Details
So you want all the details, or maybe you want to go yourself?
Here is what you may want to know.
1. The Trip Route. The Cruise is in blue, the Train and Bus rides in Tan
2. How far would the Trip be if this was on the East Coast?
3. How Big is Alaska relative to the US?
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Cost
Of course who cares about a trip if it's to expensive. Thankfully given the new larger ships and the economy it's never been cheaper. Four to five years ago an interior room for a seven day cruise would have cost you $3500 a person. Now if you go the first 4 weeks or the last 4 weeks of the season you can get the seven day cruise plus the five day land package, plus an upgrade to a room with a balcony for $2,000 a person. This does not include your airfare to Seattle or alcohol, but that’s significantly cheaper than it used to be.
Important. If you make a free princes account on the web page and log in, the room rates will drop almost $400 a person. Strange but true.
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General Notes
Alaska is cold wet and rainy. Ignore any comments and pictures to contrary. We talked too many locals and every time we were told these were the most common condition. Yes you will have some sunnier and warmer days, but expect that at least half will be cloudily rainy and/or overcast. The cruise 3 weeks before our had 7 days of sunshine the cruise the week after that 7 days of rain. The Average high temperature for us was 60 but the cruise two weeks after was 70.
Interpret average temperatures differently. If the average says a low of 40 and a high of 65 assume it will be 50 in the morning when you start your tour or have a scenic viewing.
Bring a light coat, light gloves, and light hat, you may need them even in summer
Bring a rain jacket and expect to use it.
Sometimes you will be in the shade and wind so think cold. 65 in bright sunny weather can be warm, but 65 in the shade with some sea mist and a strong wind is cold.
Balconies are worth the money as there are 2 days of glacier viewing from your room and a couple days with the land close enough to watch.
Don’t expect to be able to use the internet. They wanted $1 a minute for connections. So pint out any information before you go about what good places to eat or things to do at each stop.
You can have a very active vacation if you want. We found plenty of places to hike and walk at every stop. The final tally was 4990’ feet of hiked elevation for the trip.
All Three cites are tourist dives, shopping and more shopping. If you only walk off the boat and stop in the first area you come to this is all you will see.
Late dinner would get you more time in port but no sunsets
The Spa onboard has a shower area anyone can use. Its far larger than the shower in your room and no one goes there.
If you are on the northbound cruise, get a cabin in the left side of the ship. You will be first to see the glaciers on the glacier days.
Print and bring some maps. Collage fords are and the train ride will be more interesting is you know what you are seeing. They provide NPS maps for glacier bay which are good.
I bought and recommend the cruise travel book they sell on ship. The map was great.
Bring 2 books not just one. You will have plenty of spare time during various transits.
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Friday, 7th, Plane to Seattle
The Dullus Airport in Maryland has good food at Vino Volo in Terminal
Unlike southwest our airline had standard headphone connections in the seats so you could listen to music during your flight.
Don’t be afraid to both get isle seats and sit across from each other.
Stayed at double tree motel, good at $100 very near airport
Walked to Gregory’s for dinner. Good food, slow service
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Saturday the 8th, Seattle to Vancouver
You will have no problem waking up early due the time difference
Buses from the Seattle airport, need to change the note from "be at the airport by 10" to "buses leave from 8am to 11am" so get there early and you leave early and get to the ship early.
Walked to Denny’s across the street, 1/2 the price of eating in the hotel
4 hr buss ride to Vancouver was not bad and the driver kept up a good talk for entertainment
Saw the welcome aboard show. Its worth it as you get a preview of the dance and comedian and can see if either appeals to you.
There were very few people at the bars and elsewhere on the ship after dinner. Most of the people were tire from traveling all day. We were glad we had gotten to Seattle a day early.
Had to take some medicine because of the rocking of the ship even though it was slight. After the first night I did not have any issues. The ship has Dramamine if you have issues, but we tried Merizine which is over the counter and worked better for us.
