Anita Latte

I read the article when this thread first started and I can’t refresh my memory because my free limit has been reached… ah well. I think this is an excellent example of how people don’t understand the application of a law or rule or regulation. Literally…it’s like she thought that the rule applied to the ship and the ships itinerary alone and didn’t understand that the planning of the ship’s itinerary wasn’t the whole of the application of the regulation…that not only could a ships itinerary not fail to include a foreign port but also, an individual’s itinerary couldn’t fail to include a foreign port. It’s a great example of the difference between education and experience.

It’s your decision: https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast https://auroraforecast.com/ I was in Fairbanks, not the Arctic Circle, in March and we had more like an 7/8 out of 10 and had a nice show. It’s your cost benefit analysis on what else about the tour is appealing if you might not see much…would you still have some satisfaction in doing the tour at all? Going to the Arctic Circle, the River, just the experience…that’s your call.

Just had lunch at the port and saw a boat heading out for parasailing. Think it was called Cocoa Beach Parasailing and saw their shop location across from Grillz and the Sunshine Marina in Port Canaveral. Also, there are helicopter tours that leave from Port Canaveral…had forgotten about those. They’re located closer to the entrance to the port area by the freeway.

My Dh is prone to motion sickness. Our itinerary was Vancouver, inside passage to Ketchikan, ISP, Juneau, Skagway, Hubbard, Seward…it was between Hubbard and Seward that we hit rough seas and DH had issues.

Melody I hope you recover quickly…are able to get good rest…aren’t in too much pain…and don’t have negative side effects from your meds. *hugs*

@Steve in Omaha See the photo included here to see how close this sailing got to Hubbard. Every sailing is unique.

I looked up the zoo and it's kind of disappointing to read about the major renovation that is underway to install a new and improved lion exhibit and otherwise renovate and improve the whole Africa area...which is where the guided kayak tours were!! So that's shut down for now though you can still kayak on your own through their wetlands exhibit. 😞 That's not that appealing to me because I can do that on my own with my own kayak! I'm excited for the lighthouse. I've been wanting to go ever since reading about being able to go during an historical building Christmas decoration tour...many buildings in Brevard County are all decked out to the max and you can go around and tour them...the lighthouse is one of the included buildings there...so I researched how else to see the lighthouse...and now, FINALLY, I'm getting to go...HOPEFULLY...they say they reserve the right to cancel if there are fewer than 4 signed up and so far, looks like we're the only 2 in our chosen time slot. We'll see. I was hoping that at least one other couple would join...but maybe not any more so we could have a smaller tour.

I don't have experience whale watching in Juneau in October...but I wanted to offer a viewpoint and encouragement because the PP's reply isn't very encouraging... We went whale watching in ISP with the lovely Glacier Winds...we went during the end of June...we didn't see too many whales. We saw a few fins...a few water spouts in the distance...but conditions were not optimal. In fact, conditions were exceedingly choppy and it made finding and seeing the whales problematic. We were rocking and rolling on our smaller boat and cutting through the chop and it was quite bouncy on our smaller 6-person boat. It was rough to hear that the morning tour (we had the afternoon one) had great whale viewing...bubble feeding and everything. By this description...you'd think it was a horrible day...but it wasn't. It's special to get onto a smaller boat in Alaska. Even if you don't see whales. We saw bears on land...and we were IN the inside passage and being able to really admire the scenery in a way that being on the water in a large cruise ship lacks. So while the intent may be whales...the experience is pretty awesome no matter how it goes. HOWEVER...if you read up on whale migration...you'll learn that there can be whales in Juneau from April to November. You'll learn that the southern migration catalyst is the waters cooling in the summer feeding grounds (includes Alaska)...and thus the whales leave where there had been plentiful food to venture to their breeding grounds. SO...it follows that while the waters are warm enough...the whales will continue to feed and fatten up for the lean winter...AND if you've been reading about the record breaking water temperatures occurring in this year 2023 you might figure that you will indeed have the opportunity to see whales. Regardless, it could be a wonderful day... IDK where the boats go...but you can see Mendenhall Glacier from quite a distance. The following photo is DS fishing the western shore of Douglas Island. You could ask where the boat typically goes...it could be quite scenic.

