hawk1972

If you take the Trail of Time at Mendenhall you can see where the glacier was over a hundred years ago and various years since. It puts the retreat into perspective. 

3 hours ago, adventuremom1970 said:

What time of the year did you go? Wondering if the wetsuits or dry suits would make a big difference?

Hawk, how did the drysuits feel?  Were you mobile?  We've never used one before!

Do either of you have photos from the trip?

We were there in early September. We stayed warm in cold water. No photos. Dry suits were a little bulky but no problem swimming.

On 5/27/2023 at 8:31 PM, Coral said:

The boat looked brand new - I didn't know if it was new or not. We passed the 6 passenger boat which had Capt Shawn on it.

 

Keeping fingers crossed for you! I can't wait to read about your whale watching in July.

I think Casey said the new boat was ordered pre-Covid and then built and picked up during Covid in Seattle. We've been on both boats with both Shawn and Casey and both are fantastic. The Norwegian Sun was late to port last September and they waited for us and Casey kept us out until almost dark to make sure we saw lots of whales. I highly recommend Glacier Wind Charters!

On 5/29/2023 at 12:19 PM, SuzWillCruise said:

 Is there a place to change or are you putting the gear on in front of the whole tour?

 

We just watched a video (but it was older so we don’t know if it was the same company), and one young lady stripped down to her string bikini bottoms in the parking lot before putting on a warm under layer.  We might not have much time to visit Sitka before/ after our tour, so I need to plan ahead to balance comfort vs modesty!
 

Thanks!

We all put on the dry suits in the same room. I just wore some sweatpants and a t-shirt and we wore fleece onesies over that and then the dry suit. They have to help you with the neck and getting it zipped up. Nobody stripped down to their underwear or anything.

15 minutes ago, Richardandco said:

Hello, wondering if your dry suit getup allowed for any diving below the surface or not. Does the operation provide any weights? Understandable if they would not offer that kind of thing. My wife and I have our own drysuits but would need to rent belts. 

 

Thank you for your advice,

Rich 

 

 

 

No, we didn't get any weights. We were in pretty shallow water, just 10 yards or so off shore in a Reef area. Don't know if they had any to rent. We booked the excursion through NCL.

1 minute ago, cruisingrob21 said:

I saw the same - and the article made it seem more like a good faith request so we will see how well its honored.  Scanning the schedule in 2024 there are only a few days with 6 ships, so this may be more of a message than truly a limitation.  The new player to the region next year seems to be Viking.  In 2025 there were rumors of MSC bringing a ship which would potentially change the dynamic.  There is an unnamed MSC ship on the schedule in spring of 2025 going to Astoria, OR, so it would seem to fit that MSC is planning to make a presence on the west coast in the summer of 2025.

We were there on the NCL Sun in September and had to tender at Juneau.

On 4/19/2023 at 10:29 AM, eileeshb said:

Juneau passed a new ordinance or some such limiting the cruise port to 5 ships per day

I just read an article that said the 5 ship limit agreement doesn't take effect until 2024.

On 4/16/2023 at 7:59 AM, njsmom said:

Ah, Glacier Wind is sold out for our day. Bummer. 

We've been out with Glacier Wind twice. They are excellent. If they are booked up, call them to see who they recommend for a similar experience. They are very nice. Speak to Teresa.

In September on the NCL Sun my wife and I (63 and 68) did the dry suit snorkeling excursion in Sitka in the afternoon after we spent the morning in town and it was lots of fun.

The suits go over your clothes and they also give you a fleece union suit to wear under the dry suit. It fits snugly at the wrists, ankles, and neck and keeps 99% of the water out. I didn't feel cold in the water.

We stayed close to shore in a rocky cove and mostly saw starfish and some fish. It was very safe with two guides.

I recommend it if you're looking for something different. 

Thank you for your guide. I downloaded it for our first cruise to Alaska in 2009 and used the same one this past September and it was still very helpful.

