BrusselsGirl07

Yvette and Bill's Alaskan Adventure - 15 July to 11 August 2014

After taking advantage of all of the advice on the Alaska board of Cruise Critic, I thought I would write a review of our recent adventure to Alaska. I spent 18 months planning and researching using the Alaska boards, Trip Advisor and reading lots of travel books.

My husband and I (Bill and Yvette) are from Canberra, Australia. We love to travel and we also love to cruise! This would be our 11th and 12th cruises. We chose Celebrity Millennium because we like Celebrity and I liked the itinerary. The more I read, the more I realised that there were so many things I wanted to do in each port. As we were travelling such a long distance, I decided to do back to back cruises from Seward to Vancouver return. Early on we decided we would like to spend some time travelling around before the cruise, and we invited our wonderful friends Rod and Nancy to come along with us. They live in Minnesota, so it was not too far for them to travel to come and see us.

Bill is a brewer and has built a micro brewery in our back yard. So while researching the ports, I also researched Alaskan breweries so that he could try the different beers.

I knew right away that the cruise portion of our adventure was all about the activities on land and not the ship. As a lot of these activities, as well as our airfares from Australia, were very expensive, I booked an inside room on deck 11. I watched the prices hoping for a price drop, but the cruise just got more expensive as time went on. I liked the location of the room as it was very close to the external staircase leading down to the sunset bar and just a short walk to get to the outside decks.

And I was right! We spent almost every minute that the ship was in port off of the ship. Sometimes we missed dinner, either because we got on late or had eaten a good lunch on shore. We did something we have never done before and had a few dinners in the buffet. It was a nice surprise to see what was on offer up there at night! On the days we were on the ship we sent most of our time watching the scenery and looking for wildlife. I hardly took any photos of the ship, or our food and drinks like I normally would, so the photos are of the activities we did off the ship. The photos start when we arrive in Anchorage!

Anyway, here goes, I hope it helps someone else with their planning!

Hi Welshfamily - I certainly know what you mean about the expensive airfares and so making the most of your trip. I did heaps of research and booked our cruise around going to Anan Creek National Park to see the bears catching fish in the river. Luckily for us we ended up having a perfect day on the day we booked. I discussed the best time to visit Anan with a company in Ketchikan and settled on July 30 as the best date. I had already chosen Celebrity Millennium Seward to Vancouver, so then booked that cruise. I knew we wanted to do a land tour as well, so I did lots of research and organised my own 10 day tour. We flew into Anchorage, drove up to Denali and did lots of other fun things until we arrived in Seward 10 days later. While researching the cruise portion, I realised there was so much to do in each port, so we booked a B2B and added Vancouver back up to Seward. The only downside is that we had such a short time in Vancouver. We were away for a month, and we had a fabulous time. As for the airfares, I just booked them early on so that I did not need to worry about them. I got a pretty good price, and was happy with what I paid. Alaska was just amazing, we had a wonderful time. Yvette

We saw numerous whales and Orcas in Juneau, and only 1 whale in ISP.

The whales in Juneau were bubble net feeding and that was fascinating to see so close up! The Orcas were also exciting, and there was a baby Orca as well.

The one whale in ISP was very active, and did numerous breaches and tail slaps.

Under the Celebrity Roll Calls, if you choose Xpedition, there is a thread called Anyone recently back, or something like that. It has been going for years and is now up to part 3 - here is a link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2069149

There is so much information and advice on there, it is fantastic!

We went in February and had a wonderful time. Going back in 2016 in August as we want to see the Waved Albatross on Espanola.

We were just on Millennium, and had Dirk Younkerman as the Naturalist. He was fun!

Just off the Millennium, and now you mention it we did not have cotton buds or cotton balls, but I did not miss them. We did not get a vanity pack but we did get large tubes of body lotion, body wash, conditioner, shampoo, and wrapped soap. We always had fresh face washers and towels as often as we needed.

