# Alaskan Cruise in the works...



## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

and i have zero idea on where to start, other than the Mrs and i are curious what our options are for this. The plan is to celebrate our 25th wedding aniversary, the cruise being our gift to each other. After chatting with her for a short while last night, we both have decided we'd like to plan something that we can visit Denali NP mid way through the cruise if possible...

A little advice from those of you that have done this would be appreciated. 

Thank you...


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

Princess Cruise lines have a land and sea cruise. Princess is the vendor for the Danali park.

My wife and I did the inside passage for 8 days in July, It was great, we did a tour at every port, we booked them through the cruise line, it is cheaper to do them yourself but if you go through the cruise line and there is a problem they will wait for you.


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## Mr Muleskinner (Feb 14, 2012)

bowgy said:


> Princess Cruise lines have a land and sea cruise. Princess is the vendor for the Danali park.
> 
> My wife and I did the inside passage for 8 days in July, It was great, we did a tour at every port, we booked them through the cruise line, it is cheaper to do them yourself *but if you go through the cruise line and there is a problem they will wait for you.*


I have see this come to fruition more than once. Book through the cruise. Also if you do book through the cruise and the port excursion even gets you back on time but otherwise was disaster there is a chance that you can get refunded through the cruise or at least receive vouchers.

We were stranded on a boat in the Caribbean on a Christmas Day site seeing trip. The motor failed and they didn't have enough life jackets on the boat and ran out of water after three hours. We were adrift on the boat for 10 hours. The cruise ship waited for us and did their best to make up for it once we were all safe and secure.


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## izzydog (Jan 18, 2008)

Cruising is awesome! Cruising on Princess is awesomer! For something as important as that anniversary, go with Princess.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

Here is their website. http://www.princess.com/


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

Oh... one more thing, for the Alaskan cruise it is worth it for the balcony upgrade. we spent a lot of time on the balcony. I would recommend starboard side. Of course that was for the Inside Passage, not the Danali.


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

8) Thanks folks! 

In the meentime, if there's anything else anybody would like to add, fire away!


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

I did the passage two Junes ago, it was great. WE were told to not upgrade as the excursions are money better spent, I would agree. Just get up in the one front room for the big Fjords portion, otherwise you can even just see the scenery from teh main cafeteria. We went with Celebrity, only cruise I have been on, so I cant compare it to anything but it was awesome. The weather was 99% cloudy 99% of teh time, so plenty cool. We did a little fishing excursion in Ketchikan, which was fair, but being on the little boat seeing the eagles and deer was cool. We rented a car in Skagway to drive into the YT that was pretty neat and very affordable split between three couples. The train looked pretty cool too, saw some bears up there, Emerald Lake was very cool. 
All of the excursion vendors will tell you that they are more reliable than the cruise vendors as their entire existence depends upon getting you back to the cruise ship, but Mule's story would likely have been very different had that not been a contracted vendor I am sure.


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## Gumbo (Sep 22, 2007)

Just make sure you see this.


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

Princess Cruises hands down!

We traveled through Denali but it was not an organized event with a group, it was in a Ford Taurus rental car and was AWESOME!

If you go in late June or July you should have good weather, save a little rain at times. Be prepared for mosquitos anytime you step into the woods and above all else, enjoy yourself!


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## scott_rn (Sep 11, 2007)

I'd plan a flight. K2 aviation flies from talkeetna, they'll fly you around Denali and land on the Glacier for an extra fee. Flying around the chugach mountains is amazing too. I'd say flying in the mountains is the coolest thing I've done in 5 years in Alaska. 

If you have lunch or dinner in Anchorage, eat at moose's tooth pizza. 

Besides the park, what do you want to do or see? There's fishing, hiking, rafting, gold prospecting, atv tours, jet boat tours, etc. We usually float the Kenai or Portage River with utahns. Girdwood is cool too.


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## scott_rn (Sep 11, 2007)

I'd plan a flight. K2 aviation flies from talkeetna, they'll fly you around Denali and land on the Glacier for an extra fee. Flying around the chugach mountains is amazing too. I'd say flying in the mountains is the coolest thing I've done in 5 years in Alaska. 

