Alaska 2021 Transport camera gear

[KYBOB]

Ok hoping we can cruise in June of 2021 we have booked a 11 day land, and south bound cruise ending in Vancouver. The land portion is an escorted tour through Princess, I know better to do on our own etc. but I do a lot of driving for work do not want to do that. I typically travel with a lot of gear, but going to pair down to 2 bodies (D850 and Z7 or Z7 & Z6) I am planning on taking 14-30, 24-70, 70-200, 1.4 teleconverter and 500PF. So 2 big lenes and 2 smaller ones. My question is the dreaded Princess one carry on and size limitation. How have others carried their photo gear along with other needed items when you move from place to place. I have a camera case that will carry all this (ThinkTank Airport Essentials) but it exceeds the size limits and has wheels but will need an additional small bag to carry personal items (Binoculars, meds, rain jacket, etc). Thanks  

[WVHillbilly]

We are also doing a land/cruise tour in June 2021.  I plan on carrying my camera gear in a padded camera backpack, wife will have a carry on for meds, raingear, and binoculars.  I haven't decided whether her's will be a backpack or suitcase.  I'd also be interested in how others have managed their carry on's especially traveling between lodges.

[Crew News]

On 6/27/2020 at 5:06 PM, KYBOB said:

Ok hoping we can cruise in June of 2021 we have booked a 11 day land, and south bound cruise ending in Vancouver. The land portion is an escorted tour through Princess, I know better to do on our own etc. but I do a lot of driving for work do not want to do that. I typically travel with a lot of gear, but going to pair down to 2 bodies (D850 and Z7 or Z7 & Z6) I am planning on taking 14-30, 24-70, 70-200, 1.4 teleconverter and 500PF. So 2 big lenes and 2 smaller ones. My question is the dreaded Princess one carry on and size limitation. How have others carried their photo gear along with other needed items when you move from place to place. I have a camera case that will carry all this (ThinkTank Airport Essentials) but it exceeds the size limits and has wheels but will need an additional small bag to carry personal items (Binoculars, meds, rain jacket, etc). Thanks  

 

I take my Think Tank Essentials to Alaska every year for my flight portions.  I bring a Lowepro 100AW sling bag for excursions and being collapsible, I pack it in one of my suitcases for the flying portion.

 

With restictions on carry-on bags for Alaska land tour buses and trains limited tote bags or backpacks no larger than 17”x14”x4”, I move all of my expensive photo items (lenses and cameras) to my smaller excursion bag and pack my Think Tank Essentials backpack (11.5'"x 18" x 7") in my one allowed suitcase for the land portion.  Of course a Scott-E-Vest can hold a lot of smalle photo items, Ipad, chargers, etc will riding buses/trains.

 

Note that roller bags are not permitted as carry-on luggage for Alaska cruiseline buses and trains unless they contain pre-approved medical items.  They may be counted as your one piece of luggage that will go ahead of you via truck.

 

Tip:  When riding the train, photographing through the extra-thick windows will produce lots of rainbow effect that are quite a challenge for Photoshop. There is plenty of room on the platforms between cars where you can capture some amazing scenery photos.

 

 

 

[KYBOB]

Just how “strict” are the 17 x 14 x 4 dimension are they? I have seen on some videos women with bags much larger than that as well as back packs thicker than the 4”. I cannot even find a bag of any kind that has those dimensions. I have a back pack I can put a camera cube in that measures 17 x 14 x 7.5. So is the 3.5” overage going to be a deal breaker? My wife’s Tumi backpack is 17x 12 x 8 is she in trouble? 

[Crew News]

On 6/29/2020 at 5:35 AM, KYBOB said:

Just how “strict” are the 17 x 14 x 4 dimension are they? I have seen on some videos women with bags much larger than that as well as back packs thicker than the 4”. I cannot even find a bag of any kind that has those dimensions. I have a back pack I can put a camera cube in that measures 17 x 14 x 7.5. So is the 3.5” overage going to be a deal breaker? My wife’s Tumi backpack is 17x 12 x 8 is she in trouble? 

