Cruisetour, Captain Cook, Luggage - Two Questions

[LeeW]

Last time we stayed at Captain Cook they had two conference rooms packed 10' high with luggage from cruise tours.  And a couple of bellhops just to organize the luggage.

[Coral]

I was staying independently and the one bell captain suggested I put my cruise tags on and drop them off at their front desk and they would throw them in with the bags going to the cruise ship. He got a nice tip!

[CruisingSandgroper]

@Sea Hag @jean-lynd we have just checked in to the Captain Cook hotel for our trip to Katmai tomorrow. Pick up time is 6:45am and it is recommended to be at the pick up point 15mins before pick up time.

[jean-lynd]

12 minutes ago, CruisingSandgroper said:

@Sea Hag @jean-lynd we have just checked in to the Captain Cook hotel for our trip to Katmai tomorrow. Pick up time is 6:45am and it is recommended to be at the pick up point 15mins before pick up time.

Thank you so much! That was what I was expecting. We will definitely be picking up breakfast food the night before. Have a wonderful day!

[Sea Hag]

16 hours ago, CruisingSandgroper said:

@Sea Hag @jean-lynd we have just checked in to the Captain Cook hotel for our trip to Katmai tomorrow. Pick up time is 6:45am and it is recommended to be at the pick up point 15mins before pick up time.

Wow! I'm glad to get the heads up on this. Thanks!

[jean-lynd]

On 7/10/2024 at 6:12 PM, CruisingSandgroper said:

@Sea Hag @jean-lynd we have just checked in to the Captain Cook hotel for our trip to Katmai tomorrow. Pick up time is 6:45am and it is recommended to be at the pick up point 15mins before pick up time.

How was it???

[CruisingSandgroper]

40 minutes ago, jean-lynd said:

How was it???

We had an amazing day! Even though the salmon were few and far between my husband managed to get the shot he wanted of a bear on the lip catching one. We had to move off the trail for a momma and her yearling(?) cub. Saw Grazer pounce and catch 3 salmon while her cubs were treed right by the riffles platform. Also saw her resting with them when we were heading back to the lodge.

 

We were the only Princess cruise tour people. If you want to have the lunch provided as part of the package make sure that Katmai Air give you the card for lunch as apparently people had heard that if you were with Princess, lunch was included and so some no gooders took advantage. We did not have lunch as seeing the bears was what we were there for.

 

We went straight to the tree house after Bear school to get our names on the list for the falls platform. It was 2 hours before our name was called.

 

 

 

 

 

[jean-lynd]

22 minutes ago, CruisingSandgroper said:

We had an amazing day! Even though the salmon were few and far between my husband managed to get the shot he wanted of a bear on the lip catching one. We had to move off the trail for a momma and her yearling(?) cub. Saw Grazer pounce and catch 3 salmon while her cubs were treed right by the riffles platform. Also saw her resting with them when we were heading back to the lodge.

 

We were the only Princess cruise tour people. If you want to have the lunch provided as part of the package make sure that Katmai Air give you the card for lunch as apparently people had heard that if you were with Princess, lunch was included and so some no gooders took advantage. We did not have lunch as seeing the bears was what we were there for.

 

We went straight to the tree house after Bear school to get our names on the list for the falls platform. It was 2 hours before our name was called.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jean-lynd]

Just now, jean-lynd said:

Thank you for the update! It did look like there was a lot of activity on the cams today. Hopefully, the salmon will hang around for ten more days! Thanks for the heads up on the lunch!

 

[jean-lynd]

On 7/11/2024 at 8:43 PM, CruisingSandgroper said:

We had an amazing day! Even though the salmon were few and far between my husband managed to get the shot he wanted of a bear on the lip catching one. We had to move off the trail for a momma and her yearling(?) cub. Saw Grazer pounce and catch 3 salmon while her cubs were treed right by the riffles platform. Also saw her resting with them when we were heading back to the lodge.

 

We were the only Princess cruise tour people. If you want to have the lunch provided as part of the package make sure that Katmai Air give you the card for lunch as apparently people had heard that if you were with Princess, lunch was included and so some no gooders took advantage. We did not have lunch as seeing the bears was what we were there for.

 

We went straight to the tree house after Bear school to get our names on the list for the falls platform. It was 2 hours before our name was called.

 

 

 

 

 

How were the mosquitos?

[CruisingSandgroper]

4 hours ago, jean-lynd said:

How were the mosquitos?

They were pretty bad. I had bug spray, which worked. I also had head nets but didn't use them.

