Same here. May 19th out of Vancouver. Skagway we signed up for a Yukon tour to Emerald Lake (furthest we could get to, looks like). Juneau whale watching. Ketchican we'll wing it. Once in Alaska we're headed to Seward and doing a couple days of kayaking and ice hiking in Kenai Fjords.I’ll be on one in May too. Never been before. Not really a cruise guy either. Super stoked about it. First ever big family trip. My 5, my parents and my sister and her family. We shall see…
Took that trip...beautiful scenery along the way. We did a little dog sledding activity near Carcross on that tour which was neat. The Carcross desert is an interesting site too. It seems so out of place.Same here. May 19th out of Vancouver. Skagway we signed up for a Yukon tour to Emerald Lake (furthest we could get to, looks like). Juneau whale watching. Ketchican we'll wing it. Once in Alaska we're headed to Seward and doing a couple days of kayaking and ice hiking in Kenai Fjords.I’ll be on one in May too. Never been before. Not really a cruise guy either. Super stoked about it. First ever big family trip. My 5, my parents and my sister and her family. We shall see…
We leave out of Seattle on May 25th. I'm not sure of all our details yet...kid of at the mercy of my parents and my kids. We're just along for the ride. We're doing a helicopter tour to a glacier and a dog sled trip.Same here. May 19th out of Vancouver. Skagway we signed up for a Yukon tour to Emerald Lake (furthest we could get to, looks like). Juneau whale watching. Ketchican we'll wing it. Once in Alaska we're headed to Seward and doing a couple days of kayaking and ice hiking in Kenai Fjords.I’ll be on one in May too. Never been before. Not really a cruise guy either. Super stoked about it. First ever big family trip. My 5, my parents and my sister and her family. We shall see…
It's not that funI would LOVE to go panning for gold. That sounds like a lot of fun to me.
It's not that funI would LOVE to go panning for gold. That sounds like a lot of fun to me.
You likely have a better chance of finding a leprechaun than any meaningful gold.It's not that funI would LOVE to go panning for gold. That sounds like a lot of fun to me.
What if I found a leprechaun while doing it, hmmm, hmmmmmmmm?
Juneau....... Wisconsin?Whale watching in Juneau is amazing.
What did you do in Vancouver?Went like 20 years ago. Enjoyed it at the time but honestly favorite part was before and after the trip as we spent time in Vancouver and in Denali national park (both were amazing). On the cruise the real highlight was a helicopter excursion where we landed on a glacier. Would recomend balcony on cruise as well as remember seeing whales from it and also watching glacier calving. I thought the towns we visited on cruise were all tourist traps and not worth it. Also, panning for gold sucked so would skp that (GM you didn't miss anything).
I know this was directed to someone else, but I'll chime in anyway. We went to The Butchart Gardens. I am not much for gardens and such, it was a pretty cool place. I am sure my wife enjoyed it more than me, but it was a nice walk around the grounds with a lot of beautiful things to look at. I suppose the time of year makes a difference as to what the experience would be like. We were there in the summer. They had a gelato place by the Italian Gardens. The kids liked that part the most.What did you do in Vancouver?Went like 20 years ago. Enjoyed it at the time but honestly favorite part was before and after the trip as we spent time in Vancouver and in Denali national park (both were amazing). On the cruise the real highlight was a helicopter excursion where we landed on a glacier. Would recomend balcony on cruise as well as remember seeing whales from it and also watching glacier calving. I thought the towns we visited on cruise were all tourist traps and not worth it. Also, panning for gold sucked so would skp that (GM you didn't miss anything).
Butchart Gardens is in Victoria, not Vancouver.I know this was directed to someone else, but I'll chime in anyway. We went to The Butchart Gardens. I am not much for gardens and such, it was a pretty cool place. I am sure my wife enjoyed it more than me, but it was a nice walk around the grounds with a lot of beautiful things to look at. I suppose the time of year makes a difference as to what the experience would be like. We were there in the summer. They had a gelato place by the Italian Gardens. The kids liked that part the most.What did you do in Vancouver?Went like 20 years ago. Enjoyed it at the time but honestly favorite part was before and after the trip as we spent time in Vancouver and in Denali national park (both were amazing). On the cruise the real highlight was a helicopter excursion where we landed on a glacier. Would recomend balcony on cruise as well as remember seeing whales from it and also watching glacier calving. I thought the towns we visited on cruise were all tourist traps and not worth it. Also, panning for gold sucked so would skp that (GM you didn't miss anything).
