Alaska with Celebrity

[cot427]

I've been doing some reading and have found quite a few answers to the questions I have, but have a few more and look for feedback regarding port plans.

 

I'm booked on a NB trip on Celebrity Millennium. I've read that the Cosmos Lounge is where the naturalist speaks, has good views, and is warm! Any other areas for good viewing?

 

Port Plans:

Ketchikan - I didn't see any tours that caught my eye - was thinking about the on our own walking tour that I found.

 

Icy Strait Point - We are here on Memorial Day. I know it's a cruise only destination, so I hope everything in the town is open - thoughts on that? Definitely doing the zip line here.

 

Juneau - Thinking about doing the Mendenhall Glacier, Brewing, and Cooking demo tour. Definitely want to go to the glacier and really into brewing, so this looks like a good combo, and the cooking demo is just extra.

 

Skagway - The White Pass Rail and Sled Dog Tour. I read that the White Pass is a must and I really wanted to do a sled dog thing, so this was the easiest place to combine the two.

 

Seward - Since our flight may not be until after midnight, I was thinking about doing the Kenai Fjords cruise with airport drop off. It says 11 hours, anyone know when we get to the airport?

[JasonV1]

I did a whale watching tour with Hoonah Travel Adventures in summer of 2015 that saw a ton of Orcas, including small ones.

 

If you want to see Humpbacks I recommend Harv and Marv in Juneau. You should have plenty of time to rent a car and visit the glacier if you want (we visited the glacier, the Alaskan beer brewery, and ate lunch as well).

 

For Ketchikan, the Deadliest Catch tour was great. My wife/daughter never watched the show but enjoyed the excursion a lot.

 

For Skagway we just rented a car and drove to Emerald Lake, including stops along the way at all the usual spots. The train would have been great, we did the speedboat tour along the fjord that was awesome instead (we had time to do both).

 

 

I've been doing some reading and have found quite a few answers to the questions I have, but have a few more and look for feedback regarding port plans.

 

I'm booked on a NB trip on Celebrity Millennium. I've read that the Cosmos Lounge is where the naturalist speaks, has good views, and is warm! Any other areas for good viewing?

 

Port Plans:

Ketchikan - I didn't see any tours that caught my eye - was thinking about the on our own walking tour that I found.

 

Icy Strait Point - We are here on Memorial Day. I know it's a cruise only destination, so I hope everything in the town is open - thoughts on that? Definitely doing the zip line here.

 

Juneau - Thinking about doing the Mendenhall Glacier, Brewing, and Cooking demo tour. Definitely want to go to the glacier and really into brewing, so this looks like a good combo, and the cooking demo is just extra.

 

Skagway - The White Pass Rail and Sled Dog Tour. I read that the White Pass is a must and I really wanted to do a sled dog thing, so this was the easiest place to combine the two.

 

Seward - Since our flight may not be until after midnight, I was thinking about doing the Kenai Fjords cruise with airport drop off. It says 11 hours, anyone know when we get to the airport?

[phillygirl63]

Ketchikan -- we booked our own Misty Fjords Seaplane tour with Sea Wind Aviation, which was great.

 

ISP -- We did the ATV tour (ship's excursion). There was plenty of time afterwards for the zipline if we wanted to do that. We also did the cultural show, which was "cute."

 

Juneau -- The wives did the Mendenhall Glacier & whale watching tour (ship's excursion), which we absolutely loved. We saw many humpbacks, witnessed bubble feeding and a full breach. Mendenhall Glacier was ok. The husbands went halibut fishing (ship's excursion), and they had a blast. After our excursions, we took the incline to the cultural center, which we enjoyed too.

 

Skagway -- we did the White Pass railway, which we loved. We purchased tickets right there at the train.

 

You mentioned doing a dogsled excursion in Skagway in addition to the train? Are you sure you will have enough time? I don't recall having that much time when we were on Millennium. I guess I will have to check your itinerary.

[AKStafford]

The holiday won't affect your time in Icy Strait Point (Hoonah). And it's a great spot for whale watching. I'd suggest a local vendor: http://visithoonah.com/tours_charters.html

 

Seward: are you doing the Kenai Fjords cruise independently or booking it through the cruiseline?

[cot427]

I did a whale watching tour with Hoonah Travel Adventures in summer of 2015 that saw a ton of Orcas, including small ones.

 

If you want to see Humpbacks I recommend Harv and Marv in Juneau. You should have plenty of time to rent a car and visit the glacier if you want (we visited the glacier, the Alaskan beer brewery, and ate lunch as well).

 

For Ketchikan, the Deadliest Catch tour was great. My wife/daughter never watched the show but enjoyed the excursion a lot.

 

For Skagway we just rented a car and drove to Emerald Lake, including stops along the way at all the usual spots. The train would have been great, we did the speedboat tour along the fjord that was awesome instead (we had time to do both).

 

Thanks for the suggestions! I've heard about Harv and Marv before, so I'll definitely check it out.

[cot427]

Ketchikan -- we booked our own Misty Fjords Seaplane tour with Sea Wind Aviation, which was great.

 

ISP -- We did the ATV tour (ship's excursion). There was plenty of time afterwards for the zipline if we wanted to do that. We also did the cultural show, which was "cute."

 

Juneau -- The wives did the Mendenhall Glacier & whale watching tour (ship's excursion), which we absolutely loved. We saw many humpbacks, witnessed bubble feeding and a full breach. Mendenhall Glacier was ok. The husbands went halibut fishing (ship's excursion), and they had a blast. After our excursions, we took the incline to the cultural center, which we enjoyed too.

 

Skagway -- we did the White Pass railway, which we loved. We purchased tickets right there at the train.

 

You mentioned doing a dogsled excursion in Skagway in addition to the train? Are you sure you will have enough time? I don't recall having that much time when we were on Millennium. I guess I will have to check your itinerary.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, especially for whale watching! For the Skagway tour, it's through the ship and its a combo tour, White Pass and Dog Sledding, 5 and 1/2 hours.

 

The holiday won't affect your time in Icy Strait Point (Hoonah). And it's a great spot for whale watching. I'd suggest a local vendor: http://visithoonah.com/tours_charters.html

 

Seward: are you doing the Kenai Fjords cruise independently or booking it through the cruiseline?

 

Thanks! I will check them out, I think I was on there site a few weeks ago.

 

For the Kenai Fjords cruise, I was just going to book through the ship because it includes transportation (bus) back to the airport (and lunch). I am also considering taking the train back, but would have to book an independent tour if this were the case...I noticed a lot of people mention Major Marine, which is $88 for the 5 hour tour and would be in line with what I want to spend if I add the train for $105. Then I was reading that one should do the longer tour that actually goes into the fjords (weather permitting) and that's $159...I would consider it if it's worth it.

 

Suggestions either way?