For sure…we passengers have no control over how long our ship stays there though. Idk when they come out with the port schedules but you can check historic data and hope it’s similar if we use the data to pick a ship…this is the Hubbard schedule for 2023: https://claalaska.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HUB-Hubbard-Glacier-2023.pdf At a glance, ships seem to mostly have 4 or 5 hours…I saw one with 7 and one with 12!

I wanted to add because it just hit me…having a morning time slot…the sun will be just above the mountains around the glacier and you’ll be looking towards it, looking towards the glacier. You’ll want to remember sun glasses and/or a cap/visor with a brim.

At 8AM, your ship will be on approach and still in open waters and you might catch a first glimpse of the mountains at 8 if you are forward facing. Check with your crew, our Hubbard day time slot opened at 7 and because I was super enthused for it all we set an alarm for 6:30 and got bundled up for getting on deck. I was on a Celebrity ship that had a forward deck so we went up there and looking at my own trip report, I took my first real photo at 7:03. I had taken more before that but they aren’t anything special because you can’t really tell what you’re looking at. 7:03 is when the camera was able to distinguish the mountains and produce a nice photo. 8 minutes later our heading changed and we were headed into Disenchantment Bay and you could see it up ahead. By 9:30, we were leaving Hubbard. I stuck with the forward facing view because that’s what I wanted. And I didn’t have a balcony room, only ocean view. It worked well for use because our ship master kept facing forward for a while. Then he spun us around twice, doing donuts. They was a lot of ice on the surface, not icebergs, and you could hear the sound of the ship crunching through it on the way out…which I know about because we went down to a side deck on Deck 4 after the donuts stopped. On my next trip, whenever that is, I hope to have a balcony…and if the ship I’m on has a forward facing deck, I’ll do that again for the approach, but then I’ll high tail it back down to my balcony to see the actual glacier and hope to get more perspective on the heighth of it. From Deck 12, where I was…we were kind of looking down at the glacier…not that it wasn’t impressive, but I’ve seen photos from small boat excursions and also had a glimpse of the mountains at least when we were leaving the bay to get a sense of scale. Now, if your balcony is on the port side…then you might see the mountain range towards the left. That’s where I kept photographing…the right side wasn’t as impressive at the time for some reason, so your view of those mountains could be lovely when your ship adjusts its heading to go into the bay. Also…you could be better off on your balcony for warmth. The wind on Deck 12 was wicked on approach…but it was calmer and sunny in the bay. There were also ship parts interfering with my photos…couldn’t get away from them…on your balcony, you probably won’t have weird ship parts sticking up in the view. I might have been frustrated on a balcony on my day though because as I said, he seemed to face forward for a while, and then when he turned…it wasn’t all calm and sedate…it was literal donuts and our Master was almost giddy when he talked about doing TWO. IDK what kind of view people on the side of the ship got…which could explain impressions like the PP above talking about streaming in and out. I wrote a pretty detailed description of my experience in my trip report…not sure if you really want to see it or not because sometimes I find that looking at pictures beforehand too much can take away from the real deal when you finally get there. I referenced my own report to try to answer your question and give you the best answer I could.

This is accurate…sort of. The port time generator includes the time of approach and the time of departure. The ships don’t spend all that time IN Disenchantment Bay where Hubbard is. My family was on deck for the entire time and I can say that if you are watching the approach…it’s pretty amazing…you look and look and finally you can start to see the mountain silhouettes in the distance…and as you approach they get bigger and bigger and it’s wonderful to have them come more and more into view. If you can spot a smaller boat in the bay (we did), it puts the elevation of the surrounding peaks into better perspective. Excitement builds as you figure out where the break in the mountains are and where the ship is headed and then as you recognize a peek of the glacier through the entrance to the bay…and then the magnitude of Hubbard nestled back there… Theres only so much admiration you can have though and so yes, the time at the glacier itself isn’t really long at all. So in that sense, you do come and go relatively quickly…but it’s a long way to sail to it and away from it so “steaming” down and out isn’t really an accurate portrayal of the distance and time it takes to get there and back.