If you have lunch or dinner in Anchorage, eat at moose's tooth pizza. 

Besides the park, what do you want to do or see? There's fishing, hiking, rafting, gold prospecting, atv tours, jet boat tours, etc. We usually float the Kenai or Portage River with utahns. Girdwood is cool too.


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

Thanks for all the info...

Scott, not crystal clear on the activities per say... purely planning at this point. Activities would depend on what Cruise line we book with i assume. One thing she has mentioned so far is wanting to see the tundra/caribou while in Denali. Flying the range sounds incredible... She does like to fish and run the ATV's around here, so those might could be viable options.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

Here's a link to check out. Land and Sea cruises.
http://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/cruisetour-options/


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## scott_rn (Sep 11, 2007)

If you end up with an extra day and I'm available I'll take you for a float somewhere between the Kenai and the chulitna.

This was our fourth of July 3 day float with three families. 


Instead of doing the land cruise, you could think about driving a big loop. Anchorage, Denali, paxson, Valdez, then ferry back to Anchorage. That would take roughly a week, you'd see some amazing stuff off the beaten path.


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

Thats a wonderful offer Scott! 8)

Ill be intouch with you as this evolves...

Thank you.


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

Huge29 said:


> I did the passage two Junes ago, it was great. WE were told to not upgrade as the excursions are money better spent, I would agree. Just get up in the one front room for the big Fjords portion, otherwise you can even just see the scenery from teh main cafeteria. We went with Celebrity, only cruise I have been on, so I cant compare it to anything but it was awesome. The weather was 99% cloudy 99% of teh time, so plenty cool. We did a little fishing excursion in Ketchikan, which was fair, but being on the little boat seeing the eagles and deer was cool. We rented a car in Skagway to drive into the YT that was pretty neat and very affordable split between three couples. The train looked pretty cool too, saw some bears up there, Emerald Lake was very cool.
> All of the excursion vendors will tell you that they are more reliable than the cruise vendors as their entire existence depends upon getting you back to the cruise ship, but Mule's story would likely have been very different had that not been a contracted vendor I am sure.


As of about two weeks ago, our cruise (along with two other couples) has been booked through Princess on their boat the EMERALD Princess. Early Aug, Tracey Arm Fjord. My wife and I are really debating an upgrade to a balcony, pro's being private views, con's not socializing as much with our group but they are a fun few people to be with, pro's more cashola for excursions sooo the debate continues... We're likely to just book excursions when we get there rather than through the line. Pro's con's to that? Are they cheaper that way? Do they sell out potentially otherwise? One im really eyeballing is the helo flight to/on Hubbard Glacier. Sounds and looks INCREDIBLE!

Anyway, thoughts gents?


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

I just dont think that you are going to create any lasting memories in your balcony...compared to the excursions. Having just gotten back to Alaska for solely fishing in 2015 the coolest part of the whole trip was teh float plane ride. They offer those at every port if I remember correctly. I think you would enjoy that way more than the balcony room personally. Have fun!


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Huge29 said:


> I just dont think that you are going to create any lasting memories in your balcony...compared to the excursions. Having just gotten back to Alaska for solely fishing in 2015 the coolest part of the whole trip was teh float plane ride. They offer those at every port if I remember correctly. I think you would enjoy that way more than the balcony room personally. Have fun!


I dunno.... You can make some very incredible memories with such a private setting and, uhh, stimulating background....


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

Lol! ... Parallel thoughts to mine. 



* Thanks for all the input that everyone provided, we're really looking forward to this!


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

Flight around Denali and the glaciers is pretty cool if you get a clear day.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

Longgun said:


> As of about two weeks ago, our cruise (along with two other couples) has been booked through Princess on their boat the EMERALD Princess. Early Aug, Tracey Arm Fjord. *My wife and I are really debating an upgrade to a balcony, pro's being private views, con's not socializing as much with our group but they are a fun few people to be with*, pro's more cashola for excursions sooo the debate continues... We're likely to just book excursions when we get there rather than through the line. Pro's con's to that? Are they cheaper that way? Do they sell out potentially otherwise? One im really eyeballing is the helo flight to/on Hubbard Glacier. Sounds and looks INCREDIBLE!
> 
> Anyway, thoughts gents?


We did the balcony and loved it, I am sure that if I didn't get the balcony we would of spent more time topside. I think that your group may visit you a lot if you had the balcony.

We would order room service for breakfast and eat on the balcony which was enjoyable. Sometimes I would wake in the middle of the night and would just walk out on the balcony and enjoy the night sky, or see other ships passing with all their lights on, It was fun to take pictures as we pulled in to port, we saw a lot of sea creatures such as whales and dolphins. It was also nice to be able to just step outside when you wanted some scenery or just some fresh air without having to take a hike.

I would definitely pay the extra money again. But you can spend all the time topside and just sleep in your room too.

Either way I think that you will have a great time.

Oh just a reminder on the tours, as had been stated, if you book through the cruise line they will wait for you if problems arise, otherwise you will be left and have to pay to get to the next stop to get back on the cruise.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

I can't imagine a more beautiful sight than that gdog.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

Just a few pics from the balcony


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

longbow said:


> I can't imagine a more beautiful sight than that gdog.


Yes, if you have never taken a float plane trip in Alaska, it is well worth it.

Here is the new lava dome on Mt Redoubt a year after it last erupted. (Pay no attention to the picture date. I always forget to reset the date and time on my camera)


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

I've shuttled goods, hunters, vehicles, through the inner passage several times on the ferry. It was absolutely stunning! I can't imagine how awesome it would be on a cruise ship.
I remember sitting at Ray's Waterfront diner in Seward when a cruise ship pulled in. I couldn't believe how huge it was! I counted 13 stories from sea level up to the nudie deck.
Post pictures!


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

longbow said:


> I've shuttled goods, hunters, vehicles, through the inner passage several times on the ferry. It was absolutely stunning! I can't imagine how awesome it would be on a cruise ship.
> I remember sitting at Ray's Waterfront diner in Seward when a cruise ship pulled in. I couldn't believe how huge it was! I counted 13 stories from sea level up to the nudie deck.
> Post pictures!


Reminded me of a good point, if you do go with balcony get it on one of the upper levels, look at the ship lay out and don't get one near the lifeboats. I think we were on deck 12 or 13.

Whoops they don't have a 13 we were on the lido deck 14. Here is a link to our room type.
http://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=AP
Where is shows deck 7 Promenade, click on that, select Lido 14, then select balcony and I think we were in L243 or L247, click on one of those and it will show a pick of the room.


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

longbow said:


> I can't imagine a more beautiful sight than that gdog.


The glaciers are cool looking from the air as well.....

















I'm not sure if the Katmai Falls would be an day trip option...but that is a MUST DO if you can. It can get a bit un-nerving being around that many bears...without anything between you and them....unless your Longbow


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

Man gdog, now you got me wanting to go back even more.

Now these weren't from the cruise, these were from one of the fishing trips. These were all on the same lake that we flew in to.

The first is the lake we flew to and fished on, the next is a couple of 3 year old brown bears that came to fish with us, then a big black bear sow came down to fish with us, she was huge, then the guide filleting the reds that we caught, notice the barbie on the back seat, had some fresh Sockeye for lunch, then our taxi coming back to pick us up.


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

longbow said:


> I've shuttled goods, hunters, vehicles, through the inner passage several times on the ferry. It was absolutely stunning! I can't imagine how awesome it would be on a cruise ship.
> I remember sitting at Ray's Waterfront diner in Seward when a cruise ship pulled in. I couldn't believe how huge it was! I counted 13 stories from sea level up to the nudie deck.
> Post pictures!


What boat was that specifically? Asking for a friend...


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Longgun said:


> What boat was that specifically? Asking for a friend...


based on the various cruises I've taken...and seeing the average person on board at port in Seward, trust me, you DON'T want to know.


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

After my two trips to Kodiak, im well aware of that I think. LOL :shock: 

Longbow has a catchy little saying about what one might expect to find (people wise) I AK but I cant recall it at the moment. Maybe he'll chime in with it...