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9 Sunday, Day at Sea
We did not bring nice clothes for the formal nights. Unfortunately the formal nights are on your ‘days at sea’ which are the nights you want to go to the main dinning room. Ater not going to the first formal evening our waiter told us that even though we did not have formal cloths that we should show up for the second formal night and no one would care as long was we had long pants. We did, we went and I’m glad we did. There were a few men without suit coats so I did not stand out entirely. When we cruise again I will probably pack a dark long sleve dress shirt and dark pants for formal night. And I would think women could get away with a blouse and slacks.
Saw the comedian, not bad
Best picture I didn’t get, at 9:00pm the sun was downish by 30 min and the clouds were very heavy all of the sky took on a bluish tint and we passed a lighthouse on the coast. Super cool, but I don’t know if a picture was even possible as the light was low and we were moving fast.
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10 Monday, Ketchean
Deer Mountain Trail Hike
58 degrees and raining, no visibility
We stopped hiking at the 1 mile marker due rain and no view. On the trail we saw a total of 10 people the entire hike. There were 3 cruise ships in port and probably 4-5 thousand tourists on the cruise ships. We took a taxi to trail head and recommend it. We got his card with his number on it and called him 15min before we got to the end. Brutal hike because the rain soaked through our wind breakers. I would not recommend hike if the weather is not clear. I would try a different hike through the rain forest area as there is no reason to climb the elevation if there is no view from the top. I think there are some rain forest hikes that do not climb elevation. If it was clear I would recommend but you really want waterproof and not water resistant clothing in these areas. It was fine temperature wise with short sleeve and windbreaker with long hike pants until wet. Emergency ponchos are great for warmth if you get soaked.
Dried off and went to the town for shopping after the hike. Did not make it to the historical section as it was a long walk from the boat and still raining hard.
You can buy a coat cheap in Ketchikan, we bought $15 rain suits in case we had rain again and used them the rest of the trip all the time.
I'm unsure what trip to recommend. There are no views hiking if it rains but the forest is neat if you can find a flatter hike and have the rain gear. I talked to someone on canoe trip and it was rough for them due the rain. You would not want to bike. I would not recommend pre booking the misty fords flight because the weather is poor so much of the time.
I have not talked to anyone that can remember anything about the historic down town which makes me think there is nothing memorable about it.
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11 Tuesday, Juneau
58 degrees, cloudy but cleared in the later afternoon to partly cloudy
Saw 3 bald eagles from the boat while docked
Mendenhall Glacier
8 of 10, would be a 9 or 10 if it was sunny instead of heavy clouds. It didn’t rain. In the nature walk area they had a couple small brown bears eating salmon but it was very crowded with everyone trying to see the bear. You could get within about 20 ft.
The best trail is unlisted, and it’s the hike to Nugget Falls. They are working on an "official" trail, but if the tide is right try walking along the beach area for best views. You can get close enough to the falls to touch, and the view of the glacier is about twice as close as the view from the photo point trail.
Some reviews had talked about getting to the glacier from the east trail but I don’t see how that is possible.
If you had the chance I'd try the west trail. The scramble down from the trail to the Glacier there looked doable.
Mount Roberts Trail
OMG, must do if good weather. This is an incredibly under rated hike. We talked to a couple people that hiked up from the ship to the top of the Tram and they did not recommend it. We took the Tram and then started hiking from there and it was great. We did not find anyone who had hiked further than Gold Ridge.
We walked to the Tram from the cruise ship. From there it was a 1.5 mile hike to the gold ridge. This took us 3 hrs with a couple stops to get to the top and 1.5 hrs to get back down. The view from the ridge itself is incredible. Not for small children, but much exposure so good if you have a fear of heights. A trip highlight.
Another option would be a whale watching, We talked to someone that had done the trip and enjoyed it greatly. Juneau seems to have 3 great options and only 1 day so you are going to be busy. Start early.
Mom and Dad took the combination rainforest and glacier tour. All they remember about the rain forest tour was the passenger vehicle of the tour. We saw other people that took this tour and they do not seem to give you enough time to walk out to the glacier waterfall. Not recommended .