Do you like more active things to do? For example, you could go kayaking. There are tours at Thousand Islands Conservation Area. People often see wildlife there. There are other places in the Indian River Lagoon…many guides are for darker bioluminescence tours but they often also day tours which usually focus on wildlife viewing. There’s a lot of conservation land around that you can enjoy in various ways. If you rented a car you could go over to the Merritt Island Conservation Area. There’s a small visitor center and a boardwalk type trail and then you could drive the Black Point Wildlife drive. If you’re in to birding, that’s a great scenic drive…or if you’re a hiker, look for different trails identified as Florida Birding Trail. If you want to see a completely natural beach…Canaveral National Seashore is also accessed on North Merritt Island. The sand is very pebbly and coarse and the seas can be rough…but there are hiking trails there too and it’s pretty amazing to see completely undeveloped shore. You might be able to schedule a surfing lesson? Or a kite surfing lesson? You could probably do a charter boat and go fishing…or maybe they have just day trips that aren’t fishing. You might be able to rent a boat on your own if you’re into that…the intercostal waterway and in particular the Indian River Lagoon is a playground of water activities and home to world class fishing though I don’t know what’s in season in October. There are also ocean bound charters… Depending on your interests, there are quite a few specialty museums around…space ones of course, but also the Valiant Air Command Warbird, Wizard of Oz, Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science… And there’s any number of typical beach town attractions…Cocoa Beach Pier, Ron Jon, miniature golf, and of course Atlantic Ocean beaches…

That’s just your ships allotted time for being at Hubbard. Every ship has a scheduled time there and there is likely another ship there later in the day. It isn’t a full day there. You can use those times to schedule other things on board or plan where you want to be when for viewing. The ship may pause and spin around and so it’s a “stop” along the journey but not really.

I don’t recall there being any shuttle services from the Cultural Center but we were there in March… The Cultural Center was enjoyable…good exhibits and information. I bet the River is beautiful when it’s running…it was completely iced over and covered in snow when we were there. We still got a photo under the antler arch and walked around that park…there’s a monument there that is pretty impressive. We went to the Museum of the North and Fountainhead…LOVED Fountainhead…the University museum was good also…very informative as such things are. I think there’s a fairly good public bus system and likely you could get to the university easy enough on it… it sure about Fountainhead as that’s a bit more off the beaten path and tucked back…but maybe.

My first advice would be to talk about the situation on your roll call. See if you can either join with someone who has already planned to rent a car and would have space and/or form a group of others who are in the same predicament to join forces and rent a car and share the expense. I’m sure there’s many people in the same boat so to speak and cooperation might be your best bet. If you’re really willing to work with others, you could see what other ships are in port and go to those roll calls to get help. In addition to normal rental cars through any agency, there may be some Turo rental cars? Idk if I’m remembering that name correctly but it’s a bit like AirBnb or Outdoorsy for passenger vehicles. You basically are paying to borrow someone’s car to a period of time.

Also…most people would do Mendenhall first thing to try to beat the rush. Also, it can be quite foggy is in the earlier day hours and so the tram wouldn’t be as appealing earlier. Most wait to see how the weather is before doing the tram. OR…you go to Mendenhall much later in the day and try to go after the rush. We were there in the late afternoon and the trails had very few people on them. Didn’t go in the visitor center though.

The issue with access to Mendenhall is that because it is Federal land any commercial business needs a permit to operate on Federal land. Each tour provider was given however many permits each year but for years now they have been able to secure additional permits when their allotment ran out. This year, no additional permits were authorized so later tourists are stuck with finding a non commercial way to get to Mendenhall. I don’t know how taxi riders are affected but Uber/Lift drivers were not able to drive onto Federal land and riders would need to walk however long that a path that is. I think taxis MAY be able to take you but even without the permit allotment issues, because of permitting at all, there was a steep charge to be dropped off at the visitor center, rather than the same area Uber/Lift drop off. Personal vehicles are unaffected by the commercial tour permit allotment regulations. Parking is limited though and that’s one reason why the shuttles were so popular.