We did not get any chocolates at all, but on the first formal night of each cruise (we did a B2B, 2 x 7 day cruises) we got a wrapped chocolate mint cookie each and a rose and fresh flowers in a vase. We were in an inside room.

There were various seeds and nuts at the breakfast and salad bars.

Loved seeing the photos of that little kangaroo in Alaska! What a journey it has been on! I will be following in its footsteps next week.

That is great to hear! We will be on Millennium in a few weeks. There have been some awful reviews lately about the ship. But then I have read awful reviews about all of the ships we have been on, and have loved them all! I will look for your review!

So...do yourself a favor. If you have more than one camera...or hope to share photos between several people... MAKE SURE YOUR TIME & DATE IS SET CORRECTLY ON YOUR CAMERAS!

 

Thanks for letting me vent. This is the end of the public service announcement...

Oh my gosh, I know exactly what you mean! We went to the Galapagos, then spent 12 days driving around Ecuador. We had 3 cameras between us and did not realise each had a different date and times! Many thousands of photos and it was SO difficult to sort them. As we made a few stops each day in the Galapagos, it was difficult to remember which photos were taken where. Lesson learned the hard way!

Thanks for your great review, we head to Alaska in a few weeks, so love reading about your experiences!

I booked in for the Puffin and Octopus encounter as soon as they started taking bookings for 2014! Now I can't wait, they look adorable!

Hi Yvette:) hope you and Bill are doing well and enjoy Solstice:D

Oh..and have fun in Alaska next month too;)

Hi Lois!! We are doing well, really excited to be heading off to Alaska soon. Really looking forward to trying Solstice, I think all of our cruises have been on the older ships so far!

What a fun review! Thanks for sharing the story of your first cruise. We are off to Alaska for the first time next month (can't wait!) and will be on Solstice for the first time at Christmas and can't wait for that either!!

PM received from BrusselsGirl07. Operation Kangaroo begins ☺.

 

 

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Hi Fog123, let me know when the postcard and the kangaroo arrive! Love the Geocache idea! Yvette

Interesting review! We are the opposite of you and very much into nature, animals and scenery, so really looking forward to our Alaska adventure. Our itinerary is packed with tours to see animals and nature!

Can you let me know how long the walk from ISP to Hoonah was? And where you bought the mini donuts from, they sound delicious!

Thanks! Yvette

Fog123, just sent in a pm on Facebook!

If we were on the same cruise I would bring you a small toy kangaroo to take photos of in Alaska and then take back to her! I could send her a postcard with a photo of a kangaroo if you like, she might think it is fun to receive a postcard from Australia?

Can't wait to start reading everyone's trip reports, what they did and where they went!!

This is our first trip to Alaska - 81 days until we leave Australia for Anchorage, 91 days until our Southern Glaciers Cruise and 98 days until our Northern Glaciers Cruise! All of our plans are in place and we can't wait!!!

Hi Nick and Anne, the Galapagos is amazing and you won't regret either itinerary.

All of your questions and more will be answered in the 'Monster Thread' which is in the Celebrity roll call section, under Xpedition. It is a sticky at the top of the page titled 'Xpedition - anyone recently back?' and has gotten so big, they had to close that thread and make a new one called 'Xpedition - anyone recently back? - part 2'.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=278

It is a wealth of information about the trip, what to expect, what to take, discussions about the best itinerary, the best time to go etc. It was a huge help when we planned our trip.

I didn't know there was an early train from Seward to Anchorage. May I ask who you booked the train with?

I booked on this train directly with Celebrity. The early train is apparently only for those coming in on the cruise ships.

I love reading all of these itineraries and I am sure it will be of help to people planning their first cruise to Alaska. This is our first visit and I read guide books and used Cruise Critic and Trip Adviser to research and get ideas on tours and things to do. We love scenery and wildlife, so hoping to see all of those animals we have not seen before such as Moose, Bears, Sea Otters, Puffins etc. I would even love to see a Racoon! We are doing a B2B on Celebrity Millennium on 25 July Seward to Vancouver and 1 August Vancouver to Seward.

