joecichlid

Some people say it is nice doing a northbound cruise because you are going towards the better scenery and others say it is better doing a southbound cruise because it is a more relaxing way to end your trip (I guess that assumes some land time).

 

The Princess ships got to Glacier Bay and College Fjord on the northbound trip and Glacier and Hubbard on the south bound trip.

 

Would you say one is preferable to the other given these views?

I think it is all a personal preference kind of thing. I have a blast no mater where I go in Alaska, good weather or bad. Any day in Alaska is better than a good day at work if you ask me. :)

Joe W.

Thank you for your reply. There is a RT from Vancouver (Coral Princess) but the date isn't quite right. I wish we could / back to back but my husband can't be away from work that long, we're going to do a Northbound only. There are some promotions now, so we're going to book soon. We certainly are looking forward to the trip.

 

Thanks again!

I hope you two have a very wonderful trip!! :)

Joe W.

Hello. Joe if you're reading this, you sound like as close at an Alaska expert as I can find. Looking to book for May 2015. We're not doing a land tour.

 

For an inside passage itinerary, would you recommend Vancouver to Anchorage, or the reverse?

 

Also, any thoughts on a Vancouver/Vancouver round trip? From what I see, a few ships run that.

 

Any info appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for the kind words. I am far from an expert, I am just very passionate about Alaska.

If you can do a round trip from Vancouver I would go with that option. If not you will have to pay for airfare either to or from Anchorage and that additional cost can sometimes be more than a second cruise. This is why I usually do back to back cruises starting in Vancouver then cruise to Seward then stay on the ship to return to Vancouver. If you can plan far enough in advance you should be able to book the same room for both cruises so you won't even have to move rooms in Seward.

Yes you will likely visit the same ports, sometimes in different orders, but that gives you twice as much time in each port and allow you to do several things in each stop. A big plus for me is that the weather may be iffy one week and amazing the other (although the last time I was in Alaska we were blessed with amazing weather both weeks in every port).

I hope this is helpful. :)

Joe W.

Joe,

 

What a great list. Thank you very much for taking the time to post it and the reasons for taking everything.

You are very welcome. If you are anything like me, I hate it when I see a list of suggested things to bring and no real reason given for them. Yeah, you should bring 5 one quart zip lock bags, two tea bags and a spork. What the what???

Great Info Thanks Joe!

My pleasure, I hope it helps you pack for Alaska. :)

Joe W.

Furthermore, there is no way to warm anything up...

I know! Every time I have tried using the microwave in my cabin nothing happens. I really hate that there is no glass door on it so I can't try and figure out why my microwave isn't heating up. And what's up with the carpet in it anyway? lol

What is it like in September? Do you still see whales?

Sad to say I haven't had the pleasure of visiting Alaska that late in the year. Something I need to change one of these days.

Joe W.

Joe W. posted this earlier this month and since we don't have much sea glass around where we live we plan on doing some searching.

 

Sightcrr

I might have to give it another go myself. :) I always find tons of brown, green and clear but every so often I find some older stuff that has a nice blue tint to it. I always keep an eye out for the odd colors though, reds and oranges are hard to find there. :)

Joe W.

I think ISP is the port I'm looking forward to MOST on our upcoming 14 day cruise! Thank you. Our girls (6, 5, and 3 when we cruise) will LOVE the walk into town hunting Bald Eagles :)

If you have time to *and if the tide is out* you all should walk along the shore in ISP, lots of cool little critters for the kids to look at. If you are lucky they might even get to touch a live star fish! The last time I was there I watched a family with two young children exploring the wildlife up close and personal. The kids were all smiles and giggles, it was very cool. :)

Joe W.

Thanks Joe! What wonderful tips I never even thought of!!

 

Appreciate it!!!!!!!:)

I am glad to be able to offer some helpful tips. :)

Joe, did you do the Wilderness exploration & crab feast?

Boat ride or seaplane?

We are signed up to do that in Ketchikan. How was it?

Thanks

Lynn

I have done the crab feast twice, LOVE me some dungoness crab. The last time I did that tour I had six servings *three whole crab* and I even got to help pull a crab pot while on the boat. :) One word of advice if you do that tour, skip breakfast! lol If you have time during the day, do the duck tour. Not a really long one but you will get a chance to explore areas of Ketchikan that you can't get to any other way. The first time we did the tour our group saw so many eagles and quite a few as close as 15 feet or so away.

