Alaska, Make the most of it!

[davis0056]

Hello Everyone

There have been several posts on what to do before cruising Alaska and what the price of food would be while traveling. Expect to pay about 10% more while traveling through Alaska. My wife and I took the land portion prior to cruising Alaska and very much enjoyed the land portion. We were able to take in more of what the real Alaska is about. Having the chance to view the interior of Alaska is what we went to Alaska for. The train ride from Anchorage to Denali was an adventure in itself. We were able to have the most incredible view from the dome train. We were very lucky as we had the very last car on the train. Even though it was raining we were able to take photos that we’ll never have the option to be able to do again (jump on the chance of a life time). Seeing Alaska for it real beauty is what you are traveling to Alaska for. There is so much to see. On our first trip I swore I would never go back because we only did what the cruise lines offered. Take advantage of what this great state has to offer. Go see the wild life in Denali and the whales of Juneau, the seals and birds in Seward, sometime seeing dolphins and sit back and enjoy what Alaska has to offer.

We have made several posts on our views of Alaska and will be happy to share our views of what we enjoyed about this great state. Being retired from US Army, we have been able to tour Europe and enjoy it to the fullest. Cruising has became a part of our life and, yes, we want everyone to enjoy what we think is exciting and give our advice to those who haven’t had the chance to do what we’ ve had the opportunities to do!

Cruising is sharing experience and your thoughts of what you like and giving advice to those who our asking. So if you enjoy cruising, help those who asked. If there’s a subject that rubbed you wrong then put your two cents in.

Hopefully we can cruise as friends and when in need we will be there for each other.

Happy cruising everyone!!

Dave & Elaine

Transatlantic sailing on the Constellation
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;9;7;17;0;00&timezone=GMT+0000[/img][img]http://www.zooish.com/_borders/drinkin_md_wht.gif[/img] [img]http://www.zooish.com/_borders/lickin_food_md_wht.gif[/img]

[newtocc]

Thank you so much, those little dogs at the bottom of your post are so cute!

This ship 10/91
That ship 11/95
Whatever ship 12/98
here a ship 13/99
there a ship 14/00
everywhere
a
ship ship 15/05

<font size="3" color=red>Over 1 year</font> into my LMBO cruise

[windermere]

Well Said! Alaska to me is a must do cruise. You really should make the most of it rain or shine. (Bring your rain gear)When we sailed to Alaska in 2002 some people would not even get off the ship because it was raining! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img] Alaska is great in the rain too!

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff00ff&cdt=2004;5;30;17;45;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]
Until I am back on the Infinity

[luv cruising]

Hi Dave and Elaine just read your post it was great alot of info i was looking for maybe you can ans.my questions,I am planning 2005 cruise to al.problem is one..summit or infinity.and second..do a 11 night or 7 night with celb 4 day cruise tour I am so confussed my TA advised on 7 plus cruise tour with dome train i have been reading the boards for as much input as i can find.thanks so much

[alpal1993]

Hi Dave and Elaine.Just booked some more tours for my Alaska Cruise tour 5day land 7 day cruise. Made sure we are doing a little of everything,as I don't know if we will ever get a chance to go back.I've heard Celebrity has the best train cars and Hotels. Grand Denali is only hotel in park that has a/c. Can't wait till June 20-Alaska here I come!!!!

[bwarren]

Hi,
What do you all think is the best excursion out of Skagway and out of Ketchikan?

