Fresh off the Rhyndam. Here’s my tips.

[covegirl51]

No. 1. Don’t watch the scenery from inside like it’s a movie (see my other posting "Words cannot describe") Get outside, find the bow, and the deck above it, and feel the splendor all around you.

 

No. 2 Take a helicopter out of Juneau. Book an inside cabin if you have to, but this is a surreal experience. Doesn’t matter which company, which glacier, just any one you can get on. The only way you can go wrong with this experience is to miss it altogether.

 

No. 3 For best chances of helicopter trip not being cancelled, book the "Pilots Choice". I had my heart set on dogsledding, and almost missed out because the trip I was booked on was cancelled at the last minute due to clouds on their particular glacier. Luckily, I was able to get the last couple of seats with the other dogsledding excursion because their glacier was not clouded in. My brother-in-law and his wife were on the Pilots Choice. They landed on two glaciers. We landed on one and went dogsledding. Dogsledding was great, but I wouldn’t do it a second time, and I wouldn’t want to miss out on the helicopter trip because of it.

 

No. 3 Take a warm hat and lightweight gloves and you’ll be able to stay outside for hours. I picked up $5 Walmart gloves - light knit, and they were perfect. Didn’t take much room in the luggage either.

 

No. 4 Only take half of what you have packed. Guessing which half is the trick. ;)

 

No. 5 Find the bow early on in your trip. It’s quite straight-forward really. On the Rhyndam, there are stairs on the promenade deck at the front of the ship that are enclosed in a glass vestibule. Take those stairs up to the landing. There’s a hatch-like door which you can open if it’s not already ajar. They had a paper sign on the wall indicating that it is the bow.

 

No. 6 Use the outdoor pool. Yes, it’s only 50 degrees outside, but that’s only for about 10 seconds as you scramble for your robe and towels after the swim. It’s a salt water pool, so you can bob around for a long time (even the men, who typically have a harder time floating). Water temperature was 78 degrees. Before you go in, arrange for the bartender to bring you Mojitos. Kick back and enjoy the snow-capped mountains around you. Finish off with a few minutes in the hot tub by the Lido pool.

 

No. 7 If you’re used to Holland America’s showtime being 10 pm for the late dinner sitting, realize that most nights it’s now 7 pm (the 9pm show is for early dinner folks). I actually got to like that because I was able to stay awake for the whole performance. We got in to the habit of getting our cocktails and taking them to the show before dinner. Go straight to dinner from the show.

 

No. 8 Coffee and juice in your stateroom as your wake-up call is a great idea that I got off this board. We did it every day. Thanks to whoever posted that tip.

 

No. 9 Take the White Pass railroad and make sure you spend at least some of the trip on the platform between the cars. Again, you get to "feel" the experience rather than just watch it go by. It’s a train... get up and walk around.

 

No. 10 If you are thinking of taking the bike ride down the mountain after the train, and are worried about traffic, the bike company has that well taken care of. There’s a cyclist in the lead, a cyclist at the back end, and the van driver pulling the bicycle trailer behind us all. The van driver would radio to the lead cyclist whenever there was a vehicle coming from behind, and the cyclist would give us a hand signal until the car had passed. That was great because we didn’t have to be constantly on guard for traffic behind us. We had maybe 4 vehicles pass during the entire 1.5 hours. Maybe it’s busier in the middle of the summer, but it was a piece of cake the first of June. I’m glad it wasn’t raining though. You’re braking pretty much the entire ride. I would have been more nervous in the rain.

 

No. 11 Our evening whale watch **snip** in Juneau **snip** was a great trip. The boat was perfect. Excellent viewing from everywhere, not too big. Again, it can be tempting to stay inside watching through all the glass, but get out on deck where you can experience the stench of whale breath! They also had a lovely buffet for us which really hit the spot because we did back to back excursions.

 

No. 12 Holland America’s promenade deck. I’ve only sailed with Holland America so far. I’ve just found out that not all cruise ships have a promenade deck which wraps all the way around the boat. That’s a real pity, and particularly in Alaska! What a treat to be able to walk around and around in that splendid scenery.

 

Those are my foremost tips for enjoying an inside passage cruise. Anything else that comes to mind over the next few days I’ll post.

 

Thanks to all the previous posters who helped to make our trip absolutely perfect!

[PennyAgain]

Wonderful write up. Thank you!

[kathynorth]

Thank you for the tips!

[mytime53]

No. 8 Coffee and juice in your stateroom as your wake-up call is a great idea that I got off this board. We did it every day. Thanks to whoever posted that tip.

 

I don't know if you got it from me, but I posted it earlier and think it's worth repeating...definitely beats an alarm buzzing in my ear! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[inkmahm]

No. 3 For best chances of helicopter trip not being cancelled, book the "Pilots Choice". I had my heart set on dogsledding, and almost missed out because the trip I was booked on was cancelled at the last minute due to clouds on their particular glacier. Luckily, I was able to get the last couple of seats with the other dogsledding excursion because their glacier was not clouded in. My brother-in-law and his wife were on the Pilots Choice. They landed on two glaciers. We landed on one and went dogsledding. Dogsledding was great, but I wouldn’t do it a second time, and I wouldn’t want to miss out on the helicopter trip because of it.

 

I disagree. In 2005, the ONLY tour we booked which was cancelled was the Pilot's choice tour in Juneau. In our case, it was because not enough people booked it and we didn't meet the minimum with just my husband and I signed up for it. Instead, we were offered the tour to just go to Mendenhall to walk on the glacier. We did that instead and enjoyed it, but were disappointed that we saw only the one glacier.

[covegirl51]

I disagree. In 2005, the ONLY tour we booked which was cancelled was the Pilot's choice tour in Juneau. In our case, it was because not enough people booked it and we didn't meet the minimum with just my husband and I signed up for it. Instead, we were offered the tour to just go to Mendenhall to walk on the glacier. We did that instead and enjoyed it, but were disappointed that we saw only the one glacier.

 

Sorry to hear that inkmahn. I was only thinking about the flexibility of the pilot to choose where he could go as being a bonus. I wouldn't be disappointed about only one glacier landing though. I think the flight itself is what's most spectacular, although being on the glacier is very cool.

[photodoodle]

We spent hours on the bow deck. It was cold and windy sometimes, but comepletely worth it - and feeling that bracing air is part of the experience.

I had done a glacier landing on a previous cruise years ago, and it made a huge impact on me the first time. It was really great the second time, too. But the great thing about my trip last year is that I was traveling with my mom and it was her first glacier landing. I was so happy to share that experience with her.

[mefck]

We spent hours on the bow deck. It was cold and windy sometimes, but comepletely worth it - and feeling that bracing air is part of the experience.

 

I had done a glacier landing on a previous cruise years ago, and it made a huge impact on me the first time. It was really great the second time, too. But the great thing about my trip last year is that I was traveling with my mom and it was her first glacier landing. I was so happy to share that experience with her.

 

Your photos are wonderful. What did you shoot with?

[photodoodle]

Your photos are wonderful. What did you shoot with?

Thanks for looking, mefck. I used a Canon dslr and a 100-400 zoom for the wildlife shots. The scenery and shots from a plane or helicopter were done with a 24-105 zoom. Both lenses had image stabilization. More details about the photo aspects of the trip in my review (near the end).

[themerle]

Covegirl51, you've given some great tips. Thanks for sharing! I love the promenade deck also. I really get a work out walking round and round and having beautiful scenery while in Alaska! Love it!!!!:) I guess I totally agree with your No. 1 tip, too!

[qiangf2]

Excellent summary. I especially like #3

 

Take a warm hat and lightweight gloves and you’ll be able to stay outside for hours. I picked up $5 Walmart gloves - light knit, and they were perfect. Didn’t take much room in the luggage either.

[muncybob]

Tip # 4 is SO TRUE!!

 

I thought we had overpacked a little but it turned out we could have reduced it by close to 50%.....especially with the laundry room within easy walking distance of our cabin...we passed it coming and going several times a day so laundry could have been on the go while we were out and about. I know the weather varies greatly but I truly expected much colder temps the first week of May...we lucked out I guess! I think we had a few days warmer up there than back in PA!

[Boxer Lover]

Since some of you are already back. Could someone please tell me what you wear on the helicopter glacier trip? I was wondering if Ineed to take a heavy winter coat. We leave next week on the Radiance and I was hoping not to have to pack a heavy coat. Any advise on clothing would be a great help!!

 

Thank you

Brenda

[covegirl51]

You do not need a heavy winter coat as long as you have a few layers under a lined jacket. I actually ended up taking off my coat and fleece vest while we were on the glacier waiting to get back on the helicopter.