Looking for input/recommendations/suggestions

[AlaskaOrBust]

My husband and I are taking our first cruise this coming June to Alaska. We are in the process of booking airfare and hotels. Our plan right now is to fly from Minneapolis to Vancouver on Monday, June 13, and spend two days touring Vancouver. As of now, the difference in flights to Seattle and Vancouver are about $100 pp. From what I understand, it would take approximately 4 hours on a bus from Seattle to Vancouver, and when you subtract the cost of the bus, dh and I are okay paying the extra not to have to go through all of that.

 

The only excursions we are sure we want while on the cruise are Capt. Larry's whale watching and the helicopter ride landing on a glacier in Juneau. I just got an e-mail from Capt. Larry/Carol that they can coordinate both tours for no additional cost. :) We are still up in the air as to what we want to do in the other ports (Sitka, Skagway, Ketchikan). We are tossing around the idea of renting a car and just driving around/picnicing. Any suggestions? We're not really into kayaking and things of that nature. I heard there is a neat cemetary just outside of town in either Sitka or Skagway, but I can't remember which.

 

Most return flights from Anchorage to Minneapolis are costly. There is a flight available from Sun Country for $255 pp, but that flight leaves Anchorage too early on Wednesday for us to be able to get to the airport on time. The same flight is also available on Friday for $255. The next available flight that Wednesday is in the $450 range. Dh and I were thinking that if we left Anchorage Wednesday and paid the additional $200 pp, we might as well try to find a hotel in Anchorage for under $100/night and get the extra time in Alaska for about the same amount of money.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions about our plans? Is there anything I need to be aware of by flying directly into Canada? Do we have to book directly through Carnival to get transportation from Whittier to Anchorage after the cruise? Can anyone recommend a decent hotel in Anchorage for not a lot of money? :)

 

Sorry for the epic post and scattered questions; I'm a cruise rookie and flying blind here! :o

[Budget Queen]

From Whittier to Anchorage- you best bet is the cruise bus transfer. there is also http://www.polarexpressak.com/rates.html

[lmcd]

for links to excursions:

http://www.skagway.org

http://www.traveljuneau.com

http://www.visit-ketchikan.com

 

For your flights make sure you use the multi-city option, don't buy 2 one-way tickets. The multi-city option treats the your flights like a roundtrip. It will allow you to enter Minneapolis as your first departure with a Vancouver as a destination, Anchorage as your second departure and Minneapolis as your destination.

 

Larry

[two cruisers 723]

We were in Skagway last June. We took the White Pass train up the mountain on a 6 hour extravaganza tour and were able to see scenery like I have never seen before in my life. We only seen views from this viewpoint on this particular excursion. We stood outside between two of the rail cars the entire time and got many wonderful pictures. I thought the train ride up would be boring because we are used to doing more adventureous things. It was not. It was incredible and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. There were other things included in our extravaganza including going to a trail camp for a salmon bake & gold panning and a tour of the Brothel at the Red Onion Saloon. But the train ride was the best of all the things we did on this tour. We also took a horse and buggy ride through the town of Skagway before our tour which was quaint and informative. They take you through the residential neighborhoods as well as the touristy part of the town for $20 a person. It took about 30 minutes or so. I really enjoyed this port. Enjoy your cruise and have fun whatever you do!

[Tarheelbelle]

Two Cruisers 723:

Who runs this excursion? Sounds like somethign I would enjoy on my upcoming trip...

Thanks.

[BonnieSeattle]

AOB... no suggestions. We are also taking our first cruise and it's to Alaska in August (I'm so excited, I'm bouncing off the walls). I just wanted to let you know that it's fantastic you are able to coordinate your whale-watching and helicopter landing.

 

I booked Capt. Larry's whale watching (thanks so much to Cruise Critic!) and they were absolutely wonderful to work with. Unfortunately, we don't arrive in Juneau until 2:30pm (on HAL) and that doesn't leave enough time to do both. The good news, is that we'll have plenty of time in Skagway for the helicopter and Orca Enterprises gave Temsco a great recommendation.

 

Have a fabulous time!

 

BTW... When I mentioned this site, Pam (at Orca) told me to go find all of Budget Queen's posts... that she is a wealth of information. I heartily agreed!

[AlaskaOrBust]

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

I'm really starting to stress about everything that goes into planning a vacation of this magnitude. Vacations aren't supposed to be stressful! LOL I was "thisclose" to booking flights and submitting hotel bids at Priceline when I see on the Cruise Air forum that a few airlines are on the brink of bankruptcy so there's no guarantee with your flight. And I don't want to reserve any hotels until we know for sure which days we'll be flying in and out of Vancouver and Anchorage. And I don't want to get insurance until I know how much hotels and air are going to cost us (and the insurance stuff alone is enough to make me cross-eyed!). UGH! :rolleyes: I feel like I'm running around in circles at this point. :confused: Maybe it's just time to go to sleep and try again tomorrow! lol

[garycarla]

Unless you specifically want to spend time in Seattle, and can get to Vancouver for only $100 more, that is a good deal.

 

As you might read on these boards in older posts, many get good prices via priceline for hotels in Vancouver.

 

Hotes under $100 in Anchorage are not plentiful, especially downtown.

[AlaskaOrBust]

lmcd, just wanted to thank you for your advice about the multi-city option. We were able to get decent fares for our flights. Someone from our group asked our TA to check on prices and she came back with fares that were over $300 more than what we got!

 

I'm feeling much better about how the planning is going. I purchased our insurance through insuremytrip.com, and I was finally able to speak with someone at Orca to confirm the whale-watching and glacier-trek tours. Right now we're deciding on what to do in Skagway: either the White Pass RR or rent a car and drive to Emerald Lake. They both sound wonderful.

 

Thanks again, everyone, for your input. :D