 

FYI - you can take bug spray, sunscreen and water out on the trail.

[jean-lynd]

3 hours ago, CruisingSandgroper said:

They were pretty bad. I had bug spray, which worked. I also had head nets but didn't use them.

 

FYI - you can take bug spray, sunscreen and water out on the trail.

Thanks for the update. We have the bug spray towellet's and the head nets. I figured we would need them but we haven't seen any bugs in Alaska so far. Thanks again!

[Sea Hag]

On 7/11/2024 at 9:43 PM, CruisingSandgroper said:

We had an amazing day! Even though the salmon were few and far between my husband managed to get the shot he wanted of a bear on the lip catching one. We had to move off the trail for a momma and her yearling(?) cub. Saw Grazer pounce and catch 3 salmon while her cubs were treed right by the riffles platform. Also saw her resting with them when we were heading back to the lodge.

 

We were the only Princess cruise tour people. If you want to have the lunch provided as part of the package make sure that Katmai Air give you the card for lunch as apparently people had heard that if you were with Princess, lunch was included and so some no gooders took advantage. We did not have lunch as seeing the bears was what we were there for.

 

We went straight to the tree house after Bear school to get our names on the list for the falls platform. It was 2 hours before our name was called.

 

 

 

 

 

This is some really good information, and I thank you very much for posting it! It's news to me that you need to get on a list to be called to go to the bear watching platform. How did you spend your time on the two-hour wait before you were called? I imagine you need to stay put right there, since you probably have no idea when you'll be called. 

 

Also, about how long did the bear school take? 

 

And I know my hubby will ask, how long did you have for actual bear watching?

Edited July 19 by Sea Hag
more questions

[CruisingSandgroper]

@Sea HagBear School is approx 15-20 minutes. 

 

@jean-lyndhope you have an awesome day on Sunday and I'm looking forward to hearing how your day compares to ours.

 

The only information you will get from Princess when you check in to the Hotel is the pick up time for you day trip to Katmai so I hope the below helps you to have an awesome magical day of bear viewing.

 

Here's an approximate timeline of our day at Katmai:

6:45-7:00am - picked up from Captain Cook Hotel and taken to Katmai Air.

 

8:00am - Flight from Anchorage to King Salmon.

 

10:00am - Flight from King Salmon to Katmai.

 

10:30 -11:30am - Bear School and walk to the Tree House to have our names added to the Falls viewing platform list. You need to be at the Tree House or Riffles Platform when your name is called. If you are not in that area when your name is called you will miss the opportunity to go to the Falls Platform and your will have to add your name to the bottom of the list.

**Before heading out make sure you leave any food in the food storage shed and also go to the Office (opposite Dining Hall at Katmai) to check your return flight time as it might be different to ours. There is a white board in the office that has names and flight times on it.

 

11:30 - 1:30pm - Spent 2 hours viewing bears from the Riffles Platform waiting for our names to be called for the Falls viewing platform. We were told the wait was about an hour so stayed at the Riffles Platform when in actual fact it was a 2 hour wait. We had plenty of bear action while at the Riffles so the 2 hour wait was not a big deal.

 

1:30pm - 2:00pm - Viewing the falls and bears from the Falls Platform.

 

2:15ish - 3:45pm - Walked back to the Lodge, encountered a momma bear and cub on the trail and had to get off of the trail. Funnily enough the bears also decided to get off the trail and circled around us.....they were probably no more than 20-30 feet from us. There were also quite a few bears at the lower river so we spent quite a bit of time at the River platform watching the bears before going back to the Lodge.

 

4:30pm - Flight back to King Salmon. **Your flight time may be different to what ours was so be sure to check your return flight time which is listed on the whiteboard in the Office opposite the Dining Hall at Katmai.

 

5:00pm - Flight back to Anchorage. The Princess coach was waiting for us when we got back to Anchorage. Got back to the hotel just around 7:00pm. We were the only 2 people doing the Princess Tour so a coach was a bit of overkill for just the 2 of us but in saying that we got to have a nice chat with the driver on the ride back to the hotel.

 

We did not have the lunch that is included as part of the Cruise Tour. We were there to see the bears and did not need or want to take time out of the day to eat. We also made sure to eat a good breakfast before being picked up from the Hotel. The Cubby at the Captain Cook opened at 5:30am and had breakfast burrito's for $8.00ea. I went down when they opened and picked up a couple to take back to our room to have with our coffee. The burritos were so big that we only had half and had the other half cold the next day.