Thanks. Paranoid me with the current airline reliability made flights to be in Vancouver for a day before the cruise the next day. That way if flights go nutballs we have a good bit of leeway (day and a half).I know this was directed to someone else, but I'll chime in anyway. We went to The Butchart Gardens. I am not much for gardens and such, it was a pretty cool place. I am sure my wife enjoyed it more than me, but it was a nice walk around the grounds with a lot of beautiful things to look at. I suppose the time of year makes a difference as to what the experience would be like. We were there in the summer. They had a gelato place by the Italian Gardens. The kids liked that part the most.What did you do in Vancouver?Went like 20 years ago. Enjoyed it at the time but honestly favorite part was before and after the trip as we spent time in Vancouver and in Denali national park (both were amazing). On the cruise the real highlight was a helicopter excursion where we landed on a glacier. Would recomend balcony on cruise as well as remember seeing whales from it and also watching glacier calving. I thought the towns we visited on cruise were all tourist traps and not worth it. Also, panning for gold sucked so would skp that (GM you didn't miss anything).
OopsThanks. Paranoid me with the current airline reliability made flights to be in Vancouver for a day before the cruise the next day. That way if flights go nutballs we have a good bit of leeway (day and a half).I know this was directed to someone else, but I'll chime in anyway. We went to The Butchart Gardens. I am not much for gardens and such, it was a pretty cool place. I am sure my wife enjoyed it more than me, but it was a nice walk around the grounds with a lot of beautiful things to look at. I suppose the time of year makes a difference as to what the experience would be like. We were there in the summer. They had a gelato place by the Italian Gardens. The kids liked that part the most.What did you do in Vancouver?Went like 20 years ago. Enjoyed it at the time but honestly favorite part was before and after the trip as we spent time in Vancouver and in Denali national park (both were amazing). On the cruise the real highlight was a helicopter excursion where we landed on a glacier. Would recomend balcony on cruise as well as remember seeing whales from it and also watching glacier calving. I thought the towns we visited on cruise were all tourist traps and not worth it. Also, panning for gold sucked so would skp that (GM you didn't miss anything).
you should always fly in minimum 1 day before your cruise startsThanks. Paranoid me with the current airline reliability made flights to be in Vancouver for a day before the cruise the next day. That way if flights go nutballs we have a good bit of leeway (day and a half).I know this was directed to someone else, but I'll chime in anyway. We went to The Butchart Gardens. I am not much for gardens and such, it was a pretty cool place. I am sure my wife enjoyed it more than me, but it was a nice walk around the grounds with a lot of beautiful things to look at. I suppose the time of year makes a difference as to what the experience would be like. We were there in the summer. They had a gelato place by the Italian Gardens. The kids liked that part the most.What did you do in Vancouver?Went like 20 years ago. Enjoyed it at the time but honestly favorite part was before and after the trip as we spent time in Vancouver and in Denali national park (both were amazing). On the cruise the real highlight was a helicopter excursion where we landed on a glacier. Would recomend balcony on cruise as well as remember seeing whales from it and also watching glacier calving. I thought the towns we visited on cruise were all tourist traps and not worth it. Also, panning for gold sucked so would skp that (GM you didn't miss anything).
Butchart Gardens is really nice. After the cruise, I stayed a couple of days in Vancouver. One of the days, we booked a bus tour that took us Victoria. They dropped us off for a few hours to explore downtown Victoria and then took us over to Butchart Gardens.I know this was directed to someone else, but I'll chime in anyway. We went to The Butchart Gardens. I am not much for gardens and such, it was a pretty cool place. I am sure my wife enjoyed it more than me, but it was a nice walk around the grounds with a lot of beautiful things to look at. I suppose the time of year makes a difference as to what the experience would be like. We were there in the summer. They had a gelato place by the Italian Gardens. The kids liked that part the most.What did you do in Vancouver?Went like 20 years ago. Enjoyed it at the time but honestly favorite part was before and after the trip as we spent time in Vancouver and in Denali national park (both were amazing). On the cruise the real highlight was a helicopter excursion where we landed on a glacier. Would recomend balcony on cruise as well as remember seeing whales from it and also watching glacier calving. I thought the towns we visited on cruise were all tourist traps and not worth it. Also, panning for gold sucked so would skp that (GM you didn't miss anything).
