Silver Muse Alaska June 17th questions

[GolfMommy17]

We are traveling on the Silver Muse Alaska trip as well in August - 

 

We are trying to decide best location/providers for whale watching and the heli/dog sled combo.  Are the Silversea's excursion prices comparable to independent operators?  We are looking for a more intimate experience and not the masses on our excursions.  Ports are Juneau, Skagway, Sitka and Ketchikan.

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited February 24, 2019 by GolfMommy17
added info

[JohnGinPBG]

In Sitka, we had the ultimate whale watching adventure with Captain Paul Davis of Gallant adventures. His boat only holds 6 passengers, so he can go where the bigger boats can't. We had whales so close to the boat that we got sprayed! Add to that close-up sea otters, a grizzly, seals and a massive sea lion, puffins and thousands of other sea birds and it was an unforgettable 5-hour trip. He even maneuvered the boat into a cave! It was the highlight of our entire Alaskan trip and worth every penny.
 

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, GolfMommy17 said:

Are the Silversea's excursion prices comparable to independent operators?

Typically SS’s prices are quite a bit more expensive.

[TLCOhio]

5 minutes ago, JohnGinPBG said:

In Sitka, we had the ultimate whale watching adventure with Captain Paul Davis of Gallant adventures. His boat only holds 6 passengers, so he can go where the bigger boats can't. We had whales so close to the boat that we got sprayed! Add to that close-up sea otters, a grizzly, seals and a massive sea lion, puffins and thousands of other sea birds and it was an unforgettable 5-hour trip. He even maneuvered the boat into a cave! It was the highlight of our entire Alaskan trip and worth every penny.

 

Love the many excellent specifics and details outlined in this thread, including the above suggestion for Sitka.  Have copied this great tip/tour potential into my trip file.   In July, for our first time, we will be seeing Jasper/Banff, doing the Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, having three days in Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska, Denali, etc. 

 

We have already booked directly for the afternoon in Juneau doing the Wings/Taku Lodge adventure flight-seeing for seeing the many glaciers, etc.  Our ports in Alaska will be Ketchikan, 7 am to 2 pm, with five ships there that day with 6,300+ passengers; Juneau, 9 am - 11 pm, five ships with 11,400+ passengers; Skagway, 8 am to 5:30 pm, four ships with 7,800+ passengers; and Sitka, 10 am to 5 pm, only two ships with just 800+ passengers.  Lots of ships and passengers in some of these small ports.  

 

KEY TIPS??:  It seems as a first-timer for Alaska that the challenge is for figuring out the right mix of what to do and where in these different ports and locations.  This includes such questions as . . . .  Whether Juneau or Sitka would be the better spot for whale watching?   Where best for doing a zodiac adventure getting close to wilderness and wildlife?  Where best to get closer to unique nature and seeing interesting birds?  Where best for doing a rail trip back into the wilderness?   Where and how best for sampling sea otters, raptors and bears?  How is best to avoid the massive crowds, etc., while doing these four specific locations in Alaska?  Other ideas, secrets, insights, etc.??

 

Keep it coming!!  Great sharing on these Cruise Critic boards. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

For our latest live/blog, see “the Holy Lands, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Greece, etc.”, with many visuals, details and ideas for the historic and scenic Middle East.  Check it at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2607054-livenautica-greece-holy-lands-egypt-dubai-terrypix’s/

[brumagin1]

We used Harv and Marv’s, small boats - we were only 4 onboard.   They were WONDERFUL!

https://www.harvandmarvs-juneau-whale-watching.com/

[GolfMommy17]

2 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

 

Love the many excellent specifics and details outlined in this thread, including the above suggestion for Sitka.  Have copied this great tip/tour potential into my trip file.   In July, for our first time, we will be seeing Jasper/Banff, doing the Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, having three days in Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska, Denali, etc. 

 

We have already booked directly for the afternoon in Juneau doing the Wings/Taku Lodge adventure flight-seeing for seeing the many glaciers, etc.  Our ports in Alaska will be Ketchikan, 7 am to 2 pm, with five ships there that day with 6,300+ passengers; Juneau, 9 am - 11 pm, five ships with 11,400+ passengers; Skagway, 8 am to 5:30 pm, four ships with 7,800+ passengers; and Sitka, 10 am to 5 pm, only two ships with just 800+ passengers.  Lots of ships and passengers in some of these small ports.  

 

 

how/where do you get info on how many ships/passengers are in port?  that is very interesting information!  and i agree with all your comments about how wonderful the tips are!  happy sailing!

[TLCOhio]

6 minutes ago, GolfMommy17 said:

how/where do you get info on how many ships/passengers are in port?  that is very interesting information!  and i agree with all your comments about how wonderful the tips are!  happy sailing!

 

You can go to

www.claalaska.com/?page_id=1551

and look up the detailed schedule for each of the ports in Alaska. Then click at the top right for the category of "Alaska Cruise Schedules".  Then click for the 2019 schedules.  Then pick out the specific port name, etc.   

 

For passenger numbers, I just a quick Google/Wikipedia search using the ship name.  Hope this helps!!  YES, this info helps for being smarter for doing such planning and considering your best options for each port.  As one person told me, many of these Alaska town are fairly small and when 5-11,000 hit their downtowns, it can get crowded.  Booking ahead can be very important in many circumstances.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!  Is one of your future desires or past favorites? See these many visual samples for its great history and architecture.  This posting is now at 80,650 views.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

[JohnGinPBG]

2 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

 

Where and how best for sampling sea otters, raptors and bears?  How is best to avoid the massive crowds, etc., while doing these four specific locations in Alaska?  