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12 Wednesday, Skagway
58 degrees and partly cloudy to scattered sunlight
White Pass Rail, scenic view from a train car. The views from the train were very nice. It is not a good place for photos. The glare from inside the cars is bad and the small outside platform on every car were not that big so you had to fight for space. If you go dress warm, due the wind from moving most people will get cold after the first 20 min or so and you will have it for yourself. Else wait and get your pictures on the down trip. If you are outside you miss all the commentary so stay inside one direction or you will miss a lot.
If we went again, I would look for a bus tour as they see much of the same area, but they stop at scenic overlooks for pictures. You would miss some of the upper alpine scenery so I guess there is not perfect solution. It would be super cool to hike the upper section of the trail say 3 miles from White Pass, but I'm not sure how you would do this.
We walked to town after the train. Just shopping was all we saw. To tired for the lower deer mountain trail that had been recommended
Mom and Dad did the Good time girls tour and they had fun.
Great views just as we entered the ocean past the lighthouse. There are some mountains that would make an incredible picture if the weather was clear.
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13 Thursday, Glacier Bay
Incredible. The weather cleared up and view of the Glaciers was incredible.
Left side of the ship was the good side, we were the only side with a view for the 1st glacier. At the second (main) glacier one side of the ship viewed for 30min and then they rotated the ship 180 degrees and the other side viewed for 30min. After the ship turned we went to the top deck for another vantage point.
Entering and Leaving glacier Bay were great times to look for whales and sea otters.
Saw 9-12 whales at various distances, Louise saw some orca, and lots of sea otters.
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14 Friday, College Ford
Weather was cold, rainy and foggy. The fog did break a little.
Left ship of ship had the glaciers from the balcony on the way in.
The glaciers were more complex but smaller, very neat
It was annoying that the early dinner was between 5:45-7:00 which was right during the glacier viewing.
Lots and Lots of sea lions near the glacier.
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15 Saturday, Train Ride to Denali
Some trains have a GPS map, ask where it is and take a look.
They have a booklet about the train ride, buy it if you like more information.
The weather was foggy and rainy, low visibility. You could not see the tops of any mountains. On the bus ride day we say what we missed, it could have been incredible.
Docked at Whittier. We walked to the Train directly from the ship, nice setup.
Food and drinks were very good on the train.
Princess Dome cars are great but it would have been nice to take a couple maps.
We ate the pizza place, not bad
I would suggest the Denali Dinner theater. My parents went and enjoyed it. It would be hard to go on any other tours given the late time of arrival.
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16 Sunday, Denali Lodge
The Cleaning like to throw everything away and expect you will not be staying the night. Don’t leave anything around they might mistake for trash.
6:20am Morning Tundra Wilderness Tour, 8 to 9 hours long, with a very small lunch included, think snack. The Standard Tour is only 5hrs and that includes a movie, don’t bother. Princes will upgrade you from the included tour but it is unlisted and you have to ask Absolutely do this as the quick tour only makes it to the first park overlook and there is almost no wildlife in that section.
The Bus ride was geared towards people who wanted to see wildlife. Drivers stop for any sightings of bears, caribou, sheep, and eagles. On the down side they did not stop except once for scenic photos. I wish they had a tour geared towards landscape photos.
The early tour had great lighting for photos.
King Salmon Restaurant. There are two types of salmon and one that is much better than the other. Ask before ordering to get the correct one. The early bird special is not the premium salmon and is not a deal
Get your coffee before 8pm or you may not get it.
Parents did the short bus tour and did not recommend it.
Parents did the wagon ride. It was an ok ride but had good dinner afterwards
Dad did the golf and enjoyed it and said he would go again. He did mention the course was not well maintained and the fairways had a rough green.