Joe W: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! I just booked Alaska 2015 for our family and was wondering about exactly what you posted. I'm sure I'll have tons of questions as we plan. Appreciate all the insight!

I am so glad I could help!! Feel free to ask any questions you may have, I will do my best to answer them as fully as I can. :)

RCL booking for 2015 in Alaska is open and has been for about a week or so. I can't wait to get back to Alaska!

As for tips, count yourself warned as this can get a bit long. LOL

So far I have done four trips to Alaska, three of those were back to back cruises out of Vancouver. If you have the time, it can be a great way to have twice as much time in each port. There have been times it was about the same price to do a second week on the ship as it would have been to do transfers from the ship to the airport and fly out of Alaska to the lower 48.

All of my Alaskan trips have been in May/June. The weather can be iffy at times but I have learned to not let a few sprinkles (or down pour) dampen my spirits although my clothes are another story. lol I personally love to go as early as possible in the season for the wildlife. With the longer days the food supplies for the sea life is blooming and with that it brings everything you want to see. During the last three trips I have taken to Alaska we have seen humpback whales bubble feeding off the side of the ship in Icy Strait Point (Hoonah, AK). A sight that words can not begin to fully describe. We have seen huge pods of orca, humpbacks, seals, sea lions, sea otters and pretty much any sea critters you want to see.

The weather can range from 40's and rainy to the 70's and sunny, in one day. With some planning and packing you can easily get through the day in comfort. I have several tips that I follow and gladly share with others going to Alaska:

Dress in layers, I usually will have a long sleeved t-shirt, short sleeved t-shirt over that, fleece vest and rain jacket over that *gortex lined highly suggested* As the day warms up you can take off what is needed.

Carry a back pack! You are going to need someplace to put those clothes as you peal them off. And trust me the temp change during the day is enough you will wind up shedding a layer or two.

Keep a small, travel sized umbrella with you. The day may start out clear and sunny but the weather can change at the drop of a hat. It is better to have a small umbrella and not need it than to not have it and get nailed in a quick downpour. A small rain poncho is also a good thing to have just in case, usually they are small enough to fit in a pocket.

Camera, keep it very handy! This time of the year is perfect for wildlife watching with all of the animals coming out of hibernation and migrating back into the area. Not a lot of things more frustrating than seeing a sow and her cubs while you fumble through your pockets looking for your camera. Keep your camera in hand, keep it turned on, make sure you have extra batteries in your bag, make sure you have plenty of memory for the camera as well.

Ziplock bags. It may sound like a weird thing to have with you but if you get a rain storm roll through you will want some place safe and dry to keep your batteries, memory for your camera as well as cell phones and such. A few cents worth of plastic bags can save hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of electronics.

Water bottle. With all the walking that can be had in the area it is a good idea to have a supply of water close at hand. There aren't always places to buy a bottle of water on some of the tours so it is a good idea to have at least a small (20 oz.) bottle of water in your bag. My backpack has a Camel Back bladder in it, it makes for quick access to needed water while keeping my camera at the ready.

Small towel. I can't count the number of times I have needed one and not had it. Everything from getting rain drops off your camera *or you* to getting rid of some sweat. If you are out on a hike or even walking around town and the temp is in the 50s or 60s you can still break out in a sweat. It is best to dry off if possible because when you start to cool down, your sweat can cause you to start chilling and that is no fun at all. Again, another reason for a ziplock bag.

Well broken in shoes. It doesn't matter if you are just walking around town visiting the shops or out on a 6 mile hike, if you are in new shoes you very well may wind up with blisters and sore feet. Leave the new shoes at home and take those old ones you have been wearing for months and save you and your feet the pain.

Wool socks. I always carry an extra pair of wool socks in my backpack. even when wet the wool will keep your feet warm but you can still get wicked blisters. A fresh pair of dry socks can save you a lot of pain later on in the trip. This is where one of those ziplock bags comes in handy.

This all may sound like a bit much but when it comes to Alaska it is better to be a little over prepared than under prepared. If packed right this will take up very little space in your back pack and can save you a lot of headaches.

