alaska help needed please

[Di13]

My adult daughter and I love our cruises, we finally got to go to Alaska last year and it was just amazing, we now want to go again this year but want to try and do something or go somewhere different from last year. We sailed from Seattle, then visited Juneau, Ketchikan, skagway and Tracy arm fjord, absolutely wonderful but just wondered where else any f you would recommend we see/do this year please. We have looked into sailing from Anchorage but it kind of looks like you don't actually sail from there?? We are very confused over that also. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

Diane

[CruiserBruce]

Some research on the Alaska board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

would be very beneficial. You would learn about Glacier Bay, and the limitations on getting there. Yes, they don't actually sail from there, but nearby. But a couple of ships actually do stop there, like HAL's 14 day Alaska route.

 

Overall, there are only about 10 or 12 total ports in Alaska cruising, so there are some limitations.

Edited January 31, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[Krazy Kruizers]

When they say "sailing out of Anchorage" -- they mean you need to fly into Anchorage and then take either the train or the bus to Seward. You need a couple of days extra to do all this.

Can you do a 14 day cruise? If so HAL has 14 day itineraries that sail out of Seattle and visit places like Kodiak and Homer as well as Anchorage which other cruise lines don't do.

[CruiserBruce]

When they say "sailing out of Anchorage" -- they mean you need to fly into Anchorage and then take either the train or the bus to Seward. You need a couple of days extra to do all this.

 

There is also Whittier...

[SPacificbound]

If you want to do something different go one way, Vancouver to Seward, 7 days. Then Alaska Rail out of Seward https://alaskarailroad.com/travel-planning

[zqvol]

If you want to do something different forget about cruising and spend two weeks in the interior and on the Kenai peninsula.

[cruiser64093]

Not to be missed, in my opinion

- Glacier Bay

- Salmon fishing on the Kenai river (if that appeals to you)

- Taking a glass domed rail car from Anchorage to Denali (or Fairbanks)

- Driving out to Chena Hot Springs, 66 miles NW of Fairbanks, and spending

the night there.

- Seeing the mighty Yukon river, and the gold rush sites (Dawson City). Riding in a motor-coach through the Yukon Territories, I am awe-struck at just how big everything is there.

Alaska is big and beautiful, and book-ending a cruise on either end of it is the perfect vacation.

[Treven]

You can also look into a round trip out of San Francisco, that stops at Skagway, (take the train trip up to the Yukon), and Glacier Bay. You have to look for the one that goes to Glacier Bay instead of Tracy Arm.

 

Of course this would provide you with a good excuse to spend a couple (or more) days before or after your cruise checking out beautiful San Fracisco. The assumes, of course, you've never visited San Francisco.

[Keith1010]

I would do as CruiserBruce suggests. There is a wealth of information on the Alaska Ports Of Call Board.

 

Keith

[more cruises]

Not to be missed, in my opinion

- Glacier Bay

- Salmon fishing on the Kenai river (if that appeals to you)

- Taking a glass domed rail car from Anchorage to Denali (or Fairbanks)

- Driving out to Chena Hot Springs, 66 miles NW of Fairbanks, and spending

the night there.

- Seeing the mighty Yukon river, and the gold rush sites (Dawson City). Riding in a motor-coach through the Yukon Territories, I am awe-struck at just how big everything is there.

Alaska is big and beautiful, and book-ending a cruise on either end of it is the perfect vacation.

 

Cruiser64093 got it exactly right - you must, must go to Glacier Bay. I think we've been 4 times. I never tire of it. So much beauty!

 

We loved Chena Hot Springs too. Saw a moose just off the road on the way there.

[donaldsc]

My adult daughter and I love our cruises, we finally got to go to Alaska last year and it was just amazing, we now want to go again this year but want to try and do something or go somewhere different from last year. We sailed from Seattle, then visited Juneau, Ketchikan, skagway and Tracy arm fjord, absolutely wonderful but just wondered where else any f you would recommend we see/do this year please. We have looked into sailing from Anchorage but it kind of looks like you don't actually sail from there?? We are very confused over that also. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

Diane

 

How about not cruising to or in AK but doing a land trip. There is a lot of AK that you can not see if you cruise. You can also spend more than the 5 or 6 hours you have in a city if you cruise.

 

Another thought that would take a bit of work but would let you see AK more from the viewpoint of the people who live there is to do your cruise on the Alaska Marine Highway. That will get you into towns that the cruise ships do not stop at.

 

DON

[Cruzaholic41]

My adult daughter and I love our cruises, we finally got to go to Alaska last year and it was just amazing, we now want to go again this year but want to try and do something or go somewhere different from last year. We sailed from Seattle, then visited Juneau, Ketchikan, skagway and Tracy arm fjord, absolutely wonderful but just wondered where else any f you would recommend we see/do this year please. We have looked into sailing from Anchorage but it kind of looks like you don't actually sail from there?? We are very confused over that also. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

Like a couple of the others suggested, I think you should look into a one-way Seward to Vancouver cruise (or vice versa). Start (or end) your cruise with a short land tour. I recommend flying into Anchorage, renting a car, and then driving down the Seward Highway on your own. I recommend an overnight in Girdwood and another in Seward. This will give you plenty of time to drive the area, visit Whittier, Hope, etc.