I haven’t stayed in any hotels here nor has any family so I don’t really have a recommendation…I could talk about location more than anything. Like most towns along I95 there are several hotel near/at the Hwy 50/Cheney Hwy exit…most of the major hotel brands are there. Franchise restaurants are all around this area and access to major driving routes. These hotels are likely catering to road trip people but also some tourists. There’s a Crate and Barrel right there on the hotel side…some people are big fans of that. Ease of travel with a car is a big factor in their appeal though they are all decent representations of their brands from outward appearances. There’s a new Marriott right on the Intracoastal waterway and I think a H brand (Hyatt or Hilton) is nearby but I think they are much pricier. The Courtyard has a water view for sure with a rooftop restaurant that can be popular, but it’s only available for guests when there’s a launch. Will there be a launch while you’re here? These hotels are right on Hwy 1 so easy drivability again but there’s not much retail right there. That area is more commercial with major employers are right there, and I think those hotels are catering to business travelers more. There are the typical local motels as well and these seem to be located more in historic downtown but more in the part that’s a couple blocks down from the center…these are old but well maintained enough looking but if I didn’t know the area, I might feel less comfortable staying in them. I think they’re safe enough but I’m just saying that if you arrive past daylight, might not feel so to a tourist. There are more motels that are on Washington/Hwy 1 that are more away from downtown, and these might feel a bit more small town and kitschy but also feel a bit safer to someone unfamiliar. There’s quite a few AirBnBs…and if you’re wondering about any of those locations I could help you. It all depends on who you’re traveling with and what your plans are. If you have hotels you’re debating, that might help me help you more, let you know how well it would fit into your plans. Edited to add…the biggest difference between Titusville and Cocoa Beach is that Titusville is not as touristy…we are more residential and working with major employers in the Space Industry and more nature oriented, conservation type attractions and space oriented attractions whereas Cocoa Beach is a very touristy beach town.

I have not done a zoo since we lived in Wichita. The Sedgwick County Zoo was amazing and when DS was in his second year (around 18 months)…we were members of the zoo and literally went 3-4X a week. Kayaking at a zoo could be really interesting…I’m going to look that up.

@awhfyI looked up the troll...what a FUN thing! I'm continuing with my own local touring on the weekends. I just bought a 2-hour tour for the Cape Canaveral lighthouse this weekend! They seem to only offer the shorter weekend tour every other month...the longer and more expensive tour is during the week...I'm really just interested in the lighthouse at this point. I can't imagine you haven't seen it yourself Melody...did you work at Cape Canaveral or Patrick? You know they are Space Force Bases now?

