ams cruiser
-
Posts
600 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by ams cruiser
-
-
If you do the train first sit on the left going up and left on bus going down.
If you do the bus first sit on the right going up and right on the train going down.
The routes are on opposite sides of the river valley and reason for the swap.
Hopefully you will have a choice.
sightcrr
We're doing the train first, so will try to get on the left side of the train. (I'm going to sit on the aisle, so I don't have to look straight down the drop off areas!)
Related question: Is the bus ride a potential problem for my fear of heights? If so I might try to sit on the right side (inside) going down. I have known to be a little white-knuckled even as a passenger along the HWY 1/Big Sur coastline in California.
-
NP Pass good for Mendenhall visitor center, Juneau, and South East AK Discovery Center near downtown Ketch. Good for family members also. Gold Rush Park in Skagway & Seattle also but I think those are free anyway. T/B park is a state park and next door Potlatch Park and both also free.
sightcrr
Great to know, thanks! (My husband just used his pass on a Grand Canyon last month. It has more than paid for itself in just a few trips.)
-
I am a big fan of having back up plans.
Because the dog sled camp is in only in one spot per company sometimes they can't get there but can fly to other stops without the dogs ie lower, different winds etc. Check other Coastal trips before on what might be offered and contact them for questions about price adjustments. The Coastal terminal is about 45 min from town and 10-15 drive to Mendenhall Glacier so cab to and bus back (if before 6pm) is one idea. The tram ride from downtown is very easy and worthwhile if you can see the top from lower terminal. There is a dog sled cart on dirt tour out of town a little ways. We generally rent a car to make the most of our time and get out of the rain a little better.
In Ketch look into taking bus to Totem Bright park. Have print out of bus schedule plus what each totem means and know what is in the area near park. Also look into Ranger tour of area closer to downtown.
Go to local library and find the latest Alaska Milepost for more ideas & maps. I wouldn't go back much past 2013 but should be ok. AAA guidebook?
If over age 62 bring National Park Golden Age pass for reduced/free entrance.
Forgot about the Alaska Museum in Juneau which is now open after long rehab.
Thanks for all of the suggestions! Contacting Coastal Helicopters about what their back up plans might be is a great idea. We have the White Pass Summit Rail and Bus tour booked through Chilkoot tours in Skagway, so there is an option for a dog cart ride, if the Juneau sled dog ride doesn't pan out.
My husband has a National Park Golden Age pass, so I'll ask him to bring it. Is there somewhere he can us it in our port stops? (Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan) It looks like Totem Bright Park is a state park.
-
To be honest I do not remember. We were supposed to dog sled on the glacier. The summer had been to warm and there was too much melting on the glaciers. This created larger crevices in the glaciers and thus the reason the sledding was cancelled. We still landed on the glaciers and hiked, but can't recall if the overall length of our tour was changed. Sorry!
Thanks! We'll be there at the beginning of August so I hope there won't be too much melting.
-
We had a helicopter/dog sled tour booked for our Ketchikan stop several yrs ago. I never thought to have a back up plan. We were still able to take the helicopter ride, but just were not able to dog sled. For me the dog sledding was what I really wanted to do and was quite disappointed. Weather conditions are weather conditions, though, and there is nothing you can do about it. Smart of you to have a back up!
Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app
Did your helicopter company offer you the alternative of a lengthier ride?
I hope we can come up with a good back up plan, as so many of the excursions that I have read about seem to get book up early!
-
We have booked two excursions for our August 2017 Alaska cruise that I understand have a fair chance of being cancelled due to weather conditions: Helicopter/dog sledding on Herbert Glacier with Coastal in Juneau, and Misty Fjords Float plane (for my husband) in Ketchikan.
Several posters advise having back-up plans, but I'm wondering what excursions would still be available (and recommended) at the last minute in Juneau and Ketchikan.
We will be in Juneau from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Ketchikan from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Our Juneau helicopter excursion is scheduled for around noon, and the Ketchikan floatplane at 9 a.m. I imagine that any cancellations due to weather would be pretty last minute, so I'm wondering what options would be available to us.
"Active" excursions like zip-lining and kayaking are outside of our wheelhouse, and, while my husband has great "sea legs", I'm a little wary about getting on a small boat for whale watching, even with my faithful friend, Bonine!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
-
All of the rail/bus tours that go to Caribou Crossing eat the same BBQ lunch there, and they all include the donuts.. though I wasn't impressed with them.
The Yukon rail/bus tour is no more active, in my opinion, than the Lake Bennett trip. You spend more time on the train on the Bennett tour and more time on a bus on the Yukon rail/bus tour. You get time of the train for "activity" on both trips, either in the town of Bennett or at Caribou Crossing. The extra time on the train for the Bennett tour does not include heights, it's mostly around Bennett Lake.
I didn't find the seats on the train to be uncomfortable. They are padded. Not thick, cushy padding, but not hard.
I'm not sure why one of the tours would be wheelchair accessible and the other not, unless the number of of accessible rail cars is very limited.
I've done both tours and enjoyed them very much.
Good to know, thank you!
-
Onespots, this thread is already in the Ports/Alaska section, and has been for as long as I have been following it.
Thanks for clarifying that. I was trying to figure out if there was another thread that I had missed!
-
This was our rail/bus day with Chlikoot (we didn't do the dog sled thing)
[YOUTUBE]3WSaRzt5N0Q[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]aFpz4AHOcUs[/YOUTUBE]
Comfort issues on the bus never arose because it was a perfectly comfortable bus but also because we were only in it for short periods as there were so many photo stops, as well the extended lunch and Museum break and time at Carcross.
I suppose had I been on my own I would have chosen the BSJ, not for the scenery as it's fabulous whichever one you do, but for the slightly more Gold Rush history. But for a party of 6 the overall cost would have been quite a bit more and we did have a really excellent day doing the one shown above. Whichever one you choose I hope you are lucky enough to have the last carriage on the train, as we did. All the best, Tony.
Fantastic videos! Thank you so much for sharing them!
-
I really appreciate all of the responses. I'm just starting to plan our excursions, but hope to make some decisions soon. I, too, have been known to suffer from analysis paralysis. (BBQ chicken and Husky puppies vs. box lunch and Lake Bennett!):)
It sounds like both excursions are excellent, and that we'll be thrilled with our decision no matter what.
I'm sure I'll think of more questions, but keep getting distracted by the World Series. Tying run at the plate. Have to go root for the Cubbies!
-
I had fun looking up options for our Skagway port day next May. ;)
We had to rule out the Bennett Scenic Journey because it isn't wheelchair accessible and 2 of our party are in wheelchairs. It sure does sound gorgeous, though.
I was planning to do the White Pass Railway round trip, since if you book it through the cruise line you load right by the ship and can arrange for a railcar with a wheelchair lift. But my SIL found a "White Pass Railway and Yukon Expedition" that sounds very much like your Yukon Rail & Bus, right down to the BBQ chicken dinner. ;) (Except that our chicken dinner includes all-you-can-eat homemade donuts, which won the husbands over instantly.)
I don't think you can make a bad choice here. From what I've read on the boards, if you want to focus on sitting down and watching gorgeous scenery, Bennett can't be beat. If you want to vary the gorgeous scenery with more active exploration, choose the Rail & Bus. One caution: I have read that the seats on the train are hard, so you might want to bring a cushion.
Let us know what you decide and how you enjoy it!
Thanks for your quick response! I hadn't thought about this aspect until I read your post, but it makes sense that the Rail & Bus would be more active, since there are more stops and less train time.
I had read that the train seats might not be very comfortable. A cushion sounds like a good idea, if it will fit in my suitcase!
The other consideration I forgot to mention is that I do have a fear of heights - when hiking in Yosemite I can't go near the edge of the falls, even with a railing - but some people on the board have suggested just not sitting right next to the window. Maybe a shorter time spent on the train might be better?
I'm glad that your trip is wheelchair accessible. That was always a consideration when I was traveling with my mother.
No donut options with Chilkoot, unfortunately, but I have to say I am very impressed with their customer service. I filled out a question form on their website last night, and a representative replied with a detailed response in a couple of hours!
-
We will be sailing on the Ruby Princess next summer on our first trip to Alaska. My husband and I would like to book a Chilkoot Rail & Bus Tour in Skagway and are trying to decide between the Yukon Rail & Bus vs. Bennett Scenic Journey.
From the tour description:
Yukon Rail & Bus: (or Bus, then rail) (7.5 hours) ($186)
1) 28 mile train journey between Skagway, Alaska and Fraser, BC, then by
2) Bus to Emerald Lake, Caribou Crossing, Carcross, and Lake Bennett for a BBQ chicken lunch, admission to Yukon Wildlife Museum, and to a dog musher camp to pet Husky puppies.
3) Bus back to Skagway with stops along the way.
According to a very helpful Chilkoot representative: this tour includes a 1.75 hour train ride and 4 hours with the bus (including stops)
Bennett Scenic Journey: (8 hours) ($229)
1) 67.5 mile train journey between Skagway and Carcross, Yukon Territory, Canada.
2) Includes 45 minute visit to Lake Bennett, BC with self-guided walking tour
3) Turkey sandwich box lunch on train to Carcross – transfer to bus
4) Bus to Emerald Lake and then back to Skagway with stops along the way.
This tour includes a 4 hour train ride with 2.5 hours on the bus including stops.
Some considerations:
1) Comfort: Would the bus be more comfortable than the train?
(One advantage is presence of restrooms on the train!)
2) Scenery: Does the Bennett trip offer more variety in scenery?
3) Dogs: Definitely not a deal breaker, but it would be fun to pet the puppies. (We’re hoping to do the sled dog/helicopter trip in Juneau, weather permitting.)
I’d be interested in hearing perspectives on the pros/cons of either tour. I’m sure they are both wonderful options, but I would really appreciate some advice.
-
I wanted to report back the great experience we had with our application process.
We applied online on 8/8 and received approval on 8/14. We booked the first available interview appointments at SFO, which I believe were in March or April of 2017, but, following the great suggestions here, kept checking for cancellations. We were able to move up our appointments incrementally. A multitude of daily appointments opened up in November for some reason so we got a couple of those.
Finally, we were able to grab slots on Sept 3 a 9:15 p.m. and Sept. 4 at 1:15. Went to the interview last night at SFO and sat in very comfortable chairs in the hallway with about 10 other people. When my husband checked in, I asked if there was a possibility of them squeezing me in, and they said they would try as there were several no-shows.
My DH was called in 1/2 hr early, mentioned I was waiting, and the very kind agent called me in shortly after my husband was finished. (He didn't make me wait until the line emptied, since they were already ahead of schedule!) Had a nice conversation with him about a variety of things (he did ask me if I had ever had trouble with customs or been arrested) and told me I was approved. Both of us had our email approvals before we left the waiting area!
As an added bonus, traffic going into the City was great (maybe because of the holiday weekend), and the only downside was paying for parking. ($2 every 15 minutes)
Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions here. Checking for cancellations or newly released dates really makes a difference.
-
Since the camera hangs from the lugs at the top, the bottom has the greatest chance of impact. When I got my first SLR ages ago, it came with the "ever-ready" full coverage case. I soon found this to be a "never-ready" case since it was such a pain to un-snap it before taking a picture. I ended up just using the bottom half and throwing the top cover away (as did most everybody). I imagine similar experiences led to the half-case design. :)
Dave
Ah, makes sense!
-
The camera store manager helped me download Sony's PlayMemories app, and I was able to send a picture from my camera to my iPhone.
But now that I'm home, I can't do it unless I go through the steps (scanning QR Code) again. Is this something you have to do each time?