Things to do:

Juneau, Mendenhall and Salmon Bake is a fun one. You get to visit the glacier and if you are up for a fast paced hike you can make it to the waterfall. I took the time for the hike and it was WELL worth it, not many make that treck for a wonderful view. As far as I know it will also go to Gold Creek Camp Salmon Bake, which is a blast and you can return to the ship when you want as they have several buses running back to the ships during the day. Great salmon, a nice little hike to a small waterfall and even firepits for roasting marshmallows but if you want smores you will need to bring your own graham crackers and chocolate bars (I have done it).

Icy Strait Point: I did a whale watching tour the last two times I was there and all I can say is take a look through the photos from my Alaskan trips in my signature on here. At times we had 15 to 20 whales around our boat. Breaching, feeding and playing. From all that I have read the Icy Strait Point whale tours are some of the very best with lots of whales in the area. The whales migrate up to the area for feeding during the summer and are coming into the area from May to June (when the food is most plentiful) then leaving in September to run back to their southern birthing grounds. Very cool indeed and I am going to do that tour again if I can.

Helo tours: I hear that the ones out of Skagway are pretty darned good. Keep in mind there is an amazing train ride out of Skagway as well. If you work it right you might be able to do both. If you do one of the train rides, be sure to do one that includes a ride up to or back from the Yukon on a bus then the second half of the trip is on the train. LOTS of stops for photos and the train ride is always great for the views too. If you do a helo tour I would love to hear your review on it.

Lunches: Well worth the time to get OUTSIDE the port areas. Get alway from the touristy stuff, if you still are seeing stores with International in the name keep walking. There are a lot of really great local places if you search for them.

Seward: If you have the time by all means do the Kenai Fjords Cruise with Lunch & Sealife Center. I got to see orca as close as five feet from me as I stood on deck for the tour. Lunch wasn't the main reason for this one and it kind of showed. It was ok but I was there for 5-6 hours of wild life watching and was NOT let down. The tour took us all the way out into open water where we saw several pod of orca and a lot of humpbacks as well. We were also able to visit some groups of sealions and saw more wildlife than you can imagine.

I tried to include a lot of photos from the tours in my album linked in my signature and feel I pretty well captured the spirit of Alaska in the images. If you have questions about any of the tours I did feel free to ask and I will answer them as best I can.

Joe W.

I have always had great luck at Icy Strait Point when looking for sea glass. Look under where the walk ways are, a lot of the old time workers at the cannery left a lot of glass bottles in bits and pieces. In three of my four trips there I would safely say I have left with more than a gallon ziplock bag full of assorted glass. :) If you have access to the shore near any of the old canneries I would look them over carefully and enjoy.

Joe W.

I absolutely LOVE Icy Strait Point/Hoonah. Early in the season I have seen more whales there than anywhere else. Heck, just hang out on the pier out over the water and you can see more whales than most will see on whale watching tours at other ports.

I have done two whale watching tours in ISP and will again next year. You can see some of my photos from the trips through the links in my signature here.

Joe W.

Joe, thank you so much for all the great info, we are taking our first Alaskan cruise in August. :)

 

I really wanted to see your pictures but they would not come up for me, I guess because i am not on Facebook.

Hummmmm The photos should be set to public so everyone can see them. I will double check for you. It seems Facebook has changed my privacy settings yet again. I will have to go back through and re-share all the albums when I have a chance later today. Please check the albums later on. :)

Joe

Awesome advice for the new-to-Alaska crowd. Thank you!

You are more than welcome. :)

Joe, you provided great and worthwhile information, but for what it is worth, it is difficult to read posts without paragraph spacing. Please consider using spacing the next time you post. More people are sure to read it that way and benefit from all the wonderful information you share.

The original post of mine that I copied it from had been spaced correctly but for some reason when I pasted it here the spacing didn't stay. I forgot to double check before hitting submit and closing out the page.

Joe W.

Although I can't say one time of the year is better over the other or one cruise line is better over another I will share what I have done.

My first trip to Alaska was a round trip out of Seattle and it was fun but felt way more rushed than I would have liked. After that, I looked into things a bit more and found out that doing back to back cruises out of Vancouver offered more time (twice as many days in each more, twice the chances of great weather and such) and that became my favorite.

