Alaska Photojournal – Coral Princess + DIY Land Tour May 28 – June 9, 2014

[AryMay]

AryMay, I finished reading/viewing your amazing photojournal last night. Fantastic! I have to tell you I even got choked up a few times thinking about how wonderful this trip will be if it all can happen!

 

I have so many questions and comments for you! Because of your comment about being port side and the narration through glacier bay, I switched our cabin from Starboard to port. We were already on baja deck forward so I switched over to the other side. While researching I found out even though the agent assured me it was, that our cabin was not covered so I managed to switch to a cabin a few more toward midship to a covered one. I'm really hoping that front viewing deck won't be taped off for us!

 

I'm currently trying to put together our post cruise 3 days. I think we will be going to Seward also. Someone already asked you if you felt the Kenai fjords cruise was redundant after sailing glacier bay, College Fjords, and doing a whale watch in Juneau. We also will be sailing Our additional possible challenge is we will have our two teenagers- son turning 16 on day 7 of cruise and 13 yr old daughter. I don't want to overdo it to make it underwhelming for them. Being a former teacher, what is your general thought on this? I also have considered both major marine and Kenai fjords tours. If we do major marines 4.5 hr tour which includes lunch, I don't believe we leave resurrection bay. Same goes for the other company's half day tour. Do you remember if you saw Puffins and whales in that area or was it only once going out further? If we can have a chance to see them in Resurrection Bay, then I will feel better about doing the shorter tour.

 

Both serve a prime rib/salmon dinner- major marines is onboard while as you know KFT is at Fox Island so I guess that's not a factor.

 

My daughter also has been known to get motion sickness. A couple years ago on a ferry ride over to Capri from Naples, she felt horrible because the waters were really rough. Coming back, she was fine.

 

I am looking into the Ididaride excursion that your friends did. Did they enjoy it? Do you know which one they chose to do? I know they offer a couple of options. It is a huge #1 priority for my kids and I (DH can take it or leave it). I plan to book the glacier: heli ride in Juneau along with a whale watch, but if it gets cancelled, I want to make sure we get another chance. I'm just afraid if we book all of these excursions in Seward up front, then if our ship excursions get cancelled, we won't have space to fit in a redo. Did you book your Seward activities way in advance?

 

I have other questions, but I'll start with those!

 

I can see you have done a lot of cruises, but I hope this one IS extra special and that you and your family come home with memories to last a lifetime!

 

I hope the port side balcony works out for you. I know there is a lot of disagreement on this...and even whether a balcony is necessary, but I was totally happy with our decision. (And it was so nice having the Horizon Court buffet just 2 decks above us!)

 

I'm not sure I can say if your kids would enjoy the Kenai Fjords cruise or not. For me, I loved it and had a ball taking photos. I do know from our experience and reading other reviews that you will not see much wildlife at all if you only do a short cruise in Resurection Bay. However...if your daughter is prone to motion sickness, a longer cruise may not be a good choice. Our weather was perfect and the boat ride was still a bit rough at times. The boat goes VERY fast and I can see where someone might easily get sick. If it were a windy day then I KNOW it would be a problem.

 

I went back and checked my confirmation email and see that you can not get a refund within two weeks of the tour. You could call and ask, but I would guess that since you are going so early in the season the tours would not be full and you could just buy tickets the day of the cruise. (Our tour was NOT full.) That way you would have some flexibility if any of your other tours get cancelled.

 

I booked our tour in February last year and then called back in March and got a price adjustment when Kenai Fjords Tours ran a special email promotion. It is a gamble booking so far ahead since our weather could have been really lousy that day. (By staying two days in Seward we had one more day in case the cruise had been cancelled.)

 

Neither the Sea Life Center or Exit Glacier in Seward would require advance booking so they might be good back-up plans for you. I think there are shuttles to both in case you don't have transportation.

 

Hopefully Laurel & I have covered some of the stuff you were wanting to know. Feel free to ask more questions. I'm always glad to "try" and pay back some of the useful information that I've gotten from this site!

[fendere]

AryMay and Laurel,

 

Thank you so much for posting both the description of your activities (Laurel), and the accompanying pictures (AryMay). Laurel, I'm sorry that you had such bad weather on your helicopter excursion. That really stinks, but I must say those photos are pretty unbelievable, especially the last one AryMay posted of the ice!!!

