surgie

It was recommended to me to reach out directly to Glacier Wind and they may accommodate your children if you are willing to do a private tour. We have 11 including two kids under 9 and the captain is willing to take the younger kids as long as we book a private boat. It is expen$$$ive but we all have to determine the value gained by the money spent:) 

20 hours ago, Coral said:

I haven't stayed there but I have stopped there and it looks like a great lodge. I took a guided hike they were offering to Exit glacier once. I would stay there. I agree - it is worth looking at.

Windsong looks great and does have availability for the 3 rooms I need. But we won't have cars and it looks like it is somewhat out of town. I fond availability at the Breeze Inn in town and wonder if it's just for a night if that might be more convenient with the kids (ages 5-11). Plus it's more than double the cost of the Breeze Inn - as it should be based on the pictures.I haven't reached out to Windsong to see if they offer a shuttle. So not knowing Seward I'm in a bit of a quandary. Appreciate your input. 

19 hours ago, PGtheWineMaker said:

@surgie Grande Alaska Lodge, 212 Bear Drive, 907-519-8538 is a great location for you to check out.  You can see a few photos if you check them out on TripAdvisor.  We stayed for 4 nights in 2022.  It is walkable to the cruise port and the downtown.

Looks nice - I just contacted them. Thanks for the recommendation.

9 hours ago, AKStafford said:

Have you called the hotel directly to make sure they are sold out?

I have not called but have emailed directly to hotels and received prompt responses. Some offered to put me on a waiting list, some require 2 nights stay, others are sold out and do not offer a waiting list. I did find 3 rooms at the Breeze Inn which will do but they are cancellable so I'll continue to look. They have full beds, not queens, so not ideal for two adults.

We did a "bear" tour in ISP in 2015. It was by far our worst excursion in Alaska. Probably because it was early June, but there was not a bear in sight anywhere (of course I didn't expect a guarantee). In between stopping to roll his window down to talk to people along the road he knew, the guide/driver excitedly pointed out bear scat and we stopped to take pictures of squirrels - maybe a novelty for some in the very cramped van but we see them daily in the Midwest. I should have researched this more carefully but by the time I planned ISP I was "researched out". So I would say choose your bear tour carefully! When we go with the family in July 2024, we are looking to make different plans which I will look into more thoroughly lol. 

Thank you. Harbor 360 is sold out as well. I'm usually on top of things like reservations the minute they become available but we recently decided to spend a night in Seward instead of going on to Anchorage. I'll keep looking. 

We have decided to spend the night in Seward after disembarking from our cruise on July 19. Family of 11 - need 3 hotel rooms. The first couple I checked are sold out and I realize ai should have booked at the 365-day mark. Suggestions appreciated. 

I have searched the forum and read every post on whale watching I think lol! Family of 11 - 6 adults and 5 kids and we've decided on Juneau for whale watching vs. ISP (three companies I looked at in ISP have age restrictions that we won't meet with our youngest kids). We cruise in July 2024 and we want a private excursion.

I reached out to Jayleen's and Harv and Marv. I also checked into some other tours recommended here but for various reasons have narrowed it to these two. H&M can do a boat that holds 18 as a private tour for a similar cost to two of Jayleen's boats that hold 6 each and can go out in tandem for our tour. One member of our group has had seasickness issues (but it was the Kauai Napali Coast sail which is unlike the inside passage!) That would make me lean towards a bigger boat but H&M's is not hugely different from Jayleen's at least by the pics.

So any thoughts on pros or cons of either company are appreciated. My brain is honestly hurting from researching options at our four ports but I couldn't do it at all without this forum! Thank you!

21 minutes ago, KruisinKath said:

When I went in 2013, we did whale watching in both places! If you decide to do the same, I recommend Glacier Wind in Icy Strait Point!

Age restriction for under 9 and two of ours will be 5 and 7 at the time of the trip so that has to be a no for us unfortunately. I'm not running into the age issue in Juneau so that may be the deciding factor. Thanks, though. 

11 minutes ago, Coral said:

I would agree. I did whale watching 2 days a part, one in Juneau and one in Hoonah. I would choose Hoonah near Icy Strait Point with Glacier Wind. Glacier Wind is a small family owned company. Real nice family. I had an amazing whale watch the day I was there. I was just there in May.

 

https://www.g-wind.com

Glacier Wind looks great! Unfortunately kids have to be 9 years old and we have two that are younger than that. We'll keep looking but thanks for the suggestion. 

5 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

I know the title doesn't reflect it, but this thread, just down the board, is very relevant. This question gets asked here frequently:

 

 

Thanks you - I do try to search before asking but I'm not always efficient and/or the information in quite old. 

