bonvoyagie

which cruise line? what is the itineary? you will be flying into Anchorage - take the train to Whittier you will not regret it.

I would suggest that you do excursions that interest you - each port has different things they are known for but there are also excursions for every interest in any of them. Juneau is known for Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching - it also has some gold mining. Skagway is known for being a gold rush town - you can visit an old dredge, ride the White Pass RR or just walk around town and take in the history. In Victoria you can take a romantic horse drawn carrage ride, do a pub crawl, and if you have lots of time - visit the Buchart Gardens - they are great even at night. Havent been to Sitka so no reccomendations there. Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

We were in a deck 10 penthouse and stayed in the cabin for most of the passage.

It also depends on the attitude of the child - if they require lots of entertainment then the Sun is probably not a good choice, however if they like watching for wildlife and scenery then almost any ship will do.

on our 21 day cruise we were allowed one bag per person per week.

Your story and photos bring back memories from our cruise back in 16 - I put lots of research into this trip and did lots of DIY tours including rental cars and self guided tours - in Sydney we drove out to the Alexander Graham Bell museum - about an hour away from town and a great drive. I also found several taxi companies that do tours for a flat fee on port days. I am glad that you had a great cruise we also love the Jewel class ships. We did our NE cruise on the Gem.

I have been to Alaska 3 times now on NCL - first time was in 02 on the Sky - we ventured into Tracy Arm and saw many icebergs and could not get close to the glacier - the captian dispatched the photographer on the zodiac to get some photos of the glacier and the ship they were great. We did the same trip the next year taking our kids. Last trip was in 2012 on the Pearl, in Juneau we took a small boat excursion into Tracy Arm and really got up close to the glaciers and they were very active. That trip also visited Glacier Bay where again we got close to the glaciers but they were not active that day. I agree that the best way to enjoy an AK cruise is to sit back with your favorite beverage and some binoculars and watch the scenery go by. Our next venture to AK will be in 2023 where we will be doing the Southbound Authentic Alaska 14 day Cruisetour on the Jewel - we will be going in late June early July. Looking forward to it.

I agree with all of the above after our transit in 2020 on the Gem (just pre COVID). We went from Pacific to Atlantic in about 12 hrs. We had a ship jump the line ahead of us on the first locks that delayed us a bit - we passed him in the lake passage and got our space back on the Atlantic side. I agree that the bridges are also neat as is the skyline of Panama City. We also had some programs about the canal prior to arrival and I also read The Pass Between the Seas prior to the trip. We also had someone narrate the passage over the PA system. It was a great experience.

Enjoy this cruise - we did a similar one in 2016 on the Gem - 14days Boston to Quebec and back. There is lots to do in Halifax - try to see Peggy's Cove and the Maple Syrup factory. The Titanic graveyard is also interesting. Walk the boardwalk along the harbor - lots of interesting things to see and do - check out the crystal factory/shop there. We were lucky enough to visit here twice on our cruise so we took a taxi tour the first stop and went to Peggy's Cove and the syrup factory and walked the boardwalk on the second visit. We arranged taxi tours for most of our stops or rented cars and dit DIY tours using guide books. Most of the time you need to arrange these months in adance.

In 2016 on the Gem we had to get special fuel for the transit, that happened overnight just outside Panama City. We waited our turn at the fuel barge along with lots of cargo ships. Apparently the canal requires special light fuel that pollutes less than bunker crude. We did not actually stop at the city so not sure if any tours are available. I did get some photos of the downtown skyscrapers as we entered the canal.

NCL also offers cruisetours from 2-14 days (all have 7 day cruises to/from Seward.) I am not sure what lodging they use in Denali. i am taking one of their 14 day cruisetours next year. Land portion starting in Fairbanks and ending in Homer then to Seward to board the ship. NCL will be running two ships between Vancouver BC and Seward.