Alaska Pearl and NCL travel questions

[retiredAF]

My DH just told me he has been planning a cruise to Alaska this May/Jun timeframe and is ready to book. It was a surprise BD gift and as excited as I am about this cruise, I want to run a few things by all of you experts out there. (We learned so much from this board before our first and only cruise on the Majesty). Do you recommend booking air with NCL or on your own? Is the difference between the mini suite and balcony worth it (it will be just the two of us). We were in an inside mid ship stateroom on the Majesty so these choices are a bit overwhelming but what are the pros and cons of the fore and aft locations with regards to the Alaska cruise (we are not prone to motion sickness). Any excursions you would recommend? Any other advice, thought are of course appreciated.

[salty dingo]

We are going to Alaska on Pearl in August. Not been on her before, or to Alaska, but have read a lot here.

 

We booked a mini-suite, primarily because it adjoins the AB suite my parents booked. It will be nice having us all in the same, big area. I think the mini-suite has a regular tub and the balcony does not, that is one main difference.

 

We are still considering excursions, but one thing I have already done is to book a rental car in Skagway. There is a train excursion if you do not want to drive, but we fell the freedom of having the car will allow us a better experience. We will take essentially the same route as the train, up into the Yukon of Canada, and maybe go all the way to Whitehorse. There is a lot of time in that port.

 

Have fun planning your cruise!

[kirindy]

I went to Alaska on the Pearl in June 07. Google "Harv and Marv" whale watching in Juneau. It was FANTASTIC!!!!!

[retiredAF]

Thanks for the replies. We are only beginning to look in to the excursions so I appreciate the info about Skagway and the whale watching!

Thanks again!

[ute_fan]

Have a great time! We went last year (in May) and are trying to work things out to go again this May. We did an inside cabin, however, so I'm not going to offer any opinions on mini-suites vs. balconies.

 

Depending on what your budget is like, flight-seeing tours or helicopter rides are usually highly recommended. My budget, and my fear of fllying, have never allowed me to try them, but others seem to highly enjoy them. I totally agree with the whale watching suggestion in Juneau. We used Harv & Marv, and that is the one excursion that I will definitely plan on doing again this year. May/June is too early in the year for bear sighting excursions, as the salmon haven't started spawning yet.

 

Definitely spend some time reading through the posts over on the Alaska port of call board, as you will be able to get lots of information from the posters over there.

[retiredAF]

Have a great time! We went last year (in May) and are trying to work things out to go again this May. We did an inside cabin, however, so I'm not going to offer any opinions on mini-suites vs. balconies.

 

Depending on what your budget is like, flight-seeing tours or helicopter rides are usually highly recommended. My budget, and my fear of fllying, have never allowed me to try them, but others seem to highly enjoy them. I totally agree with the whale watching suggestion in Juneau. We used Harv & Marv, and that is the one excursion that I will definitely plan on doing again this year. May/June is too early in the year for bear sighting excursions, as the salmon haven't started spawning yet.

 

Definitely spend some time reading through the posts over on the Alaska port of call board, as you will be able to get lots of information from the posters over there.

 

I don't see myself on flight-seeing or helicopter ride either Ute_Fan!:) We will definitley do the whale watching though. How was the weather when you went last May?

[miatessamom]

I agree with the Harv and Marv recomendation. We were on the Pearl 5/27 this year and had a great time on this whale watch. Ask for the owner to take you (he and his best friend man the boats). I can't remember his name but he is a great guy. Our weather was cool but then we live in So. Florida so we are kind of wimpy.

[ute_fan]

I don't see myself on flight-seeing or helicopter ride either Ute_Fan!:) We will definitley do the whale watching though. How was the weather when you went last May?

 

The weather was gorgeous! We had rain both coming and going in Seattle, but the only day it rained on the cruise was in Ketchikan. We actually had better weather on our Pearl cruise (sailed on 5/19) than we did in 2004 when we sailed on the Sun (departed on 6/6) -- but I'm sure there's no guarantee of that We'd taken heavy coats and gloves for the whale watching tour, but never needed anything more than a sweatshirt, despite being out on the water in Auke Bay. In Skagway, we did the long train/bus ride combo, taking the bus clear to Carcross and riding the train back from Carcross, through Bennett, Canada, and back to Skagway. It was chilly in Bennett, with the wind blowing across the lake, but gorgeous blue skies and no wind on the way up. Our guide said it was the first time she had even seen the lakes that calm. In Ketchikan, we did the Misty Fjords tour, and it sprinkled on our way out, cleared up mostly while we were in the fjords, and then rained hard as we got back into Ketchikan. We really couldn't have asked for better weather.

[LindySD]

I highly recommend taking the train excursion in Skagway.

[Toyz711]

have you checked out the alaska boards...many hints to excursions.

all the ports have website:

http://www.traveljuneau.com/

http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/mendenhall/

http://www.skagway.com/

http://www.visit-ketchikan.com/

there are links to local tour vendors, allows you to compare to NCL.

the nice thing is alaska, local vendors will help with combining tours to help with travel time.

we did orca enterprises for our whale watch. they have a office right across from the tram stations (the main staging area for everything).

also did the round-trip train in skagway...i suggest to see more of that area, do a combo trip with train 1-way and bus the other. goes further into yukon and allows more exploring. on the round-trip train, you only go up and down the same path and can't get off the train. (or rent a car)

[NayRN]

I had NCL book my airfare once and never again! There were 4 of us going and they forgot to select our seats. We were spread out all over the plane.

 

I had my TA book this time and she saved us about $200.00/pp from the cost that NCL quoted. I'll let my TA find the airfare from now on and book with her! After all, she is the expert!

 

NayRN

[garycarla]

To answer the original questions:

 

People tend to mention more problems and horror stories with NCL air, than those that have good experiences. Lots of good ideas of flights over on the ALASKA Ports of Call boards.

 

AF vs Balcony. There really is not much difference between the cabins in my book. If you have lots of money, why not. But, the part that is the most valuable, especially on an Alaska cruise is the balcony. Cabin size is nice but not that big a deal, especially if only two of you.

 

fore and aft not a big deal on this cruise

 

I would also lean towards late May, early June vs later June, partly because of price but more becaue of school vacations