Back in London... It's GRADUATION DAY!! I'd like to first share that there was literally no information that I could EVER find about graduation. Even after several inquires...and pestering DS to try to get info...they just didn't HAVE any...I think because they literally don't plan for it until so much closer to the date. There is no consideration at all for those of us who would be traveling internationally. When I made all our London travel arrangements, I was basically praying and hoping that graduation would land sometime during the visit. Historically...it had happened on the Tuesday following the last day of the semester...so I figured it would be today...but past performance is never a guarantee of future and so...I made plans with some degree of certainty but I was happy when DS said he finally got the info about graduation in JUNE. What an amazing graduation it was!! We had a clue as to how different it could be when we attended DS's high school graduation because that was a conservatory graduation as well...but it was just the high school graduates at that off site ceremony. This...THIS felt like we were partaking in a ceremony that could be called a rite...this was TRADITION on steroids. The ceremony took place in Freemasons' Hall: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasons'_Hall,_London The interior is absolutely stunning. The temple is huge...many many floors...many many grand staircases...gorgeous stained glass....ornate ceilings... It created lovely backdrops for photos but with only a camera phone with me...the backlighting was rough...nevertheless...here's DS's in his graduation robe... Everything was a rental...we needed to check in quite early so that he could be fitted for his cap and gown. But it is more accurate to call it a robe. No front closer. No real sleeves...it's like a droopy shouldered sleeveless robe...so whatever you are wearing shows quite clearly, unlike the graduation gowns that I wore which completely covered your outfit and made everyone look alike. We always say that DS got a double dose because DH and I know how to sweat LOL...and so DS was wanting to wear something as lightweight as possible, so he was wearing a short sleeved button down and dress slacks. Graduation was technically at 11 am but we needed to be there a couple hours early for the whole robe situation. Each graduate was only allowed a maximum 2 attendees. DH and I had to have our tickets and be checked off a list. Because we had to be there so early...and plan our tube rides and walking to our destination...we didn't have breakfast prior to arrival. There was supposed to be a cafe on the premises and we figured we would make life easy and just have a bite to eat there. We had been doing a bit of meet and greet with a few parents of DS's friends...but caffeine was calling and there was talk of others having had the same thought about the cafe and so he headed down to it to beat any rush. The cafe seating area was quite large and we took over a table where a long bench had multiple-tables...and as I had hoped with that selection...when the other composer friends and families came down to the cafe...we took over all the tables and all the composers were having a grand time and we were able to chat more with other parents. It was a good call socially...even if the food was lacking. Soon enough it was time to head into the Grand Temple. I immediately started taking photographs and was immediately told that photographs were NOT ALLOWED in the Grand Temple. The temple is like a room oriented in "the round" where seating on all four walls faces toward the middle. There is a main entrance and there was a small podium at the end of that aisle along with chairs obviously intended as a stage sort of setting. We were sitting on the side where the undergraduates would be seated: View from my seat looking forward: A bit of my overhead view: The organ was playing as people were being seated. It continued to play introductory music. Then a brass ensemble played. Then the processional happened where all the Professors, Principal and HRH (Her Royal Highness) The Duchess of Gloucester GCVO (Dame Grand Cross) entered. The ceremony was so much more than a graduation ceremony, though it did present recipients of Undergraduate Awards and Postgraduate Awards. There were also recipients of Fellowship (FRAM) and Honorary Fellowship (Hon FRAM) of the Royal Academy of Music... For these John Suchet OBE was the orator. He would call each recipient forward and they would come stand in the center aisle and face him while he basically read a bio about them and their achievements that warranted them to have earned their FRAM or Hon FRAM. There were 7 such recipients this year...the most known one, judging from the reaction of the crowd was Jacob Collier. Similarly...There were also recipients of Honorary Membership (Hon RAM) of the Royal Academy of Music, of which there are always 300 living at any given time...or something to that effect. And again, Suchet had a prepared bio for each recipient, of which there were 5...and again just judging from the reaction of the crowd...Jamie Cullum and Beverley Knight MBE were 2 of the better known recipients. There was also one Honorary Doctorate given...to James Newton Howard, who among other things is a film composer of over 100 films with such a diversity I'm having a hard time picking any to name...but I will say all the Hunger Games and Emily in Paris, because that seems to show a great range. He was also something of a key note speaker giving a wonderful, extremely entertaining speech. There were also Outstanding Studentship Awards given in multiple categories...these are a secret only revealed at the ceremony so they are a surprise to everyone. Not a single piece of paper was given during the ceremony. Supposedly, we will receive DS's degree, which is a Bachelor of Music in composition, in the mail. And I've learned...as this is a newer degree...it is NOT referred to by the letters only like a BS or BA are...so we're not talking about a BM...it's shortened to BMus...pronounced Bee-Muhs. Kinda freaky that they are going to MAIL his degree but whatever... HRH shook EVERYONE'S hand. For the graduates, they were called forward in groups of 7...and they would line up in the aisle...and all their names were called in order without pause as they walked forward to shake HRH's hand and then proceed back to their seats as the next group of 7 came forward. All in all, it was a very engaging ceremony and while it was probably a couple hours long...it didn't FEEL long. There was a glass of sparkling wine for EVERYONE after the ceremony. As we exited the Grand Temple into the outer areas...there were servers with trays working through the crowd and also side tables set up...and so there was a lot of toasting and chatting and congratulations going on. It was exceedingly crowded...so not really time for pictures...and it was also quite warm and so the crowd made their way outside to the front steps... Sadly, the front of Freemasons' Hall was undergoing some renovation and so it wasn't a lovely spot for pictures. But this is the family one we got: Here is my plum dress! It's sleeveless...and this is a knit blazer that I picked up several years ago from Anthropologie. It's a bit on the bulky side for packing and travel because it is sweater knit like...but that also makes it great for travel because it doesn't wrinkle and it is very comfortable. It wasn't too hot because it is so breathable. The scarf is one of my faves...I got sunburned at Wimbledon and so I figured that when I did get warm and took off my blazer...the scarf could help with coverage. Not pictured are the same white sneakers that I wore to Wimbledon. I had been paying attention to footwear with all my people watching and as I said before...almost everyone was wearing trainers, no matter what they were wearing. Others were similarly shod at the ceremony...the "nicest" shoes I noticed were ones that looked like Clarks to me...which again are geared more for comfort than fancy dress.

