JosieRhodes

Hi, room was quiet, & there was a sofabed in the room which appeared to be the size of a double bed (we only had 1 person in it, so can't really say how easily it accommodated 2 people)

 

When the sofabed is pulled out, there is only about 4 inches between that & the vanity area, which is very much a squeeze, however, this wouldn't be specific to this room- this is normal for that category. The rooms are just narrow.

 

For an obstructed room I think it's great as you don't really notice any obstruction.

Thanks a bunch. I also would be interested to know if bed by bathroom or balcony. Yes, I was just going to go with inside cabin for five day trip to Bermuda next year, but DOs were actually cheaper. My parents got the first non obstructed cabin next door. Thanks again.

Thanks for posting pics. Did the cabin seem quiet enough, looks like over photo area? Also curious if used pull out sods, how big compar e to bed, how comfortable?

Have this on hold and trying to decide whether to go ahead and put deposit down

Thanks

In hindsight, the drive on Glenn Highway and hiking Matanuska was one of the highlights off our trip. Going with Nova guide allowed us to rent the crampons, etc. and go further on the glacier which highly recommend if do make it out there. My kids said I did overdose on glaciers during the trip:)

Some pics start here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2073674

Karen

Yes, fireworks will be around midnight of July 3rd, technically on the 4th in early morning, I believe my review from last year has some pics if search on my name, ete. Grest time to take trip. We watched the fireworks from balcony at the Holiday Inn.

Karen

I really enjoyed Anan, and I have to say I really liked the tour guy that went with us - from Island Wings. That said, the path is well marked so I think worth going with or without a guide, using, as mentioned, Carlin Air (very nice to work with as also had some dealings with them), Family Air, etc. This is from gov site, and if lucky to get passes yourself, could then try to find someone to fly you there... I know I reached out to many vendors, hoping someone would be able to secure permits,,,

Requesting reservations for 2015 - On each day from July 5 through August 25, there are 20 passes available to the general public for early booking. Due to a historical high demand for early booking, these 20 passes will be distributed by lottery. Lottery Requests must be submitted by February 28, 2015 to be considered. The lottery will be open to the public, and conducted on March 2, 2015 at 1:00 PM at the Wrangell Ranger District Office. To submit requests, please send an email to anan@fs.fed.us include “lottery request” in the subject line, maximum group size of 4 individuals per request, independent contact information (mailing address, phone and/or email) must be provided for each individual. If individuals are requesting passes with the assistance of an authorized commercial guide, the name of the company must be included in the request. There are no fees for entering lottery requests. Confirmed reservations will require the payment of a $10/pass plus a $6 reservation fee per group. Payment information will be included with lottery result notification.

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this review (during a search for backpacks, of all things)!

 

You included such helpful tips and detail about what to bring as well as great activity information.

 

Your photos are fantastic. Did you take many of them using your Canon SX50? We are thing of buying that camera to use on our first trip to Alaska (land/cruise) in July 2015.

 

Thanks for sharing. Your review is one of the most helpful I've read, and the photos were an added bonus.

Ha, drinking my morning coffee and nicely surprised to get an email saying someone posted to my thread - trip seems ages ago but such a great place to go! I hope you have a great time. Thanks for the nice compliments. I tried to cover the stuff I researched for our trip.

So, I am defn an amateur photographer and just didn't have much patience with the older DSLR also brought. It also weighed a ton. The SX50 was simple to use and good enough for me, especially when excited and trying to take pic. I thought it did well outside, especially when enough light. All of the Anan bear photos were with the SX50 as well as many scenery shots. I also had a Cańon S120 to carry around for inside shots and a Sony HX30V used at times didn't want to worry if camera got banged up.

I also think both cańon cameras had option to shoot JPEG and RAW at same time, but to be honest, most JPEGs seemed good enough for me as I have tons of RAW versions never got around to editing. The SX50 was small and light enough that I often carried both it and the s120 as did think s120 was better in lower light/inside.

