Trip Report: Millennium Southbound Seward to Vancover 5/29-6/5 2015

The cruise: Celebrity Millennium southbound from Seward to Vancouver, May 29-June 5. Actual trip duration, May 28 – June 6, 2015.

About us: My husband and I are a couple of empty-nesters in our mid-50’s. This was our 1st cruise to Alaska, and our 6th overall.

This will be a trip report of the Alaska ports and points of interest. The review of the ship will be posted separately over in the Celebrity board.

This will be lengthy and a bit detailed. It is meant to help other cruisers plan as well as to provide others the opportunity to relive their Alaska trips. I hope to include pictures.

Let's begin:

Thursday, May 28: Early flight from Tulsa via AA and Alaska Air, with stops on the way to Anchorage, through DFW and Portland. We arrived in Anchorage at 3:30 PM and had our bags in hand by 3:45. We headed to the Hertz rental car counter and were on our way to Seward by 4:00 PM.

We opted to drive to Seward and stay there the night before after weighing the various options for transportation to the cruise terminal. We had originally booked a hotel in Anchorage with the plan to take the train in on Friday morning. But the hike to Exit Glacier and exploring Seward on Friday sounded very appealing, and we wanted to be able to take our time to sight-see along the Seward highway. Although the one-way rental is a bit more expensive, for us it was worth it.

As we drove toward Seward we made many stops along the way at the various pull off spots that allow you to take pictures, enjoy the view, etc. We couldn’t stop at all of them, as we did want to get to town in time to have a nice dinner somewhere once we checked into our hotel. The weather was excellent: sunny and a little breezy, temperature about 65F. Each time we stepped out of the car we marveled at the view that surrounded us. In the pictures we took we have broad smiles on our faces. We were so excited to be here.

We did make a detour at Portage Glacier road, as we were curious and wanted to explore that way as well. That was the point of renting the car, after all. And the payoff was big…our first moose sighting! First we hiked the Byron Glacier trail. It is not very strenuous, almost always level and only about 2 miles round trip… and you can get fairly close to the glacier. There is a glacier creek that runs parallel to the trail at points. As we headed out of the park back toward the main highway, we crossed the bridge over the creek we saw it. A moose was standing in the creek getting a drink. We pulled off to take pictures. I swear he/she must have seen us because he tipped up his head sideways, and appeared to be keeping one eye on us as he continued to drink. Then as he started walking toward the bank he stopped and looked directly at us. After walking a few feet more, he stopped once more for a picture moment, and then disappeared into the woods. We were joyous! Only a few hours into our trip and we already had experienced so much.

Our hotel in Seward was the Best Western Plus Edgewater hotel. It’s a little dated and on the other end of the main road from where the pier is. The a/c was annoying because the compressor kept stopping and starting all night long. I probably wouldn’t have slept that night anyway, but that didn’t help. But the bed was comfortable and the people at the front desk helpful and friendly. After check-in, we drove down the pier and ate at Ray’s Waterfront. The food was ok. Nothing outstanding, but the view overcame the short-comings.

Friday: Time zone difference of 3 hours means awake before 5 am. Tried to go back to sleep, but finally gave up and headed down to breakfast at 6. There was a crowd in the hotel breakfast room. Evidently 6 isn’t too early for the majority of travelers to Seward.

After check-out about 9:00, we headed out to Exit Glacier. This trail is longer than that of Byron, with a paved path for wheel chair/handicap accessible to a view of the glacier, and a more challenging hike to the toe of the glacier. I say challenging as it isn’t paved and does require some sure footing in places. However, there were families with children out on the trail, so it isn’t a difficult hike.

Again the weather was beautiful, although the air was a bit crisp. We had dressed in layers of fleece over long sleeved shirts. This meant we could take off the fleece when we got warm and put it back on as the air close to the glacier was much cooler.