 

The train and bus crews don''t worry about size of small backpacks but if they don't fit, you may spend many hours with them on your lap.

 

The train has no overhead storage since it is glass-domed, so the issue is how high the seat in front of you is from the floor.  My Think Tank cannot be compressed to fit but my Lowepro sling bag is soft and can be.  Not having all of the safety restrictions of a plane, your bag can fit on the floor at your feet if you don't mind putting your feet on it.  Train seats are assigned so you and your wife will sit together and perhaps squeeze one bag between you on the floor without having to put your feet on it.

 

Buses have overhead storage that might accept your Think Tank bag but there is no space under your feet for it..

 

As I stated, I have a separate excursion sling bag.  My Think Tank Essentials bag is only for aircraft transport and from that bag, I select what items I need for a particular excursion.  I treat buses and trains with their limited storage as just another excursion,  excep, I bring all of my lenses.  My Think Tank bag, almost empty rides in the one piece of luggage allowed for passengers on buses and trains (those bags do not accompany you on either but will meet you at each destination. 

 

It is a bit difficult since I travel solo but your wife could carry a few lenses in her "carry-on" to help out. 

Edited June 30, 2020 by Crew News

[KYBOB]

Thanks this helps. 

[donaldsc]

On 6/27/2020 at 5:06 PM, KYBOB said:

Ok hoping we can cruise in June of 2021 we have booked a 11 day land, and south bound cruise ending in Vancouver. The land portion is an escorted tour through Princess, I know better to do on our own etc. but I do a lot of driving for work do not want to do that. I typically travel with a lot of gear, but going to pair down to 2 bodies (D850 and Z7 or Z7 & Z6) I am planning on taking 14-30, 24-70, 70-200, 1.4 teleconverter and 500PF. So 2 big lenes and 2 smaller ones. My question is the dreaded Princess one carry on and size limitation. How have others carried their photo gear along with other needed items when you move from place to place. I have a camera case that will carry all this (ThinkTank Airport Essentials) but it exceeds the size limits and has wheels but will need an additional small bag to carry personal items (Binoculars, meds, rain jacket, etc). Thanks  

 

ignoring the fact that you are taking way too much, consider that fact that escorted tours are not set up for the needs of a real photographer which is what you sound like. The tour will generally keep moving and nobody on the tour will want to be held up by your photo needs.  After a day or so, everyone else on the tour will hate you because you will be holding them up to take pictures and you will also be pushed to the front of the group so you can get your shot unblocked by the other people in the group. 

 

Also, if you see a good photo opportunity that is not one of the scheduled tour stops, they won't stop just for you.  By the time you get the right combination of camera and lens out of the bag, they will have moved on to the next stop.  You won't even have time to set up your tripod which I assume that you will be taking so you can properly compose your shot properly and which you may need with your long lens especially if you use your teleconverter.  In addition, it is really difficult to take any good pictures from a moving bus assuming that you have a window seat and are on the correct side of the bus to get your picture.

 

I really think that you should rent a car and drive.  That means that you can take as much stuff as you want and you will also be able to stop whenever you see a good photo opportunity.  Driving in AK is easy and in general the roads are not too crowded.  We did a 3 month driving trip in AK a few years back and it was a blast.

 

DON

 

 

[KYBOB]

14 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

ignoring the fact that you are taking way too much, consider that fact that escorted tours are not set up for the needs of a real photographer which is what you sound like. The tour will generally keep moving and nobody on the tour will want to be held up by your photo needs.  After a day or so, everyone else on the tour will hate you because you will be holding them up to take pictures and you will also be pushed to the front of the group so you can get your shot unblocked by the other people in the group. 