Again, hope you have a great time :-)

Thank you for the information, I appreciate it. I see that the offer was limited to the 8 AM tour --- did you find it crowded? When we were waiting for our 11:30 AM tour it seemed like a lot of people went on the 8 AM tour.[/

 

It was day before 4th of July so was prepared for crowds, but didn't seem too crowded to me.

Was this special offering for the Kenai Fjords National Park Tour only? Reason I ask is I have never gotten a deal like that before --- my e-mails have always been a combo offering (room plus tour).

I went back and checked my email to refresh my memory and this is screen print of deal. Yes, just for the tour, but it was only for the 8am one, and non refundable. Still, for the four of us, the deal was worth it. I was very excited at the time as was trying to justify dollars to do tour out of Whittier and this - glad did both as each had unique benefits (well, my humble opinion) We stayed at holiday inn express so not too bad getting over there by 7:30am or so. :)

Last yr signed up for newsletter, etc on Kenai Fjords Tours web site, and was notified via email that they would run a 50% off sales over Thanksgiving weekend so was able to take advantage of that which was nice surprise... Maybe they will do it again this year :)

Ps. Got the sale notification maybe a day or so before Thanksgiving

My review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2073674

Amazing place. We went July 19th and saw 12-15 bears. 2 brown and the rest black. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience and would go back again even with the price

 

You took some really wonderful/great pics, thanks for sharing, makes me want to go back!

My son, looking over my shoulder earlier, asked if your pic was a pic of "our bear" as looks like one we saw on July 9th - the only brown bear we saw and my favorite to watch. I know it is the same bear as in some of Mollanjake (Laura's) posts above as we were there on the same day:):):). Think maybe same bear...

We did see about ten or so bears the day we were there, of various ages, including one small cub.

Just incredible - this is truly a great review with superb photos - thank you so much!!! :)

We do Alaska in August 2015 on Millennium from vancouver to Seward, and really look forward to it!

Your review is very helpful for me - for our plannings, I definitely read it again.

Thanks, I haven't even done my typical post vacation paper scrapbook and shutterfly photo book yet, and I am itching to go back...

Think just got lucky with the sunshine which made some photos turn out well as basically pointed and pressed shutter as everything I had tried to remember about settings escaped me in the moment.

That is one reason for putting some time between trips as I was mentally prepared for rain every day... And then we had great weather, daughter actually complained too "hot" for her as we are accustomed to cooler weather. So, again thinking it would probably rain every day on next trip:). But that would be OK too.

Hope you have a great time and enjoy the anticipation.....

Karen

Not best angle for a pic, but from where I was in blind in previous pic, fascinating to be so close and seemingly un-noticed....

I am just a "point and shoot" photographer, but AK is just filled with beautiful stuff. I finally got some time to try to start organizing pics for a photo book...

Just two more of inside the photo blind at Anan, plus some "foggy" scenery ones... It was just so nice to walk along the outside promenade at "night" as never knew what might see...

whatever happened with your husband's salmon ?

We got it, and they threw in a bunch of retail king salmon to make up for the delay. It was thru The Cedars Lodge, and I guess there were some issues with their daily weight limit with Fedex and then a mechanical issue with plane, etc. We were very happy in the end, and we have enjoyed cooking and eating :) :D:). My husband really did enjoy the fishing too, which was arranged via RC shore excursion.

Karen

I just want to echo many of the other CCers by saying thanks for posting this review. The info on what to wear and your great pictures from the land and sea were excellent. Just finished getting through the entire review! WOW!

 

We will be in Alaska in less than three weeks and we can't wait! We were thinking of doing the Radiance, but she had a private charter going that week so we are doing Celebrity Solstice. Hope to get some great pictures like you and to post our own review when we return.

 

Thanks again!

Thanks for the kind words. I hope you have a great trip! Wish I was going back :)

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review of your Alaskan adventure! I've taken so many notes! But I have to especially thank you for introducing me to Ahnu hiking boots!