 

I definitely want to do the Ididaride tour in Seward. Even if we get to do the helicopter/dogsled in Juneau and it isn't cancelled, I think we'd still really enjoy the Seavey experience as well. My kids are suckers for dogs. :)

 

AryMay, I think that is what I must do-wait until we get to Seward to see if it makes sense to book a Kenai Fjords tour. That way I can also see how the weather looks as far as extra boat movement. Unfortunately Kenai Fjords was a big reason I had decided on Seward as our post-cruise stay. :( However I don't believe we have enough time to make the trek up to Denali for it not to be extremely rushed. We have debarkation day, one full day, then another day until 6 when the train would take us to Anchorage.

 

I've spoken with someone on transportation that would take us briefly through the Wildlife Conservation Center, to Seward and possibly a tour of Exit Glacier before drop off. If we end up doing Harv and Marv AM and the helicopter/dogsled PM in Juneau, we probably won't have any time to see Mendenhall, so that might be good to plan to visit Exit. Just not quite sure what else we should do in Seward besides the dog sled adventure. Did you hear of any other great excursions/ tours/activites there? I'm assuming we will probably go to the Sealife Center.

 

I really can't thank you enough for the feedback you've given me. My daughter sat down with me and we went through ALL your photos again two nights ago! :)

[mapleleaves]

AryMay, I think that is what I must do-wait until we get to Seward to see if it makes sense to book a Kenai Fjords tour. That way I can also see how the weather looks as far as extra boat movement. Unfortunately Kenai Fjords was a big reason I had decided on Seward as our post-cruise stay. :( However I don't believe we have enough time to make the trek up to Denali for it not to be extremely rushed. We have debarkation day, one full day, then another day until 6 when the train would take us to Anchorage.

 

I've spoken with someone on transportation that would take us briefly through the Wildlife Conservation Center, to Seward and possibly a tour of Exit Glacier before drop off. If we end up doing Harv and Marv AM and the helicopter/dogsled PM in Juneau, we probably won't have any time to see Mendenhall, so that might be good to plan to visit Exit. Just not quite sure what else we should do in Seward besides the dog sled adventure. Did you hear of any other great excursions/ tours/activites there? I'm assuming we will probably go to the Sealife Center.

 

Even on a nice calm day, there is a rough spot when the boat leaves Resurrection Bay and enters the Gulf of Alaska. Perhaps consult with your daughters physician about motion sickness meds?? I'm prone to motion sickness and started turning green at that point ... luckily it didn't last long.

 

Another option ... if the weather isn't great, rent a Hertz car for the day and drive to Whittier for a Prince William Sound tour. Those tours don't leave until 12/1pm so plenty of time to get there from Seward.

 

Even tho one-way rentals are pricey, it might be cheaper way for a family of 4 to get to Anc. Plus having the car will enable you to visit Exit Glacier, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, Alyeska Resort, Portage Glacier. Other suggested stopping points in this link:

http://www.alaska.org/guide/turnagain-arm-drive , OR,

http://www.alaska.org/destination/anchorage/scenic-drives

 

And another option .... Seavey's partners with a company in Girdwood to provide a heli dog sled tour if Juneau doesn't pan out. Seaveys also has rental cabins at their Seward property if you need a place to stay. 2 more reasons to have a rental car !

 

For other things to do in Seward, visit the town's web site. http://www.seward.com Send for the free visitor guide.

Edited December 10, 2014 by mapleleaves

[fendere]

I'm pretty sure what I'm doing is what people refer to as highjacking a thread! :eek: After this, I will post all questions, except specific to AryMay's photojournal on the thread "Alaska with teens"

 

Maple leaves,

 

I thought the tours out of Whittier looked good, especially since our ship disembarks there! However, without a car, we'd have all our luggage if we were to do a boat tour before heading to Seward. I priced out transportation- with a stop at the conservation center, drive to Seward and quick tour it would cost about the same thing as renting a car for the day. I'm thinking more and more it makes sense to rent for the day, especially if we do a boat tour in Whittier. We really like the idea of taking the train to anchorage from Seward. The price of the train plus hiring a driving service to seward costs about $100 less than renting a full size car for the duration of the three nights, not including gas. SUVs and minvans are all rented out, also. I'm not even sure all our luggage will fit in a full sized car with 4 people.