 

 

 

[Sea Hag]

5 minutes ago, CruisingSandgroper said:

@Sea HagBear School is approx 15-20 minutes. 

 

@jean-lyndhope you have an awesome day on Sunday and I'm looking forward to hearing how your day compares to ours.

 

The only information you will get from Princess when you check in to the Hotel is the pick up time for you day trip to Katmai so I hope the below helps you to have an awesome magical day of bear viewing.

 

Here's an approximate timeline of our day at Katmai:

6:45-7:00am - picked up from Captain Cook Hotel and taken to Katmai Air.

 

8:00am - Flight from Anchorage to King Salmon.

 

10:00am - Flight from King Salmon to Katmai.

 

10:30 -11:30am - Bear School and walk to the Tree House to have our names added to the Falls viewing platform list. You need to be at the Tree House or Riffles Platform when your name is called. If you are not in that area when your name is called you will miss the opportunity to go to the Falls Platform and your will have to add your name to the bottom of the list.

**Before heading out make sure you leave any food in the food storage shed and also go to the Office (opposite Dining Hall at Katmai) to check your return flight time as it might be different to ours. There is a white board in the office that has names and flight times on it.

 

11:30 - 1:30pm - Spent 2 hours viewing bears from the Riffles Platform waiting for our names to be called for the Falls viewing platform. We were told the wait was about an hour so stayed at the Riffles Platform when in actual fact it was a 2 hour wait. We had plenty of bear action while at the Riffles so the 2 hour wait was not a big deal.

 

1:30pm - 2:00pm - Viewing the falls and bears from the Falls Platform.

 

2:15ish - 3:45pm - Walked back to the Lodge, encountered a momma bear and cub on the trail and had to get off of the trail. Funnily enough the bears also decided to get off the trail and circled around us.....they were probably no more than 20-30 feet from us. There were also quite a few bears at the lower river so we spent quite a bit of time at the River platform watching the bears before going back to the Lodge.

 

4:30pm - Flight back to King Salmon. **Your flight time may be different to what ours was so be sure to check your return flight time which is listed on the whiteboard in the Office opposite the Dining Hall at Katmai.

 

5:00pm - Flight back to Anchorage. The Princess coach was waiting for us when we got back to Anchorage. Got back to the hotel just around 7:00pm. We were the only 2 people doing the Princess Tour so a coach was a bit of overkill for just the 2 of us but in saying that we got to have a nice chat with the driver on the ride back to the hotel.

 

We did not have the lunch that is included as part of the Cruise Tour. We were there to see the bears and did not need or want to take time out of the day to eat. We also made sure to eat a good breakfast before being picked up from the Hotel. The Cubby at the Captain Cook opened at 5:30am and had breakfast burrito's for $8.00ea. I went down when they opened and picked up a couple to take back to our room to have with our coffee. The burritos were so big that we only had half and had the other half cold the next day.

 

 

 

Thanks! 😃

[kamelia]

Thank you for this great overview, @CruisingSandgroper! Your information is immensely helpful! We are booked on this landtour on Sunday and I’ve been very disappointed by the lack of details from Princess!

[kamelia]

On 6/25/2024 at 8:45 AM, jean-lynd said:

I found the attached pdf. It is from 2021 but I doubt much has changed

Thanks for this! Great information

[jean-lynd]

On 7/19/2024 at 10:39 AM, CruisingSandgroper said:

@Sea HagBear School is approx 15-20 minutes. 

 

@jean-lyndhope you have an awesome day on Sunday and I'm looking forward to hearing how your day compares to ours.

 

The only information you will get from Princess when you check in to the Hotel is the pick up time for you day trip to Katmai so I hope the below helps you to have an awesome magical day of bear viewing.

 

Here's an approximate timeline of our day at Katmai:

6:45-7:00am - picked up from Captain Cook Hotel and taken to Katmai Air.

 

8:00am - Flight from Anchorage to King Salmon.

 

10:00am - Flight from King Salmon to Katmai.

 

10:30 -11:30am - Bear School and walk to the Tree House to have our names added to the Falls viewing platform list. You need to be at the Tree House or Riffles Platform when your name is called. If you are not in that area when your name is called you will miss the opportunity to go to the Falls Platform and your will have to add your name to the bottom of the list.

**Before heading out make sure you leave any food in the food storage shed and also go to the Office (opposite Dining Hall at Katmai) to check your return flight time as it might be different to ours. There is a white board in the office that has names and flight times on it.