July 15 - Depart Canberra, Australia at 4.05pm and fly to Sydney, then on to Honolulu then to Anchorage, arriving the next day.

July 16 - Arrive Anchorage at 5am. Taxi to Susitna Place B&B for a quick shower and nap, then meet up with our friends from Minnesota who are doing the land part of our Alaska adventure with us. Rest of the day in Anchorage sightseeing, with lunch and dinner at one of the brew pub restaurants for my husband who has a brewery of his own in Australia.

July 17 - Pick up our hire car and drive to Healy, where we are staying at Alaska Spruce Cabins. On the way we will explore and stop as we wish to take photos and have lunch etc. Dinner that night at 49th State Brewing Company.

July 18 - Full day in Denali National Park, booked 5.15am shuttle tickets for as far as Wonder Lake. Dinner back at 49th State if it was good - does anyone have any other recommendations?

July 19 - Drive back to Talkeetna and do the Grand Denali Tour with Glacier Landing offered by Talkeetna Air. Fingers crossed the weather will be clear, as this is the one chance this trip for this flight. Hopefully have a wonderful flight and then have a look at Denali Brewing Company before we continue back to Anchorage and stay at Susitna Place B&B.

July 20 - Day in Anchorage. Lots of ideas, will probably hire bikes and ride some of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Of course another brew pub for lunch and also for dinner - Midnight Sun, Sleeping lady, Glacier Brewhouse, Broken Tooth Brewing/Moose's Tooth/Bear Tooth - need to decide which to go to, as can't do them all! I don't drink beer but my Husband loves trying different kinds, and I love him, so I have done lots of research into the breweries in Alaska. Overnight at Susitna Place B&B.

July 21 - Drop off hire car and meet up with Salmon Berry Tours who we have booked to take the 4 of us on a full day trip to Whittier, stopping at lots of places along the way. As it is just us, we can stop if we see something interesting, although we do have an itinerary already planned with them. Through the tunnel late that afternoon, and get dropped off at The Inn at Whittier. We could have driven this ourselves, but we want to relax, catch up, talk and laugh and not be distracted by having to drive or think about where we are.

July 22 - Full day tour with Lazy Otter Tours, just the four of us, the skipper and Prince William Sound. Can't wait to see the glaciers and Sea Otters!!! Overnight at the Inn at Whittier. Sea Otters are so adorable, I hope I see lots of them, and some babies as well!

July 23 - Picked up by Salmon Berry Tours again for the trip to Seward. We stop to see a Husky Outfit and go for a hike to Exit Glacier along the way. Arrive in Seward around 2pm and check into A Sunshine House B&B. Dinner at Seward Brewing Company. Afternoon walking around exploring the town.

July 24 - Full day out on Kenai Fjords National park with Alaska Saltwater Lodge.

July 25 - Cruise Day! Late breakfast and walk around town, then visit the Alaska Sealife Centre in time for the 11am Puffin Encounter and the 1pm Octopus Encounter which we have booked. Late lunch together, then say sad goodbyes to our wonderful friends who head back to Anchorage on the train at 6pm. Board Celebrity Millennium late, so no lines. Get ready for sail away and dinner!

July 26 - Hubbard Glacier!

July 27 - Juneau 9am to 9pm - we have booked with Harv and Marv for their first whale watching tour of the day at 9.20am. Get dropped off after the tour to Mendenhall Glacier to explore the area. Then back into town to explore and walk around, visit Red Dog Saloon, the Alaskan Fudge Factory and the Alaskan Brewery and tasting Rooms.

July 28 - Skagway 7am to 8.30pm - have booked with Chilkoot Charters Yukon Bus and Rail trip 7.30am to 3pm - Train up and Bus back. Afterwards, walk around town. Would like to visit the Alaska Christmas Store on Broadway between 4th and 5th if it is still there?

