Alaska 2013 - Non Disney Cruise

[tim5055 120]

I'm beginning to think I'll never make it back to FW. With work intruding on my leisure time, I haven't been able to make it in a couple of years. I can live vicariously through you all though....

So, my FIL decided he would like to check out Alaska. The DW & I have always wanted to cruise it, so off we go....

The DW & I were married on a Royal Caribbean ship (long before Disney saw the $ in cruising, and so long ago that RCCL no longer has the ship) so we are kind of partial to them.

So, next July here is what we will be doing:

Day 1 Vancouver, British Columbia board ship 6:00 PM

Day 2 Inside Passage (Cruising) Cruising

Day 3 Ketchikan, Alaska 6:00 AM 4:00 PM Docked

Day 4 Icy Strait Point, Alaska 9:00 AM 6:00 PM Tendered

Day 5 Juneau, Alaska 7:00 AM 8:30 PM Docked

Day 6 Skagway, Alaska 7:00 AM 4:30 PM Docked

Day 7 Hubbard Glacier (Cruising) 7:00 AM 11:00 AM Cruising

Day 8 Arrive Seward, Alaska 5:00 AM, then they throw us off the ship - on to the land portion of the trip

Upon arrival in Seward, you'll board a deluxe motorcoach and enjoy a scenic drive to Anchorage. Along the way you will be treated to a stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. In Anchorage you will have time for lunch on your own before visiting the world class Anchorage Musuem exhibiting the art and history of Alaska. The evening is yours for independent activities in this cosmopolitan city. Overnight in Anchorage.

Day 9 Anchorage, Alaska /Talkeetna, Alaska

In the morning, you'll board our glass-domed traincars, the Wilderness Express®, for a scenic ride to the quaint town of Talkeetna. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy a variety of independent activities such as jet-boating or flightseeing around Mt. McKinley. Overnight in Talkeetna.

Day 10 Talkeetna, Alaska /Denali, Alaska

Enjoy the nature trails that surround your lodge before you board the Wilderness Express for a scenic trip to Denali. You have the afternoon and evening free to book an optional land excursion, such as the Husky Homestead Tour or white-water rafting. Overnight in Denali.

Day 11 Denali, Alaska

In the morning, head out on the Tundra Wilderness Tour deep into Denali National Park. Look for Alaska's "big five": caribou, moose, bear, grey wolves and Dall sheep. The afternoon is open to participate in an optional activity such as white-water rafting or helicopter flightseeing. Overnight in Denali.

Day 12 Denali, Alaska /Fairbanks, Alaska

In the morning, depart by deluxe motorcoach for a drive to Fairbanks. After lunch, you'll enjoy a ride on the Riverboat Discovery Sternwheeler, including a visit to an Athabascan Indian Village. The evening is yours to explore on your own. You'll spend the night in historic Fairbanks.

Day 13 Fairbanks, Alaska

Work beckons, they bus us to the airport and it's off to home....

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

That sounds fantastic! I'm looking forward to seeing the trip report! :)

[Judy in Texas 150]

My brother and sister-in-law took their daughter and her family on this trip this past July only the opposite direction. They loved it! Remember Alaska can be cold mid-summer. I saw pictures of them on the ship bundled up on their winter coats. You'll need hats, gloves and scarves. Trip report!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Sounds like a great itinerary! We've always wanted to go to Alaska too and look forward to your trip report.

[Onkel Hans 25]

Alaska is definitely at the top of our list for places we want to go. That looks like a great itinerary. One of my coworkers just got back from visiting his kid who is stationed up there. He did a lot of land based activities and sight seeing, and i told him it sounded like the better way to see Alaska. He said you really have to do both land touring and cruising the bays/inlets/glaciers to see all Alaska has to offer.

[we3peas 12]

We are doing this cruise but from Denali to Vancouver on Princess in September 2013. I hear we'll be some of the youngest people on board and I've warned dd14 she might be the only teenager.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Tim- That first sentence in your post made me sad.

But, the cruise sounds great.

Some friends of ours took a Princess cruise to Alaska this past summer- they loved it.

If I were going to cruise Alaska, I would definitely look at lines other than DCL. DCL is new to the game. I am sure they do a great job, but there are many lines with more experience and connections.

TCD

[tim5055 120]

Tim- That first sentence in your post made me sad.

But, the cruise sounds great.

Some friends of ours took a Princess cruise to Alaska this past summer- they loved it.

If I were going to cruise Alaska, I would definitely look at lines other than DCL. DCL is new to the game. I am sure they do a great job, but there are many lines with more experience and connections.

TCD

Not as sad as me....when I lived in Florida I could pop up for the weekend on the spur of the moment. Not so much anymore. I can see the retirement light at the end of the tunnel, so hopefully I will be able to attend some "gatherings".