I live in Titusville and I would say that if you have a car, if the hotels are much cheaper here, then I would stay in Titusville. Idk what your plans are but there is SO MUCH to do here all along the Space Coast…you may not go to Cocoa Beach at all. Let me know if you have any other questions…I’m happy to help if I can.

@MississippiMom I agree with you wholeheartedly. You have to begin wherever you do with your planning. When we took our AK cruise, it wasn’t anything we had researched out at all…I was just looking and found an affordable option with a cruise line we had cruised on before and I didn’t look anywhere else because I like and know the ship we sailed. I didn’t worry about whether or not we had the best itinerary etc., DH and I sat there and looked at our hotel points and airline miles and other travel rewards to figure out that we could actually go. I agree that the important thing is to go and just make a trip that makes yourself happy…not worrying about if it’s the best in the eyes of anyone else. People have definite Glacier Bay love…but as with anything, I’ve read about foggy days and no one being able to see much of anything. People are like that with the railroad in Skagway. There are many things people consider must do…as if anything in AK is a must do for everyone. GOING is the must IMO. I love your reason for wanting to stop in Sitka! Lol…I’ll share that the first time we went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom DS was most excited to see naked mole rats…that’s like the first thing we did after getting a fast pass. It was because we were big Kim Possible fans…he was thrilled. To each their own kwim? Apologies to the OP… not meaning to hijack your thread if it feels that way.

I am very confused by your planning... Are you saying that you are planning to do a pre cruise tour up in Alaska but are considering a cruise departure port of Seattle? That seems very odd to me. I get wanting to just let someone else do the planning and so please don't misunderstand that my questioning has anything to do with doing a cruise tour...it completely has to do with the logistics. It just seems very odd to me to think about that almost 4 hour flight back to Seattle... I think a lot of time is wasted doing the RT Seattle. It's basically like being out to sea to get to Sitka. IDK how the viewing is and I know that you run the risk of rough seas. The port stop in Victoria feels like a big why bother and I hear about many people just staying on the ship when they have that late night 4 hour stop. Also the other port times seem to be a bit short... The downside on the one way is that FWD cabin. We had a FWD cabin on our one way from Vancouver to Seward and from Hubbard to Seward was a ROUGH day. DH is prone to motion sickness and so we sent him down to a lower deck midship to escape the packing chore that day because he was not doing so well at all. Depending on the time of year...I have read about the risk of not being able to get into Disenchantment Bay to have a closer view of Hubbard. IDK if that ship would offer a smaller boat excursion that would have a better chance. ALSO...your time in Juneau may be long enough to do the Adventure Bound day cruise which I've heard many good things about, which would be another way to have some glacier viewing. ALSO...if you leave from Seward and depending on your timing there, like if you have enough time there...there are several Kenai Fjords cruises available that will go out for some glacier viewing...or other excursions that can get you closer to glaciers. But are glaciers a big motivation for you? It could all depend on what it is you are really hoping to see while you are there.