Itinerary Rought Draft (with lots of links)

[sarahruth23]

We are sailing on a Southbound Cruise on Radiance of the Seas Aug. 3rd. We are a family of 9, ranging from 7 mo. to 80 yr. I have been working these boards :) to find the best things for us to do while we are gone. Knowing that we will not be together all the time, and that we are free to do different things. So, today was a snow day (our first one this year! Yay!) and I spent my day pulling it all together. The following is an email I sent to my family outlining what I would like to do so far. I wanted to post it on here for two reasons:

 

1. It's got a lot of links in it in one place for anyone who might be interested.

 

2. I would love some feedback! Is my information accurate? Do these sound like good excursions? Any experience with any of them? Will the timings be ok? Anything at all?

 

You all have been so incredibly helpful...I can't believe that I still have 7 months to go! Thank you!

Sarah

 

Seward:

We are staying at the Hilton in Anchorage the night before. We are taking a train that leaves at 6:45 am, and we arrive in Seward at 11:00 am. Our ship doesn't leave until 9:00 pm. So, we have a few options:

- The most recommended dog sled rides are here. (This is what I want to do) They are on wheeled carts that go through the woods. The family who runs the place has run in the Iditarod forever. There are two options that we could do - they can pick us up at the train station, store our luggage under the bus, and take us on an all day tour. We would take a tour of the town, they would provide lunch, we would meet and play with the dogs, take a dog sled ride, go out and see a glacier, and see a spawning salmon run. (I don't know in what order) They would take us back to the ship by 5:30. This is an excursion designed especially for cruise ship passengers, so they know what they're doing and will get us there on time. That trip costs $129 a person ($79 for a child - I don't know what they would charge for an infant. I forgot to ask) The other option is to go out to the dock ourselves, and put our luggage on the ship, and then go out to do just the dog sled ride. This would be at 1:30 and last about an hour and half. That option costs $59 ($29 for a child). I haven't looked into how we would get around yet - they might pick us up or we might have to take a taxi. I asked them about infants, and they said that they have taken lots of infants on the dog sled ride. In fact, she said that she went out a lot when she was pregnant and has taken her baby several times. She said that it might put the baby to sleep! She said that she puts the parents in the back of the sled and they hold the baby. We can all go on the same sled, but we would need to make reservations fairly soon. The website for this is: http://www.ididaride.com/

- There is also a highly recommended wildlife/glacier viewing trip in Seward at Kenai Fjords. They say the seas can be a little rough, so take your seasickness medication! I haven't looked into a lot of details on this, but here's the website: http://www.kenaifjords.com/

- There is a Sea Life Center in town to visit http://www.alaskasealife.org/

- Or you can just go ahead and get on the boat. You probably won't be able to get into your room until early afternoon, but the buffet will be open and you can hang out on deck or explore the ship. (They will take your luggage, but you'll want to keep your carry on with you. The luggage might not arrive at your room until much later in the day)

Juneau:

We are in town from 10:00 am-8:00 pm.

- We are all going whale watching with Orca Enterprises and Captain Larry from about 11:30-3:30. You can check it out here: http://www.orcaenterprises.com/

- It seems like Juneau is the most "commercialized" town of any that we are going to visit, so I really haven't looked into anything else to do while we're there. Anything you would like to check out?

Skagway:

We are in town from 7:00 am - 8:30 pm

- There is an old railroad, the White Pass Railroad, that climbs up the side of a mountain. It can be combined with a bus ride up or back, and various excursions - a bike ride, a visit to a gold panning camp, dog sleds, etc. You can check it out here: http://www.whitepassrailroad.com/ The views are supposed to be amazing.