We (family of 11) are deciding on excursions for July 2024. Trying to decide whether to whale watch in ISP or Juneau. My husband and I did whale watching with Harv and Marv in Juneau several years ago so I'd likely book with them if we go with Juneau. We will be in port from 1:00-10:00 in Juneau and 8:00-8:00 is ISP. 

1 minute ago, surgie said:

So curious why you wouldn't just book directly with Gastineau Guiding if that's the tour you prefer? If you broke with the ship you don't have control over the tour company they use, correct?

Ok now I see - Gatineau makes you choose your cruise line to book a tour. 

On 8/25/2023 at 4:02 PM, dd57 said:

We took our ship's excursion and it turned out to be with Gastineau Guiding who only have small boats.  And as @donaldsc says, one of the best excursion guides ever.

So curious why you wouldn't just book directly with Gastineau Guiding if that's the tour you prefer? If you broke with the ship you don't have control over the tour company they use, correct?

The grandkids (ages 5-11) would like a gold panning experience on one of our port stops. We'll be in Juneau, ISP, Sitka and Skagway. We'd prefer a DIY if we can. Any advice on the best spot for this among our ports? July 2024. 

16 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

You can use it for specialty coffee drinks like cappuccinos or lattes at Cafe Promenade, Park Cafe, Latte-tudes (on smaller ships), the WJ bar, etc.

 

As mentioned, yes, ordering any coffee drink of your choice from one of these venues is far better than the complimentary self-serve coffee found onboard... and this is coming from someone who makes Maxwell House or even Walmart brand coffee at home, lol.

We'll be on Radiance which only has Latte-tudes...I liked the offerings at Park Cafe but is Latte-tudes "ok"? 

We are cruising in 2024 and will go back as a land trip when the road opens. It is not worth it to me to go party way. But...if you know it's your only trip to AK then I guess you'll have to decide if it's worth it to you:) 

Looking to book a private excursion next summer in one van/bus for 6 adults and 5 kids to Emerald Lake. I came across Midnight Sun Excursions which has several great reviews. Are there other private tour companies we should consider for our group? 

I'm so glad you asked this question. We are also going in July 2024 and will have 5 grandchildren ages 5-11 (along with their parents). I've just started putting together some excursion options for them to look at. Some in the group need more action, energy-buying than others. I hesitate to book the train as it seems to be a long day but I'll keep looking. 

I have 4 cabins booked for 11 family members on Radiance for July 2024. I have read that I only need to buy one photo package as long as I am present in all of the photos (read somewhere but not the RCCL site). 

There is a sale right now on photo packages for my sailing. The terms are below. To me this looks like I would need to pay for a photo package for each cabin if I want a family picture of all 11 of us. Is that correct? If so, I won't do it as I'd rather spend the money elsewhere. But I don't want to buy one package and only have pics of my husband and myself. 

• Digital or print photo packages are sold on a per stateroom basis only, and photos are linked to staterooms based on the guests traveling in that stateroom. Photos of accompanying children aged 21 and under who may be assigned to a different stateroom may also be included in the photo package.

20 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

The good news is you can cancel for a full refund and repurchase if it goes down after you’ve bought it. So the usual advice is to buy it, then keep checking in case it’s come down.

Great advice. I bought the drink package on "sale" for 20% off for our AK cruise next summer. The current promo is buy one/get one 50% off which worked out to be about $50 less per package. So I cancelled and rebooked. Very easy to do. Hoping for an even better sale on Black Friday. 

Sorry to hear this! I guess I better order early.

3 hours ago, Wink87 said:

I would like to have two of the RCL Alaska blankets in my nephew's cabin for his young daughters. I don't see on the cruise planner a way to pre purchase them. Can someone point me in the right direction please?

When is your cruise? I can see them for my July 2024 cruise. Gifts and gear > scroll down to Toys and Knick Knacks and the blanket is there. The one I see is called "winter blanket" and is blue and white with a polar bear on it. Not sure if it's the same one smokeybandit got last year or not. I hope it's a nice one as I plan to order for all 5 grandkids in advance of the cruise so I'll be bummed if it's a cheapie! 

2 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

We got one last year. I was surprised at the quality for the price. I was expecting something thinner.

1 hour ago, LeeW said:

 Not all that many backdrops and pier locations for photos on Radiance.  

Honestly just want one family photo on a night we are dressed up a bit for dinner. Maybe we'll just ask a stranger to use our phone.

8 minutes ago, LeeW said:

Main dining will likely be prime rib that night.  You can look at current sailings of Radiance on the app to see what the dinner menu is each night - select your profile, scroll down to bottom of your cruises, select ship and then sailing date.  Next summer is a long way away but should give you an idea of menus.

Thanks I'll do that. The kids might enjoy the main dining room on the first sea day so maybe I'll book a night when we have to be back early on the ship.