Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.
Alaskan Cruise: Who's Been On A Good One? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter chet
- Start date
John Bender
Footballguy
Probably my next vacation
cstu
Footballguy
So a young man could really clean up.I was doing some research on an L.A. or Seattle to Alaska cruise, I was told only old people do the Alaskan cruise.
comfortably numb
Footballguy
Thinking of buying the fleet or just the ship that sails to Alaska?
The Dreaded Marco
Footballguy
I'd highly recommend this company.
My wife and I along with our two daughters (9 and 5 at the time) spent a week on this cruise line (it was called Glacier Bay Cruise Line at that time). It's a much smaller ship, carrying only 60-70 passengers. They're able to get into much smaller areas than the huge liners and you can kayak right off the back of the ship. It's not fancy but that's not what we were looking for. We were on one of family based cruises but I think most of them cater to adults only. We were in AK for 3 weeks and this was probably our highlight of the trip.
Here's their website: Alaska Dream Cruises
My wife and I along with our two daughters (9 and 5 at the time) spent a week on this cruise line (it was called Glacier Bay Cruise Line at that time). It's a much smaller ship, carrying only 60-70 passengers. They're able to get into much smaller areas than the huge liners and you can kayak right off the back of the ship. It's not fancy but that's not what we were looking for. We were on one of family based cruises but I think most of them cater to adults only. We were in AK for 3 weeks and this was probably our highlight of the trip.
Here's their website: Alaska Dream Cruises
Last edited by a moderator:
Don Quixote
Footballguy
I did a Holland America cruise this summer. I did a land cruise tour with them. Started up in Fairbanks, with a stop in Denali before heading down to Seward. Then sailed to Vancouver from there.
Don't think they were the best with the land part, but cruise was great. Depends on what you are looking for though. We liked that the ship was smaller than many of its competitors. Not as much of a party ship as some of the other cruise lines, but we weren't really looking for that kind of scene, since it was mostly about seeing the scenery for us.
My best tip is to get a room with a verandah. There are excursions almost every day that you will want to take advantage of, so you won't be on the ship during the day that much, but it was pretty cool sitting on the verandah with a beer while looking for humpbacks in the Inside Passage or looking at the coastline as you sail at night.
Don't think they were the best with the land part, but cruise was great. Depends on what you are looking for though. We liked that the ship was smaller than many of its competitors. Not as much of a party ship as some of the other cruise lines, but we weren't really looking for that kind of scene, since it was mostly about seeing the scenery for us.
My best tip is to get a room with a verandah. There are excursions almost every day that you will want to take advantage of, so you won't be on the ship during the day that much, but it was pretty cool sitting on the verandah with a beer while looking for humpbacks in the Inside Passage or looking at the coastline as you sail at night.
Gator Shawn
Footballguy
We just got back from a cruise on Saturday. Not Alaska, but I am done with Carribean "every port is the same" cruises. I need to do a destination cruise next time. Something like Bermuda or Alaska. Bookmarking this thread.
John Bender
Footballguy
I've done Russia/Scandinavia and a Transatlantic in recent years. Feel free to ask when ready. Best times ever on both of them
General Malaise
Footballguy
Hope you like hearing about tanzanite
Mr. Ected
Footballguy
I did a cruise a couple years ago in Hawaii, where we did a tour around the different islands. We had a veranda, and it was nice to be able to sit out there as we were traveling around the islands.
Don Quixote
Footballguy
I'll fill in a bit with my itinerary here...
Day 1 - Fairbanks. Walked around "downtown" in the morning, and went to the Fairbanks Ice Museum, with some cheesy ice sculptures. Not terribly exciting, but killed some time. Went on a tour to "Gold Dredge No. 8" later in the day which was pretty fun -- got to pan for gold (which they let you take home), and learned a bit about the Alaskan/Yukon gold rush.
Day 2 - Denali National Park. We were signed up to do a glacier landing by Denali/Mt. McKinley, but it got cancelled due to weather. They unfortunately did not cancel until the last minute, and it was too late to sign up for any other park excursions that day. The best we could do was take a free park shuttle which took us about 20 miles into the park; saw some moose, but that's about it. We went that evening to the Husky Homestead of former Iditarod champion Jeff King, which was pretty fun. Got to pet some puppies, and Jeff King gave a bit of a talk about running the Iditarod.