 

The other thing with taking a boat tour in PWS, we will have just had two back to back sea cruising days, days 6 and 7, and then getting off and doing another boat tour might be overkill not only for the kids, but for the hubby, too. Do you know if we would see lots of otters in PWS? That is probably the biggest draw for us to do another boat tour (also the salmon/prime rib dinner!), all those cute photos of the otters that AryMay posted bobbing around. I was trying to do a search yesterday to see if you could see lots of otters in Resurrection Bay without heading into the Fjords, and it looks like you can.

Edited December 11, 2014 by fendere

[mapleleaves]

 

 

I was trying to do a search yesterday to see if you could see lots of otters in Resurrection Bay without heading into the Fjords, and it looks like you can.

 

Yes, you can see otters in Resurrection Bay. My Alaska trips are always DIY camping trips and we stay at the waterfront park in Seward. We saw otters every day as we walked along the waterfront path. There were always 2-3 playing offshore. The path goes from the harbor to downtown ( next to the Sealife Center, about 1 mile). You usually see bald eagles as well.

 

I've done the Resurrection Bay tour twice. Not by choice, only because bad weather cancelled the full tour. We saw otters, seals, sealions, tons of birds, bald eagles, eagles nest, a few mountain goats.

 

Unfortunatey, there's no way to rent a car in Whittier and leave it in Seward. Avis is the only vendor in Whittier and Hertz is the only one in Seward.

There are 2 taxi services in Seward that could pick you up in Whittier (PJs or Mikes). Also, look at Seward Buslines but I think they only do Seward-Whittier not VV.

 

Another option to lessen transportation costs ( if you forego the train). One person could take an early transfer to Anc, pick up a rental car then drive back to whittier to collect everyone. A RT rental would save you a bundle but it would also take up most of the morning since the driver wouldn't return to whittier until the 11:30 tunnel opening.

 

(and yes, you should probably start your own thread )

Edited December 11, 2014 by mapleleaves

[dam474]

What a great review!! I loved reading it. Thanks for sharing.

[ladams52]

I'm sure it would be easier to just fly into Vancouver, but we saved a LOT of money by taking the train from Seattle. Flights were cheaper, we had a credit, and NO bag fees!

 

I just had the attitude that the train ride was like an excursion...not transportation. It was very scenic and actually relaxing. My husband and I both commented on how peaceful it felt in the train...especially compared to flying.

 

Your review is wonderful. We are booked on the Grand, sailing in June 2015 for our 30th Wedding Anniversary. I followed your advice an booked a flight from Dulles Airport to Seattle the Wednesday morning prior to our Saturday sail date. We also have a train from Seattle that afternoon (6:50pm arrives 10:50pm) at a cost of $60 for two people. We saved so much flying Wednesday to Seattle, train to BC and 3 nights at the Best Western (all of this was cheaper then flying Thursday or Friday to BC or frankly Seattle). So now we get 2 full days in BC!

[AryMay]

What a great review!! I loved reading it. Thanks for sharing.

 

You are very welcome!

 

Your review is wonderful. We are booked on the Grand, sailing in June 2015 for our 30th Wedding Anniversary. I followed your advice an booked a flight from Dulles Airport to Seattle the Wednesday morning prior to our Saturday sail date. We also have a train from Seattle that afternoon (6:50pm arrives 10:50pm) at a cost of $60 for two people. We saved so much flying Wednesday to Seattle, train to BC and 3 nights at the Best Western (all of this was cheaper then flying Thursday or Friday to BC or frankly Seattle). So now we get 2 full days in BC!

 

Sounds like a wonderful start to a fantastic vacation! Hopefully everything goes smoothly with your commute from Seattle to Vancouver. With the long hours of daylight you should have a very scenic train ride even though it is late at night! Be sure and get to the station early and get in line as soon as they start assigning seats...and ask for seats on the left side (water side) of the train. You might also request that your seat is DIRECTLY in front of a window. I mentioned in the review that every other seat was between windows so it wasn't as easy to see out or take photographs. Not sure if they would honor the request, but it doesn't hurt to ask!