Beth [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[high seas gal]

Beth,
We've done Alaska cruises four years in a row. It's awesome, and incredible! In Skagway the railroad is a good excursion ... you learn lots of history. It's a bit pricey, but worth it. In Ketchikan we did a jet boat wildlife excusion which took off from a very nice fishing resort (they bussed us from the docks). It was also excellent. From the jet boat we even saw bears! And on one little island there was a bear eating berries, and about 200 yards away was a deer grazing. It must have been down wind from the bear! In Ketchikan there are several things which are a VERY SHORT (5-10 minutes) walk from the cruise dock. The include the Lumberjack show, the Creek Street area, and more. There's also a great visitor center located right on the dock, where you can book tours directly from the locals, which is cheaper. Enjoy! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

High Seas Gal
Northern California

NCL Sky Jun. 2000 (ALASKA)
NCL Sky Aug. 2001 (ALASKA)
Princess Regal Princess Jul. 2002 (ALASKA)
NCL Sun Sep. 2003 (ALASKA)
Celebrity Mercury Oct. 2004 (MEXICO)

[Taters]

I am so glad to hear of how much you love Alaska! I came here on a ten day vacation in May of 1983 and moved here a year later I loved it so much! Can't believe 20 years has slipped by so quickly!

Glad you had a good time!

Taters [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Song of Norway, 1971
Imagination, 1/1996
Imagination, 1/1998
Song of America, 1/1999
Jubilee, 1/2000
Inspiration, 1/2001
Enchantment of the Seas, 11/2002 - Back to back!
Carnival Conquest, 9/2003
Island Princess, 12/2004

[davis0056]

luv cruising, Do the seven nights, there are some incredible sights to see doing the train. The train has a full dining car, drinks and snacks can be purchase and they will run a tap collecting at the end of the ride. They do take credit cards. We flew into Anchorage and were able to leave our luggage at the hotel only taking what we need for the land portion. We stayed at the Comfort Inn Shipcreek. It’s right down from the main part of town but within walking distance although there is a big hill. The train station is also within walking distance and can be seen from the hotel. In fact the hotel is right across from the unloading area for the train. Allow enough time at each stop so you are not rushed. We spent two days in Denali. The Town is starting to grow and there are many hotels sponsor by the cruise lines. We made our own arrangement. Don’t let your TA tell you it can’t be done. It takes doing some homework but if you search the web you can find all kind of information. We contacted the hotel directly in Denali and were able to book everything through them (Dinner show and tour of Denali Park). The dinner show is all you can eat and was very good. The actors are local and know the history of Alaska. There are rafting tours and not to be missed is the tour of park. There was a special about Denali on TV and they were showing large off road vehicle too. We were able to see the wild life from bears to birds. The train only runs once a day so your schedules with have to fit in. The cruise lines offer buses but that wasn’t our thing. The dome cars are great! On our return we stop in Talkeetna staying at the Talkeetna Lodge. Flight tours and jet boat ride are available along with fishing. If not cloudy there are great views of Mt McKinley. A must is going to the Roadhouse for breakfast. They serve the largest pancakes, you every seen, make sure you try one. The hotel provides a shuttle bus into town. Once again the train only run once a day. You can then return to Anchorage and stay the night, retrieve your luggage and use their shuttle. You will get in late from Talkeetna so eat on the train the food not bad. We got a great room which had a whirlpool tub and was very relaxing after traveling all day. We also took the train onto Seward and spent two days. If you need more information contact us at [email]Cruizzie@aol.com[/email].

bwarren, Now as to answer your questions. In Skagway we took a private tour up into the Yukon stopping at Carcross. Don’t miss the bun shop [url="http://www.yukonaalaska.com/buns"]http://www.yukonaalaska.com/buns[/url]. Although we didn’t make it there is a desert and large lake about twenty miles father up the highway. Check this site it give information about each mile marker [url="http://bellsalaska.com/myalaska/klond.kehwy2.html"]http://bellsalaska.com/myalaska/klond.kehwy2.html[/url]. There is also the train’s ride. We really enjoy doing the private tour, as we were able to see wild life. They also offer bicycle rides.
As for Ketchikan we did a flight tour over Misty Fjords being able to land on one of the small lakes. Try reading the site on Alaska there will be several vendor mentions there. We use [url="http://www.dollyvardenalaska.com/Ketchikan.htm"]http://www.dollyvardenalaska.com/Ketchikan.htm[/url]

Hope this information help. Picture at [url="http://community.webshots.com/user/davissatx"]http://community.webshots.com/user/davissatx[/url]

Dave & Elaine

Transatlantic sailing on the Constellation
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;9;7;17;0;00&timezone=GMT+0000[/img] [img]http://www.zooish.com/_borders/drinkin_md_wht.gif[/img] [img]http://www.zooish.com/_borders/lickin_food_md_wht.gif[/img]

[This message was edited by davis0056 on 04-27-04 at 10:07 PM.]