It was 20 years ago so details are a bit vague but just remember it was a great city with awesome vibes. Stanley Park is just a huge park right on the water that I remember just enjoying with my wife (this was all before kids). Gastown was also a great neighborhood and we had an amazing dinner there (though can't recall name of place). It is definately on a list of places I want to go back to.What did you do in Vancouver?Went like 20 years ago. Enjoyed it at the time but honestly favorite part was before and after the trip as we spent time in Vancouver and in Denali national park (both were amazing). On the cruise the real highlight was a helicopter excursion where we landed on a glacier. Would recomend balcony on cruise as well as remember seeing whales from it and also watching glacier calving. I thought the towns we visited on cruise were all tourist traps and not worth it. Also, panning for gold sucked so would skp that (GM you didn't miss anything).
Going for the first time in June with family (5 of us). Excited to go whale watching in Juneau. Probably do the short train ride in Skagway; need to find other things. My initial hunch to wing it in Ketchikan sounds right.
Butchart Gardens is in Victoria, not Vancouver.I know this was directed to someone else, but I'll chime in anyway. We went to The Butchart Gardens. I am not much for gardens and such, it was a pretty cool place. I am sure my wife enjoyed it more than me, but it was a nice walk around the grounds with a lot of beautiful things to look at. I suppose the time of year makes a difference as to what the experience would be like. We were there in the summer. They had a gelato place by the Italian Gardens. The kids liked that part the most.What did you do in Vancouver?Went like 20 years ago. Enjoyed it at the time but honestly favorite part was before and after the trip as we spent time in Vancouver and in Denali national park (both were amazing). On the cruise the real highlight was a helicopter excursion where we landed on a glacier. Would recomend balcony on cruise as well as remember seeing whales from it and also watching glacier calving. I thought the towns we visited on cruise were all tourist traps and not worth it. Also, panning for gold sucked so would skp that (GM you didn't miss anything).
I actually feed all the crows in my neighborhood along with a few squirrels I have "trained" to eat out of my hand. See if I can do the same with some Eagles...(joking). Big nature lover so I'm definitely going to do one of those. One of the best experiences I've ever had was taking a dog sled to a natural hot springs in Jackson Hole. Definitely looking to doing another dog sled experience as well, although the hot springs won't happen haha. Plus, I LOVE huskies. Appreciate all the responses!Going for the first time in June with family (5 of us). Excited to go whale watching in Juneau. Probably do the short train ride in Skagway; need to find other things. My initial hunch to wing it in Ketchikan sounds right.
The whale watching trip is one of the coolest things I've ever done. In my head, I figured I'd see some whales from a distance....no, no.....they come up right next to the boats. It's amazing. AND - chances are you'll also get to see bears roaming on the shore looking for food and bald eagles everywhere. They're like big crows out there, just all over the place. You're in for a real treat if you're a nature lover.
Road to Denali is out and will be for a while. Just a FYI.Did Inside Passage from Vancouver to Seward/Anchorage. Stopped in all the tourist towns. Biggest regrets:
1. Not adding an excursion to Denali
2. Going out of Vancouver heading north instead of Seward/Anchorage south. I probably wouldn’t care so much if I didn’t live in Tampa, but that’s a helluva lot of air travel. Would have preferred to cut out a few hours on the way back.
When I did mine with HAL, I flew into Fairbanks. It was a shorter drive from Fairbanks to Denali (that is about 2-1/2 hours). Then they drove from Denali down to the port in Seward.That said, there's a big downside to Denali. In order to get there, we took an 8 hour train ride from Anchorage to Denali. That took up the whole day. Then, to get into Denali, you sit on a bus all day that takes 4 hours driving in and 4 hours driving back. Then, since we were flying out of Anchorage, you take another 8 hour train ride back to Anchorage. So, the 3 days is 3 days of sitting, and, while you see some amazing stuff, it's a long time of traveling and not getting to get up and move around much. So I'm always hesitant to recommend it. And I don't think there's a better way to minimize that, but I just don't know.