We only spent a couple of hours at the park and then headed back to Seward. We knew the ship had already arrived earlier and we were ready to get on board! The Hertz car rental at Seward is about a mile from the ship. We dropped off our bags with the porters and headed over with the plan to walk back to the ship from the Hertz office. Fortunately, they gave us a ride to the pier. Embarkation was a breeze. We had Aqua class cabin, so we had priority boarding. This meant skipping the line of about 20 other cruisers in the regular line. We were on the ship before noon, with a sail-away not scheduled until 8:00, plenty of time for exploring and relaxing on board. The first order of business was the excursions desk. We had booked 2 private excursions in advance and were planning to use OBC to book 2 more. Since it was early, there was no line. We were able to book the two excursions we had planned for: in Skagway, the White Pass Scenic Railway and in Icy Strait Point, whale watching via ‘A whale & Marine Mammals Cruise’.

After checking out the buffet, we each chose a couple of slices of pizza and ordered a drink and settled in to enjoy our view from the ship. An announcement was made that cabins would be ready around 1:30 and to please enjoy lunch in the buffet or to explore the public areas of the ship. We decided to go check out the spa since it was on the same deck and we had access to Persian Gardens with our Aqua class room. About 1:15 while we were still on our tour of the spa there was an announcement that cabins were ready.

We had chosen a cabin on the port side, thinking that on a southbound cruise it would face toward the land side of things and have better viewing. It didn’t really matter in the scheme of things, as both sides had great viewing opportunities depending on which port we went to on given day. We frequently would sit and watch the view from our balcony and then move on up to an outside deck facing the other side.

Saturday: This was the day for scenic cruising of Hubbard Glacier. The morning started off sunny. We again woke very early, so headed down to the Café to enjoy an early hot chocolate and pastry. Later, we enjoyed gazing at the view during breakfast from our table in Blu. But soon a fog settled in. Visibility outside was extremely limited. The captain announced that due to regulations, the ship’s alert would be sounded every 2 minutes.

As the time approached for heading in to bay toward the glacier, the fog was still very heavy. We made our way outside to the upper deck for viewing, with low expectations. As we made our way toward the glacier, I could see some very large mountains veiled by the mist. They seemed painted against the horizon and something from another planet. And then suddenly it happened! The fog evaporated and there in front of us in clear view was Hubbard. There was a gasp among the crowd gathered on deck. As the naturalist on board that was narrating commented, coming through the fog like that just added to the mystery and grandeur of the glacier. The ship made its way closer and closer with the sight and sound become more clearer. They opened the helipad and so we scurried to find a place down there. It was announced that the pilot was taking us within the ½ mile mark. It already seemed we were very close. That tells you how large it was.

It was cold, and so I was glad I had worn my heavier jacket outside. Gloves added to my comfort. I had ear muffs, but they hampered my hearing, so I shoved them in my pocket. The time in the bay passed quickly. Soon it was time to head back out. They closed the helipad and we went inside and headed to our room to watch from the balcony. The fog soon reappeared. It just added to the mystery and romance of the day.

Sunday: Juneau

This was a long port day, arriving at 9 am and scheduled to depart at 9 pm. We had an independent whale watching tour with Orca Enterprises booked in the afternoon, so the plan was to go explore Mendenhall glacier in the morning. We got off the ship and made our way toward the booth selling shuttle tickets, $20 each for the round trip. We were on the first bus of the day, which left at 9:30. They leave every half hour, top of the hour and bottom of the hour. Sort of. It was more like 9:40 when we finally pulled off the lot. But it was only a 20 minute ride. The driver was friendly and did a small bit of narration about the area along the way. We arrived at about 10:00. The location that the bus drops off is outside the actual grounds across the parking lot. So a small walk is required to get to the visitors center and start of the trail. We spend about 90 minutes total, but walking to the falls and back could probably be done in an hour if you have a fast pace and aren’t interested in any pictures along the way. We are both long legged and can walk/hike faster when we want, but during this trip we were taking our time to enjoy the surroundings.

We caught the 11:30 bus back to town and arrived at noon. Our whale watch was scheduled for 2:30, so there was time for lunch on board the ship. We were also able to freshen up a bit from our morning hike. It had warmed up a lot and we needed to discard some of our layers. We were glad we had chosen the morning for the hike, as I think the afternoon would have been less pleasant.

