Alaskan Cruise

[Hammer715]

we are going on a crusie from Whittier (anchorage) south to Vancover, with stops in between. From the looks of the schedulee we will have plenty of time for excursions. Can anyone reccommend some must see/do activities?

[trwi7]

Granville Island in Vancouver.

[jimmyjeromehardy7]

Wife and I did an Alaskan cruise last May and it was absolutely amazing but we went Vancouver north towards Anchorage on a Princess cruise. The cruising in Glacier Bay was the most scenic views I've ever seen. A must do in Juneau is the Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter Tour, the ride to and from the glacier is great but being able to walk on a moving sheet of ice isn't something you can do any day. We also did a banana boat ride to a remote island for a hike in Ketchikan and a train/bus combo to the Yukon territory in Skagway.

 

But everyone we talked to that did something different at each port enjoyed what they did so I'm not sure if you can go wrong. Glad we were able to do it before the twins came this spring and something I would do again in 20-25 years once they are off to college.

 

If you stay over in Vancouver I would recommend the Capilano Suspense Bridge as something to do. Don't expect any remants of the Olympics they were already gone 3 months later last year.

 

Will be glad to help answer any other question too.

[pitchleague]

when we went up there 2 summers ago, we did a zip line in Ketchican. Lots of fun.

 

We also did a glacier tour but I don't remember which one/where it was. There are tons of glaciers, of course, so I'm sure there are tons of excursions.

[jjkoestler]

Are you flying into Whittier or Anc? If you are flying into Anc, I'd suggest arriving a few days early and heading to the Kenai (Homer or Seward) or driving north to Denali. Southeast AK is very different than the rest of Alaska so this would allow you to see some different country.

[hammytime]

The glacier expedition we did was out of Skagway, out past Haines. As some have said, there are a multitude of opportunities, especially for things you may never get a chance to do otherwise, like the zipline for us. (I totally surprised my husband by saying I was interested in trying a zipline, and I didn't get scared one bit. In fact, I was hooked after the very short "training" line at the start of the course, and I look forward to being able to do it again some time.)

[Hammer715]

We are arriving in Anchorage one day early (get in at 12:00) and dont have anything scheduled until the bus from Anchorage to the Cruiseship. We are on the Diamond Princess that travels soutth to Vancouver with the stops in Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, the Vancouver which we will have about 12 hours to kill before our flight. So the first question the glacier tours on the cruise ship (Hubbard and Glacier Bay) are these just on the ship? Do we stop anywhere or is this just a cruise through the glaciers??

 

I would love something fun to do in Anchorage on the first day and a half, any ideas would be appreciated.

[jimmyjeromehardy7]

the glacier bay and hubbard is just cruising though the bay but you get about 100 yards from the glaciers that are falling into the water. Pretty remarkable. Not sure if you have a balcony or not but we camped out on the balcony for most of the bay cruising. did go up deck once while the ship was turned away from the glacier and it was pretty crowded. Not sure about July but in early June the weather at the ports wasn't too bad, a tshirt was comfortable mid-day but sitting on the balcony in the bay we had on tshirts, sweatshirts and spring jackets and were still cold. Must have been in the 30s I would guess. I would think it wouldnt be much warmer in July with all the ice around so plan accordingly.

[pitchleague]

going up Glacier Bay or whatever was pretty interesting, temperature-wise. We went up on deck and it started just fine--in the 50s or so, but as we got glaciers (3 miles away) you could feel the air temperature dropping with every 1/4 mile you cruised. I think it was a balmy 38 in July when we were right by the glaciers. But it certainly didn't feel it.

 

When we were on deck, the ship just "parked itself in the middle of the bay right by the glacier and turned it's engines on to "spin" the boat about 10 times or so. It was neat to see everything in a panaroma from your spot, but it really sucked when one of the glacier did a major calving when we were 180-degrees from it. You could hear it, all right--boy, could you hear it; sounded like thunder crashed right next to me--and the splash was enormous. We were able to see some smaller calvings and got photos but the first one was major. Like a whole huge chunk. I still have a conspiracy theory that the ship company "did something" to make sure it would do that when we were right there.

[jjkoestler]

I would love something fun to do in Anchorage on the first day and a half, any ideas would be appreciated.

I tried to avoid Anc as much as possible when I lived in AK. Its sort of dirty and isn't very "Alaskan." Individuals who live outside of Anchorage describe it as "a suburb of Seattle" or say things like "you can see Alaska from Anchorage."

 

I would drive down the Kenai if I had a day to kill. There is a lot to do there.

[SenatorShriv]

I don't know much about SE Alaska so I would rely on the advice of others, but I live in Anchorage and would be happy to provide some recommendations on stuff to do around the area... The post above is accurate that Anchorage isn't exactly a world class city. I try to spend almost every weekend outside of the city camping, hiking, skiing, hunting or fishing. That being said there are plenty of cool things to do in the immediate area.

 

You could drive to Girdwood and take the hand tram on the Winner Creek trail or take the gondola up to the top of the ski hill for a drink / food overlooking the glaciers and Turnagain Arm. There are tons of hikes right on the edge of the city that are gorgeous (bear precautions need to be taken.) There are good restaurants in the Anchorage, art shops, etc... night life is extremely hit or miss depending on the day you happen to be hanging around.

 

Palmer could be a decent day trip depending on the weather and what you're looking to do / the day of the week. Seward could be a decent day trip as well but you'll see a lot of similar terrain out of Whittier. I love the Kenai - hiking the upper trail at Skilak Lake and grabbing a beer at the St. Elais Brewery would be a decent day for you. I'm not really sure what else I would recommend "to do" on the Kenai.

 

Send me a PM about what you're most interested in and I'm happy to provide more recommendations.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

What's Alaska?

 

Its sort of dirty and isn't very "Alaskan."

You're trying to pick a fight, aren't you.....tourists....

[jjkoestler]

What's Alaska?

 

Its sort of dirty and isn't very "Alaskan."

You're trying to pick a fight, aren't you.....tourists....

 

 

What's Alaska? The area surrounding ANC. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif