VermeulT

can you link me for the Soto's Grand Cayman excursion?

http://www.sotoscruises.com/grand-cayman-tours/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147366-d2021373-Reviews-Sotos_Cruises-George_Town_Grand_Cayman_Cayman_Islands.html

I am booked for March 5th with Peat Taylor.

I'm paying $60pp for Blue Hole & Tubing including admission fees (not including tips).

He got back to me very quickly (via email) and has been pleasant to work with.

... I guess I wasn't sure when I looked about Whittier. I had heard everyone talk about Seward. Can you tell me the difference between the two? ...

This should give you a good idea on the two ports.

http://www.anchorage.net/library/southofanchoragemap.pdf

I'm an Alaska virgin - but if I were making your decision - I'd pick Carnival.... the savings is substantial, and the familiarity factor, AND the extra port.

The "rough" seas aren't guaranteed, they are just more likely. If your excursions are set and you don't mind spending the extra money - upgrade to a better room.

If you don't mind me asking - how much in tips did you spend between blue hole and the tubing - I'll be there in less than two weeks and need to plan on having enough cash on hand.

Thanks.

Alaska was also on my bucket list. And since I want to get as much into the one trip as possible - I booked HAL's 14 day itinerary. It hits a lot of places that most 7 day trips don't (Homer, Kodiak), we are scheduled for both Tracy Arm and Hubbard Glacier, and port times are generous. It's also Seattle to Seattle, which IMO is easier for flying since it's domestic.

I'm not ruling out that this will be my only trip to Alaska, but it will give me a good taste of everything so that next time, I can go back to the parts I liked most.

I haven't seen anything on here for a while about this..... is HAL still doing the walk for a cure/ cause on every cruise?

I tried my first time lapse from a moving ship last year, and when I do it again, I am going to use a 2 second interval. I used a 1 minute interval for some of the harbor cloud sequences and that was also too long. Video is here:https://vimeo.com/65854772

 

Larry

Thanks for sharing Larry. Very cool.

I took 24 hours of the snow falling over the last two days. I apparently didn't change the custom setting correctly so it was every 5 seconds. It ended up as 4 x 6:30 videos (the camera auto split every 6 hours). only the 3rd video ended up being really fun to watch - as the first part the snow was still falling heavily - and then watching our neighbors plow and dig out... hee hee....

It is definitely a fun toy.

My cruise will be stopping in Victoria from 1p-11p the first Sat in Sept.

I'm sure we will be exhausted from the 13 days prior, as will my wallet.

What are some low cost/ low impact things to do?

I am considering a trip to Butchart Gardens. Is there a "must do"?

Thanks. I hate that he search tool isn't working.

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Have you looked at taking the public bus?

Have you had your TA mark your cabin that it's ok for upgrade?

you never know... you could be bumped up to a full ocean view or even a balcony.

Keep an eye on the prices for your cruise too. Even after final payment, if there is a price drop, have your TA try to get you compensation. They might upgrade you to a higher cabin for no charge or give you on board credit for [part of] the difference.

I would also like to thank you. Your post has reminded me that being there is what is impt - not spending loads of money. This will help me with planning the rest of my Alaska trip in August.

Time lapse can be a lot of fun. Be sure to experiment with the intervals and frame rates as that can really change the time lapse effect.

 

Here is a time lapse I did from my balcony at King's Wharf, Bermuda.

 

Thanks for sharing. What was your interval on that?

I did 90 min of my dogs in the backyard... every 15 sec... it ended up being 2:30. I could probably do 30 sec interval and get similar results.

I was thinking 1 every min for something like what you had... or 1 every 5?

I just made my first video with my Brinno 100... it was about 45 minutes of 1 photo per minute (total video = 5 seconds).

It's cool. I look forward to seeing the view from my balcony in a few weeks...

Meantime - It'll be interesting to see what the cats do all day :)

What are YOUR interests? Both directions are very worthwhile, depending on what YOU wish to see/do.