Whale Watching: Oddly there was only one other couple who had also scheduled the tour at the same timeslot. The owner had contacted us that morning to ask if we would like to schedule for the earlier time while other guests were going, but we had already made our plans for the glacier hike, and so had stayed with the afternoon tour. Although the timing for going to the glacier was definitely flexible, my husband had also thought that possibly fewer people would mean better viewing. I had read some great reviews for Orca Enterprises, but had tried to set my expectations according to the wise folks who contribute here. It is true that whale watching is hit or miss. And for us while it wasn’t a miss, it wasn’t spectacular. The boat we got on was their largest craft, which seemed overkill for 4 people. It can easily accommodate a crowd of at least 50, possibly more. We headed out to sea to find whales in some location that had been rumored to have a lot of whales feeding. Evidently Captain Larry hadn’t been out there to investigate yet, and wanted to give it a try. (Would be curious to know where the morning group had gone and their experience.) It took more than a half hour, probably 45 minutes to get there. The result was a mother and her calf. We watched them for a few minutes when Captain Larry shook his head in dismay and we headed back in the direction of another cover where we had spotted the blow from whales on the way. There was already another tour boat in the area. Evidently it was one of the ‘residential’ pair that return and have been named. We stayed and watched them for a good while until it was time to return. It was thrilling to stand up on the top deck watching for the blow from their spout and then either their humpbacks appearing or finally their fluke. But we weren’t very close, so you needed binoculars and a camera with a good lens to capture their images. Everyone is wanting those dramatic moments that we read about here or see online. It wasn’t happening for us. After the anticipation, it was a bit underwhelming.

We arrived back at the ship about 6:00. We were wiped out. It was a full day. We showered and then watched sail away from our balcony. It was 9:00 and just beginning sun down.

Monday: Skagway. A very early arrival here of 7:30 with the train excursion not scheduled until later meant we had plenty of time to explore the town. The area is very small and doesn’t take long. We wandered into the National Park Service Office and discovered they were giving free walking tours every hour. We signed up for the one later in the hour and then walked around some more taking pictures. I highly recommend taking one of these tours if you have the time and want something low cost. (Can’t beat free!) Evidently each tour has a theme and the ranger has a specific set of facts and trivia he shares based upon the theme. You walk to different points of interest along the way where the NPS has set up a mini museum of sorts. I think it took approximately 40 minutes. I made my first souvenir purchase during the trip at a Christmas store in Skagway. It was a handmade ornament, and while to some it may have been similar to what would be purchased at a craft fair, I liked having something locally made. One thing great about Skagway is the abundance of public restrooms. I noticed that the NPS had them scattered about town, as well as the local Chamber of Commerce (or whomever) and others. I did need to use one from the Park Service and found it to be very clean.

Much has been written about the White Pass Railway, so I won’t go into much detail. We chose the both ways by train due to price, since we were using the OBC from Celebrity and wanting to keep within a certain budget. It was a very pleasurable trip with a lot of fantastic scenery, although I could tell that the young girl providing the narration was reading from script and stumbled several times along the way. She mentioned that she was new this year, and so I assume she was still unfamiliar with the material. If I were to come again, I would rent a car and go farther up or try something new. But the train is something I would recommend to everyone, at least going one way. While it’s true that for going train both ways that it doesn’t matter which side you are on because they have you switch sides, I would suggest starting on the left hand side as the train goes slower up and the narration matches what you see. Coming down, it seems to go by much faster and there is less narration.