[DaveInTN 3,247]

That trip sounds incredible! I can't wait to hear all about it.

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Oh boy I know what I'd be doing. Huskey Homestead tour is a must, it's Jeff King's home place. Jeff won the Iditarod 4 times 1993,1996,1998 and 2006.

Then up near Fairbanks there are more kennels, among them is Lance Mackey's, he won the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod in 2007 and 2008. They are both 1000 mile races, only a few weeks apart. Then he also won the Iditarod again in 2009 and 2010! Yep 4 times in 4 years :) And in Fairbanks check out the Yukon Quest headquarters, American side. That race goes between Fairbanks, AK USA and Whitehorse, YT, Canada. Think it ends in FB this coming year, the cities take turns.

Oops is this a hi-jack?

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I'm beginning to think I'll never make it back to FW. With work intruding on my leisure time, I haven't been able to make it in a couple of years. I can live vicariously through you all though....

So, my FIL decided he would like to check out Alaska. The DW & I have always wanted to cruise it, so off we go....

The DW & I were married on a Royal Caribbean ship (long before Disney saw the $ in cruising, and so long ago that RCCL no longer has the ship) so we are kind of partial to them.

So, next July here is what we will be doing:

Day 1 Vancouver, British Columbia board ship 6:00 PM

Day 2 Inside Passage (Cruising) Cruising

Day 3 Ketchikan, Alaska 6:00 AM 4:00 PM Docked

Day 4 Icy Strait Point, Alaska 9:00 AM 6:00 PM Tendered

Day 5 Juneau, Alaska 7:00 AM 8:30 PM Docked

Day 6 Skagway, Alaska 7:00 AM 4:30 PM Docked

Day 7 Hubbard Glacier (Cruising) 7:00 AM 11:00 AM Cruising

Day 8 Arrive Seward, Alaska 5:00 AM, then they throw us off the ship - on to the land portion of the trip

Upon arrival in Seward, you'll board a deluxe motorcoach and enjoy a scenic drive to Anchorage. Along the way you will be treated to a stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. In Anchorage you will have time for lunch on your own before visiting the world class Anchorage Musuem exhibiting the art and history of Alaska. The evening is yours for independent activities in this cosmopolitan city. Overnight in Anchorage.

Day 9 Anchorage, Alaska /Talkeetna, Alaska

In the morning, you'll board our glass-domed traincars, the Wilderness Express®, for a scenic ride to the quaint town of Talkeetna. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy a variety of independent activities such as jet-boating or flightseeing around Mt. McKinley. Overnight in Talkeetna.

Day 10 Talkeetna, Alaska /Denali, Alaska

Enjoy the nature trails that surround your lodge before you board the Wilderness Express for a scenic trip to Denali. You have the afternoon and evening free to book an optional land excursion, such as the Husky Homestead Tour or white-water rafting. Overnight in Denali.

Day 11 Denali, Alaska

In the morning, head out on the Tundra Wilderness Tour deep into Denali National Park. Look for Alaska's "big five": caribou, moose, bear, grey wolves and Dall sheep. The afternoon is open to participate in an optional activity such as white-water rafting or helicopter flightseeing. Overnight in Denali.

Day 12 Denali, Alaska /Fairbanks, Alaska

In the morning, depart by deluxe motorcoach for a drive to Fairbanks. After lunch, you'll enjoy a ride on the Riverboat Discovery Sternwheeler, including a visit to an Athabascan Indian Village. The evening is yours to explore on your own. You'll spend the night in historic Fairbanks.

Day 13 Fairbanks, Alaska

Work beckons, they bus us to the airport and it's off to home....

 

We are considering something very similar to this. Did you have a good time?

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I'd love to know too. Sounds fantastic.

[tim5055 120]

Yes, we had a great time, but I'm still not sure the value to fun ratio works out.  Alaska cruises are expensive and the airfare is high also.

 

Some thoughts -

 

Most cruise lines have similar Alaska itineraries. 

 

Check the weather before you go. We took clothing to layer and ended up hot all the time. All we really needed other than dinner time was shorts & tee shirts. The only cool day was cruising in glacier bay.

 

The glacier was spectacular!! According to the crew of Radiance, we got the closest and had the best viewing of the season so far. Most days have been fogged out. We got within a mile of the glacier and the fog lifted for about an hour while we were there. As we left the fog dropped again and the glacier disappeared.

 

All of the ports are a lot alike.  If you just walk off the ship without plans they are all great big tee shirt shops and jewelry stores.

 

I highly recommend Island Wings in Ketchikan if you go there. http://www.islandwings.com

Internet on the ship is expensive, so i stuck to hotspots on land. In Ketchikan there is a a neat saloon across from the port (1st City Saloon I think). Cheep drinks and free Internet with a purchase. In Juneau there is a nice coffee shop a few blocks from the ship, again, free with purchase. 