Ha, glad I could be of help :). I do love my Ahnu boots (and I had never heard of them until started looking for waterproof hiking shoes...). Just spent a week outside Asheville, NC and loved hiking in the mountains with them.

Thank you for taking the time to write your wonderful review.

Love your pictures.

Thanks :)

We'll be in Ketchikan in a couple of weeks and are also doing a Bear Watching flight seeing trip with IslandWings. (Although because we'll be well into late August by then it's to Traitors Cove rather than Anan)

My question is how much can you carry with you on the plane. I know backpacks aren't allowed but is a camera bag ok?

Loved your review and has made me even more excited about forthcoming trip. We have some days in Iceland and Vamcouver before we start NB cruise on 23rd, so very interested in your packing tips as will be doing that on Saturday. (We too are 4 in a cabin so need to be efficient with what we take!)

 

Tony

Hope you have a great trip! Would love to see Iceland some day. I spent a semester in London during college, did a lot of traveling on a shoestring back then. I do tend to over think / over pack but the cabin did seem to have enough nooks and crannies to keep every thing organized.

While I stored my backpack in the Island Wings office, I do think one person brought a backpack that was stored in the "pontoons" during flight, but Shona from Island Wings could confirm either way. Basically they told me could bring on anything that could conceivably stuff in pocket or hang around neck. I had my small camera bag with me - held canon sx50 and canon s120.

Hope that helps.

Karen

Fantastic review & info. I love that you included pics of Independence Mine/Hatcher Pass as we are considering a side trip to it on our drive from Anchorage to Talkeetna and possibly a hike to Gold Cord Lake.

 

Makes me even more excited. :-)

Thanks, and welcome to cruise critic. You will find a wealth of info on AK board. My Independence Mine pics couldn't fully capture it, but I kinda felt like at the bottom of a bowl... with mountains all around- very cool vibe there.

I watched this too when planning for that area....

http://castroller.com/podcasts/AlaskaHdtv/3277014

Karen

Great review Karen, and amazing pictures! It already seems like a long time ago since we were there. Would love to go back again soon, but there are so many other places we want to explore. Great meeting you and your family, if only in passing. Thanks again for the review. You included some great details that will help anyone planning an Alaska adventure.

 

Best wishes!

 

Candy

Thanks Candy. Nice meeting you too. Too bad about the meet and mingle mix up. Happy future vacation wherever you guys go :) Can't believe it is time to start shopping for kids school supplies already!

Hi,

I really enjoyed reading your review, and loved the pics of bear from Tracy Arm excursion. I've never been on Carnival, but I am hooked on John Heald's blog/facebook feed, and reading about his adventures in Alaska on the Miracle. He cracks me up.

Karen

Think we did OK packing wise for this trip, but could have brought even a little less. This is my revised packing list for AK (based on what did wear/use) that I am filing for future use, in case we ever do another 1-2 week trip :) I would plan on doing some laundry during trip. I don't really consider myself a light packer either :o but this is just what I personal would probably end up taking for another trip.

Clothes

Marmot Precip Rain jacket (packable) -black (1)

Kohls Tek Gear "Warm" layer jacket-black (1)

LL Bean Gortex Rain pants (packable) -black (1)

(did not use but take up hardly any space/weight)

Eddie Bauer Travex Fleece lined technical pants-black (1)

Prana/EMS water resistant hiking pants (hiking)-black, grey (3)

(these type of pants are so much lighter than jeans, dry quick)

Dress black pants & two nice tops for formal nights

(brought a dress for this trip which never wore)

Shorts (2)

Base Layer long sleeved t-shirts- (4)

Fleece quarter zips-(2)

Short sleeved tops (3) (buy additional as souvenirs if required)

Work-out clothes for gym

Swimsuit/cover-up

Sleepwear, underwear, etc.

