DougH

When you exit Tracy Arm. The entire time is scenic sailing. IF you want to experience the most, stay out.

Almost all of an Alaska cruise is scenic sailing to me. Its hard to head inside and miss it almost anywhere even after all my trips North :)

I'm sorry if I upset you DK, I just made a suggestion as to what "I" considered a waste of time "I" thought could be better spent. You obviously have a different opinion. As you didn''t mention that this tattoo would commemorate 9/11 I attached no significance to the date other than that was the day you would be in Ketchican. As I'm not into tattos I also wrongly assumed that one done in Ketchican was no different than one done in Chicago, Dallas or Miami.

Whatever you decide to do enjoy Alaska, there is tons of neat stuff to see and do.

Why would you travel thousands of miles from home on your vacation to see Alaska then spend all of your time in port getting something you could have done at home? Enjoy your vacation and then get this done when you return home would be my suggestion.

The robe I'd use every morning after my shower but the chef jacket will be useless to me. Anyone want to bid on ebay? :)

Do they ask your size for the robe and chef jacket or are they a "one size fits all" type? I may finally try this on my Alaska B2B but would much prefer a lower cost without the extra goodies.

One party is enough for me, don't see a need for more. What I would like to see added is a free meal in one of the alternative restaurants, maybe just make this for the top 40 aboard. Also a second minibar setup for every additional 7 days onboard. (ie a 12 day cruise still only has one setup but a 14 day + one gets two, 21+ three)

Still wearing that old hat Doug ? :D

 

Bob

Only on cruises Bob :)

I'm planning on taking this from the ship to the airport after my cruise. How are tickets purchased? Are there machines or an actual live ticket agent? I'm assuming that if it is by machine that means Canadian dollars only?

Great job Doug! I was on the same cruise and am ready to go back.

Notice the huge difference between Tracy Arm on my excursion and what we saw from the Royal? Hard to believe it's the same place. That was sure a fun cruise and a great group from the CC Roll call.

Here are some photos of my recent cruise on the Royal Princess to Alaska, if you haven't sailed to Alaska before maybe these will get your attention. I'm so hooked I go pretty much every year, its different every cruise.

http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00a1-faf6-3f92?lb

And if you like these try what I call my "Blue Album" :) These were all taken on an all day small boat tour in Tracy Arm. Warning this is quite long and very BLUE!

http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00a1-df12-1a76?lb

These albums were created using a link here on Cruise Critic and the site is extremely easy to use.

Yes, Phil carried a gun on our Brown Bear Lodge Excursion. Every time we got out of the van he had it on his shoulder. (except in town)

Just remember you don't have to be faster than the bear. just faster than the slowest member of your group :) (kidding of course)

Another option is to head out with Kenny (our guide was his friend Phil) from Brown Bear Lodge. I went out with them a couple weeks ago and we saw 12-15 bears during the day. Phil told some great stories and was a lot of fun. We were with him all day from about 8:15am until at least 4pm. Phill was willing to drive us around as long as the ship was in port.

If you're only going once and can afford it I'd say a balcony may be for you, my choice is and inside or obstructed cabin. I spend lots of time on the open deck and its free. No balcony is also a reason I've been able to cruise to Aalska 13 times and my next cruise is my 41st. An inside cabin saves lots of money for the next trip!

All of the vehicles travel in a convoy so that if one gets stuck the others can pull it out. Treat it as a big adventure and have fun. Patrick knows how long it takes to get back to town as he does this all the time.

Great video, thanks for posting. I'm doing the Bluff Cove tour this year, last time did Volunteer Point. No quite as nice a beach but still looks like a neat excursion. Sure answers the question of how many penguins are there :)

Thanks Jason that's pretty much what I figured but thought it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Any favorite inexpensive spots to get lunch in town? Fish and chips would be fine :)

Question for Jasonflk : I'm booked on the Princess Bluff Cove tour during my Star Princess cruise in March. Are the buses set up like a shuttle system back and forth from Stanley? What I'm wondering is am I stuck with the bus I get to Buff Cove on, or if I want to stay longer can I ride back on a later bus? Did the Volunteer Point tour last trip with Patrick and figured I'd try something different, and one that would allow me a bit of time in Stanley.

As mentioned in the other response all of the vehicles travel together in case any have problems and/or get stuck. My driver/guide was Val, he had been the driver of the local ambulance for years and had some great stories to tell about living there. He was probably the oldest and slowest driver but was the smartest.

Many vehicles would speed/bounce past us but every time we arrived at a gate we magically were in the right spot to sail thru. If there was a series of two gates we were the third one to arrive and the other drivers would have to get out and open/close the gates while we just drove thru. Every stop we seemed to be the 1st or second one to arrive. Several times the caravan would stop to look at how to get around a bad spot. Val would sit patienly for a while in line, them get tired of this and then just pick a different spot and easily drive around where the group had gone. Really kind of funny how easy he made it look :)

This was a fantastic tour and I highly recommed booking thru Patrick if at all possible. Aside from the cruise line he is the only game in town and IMHO provides a much better tour at a great price.

We drove by many fields of landmines and a crashed helicopter, site of the last soldier killed in the war was pointed out. Driver didn't really go ito the battle details but bet he would have if asked specifically. His name was Val, he was the former ambulance driver for the local hospital. Not the fastest driver but the smartest. We always seemed to arrive first everywhere despite lots of other vehicles passsing us. He knew when to slow down to let others hold open the gates and how to get thru the bad spots easily. Told lost of interesting info along the way, great guide. Really a great tour.

We have a reservation with Patrick Watts for a tour to Volunteer Point on Feb. 1st. I'm anxious to see Penguins but my husband wants to see Battlefield sites. Can you tell us about the 2 hour drive and will he be satisfied with seeing some Battlefield sites along the way?

1st 45-minutes to 1 hour was along gravel road. last 1+ was over VERY rough terrain. No road, not even any path. Each driver picked what they thought was the best route. Could be tough if you have a bad back etc. Volunteer point and the penguins is spectacular and well worth the trip. I'll send you some photos to help make a decision.

Doug

I did Volunteer Point with Patrick in Jan 2009 and it was worth every penny. Cost was $185 US but if you paid in pounds it was significantly cheaper. Forget the actual conversion but believe it came in at less than $150. Princess tour was I think $339!

I hope to be back in March 2010 and will probably try the Bluff Cove optionso I can see more of the local area.

Volunteer Point was spectacular, penguins were fantastic

I used to get the polo/golf shirts from each voyage that would have both the ship name and destination. Now they seem to have either but not both on the shirts.

Also collect the ceramic ship models. I'm missing the old Crown and Island Princess models, anyone have some they want to get rid of?

I agree with the others, if same day as the cruise I'd use the cruiseline transfer. Otherwise if coming in a day or two early National Express bus is a great way to go.

I've found the ship deck plans are actually pretty accurate to give you an idea if you are between a lifeboat or not. It the diagram shows a lifeboat in front of your window it's pretty sure your view will be blocked.

Burm that's exactly what I would do!