Just off the Summit/our excursions

[churee]

Hi everyone,

 

I would like to thank everyone who gave us ideas for excursions, etc. Everything we did was wonderful---no complaints!!!

 

Nenana Whitewater Rafting:

We always wanted to go whitewater rafting, so this was our first time. Loved it and had a great guide. I would highly recommend. Provided wet suits. I wasn't cold.

 

Captain Larry's whalewatching in Juneau:

Once again and A++++++. The boat holds 22 but there were only 8 of us, so we were able to climb all over that boat for sightings. Captain Larry is a gentle soul who really knows his whales. We saw a pod of 9 orcas, bubblefeeding. Captain Larry has ever given them names. The leader is called "Looselips" because she can open her jaws so wide. We also had the naturalist Derek on board. It was awesome!!!

 

Glacier Treking with Northstar:

Another A++++++++. We helicoptered over to Mendenhall Glacier and hiked around the glacier for an hour. We only booked for an hour, because my husband has asthma, but he was fine! That hour went so fast though, I can't believe it. 2 hours would have been nice! Guides are very helpful.

 

White Pass Railway in Skagway:

I have read pros and cons about this one, but we both love trains and history, so I would also recommend this one. I did not smell diesel fumes. Slightly cloudy day, but we could still see.

 

Island Wings Floatplane with Michelle in Ketchikan:

Another A+++++++++++. Michelle was as awesome as folks said she would be. She knows those Misty Fiords so well and the flight was again out of this world. We wore earphones and were able to ask questions, and she pointed out a lot of things to us along the way. Also loved the music piped in through the headset. (music from "Secret Garden").

 

Icy Strait:

We didn't do any excursions, but just walked around. I immediately relaxed at this little port. They have done a great job of keeping it clean and simple. We did the "forest walk" and walked along the shore. Everyone I talked to loved this place.

 

This is a brief summary and I will write more later. We also did a 4 day land which we also loved.

 

We don't have one negative thing to say about our whole trip.

 

Joyce

[Melissa_A]

Joyce, thank you for your recap. A question about Island Wings...do you know if they have a schedule of flights. I already have an excursion booked in Ketchikan, but want to fit in this one too if possible. I checked their website and couldn't find anything about flight times.

[JohnQ]

Melissa,

Just call their 800# and ask Jared about the times, I talked to him the other day for Traitor cove availability. Since they only have one plane, book early. On our day in port they only had two seats left when I called a few days ago for first week in Sep. We flew to Misty Fjords with Michelle and her dog in 2002, nice trip.

 

Joyce,

Did you hear from other passengers who took the ISP whalewatching or bear viewing tours how they were. We will be going back with Cap Larry, but I have heard great whalewatching reports for ISP? Also interested in bear viewing and whether salmon are running yet? Did anyone book a private boat for a tour? Will be on the Summit on 9/3.

[JohnQ]

And Joyce, were the eagles still hanging around Island Wings dock area?

[churee]

Hi,

In answer to your questions, the folks I talked to that booked a whale watch in Icy Strait were very satisfied and saw lots of whales (including babies). The difference (and this is not necessarily a bad thing) is that the whale watching boat in Icy Strait holds many more peoples (300 I think) vs Captain Larry's which holds 22 maximum. I think either would be wonderful. I liked the intimacy of only 8 of us on board though.

 

To tell you the truth, I didn't notice the eagles when we boarded Island

Wings (I did notice them when we boarded the boat for Captain Larry's though). It was just so exciting to be on the Island Wings after reading so much about Michelle on these threads). She is one interesting lady.

 

The other thing I wanted to say is that Celebrity really came through for us in all respects. Our land package was so well organized and I would do it with them in a heartbeat.

 

Joyce

[churee]

Hi,

I just realized I forgot to answer the question about bear watching in ICP. The folks I talked to that did this were disappointed as they had not seen one bear. If I had to do it all over again, I would not book any excursions for ICP, but just walk around the place and soak in the atmosphere (which is what we did).