We got back from Alaska on the Norwegian Sun on September 15. We had beautiful weather in Glacier Bay and we were able to go up close to both Margerie and Johns Hopkins Glaciers. We were told we were the first ship to do so this summer. The rangers on board also told us that ships aren't allowed past Jaw Point in Johns Hopkins inlet, about 5 miles from the glacier, until September because of baby seals.

10 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

eetonaee

from that photo Skagway town is to the left and the one useable railroad dock (pier) would be

to the right - puzzling why the WPYRR has seven locomotives out passed the rock slide ?

Passed the dock where pedestrian and vehicle traffic is not ?

Those railroad cars were there on September 11 when we were in Skagway and it didn't look like they were being used. They must not be afraid that they might be damaged by more slides.

On 9/15/2022 at 2:40 PM, GTJ said:

I would say that there are really four main categories of Alaska cruises that might be considered. First, and most popular, is the mass market category. Dominated by the Carnival brands (Princess Cruises and Holland America Line), these lines provide regular and consistent service to all of the main ports, and provide what is generally perceived to be the typical Alaska cruise. Review the itineraries to get best combination of ports visited; the specific vessel traveled upon is less important. Generally, there are two choices: (1) a round-trip cruise from Seattle to a selection of Alaska panhandle ports, and (2) a one-way cruise between Vancouver and either Whittier or Seward (both being south of Anchorage). The second category is the small vessel market category. Some of the vessels used in this category are pure luxury, while others are American flag vessels that, as a matter of law, can provide transportation that foreign flag vessels cannot. This includes lines such as Seabourn, American Queen, and American Cruise Lines. All of these vessels generally attempt to serve smaller ports and other places where the mass market vessels cannot go (either because of the vessel size or because of the number of people being transported). Some itineraries travel entirely within Alaska, never venturing into either Seattle or Vancouver. If you're looking to see Alaska, and don't really care about vessel amenities (e.g., spas, shows, on-board shopping), these can be ideal cruises, albeit at a much higher cost than the mass market vessels. Third are the expedition cruises, with all or some of the vessels operated by lines such as Hurtigruten, Ponant, and Silversea in this category. These cruises look to visit more adventuress places, not frequently visited by many cruises lines, places such Nome and the Aleutian Islands. Most itineraries in this category are one-way, a few of which traverse the Northwest Passage, cruising the Arctic Ocean between Alaska and Nunavut, Greenland, Newfoundland or other east coast ports. Finally, there are ferries, most notably the Alaska Marine Highway and BC Ferries. These "cruises" can be tailored individually, on a port-to-port basis, spending as much time as desired in each port (such to ferry schedules). The ferry network stretches from Bellingham, Washington, or Port Hardy, British Columbia, through Prince Rupert and the panhandle of Alaska up to Juneau and Skagway, additional services operate less frequently from Juneau through Whittier, Kodiak, and the Aleutian Islands. Services are disaggregated, with separate charges for passage, staterooms, and meals, allowing one to choose what to purchase. Generally, the services provided by the ferries are basic but comfortable, the real benefit being the ability to plan your own cruise.

Thanks for your very thorough responses. While docked at Ward Cove on the Norwegian Sun this week we were next to the Ocean Victory from American Queen. I had never heard of them. Apparently, it's a brand new ship. Looked interesting. Lots of zodiac boats on the back for exploring. It's expensive but would be fun to do Alaska in a different way than the big cruise ships. The Sun only had about 900 passengers this time.

We have done a whale watching tour with Glacier Wind Charters in Hoonah twice, in 2018 and most recently on Sept. 8. Our ship, the Norwegian Sun, was delayed by rough seas the day before by 1 3/4 hours. GWC told us not to worry, met us at the excursion hub in ISP at 4 pm, brought us to the boat (there were 4 of us) and Captain Casey took us on an excellent trip until almost dark. They are a local family business and go above and beyond.

According to the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska schedule, there are 3 docks being used at Skagway through the end of the season: ORE, BRD, and RRA. We are due to dock at ORE on September 11.