July 29 - Icy Strait Point 7am to 4pm - Booked with Misty Bay Lodge to do their whale watch and Bear Search combo tour.

July 30 - Ketchikan 9am to 6pm - we have booked with Island Wings to do the Anan Creek Bear Tour. Can not wait for this tour, it was the first one I booked and I built the rest of this holiday around this day!

July 31 - Cruising the Inside Passage.

Aug 1 - Vancouver - 7am to 4.30pm - the and end of the first cruise, and beginning of the second! We will probably do the HOHO bus and see whatever we can see in the short time before we have to board again.

Aug 2 - Inside Passage

Aug 3 - Ketchikan 7am to 3pm - I hate cold water, but love to snorkel, so we are snorkelling with Snorkel Alaska. You can only book this through the cruise ship, so have booked that way, it is called the Mountain Point Snorkelling Adventure. After warming up again, will spend the rest of the time walking around the town.

Aug 4 - Icy Strait Point 10am to 8pm - no excursion booked, have a lazy day and explore the area.

Aug 5 - Juneau 7am to 8.30pm - another tour I am very excited about - going to Pack Creek by Float Plane to see the bears with Pack Creek Bear Tours.

Aug 6 - Skagway 7am to 4pm - taking the ferry to Haines to do the Chilkoot Lake Nature and Bear Viewing Tour with Rainbow Glacier Adventures.

Aug 7 - Cruising Hubbard Glacier.

Aug 8 - Booked the early train from Seward to Anchorage to catch our 2.10pm flight from Anchorage to Honolulu. Spend the night in Honolulu then take the 11.50am flight to Sydney and then on to Canberra, arriving late at night on August 10th.

We are really looking forward to this trip, and I think it has come together really well, thanks to all of the information that is out there. I hope it helps someone else with their planning!

Yvette

Hello! We have our first trip to Alaska this July and August, 2 weeks of touring by car and 2 x 7 day back to back cruises (there was so much to do in each port that we decided to sail back up to Seward again!).

All of our tours and excursions while we are on the cruise have been booked through local independent vendors. While they may not have been any cheaper than what the cruise is offering, the attraction is the small groups I will be in. So don't just look at the cost, look at if you will be in a small group.

I am not sure if this works out with our timing but check out these encounters at Sea Life -

 

http://www.alaskasealife.org/New/visitors/index.php?page=programs-tours.php

 

We have done the puffin and the octopus encounters and they were well worth the money.

 

DON

Hi Don, I have booked the Octopus and Puffin encounters for July 25 for our group of four, so glad to hear you enjoyed it! I am really looking forward to visiting the centre and interacting with the animals!

Hi - I am really disappointed that we booked on board for our 2015 Sydney - Hawaii cruise.

The only part of the deal that was good was that we had a reduced deposit. The prices are the same online now, so no difference in pricing.

But if we had of booked a month latter we would been able to get the 123 deal.

It is brilliant (or would have been) for us as this is our first Celebrity cruise - we have been Royals for our first two and we were looking forward to trying out the different drink package (YAY it includes coffee!) - amongst other things!.

Hi there, the new packages on Royal now also include coffee! I purchased the non-alcoholic package on our Radiance Christmas cruise and it was great! Fresh squeezed OJ, coffee and tea from the cafe, water and non-alcoholic frozen drinks all included. It was quite a low price per day and I got great value from it!

Yes, you can drop your bags and then go back out for the day. We will be doing that too!

New Zealand can be quite cool even in Summer in December, so bring layers. You just can't predict if you will have hot or cool weather. Sydney should predictably be hot in December, but the weather has been a bit weird of late with really hot days and then colder days with rain. We have sailed Sydney to New Zealand twice for Christmas and have had extremes of temperatures from really cool and rainy to really hot and sunny on the one cruise. Early mornings sailing through the sounds was especially cold, I was glad to have a windproof fleece, rain jacket and scarf with me!