- There is also a highway that parallels the railroad. The views aren't supposed to be quite as good, but you can rent a car and go at your own pace. This is what I would like to try. We can rent cars from Avis (according to the web site, they can rent a car seat, but I couldn't get the phone # to work to confirm this), but we would need to do that pretty soon. There are a lot of places to stop and take pictures, and stuff we can do on the way. This website shows you the highway in detail: http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/sklondike-photos1.html There is an amazing lake that you can stop and visit, and even take horseback rides around! It's called Emerald Lake and I'm still working on details, but you can check it out here: http://www.southeasttours.com/yukon_horseback.html or here: http://www.yukonhorses.com/

You also can go into Carcross, which has the "world's smallest desert". Here's some info on that town: http://www.carcrossyukon.com/ There's also a place there called Caribou Crossing that I would like to visit: http://www.cariboucrossing.ca/ You can do a lot of things there like sled dog rides (which I want to do in Seward, so I wouldn't do here), ATV rides (which I REALLY want to do), panning for gold, and a museum of local animals, past and present (stuffed). I would really like to do gold panning, either there or on the way back here: http://www.klondiketours.com/liarsville.html A lot of these things are in Canada, so we would be crossing the border.

- Most people talk about doing one of these two options there, so I haven't really looked into a lot of other things.

Icy Strait Point:

We are in town from 7:00 am - 4:00 pm

- This is the town that I have researched the least. It's a very small port, where only one ship is allowed at a time. It is near the Indian town of Hoonah, so there are several Native American tours. It is a very un-commercialized town. I was thinking of doing some walking tours here. There is an old fish cannery that does tours that are supposed to be really neat. There is also supposed to be some good fishing here. If you want to fish here, you should probably book through the ship.

Ketchikan:

We are in town from 9:00 am - 7:00 pm

- Mom, Clark, Anne, and I are taking a floatplane out to Traitor's Cove to bear watch from 1:00-5:00. The company we're going with is here: http://www.islandwings.com/wlv.html

- The lumberjack show is here. It's a show that's really a competition between lumberjacks doing lumberjacking stuff. It's very much a show for tourists, but it's supposed to be really fun. You can check it out here: http://www.lumberjackshows.com/alaska/

- "The most photographed street in the world" is here at Creek Street. It's really more like a boardwalk over the water with local stores on it. They used to be brothels and it's really cute. It's a good place to do a little shopping and I definitely want to at least check it out.

- This seems like the best place to go fishing. Here are some links to some places that will take you out: www.truealaskancharters.com and http://www.ketchikanfishing.net/ are the most highly recommended, but http://www.knudsoncovemarina.com and http://www.northpacificcharters.com/ have been recommended as well.

- There is supposed to be a cool zipline through the rain forest here that's supposed to be fun. (I think there's one in Juneau, too)

[gratefulguy]

Thanks for sharing the result of all that research. This will really help all of us who are planning an Alaska trip, especially those of us who don't even have "snow days"!!

Have a great time with the family.

[GlacierLady]

Don't do the all day tour with Ididaride. Lunch and to ride on a bus stuck with others all day isn't worth the extra $70pp. Lunch is at Resurrection Roadhouse, I don't care for their food. Much better places to eat in town. I'd do it similair to this.. get off the train, hop in a taxi, drop luggage at the ship, go to the Sealife Center and have Ididride pick you up there with their free shuttle. After the dogsled ride have a taxi pick you up for Exit Glacier and have the driver return at whatever time you want for return to ship or wherever. Ididaride is a little less than 1/2 way to Exit Glacier which is 14 miles out of town. All the taxis are vans and cost $50 rt for Exit Glacier. You could also split up with some going back to town if they don't feel like walking. The whole group can fit on the same cart and you could compare it to riding in a wagon. A little bumpy but not real bad. You'll have fun.

 

Ididaride also has a later time in the afternoon you might be able to get. You can do Sealife Center/Exit Glacier and the dogs in any order, working around the dog reservation. Exit Glacier had free ranger led hikes 10am 2pm 4pm last year.

[lw06]

we are also a family of 9 doing the same cruise june 22. I enjoyed reading your intinerary. So far we are doing a rafting trip in anchorage (5 of us) . fri taking the train, probably sea life and exit glacier. Juneau we're going independently to mendenhall glacier and hiking. Icy strait half of us are whale watching with fishes and the other half are halibut fishing with teckk. ketchikan the ziplines. For skagway I have reserved 2 cars, I appreciated the links you posted. I will definitely check those out. thanks.

[MercedMike]

There's also a place there called Caribou Crossing that I would like to visit: http://www.cariboucrossing.ca/ You can do a lot of things there like sled dog rides (which I want to do in Seward, so I wouldn't do here), ATV rides (which I REALLY want to do), panning for gold, and a museum of local animals, past and present (stuffed).

