Star Breeze Alaska - Questions

[RemPuck]

Hello –

 

My husband and I are re(re)-attempting a Star Breeze Alaska cruise, Seward to Vancouver, in August 2023.  We originally hoped to do this in 2020 (we all know what happened) and re-booked for 2021.  There was too much uncertainty about Alaska trips last year, so we instead rolled our FCCs to a Covid Adventure on the Wind Surf in December.  While there (and before the bad stuff happened!) we booked this trip.

 

I’ve seen a few (quiet) roll calls for the current Alaska season and I’m hoping recent, current or future participants can answer a few questions.

·         How did/will you travel to Seward?  We are likely doing our own land trip prior to the cruise and are debating on how and when to go to Seward.  Did you go directly from Anchorage to Seward to the Ship or did you spend any time in Seward?

·         We have 3 different “glacier” days (College Fjord in Prince William Sound, Hubbard Glacier and Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm.  All offer zodiac excursions to get close to the glaciers. If you did this, when did you book? Did you do more than one? Favorites?

·         Aside from the zodiacs, were there any other excursions that stood out? Any that sold out far in advance that we should consider booking “soon-ish”?

·         Anything else to share?

 

When we were planning 2020, I booked all 3 zodiac rides, plus a few other excursions, way in advance. When the trip was cancelled, Windstar actually considered those funds as “already paid” (not specifically for shore excursions) and they were eligible for the 25% FCC bonus they offered at the time. While nice, it was a lot of $$ tied up for a long time. I’m trying to balance booking what I really need to with not having too much money locked in for too long.

 

Thanks to all for any guidance and happy sailing for those on board or about to sail!

[r&rd]

We are on the Breeze now having embarked in Seward. We stayed two nights at the anchorage Hilton, took the train (2 block walk from the hotel) to Seward and stayed at the Harbor 360 hotel. It was across the street from the train depot and the train transferred our luggage to the hotel. Seward has a free shuttle bus that goes from one end to the other which allowed us to see the town with a stop at the Marine Wildlife center. The hotel has a shuttle to the port but we walked - it’s less than half a mile and an easy road. We used Luggage Forward to send most of our luggage which gave us a bit more freedom in going from place to place with just carryons. I know the cruise line offers a bus transfer from Anchorage to Seward the day of the cruise or you could take the train. It leaves Anchorage at 6:45 am and arrives in Seward about 11:15. I recommend the train as a relaxing way to see the scenery and the wildlife.
 

There are currently about 170 people on board so there are plenty of spaces left on most excursions but not sure if that would be the case if the ship were full. Can’t speak to the excursions yet as we have only have the one stop at a glacier. Will post about all those later.

[RemPuck]

Thanks @r&rd! Enjoy your trip and I look forward to your updates.

 

 

[GottaKnowWhen]

In Alaska for a cruise on Celebrity some years ago, we stayed in Anchorage pre- and post- cruise. There was (still is?) a great local art museum and gift shop in the hospital. There are nice shops. There is the Ulu factory. And a short bus ride out of town there is a very nice Native Heritage site, worth at least half a day on its own.

I totally endorse the train ride from Anchorage to Seward.

More recently we did another cruise on Celebrity from Vancouver. Came across the Star Breeze in Ketchikan - image below. I am looking forward to my first Windstar trip, next month on Star Pride and was pleased to see her sister ship up close!

 

Stan

 

Edited July 9, 2022 by GottaKnowWhen

[new_cruiser]

My Windstar Alaska cruise was a Cruise Collector starting in Japan and ending in Vancouver so I didn't travel from Anchorage to Seward that trip. We had done a cruise in Alaska before Windstar started cruising there and that time did a pre-cruise land trip.

 

We felt that there was enough to do in Seward that it was worth spending a couple of nights there. We took the train from Anchorage to Seward as others have suggested. 

 

My cruise was Windstar's first Alaska cruise and was booked absolutely full. There were enough kayak and zodiac excursions for everyone who wanted them. They were in the fjords for all day so were able to add enough times for anyone who wanted the excursions. 

