hawk1972

1 hour ago, calvegas04 said:

Question for anyone who has done this drive, is a suv needed or are the roads pretty good all the way up to the lake?

The road is fine. We drove it in a rented Chevy Malibu.

35 minutes ago, VermeulT said:

 

I got an Ulu for my husband on my last trip.  He is a cooking enthusiast and appreciates it.

 

What was special about the Cycling Jersey in Sikta?

Just that it had an Alaska theme. We had rented bikes there and ridden around the city. Bought it at the shop where we got the bikes. It will always remind me of that trip.

Ulus are good. Make good gifts. My favorites are a small totem pole from Ketchikan and a cycling jersey from Sitka.

We've been to Alaska twice and returning in August 2020. This time I'm planning to bring a real (paper) map of Alaska so I can follow our travels. I know the ship has maps in the lobby and there are maps on your phone, but I still like the real thing so I can try to identify islands, mountains, etc.

And I second the suggestion of good binoculars.

Thanks for the recommendation of the Upper Dewey Lake hike. My wife and I may try it. We love to hike. We rented bikes and rode to Dyea last summer. 

Glacier Wind Charters for whale watching in ISP. We went with them in 2018 and plan to go again next summer. Small boats and personal service.

4 hours ago, AKStafford said:

To avoid confusion, it's spelled Tlignit.

 

Icy Strait Point (which is village of Hoonah) is a great spot for a whale watching trip. Here's the local vendors: http://visithoonah.com/tours.html

Not to be picky, but it's Tlingit.

We did whale watching with Glacier Wind tours in 2018 and will probably use them again next summer.

That's why I always get the travel insurance. I wish you good health in the future.

We were in Skagway in May 2018 and all the train rides were cancelled that day due to a problem on the tracks. We had planned to rent bikes anyway. We rented a car from Avis in 2009 and shared it with a couple we met onboard and had a nice drive to the Yukon. May try the train next summer.

Just now, Budget Queen said:

Not sure what you suggest.  But it’s not very successful trying to find walk up whale watching in town.   

Sorry. I wasn't clear. We went whale watching with Glacier Wind but it was booked in advance. I just meant that there are excursions available besides what ISP offers. 

I believe it's because ISP is a native-owned area so the excursions there are operated by the Huna Totem Corp., including the huge zip line. You can go into town and find whale watching, etc.

We were in Sitka on June 1, 2018 on NCL Jewel. We are active older adults so we rented bicycles and explored that way. There is a bike shop across the street from the visitor center that rents bikes for reasonable rates. We rode out to the historical park and Fortress of the Bear. There is a bike path for much of the way out there. We also stopped and took a short hike on the way back.

52 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

We are on with you ...... Funny, I haven’t even looked for the roll call yet and normally I do and am pretty involved. 

We just reserved this cruise last week. Maybe too early for much roll call action. 

24 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

I’m guessing I’m with you on that same cruise with you next August. We sailed the Sun this past August as well. She’s in good shape for her age after the refurbishment. Simple but nice.

We are on the August 13-25 sailing. We have sailed on the Jade and Jewel. We like the smaller ships. I haven't found a roll call for this sailing yet.

We've been to Ketchikan twice and just walked around on our own. I have not been there but I have heard good things about George Inlet Crab Feast -- all you can eat Dungeness Crab.  I think they have a shuttle that will pick you up in town and bring you back.

We have found that Ketchikan has the best shopping and best prices of the ports we have been to - Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, and Icy Strait Point.

I don't have any questions right now but I hope you enjoyed your cruise. We will be on the Sun for the first time next August on a 12-day cruise to Alaska.

Excursions are definitely more expensive in Alaska. Last time we rented bikes in Skagway and Sitka or explored on our own.

8 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

Just a little update:  I ended up booking G-Wind w/Captain Shawn. 🙂

 

Reading the kayak trip reviews, it looks like they are often cancelled due to bad weather, while the small whale watching boats can still go out ( I don't mind rough water on a small boat)  

 

Thanks for all the help everyone!

You won't be sorry. Captain Shawn really knows that area. His son does too. We saw lots of whales.

We did a whale watching tour with Glacier Wind in June 2018 and it was excellent. They have small boats with personal service. I would book ahead with them. We are going back in August 2020 and will probably go with them again.

We just used 60,000 points for a double meta upgrade from an inside to a balcony stateroom on a 12 day cruise to Alaska next August. The difference in price was almost $2,000 per passenger so I think we got a good value. This is the second time we have done this.

It was a little harder this time making them understand what we wanted to do when I called but finally got it worked out. The first person I talked to wanted to send me back to my PCC.

ETA: when I made the initial reservation with our PCC he booked us in a guarantee inside without me realizing it. When I called World Points to do the upgrade, they were going to give me a guarantee balcony but I ended up paying $16 so I could select the stateroom.

Glacier Wind Charters in ISP are awesome!

My wife and I rented bikes in Sitka and explored on our own. Rode out to the Fortress of the Bear.

We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard/Union Lake last May.  We chose it mainly because of the price -- it was quite a bit cheaper than other hotels.  It overlooks Union Lake and there are some interesting boat exhibits there.

I think it was $10 per person for car service to the pier.

The morning of our departure we walked pretty easily to the Space Needle area and explored and walked back to the hotel.

When they took us to the pier, we dropped off our luggage and walked to the Pike Street area.  Our departure was delayed because the ship arrived late (not sure why).

We arrived after check-in time but I'm pretty sure they would have stored our luggage.

You might read the book "Tip of the Iceberg" (2018) by Mark Adams. He explored Alaska fairly recently by ferry, following the route of the 1899 Harriman expedition (that had John Muir aboard). As I recall, he had to wait as much as a week between ferry rides, but it depends on where you want to go. It would be fun to do on a limited basis I think.

We did the last NCL Holylands cruise back a number of years ago. The ship had to stay in Haifa, due to Hamas sending rockets into Israel at the time - Ashdod is too close to the border. In fact, other cruise lines scheduled to come in the next few days after diverted. Even with the potential of diversions I would do that cruise again...it was our favorite trip (land or sea). Our cruise included Egypt also. And, despite Arab Spring demonstrations that caused a number of ships diverting from Egypt, we did manage to port there also.

We did this cruise on the Jade in November 2011 as part of a church tour group.

It left from Rome and visited Turkey, Cyprus, Israel (2 nights in Haifa -- we also had to skip Ashdod), and 2 nights in Egypt (Alexandria).

The tour group arranged all of our excursions in each port.

It was a fantastic trip.