 

 

 

Terry,

I may be wrong, but I think the only place you'll see sea otters is Sitka. If you want to avoid the crowds in Skagway, take the ferry down to the non-touristy town of Haines. Beautiful surroundings and lots of good excursions offered by SS and a local company called Rainbow Glacier Adventures. On our photography tour, we were the only people, so we essentially had a private tour.

 

 

[Daveywavey70]

Beautiful pics JohnGin. Thank you all so much for your fantastic suggestions and recomendations. Planning is well advanced now!

[TLCOhio]

2 hours ago, JohnGinPBG said:

Terry,  I may be wrong, but I think the only place you'll see sea otters is Sitka. If you want to avoid the crowds in Skagway, take the ferry down to the non-touristy town of Haines. Beautiful surroundings and lots of good excursions offered by SS and a local company called Rainbow Glacier Adventures. On our photography tour, we were the only people, so we essentially had a private tour.

 

YES, wonderfully nice pictures and info from JohnGinPBG.  Very helpful!! 

 

In looking more at Skagway, there is also some interest in this busy port for utilizing the opportunity to explore Alaska's Gold Rush past and the natural beauty in style during a journey aboard the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad.  See a visual example below from a web search.  This option sounds good, easy and interesting.  BUT, in checking the Rainbow Glacier Adventure, that would work well for my personal photo desires.  For my wife and the other couple from Philadelphia, however, that is another and different question.  Will keep researching and exploring the various potentials. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Barcelona/Med: June 2011, with stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Great visuals with key highlights, tips, etc. Live/blog now at 244,235 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

Here is this visual of the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad from Skagwa.  Anyone have experiences from traveling along this scenic routing?:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see this picture larger/better!)

[GolfMommy17]

On 1/3/2019 at 7:01 PM, Stumblefoot said:

I promise though, the ship's tour to Anan will be anything but sedate.  It's a jet boat ride of roughly 45-minutes (if I remember correctly), led by a guide with a shotgun where you'll walk along the creek to the viewing platform and blinds.  It's a tour unlike any we've ever done before.

Stumblefoot - we are seeing floatplane trips to the Anan observatory, not a jet boat.  do you know the operator of a boat trip to anan?  thank you in advance!

[Stumblefoot]

10 hours ago, GolfMommy17 said:

Stumblefoot - we are seeing floatplane trips to the Anan observatory, not a jet boat.  do you know the operator of a boat trip to anan?  thank you in advance!

I’m afraid I do not as it was a SS excursion.

[GolfMommy17]

3 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

I’m afraid I do not as it was a SS excursion.

looks like jet boats are from port of Wrangall.  we will be docking in Ketchikan and so will need to do a floatplane, and won't go to Anan as it's too long a trip for our docking timing.  we will do a different bear observatory i think.  better option for the senior traveling with us also.  

[MHF]

Instead of the Yukon Railway, rent a car.  There's an agency in Skagway.  We drove to Emerald Lake and stopped a couple of times along the way up and back.

 

Funny of that day:  crossing the border, the guard asked my husband which ship we're going to.  DH responds "Silver Spring."  No, sweetie, that's a town near our home.  Try Silver Shadow.

 

Missy

[TLCOhio]

48 minutes ago, MHF said:

Instead of the Yukon Railway, rent a car.  There's an agency in Skagway.  We drove to Emerald Lake and stopped a couple of times along the way up and back.   Funny of that day:  crossing the border, the guard asked my husband which ship we're going to.  DH responds "Silver Spring."  No, sweetie, that's a town near our home.  Try Silver Shadow.  Missy

 

Appreciate these different ideas, suggestions and follow-ups.  Super cute story about DH crossing the board from Missy.  Good creative potential with the car rental exploring.  BUT, my wife worries, even when there is no reason, about driving in areas where we have not traveled previously.  Never had any problems, however, my wife is always "concerned"!!??   How was the driving there and how far into Canada was this Emerald Lake?  What else did you see and do while driving that you loved and rated as "very special"?

 

Keep up the great sharing on this thread.  Am copying many notes to the trip file on my computer laptop. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Wonderful scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 233,909 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[MHF]

Get "Murray's Guide to the South Klondike Highway" as a download map/guide and print it.  Best $5 I've ever spent.  He's a native and marks the stops by mile markers.  This allowed us to anticipate the turnoffs; the waterfall was especially nice because it was on the side of the road with good parking.  We also stopped at the tourist signs for pix, "Welcome to Alaska" etc.

It's about 75 miles each way to the Lake.  Lunch was a muffin from a shop near the railroad turnabout because there was no other food.  Maybe bring some water bottles from the ship.

Made me think of another story...crossing into Canada from American Niagara Falls side:  guard asks what we're doing.  DH replies "We're on holiday."  I think he was watching too many British shows that year.

I'm looking forward to Puerto Rico-FL on Nov 11 on the Whisper.  First solo but I am determined to keep on cruisin'

Missy

[JohnGinPBG]

On 2/24/2019 at 3:11 PM, TLCOhio said:

On 2/24/2019 at 2:25 PM, GolfMommy17 said:

how/where do you get info on how many ships/passengers are in port?  that is very interesting information!  and i agree with all your comments about how wonderful the tips are!  happy sailing!

 

There's a wonderful site called cruisemapper.com that tracks every cruise ship in the world in real time. You can also look at every port worldwide and review ships that will be there on a given day. Plus many other features. Highly recommended!