-
A good choice!
I have had mine for 2 years and am still impressed by the picture quality. The fast lens is very nice while taking indoor photos.
I also think you can crop the images a bit as a "digital zoom" without loosing too much quality to compensate for the short reach of the lens. It depends of course of how big prints you are doing of your pictures.
/Erik
I am so impressed by the quality of pictures already. And this is just from a few taken in the camera store!
-
This is a great half case for your NEW camera. I have one on my Rx100 for the last 2 years, great for protection and helps with the grip.
https://www.amazon.com/Gariz-Genuine-Leather-XS-CHRX100M3BK-RX100III/dp/B00LKGWJBG
Tom :cool:
Thanks for the link. It looks like a really good one.
What do you do for the top half?
-
Congratulations.... It's a great camera. You will miss a few shots due to the lack of zoom, but you'll gain more than you lose, with the great low light capability. All these images were with the original RX100:
Wow, great pictures! Love the spring training pics, and some of the scenery pics are absolutely stunning!
Since I'm a point-and-shoot rank beginner, everything is going to be on automatic settings for awhile. In fact, I'm looking for some good sources (online or books) along the lines of "RX100 for Dummies" to help me navigate the basic functions.
-
If you have any type of photography store near you, go in and handle both cameras. Even Best Buy may have them in stock. Just seeing how they feel may make a difference. I'd probably go for the longer lens, but that is me.
Have fun with whichever!
Vic
Good suggestion!
Spent a couple of hours at a local camera store with a very helpful and patient manager. They didn’t have the rx-10, but was able to see a similar camera to get an idea about size and weight. Finally decided on the rx100iii, which turned out to be the manager's favorite non-DSLR camera. (She had hers strapped on with a cross-body case, and said she takes it everywhere.)
Learned something interesting about the apparent shortage of some of the Japanese cameras. Apparently it is related to the earthquake in Japan that damaged the sensor making facility that supplies a lot of the camera manufacturers. The store has had a lot of cameras on order, but just can’t get them in. This has affected online retailers as well, as I just noticed the rx100iii now has a wait time of 1-3 months. I got the last one on the shelf, and they have no idea when they will be able to get more.
I can’t wait to start using the camera. My only regret was not having the longer zoom, but my husband took care of that by getting a camera of his own!:eek:
Appreciate all of the advice!
-
They essentially use the same sensor and produce the same image quality.
The rx100, when used at wide angle particularly, has a slightly faster lens (that means it lets in more light, so it's slightly better in low light).
They have basically the same menus and settings.
So it's really just a choice:
Something small and light that can fit in your pocket. It can take great shots of people, great landscapes, etc. But it does not really do telephoto shots-- you won't be photographing eagles and whales in your Alaska cruise with it. But you'll get great landscapes.
Or the rx10 -- medium size and weight. Won't fit in your pocket. But you'll get some telephoto range.
So which is more important.... fit in your pocket, easy to carry everywhere, but give up telephoto shooting OR a bulkier camera that you may not want to always carry, but with telephoto range.
It's partially a question of how often you want to shoot telephoto. I have a wide variety of lenses. I do shoot telephoto at times, but sometimes I'll go months without even taking the telephoto lenses out of the closet. (only used for sports and wildlife).
Thank you so much for such a clear and concise analysis! Much easier for me to understand than all of the tech specs comparison charts I was looking at.
Based on these criteria, I'm leaning towards the rx100, which I could see being a great option year round. When my son was in high school I did take a lot of sports photos, but not much since then.
-
I probably should know this but where do you find flyer talk?
Thanks to Coral, I found it at flyertalkdotcom and did a search for Global Entry. Lots of good info there.
-
Yep - a cute little beagle :). He spotted me. It was just odd as it was Walmart branded but I was bringing "dried meat into the US". Thankfully I wasn't fined.
I think they just ask about the last 5 years and asks what countries outside of Canada and Mexico that you have traveled to.