Nice sweats for plane rides

Socks including smartwool mountaineering socks

Key Accessories/Shoes

Travel power strip

Travel clothe lines/some inflatable hangers to help with hang drying

Sunglasses & Sunblock

Gloves & ear warmers

(brought an extra rain hat for this trip, didn't use as Marmot hood enough)

Ahnu black waterproof hiking boots

Waterproof/resistant (sprayed) black sneakers (can also use for work outs)

Black shoes can wear for formal nights (if went on a cruise vs. just land trip)

Packable day pack (used as “personal” item carry on for plane for items want to keep under seat)

Rain sleeves for cameras

Rain cover for day pack

Other plane carry-on is Northface backpack with laptop sleeve to put iPad in, pack all camera/camcorder related stuff, etc

Karen,

 

I've read about the great tix using super saver awards. But as per their site it is available only from certain cities and Detroit is not one of them. Come to think of it neither is Albany. How did you get them ?

 

Thanks,

 

Rita

Hi,

Hmm, I didn't think united limited by city per se, though sometimes tough to get dates u want. Edited - looking at the chart, I guess the best deals are for flying within 700 miles, and I guess our 25k round trip was just a "saver" deal but it seemed "super" to me vs the std 50k award for round trip. We also extended on land trip a bit in order to snag a flight (not really a hardship:p). Anyhow it looks like award travel is available thru June, but I plugged in May 2105 to play around with it.

I went to united.com and to link to book with awards

You can see that the yellow dates are available via albany

Detroit seems tough right now, couldn't see any seat in May, what about from Cleveland,,, 2 1/2 hr drive depending what side of Detroit u are on... Or maybe fly out of Toronto, etc. just some thoughts to look around if a bit of driving would be ok for a great deal,,.

Also took screen shot of award chart from united... As looks like two types of saver awards, we got the 25k from Albany (not that 20k one, maybe that is further restricted?)

Hope it helps, it can be frustrating as they do limit super saver availability...

My cruise sails on july 13th 2015 . I will probably arrive in Alaska a week before to do the land portion. We are a family of 4 flying from Detroit to Anchorage or Fairbanks and departing from Seattle back to Detroit. I'm trying to use my frequent flier miles but they are scattered all over and I don't have enough in one airline to book 4 tix. This is what I'm thinking. If anybody has better suggestion please let me know.

 

1. Sign up for US Airways credit card. For an annual fee of $89 I get 40,000 miles, 2 companion tix for $99 with one paid tix. So if I were to buy one tix, I get 2 tix for $99 each and the 4th tix could be redeemed with my award miles. What do you think ?

 

2. I have the following miles with various airlines. Any possibility of getting free tix out of them. I need atleast 2 tix in one airlines as our children cannot fly alone.

 

US Air - 35,000 in mine and 35,000 in my husband's

Delta - 49,000 in mine and 31,000 in my husbands

United - 64,000 in mine and 12,500 in my husbands

American Airlines - 26,000 in mine

In August 2013, United opened up their AK routes for summer 2014, and I was able to get four "super saver" award seats for 100,000 miles total - 25,000 for each round trip ticket. However, it took me about two weeks monitored what was available and ended up flying from nearby airport vs normal home airport. I knew my whole budget was based on getting super saver awards so I booked the first routing that would work for us/could live with. By the time we actually flew in June 2014, ended up with much better routing due to calling united every time they made a change to scheduling which allowed me to modify route to our advantage, no additional cost.

The round trip 25,000 ticket covered flying to Anchorage from Albany and from Vancouver back to Albany.

Also, think united offers credit card deal with miles bonus plus free one bag (no luggage charge) per trip for card holder and companion, etc.

Good luck

Karen

Thanks for all the great info! I am planning a trip for July 2015 with my son. We have been before, but did a ship-sponsored cruise tour. This time, we are doing pre-cruise land portion on our own, so I'm looking for ideas and this has helped a lot! :)

Thanks. I know my son really enjoyed the ziplining, kayaking, and going to dog kennel/ride - think would have liked sledding on a glacier too.

Ps. Hope u have a great time :-)