Alaskan Tour and Cruise

[walkerstoo]

Alaskan Trip and Cruise

 

We were with Princess, May 24 thru June 4. Land Cruise first, then on the Coral Princess. Every day, everything but our one day trip was first class and exceeded our expectations.

 

Flight from O’Hare to Anchorage, then to Fairbanks on Alaska Air was great.

 

In Fairbanks we stayed at the Fairbanks Princess. A bit isolated but nice. Very pleasant staff and good to great restaurants. We did a “City of Gold” tour and “Riverboat Discovery” tour. Both were worth the time. Discovery tour was especially good due to the knowledgeable and friendly staff.

 

Next we took a bus to Denali, average bus ride; but again an interesting guide and driver. Stayed in the new section of the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge resort. All new rooms, great views of river, mountains. etc. Not true in the older section and rooms. Restaurants and staff leave a lot wanting.

 

But, you go there to see Denali and the tour into the park was fantastic. Took the “ Morning Tundra Wilderness “ tour. Again, an old bus ride but a fantastic tour guide. We spotted moose, brown bear, and mountain goats/sheep. The scenery is fantastic, the scale and views are beyond belief.

 

From Denali to Whittier, we rode the Denali Express. Eight hours in a glass domed rail car. Again, the views of Alaska were worth every minute of it of the long train ride.

 

At Whittier we boarded the Coral Princess. A very nice ship with a truly fantastic staff. This was our third cruise and the entire shipboard experience was exceptional, even the stormy seas and the fog. First day was “scenic” cruising. Great views of the ocean in the day, followed by 10 to 15 foot seas that night. Lots of room in the restaurants, even the nights entertainment was cancelled due to the rough seas.

 

Next day we were in Glacier Bay. This was the highlight of the trip. Best views of glaciers had to be from our cabin balcony. The captain turned the ship so everyone had great views of the glaciers and closer them than we ever expected. The glaciers were 100 to 200 feet tall and dropping small calves in the 30 to 40 foot long ranges. That night we had heavy, dense fog and the sound of the ship foghorn all night long. Tried to not think “Titanic”!!!

Next day was Skagway, typical tourist town. Took the longest White Pass railroad tour we could. Over half a day going up into the mountains up to the 2000-foot level. Unbelievable views in all directions. Was worth every dollar spent on the day’s excursion?

 

Juneau was next; the Mendenhall Glacier is a must. Give your self at least 1 to 2 hours at it. Take a walk as close as you can to the glacier front and the water fall by it. It is worth the time. You might even get to see crazy tourists wading in the glacial waters. Then we had one of the high priced whales watching tours. It was worth it. In four hours we saw Orcas and gray whales; sea lions and sea otters and eagles and birds of all types.

 

Our final stop was Ketchikan. Interesting but over hyped. Highpoint was the states run museum with it really old and real totem poles. The low point was the “VIP City Tour” and the trip to see the closed park with reproduction totem poles. Oh well, just one bad 4 hours out of the entire trip. I’m not a shopper, but the tourist area by the ship and a few blocks away were the best I saw.

 

Final day was cruising to Vancouver. Really great views of the shoreline and more whale sightings.

 

The ships disembarkation was better than most. Take advantage of their valet service to take your bags to the airport. We gave up our bags onboard and picked them up in O’Hare airport.

:)

[Twomalamutes]

Which whale watch excursion did you do? We are having a hard time trying to decided which tour we would like to do. We have chosen to stay with on offered by the cruise line.

 

Thanks!

[derf5585]

Were you on Tour 11S?

[Budget Queen]

For clairfication, it was most likely humpbacks you saw in Juneau not gray whales. They migrate much further north and come through end of March/April.

[walkerstoo]

Which whale watch excursion did you do? We are having a hard time trying to decided which tour we would like to do. We have chosen to stay with on offered by the cruise line.

 

Thanks!

 

 

we took the Juneau tour 024 Medenhall Glacier and Whale watch