 

Joyce

[lrn376]

Hi Joyce, can u please give me info on your land package. What extra excursions you did and where u ate your dinners and others things I should do during the land package. Many thanks, Lois

[pieshops]

churee,

 

we are doing the rafting in denali also, which one did you do? did you paddle or a passenger, the easy or the hard rapids?

[churee]

Hi again,

 

The whitewater rafting trip that we went on was booked through Celebrity (9D7). It was called Neenana Whitewater Rafting. It lasted about 3 1/2 hours and cost $70 per person. We did not paddle ourselves, but had a guide who did. Since the water level was low. I don't think it got up to class 3 rapids, but since this was our first time, it was adventurous enough for us.

 

We stayed at Pike's Waterfron Lodge and had a cute little cabin that was not connected to the main building. We ate at Pike's in their dining room twice. In all honesty, we all felt the food was just mediocre, but enjoyed the company of the other folks . The second night I went with a group of folks to "Pioneer Park" (I think that is what it was called) to a salmon bake. That was $25 a person and all you can eat. I am not a big eater, but I got a chance to try the salmon cooked on a grill with a sauce. They also had haddock (which was excellent) and steak (which someone else tried and thought was not very good). We sat at picnic tables and they also offered potato salad, salad, beans, dessert.

 

We both loved taking the train to Denali and had a nice breakfast on the train. We felt it was reasonable, but also got dessert (a four/fruit pie ala mode). When we got to Denali, we went to a "Subway" and got subs to take along on the wilderness tour (thanks to folks on cruise critic who had told us about the reindeer sausage and crackers that they bus provides you with--no thank you!).

 

I can barely remember the details of the McKinley Village Lodge, as we had a long day and went right to bed after the wilderness tour. Other people ate at the restaurant there, but we were too tired and knew we had to get up early the next morning for the rafting.

 

After the rafting, we got on the bus to go to Talkeetna. There was a stand set up right next to the bus. We bought fruit and muffins there. I am glad we did that, because we did not have time to do lunch in between rafting and boarding the bus.

 

Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge was a beauty. It was very relaxing. We took a shuttle into Talkeetna, walked around, and then had dinner at the restaurant in the lodge. We sat out on the deck and enjoyed the beautiful view. I wished we could have spent an extra day at this lodge just soaking in the scenery.

 

We did not do any excursions from Talkeetna, but someone we knew did a McKinley flight and enjoyed it. We had already booked the glacier helicopter and floatplane, so didn't feel the need to do anything here.

 

Hope this answers your questions!

 

I know some folks got tired of packing and unpacking on the land tour, but it was all worth it. Celebrity gets an A+ from us for keeping us informed and taking care of us.

 

Joyce

[JPCruising]

Hello Joyce, we did the Summit & landtour #13 back in early June. I really agree with you that the RCT land tour was very well organized & I liked having the same tour director, motorcoach driver, and motorcoach the entire trip. I felt the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge was the best of the trip we took and the view from the back deck was fantastic. That is where I got some of my best McKinley shots. We also really enjoyed the town of Talkeetna and the freedom to spend some time relaxing there. If you or anyone else is interested you can see my pictures of the trip at: www.jprphotos.com

 

JPR

jprphotos@bellsouth.net

[lrn376]

Dear JPR, thank you so much for those beautiful photos. Its makes me even more excited about going to Alaska next year. Many thanks for the pix. Lois

[Veloran]

churee,

 

I have a different take on the White Pass Train. We were on the Mercury, so we were in all the same ports with the Summit last week. We might have been on the same train as well. Anyways, I thought the cloud cover in Skagway obscured way too much of the scenery. In conditions like that I would recommend people to pass on the Train ride. The fog and clouds obscured everything above the snow line. You couldn't see the beautiful snow covered peaks, the tops of the waterfalls, or any glaciers that may have been visible.

 

Overall I'd say that the scenery that day was quite unremarkable. In contrast, the views of the glaciers from our helicopter flight in Juneau was just spectacular and well worth the cost.