Bearvet

Itsanita has given some great suggestions!

Major Marine typically  offers 40% off Kenai Fjords cruises as a Black Friday sale (Thanksgiving weekend). Great savings and great cruise!

I'm probably in the minority, but Denali didn't "wow" us, but everyone should see it if they want. 

We didn't go to Fairbanks, so no comment there.

We loved Talkeetna!

The glacier landing/dog sledding was a priority for us in 2018. We booked in Seward https://www.sewardhelicopters.com/seward-dog-sled-tours on the morning of our ship's departure. It was overcast, but the cloud ceiling was high enough that we were able to go - the afternoon trips were cancelled.  It was an amazing experience! I don't love helicopters, but you're so busy looking at the incredible scenery, that it's really not too bad. And a fairly short flight.

We figured if we couldn't go in Seward due to weather, then we'd try to book in Juneau or Skagway. It turns out that the Juneau excursions were cancelled the day we were there. We feel very lucky that we were able to do this!

In 2018, we did a float plane trip to Anan Creek Observatory while in Ketchikan. It was early July, so the salmon had just started running. This was a highlight of our trip to Alaska! Here are 2 websites that indicate where and when to see bears fishing:

https://www.icruise.com/blog/the-best-time-of-year-and-top-locations-for-bear-viewing-on-a-cruise-to-alaska.html

https://www.travelalaska.com/Planning/Tips/Where-are-the-best-places-to-see-bears-in-Alaska.aspx

This was truly the experience of a lifetime! If you are at all interested, do it!!!

9 hours ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

If you have a boat tour run by Kenai Fjord Tours, Breeze Inn is just across the street from where your tour departs.

We stayed at Breeze Inn in 2018 for 1 night and were very pleased. They provided a shuttle to the cruise terminal, which was very convenient. Good location and nice view of the harbor.

We did a DIY land portion before our southbound cruise on RCL in 2018. Two couples in 50s and 60s.  We flew into Anchorage and spent 1 night there and picked up our rental car. The next day we picked up some supplies and headed to Denali, stopping to hike in Denali State Park, have a picnic and visit the Veterans' Memorial.  We rented a cabin through VRBO in Healy and loved living like a true Alaskan for a few days.  We took the park bus to Eielson Visitor Center (66 miles into the park). (Note: If I had the chance to do this over, I'd fly to Katishna, spend the night and take the bus out. The 8-hour day on the bus was not our favorite, just saying....)

We stopped in Talkeetna for lunch on our way back to Anchorage. Spent 1 more night in Anchorage and headed to Seward.  We decided to skip Fairbanks and spend additional time in Seward, which was the right choice for us. We did the 6-hour Major Marine cruise, visited Exit Glacier, went to the SeaLife Center (paid extra to do the Puffin Encounter) and took a helicopter to go dog sledding on a glacier!!

RCL cruise embarks in Seward and it was incerdible to see our ship in the harbor when we woke up in the morning! We LOVED the RCL cruise - we did book all of our excursions independently.

As far as Glacier Bay goes....I was beating myself up that our ship didn't go there.  We had a great glacier experience in Kenai Fjords and went to Hubbard Glacier on the cruise.  We were lucky that day and the captain got within 4/10 mile of the glacier! So yes, everyone says you HAVE to go to Glacier Bay...but if you have RCL credit, I'd say stick with RCL.  We also added on a few land days at the end of our cruise - Vancouver and then Seattle (it was cheaper to fly home from there). We're from the east coast, so decided to see all that we could on the west coast!

Have fun planning!!

I have not done one on a cart (https://www.alaskaexcursions.com/sled-dog-discovery-2/) but have done one where you fly in a helicopter to a glacier and ride there (we were in Seward https://www.sewardhelicopters.com/seward-dog-sled-tours). Looks like there is a helicopter/glacier tour in Juneau also (https://alaskashoreexcursions.com/juneau/glacier-dogsled-tour-via-helicopter-tour).  This was expensive, but it was one of the highlights of our trip!!! If you can swing it, financially, do the glacier trip!!! Just my opinion 😉

Do you have a link to the specific one you're considering?

Major Marine typically has a great sale around Thanksgiving (Black Friday) - maybe 40% off. We did the 6-hour tour with them in 2018 and it was amazing. I recommend taking something for motion sickness before you board - even if you don't typically get motion sick......