Day 3 - Drive to Seward. Pretty drive through Alaska. Stopped in Wasilla for lunch and tried looking for Russia. The drive from Anchorage to Seward is pretty spectacular along the Turnagain Arm.
Day 4 - Cruising. Not much to see here; couldn't even see the coast really. Got acquainted with the ship and went to a show/program or two, and had some Alaskan Brewing beer.
Day 5 - Glacier Bay National Park. Spent the whole day in the park. Saw some humpbacks as we were entering the park. Park rangers came on board the ship to narrate as we were sailing. Lots of opportunities to see the glaciers in the park. Forgot to wear sunscreen, and my pale redhead self proved that it's possible to get severe sunburn while looking at glaciers.
Day 6 - Haines. Holland America is supposedly the only cruise line that stops in Haines because the other ships are too big (they stop in Skagway a bit further north). Took a tour down to the Davidson Glacier, where you canoe and walk up to a glacier; so, you can say that you touched a glacier. We also went to the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines and got to see a feeding of some bald eagles. Lots of bald eagles around Haines; as it is also home to a bald eagle preserve.
Day 7 - Juneau. Took an excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord. Saw some orcas from the boat. Some others on our cruise who did the whale sightseeing excursion were jealous when we told them that (not necessary to do a special whale excursion if you know where to look in Alaska). The fjord is spectacular. Not as popular as the Mendenhall Glacier (which we did not see), but worth the trip and think we made the right choice. Lots of calving. Had a little bit of extra time and walked around downtown to see the legislative building and the governor's mansion.
Day 8 - Ketchikan. Walked around a bit to see the totem poles in the downtown area, and walked along the creek. Took a bear sightseeing excursion, and saw some bears in the wild. Some bald eagles too.
Day 9 - Inside passage cruising. Saw some humpbacks from the ship. Otherwise, just cruising, hanging out on the verandah, and enjoying some more Alaskan Brewing beers.
Day 10 - Vancouver. Cruise ended in Vancouver. Did a 4 hour tour of Vancouver, spent some time in Stanley Park and went to the top of the lookout.
Day 11 - Victoria. Did a day trip from Vancouver to Victoria and back. Had a couple of hours in downtown Victoria to walk around and see some of the sights, then we went to Butchart Gardens and spent a couple of hours before heading back.
Also, I bought this book which I brought with me: http://www.amazon.com/Alaska-Cruise-Handbook-Mile---Mile/dp/0979491576/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1449256012&sr=8-4&keywords=alaska+cruise Has a handy map that you can pull out and identifies things to see as you cruise, including best places to see whales.
Day 1 - Fairbanks. Walked around "downtown" in the morning, and went to the Fairbanks Ice Museum, with some cheesy ice sculptures. Not terribly exciting, but killed some time. Went on a tour to "Gold Dredge No. 8" later in the day which was pretty fun -- got to pan for gold (which they let you take home), and learned a bit about the Alaskan/Yukon gold rush.
Day 2 - Denali National Park. We were signed up to do a glacier landing by Denali/Mt. McKinley, but it got cancelled due to weather. They unfortunately did not cancel until the last minute, and it was too late to sign up for any other park excursions that day. The best we could do was take a free park shuttle which took us about 20 miles into the park; saw some moose, but that's about it. We went that evening to the Husky Homestead of former Iditarod champion Jeff King, which was pretty fun. Got to pet some puppies, and Jeff King gave a bit of a talk about running the Iditarod.
Day 3 - Drive to Seward. Pretty drive through Alaska. Stopped in Wasilla for lunch and tried looking for Russia. The drive from Anchorage to Seward is pretty spectacular along the Turnagain Arm.
Day 4 - Cruising. Not much to see here; couldn't even see the coast really. Got acquainted with the ship and went to a show/program or two, and had some Alaskan Brewing beer.
Day 5 - Glacier Bay National Park. Spent the whole day in the park. Saw some humpbacks as we were entering the park. Park rangers came on board the ship to narrate as we were sailing. Lots of opportunities to see the glaciers in the park. Forgot to wear sunscreen, and my pale redhead self proved that it's possible to get severe sunburn while looking at glaciers.
Day 6 - Haines. Holland America is supposedly the only cruise line that stops in Haines because the other ships are too big (they stop in Skagway a bit further north). Took a tour down to the Davidson Glacier, where you canoe and walk up to a glacier; so, you can say that you touched a glacier. We also went to the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines and got to see a feeding of some bald eagles. Lots of bald eagles around Haines; as it is also home to a bald eagle preserve.
