quack2

Nothing beats being outside.

Avoid NCL in/out of Vancouver. Notwithstanding their cruise map that shows otherwise, NCL avoids the east side of Vancouver Island.

I saw orcas last week outside of Seward on the Kenai Fjords tour. I never count on seeing anything interesting from the ship. Orcas and humpbacks are more likely to be seen on whale watching excursions out of Icy Strait or Juneau, or on the Kenai Fjords tour out of Seward (pre or post cruise)

Yeah, I remember when I had my first beer.

The whole concept of the International Date Line makes my head spin.

I assumed it would be renamed the Skipahubbard.

I have NEVER purchased the cruise line train transportation to Seward. I have ALWAYS dropped my bags, with cruise tags attached, at the Anchorage baggage tent. I have ALWAYS received my bag in my stateroom (after returning from my Kenai Fjords "vessel" tour).

To me, these trips are very different. I would do both. After you take train to Seward (6:45 a.m. departure), you need to do 6 hour boat tour on Kenai Fjords. Just spectacular. May be the best thing you do in Alaska. Boat gets back in plenty of time to board your ship. Alaska RR will ship your bags all way to your stateroom on the cruise ship. Just make sure you have your boarding materials, warm clothing and camera in your personal carry-on bag.

Just an unproven theory, but it seems that NCL will not go into places like Hubbard due to weather when other cruise ships will. Same thing with respect to sailing up/down the east side of Vancouver Island. If my theories are correct, passengers should be aware that what NCL is selling, may not be what the passenger is getting, and other cruise lines might be a better option. I fully expect to be bashed by the NCL apologists here, but that's my theory and I'm sticking to it until I see otherwise.

I"ve only done Tracy Arm (twice) so can't compare to Dawes. People seem to think TA is more scenic. I done both the cruise excursion on Holland (where they drop you at the entrance to TA on the way up to Juneau) and the round trip out of Juneau that isn't affiliated with cruise line. Benefits to both. The private excursion from Juneau felt less crowded and therefore better for photography. Boat design was more conducive to photography too. The downside is the time spent getting to and from TA from Juneau. It makes for a very long day. The cruise excursion that drops you at the entrance to TA is commonly packed and you will be jostling fellow passengers for photographs. I also don't care for the Allen Marine boats with the upper, upper deck that they only open when the boat is moving slowly or is stopped. It makes for a mad scramble everything they pull back the chain and open it up. The upside to this excursion is that you return from TA to Juneau to connect with the cruise ship, shortening the total time of the trip, for the same scenic experience.

Many of the Seattle round-trip itineraries have crappy port times. That's why they tend to be cheaper. Better off doing a north to south from Seward/Whittier to Vancouver, or vice-versa. Vancouver RT's aren't bad either.

Alaska, at least for me, is about the destination, not the cruise ship. Therefore, this would have been a thoroughly disappointing cruise.

Everything okay? No updates for 21 hours. (Really enjoying your posts).

I just assumed that some people went with the hope of being raptured.

I don't blame them for cancelling. I will cross my fingers.

Don't sweat formal night. Just wear what you would normally wear to the dining room. Just my $0.02.

I would have thought that not everyone was accounted for when leaving the Rapture Center.

You had a very fortunate day on the water. I've been out over a dozen times and only seen it once

Not including time waiting in the queue and not including stressing over whether you will get where you're going in time. Just a bad deal for the passenger.

I would recommend going to Deckhand Dave's for lunch while in Juneau. Excellent fish tacos. Short walk from most docks.

Was very disappointed in NCL's on-board educational program. Very little Alaska information provided, except for shopping.

Thanks for details of your Icy Strait stop. I'm thinking of booking a cruise in August with the same evening limited hours. I'm guessing no whale watching excursions.

Doesn't the city bus drop you a loooooong way from the Visitor Center?

You can also tap your phone if you have a card in your "wallet" and it's open

With respect to small boat tours of glaciers, the excursion into Tracy Arm is one of my top 3 things to do in Alaska. Depending on your itinerary, it may or may not be offered. The small boat tour of Kenai Fjords (6 or 8 hours) out of Seward, ranks number one on my list. Beautiful glaciers, plentiful wildlife. If my cruise starts in Seward, I take the train down from Anchorage in the morning of embarkation, do the 6 hour Kenai Fjords tour that leaves at 11:30, then board the ship around 6 p.m. Seeing Kenai Fjords is better than anything you could do on the ship prior to departure. This year my cruise ended in Seward, so I took the longer 8 hour Kenai tour that leaves at 8:30 a.m. It gets you back to Seward in time to take the 6 p.m. train to Anchorage.