 

Are you interested in taking a Prince William Sound boat tour? Otherwise, I wouldn't bother using any of your short time getting to/from Whittier.

 

As for the drive, you need to allow 1 1/4 hours Whittier/downtown Anchorage. Then add the car rental and transfer times. Be certain you are OK with after hours car rental liability if you don't rent from the airport. Downtown rentals are more convenient but close early.

Thanks.

I'm not sure what I want to see more....

I was actually thinking if I do Whittier, it might be a good opportunity to do a sea kayaking trip.

But then again, I don't want to get burned out on being on boats...

it might be nice to spend a full day on land... and to do something different... we could do the glacier trekking and Iditarod - which we won't do anywhere else...

I guess my question to you all is - what provides the more unique experiences (unique in what we can't get at another point on the trip) - or something that we just shouldn't miss.

Thank you so much everyone for your input.

Don't forget, if the search feature is not working, you can do a Google search within just the Cruise Critic boards.

 

Go to Google and type in "site:boards.cruisecritic.com noordam" without the quotation marks.

 

Replace noordam with what ever you are searching for. If you are doing a two word search place quotation marks in front of and behind your search words to get results for that exact wording.

Thanks for that tip. I tried the search Cruise Critic (without the above) and I'm not sure what the sort field is... it certainly isn't most recent posts and it was far from complete.

I have found that if you can finally find the "Search This Forum" you can change the forum you want to search... it just takes some looking. :(

I always used to come home from vacation with a head cold that would eventually become something more.

For me, it was the planes... Major germ factories... But going some where tropical when you've come from and go back to freezing temps... It's hard on the body.

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Can anyone lend input about the Market in Anchorage? I will be there mid-cruise and wonder if I should budget some time to do some shopping there.... (It will be Aug 31 so I might benefit from late season clearance... ?)

Thanks.

At Whittier, Phillips has two cruises, a "26 Glacier" cruise that departs at 12:30 and returns at 5:30 PM, and a shorter "Glacier Quest" cruise that leaves at 1 and returns at 4:45.

 

From Anchorage to the Whittier tunnel entrance in Portage Valley, you're looking at around 70-80 min. travel time "wheels turning." Allowing time for the wait for the tunnel opening, the tunnel transit (10 min. or so) and getting to the dock, I'd say you'd want to allow a generous 2 1/2 to 3 hours in each direction.

 

So that would mean leaving Anchorage around 9 and planning on returning around 8 for the long cruise, maybe 9:30 and 7:30 for the shorter one. You'd need to be sure that the rental car office will be open for those hours.

Thank you... exactly what I was looking for. :D

Thanks... I'm leaning that way also.

What is the realistic drive time from Whittier, if we were to get that far? It seems like a long day - but my biggest fear is being left behind at the dock.

I will visit Anchorage 1/2 way thru my 14 day cruise n HAL.

I will be renting a car. The question is... Go North - Iditarod Headquarters, Independence Mine State Park, etc, or Go south, Seward Highway to Portage (& Whittier?), Alaska Wildlife Conservation , etc.

I would appreciate input on either trip that you may have done previously.

We will be in port from 7a-11p

Thanks!

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I will be staying at Pensione Nichols which I've heard also has street noise and rowdiness at night. I liked the location and that it's a B&B with character. It's only one night and I'll be so excited for the cruise I probably won't sleep much anyway.

Well said Les.

Live life to its fullest and enjoy every minute that you can!

I will be on the Eurodam in a month and will send pix as soon as I return!

I've used a Vera Bradley bag (100 Handbag model).... might not be your thing...

It looks like a purse, fits my dslr plus one extra lens, has inside pockets for spare battery &/or memory cards, and it's lightly padded so no harm with a bump into something/ someone.

My hubby would carry it at times (though not over the shoulder :D).

He liked that it didn't scream camera bag. I've outgrown it now, and will be using a camera backpack for all my gear going forward.