It would be interesting to watch a beagle at work, as long as he didn't find anything in my bag!
The only experience I have had with search dogs is when I was a student traveling in Germany on a Eurail pass. There was an unannounced inspection of our traveling compartment by some men in uniform with a German Shepherd. As I was leaving the compartment, I turned back to grab the package of cookies I had been snacking on. One of the other passengers looked at me and told me (in German) that the dog was looking for drugs, not cookies!
Hopefully, it's just five years, because I'm sure I haven't traveled out of the country during that time.
-
I had an incident where I had bought beef jerky in the US (Walmart brand), flew to Japan, and then 4 days later flew home. I had a beagle find me at Customs. I was not fined but my customs form was marked. I had to go through extra screening. It was a Customs Violation and I should have marked it on my application. I had forgotten about it. It is this sort of stuff "that they know about". In my situation, it wasn't a big deal. Someone else had the same issue with an apple. They were granted an interview (conditionally approved) and then denied. I am pretty squeaky clean also but was worried as I had wrongly marked my application.
After I filled out the application I did a search on what would prevent me and this came up and I so wish I could have modified my application. Thus, recommend reading up over there for a while first. A lot of other people make mistakes on dates of employment and addresses.
A beagle??
Oh my gosh, it is scary what they know about.
Are they asking specifically about the past ten years? Because I haven't traveled out of the country during that time, but I did do more international traveling 20+ years ago. I don't think I've ever had any even minor infractions with Customs, but my memory isn't what it used to be!
-
I've been reading threads about different cameras with great interest, and would like to get opinions about which of the these two Sony cameras I should purchase based on the following.
Experience with cameras:
None, other than point-and-shoots and my iPhone, so I am looking for a Point-and-Shoot that will take good pictures on automatic settings. (I am certainly open to learning more about manual settings down the road, but would like a camera that I can use right away, without a steep learning curve.)
Kinds of pictures I like to take:
People - family members, friends, etc. (not random strangers!) both indoors and outdoors
Scenery - my husband spends a fair amount of time on a boat on the San Francisco Bay, and so there are lot of opportunities for sunsets, bridge shots, cityscapes, and the occasional marine mammal. Also, annually special events like the Blue Angels, and (once even the America's Cup!)
Food - to capture memorable meals in restaurants
Our dog - my favorite subject!
Upcoming vacations:
1) Grand Canyon
2) Alaska cruise
My thoughts:
One of the appealing things about the RX100Miii is its size. It came highly recommended by a friend, a very experienced amateur photographer, who says it is his "go-to" camera when he is not using one of his DSLR's, and that he has taken beautiful pictures using automatic settings.
The main reason I am considering the RX10 is for the xoom (24-200mm) vs. (24-70mm) on the Rx100iii,
The RX10 weighs 1.79 lbs and the RX100Miii weights .64 lbs, and is more compact.
The price of both cameras is the same, although both are temporarily out of stock at Amazon. (I'm not sure why. Hope it's not because they are being discontinued.)
I really like the idea of the more compact camera, but also really like the longer zoom on the RX10.
There are some websites I have found that compare the two cameras and talk about the advantages and disadvantages of each, but some of the discussion is technical, so it's not clear to me how important each factor is.
Oh, and video is not something that I would use a lot on either camera.
The question:
I realize that the main factor that determines that quality of any photo is most likely the skill of the person taking the pictures. That being said, I would love some advice about which camera might best suit my needs.
Thank you, in advance, for your opinions!
FYI Harv and Marv 10% off for November
in Alaska
Posted
Thanks for the heads up on the discount. I am interested in booking a tour for my husband.
I hope you don't mind my asking a related question. I'm reluctant to try whale watching on a small boat due to sea sickness, even with Bonine, although on their website site they say they have only had 15 seasick passengers in 11 years!
I'm sure it depends on the weather, but in your experience, was there a lot of bobbing during your excursions? I'm fine on a small boat when it is moving forward (the faster the better!), but bobbing in place has been a problem for me in the past