Day 7 - Juneau. Took an excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord. Saw some orcas from the boat. Some others on our cruise who did the whale sightseeing excursion were jealous when we told them that (not necessary to do a special whale excursion if you know where to look in Alaska). The fjord is spectacular. Not as popular as the Mendenhall Glacier (which we did not see), but worth the trip and think we made the right choice. Lots of calving. Had a little bit of extra time and walked around downtown to see the legislative building and the governor's mansion.
Day 8 - Ketchikan. Walked around a bit to see the totem poles in the downtown area, and walked along the creek. Took a bear sightseeing excursion, and saw some bears in the wild. Some bald eagles too.
Day 9 - Inside passage cruising. Saw some humpbacks from the ship. Otherwise, just cruising, hanging out on the verandah, and enjoying some more Alaskan Brewing beers.
Day 10 - Vancouver. Cruise ended in Vancouver. Did a 4 hour tour of Vancouver, spent some time in Stanley Park and went to the top of the lookout.
Day 11 - Victoria. Did a day trip from Vancouver to Victoria and back. Had a couple of hours in downtown Victoria to walk around and see some of the sights, then we went to Butchart Gardens and spent a couple of hours before heading back.
Also, I bought this book which I brought with me: http://www.amazon.com/Alaska-Cruise-Handbook-Mile---Mile/dp/0979491576/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1449256012&sr=8-4&keywords=alaska+cruise Has a handy map that you can pull out and identifies things to see as you cruise, including best places to see whales.
Last edited by a moderator:
IC FBGCav
Footballguy
Gator Shawn
Footballguy
John Bender
Footballguy
Spin
Footballguy
Did a 7 day cruise on Princess Cruise line that left out of Seattle. I was 21 at the time and went with my buddy and his family. His family always took me along on family vacations, I was their adopted son pretty much.
I remember it being a blast. It was also my first cruise so I was pretty awe-struck the whole time. My wife really wants to go, we've done 3 Caribbean cruises together, but I remember the Alaskan one a lot more. Seeing the blue glaciers was pretty badass.
I remember it being a blast. It was also my first cruise so I was pretty awe-struck the whole time. My wife really wants to go, we've done 3 Caribbean cruises together, but I remember the Alaskan one a lot more. Seeing the blue glaciers was pretty badass.
Don Quixote
Footballguy
This is the tour that we did, which has some pricing. Ballpark: I think all-in, it was around $9k for my wife and I. About $5k for the cruise, $1.5k for the cruise excursions (excluding the cancelled glacier landing), $2k for the flights from/to DC, and then some additional costs for the add-ons that we did before and after in Fairbanks and Vancouver/Victoria.
ETA: Checked, and I understated price of the cruise initially.
Last edited by a moderator:
The Dreaded Marco
Footballguy
I've never taken a cruise on anything larger that this ship so I'm not sure how big the sleeping rooms tend to be. These rooms were fairly small but very clean and comfortable. I think all the rooms face the water with no interior rooms. They all had windows that opened onto the water but given the smaller size of the ship I don't remember any balconies.
The food was great. Again, nothing fancy, but very good home-style cooking. There was no dressing up for dinner--all casual. There was a bar that opened in the late afternoon and remained open throughout dinner and the rest of the evening. They scheduled nightly lectures given by the park rangers discussing some aspect of that day's activities. It really was a fantastic experience for our family.
gianmarco
Footballguy
The Dreaded Marco
Footballguy
We did this cruise 10 years ago and it was a different company owner at that time, so yeah, things may have changed significantly since then. Back then it was only slightly more per person than a cruise on the larger ships and was well worth the extra money. That may no longer be the case.
gianmarco
Footballguy
Looks like the cheapest (shortest cruise and smallest room) is about $3400/person. Looking at the larger cruise lines, I can take all 3 of us for less than that (most are under $1k/person). I would say things have definitely changed and would really make this option difficult to consider.
That one guy
Footballguy
Wife and I did a round trip Alaskan cruise that sailed from Seattle for our honeymoon 4 years ago on Princess...if I had the money it'd be a yearly thing, had so much fun! Can't even describe the beauty of the scenery properly, needs to be seen first hand. Spend the extra $ and get a balcony room, very much worth the expense to be able to get up each morning and take in the sights on your own with a nice cup of coffee, especially when cruising the fjords
Similar threads