 

11:30 - 1:30pm - Spent 2 hours viewing bears from the Riffles Platform waiting for our names to be called for the Falls viewing platform. We were told the wait was about an hour so stayed at the Riffles Platform when in actual fact it was a 2 hour wait. We had plenty of bear action while at the Riffles so the 2 hour wait was not a big deal.

 

1:30pm - 2:00pm - Viewing the falls and bears from the Falls Platform.

 

2:15ish - 3:45pm - Walked back to the Lodge, encountered a momma bear and cub on the trail and had to get off of the trail. Funnily enough the bears also decided to get off the trail and circled around us.....they were probably no more than 20-30 feet from us. There were also quite a few bears at the lower river so we spent quite a bit of time at the River platform watching the bears before going back to the Lodge.

 

4:30pm - Flight back to King Salmon. **Your flight time may be different to what ours was so be sure to check your return flight time which is listed on the whiteboard in the Office opposite the Dining Hall at Katmai.

 

5:00pm - Flight back to Anchorage. The Princess coach was waiting for us when we got back to Anchorage. Got back to the hotel just around 7:00pm. We were the only 2 people doing the Princess Tour so a coach was a bit of overkill for just the 2 of us but in saying that we got to have a nice chat with the driver on the ride back to the hotel.

 

We did not have the lunch that is included as part of the Cruise Tour. We were there to see the bears and did not need or want to take time out of the day to eat. We also made sure to eat a good breakfast before being picked up from the Hotel. The Cubby at the Captain Cook opened at 5:30am and had breakfast burrito's for $8.00ea. I went down when they opened and picked up a couple to take back to our room to have with our coffee. The burritos were so big that we only had half and had the other half cold the next day.

 

 

 

Well our day at Katmai was amazing!! When we got there we went to bear school, put our granola bars in the food storage area, stamped my National Parks passport and purchased our souvenirs before heading to the falls. We had 15 people in our Princess group so we had yo break up onto different planes. We saw our first 3 bears at the lower river. We hung out at the Riffles for about an hour before they called us to the falls. The Riffles was awesome because Grazer and her cubs put on a show for us and we saw a stare down between Chunk and 856. Once we got to the falls there were around 12 bears in sight at all times. After our half hour at the falls we decided to go eat lunch. Grazer and her cubs were right under the walkway as we were headed back. Because it was almost closing time we were able to walk right in, get our food and eat. The food was pretty good! Then we walked back k to the lower river and watched about a dozen subadults feasting on salmon scraps right below us. We didn't have any mosquitos and it was a very sunny warm day. Everybody with Katmai Air and the Rangers and Lodge staff kept telling us how lucky we were to be there that day. The only thing that would have made the day better would have been if Otis showed up but you can't have everything!

[CruisingSandgroper]

@jean-lyndglad to hear you also had an amazing day. 

 

@kamelia I hope you and @Sea Hag also have an amazing day and look forward to hearing about your experience.

 

 

[Sea Hag]

3 hours ago, CruisingSandgroper said:

@jean-lyndglad to hear you also had an amazing day. 

 

@kamelia I hope you and @Sea Hag also have an amazing day and look forward to hearing about your experience.

 

 

Thanks! I'll be sure to come back here with a report. I'm really looking forward to it. 🙂

[kamelia]

@CruisingSandgroper - were you outfitted with boots or waders for the floatplane trips? TIA!

[CruisingSandgroper]

@kamelia there is a dock at King Salmon for getting on and off the floatplane and at Katmai they put a plank from one of the floatplane floats to the beach so you don't get your feet wet.

[Sea Hag]

On 7/26/2024 at 7:29 AM, CruisingSandgroper said:

@kamelia there is a dock at King Salmon for getting on and off the floatplane and at Katmai they put a plank from one of the floatplane floats to the beach so you don't get your feet wet.

Good information, thanks. I'm quite possibly the clumsiest person on Earth. So, walking a plank with one end on the beach and the other end on the floatplane float that's probably moving up and down with the water. Hmmm. What could possibly go wrong? 😂🤣

[CruisingSandgroper]

@Sea Hagthe plane is backed on to the beach with the float dug in to the sand so the plank walk is only a step or two. There’ll be someone to help ensure you don’t take an unexpected dip.

[Sea Hag]

3 minutes ago, CruisingSandgroper said:

@Sea Hagthe plane is backed on to the beach with the float dug in to the sand so the plank walk is only a step or two. There’ll be someone to help ensure you don’t take an unexpected dip.

Oh good! It's supposed to be raining all day when we're there next Tuesday, and I don't need to get any wetter. Thanks!