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17 Monday, Denali Lodge / McKinley Lodge
Woke up at 6:30am
I hiked the mount Healy overlook hike by myself since Louise was tired. I would not recommend this hike if you had other options as the view is of the valley with the highway and or rail station. It took 1 hr to clear the trees and 30min more to the overlook without stops and hiking fast. From there you could hike to the top if you had time and this would be cool. Given the shear number of other hikes and views there are better choices if you have time. Don’t bother if you have 3 hrs or less. If you have 5 you could do part of the ridge which would be cool, but the other ridges block any good views into the park interior as far as I got which was 15min up from the overlook so I’m unsure what your views would be.
You really need two full days to see things. By default Princess does not offer a trip with this option but I wonder if you can buy another night at the hotel if you ask.
We asked for a late check out because we were not leaving till 2:00pm. We were told yes, then they forgot and started cleaning our room while we were out without warning. Another poster online mentioned the same issue so be aware.
There are showers in the changing rooms near the hot tubs if you get kicked out of your room and want a shower before the bus ride to McKinley
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Mt McKinley Lodge
Got to the McKinley lodge and the top 1/4 of the Mt was visible through the clouds for about15 minutes. Heard from other guests it had been clouded in for the last 2 weeks before that. This was our first and only glimpse. After this even the close Mt range would not be visible. Everything you read mentions that the Mt is visible 1 day in 4 so you know your chances are not very good to start with. What is not obvious is that this is really just an average over the whole summer. So in May there was a week where the Mt was visible every day, and for the next 2 weeks straight there was nothing. There are three pars of the Mt system here. The close and relatively shorter range, the Main range, and Mt McKinley. I also had the idea that when they said the mountain created it's own weather it meant that just the Mt was clouded over. What they mean is the entire Mt range creates its own weather and the entire range is clouded over and nothing is visible. We were not even able to see the close range other than the first day and the main range clouded over every day.
The lodge rooms were significantly larger and nicer than the Denali rooms. Unlike the Denali rooms which were done on the Motel style (doors to each room on the outside), these rooms were done on a hotel style with 18-20 1 and story buildings with about 300 rooms total. Heard from someone it was built this way to spread the lodge out due the fact they are not on a public sewer or water system.
As a side not, the hotel style is much nicer as it allows you to have your window and blinds open without people walking by, and light up here is at a premium with all the rain and clouds. These rooms also had better (brighter) lighting in general than the Denali rooms with nicer bathrooms. Still no coffee makers in the room but the lodge had a bar open late so there were no issues.
They are the ONLY place around to eat, unless you want to take the1 hour bus to Talkenana, but it was not an issue as they have 4 restaurants on site. We ate at the 20320 restaurant for Burgers and fish and chips and thought it was great. There is also a view of Mt from the seats so if it does clear you can see it.
Princess lists 5 hiking trails around the property, 3 of which are just walks along the roadway. The hill trial is a walking path but nothing grand. It will get you out and walking and some exercise but nothing of note. If for some reason they mountain is visible for a couple hours and you want to get away from the crowds in the lodge there are some overlooks on this trail that would be nice.
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18 Tuesday, McKinley Lodge
K2 Aviation flight in Talketna. It was totally rain and fogged out, so there was no flight. After talking to a lot of people my best guess is that the flights are grounded almost half of the time.
I would be hard pressed to think of something to recommend tour wise at this stop. If you try and do the flight tour and it's bad weather you have missed the opportunity for other options. I would suggest looking at the river float from the Lodge to Talkena, or the Devils canyon river boat if you go as both of these would be fun rain or shine.
Talketna was a waste of time. 1 hr bus ride to a town with a couple bars and 15-20 shops. The town closes down except for a bar and a roadhouse every winter. For the first time this trip we met the infamous Alaskan mosquito, they were in clouds down here. We did eat breakfast in at the Roadhouse and it was good.
The main activity at this Lodge is in the evening and it is going to the main lodge to sit and talk and play cards etc. They also have wireless internet in the great room so I recommend it.
There are some free talks during the day from the Rangers if you are interested. The parents saw one about Alaska and WWII that they found interesting. We also saw a show about the Aurora that was interesting.
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19 Wednesday, McKinley and Bus to Anchorage and Flight to Seattle
The View outside the left side of the plane from Anchorage to Seattle was incredible.