 

I've been surprised I've had 3G cell service almost everywhere but my Verizon hot spot did not work in Alaska.

 

I thought the land portion would be lame, but boy was I wrong.  The land portion is far better than the cruise. Royal Caribbean (RCCL) uses Premier Alaska Tours, Inc. as the provider of the land portion. They are a great company and the employees we dealt with knew their stuff!! We had the same bus, driver and tour guide for the whole trip. They handled all baggage moving. We put them in the hall the last night of the cruise and the next time we saw the bags was when we arrived in our hotel room in Anchorage. This worked the same each day, put the bags out in the hall in the morning and they will be in your room in the evening. Many folks took advantage of the tour operators offer to just keep some bags on the coach, and only bring one or two bags to the room each day. The down side to the land portion is that meals are not included, but that did not seem to be a problem.

We landed in Seward and took a bus up to Anchorage, spending the nite at the Marriott there. After lunch a visit to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center provided a history of Alaska. the room for the night was standard Marriott, but we found that they have a music on the green concert series Friday nights. Food trucks, a small beer garden and live music. It was local music (no named acts) but made for a nice evening.

Day 2 we took the Wilderness Express Deluxe Domed Railcars from Anchorage to Talkeetna, AK. These rail cars are wonderful, and appear to be used only by RCCL passengers (but I'm not sure about that). They have 80 first class style seats up top and you get a great view of the land as it goes by. Downstairs is dining area and the food is delicious, and not really overpriced by Alaska standards. As this was a morning trip, breakfast was on the menu. After breakfast it was back upstairs to watch the beautiful Alaskan wilderness roll by. I took advantage of the bar and had a specialty coffee as I road along. Talkeetna is a quirky little place that folks say the TV show Northern Exposure was patterned after. Lodging this night was at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, which is spectacular. The only down side is that rooms do not have A/C, but the view is to die for. There was time in the afternoon for additional activities, but we did a little hike and relaxed with a bottle of wine left over from the cruise.


Day 3 allowed us to sleep in and than we were back on the Wilderness Express for our trip up to Denali National Park. The late start had us on the train for lunch and into the Denali area in the afternoon. Our hotel for the next two nights was the McKinley Village Lodge. Again, basic rooms with no A/C but a beautiful location. We got in early enough for another hike, this one a little longer (a little over 2 mile out/back), but it took us out into a beautiful forest where we found fields of wild blueberry bushes and a beaver lake. We were able to just sit by the lake and watch the little guys working on their home before winter. Peope on TA complain that you are locked in to the restaurant at the hotel because "town" is about 8 miles away. The hotel shuttle stops running around 6:30, but most to the restaurants in town will take you back to the lodge after dinner.

Day 4 started early for the tour of Denali National Park. The tours are run by the park service vendor and puts you in a school bus (OK, the one we were in had upgraded seats, not the bench seats of my youth) and supplies a box lunch (very spartan). This was fun, as we got to see grizzly bear and carabo in the wild, but it was also long and hot. RCCL pays for you to get the "Wildlife Tour" which is the longest offered by the park and takes around 8 hours... We stopped often for necessities (there are park service bathrooms out on the trail) and our guide was knowledgeable, but after about hour 5 most were looking for the wine and hot tub. After the tour it was back to McKinley Village Lodge for the evening. We stayed on the back deck of the lodge playing Cornhole and having a few glasses of wine. it was here that I really discovered that due to the longer day (it was still light at 11PM) I was loosing more and more sleep each day.

Day 5 was on the bus for a ride up to Fairbanks, the end of the trip. You get in to Fairbanks early enough to play tourist for the day. Activities are included, and there are additional tours you can sign up for. The hotel for the night was the Wedgewood Resort. This property is unique in my travels. The room we had was an actual one bedroom apartment, and they had several building just like ours. I found out that it had been built as long term housing for workers on the Trans-Alaska pipeline. Older and a little dated, but clean with lots of room to spread out in.

Day 6 was our travel home day, but our flight was not until 9:30PM so we did a little more touring while the hotel held out bags. Even though the tour was over, Premier Alaska Tours stayed on top of things and mad sure we were picked up at the hotel and take to the airport for our flight.

Looking back, we decided that Sandals blows away a cruise vacation. For what we spent on the cruise we could have taken two (maybe 3) trips to Sandals. Granted this was a unique situation as the DWs father wanted to go to Alaska - but I want to go sit on the beach!!  This year it will be Fort Wilderness in December and Sandals in Jamaica in February.  Oh, I retire in November so hopefully the trips will happen more often.

 

 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Sounds amazing though! Jason really wants to do a land and sea trip to Alaska some day.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Land and sea Alaska is a must do once trip for me and Sil.