frugaltravel

Plus, I would do the whale watch tour independently and not through the ship. Harv & Marvs is great for their small boats, longer tours and if you have time, free stop at Mendenhall Glacier.

We will be leaving on the Sapphire Princess that evening at 8:30pm... if we arrive in Whittier at 3:45pm will it be too late? What is the earliest time we can board the ship?

Your question should be "What is the latest time we can board the ship?" (probably 7pm or so). It is a shame to board the ship earlier than need be when there is so much to see/do on land between Anchorage and Whittier. You will have the entire evening and next day on the ship, so there really is no rush to get on board. A great use of your time is to take an early transfer from Anchorage to Whittier and then take a Prince William Sound glacier boat tour. You get much closer to the glaciers on this trip than you will on your cruise ship.

Great information. Thanks for posting.

Note that all tours and shuttle buses are operated by Doyon/Amarark Joint Venture in cooperation with the Park Service. But the Park Service does not operate any buses. They got out of that business years ago.

Note that commentary is "guaranteed" on the tour buses, but it is very rare that the shuttle bus drivers do not also give excellent commentary. If someone happens to get onto a shuttle bus where the driver is not very talkative the solution is simple - get off at the first rest stop (Tek) and wait for the next shuttle bus.

Note too that the biggest difference between the Kantishna Experience Tour and the shuttle bus to Wonder Lake or Kantishna is the cost. Otherwise, it is the same road, the same chances for seeing wildlife and the Mountain, the same company operating the buses, etc. Of course the food on the KET is another difference.

Does the Orca have a bathroom on it?

Both Orca and H&M have a bathroom on board.

While Harv's and Marv's and Orca Enterprises get all the headlines, there are other whale watching companies that offer just as fabulous an experience. H&M and OE were both booked up by the time I got around to booking an excursion, so with a little research, I found June Whale Watch and took this excursion on June 13. We had a fabulous time which included a shuttle bus ride to the bay, two + hours on the water, and a drop-off and pick-up at the Mendenhall Glacier for $120 a person. The boat was a small, 28 person jet boat which the ride in itself was an experience, and in addition to the comfortable, heated enclosed seating area, had an open bow and stern for plenty of outdoor viewing. And, there is a bathroom on-board. The on-board guide was very informative and there was not one issue at all with this excursion. Oh, and did I say we saw lots and lots of whales?; even saw some bubble-net feeding.

 

If you want to check them out, go to www juneauwhalewatch dot com for all the info.

I believe it is Juneau Whale Watch. I have heard about them. I believe they are definitely competition for Orca since they are the only other company with that size boat. They have been in business a couple of summers now.

In any case, I know what you mean about a couple of companies getting more attention than others. But some of that is deserved. Plus seeing the issues with a new entrant this year (Stories and Legends), if I were only going to Alaska once and wanted to make it count, why would I use an operator that does not have a stellar reputation?

I am glad that you got to see a lot of whales and bubblenet feeding. Plus, I like the way you put that at the end of your post as an afterthought. Your praises of Juneau Whale Watch were for other factors. I too don't believe that one can "rate" a company based on whether one sees a lot of whales, bubblenet feeding, breaching, etc.

There is SO much written about these two companies it is not funny. Either one would be a good excursion.

With 5 people I would book Harv & Marvs hands down though. Totally private excursion for 5 people (book the whole boat). Time on the water is 1/2 hour (25% longer) than Orca. Free drop off/pick up at Mendenhall (Orca charges +-$16/person).

If you want the larger boat with more amenities like a snack bar (though Harv & Marvs has free soft drinks, water and snacks) or if you want a handicap-accessible boat, then Orca is better for sure.

For any Canadians following this thread, keep in mind Canadians cannot rent a car in Skagway and take it into Canada. Only US and other nationalities can.

This is no longer true - see another thread for discussion about this.

Or Upper Dewey Lake, or to the Devil's Punchbowl.:)

Have you done that hike? I have been to Upper Dewey Lake but not as far as Devil's Punchbowl. Great hike!

What are you interested in? Great hiking in/near Skagway for example. All kinds from easy to difficult. NPS activities are free. Who is "we"? You could rent a car, you could go to a playground if you have kids.