 

The kayak and zodiac excursions get you a lot closer to the glaciers. My trip didn't go to Hubbard. I took a zodiac and a kayak excursion in Kenai Fjord and kayak excursions in Tracy/Endicott Arm (Tracy in our case as Endicott wasn't workable that early in the season) and in Misty Fjord (not a glacier stop). There were different wildlife spotting on each trip. In Endicott Arm the wildlife was mostly marine and some birds. In Kenai Fjord there is non-glacier covered land that you get close to as well as the glacier. We saw bears and other wildlife on land there. Maybe College Fjord is similar. 

 

IIRC, we saw black bears at Kenai Fjord and brown bears at Misty Fjord but it may have been the other way around. Both areas have both types of bear. There were dolphins and seals in the water near us at Endicott Arm and seals when we were at Kenai. There was an Orca in Misty Fjord with us. 

 

I was happy that I'd booked an excursion at each of these.

 

Most of the excursions had good availability. There was a whale watching excursion that sold out temporarily but they were able to add an additional boat so everyone could be accommodated. If you have your heart set on a helicopter excursion, that might be something to book in advance. (Though don't get your heart too set on one because weather can interfere.) 

[RemPuck]

Thanks @new_cruiser an @GottaKnowWhen for the helpful hints. 
 

lots to look forward to!

 

 

[LB_NJ]

On 7/5/2022 at 2:31 PM, RemPuck said:

Hello –

 

My husband and I are re(re)-attempting a Star Breeze Alaska cruise, Seward to Vancouver, in August 2023.  We originally hoped to do this in 2020 (we all know what happened) and re-booked for 2021.  There was too much uncertainty about Alaska trips last year, so we instead rolled our FCCs to a Covid Adventure on the Wind Surf in December.  While there (and before the bad stuff happened!) we booked this trip.

 

I’ve seen a few (quiet) roll calls for the current Alaska season and I’m hoping recent, current or future participants can answer a few questions.

·         How did/will you travel to Seward?  We are likely doing our own land trip prior to the cruise and are debating on how and when to go to Seward.  Did you go directly from Anchorage to Seward to the Ship or did you spend any time in Seward?

·         We have 3 different “glacier” days (College Fjord in Prince William Sound, Hubbard Glacier and Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm.  All offer zodiac excursions to get close to the glaciers. If you did this, when did you book? Did you do more than one? Favorites?

·         Aside from the zodiacs, were there any other excursions that stood out? Any that sold out far in advance that we should consider booking “soon-ish”?

·         Anything else to share?

 

When we were planning 2020, I booked all 3 zodiac rides, plus a few other excursions, way in advance. When the trip was cancelled, Windstar actually considered those funds as “already paid” (not specifically for shore excursions) and they were eligible for the 25% FCC bonus they offered at the time. While nice, it was a lot of $$ tied up for a long time. I’m trying to balance booking what I really need to with not having too much money locked in for too long.

 

Thanks to all for any guidance and happy sailing for those on board or about to sail!

 

 

I did a land trip to Alaska a year ago.  Had previously planned a land & cruise but then COVID. 

 

Suggestions:

Fly into Anchorage (non-stop if you can), we rented a car the other option is to try and use the train (if you rent a car book as early as you can due to limited availability). I think you could easily do 2 weeks for the land portion but that is up to you.  There are various other web sites that can give you an idea where to stay and what to do.

 

When your finished with the land portion you can return your car to Anchorage airport (the one-way fee for picking up a car at Anchorage and dropping at Seward is prohibitive).  There are regularly scheduled trains and I think buses that go from Anchorage to Seward.  The train ride is very nice however there may be some luggage restrictions that might be problematic depending on how much you want to transport.  You might also enquire if Windstar has a transfer service from Anchorage.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Read the Alaska Forum on Cruise Critic.  Lots of great advice from people who have done these cruises multiple times and know every port like the back of their hand [also great advice about a pre-cruise land trip to Denali and the train from Anchorage to Seward].

[ridethetide]

10 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

 

 

I did a land trip to Alaska a year ago.  Had previously planned a land & cruise but then COVID. 

 

Suggestions:

Fly into Anchorage (non-stop if you can), we rented a car the other option is to try and use the train (if you rent a car book as early as you can due to limited availability). I think you could easily do 2 weeks for the land portion but that is up to you.  There are various other web sites that can give you an idea where to stay and what to do.

