GalavantinGal

On my next trip to Alaska I will have to stop in and visit. Thanks for the input Yardbird! Hope you had a wonderful rest of the trip as well.

Nearly everything on the bucket list for Alaska covered!:D

They said it was too early for the Northern Lights, but around midnight each evening they showed up and the captain quietly announced them.

They said it was too late in the season for whales, but we saw a lot - and right from the ship!:)

They say only 30% of the visitors actually get to see Denali, as it is so often covered in clouds; but she shone beautifully!:cool:

Unexpected treats:

I saw something resembling dolphins (about 6 of them) racing towards the ship. As they got closer, they were black and white like orca but only the size of humans. We discovered they were Dalls Porpoises. Never heard of them, but they were magnificent.:)

Once aboard the train we saw Baluga Whales in the Turnagain Arm. They are quite rare it was explained, and we saw several.:D

Other sightings: Calving in both Glacier Bay and College Fjord, bears in Glacier Bay, whales and Orca along the coast between Glacier Bay and College Fjord, sea lions and sea otters in Glacier Bay. Moose, dall sheep and caribou in Denali National Park. Eagles and salmon in Juneau on the hike to Nugget Falls.

Disappointments: We booked our flights through Princess, which took us from the east coast to Vancouver on United; returning Anchorage to east coast on American. Both flights were cramped, tight and uncomfortable. On United we had an air bus with no video or audio. You could hook into their wifi, but we did not bring screens to accommodate this.

McKinley Princess Lodge.... There was nothing there. You can take a bus to Talkeetna (one hour away) for $10. Riding another bus is something you don't want to do at this point in the journey, and other passengers reported it takes longer to get there than the amount of time visiting the entire town.

Customs/customs and immigration: When you are on the plane to Vancouver, you get a customs form to fill out. Checking in through Canadian customs is not bad. Then you get on the bus and go directly to the port, where you now have to enter U.S. Customs and Immigration. This takes nearly three hours for the entire process.

WHAT I LEARNED:

1. The end of August is a perfect time to book an Alaskan Cruise/Tour. No bugs and lots of sightings.

2. Don't fly into Vancouver if you can avoid it, or plan to stay a night and get to the customs/immigration before the planes arrive. I might sail from Seattle if I did it again.

3. Skip McKinley Princess Lodge and do two days at Denali Princess Lodge. There is more to do and see.

4. Book my own flight on a more comfortable plane.

I truly enjoyed your review. We will more than likely fly from Richmond ourselves, and intend to go in September. This gives us great information on what to do and what to avoid - and I'll be taking that advice on the coat. Since we don't get to spend months there, it's so difficult to decide what is most valuable.

Thank you for sharing the wonderful trip and pictures.