July 19th Southbound Alaska --So many questions!!!

[moldal13]

This will be our first cruise to Alaska. We are going on the Southbound cruise from Whittier on the Carnival Spirit. If anyone has the time to answer my questions, I would greatly appreciate advice.

 

1. We are taking the train from Anchorage to Whittier on the day the ship departs. What time does boarding begin?

 

2. What fun stuff is there to do (if any) in Whittier? I have heard that there is not much to do there.

 

3. Is the kayaking in Ketchikan on rough waters? I'm a little concerned about being out in the rough sea in a tiny kayak. (I'm kind of a wuss :))

 

Thank you for any other helpful advice. I have read the many great reviews and it gets more and more exciting everyday!!!

[SuzieQK]

do you mean that you will be sailing on the 20th of July? We will be on the same cruise but I have that the Spirit will be leaving on Wed.

[rfholcom]

We too will be on that same cruise on July 20th. I think we are taking a bus to Whittier. Booked through the cruise line meeting at Egan Center. There is only 1 building in Whittier with pretty much nothing to do. I can not wait to explore the ship. We are suppose to meet at Egan Center at 2pm and the trip is an hour and a half..

[railroad/teacher]

Hey Southbounders we are with you too! Can't wait ..really excited,can't hard wait to leave...woohooo...Just the hubby and I will be going...Maybe we get the chance we can run into each other and say hello!

 

 

Anyone interested????

Kathi

[Chat Noir]

We took the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Whittier earlier this month. Departed Anchorage at 10:00am, arrived Whittier around 12:30pm. You will want to get to the train station 30 minutes early to get your luggage unloaded and your boarding passes, and make sure your Carnival tags are tied to your luggage. You won't see it again until it is placed in front of your cabin door that evening. Enjoy the ride, the scenery is beautiful! We saw dall sheep and moose; the train stopped or slowed for viewing both. Also saw bald eagles.

 

We saw nothing of interest in Whittier, but there were picketers, and one person placed themself in the road in front of one of the buses. We were sent directly into the check-in building and away from them. I'm not even sure security would've let us leave had we wanted to.

 

We boarded the ship directly from the train. We had about 40 minutes in line waiting for check-in and security. Be sure to pick up a coupon book as you go in the building even if you don't plan on much shopping. It has decent maps of the port towns. We just enjoyed the afternoon getting to 'know' the ship.

 

Don't know the Ketchikan answer... our port time was shortened. We loved the Adventure Bound excursion to Tracy Arm and the Sawyer Glaciers out of Juneau, booked pre-cruise independently of Carnival. Probably the highlight of our trip, but a long day. Well worth it. Without it we would have missed viewing glaciers except from quite a distance. We rented a car in Skagway, and enjoyed the drive to Emerald Lake near Carcross, YT. Wish we had more time as I'm a 'stop and smell the roses' kind of person. No advise for Sitka either, as we missed that port.

[Budget Queen]

For clairfication there is MORE than 1 buildling in Whittier.

 

It depends HOW you booked the train, was it ship contracted or direct with Alaska RR??? As mentioned above that reference is for the direct booked train.

 

Ketchikan - WHAT kayaking trip?? The Tongass one is pretty tame going up Creek St. There have been reports of rough water on the Orca Cove trips, but that can change frequently. If of concern, contact Southeast Kayaks directly and perhaps look to do something else.

 

Top choice for touring in Whittier are the glacier tours, way superior to anything you will see from your ship, way closer and more extended. There are kayaking trips here that probably are tamer than Ketchikan as there are many sheltered bays.

[SuzieQK]

hey Kathi,

have you booked any excursions yet? we are renting a car in Skagway to drive to Emerald lake with the aid of Yukons fantastic guide. We also booked a glacier trek in Juneau thru Northstar Trekking. Where are you and your husband from? My husband is also a teacher here in Wisconsin.