We went in late June/early July in 2018 . In Juneau, we rented a car for the day (4 adults). We stopped to pick up sandwiches and a cooler and headed out for the day. Went to Mendenhall Glacier first and when we left, it was really busy. Then we drove to Eagle Beach and had our picnic lunch. Then stopped at the Shrine of St. Therese. We considered going to Glacier Gardens, but ultimately decided not to spend the money. Returned the car, had a snack of crab legs at Tracey's and called it a day.

In Skagway, we took the tour with Dyea Dave http://www.*****/tours.htm to Emerald Lake. We took the bus up and rode the train back. 

Ketchikan was one of our splurges - We took a float plane trip with Carlin Air to Anan Creek Bear Observatory https://www.carlinair.com/Ketchikan-tours/Ketchikan-bear-viewing-tours. This was the highlight of our trip! And Carlin was the only company operating on July 4. BTW, it was sunny and in the 80s that day! https://www.wrangellalaska.org/visitorservices/anan-bear-and-wildlife-observatory

There are so many options - it's best to read trip reports to get ideas of things that best suit you. We loved everything we did!

We did the Millenium southbound late June 2018.  The ports and port times were perfect and the price was more resonable than other lines we looked at.  Before the cruise, I was beating myself up over the fact that we weren't going to Glacier Bay, but we decided to keep our plans.

We spent a few days before the cruise DIY to Denali and spent a few days in Seward. Also spent a few days after the cruise in Vancouver and Seattle.  It was the trip of a lifetime and we couldn't be more thrilled.  We were very lucky and were able to get within 4/10 mile of Hubbard Glacier, which was spectacular! I realize that doesn't happen all the time, but we also did a Major Marine cruise out of Seward and were able to see many (calving) glaciers there, too.

I imagine Glacier Bay is spectacular, but there's so much more to experience in Alaska! Pick the best itinerary for you and go with it.  We also really enjoyed the size of the Millenium. We only booked an ocean view (in order to spluge on excursions) and spent most of our time on deck.

I haven't done this either, but someone recently (in the past few months) posted a trip report - they flew to Katishna and spent 1-2 nights in the lodge and took the park bus out - it sounded wonderful!  If I go back to Denali, I would definitely look into this option or at least the day trip (fly in - bus out in 1 day).  I'm probably in the minority, but our 8 hour bus ride to Eielson Visitor Ctr was only ok.  You're essentially doing the same ride twice and the ride back was a bit boring.  We did see wildlife, but I think a one-way trip would have been preferable.  Plus this gets you further into the park along with potentially amazing aerial views.

Good luck with your decision - if money is no issue, I'd do it!

We were in Vancouver July 2018 and were told airbnb's were illegal.  Hotel prices were crazy high and we learned about the YWCA on cruisecritic.  It was clean and in a great location (we didn't rent a car).  It was just my husband and myself, so we booked a double, but I insisted on a private bath 🙂 It was less than half the cost of most hotels.  They offer rooms that sleep 5 people and it looks like they also accommodate groups. https://ywcavan.org/hotel  I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again!

We stayed at the Breeze Inn last year and it was perfect.  The location was great and we could walk to many locations.  They had a shuttle to the ship and let us store our luggage in a locked room.  We only stayed one night, but we packed a lot into that timeframe! We did the 6 hour cruise with Major Marine (they tend to offer a 40% discount on Black Friday, so look for that!), Exit Glacier, helicopter/dog sledding and the Sea Life Center (paid extra to do the Puffin Encounter).

I don't remember the exact price, but it was neither the most nor least expensive hotel in Seward.  We had a beautiful view of the harbor and when we woke up in the morning, our ship was docked! I'd stay there again.

We did the glacier dogsledding in Seward in June 2018.  We booked it so that if it was cancelled, we could try in Juneau (multiple vendors) or Skagway.  We also booked early in the day, so we could move it later if the weather didn't cooperate.  We were very lucky and the morning flights were able to go, but the afternoon ones were cancelled due to the cloud ceiling.

It was rainy, but still wonderful!  We booked directly with Turning Heads Kennels https://turningheadskennel.com/helicopter-glacier-dog-sledding-in-alaska/ and they were very helpful and accomodating.  It was raining lightly, but that didn't affect our time there.  It's a smaller kennel and there were only a few of us on the glacier. I highly recommend! BTW the flights in Juneau were cancelled, so we were extremely lucky!!