 

When your finished with the land portion you can return your car to Anchorage airport (the one-way fee for picking up a car at Anchorage and dropping at Seward is prohibitive).  There are regularly scheduled trains and I think buses that go from Anchorage to Seward.  The train ride is very nice however there may be some luggage restrictions that might be problematic depending on how much you want to transport.  You might also enquire if Windstar has a transfer service from Anchorage.

Windstar does provide transportation from the hotel in Anchorage to the port in Seward. I have done this twice.  It is a beautiful drive. I don't recall what the cost was, perhaps $75 per person.

[RemPuck]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. 

 

 

I’ve been doing research in the Alaska forums on both CC as well as Trip Advisor. We will likely do our own land trip for 5-6 days pre cruise that will end in Anchorage. At this point (13 months away) I’m leaning towards the train to Seward the morning before embarking. This will give us the afternoon to do a Kenai Fjord cruise and to see a bit of Seward that evening and the next morning. 

 

For those doing Alaska this summer, do you have any additional guidance around pre booking excursions? Any input about any ports? Has Windstar done anything “special” (like the beach BBQ) and has there been a deck BBQ?

 

Thanks for all the advice and feedback. 

 

RemPuck

Edited July 23, 2022 by RemPuck

[r&rd]

We were on the July 3  raise from Seward to Vancouver. There were a few sold out excursions before boarding but most were available and they seemed to add zodiac and kayak excursions as needed. That said, there were only 180 people on the ship (and some were quarantined due to Covid).  There was not much to do in the newer ports if you weren’t on an excursion but some people did do some hiking on their own. In Wrangell, some people were going to hike up the mountain and an 11 year old resident told them they should have a gun in case they ran into a bear. Probably not an item anyone thought to pack!

Because the weather was so wet and cold our “deck barbecue” was served as lunch in the Amphora. And the crew line dancing that is usually held after the barbecue was in the lounge.

apparently the cruise before ours had perfect weather and their was a deck barbecue and more activities on deck.

[RemPuck]

Nearly a year later...

 

We are definitely booked on the Seward > Vancouver trip in August.  I've put together some cruise time in the interior (Denali National Park, Talkeetna) as well as a full day in Seward (train to Seward the day prior to sailing, the Major Marine Kenai Fjords tour that same day and then a morning to explore Seward before boarding the Star Breeze).  

 

I've also booked Zodiac tours for us in our 3 "glacier" areas: College Fjord, Hubbard's Glacier and Tracy Arm/Endicott.  Question to those who have done these (or the similar kayak options): Did you need any additional gear, particularly waterproof pants? Did Windstar provide anything?

 

Thanks to all for the great advice and I look forward to hearing additional input from those on the Star Breeze this summer.

 

 

[new_cruiser]

6 hours ago, RemPuck said:

Question to those who have done these (or the similar kayak options): Did you need any additional gear, particularly waterproof pants? Did Windstar provide anything?

Windstar provided waterproof pants. I wore my waterproof Merrill Moab hiking shoes. 

 

Windstar also provided waterproof gloves. I didn't use their gloves. My fingers are short so non-stretchy gloves never fit right - lots of finger left over. Also, I wanted to be able to use the touch screen on my camera. So I brought wool fingerless gloves with mitten tops that fold back to expose the fingers. The wool got damp but stayed warm enough and I could use my camera with the gloves on, just flipping the mitten top back. 

 

My cruise was in May and there was often drizzle so the waterproof pants made the kayak and zodiac comfortable. 

[RemPuck]

On 6/2/2023 at 6:11 PM, new_cruiser said:

Windstar provided waterproof pants. I wore my waterproof Merrill Moab hiking shoes. 

 

Windstar also provided waterproof gloves.

 Thanks @new_cruiser - this is very helpful.  I hadn't thought about gloves.  

 

 

[new_cruiser]

2 hours ago, RemPuck said:

 Thanks @new_cruiser - this is very helpful.  I hadn't thought about gloves.  

 

 

I guess gloves may be less of an issue in August and perhaps also less important for the zodiac where you can put your hands in your pockets some of the time. I was on a kayak in May. Probably still nice to have in August if you hit a cool spell.