Alaska question

[baycruising]

We are looking at an Alaska cruise - Northbound on Celebrity - but have noticed that there are four cruise ships in each of the ports on the days we call in.

 

Have asked on the Alaska forum if the ports feel crowded and had a couple of responses that seem to say it is ok but would love to hear from other Aussies who have cruised to Alaska.

 

We were hoping to go ashore and "do our own thing" rather than take the tours from the ship but I'm now concerned that the crowds might spoil the experience of visiting new places - just the thought of 7-8000 tourists in places we are visiting for their remoteness and unique character fills me with horror. What has been your experience of Alaska - any advice or ideas very welcome.

[Bizziecruzer]

Hi - we did Alaska on Princess in 2005. Initially ports are busy, but once all the people head off on their tours things settle down. However (in my opinion) "doing your own thing" would consists mainly of wandering the streets / shops. Most of the towns resources will allocated to the cruise lines so to book or get onto a tour on your own as you arrive in the port would be difficult. FYI - we did a float plane ride in Junea which was great and booked through the ship, we also did the "gondola" ride up the mountain, we did the a train ride up into the mountains which was also good. Other ports we did our own thing - which basically was walking the streets and souvenier shopping. You will love Alaska it's amazing!

[kiwi sailor]

We did Alaska last September and the only thing we found when several ships were in port was where your ship was berthed or how far out you had to tender from. Some berths are a distance out from the city if you don't get the main passenger pier.

[lizzy77]

Alaska is such an amazing destination and it would be such a shame to go so far and not see some of the amazing sights on tours. We did spend a lot of money on our tours but I would never regret the money we spent on the Float Plane with Michell's Island Wings(booked n our own) and the ships helicopter tour to 2 glaziers( must book the ship's tour). 1 a dirty glazier, the other perfectly pristine and just amazing. Yes it's expensive but a once in a life time experience. We also did the train trip into the Yukon. We still say it was just the most amazing experience we have had.

 

We still had time to wander thro the shops and they were a bit busy as we had 3 ships at each port. The souvenirs are also very cheap in the stores.

[oysterfiend]

We are going on Carnival Spirit September 7-14 , 2010.

Sailing from Seattle- disembarking in Vancouver

We have booked tours with the ship and surprisingly they are much the same price as independant operators,

 

We have booked Aqua duck at Ketchikan-US $40

we did this in Seattle last year and it was fun -

 

We will walk about in town afterwards and buy souvenirs etc

 

Junea Whale watching and Mendanhall Glacier US $152-

5 1/4 hours- I would love to see Humpback Whales

Skagway Railway and Carcross /Yukon trip - bus back US $205 approx? My husband and I really want to do this and don't want to risk missing out.

8 hours

 

I would not want to risk missing out and while many on our cruise are doing their own thing (i have been posting on Carnival site on my cruise's postings)

I like the trouble- free comfort of ship tours.No worries- if things go wrong they reimburse or wait for you.

 

Ask yourself- how many times will you get the chance to go to ALASKA?

 

I have paid for our tours in advance on carnival website- the pain will have passed by the time September comes around.

[Sandielle]

I have paid for our tours in advance on carnival website- the pain will have passed by the time September comes around.

 

Hahaha Oysterfiend - I love it!! :D I understand that feeling perfectly.

 

We aren't planning an Alaska cruise, but I have often wondered how so many cruise ships and passengers can fit in those small towns.

[oysterfiend]

Hahaha Oysterfiend - I love it!! :D I understand that feeling perfectly.

 

We aren't planning an Alaska cruise, but I have often wondered how so many cruise ships and passengers can fit in those small towns.

 

That is why for at least 2 of the three port stops I want to get out of town!!!:D

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Hi - we did Alaska on Princess in 2005. Initially ports are busy, but once all the people head off on their tours things settle down. However (in my opinion) "doing your own thing" would consists mainly of wandering the streets / shops. Most of the towns resources will allocated to the cruise lines so to book or get onto a tour on your own as you arrive in the port would be difficult. FYI - we did a float plane ride in Junea which was great and booked through the ship, we also did the "gondola" ride up the mountain, we did the a train ride up into the mountains which was also good. Other ports we did our own thing - which basically was walking the streets and souvenier shopping. You will love Alaska it's amazing!

 

Your post has summed up my feelings on Alaska perfectly.

Thats exactly how we found it.

 

Just adding......

if you miss out on a souvenier in one of the towns, dont worry as the same shop will be at the next stop, and the next stop and the next stop again.:D

[oysterfiend]

You have also asked opinions on the ALASKA PORT board,

I hope you re-think the tours question,

 

our cruise this year is partly funded 50% from a swine flu cruise we had to Mexico last year-

we had seven day of going nowhere- not much fun- not having port stops and 100s of biligerent Americans on board- some nearly came to blows at the purser's desk- they were so angry!

 

We are already going to Mexico in less than 2 weeks time and this trip was 2 years in the planning-

so two long haul flights in 1 year is a real BIGGIE for us -

but unfortunately we only had 18 months to use the 50% compensation on another cruise- we got NO REFUNDS as some people have recently on P&O cruises.

In order to keep costs down I also considered us doing the same -

just

"walking around the ports"

 

But then reading all the posts I realised for us it would be a big mistake.

 

Are you going to be doing another Alaskan cruise in a hurry?

Get the most from your cruise as you can.

[aussie57]

We sailed to Alaska on Celebrity Mercury in May last year. We found our CC roll-call very helpful re planning shore tours as many others booked tours with independent operators rather than the cruiseline. We booked the White Pas yukon railroad from Skagway to Fraser with Chilcoot Tours. We were in a group of only about 20 people, had a train carriage all to ourselves, & a bus tour on the return trip was narrated & very informative. At all other Alaskan ports we did our own thing, taking the shuttle to Mendenhall glacier & riding the Mt Roberts Tram in Juneau (tickets for both available at pierside). I actually found a laundromat in Skagway & did some washing as there's no pax laundry on Celebrity.

With 3 other ships in Skagway, the town & shops weren't very crowded. In Juneau & Ketchikan (3 & 5 other ships respectively)they were crazy, though, with lots of retail workers trying anything to get you into the stores, esp jewellery stores. In Sitka I did a self-guided walking tour with guide available from visitor centre

Unless you want to do a wildlife viewing tour, or a flight, boat tour or zipline, you CAN do your own thing very successfully in most places. Cultural & tourist points of interest are mostly accessible & easily found.

[ela2timecruiserrrrrrr]

RIPLEY As most of you know we have dont an Alaska cruise.

It was great, as for the amount of ships and people as every one that has done it and said after the ships dock the people just go and do there own thing.

There is so much to to do in every port.:D:D:D

[cc_double]

We did Alaska last May on the Carnival Spirit, 1st cruise of the season (not as many ships at the start of the season) I booked all our tours through Private Operators, (after researching the Alaskan forum on CC)and we did many wonderful tours saving $$$

I have also done Alaska back in 98 on the Carnival Jubilee and did all the ship organised tours, for me this time I found that we got far more out of the Private Operators that we used and enjoyed as they were all local to the area, not bought in for the Cruise Season from the Southern states, these people knew the area so well and made our port time a fabulous experience, whether we were touring by Float Plane or Private Vehicle.

Alaska is by far one of the most fantastic Cruise destinations, you will enjoy what you see as it is so very different to many other cruising itineries in the world.