Well I would not go as far as to say it is "historical" to see the aurora on an Alaskan cruise, but in May it isn't possible because it really is not dark enough. If you were going in mid to late August or early September, your chances increase. I was on an Alaskan cruise in late August one year and saw the aurora from near Juneau.

Besides the expedited arrival into the US for immigration and customs, those in the trusted traveler program often get expedited security screening at many airports (it is not "guaranteed" but has been possible for me all but one time so far). The number of airports and number of airlines participating is increasing fairly rapidly. On multiple occasions I have been able to leave my coat and shoes on, as well as leave my liquids and laptop in the bags then just walk through the metal detector. Such a breeze and worth it IMHO.

Involuntary Denied Boarding.

 

If you're not in a hurry it can be a good thing. Our family of 4 has done this numerous times with Delta and received $1600.00 each time in vouchers for future tickets.

I think that in your case it was VDB - Voluntary Denied Boarding, aka volunteering for the bump. IDB is when you don't volunteer and they still say "Sorry, you're staying".

Exactly. Since with IDB the airlines are supposed to pay you in hard cold cash (or a check), not vouchers. However I have seen airlines offer $X in a check and $X + more in vouchers for IDB.

They can't "stake out" a seat you've bought and paid for. Just put some stuff on the seat. They may want it but they can't have it. If there's an issue, get a stewardess who will inform the passenger that the seat is taken. The "empty seat" ticket is not all that uncommon so stewardesses are aware of it.

Theoretically you are correct. I had a friend buy an extra seat and the gate agent wanted to put someone in that seat since the flight was oversold. Fortunately he was persistent.

Our last experience was difficult in that we were to be the last flight out of Toronto before it being hit with a major snowstorm. Standby passengers were a mile long as everyone wanted out before the storm. It is difficult to sit with an empty seat between you under these circumstances when the entire cabin knows how many people would be left behind and for who knows how long. Not a comfortable flight

I would think the extra seat would have made it more comfortable. :D. You bought the seat and actually only one more person was left behind due to your purchase. Sorry that you felt bad, You really shouldn't have.

Are you people that are advising against the 75 minute in MUC doing so with actual practical experience of MUC, or just generic advise about Europe connections in general? I can't believe it's based on actual misconnections at MUC with 75 minutes. That just does not happen there.

 

MUC T2 has a minimum connection time of 30 minutes. While 30 minutes is tight and any little thing can throw off the connection, 75 minutes has a extra 45 minute padding. It should absolutely work. I speak from personal experience of several connections at MUC every year.

 

Now of course if your inbound flight is late, the buffer may disappear and you miss the connection. In that case, LH will put you on the next flight to HEL, 6 hours later.

 

So what can you (OP) do? You can book the 75 minutes connection, hope it goes as planned, probably make it, and if you don't then take the 6-hour penalty. Or you can chicken that you won't make and assign yourself the 6-hour penalty in advance by booking the 7 hour connection.

I totally agree and wonder about some advice just being thrown out there (not intending to offend anyone). MUC is a very easy airport to connect in when connecting between Star Alliance airlines. And I totally agree with you - why not plan a 75 minute connection and be "stuck" with the 7 hour connection if you miss it than plan the 7 hour connection and have been able to make the 75 minute connection but not be allowed to change to the earlier flight.

The issue is not making a 75 minute connection. The issue is the plane arriving late, deplaning late, or something unusual happening in passport control (security alert or a horde of non-Schengen zone passengers deplaning just before you).

Then with that line of reasoning, someone should plan overnight stops each time they change planes. Heck, even the 7 hour connection mentioned above would be too little if the inbound plane is 7 hours late :eek:. I had a 4 hour connection scheduled in Paris, our inbound plane was >3 hours late. I had less than 1 hour for the connection (passport control, change terminals, go through security, etc) and I made the connection. And Paris gets a bad rap as an airport to connect in :)

Budget Queen - Didnt understand by what you mean "Dont be in a rush to head back inside, if you dont do any add on tour"? What do you mean by that? Didnt get that. Please clarify. Thanks

Stay outside and at the front of your cruise ship as it leaves Tracy Arm and heads north to Juneau. Being outside and not on your balcony is key - from the front of the ship you can see in all directions (left, right and straight ahead) and can move easily from side to side. If you are on your balcony you miss at least half the chances for seeing wildlife and scenery.