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

...the odds are good, but the goods are odd?


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

Yes sir, that's the one. lol


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

Now that the cruise has come and gone, gosh where do I start? From the time we jumped on the boat to the time we jumped off, it was just a really great time! Hats off to Princess Cruise Lines, they are seriously top notch!

Our first port was Ketchikan (pretty sure that's an old Indian word for SOAKING RAIN lol) where we visited Totem Bight State Park and learned a ton about totems and how they were used as many many different forms of communication for the people of the time . The remainder of the day, we went to a lumberjack show that imo was kind of boring but entertaining at the same time? Wanted to go fishing with a local buddy up there but mother nature had windy plans for the day. _Hey look jewelry stores!?_

Next was visiting the famed Tracy Arm Fjord where we spotted humpback and killer whales, harbor seals, bald eagles, too many waterfalls to count, and hundreds of small "beautiful blue icebergs". The spitting rain made for a waterfall show at nearly every point we looked, seriously EVERY U shaped canyon that is Tracy Arm had dozens and DOZENS of little waterfalls in every one, amazing... The only downer was due to so much loose ice in the water, about a mile was the closest we could get to the Sawyer Glaciers. We could see the South arm clearly through 10x42 binos but that's was the closest we could get in the big boat. (note to self, spot for the glacier tour next time) The low level broken clouds mixed with a peek or two of sun made the scenery just INCREDIBLE! We got the best of both sun (for just a few minutes) and misty conditions in one visit.

Next stop was Juneau. Took a cool tour of the town and later a really cool whale watching excursion where we spotted what we think were six different humpback whales, a few hundred fur seals, a few Surf Scoter's and a pair of Harlequin ducks. One of the whales gave a us a nice look at the underside of its tail where we later learned her name was "flame" and has been a regular visitor for thirty years! Pretty cool! _Hey look, MORE jewelry stores!_

Next stop Skagway where we took a cool train tour up Whites Pass witnessing some of the route that thousands of fortune seekers took seeking their riches in GOLD. Incredible misery (many meeting their maker in the process) those folks put themselves through, and even more incredible the greed that surfaced during those times. While on the train tour, I noticed the Pink Salmon were running HEAVY in the Skagway River, hundreds and hundreds of them. (It looked like you could walk across them) later, after the train tour I hand caught one (a female) to show my wife the cool little color variations these salmon get during the spawn. I tried for a big buck with a hump but they were staying just out of reach. Bummer, they're really cool looking! _Hey look -MORE- Jewelry stores!?_

Next stop was Victoria BC. It was late in the day by the time we made port but we had enough time to get to see a few sights. Saw the Parliament building lit up in lights, the Fairmont Empress Hotel and various little shops. We figure one would need a full day to really appreciate what Victoria has to offer. _Hey look, where's all the Jewelry stores?_

_Edit:_
_Ill be sure to post pics later..._


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

*Hey look jewelry stores!?*

Now that's funny right there, I don't care who you are.

Glad you had a good time, I would do again, we had a great time when we went.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

I would love to go on that cruise some day. I've been up through the inner passage a few times on the ferry but that's not the same. Sounds like you had a great trip. I hope you bought Mrs Longgun a bunch of jewelry! 

I just got back from Utah. Good lord it's hot down there! I should have stopped by the Longgun estates and toiletpapered your house.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Gumbo said:


> Just make sure you see this.


Wow, nice picture!

.


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

longbow said:


> I would love to go on that cruise some day. I've been up through the inner passage a few times on the ferry but that's not the same. Sounds like you had a great trip. I hope you bought Mrs Longgun a bunch of jewelry!
> 
> I just got back from Utah. Good lord it's hot down there! I should have stopped by the Longgun estates and toiletpapered your house.


Straight spoiled her I did! She's a good gal, how I ended up with her is a blessing.

HOT it is buddy! Im so DONE with this dry heat stuff. Gimme the high humidity and cooler temps any day.

LMAO! TP my place? You should have buddy, and sent me one of those selfie things. Id pay good money to see a good smile on your face considering. Course, paybacks are a bitch. lol


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