 

My DW had a blast on the ATV ride! Their guide was a "real Indian princess," or so she said.;)

 

Check out their pic at

The Halls Alaska Cruise

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Dream Fish]

Icy Strait Point

If the day is nice when you arrive, walking tours would be nice, there are trails at ISP and there is a walking path into town that goes along the beach. Always watch the water for possible whale sightings, they do come into the bay near the town. And always be sure to look up, you don't want to miss the eagles. Along the way you can buy fresh crab cooked in huge pots outside at the Office Tavern, or walk a little farther and you can get halibut pizza at the Galley. The town is small enough to see most of it on foot. There is only one main street that most of the attractions are on. The farthest is the totem and canoe carving located at the school, this is done outside and is free. There are tours that can be booked at ISP or in town at the Galley.(907 945-3777. Hope this helps.

[sea_u_onboard]

I have read on the boards that the AVIS office in Skagway shuts down for the winter. I would go ahead a book a car online and then call when the season opens. If the site says they have car seats then I would trust that.

[sea_u_onboard]

You might also want to add an option of getting a car from Rent A Wreck after the whale watching. That is what we are doing. I think the daily rental was around $60.00 for a compact. They have different sizes and the prices aren't much more. They are going to pick us up at the harbor and take us to their office. We have the option of having the car until 5:30 - dropping it off at their office -OR- for $15 more we can drop it downtown (close to the ship) by 8 pm. We are going to pay for the extra time and they will refund it if we decide to take the car back to the office. This way we can play it by ear. There is lots of stuff to do and see in Juneau.

 

Douglas Island

Shrine of St. Therese

Mendenhall Glacier

Macauley Salmon Hatchery

Alaska Brewing Company

Mount Roberts

Alaska State Museum

 

Just to name a few.

[sarahruth23]

Don't do the all day tour with Ididaride. Lunch and to ride on a bus stuck with others all day isn't worth the extra $70pp. Lunch is at Resurrection Roadhouse, I don't care for their food. Much better places to eat in town. I'd do it similair to this.. get off the train, hop in a taxi, drop luggage at the ship, go to the Sealife Center and have Ididride pick you up there with their free shuttle. After the dogsled ride have a taxi pick you up for Exit Glacier and have the driver return at whatever time you want for return to ship or wherever. Ididaride is a little less than 1/2 way to Exit Glacier which is 14 miles out of town. All the taxis are vans and cost $50 rt for Exit Glacier. You could also split up with some going back to town if they don't feel like walking. The whole group can fit on the same cart and you could compare it to riding in a wagon. A little bumpy but not real bad. You'll have fun.

 

Ididaride also has a later time in the afternoon you might be able to get. You can do Sealife Center/Exit Glacier and the dogs in any order, working around the dog reservation. Exit Glacier had free ranger led hikes 10am 2pm 4pm last year.

 

Thanks for the tip! I think I've heard someone say this before. However, here's my question... we are not a family who are not really travelers, traveling with an infant, a know-it-all college student :) (my brother, not me btw), and my elderly grandmother. While lunch and being on the bus might not be the best, is it worth it just to be able to put our luggage in one place, and have someone take us around? To my family, this is pretty important. We would be able to see several things and not worry about where we're going next, how we're getting there, or keeping up with our stuff. Even with putting our checked luggage at the dock, I think we'll still have a good amount of stuff - carry-ons and all the assorted baby paraphernalia.

 

Has anyone done this tour and thought that the convenience of it all made it a good bet? Or just thought it wasn't horrible? I'm not sure that I'll be able to sell the family on "doing it ourselves", but if you guys think this tour is really bad, I'll try. If you think it's just ok and not spectacular, we'll probably settle for it just for the convenience.

 

Thank you thank you thank you!

[sarahruth23]

I'm just trying one more time to see if I can get any more advice... My family thinks I'm crazy for spending so much time on these boards, but they'll be glad when we have more fun than anyone else!

 

Btw, as long as I'm at it again......has anyone ever done any of these tours with an infant? (or even been on the tour with another family traveling with an infant?) So, far she's a really good baby (probably the most perfect one ever :cool: ), but we've only had 12 days to get to know her.....

[sarahruth23]

oops...double post