 

With your evening trip, I think it would be fun to have dinner on the train as well. I was surprised that the prices in the bistro car were pretty reasonable!

 

Hopefully you got a decent deal on the Best Western by booking so early. With the free shuttle, free use of bikes & free ferry ticket I thought it was a good value.

 

Thanks for reading & commenting on my review. Have a great trip!!

[ladams52]

You are very welcome!

 

 

 

Sounds like a wonderful start to a fantastic vacation! Hopefully everything goes smoothly with your commute from Seattle to Vancouver. With the long hours of daylight you should have a very scenic train ride even though it is late at night! Be sure and get to the station early and get in line as soon as they start assigning seats...and ask for seats on the left side (water side) of the train. You might also request that your seat is DIRECTLY in front of a window. I mentioned in the review that every other seat was between windows so it wasn't as easy to see out or take photographs. Not sure if they would honor the request, but it doesn't hurt to ask!

 

With your evening trip, I think it would be fun to have dinner on the train as well. I was surprised that the prices in the bistro car were pretty reasonable!

 

Hopefully you got a decent deal on the Best Western by booking so early. With the free shuttle, free use of bikes & free ferry ticket I thought it was a good value.

 

Thanks for reading & commenting on my review. Have a great trip!!

 

Thank you! We should be good with our travel from VA to Seattle (flight is due in at 12:10 and the train is not until 6:50 so even if we are delayed a few hours, we shoudl be fine). Debated stating in Seattle a night then taking the train on Thursday morning, but decided we would forge on to get 2 days in BC. Thanks for the tip on where to sit on the train. Will try and get the window seats! The Best Western gave us a rate of $135 plus tax per night. Did not think that was too bad with all the perks! BTW, call Dave last night at Family Air and booked the Float Plane trip in Ketchikan! He was so nice on the phone. Told him I found his information in a photo review on crusie critic. He was very thankful for the referrel! Also took your advice and rented a car in Skagway for the day and one in Juneau for half the day. I can always change but wanted to make sure we had reservations early. Your review has been priceless! If you know any one on the site who has done the cruise tour to Denali' please let me know. I have tried searching to no avail. Thank you!

[mapleleaves]

If you know any one on the site who has done the cruise tour to Denali' please let me know. I have tried searching to no avail

 

There are several trip reports that include cruisetours to denali !!! Trip reports are in the STICKYs near the top of the home page. One that comes to mind is from MVPInBoynton which is on pg 2 of the 2014 report list.

 

(if you choose to look at the 2013 reports, start with reply #45 where the reports are sorted by cruiseline/ship)

Edited December 31, 2014 by mapleleaves

[OLYMPUS]

Thank you! We should be good with our travel from VA to Seattle (flight is due in at 12:10 and the train is not until 6:50 so even if we are delayed a few hours, we shoudl be fine). Debated stating in Seattle a night then taking the train on Thursday morning, but decided we would forge on to get 2 days in BC. Thanks for the tip on where to sit on the train. Will try and get the window seats! The Best Western gave us a rate of $135 plus tax per night. Did not think that was too bad with all the perks! BTW, call Dave last night at Family Air and booked the Float Plane trip in Ketchikan! He was so nice on the phone. Told him I found his information in a photo review on crusie critic. He was very thankful for the referrel! Also took your advice and rented a car in Skagway for the day and one in Juneau for half the day. I can always change but wanted to make sure we had reservations early. Your review has been priceless! If you know any one on the site who has done the cruise tour to Denali' please let me know. I have tried searching to no avail. Thank you!

The best review I've ever read:) don't forget to book Harv & Marv's whale watching in Juneau! And don't forget to take your passports on your trip out of Skagway. I think you should pack some rain pants, that was a great tip. Also the Deet you may need on your post cruise tour to Denali and Fairbanks. Thanks to the OP for a fabulous trip on New Year's Eve. Happy 2015 to everyone

[ladams52]

The best review I've ever read:) don't forget to book Harv & Marv's whale watching in Juneau! And don't forget to take your passports on your trip out of Skagway. I think you should pack some rain pants, that was a great tip. Also the Deet you may need on your post cruise tour to Denali and Fairbanks. Thanks to the OP for a fabulous trip on New Year's Eve. Happy 2015 to everyone

 

Harv and Marv booked for 23 June in Juneau. Rain pants, check.