[yanceycruiser]

Thanks Dave and Elaine for the great post on your Alaskan trip. We are so looking forward to our first Alaskan Cruise aboard the Infinity in less than four months. We will be visiting friends in Edmonton for four days then take the 7-day Alaskan cruise from Vancouver. We plan to take the land cruise package when I retire in three years. We are retired Air Force and are doing all the traveling we can. Best to you in your travels.

Yanceycruiser

Dreamward 1/95
Norway 1/97
Grandeur of the Seas 1/99
Grand Princess 2/01
Carnival Pride 2/03

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=000080&cdt=2004;08;22;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]

Until the Infinity on
August 22, 2004

[SAN ANTONE]

davis 0056

Great post. Alot of good information.

Thanks for sharing.

SAN ANTONE

CONSTELLATION Trans-Atlantic 09/07<applet code="countdown.class" CODEBASE="http://*************/java-sys" width="203" height="25">
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[davis0056]

Sorry everyone I type the web address's wrong and didn't check them when I made the post. Here are the correct one.

[url="http://www.yukonalaska.com/buns"]http://www.yukonalaska.com/buns[/url]

[url="http://www.bellsalaska.com/myalaska/klondikehwy2.html"]http://www.bellsalaska.com/myalaska/klondikehwy2.html[/url]
[URL=http://www.yukonalaska.com]

[url="http://yukonalaska.com"]http://yukonalaska.com[/url]


Transatlantic sailing on the Constellation
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;9;7;17;0;00&timezone=GMT+0000[/img] [img]http://www.zooish.com/_borders/drinkin_md_wht.gif[/img] [img]http://www.zooish.com/_borders/lickin_food_md_wht.gif[/img]

[This message was edited by davis0056 on 04-29-04 at 01:12 PM.]

[This message was edited by davis0056 on 04-29-04 at 01:18 PM.]

[This message was edited by davis0056 on 04-29-04 at 01:24 PM.]

[luv cruising]

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] Hi Dave and Elaine many thanks for ans. since reading your ans.I booked for summer of 2005 7 night cruise with 6 night cruisetour.We chose Summit as both infinity and summit rate the same thanks so much for taking the time to share your wonderful vacation.

[raudacruise]

You can find out a bit about [url="http://www.ktuu.com/special/akwar/index.asp"]Alaska and WW2[/url]. This was really interesting to read and watch. John Keithley, one of those interviewed, is distantly related to us.

George & MaryBeth

[davis0056]

Luvcruising. We’re glad that we were able to help. The Summit is a wonderful ship as we sailed her on our Panama Canal cruise (if you ever get a chance to do this, grab an aft cabin, the views are spectacular. The staff is great on both ships. You can’t go wrong on either ship, we’ve sailed both of them. The Summit is a great ship and we hope you enjoy her as much as we did. We are so glad you are taking in some of the interior of Alaska. As mentioned before, there is so much to see and those limited days just don’t allow you enough time. We hope to visit Alaska again when our son and his wife can join us.

We really hope you have a great time and want to hear you all about what you saw and did. You can contact us by email at Cruizzie @ aol.com or just reply on the website.

Have a great time.

Dave & Elaine

Transatlantic sailing on the Constellation
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;9;7;17;0;00&timezone=GMT+0000[/img][img]http://www.zooish.com/_borders/drinkin_md_wht.gif[/img] [img]http://www.zooish.com/_borders/lickin_food_md_wht.gif[/img]