Sue

[BelleReve]

We arrived at Anchorage Hilton a day ahead and a group of us, including those who arrived from Denali, were picked up by bus at the Hilton on Wed about 8:45 am. The buses were loaded with no distinction between those going by train, or bus to Whittier. We were driven to a native heritage center outside of Anchorage, then drove around what appeared to be in circles in downtown Anchorage.

 

I got the feeling they were killing time and didn't want us on board ship any earlier than 3 or 4 pm. The bus made drop offs at the train, and the four of us remaining on the bus went to the airport to pick up new arrivals before heading for Whittier. It was a long day, and we didn't get to Whittier in time for any sightseeing. I would recommed train over the bus, just based on this experience.

[moldal13]

Thank you all so very much for the helpful hints. And yes....it is the 20th that the ship is departing, not the 19th as I had mentioned :) We are actually leaving Dallas on the 19th to get to Anchorage. I get so excited about this trip that I get the days mixed up!

[SuzieQK]

thats ok Moldal13, I know what you mean. This is the most research I have done for a cruise in 10 yrs but I know this will be a spectacular vacation!

Thanks to this board and people like Budget Queen and Yukon Murray!!

[railroad/teacher]

Yes we have booked our excursions..Hubby and and I are from West Virginia. We are whale watching/salmon bake..Also going on a go-cart -jetboat excursion too.Hubby booked us on a bicycle tour too...My understanding is they take you to the top of a mountain and let you cruise back down..I'm hoping ha ha..Stay in touch...

Kathi

 

hey Kathi,

have you booked any excursions yet? we are renting a car in Skagway to drive to Emerald lake with the aid of Yukons fantastic guide. We also booked a glacier trek in Juneau thru Northstar Trekking. Where are you and your husband from? My husband is also a teacher here in Wisconsin.

Sue

[Peggi]

We are booked to kayak with Southeast out of Ketchikan in August and I too have concerns about rain, wind, rough water (we're going to Orca's Cove), but my understanding is this is a reliable outfitter and I did just take a one day kayaking class so I'm a little better prepared. Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed!

[ryan800]

We just got back from a southbound trip on the Coral Princess. Not sure what time Carnival boards but Princess wouldnt let us on till 1230p. We arrived 4days before our cruise and stayed in Anchorage at the Hilton. We had not booked our way down to Whittier yet so we went looking and found a tour office right around the block from the hotel and She told us about a Glacier cruise in Whittier. We had looked at it since there was a coupon in our toursaver book. They cruise was 2hrs and cost 79 p/p. If you get one of the books it is buy 1 get one free. We were able to use 2 coupons for our group. they had a shuttle that takes you down there for only 26 p/p instead of the 55 the cruise ship wants! The shuttle leaves at 830am from the Hilton and gets there about 1045am. They do offer a longer cruise also if you want to do that but dont know the cost. Our glacier cruise was at 130pm, so we checked in our bags at the ship (they would take them at 12n) We had to wait to check in ourselves till 1230 but were first in line and rushed on the ship and put our carryons in the cabin and ran off. The tour company rode us to the pier and picked us back up when we were ready and took us back to their office for the cruise. We saw some humpback whales(which is rare in that inlet) and went to a really active glacier. We were able to get up really close and get great shots. they served a hot lunch onboard, you had a choice of Halibut or chicken and a vegitarian option which I think was some kind of rice dish. They offered hot coffee or tea and lemonaide. You could purchase soda or hot chocolate at the snack bar. When you are heading back they came around and servered fresh baked hot chocolate chip cookies. We got back around 5pm and they took us back to the ship and still had a few hours before the ship left at 930p to look around and all. The tour company that does the glacier cruise is Prince William sound cruises & tours. If you have any other questions feel free to email me. Sorry I dont have any info on Ketchican. We were thinking about doing a kayak trip there but didnt since the weather was bad. We were looking at southseas kayaks. They also have a coupon in the toursaver book for same buy one get one free. Hope this helps you out.