[travgurl]

Wow, this is by far one of the best reviews and photo displays I have seen on

Cruise Critic. Thank you so very much for the wonderful review. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading and looking at all of the amazing pictures that you shared. It was so very interesting to read about your adventures because next July we are on the Holland Oosterdam on a cruise tour. Our itinerary in very similar to your trip. We begin in Fairbanks and end in Vancouver. There are 10 people in the group, all adults. Two of the couples I have not met yet. But, I have put together the trip and I certainly hope that is goes as well as yours did. Of course, I know cannot control the weather. In Fairbanks we have a day to ourselves, then the Rivew boat tour. Then it is off to Denali for 2 nights and the Wilderness Tundra tour. We ride on the McKinley express to Anchorage for over night and then on a train to Seward where we board the ship. The group be doing Glacier National Park (we have port side balaconies),

Juneau-Harv and Marv, (trying to decide whether or not to stay at Mendenhall Glacier or return to Juneau to explore the town)-your thoughts? We actually dock in Haines, so we have to take the ferry to Skagway. Logistics will be very important that day (already have my ferry tickets for 10). Once we are in Skagway we are going up the Klondike highway with Trails of 98 TNTours. They come highly recommended. The final stop is Ketchikan, we have chosen along with 4 others in the group to do the Island Wings Mystic Fjords Flight and then explore the town. We disembark in Vancouver where we are doing 2post days before returning home. When we get off the ship we have 4 hour city tour of Vancouver with Land Sea tours. The second day some are going on tour with the same company to Victoria, while others tour the city more or go outside the city to tour the area. I loved your tour of Kenai Fjords--I am going to see if we can add that in somehow, if not then I guess I have a reason to come back one day. Question about the camera--love the pictures that both cameras take. I have a Canon Sure shot SX280. I do love my camera, but I want to make sure I get really good pictures while I am doing this trip. But, not sure if I want to spend more money. Your advice would be greatly appreciated. I am so excited about this trip! An opportunity of a life time! Again, thank you so much for all the work you did to put together such an awesome review!!!

[gertieginsc]

I too want to say thanks to the OP. My question is what camera and lens did you use?

 

Thanks,

 

GertieginSC

[yknot13]

Awesome review. Thanks, Your pictures are fantastic.

[AryMay]

Wow, this is by far one of the best reviews and photo displays I have seen on

Cruise Critic. Thank you so very much for the wonderful review. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading and looking at all of the amazing pictures that you shared.

 

Thank you so much! We had such a fantastic time and I enjoyed sharing it through the review!

 

Juneau-Harv and Marv, (trying to decide whether or not to stay at Mendenhall Glacier or return to Juneau to explore the town)-your thoughts?

 

Harv & Marv will only make a quick stop at Mendenhall...long enough to take a photo from the visitor's center. If you want to have time to walk down to the waterfall or hike any of the other trails you will have to stay longer and find your own transportation back to the ship. We drove through Juneau and I didn't really see anything that I would have wanted to explore. It really depends on what your group likes to do. For us, seeing Alaska meant enjoying nature and wildlife!

 

I have a Canon Sure shot SX280. I do love my camera, but I want to make sure I get really good pictures while I am doing this trip. But, not sure if I want to spend more money. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Somewhere in amongst all of these posts, I discussed my thoughts on cameras. :) Without the extreme zoom on my camera, (a Canon SX50) my wildlife shots would have all been tiny blobs. I bought my camera with Alaska in mind, but love using it even now that I am home. With 10 people in your group you should have multiple cameras...perhaps someone might have nice equipment?

 

I hope you have a fantastic trip. Planning for a large group is not easy, but hopefully all goes well and you come home with memories to last a lifetime!

[AryMay]

I too want to say thanks to the OP. My question is what camera and lens did you use?

 

Thanks,

 

GertieginSC

 

I used a Canon SX50...a point & shoot camera. It is considered a "bridge camera" because of the long zoom, but unlike a DSLR the lens can't be changed.