If time and budget allows I would say look into doing two cruise back to back, one North bound out of Vancouver then turning around and taking the second cruise from Seward back to Vancouver. Sometimes, this option can be close to the same price as cruising North or South alone plus the added airfare to or from Alaska.

In my four trips to Alaska, I have done the back to back thing three times and it has always been great. Usually I go early in the season (mid-May to early June) which offers better chances to spot wild life, bears coming out of hibernation, longer days bring lots of food to the areas for the whales to feed on, birds migrating back to the areas as well. The last two trips we made, Icy Strait Point was THE spot for whale watching, the tenders had to wait for them to get out of the way before going from ship to shore at times. We saw whales feeding right off the side of the ship!

As for which line to go with, I will say Royal Caribbean tends to draw a good amount of younger travelers and offer activities for those groups. No matter what line you go with though, you will find a pretty broad range of ages aboard the ship. In all honesty, meeting new friends is fun and all but with my interests in photography I tend to do things that will have me off on my own as much as possible, going to places most might not dare for the chance at that once in a lifetime photo. :) Feel free to check out some of the photos linked in my signature to get an idea of some of what you may see on your trip.

Keep in mind wild life is, well, wild. You don't see a lot of bears wearing watches so wild life spotting can be a hit or miss thing. To give you an idea, my first trip to Alaska I saw 18 bears in three days, the next three trips I think I may have seen five between all the trips. lol The weather can be pretty iffy at times during the early part of the season but rain or shine I always have a blast. My last trip we had weather ranging from sunny and 70 to snow and sleet. And that was in just one port! Weather changes and in Alaska it changes fast so be ready for it.

Since this is your first trip I have several tips that I follow and gladly share with others going to Alaska:

Dress in layers, I usually will have a long sleeved t-shirt, short sleeved t-shirt over that, fleece vest and rain jacket over that *gortex lined highly suggested* As the day warms up you can take off what is needed.

Carry a back pack! You are going to need someplace to put those clothes as you peal them off. And trust me the temp change during the day is enough you will wind up shedding a layer or two.

Keep a small, travel sized umberella with you. The day may start out clear and sunny but the weather can change at the drop of a hat. It is better to have a small umberella and not need it than to not have it and get nailed in a quick downpour.

Camera, keep it very handy! This time of the year is perfect for wildlife watching with all of the animals coming out of hybernation and migrating back into the area. Not a lot of things more frustrating than seeing a sow and her cubs while you fumble through your pockets looking for your camera. Keep your camera in hand, keep it turned on, make sure you have extra batteries in your bag, make sure you have plenty of memory for the camera as well.

Ziplock bags. It may sound like a weird thing to have with you but if you get a rain storm roll through you will want some place safe and dry to keep your batteries, memory for your camera as well as cell phones and such. A few cents worth of plastic bags can save hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of electronics.

Water bottle. With all the walking that can be had in the area it is a good idea to have a supply of water close at hand. There aren't always places to buy a bottle of water on some of the tours so it is a good idea to have at least a small (20 oz.) bottle of water in your bag.

Small towel. I can't count the number of times I have needed one and not had it. Everything from getting rain drops off your camera *or you* to getting rid of some sweat. If you are out on a hike or even walking around town and the temp is in the 50s or 60s you can still break out in a sweat. It is best to dry off if possible because when you start to cool down, your sweat can cause you to start chilling and that is no fun at all.

Well broken in shoes. It doesn't matter if you are just walking around town visiting the shops or out on a 6 mile hike, if you are in new shoes you very well may wind up with blisters and sore feet. Leave the new shoes at home and take those old ones you have been wearing for months and save you and your feet the pain.

Wool socks. I always carry an extra pair of wool socks in my backpack. even when wet the wool will keep your feet warm but you can still get wicked blisters. A fresh pair of dry socks can save you a lot of pain later on in the trip. This is where one of those ziplock bags comes in handy.

This all may sound like a bit much but when it comes to Alaska it is better to be a little over prepaired than under prepaired. If packed right this will take up very little space in your back pack and can save you a lot of headaches.

Things to do:

Juneau, Mendenhall and Salmon Bake is a fun one. You get to visit the glacier and if you are up for a fast paced hike you can make it to the waterfall. I took the time for the hike and it was WELL worth it, not many make that treck for a wonderful view. As far as I know it will also go to Gold Creek Camp Salmon Bake, which is a blast and you can return to the ship when you want as they have several buses running back to the ships during the day. Great salmon, a nice little hike to a small waterfall and even firepits for roasting marshmallows.