Tuesday: Icy Straight Point We had another whale watching trip scheduled, this time with the ship. Having my expectation now set pretty low due to the experience in Juneau combined with the fact that it is a larger craft with lots of people on board, I was then pleasantly surprised by our outing. We tendered from the ship to the dock at Icy Straight and then went straight over to board the craft that took us out for the excursion. We hadn’t gotten very far from shore when we started seeing the tell-tale sign of the blow from their spouts. The guide on board said we were going on out to see what we could find off a point farther out. Not much there so we turned around to go back to where we earlier had saw activity. In trying to understand why they sail out farther and then come back, I am guessing they try to spread out their tours, but I didn’t see very many private operators vying for the same space on the water. And I guess they are all trying to deliver on that ‘spectacular’ moment for their clients. Regardless, it turned out to be a much better day for spying whales. We were pretty much surrounded by humpbacks, although at a respectful distance. It was very chilly outside on the upper deck, so I was glad to have my gloves and ear muffs in my pocket. Capturing a good picture of a whale when it became visible was like trying to capture a firefly when it lit up. Even with my camera on sport mode, I wasn’t really close enough to get good details. It seemed to become a competition among some of the passengers…trying to get a ‘cool shot’. I stopped trying and just stood and took in the scenery and watched the show.

If you haven’t got an excursion planned for ISP, you may be finding yourself bored after a short while. My impression is that there isn’t much beyond the little port that has been developed for the cruise passengers. Although it is advertised as ‘true Alaska’, since it doesn’t have the typical cruise ship stores and trinkets for sale, to me it still feels a bit contrived. Like going to an amusement park created around a specific theme. An argument could be made that Skagway is the same way. But Skagway feels more developed.

Wednesday: Ketchikan With so many ships that call here at the same time all season long, my impression prior to visiting was that it would be the Cozumel of Alaska: An endless line of souvenir shops flanked by pushy salesmen, with vendors trying to sell excursions to passengers as the disembarked. Well the part about the souvenir shops is correct, but I didn’t encounter any pushy salesmen. It had a very pleasant and easy going vibe. This was the first day without sunshine, with a light mist in the air. It never really rained, the air just felt a little damp. It was actually quite pleasant and a welcome change. I put on my jacket I wore on deck for Hubbard Glacier viewing, but with less layers under. It felt like we were in ALASKA!

We had pre-arranged a kayak excursion with Ketchikan Kayak Company. The guide, Devon, was there promptly to pick us and another couple up and drive us the short distance to Knudson Cove. This was my favorite tour of the whole trip. The owner, Howard, helped us get outfitted in the rain pants to help keep us dry. We had our water resistant jackets on that we brought. (Not waterproof, but did the job ok). As we headed out on the water, we were immediately treated to the sight of a sea lion bobbing his head out of the water. We then proceeded along the banks to explore the various plant life. We saw sea stars, urchins, and an algae whose name I forget with a base that you could blow on like a trumpet. As we crossed the water toward an island we were treated with the sight of the blow of a whale. Then another! There were a pair of whales in the inlet and they made regular appearances as we made our way across the water. We were treated to the view of a bald eagles nest with what appeared to be the heads of a couple of them sitting inside. There was a young eagle sitting on a large rock. A pod of dall porpoises appeared, treating us to their show as they repeatedly surfaced while making their way out toward open water. Then a seal suddenly peeked his head above surface. And all the while, the two whales repeatedly performed, their humps and tales making random appearances. It was an amazing 2 1/2 hours on the water.

We reluctantly let Devon drive us back into town. We had him drop us off at the Asylum Bar, where we had noticed a sign for Alaskan Draft beer. It is located next to the Burger Queen, and you can order your food and drinks at the Bar. We knew we had hit a great place to hang out when we spied several members of the ship’s crew sitting at tables nearby.

I bought another Christmas ornament, this time a Santa in a kayak to represent the great day we had.

Thursday: Scenic cruising through the Inside Passage toward Vancouver. This was a relaxing day at sea. We enjoyed some time on our verandah, since the sun was shining and the weather was mild. It was a day for recalling everything we had seen and done so far. The cruise was winding down. It was hard to believe it was about to come to an end.

