c35f5.jpg
  

Indeed!

Joke stolen from Joe Upton's Alaska Cruise Handbook:

Tourist in Ketchikan, to a young girl: How long has it been raining?

Girl: I don't know. I'm only five.

Depends:cool:

You are from WA, so the difference between AZ & AK doesn't apply... (It is not warm enough if you are from the south. IMHO!)

This is the correct way to answer to any variation of "is it cold?" or "what should I wear?" The answers are questions: "Where are you from?" and "Define cold." :D

I'm from northern Idaho, and on an early July cruise in 2014 considered it to be windbreaker weather, for the most part. My son and daughter-in-law, who live in Las Vegas, considered it to be parka weather.

As for pools, we didn't do any swimming, but we did soak in the hot tub one evening.

I recommend "The Alaska Cruise Handbook" by Joe Upton. I got mine a few years back from Amazon. It's got lots of info on Alaska and all the ports. Also has a nice fold-out map that shows the routes cruise ships take (both inside and outside passages) with lots of notes and interesting facts as well as what to look for along the way...

I second the recommendation for this book.

Thanks for the report!

I will ensure I post an update. We're booked on excursion TA01 Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer too, so I wonder what happens/ where they take you if it doesn't visit Tracy Arm.

 

 

 

You'll go up Endicott Arm to Dawes Glacier.

Last year, I saw plenty of photos of Endicott Arm labelled Tracy Arm, and pictures of Dawes Glacier labelled South Sawyer Glacier, so people do often assume they're in Tracy Arm because that's what the ship schedule says. (The "we made it in!" comment seems to have an inkling of a clue, though.)

Quick question, specifically for those in the PNW. We are in Bellingham...we normally do not pull out our jackets until the mid 30's.

 

...IF the weather is forecast to be in 50's/60's in Alaska, would you recommend a heavy coat or just the layers with the "jacket" being the same one we would use for cold, wet Seahawk games? Thanks a bunch (from a major overpacker)

I'd say "wet Seahawks game" and/or "wet spring day" are good comparison points for someone from the PNW.

Another vote for Joe Upton's book.

I can't speak to the gold panning, but the salmon bake is pretty good. Good food in a nice, forested setting. There is a short walk to a nice waterfall. I didn't do marshmallows, but it was a basic campfire ring and opportunity to roast marshmallows.

We have a lot of French place names in the Northwest. But our pronunciations are not even remotely correct French, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if the local, accepted pronunciation is gas-ti-now.

I'm not aware of any large ships having gone there yet this year. Smaller ships have.

You can watch the two fjords on marinetraffic.com. Tracy is the northern one with a bend it in. Endicott is the straight one to the south.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-133.2/centery:57.8/zoom:9

0-150....

Correct answer!

Still Endicott, at least for the larger ships. Some of the small ships have gone into Tracy Arm, but I've seen nothing over about 30 staterooms in size go there yet this year.

If Yellowstone is in your plans, much of the park does not usually open until Memorial Day weekend.

In general, September will be a better time for Yellowstone.

Which side of the train should you sit going from Skagway to Fraser for the best is?

Going up, the tracks are on the right-hand slope of the valley, so the left windows look out at the views.

You can also get the book in advance. It's a good read.

The Alaska Cruise Handbook: A Mile-by-Mile Guide 2012 edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0979491576/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_8FZExb5SFDETB

And it's like taking a traveling hotel room to the world's largest National Park.

I should clarify here. I don't mean a National Park in the proper sense (a special place managed by the National Park Service). I mean all of Alaska is as wonderful as any National Park.

Xlxo has covered it well. I live in the PNW, so drive to the port.

And it's like taking a traveling hotel room to the world's largest National Park.

Found an error - Mt. Rainier is pronounced "The Mountain". ;)

LOL. True!

Yeah but Gooey Duck (a large clam too expensive to find anymore) is spelled Geoduck - who'd of thunk to pronounce it like that?

The same person who thought "Skwim" was a good pronounciation for "Sequim". :D

Here's a funny take on local lingo (a Seattle Mariners commercial from several years ago, still one of my favorites):

You can even pay for the app to have on your phone.... not there yet.

LOL. Yeah.

I also haven't pulled the (fairly expensive) trigger for satellite data to cover when ships are out of AIS range.

It may be an obsession, but so far, all I've been willing to spend on it is time. :D

I think every year is unusual in Alaska. I have missed Tracy Arm 2x during 4th of July cruises due to ice. This is by no means the first time when ships don't go this late.

 

Sometimes on a ship they make it sound like "this is unusual" or "this is the closest we have ever been". I have no doubt they said this.

True! It's right up there with "You guys are the best crowd we've had all tour" and "No, that dress doesn't make you look fat." :D