Icy Strait Point: I did a whale watching tour the last time I was there and all I can say is take a look through the photos from my Alaskan trips in my signature on here. At times we had 15 to 20 whales around our boat. Breaching, feeding and playing. From all that I have read the Icy Strait Point whale tours are some of the very best with lots of whales in the area. The whales migrate up to the area for feeding during the summer and are coming into the area from May to June (when the food is most plentiful) then leaving in September to run back to their southern birthing grounds. Very cool indeed and I am going to do that tour again if I can.

Helo tours: I hear that the ones out of Skagway are pretty darned good. Keep in mind there is an amazing train ride out of Skagway as well. If you work it right you might be able to do both. If you do one of the train rides, be sure to do one that includes a ride up to or back from the Yukon on a bus then the second half of the trip is on the train. LOTS of stops for photos and the train ride is always great for the views too. If you do a helo tour I would love to hear your review on it.

Lunches: Well worth the time to get OUTSIDE the port areas. Get alway from the touristy stuff. There are a lot of really great local places if you search for them.

Seward: If you have the time by all means do the Kenai Fjords Cruise with Lunch & Sealife Center. I got to see orka as close as five feet from me as I stood on deck for the tour. Lunch wasn't the main reason for this one and it kind of showed. It was ok but I was there for 8 hours of wild life watching and was NOT let down. The tour took us all the way out into open water where we saw several humpbacks as well. We were also able to visit some groups of sealions and saw more wildlife than you can imagine.

I tried to include a lot of photos from the tours in my album linked in my signature and feel I pretty well captured the spirit of Alaska in the images. If you have questions about any of the tours I did feel free to ask and I will answer them as best I can.

Joe W.

Your "wilderness" comment is excellent for a Kenai Fjords boat tour. I recommend at least 6 hours on the water. Nice close up glacier viewing and plenty of varied wildlife.

I second that. I have done the Kenai Fjords tour twice and had an amazing time on both trips. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I would suggest doing the sealife center as well, although there is a lot of shopping to be had around town, not to mention the most amazing looking library ever. You have to try and find time to visit it if possible.

There are photos of my Alaskan cruises linked in my signature, feel free to take a look. :)

Joe W.

You have to really "read between the lines" on reviews. Over 15 years and 22 cruises I find that reviews really only help set reasonable expectations. For example if you are a food critic and expect 5 star dining, you will likely be disappointed. But if you realize that they are making 3000 meals on a ship at sea, you will find that most meals, in my opinion, are good to excellent. If you consider that if you order Prime Rib and don't like it, send it back and get something else. Try a new food, it's free.

Keep in mind, it's a ship at sea, 100% self contained and moving. They age, and things happen. They do a great job correcting issues, but you are at sea hundreds of miles away from parts, etc. So the carpet is worn in spots, but that's why it's going into rehab and is a cheaper cruise.

Cruising is all about managing expectations. IMHO most negative reviews are from those who had unrealistic expectations. If you read the negatives with a "grain of salt," and I do, and use them for some reasonable expectation ("yeah there is an odor on deck 2 between these 5 cabins so I'll book a different location,") you will find you'll likely have all expectations exceeded and have a great time.

For me, any day cruising is better than any day not cruising. Have a great time. Let us know what you think when you get back.

Very well put. Take the reviews with a grain of salt, in some cases a few pounds.

Over the years I have been crusing I have been aboard the Jewel for four cruises, one of the being a transatlantic lasting 16 nights. Never once have I had a problem aboard the Jewel, or any other RCL ship for that matter. Sure, there may have been a few hickups but usually weather related and you can't blame RCL in any way, shape or form for that one. But even with a few weather issues I ALWAYS have a great time, just go with the flow and don't get mad if your plans have to change a little bit.

No point in getting upset to the point of needing a medic because your flowers smelled too much like flowers or the menu in the dinning room was the wrong color and clashed with your purse. I have seen people gripe and complain about the craziest things, most of them seem to gripe because they think people listen to them.

With that said GO and have fun! :)

Joe W.