 

Also, if you see a good photo opportunity that is not one of the scheduled tour stops, they won't stop just for you.  By the time you get the right combination of camera and lens out of the bag, they will have moved on to the next stop.  You won't even have time to set up your tripod which I assume that you will be taking so you can properly compose your shot properly and which you may need with your long lens especially if you use your teleconverter.  In addition, it is really difficult to take any good pictures from a moving bus assuming that you have a window seat and are on the correct side of the bus to get your picture.

 

I really think that you should rent a car and drive.  That means that you can take as much stuff as you want and you will also be able to stop whenever you see a good photo opportunity.  Driving in AK is easy and in general the roads are not too crowded.  We did a 3 month driving trip in AK a few years back and it was a blast.

 

DON

 

 

You have obviously had some bad experiences with photographers on your tours. I have taken many excursions and bus trips and I can usually get the shot I need and be gone before half the people are still trying to get off the bus and gone way before the idiots with cell phones take all their selfies. I am also one if not the first one back on the bus, a good photographer and professional one can look at what is there and knows what he needs to do for settings, which should be set before getting off the bus, take the shot and go on. I have like you seen a guy fiddle and fiddle with his camera or phone for that matter and take just one shot. I also get very impatient with those types waiting and waiting for them to push the button. Never have carried a tripod on a cruise, never will. I carry two cameras which depending on what the days excursion will be will determine what two lens I will pull out and use for the day. I will probably in between places (bus or train) will have just one camera out and the other in the bag and never think about taking it out. On the days moving to different lodges I just need to get them from place to place. Once we get to one of the lodges depending on the excursion (I have a lot of Photo tours for "photographers" booked at each place, oh and they will supply tripods) that is where I will determine what I will take for that excursion. For instance once on the ship we have a whale watch and looking into a bear photo excursion where a 200mm lens is a bit closer than I want to be to a bear.  I am also a avid bird photographer and once we get the lodge will walk around on my own looking for birds hence the 500mm and teleconverter it will only come out of the bag once I get someplace or a photo tour where it would be needed. Also the thought of changing lens while on a tour / bus is horrific to me, the DUST that can get into the camera can kill a great shot or cost hours fixing. I only change a lens inside with the AC off, dust removal gear at hand and done quickly. That is why two camera bodies I look at what is happening the next day, set up my cameras for the next days activities and pack the rest up. Also I am 6'4" tall so I can typically just shoot over peoples heads if the need arises and walk faster than most (long legs) .

 

As to the driving part I drive from 35,000 to 45,000 miles every year for work it is nothing for us to have 80,000 to 90,000 miles on a car in two years. I do not want to go on vacation and drive. That is why I love cruising I get on a ship it moves and I am some place new. We did a B2B cruise a couple of years ago to Alaska, my wife has ever since then wished (complained) we had done the land part. I did not want to do the land part because of all the driving / riding on the bus / train so she found all these 'photo tours' at the lodges to get me to go on this. And as per the suggestion of Crew News above she has agreed to become a "pack mule" (her words) and carry one lens. 

[Crew News]

19 minutes ago, KYBOB said:

You have obviously had some bad experiences with photographers on your tours. I have taken many excursions and bus trips and I can usually get the shot I need and be gone before half the people are still trying to get off the bus and gone way before the idiots with cell phones take all their selfies. I am also one if not the first one back on the bus, a good photographer and professional one can look at what is there and knows what he needs to do for settings, which should be set before getting off the bus, take the shot and go on. I have like you seen a guy fiddle and fiddle with his camera or phone for that matter and take just one shot. I also get very impatient with those types waiting and waiting for them to push the button. Never have carried a tripod on a cruise, never will. I carry two cameras which depending on what the days excursion will be will determine what two lens I will pull out and use for the day. I will probably in between places (bus or train) will have just one camera out and the other in the bag and never think about taking it out. On the days moving to different lodges I just need to get them from place to place. Once we get to one of the lodges depending on the excursion (I have a lot of Photo tours for "photographers" booked at each place, oh and they will supply tripods) that is where I will determine what I will take for that excursion. For instance once on the ship we have a whale watch and looking into a bear photo excursion where a 200mm lens is a bit closer than I want to be to a bear.  I am also a avid bird photographer and once we get the lodge will walk around on my own looking for birds hence the 500mm and teleconverter it will only come out of the bag once I get someplace or a photo tour where it would be needed. Also the thought of changing lens while on a tour / bus is horrific to me, the DUST that can get into the camera can kill a great shot or cost hours fixing. I only change a lens inside with the AC off, dust removal gear at hand and done quickly. That is why two camera bodies I look at what is happening the next day, set up my cameras for the next days activities and pack the rest up. Also I am 6'4" tall so I can typically just shoot over peoples heads if the need arises and walk faster than most (long legs) .

 

As to the driving part I drive from 35,000 to 45,000 miles every year for work it is nothing for us to have 80,000 to 90,000 miles on a car in two years. I do not want to go on vacation and drive. That is why I love cruising I get on a ship it moves and I am some place new. We did a B2B cruise a couple of years ago to Alaska, my wife has ever since then wished (complained) we had done the land part. I did not want to do the land part because of all the driving / riding on the bus / train so she found all these 'photo tours' at the lodges to get me to go on this. And as per the suggestion of Crew News above she has agreed to become a "pack mule" (her words) and carry one lens. 

 

On the bus tours in Denali National Park, every passenger is ecncouraged to be a wildlife spotter and to shout out what they see.  The tour bus will definitely stop to allow photos (nobody allowed off the bus) and there will be several camera lens protruding from every window as passengers on the other side of the bus surge to wildlife side. 

 

A zoom with a teleconvertor and burst mode makes the best of all worlds BUT the grizzly bears have no fear of you.  They will stroll right up to the bus and not even look at you.  Having a second camera (P@S) nearby will permit that once-in-a-lifetime of a bear just a few feet from the bus if you don't bring a shorter lens.

 

 

 

Caribou  are not so brave so a telephoto lens is a necessity.

 

 

 

My experience on the Holland America Denali land tour had lots of seat time.  9 hours on a bus from Seward to Denali, 7 hours on the Denali Wilderness Tour, and 9 more hours on the train to Anchorage.

 

[KYBOB]

Great shots! For the Denali bus tour I was planning on having both cameras one with a 70-200 and the other the 500mm w/ 1.4 teleconverter. For just landscapes I have gotten good at taking multiple shots and stitching them together. This is hand held; no tripod, on the ship of 6 shots at 200mm stitched together. I have this printed on metal 24" x 72" hanging in my office. 

 

Edited July 2, 2020 by KYBOB

[Re-tired]

After some bad experiences with "photo tours" I had given up on them.  Two years ago I relented and signed up for one while at Denali and again at Skagway.  They were both excellent.  In Denali the guide was a professional photographer who took us to her favorite places.  My wife and I were the only people on the tour and it was great.  In Skagway we went on a little bus with about ten others.  There was a pile of tripods in the back of the bus.  The guides on this tour we also great and took us to very good locations.

 

If I can find the information on those tours I will post it.

 

tom

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, Re-tired said:

After some bad experiences with "photo tours" I had given up on them.  Two years ago I relented and signed up for one while at Denali and again at Skagway.  They were both excellent.  In Denali the guide was a professional photographer who took us to her favorite places.  My wife and I were the only people on the tour and it was great.  In Skagway we went on a little bus with about ten others.  There was a pile of tripods in the back of the bus.  The guides on this tour we also great and took us to very good locations.

 

If I can find the information on those tours I will post it.

 

tom

 

My Skagway photo tour stopped at a waterfall for 20 minutes and another stop along the highway to photograph the glacier water..  My only keeper photo was of ptarmigans in the snow.