 

Some of the photos in the review are Laurel's and she had a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200...also a bridge camera.

 

We both took thousands of photos...you are just seeing the best ones!

[AryMay]

Awesome review. Thanks, Your pictures are fantastic.

Thanks!

[gertieginsc]

Thank you for the camera info.

 

GertieginSc

[bothluv2cruise]

Thank you or taking the time to write the review and post the beautiful photos!

I can't wait for my cruise!

[Miss Dot]

Thank you so much for taking so much time to document your trip for us! We will be on the coral in June; have been trying to get a bump out balcony and switch sides. So happy to read you were pleased with the side you choose as that is the side we are on cabin 608 for us! I want time to walk to the falls at Mendenhall Glacier so I'm thinking Harv & Marv that I see so many use may not be our best choice; maybe we should take the transportation only where we can stay as long as we like. We are looking to take the Yukon Expedition/ White Pass Scenic Railway Skagway but your idea of renting a car sounds great just not sure hubby will go for that! He will be afraid something will happen and we will is the ship. Also, he loves train rides. But we do have a train ride on our trip since we are doing the land tour prior to our cruise. Oh how I wish I had found your lovely thread before we booked I would love to do the Seward Kenai Fjord Trip you did. We did not think to fly out a few days early 😪 I cannot say enough about your photos!!!!! You have an eye for photography. I am a photographer and fell in love with your photos.. I must say I have the same camera as you to keep in our car for daily use and I do not have the luck with it that you do... I have the original camera in that line that took beautiful photos but not this one especially when zoomed completely out and my main reason for the purchase of this camera was the zoom not to mention I recommend ed it to everyone and after purchasing it myself I no longer recommend it. THANK you again so much as I could not stop reading your posts and it is now 1:30 am. So glad you did not listen to the one sour comment and stop

[Landth]

Thank you so much for this review, we will be cruising Alaska next having been convinced by your "guided tour" :)

[AryMay]

We will be on the coral in June; have been trying to get a bump out balcony and switch sides. So happy to read you were pleased with the side you choose as that is the side we are on cabin 608 for us!

 

Which deck is your cabin? Your cabin is located further aft on the ship which puts you closer to the public areas in the back...great places to be able to see what is happening on both sides! We kept our TV tuned to the channel that showed the front webcam on the ship and sometimes would run to an outer deck if we saw something that looked interesting on the other side or front of the ship. That was also the same channel that broadcast the naturalist's commentary from the bridge.

 

I want time to walk to the falls at Mendenhall Glacier so I'm thinking Harv & Marv that I see so many use may not be our best choice; maybe we should take the transportation only where we can stay as long as we like.

 

Harv & Marv could still be a good option for you. Instead of going back to the ship with the tour group, just stay at Mendenhall for as long as you like and then go back on one of the shuttle busses. If you have a long day in Juneau like we did, it was fun to be able to explore and not worry about the time.

 

 

Oh how I wish I had found your lovely thread before we booked I would love to do the Seward Kenai Fjord Trip you did.

 

I wished we would have had time to include Denali as well...but Lord willing, we will be able to return again!

 

 

I cannot say enough about your photos!!!!! You have an eye for photography. I am a photographer and fell in love with your photos. THANK you again so much as I could not stop reading your posts and it is now 1:30 am. So glad you did not listen to the one sour comment and stop

 

Thank you for the compliment! I get frustrated with my camera in low light, but the zoom was sure fun to use outdoors!

 

Wishing you a wonderful trip full of fun and memories!

[Miss Dot]

AryMay we are in cabin 608 on the same deck as you Baja

[AryMay]

AryMay we are in cabin 608 on the same deck as you Baja

 

That cabin should be just fine! It looks like most all of the port side balconies are already booked so there may not be much of a chance of getting one on the bump out section at this point.

 

The balcony is covered so you won't have to worry about rain!

 

I noticed in your signature that you were on the Freedom in July of 2009...just wondering if we sailed together! (We were onboard the first week in July and I did a review from that cruise as well...the link is in my signature. It is one of my favorite cruises!)

Edited January 30, 2015 by AryMay