Wow, that really puts a whole new definition to Alaskan cruises starting earlier and earlier. Cruising Alaska April 8-14th. That has to be a record for the earliest AK cruise. Enjoy!

Which ship will you be on?

I won't! Don't want to risk getting somewhere and being disapppointed.

 

Hopefully, someone will stop by and let us know where this tour goes.

 

The Anan Creek trip out of Ketchikan is $495 by booking independently so that is always an option :)

Anan Creek is very different - mostly black bears, not grizzlies. And most tours from Ketchikan allow limited time at the Anan Creek viewing platform (for my taste anyway).

Alaska Galore left us hanging with no tour after I had booked with them 6 months in advance. They didn't notify us that our tour was cancelled and I only found out after arriving in Juneau and calling them (when we couldn't find their representative). Fortunately Orca Enterprises saved the day for us and provided us with an awesome experience. Alaska Galore is not reputable (in my estimation).

Did they say why their tour was canceled and/or when they canceled it? Was their captain sick and they had no one else to pilot the boat? Did you use a Toursaver coupon and/or did they not have the required 4 minimum that people above mentioned (meaning they would cancel at the last minute)?

I am not making excuses, and I have no experience with this company, but some more insights would be helpful, especially since in the past this company has gotten good reviews.

So in essence, if no one else signs up, you can pay two more fares, i.e. one more than if you didn't have the toursaver, and you get a private tour? Actually, that sounds well worth it to me. Or do they need four PAYING passengers, i.e. three more besides the 2 with a Toursaver, who really are only paying one fare?

I wonder if Teckk is doing a toursaver coupon to drum up more business.

I have read multiple accounts of negative incidents with Teckk. Since a couple of posters called me on it, I ended up keeping a list of what I found. For what it's worth, here it is.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1100519 – post #8

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1050358 – post #7

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=591197&highlight=teckk – post #19

Teckk canceled a tour with just one person?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1050358

another recent thread that links to the above thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1118766

If it were *me* I would seriously consider the negative comments before booking with them. At least go in with eyes wide open.

I have looked and have found nothing negative about FISHES.

prncscruiser ...

 

I have to laugh. I was on a trip with Keith LAST WEEK. We did have a great time butdid not see one bear. Not one. And, interestingly enough, he said it was THE FIRST TIME he had taken someone on a tour and not seen a bear. I certainly don't want to bad mouth him, as we did have a good time and got to see a lot of "real Alaska" we'd never have seen otherwise. I don't regret going on the tour and it was worth the money. But, I just have to laugh about it being "the first time" he'd not seen a bear. Quite a character.

Not the first time of hearing a similar story. I guess that is why they label it a bear "search." And now with the internet age, lying certainly gets discovered quickly!

Having been on dozens of these Denali trips, I have to say that the reason I keep doing it is that I get exceptional wildlife viewing. I've had perhaps 10% that were snoozers, and have had some world-class experiences with grizzlies and wolves.

I agree

I would not hike just because there are possible bear encounters. Lots of info is available on being "bear aware" and I would go with at least one other person. Lots of people hike throughout Alaska with the possibility of bear encounters. The key is knowing what to do and how to react if you encounter a bear, not to avoid hiking at all.

Having said that, I am not sure there are great hiking trails near Hoonah.

No "best" - all just personal preferences.

I have a question....have any Canadians ever done this. I see on Murray's site that we can not rent a car and drive into Canada from the USA we do have one American in the group can we get around this this way??

Yep, if the car rental is in the name of the American, no problem. The American should probably be driving when you cross the borders (if you opt for additional drivers).

I am on a really tight budget and was wondering if anyone who had a Murray's Guide could list some notable mile markers for me.

Here are similar guides that are available free:

http://skagwaynews.com/AK04highwayguide.html

http://www.bellsalaska.com/myalaska/klondikehwy2.html