My friend and I splurged and did the Puffin Encounter at the Alaska Sealife Center https://www.alaskasealife.org/puffinenc

You get to go into the aviary and hand feed puffins and other birds - pricey, but an amazing experience!

The highlight for our group was the floatplane trip to Anan Creek Observatory to see the bears fishing for salmon! It was very expensive, but so worth it! It looks like early August could be the perfect time to do this! We flew with Carlin Air in Ketchikan, but there are other vendors there https://www.experienceketchikan.com/bear-viewing-in-alaska.html

We also did the dog sledding on a glacier, which came in at a close second place to the bear viewing. We decided to cut costs on other things (no balcony, just had snacks in port and ate meals back on the ship, etc).

I believe there are other bear viewing tours that don't require a float plane and may be less expensive.

We felt both of these were very "Alaska" things to do and "Once in a lifetime" - no regrets at all! 

My suggestion is to book at the first port you'll come to.  That way if it's cancelled due to weather, you can try to book at the next port.  Have a list of all of the companies names and phone numbers that offer dogsledding on a glacier available in case you need to rebook.

Our cruise went north to south, so we booked ours in Seward before the cruise began - that left us 2 ports to potentially book (Juneau and Skagway) if we needed to.  Luckily our morning glacier landing was held and the afternoon times were cancelled.  Many during the cruise were cancelled too, so we felt very lucky!

I can't compare with other places/companies, since I've only done the one, but I'd suspect that each port and company offer similar experiences - which are absolutely wonderful!!

Major Marine has had 40% off on Black Friday the past 2 years - like their Facebook page or watch their website as it gets closer for the code. Don't book until then - they will not honor it for previous sales (and that is clearly stated). It's a great deal!!

Our Alaska cruise (our first) did not include Glacier Bay and I agonized over our decision.  The price, port times and everything else was perfect, so we booked it and I constantly second-guessed myself until the cruise.  We spent an extra day in Seward and did the 6 hour tour with Major Marine - and Aialik Glacier and the entire area were incredible, so I felt a bit better.  Our day at Hubbard Glacier was absolutely amazing - the captain was able to get within 4/10 of a mile and it was massive!! I understand that doesn't always happen, but it was one of the most spectacular sights I've ever seen!

So, we didn't get to Glacier Bay and had amazing glacier viewing without going there.  I'd still love to see it, but please know that you can have a great experience without it.  I beat myself up for months about missing Glacier Bay since everyone seems to say it's a "must-do".  Just a different opinion....

Float plane trip to Anan Creek Bear Observatory (we use Carlin Air).  This was the highlight for everyone in our group!!

We did the southbound cruise (Millenium) late June/early July in 2018.  We did the land portion first (DIY) and were happy to get on the ship afterward to be pampered and not have to change hotels for 7 nights!  We also spent an overnight in Vancouver and 2 nights in Seattle after the cruise.  This worked really well for us.

We are not cruisers and this trip was so much better than we expected!  We were very pleased with the service, food, port times and entertainment.  We chose an oceanview cabin to save money that we could spend on expensive excursions.  There would have only been 1 day we would have used a balcony, so we just went up on deck.  Loved having the beverage package (I had classic and upgraded my husband to premium) - we never had to think about a bill, just gave our card.  We also chose not to do any specialty restaurants (added expense) and were overall pleased with the MDR each night.

We spent 1 overnight in Seward (2 full days) before the cruise, which worked well.  We did the Kenai Fjords 6 hour tour with Major Marine, hiked to Exit Glacier, did a helicopter ride to glacier with dog sledding (expensive, but worth it!) and visited the Alaska SeaLife Center (paid extra to do the puffin encounter).

The captain was able to get within 4/10 mile of Hubbard Glacier which was incredible! Everyone says you have to go to Glacier Bay, so I was concerned.  But the sheer size and calving of Hubbard was spectacular.

For excursions we did:

Juneau - rented a car (4 of us) drove to Mendenhall Glacier, Eagle Beach (stopped for picnic items first) and Shrine of St. Therese.  Returned the car and had a "snack" of crab legs at Tracey's Crab Shack.  Loved being on our own schedule!

