donaldsc

I have been there 3 times - twice off ships and once for nearly a week in late October doing an eagle photography trip. Obviously if you travel and visit places people have different thoughts on the places they visit. It helps if you read this book before you visit the place - If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/107633. Even if you don't ever visit Haines this is a great read. DON

Although you did not ask about credit card usage - most places did not take Amex. If possible you should have both a Visa and a Mastercard as some places will not take both. DON

Just my opinion but I think that Haines and Icy Strait Point are better stops than Skagway anyway. Most cruises give you an 8 to 10 hour stop in Skagway. Take away the railroad and there is nothing much else to do in Skagway. Another point is that although Skagway used to be a real town it died up a long time ago until it was taken over by cruise lines. If the cruise ships stopped coming the town would dry up and blow away. It is really the most fake town on the AK cruise circuit. Both Hoonah and Haines are real towns where real people live. They are not dependent on the cruise lines. If the cruise ships stopped coming the towns would continue to exist. DON

I really like Haines. This is a good article on the town - https://createyourownroadshow.com/things-to-do-haines-alaska/ DON

But was the cap worn the way caps are supposed to be worn or backwards. I don't know why it is and it makes absolutely no sense but I have an irrational hatred of baseball caps worn backwards. The brim of a cap is supposed to block the sun and it does a good job for that. The only problem w caps worn correctly is that if you are taking a vertical picture with a real camera and not a cell phone camera you have to turn the cap sideways. What problem does the sun hitting the back of your neck cause? Just a bit of a meaningless rant. DON

I suspect that they might draw the line at bib type overalls for the men and daisy duke shorts for the women but I am not sure if even those would create a problem. As an aside you would not want to see most of the women most of the women on the cruise in daisy dukes including my wife. DON

We will see. We are doing our 1st post medallion Princess cruise in July. DON

There are lots of good WEB sites that you can use to get the weather at many locations in AK. There are fewer good climate sites however. I suggest that you go on one of them a few days before you leave so you can adjust your packing appropriately. DON

How is it easier. If I have the card I wear it on a lanyard that I tuck in my shirt or drop it in my pocket and take out when I want to get into the room. The card is totally flat so I don't even know that I have it on me. If I use the medallion I can't put it on a lanyard as easily so I am stuck w carrying it in my pocket which is a pain. I have not yet cruised on Princess post medallion so I don't yet know of any apparent advantages of the medallion but using it to open my cabin door is hardly a significant one. Call me a luddite but as for now the medallion appears to be a solution looking for a problem. DON

American Queen Ocean Victory. See attached but we did it north to south. Great cruise. Great ship. DON https://www.aqvoyages.com/expedition-cruises/alaska-british-columbia/vancouver-to-sitka/?gclid=CjwKCAiA9NGfBhBvEiwAq5vSyyy5V9GiDLRWNA2KN7uR2cH1LYjg5aP6j0V2vekTixEGZOtC8CNzfhoCkj8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

It really wouldn't matter where you buy them as all the King Crab Legs you buy are frozen. The crab legs you get in your local home town restaurant are exactly the same crab legs you get in AK. Better to dine on local freshly caught fish. Go into a good fish restaurant and ask what came off the boat today. See this post - https://www.royalalaskanmovers.com/the-top-16-most-popular-fish-in-alaska-to-catch-eat/ DON

Two not to be missed places: Hammer Museum. A really unique museum. https://www.hammermuseum.org/ American Bald Eagle Foundation. https://www.baldeagles.org/. Wolfie11's idea of the July 4th parade is a great one. Last summer we were in Wrangell (population 2055) on 4 July. Half of the town was in the parade and the other half was on the sidewalk watching the parade. It would have been a really bad day to rob the banks on Main St as every law enforcement vehicle on the island was in the parade. DON

You definitely need a car in Anchorage. The town has interesting stuff but most of it is near the town and not actually in the town. DON

Sinking of the Lusitania: Terror at Sea. DON

I don't think that this exists. There are ship-in-port and other similar sites on the WEB however which might help. There are also sites on the WEB that show pictures of specific cabins but I don't think that they have reviews. If you want to know about specific cabins you might post on CC but be specific and don't post a request for a laundry list of lots of cabins. DON

I just checked on Booking.com. The cost for the room w the 2 of you is $259. The problem with cruise line booked hotels is that they always quote the per person cost. IMHO all cruise line booked hotels are a rip off.. DON

One additional thing. They gave us a bottle of champagne. They gladly exchanged it for a bottle of wine of our choice as we do not like champagne. DON

11 of 18 days on the cruise are sea days. Not one that I would want to take. DON

That is a real waste of money in my opinion. DON

Nobody forces them to take a "low wage" $70k job. Nobody forces them to decide to live in a high cost of living area. Nobody has forced them to not get an education where they might earn a higher wage. It isn't my responsibility to help them when they perhaps made a bad career choice. DON

Ask yourself what is the downside if you miss the plane. DON

Extortionists!! DON

I also see a company called Northern Latitude Adventures which has been in business only since 2014 and uses very small boats and is $100 more expensive than the others. I suspect that this would be a much more uncomfortable tour. Thanks for the help. You are great. We are taking our 11+ year old grandson to Alaska w/o his parents and we want him to have a great time. We have a family tradition of taking our grandkids to AK when they turn 10 without their parents and he is the last one. The other 3 have had great times as have the grandparents. A final question. Do you know of any good 1/2 day or slightly longer halibut fishing head boat charters out of either Seward or the Soldotna I think that he would enjoy fishing but a full day charter would be too long. DON

l looked at the the route maps for the 6 hour tours for both companies. The route map for Kenai Fjords (https://www.alaskacollection.com/day-tours/kenai-fjords-tours/kenai-fjords-national-park-tour/) has dotted lines going to both Holgate and Aialik which visually suggests that they are going to both glaciers but the fact that both glaciers are labeled with the number "3" which sort of tells me that you are right about which glaciers they will visit. The route map for Major Marine (https://majormarine.com/tour/6-hour-kenai-fjords-national-park-cruise/) clearly states that it will be Holgate or Aialik as you say. I suspect that Kenai Fjords is being at best deceptive with their map to make you think that they are going to both glaciers or just outright lying. Do I have it right? I also see your point about the reserved seating and the better meal. Thanks for the info. DON

I realize that Princess is not at the Viking level but they have released some longer cruises. I just booked an 18 day cruise on the Princess Diamond, The all inclusive cost was only $4100 w only 4 sea days. We were looking at one of the Viking cruises but they were sold out. DON