Friday: We had a very late flight back home that night, so we purchased the ship’s excursion for a 5 hour tour of Vancouver. It was a great highlights tour. Time in Stanley park, with a couple of photo opportunities, then over to Chinatown and the Gastown district. Then we headed over to Queen Elizabeth park for an hour to wander among the beautiful gardens. Finally, we went to Granville Island to have lunch and spend some time shopping. It sounds like a lot to squeeze in to a short time, and it was, but it was just right for us. It hit the major points that everyone says to see. We were delivered to the airport at 3:30 PM. Unfortunately we were not aware until we arrived is that you cannot check bags for flights more than 3 hours in advance. Everyone stresses the importance of being early to the Vancouver airport, but no one hardly mentions being too early. At 5:00 the shops in the terminal area prior to security started to close. There wasn’t much to occupy time in that area of the airport while we waited for 8:00, when the United desk would finally allow us to check our luggage. When they finally opened, there was a flood of passengers waiting to check in. We had priority access, so we didn’t have to wait long fortunately. Going through security was really quick, and soon we were in the waiting area of our Gate. Now we had a few mores hours to sit and wait. It made me really curious about the experience of passengers who arrived earlier in the day.

So that's it! Almost as quickly as it seems my cruise was, my report is complete.

Someone asked me at work if I would recommend an Alaskan cruise over a Caribbean cruise. They are two totally different experiences. I never imagined that I would give up precious vacation time to visit a colder climate. I prefer beaches and lazing by the pool. But this was fantastic, and the words and pictures really don't do it justice.

If you have the chance to go to Alaska, don't hesitate.

What a lovely photo review... it looks like you had a great time! Cheers for sharing! :D

What a lovely photo review... it looks like you had a great time! Cheers for sharing! :D

Thank you js4rq. It was!

Thank you for the review. We will be on the Millie on June 19th! Can't wait!

Thanks for the great, detailed review...

We are doing this same cruise THIS COMING WEEK...We leave Thursday afternoon for Anchorage, sailing Friday, June 12...

One quick question: When did they do the "muster drill"? Was it really Friday night at 7:00 as I've been told? Sort of forces everyone into a late dinner...

Thanks for the great review!

Thank you so much for the taking the time to post your review. I love to read about people's impressions and experiences.

Thanks for the great, detailed review...

We are doing this same cruise THIS COMING WEEK...We leave Thursday afternoon for Anchorage, sailing Friday, June 12...

 

One quick question: When did they do the "muster drill"? Was it really Friday night at 7:00 as I've been told? Sort of forces everyone into a late dinner...

Yes it is during that hour, 7:30 actually I think. I had meant to mention that. You will either need to eat early or after. We did have a note in our room asking to come to dinner at 8. We were fine with that. We just went ahead and got ready before we knew we had to head to muster. We had no wait at all when we went to Blu.

Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you for the review. We will be on the Millie on June 19th! Can't wait!

I think you will have a great time! Get rest now because you won't want to miss a thing.

Thanks for the great review!

Than you Paula. It's fun to relive the memories.

What a great review. My itinerary is similar to yours except we sail on Norwegian Sun on July 13th. My schedule too matches yours except Ketchikan and it's a good validation that I've planned it right.

What a great review. My itinerary is similar to yours except we sail on Norwegian Sun on July 13th. My schedule too matches yours except Ketchikan and it's a good validation that I've planned it right.

Thanks. I envy your countdown to the cruise. I think you will have a great time.

Great review and photos. Thanks for posting. We are doing this cruise in early August with a 4 day pre- tour in Fairbanks and Denali. Really looking forward to this vacation.

Great review and photos. Thanks for posting. We are doing this cruise in early August with a 4 day pre- tour in Fairbanks and Denali. Really looking forward to this vacation.

Thank you. We spoke to several on board who had done a pre cruise land tour. Everyone really said great things about Denali. Wished we had more time! Enjoy your vacation.

I've read that Seward is a dangerous highway to drive. What are your thoughts? And thanks for sharing your trip :)

I've read that Seward is a dangerous highway to drive. What are your thoughts? And thanks for sharing your trip :)

Dangerous? Would not say that at all. It isn't that curvy, like many mountain roads can be. Gradual grades for the most part. Most of the time in going towards Seward a third lane is added for slower traffic. Not a lot of towns along the way, so you need to be prepared for that. In regards to general personal safety, I would just say travel during daylight and be aware of your surroundings.