Skagway - We took the tour with Dyea Dave to Emerald Lake, then took the White Pass & Yukon Train from Frasier back to Skagway.  Scenery was amazing and Dyea Dave knew all of the places (and perfect timing) to stop.  Then we went to the NPS center and viewed the film and learned the history of the gold rush.

Icy Straight Point - Booked whale watch tour with Glacier Winds - Shawn and Theresa were fantastic hosts and we saw whales breaching!  Explored Hoonah, then Theresa drove us back to the ship.  We had a crabby bloody mary before boarding!

Ketchikan - Floatplane with Carlin Air to Anan Creek Bear Observatory - this was the highlight for our group!  We were there July 4 (season starts July 5) and had the place almost to ourselves.  Although it was early in the season, the salmon were running and the bears and eagles were fishing!! Very expensive, but sooo worth it!

Inside Passage - Day at sea - great way to relax, enjoy beautiful scenery and pack up.

Since we were the only ship in Seward, embarkation was super easy. Also, disembarking in Vancouver was easy - we happened to be the only ship in port that day and chose to walk off - it took no time at all.

It was a wonderful trip and I'm sure you will enjoy it very much! Happy planning!

We booked independently with Glacier Winds - we definitely saw more than fins!!

We did a southbound sailing and it worked really well for us.  Our flight from Boston to Anchorage landed late afternoon, so we spent the first night in Anchorage.  Up early the next morning (due to time difference) and raring to go on our 4 night DIY land tour.  We were so busy on the land portion, that boarding the cruise ship and being taken care of was a welcome treat.  Our first day was Hubbard Glacier (2-6 PM), so we could relax in the morning.

Boarding in Seward was super easy and not crowded at all.  Disembarking in Vancouver was also very easy, since you fill out customs forms while on the ship.

Our port times were ideal for us: Juneau 9AM -9PM , Skagway 7AM  - 8:30PM, Icy Strait Point 6:30 AM - 3PM, Ketchikan 9AM - 6PM. The last day was cruising the Inside Passage and we were relaxed and ready for our DIY Vancouver and Seattle land tour.

I don't think you can go wrong either way - just check your port times. You'll have an amazing trip!!

We were in Alaska late June 2018 and stopped to hike to Byars Lake In Denali State Park.  The mosquitos were terrible - and huge!! We used Ben's https://bens30.com/ (we used 100) and it worked really well.  It's a small spray bottle, so it's easy to throw in a backpack.  We always carried it with us, but really never needed it again.  

We understood why the mosquito is jokingly called the Alaska state bird!  Great hike btw and I highly recommend it and the Veteran's Memorial on the drive to Denali National Park!

We traveled with another couple to Alaska last year and agreed that excursions were the place we wanted to put our money.  We shared a wonderful cabin near Denali that we found on homeaway.  This allowed us to have breakfast in the cabin and pack lunches for the day (and enjoy adult beverages in the evening without paying a premium).  We ate at many wonderful local places (our husbands like brewpubs) instead of fancy, expensive restaurants.

We reserved our rental car on the earliest date possible and got a great rate.  We booked oceanview cabins on the cruise instead of a balcony - no regrets at all. We used points for hotels wherever possible and booked reasonably priced hotels when we couldn't (we stayed at the YWCA in Vancouver, which suited our needs and was a fraction of the price of most hotels there; I did insist on a private bathroom though).

In Juneau we rented a car for the day and explored Mendenhall Glacier, Eagle Beach and the Shrine of St. Therese on our own - very inexpensive day.  We didn't eat meals in ports, since we had meals all "paid for" on the cruise ship.  We did have snacks in port if we wanted to sample local foods/drinks.

Our splurges were helicopter/dog sledding on a glacier in Seward, the puffin encounter at the SeaLife Center in Seward and a floatplane trip to Anan Bear Observatory in Ketchikan.  And they were indeed highlights of our trip!

We spent 1 night in Seward and stayed at The Breeze Inn http://www.breezeinn.com/.  It was a great location to walk into town, pick up the shuttle, etc. and they had a shuttle to take us to the cruise ship dock.  They also stored our luggage before and after we checked in/out.  Rooms aren't anything special, but we did request a room with a harbor view and AC.  This was the view from our room when we woke up in the morning!

Very short walk to Major Marine tours!