2 hours ago, masspector said:

Cruise is in May 2023.  What is the most efficient, most affordable way to get back and forth from the dock to fortress of the bear?  Uber? Taxi?  Thanks

We rode bikes.

On 6/25/2022 at 5:32 PM, Deep68 said:

Hello, has anyone rented bikes in Sitka?

Is it something you would recommend?
If so would a manual or eBike be best?

Any recommended trails.

Appreciate any input. Thanks 

We rented bikes from Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop in 2018. Rode to the historical park, and out to the bear refuge. On the way back we stopped and took a short hike. The ride was pretty level so we didn't need e-bikes, but we ride quite a bit.

23 hours ago, sloperate said:

Additionally, what is a META?

It is one category of cabin, e.g., interior to oceanview or oceanview to balcony.

I highly recommend Glacier Wind Charters in ISP for whale watching. Small boats and personalized attention. We have our 2nd trip booked for September. 

We are on our second Ulu and use it all the time.

I highly recommend Glacier Wind Charters in ISP. They have small boats ( 6 and 13 passengers) and give very personalized service. We went with them in 2018 and have another trip booked for 2022.

Just thought I'd post that we recently booked a 9-day cruise to Alaska on the Sun for September 2022. We have used world points before for upgrading from an interior to a balcony and that's what we did for this one. I haven't been using the card much lately since Covid and all the cancellations but I held on to 60,000 points from a cancelled August 2020 cruise to use this time. The process was smooth. I called my PCC to make the reservation and then called world points to make the upgrade.  Looking forward to cruising again.

I called today and finally got my 60K points back on my card account from an Alaska cruise on the Sun that we cancelled back in April before final payment. When I called late in May they told me to call back after June 1 as they still weren't able to access the portal because they were working remotely. I guess things are finally back to normal!

On 3/30/2020 at 3:04 PM, Zippeedee said:

I just finished a call with an NCL Worldpoints rep. I called a few weeks ago to find out what to do if my cruise was cancelled. I was told to call to request the return of the 60,000 points I used to upgrade. I just got the email that the cruise was cancelled and called to make the request.  The answer was that while you are ABLE to get the points back, because all of the agents are working from home they do not have the security set up to access the bank system. "Call again when you see life getting back to normal and people are returning to their offices". Considering that they are in Florida, this could be a long wait!  The good news is, the points will eventually be returned.

I just called our PCC today and canceled our cruise on the Sun for August 2020 (before final payment on 4/15) and then called World Points to request that our 60k points for a double meta upgrade be re-applied to our account. I was also told that due to their working from home they couldn't process my request right now but to call back in 3-4 weeks.  So I will just wait and call back. Not planning to re-book a cruise anytime soon.

21 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

I chose the Sun for this August ..... A 12 day with my family of four. The smaller ships go on longer cruises and hit some of the places that the Ships like the Encore don’t get into. The prices are better .... it was like $1000 more to sail the Bliss/Encore for 7 days then it was for my 12 day on the sun. I’ve sailed the Sun before and the Bliss. I have two kids so an ocean view was fine for us as we plan on being on deck a lot for the best view. Alaska is a destination cruise for us. There is no doubt that the Encore is a better ship but we are going for the experience and we have lots of excursions planned. Better ports, longer, better price made it a no brainer for us to take the Sun. She’s in great shape still ..... Pools won’t matter to us with the expected cooler weather . The Sun has some decent hot tubs that would serve us better. 

We are also on the 12 day on the Sun on August 13-25. Have you joined the roll call?

We've been to Alaska twice, once on Princess and in 2018 on the Jewel. We love it.

We chose the Sun because we like smaller ships. We are in our 60s but active. This looks like a great itinerary. 

We use the NCL credit card so we were able to use points for a free upgrade from inside to balcony. Did the same on the Jewel. We consider a balcony a must in Alaska and really for all of our cruises.

Can't wait for August!