Frank,
Thanks for the offer…How was your trip? Good weather?
We know the ship since we sailed the Radiance a few months ago but is Gordon, Cruise Director, back yet? How is the new Captain? We have a balcony and I know depending on the weather but will we use it much?
Our concerns are excursions, not too sure what we should do for our first time in Alaska. No helicopter rides or hiking for us. I love lighthouses but don’t see any tours for them except just looking at them from afar…So we were thinking about the following…
Ketchikan: The Duck tour (looks fun) and maybe the Undersea tour…would we see much of Ketchikan also if we did these?
Juneau: We definitely want to do Mendenhall Glacier & salmon bake. Then can we look around the city? Suggestion?
Skagway: White Pass railway, but should we do the Yukon exploration or Trail camp with it?
Thanks a lot!
Teresa
__________________
CU@C,
Teresa and Larry
#36-Carnival Splendor 9/16/12
7 night Mexican Riviera
Retirement Celebration
#37-Allure of the Seas 11/11/12
7 night Eastern Caribbean
Thanks laura. I printed it out for my husband to read. We were on the Radiance in May and can't wait to return. We have a balcony cabin on deck 9, starboard side so we should have great viewing. We currently have late seating, 8:30pm but really like early. We just can't eat that late. Do you really think this will interfere with tours? It's just the 2 of us so no problems getting ready. As you can see we planned to do Mendenhall and salmon bake - ship tour. Do you think we should do this on our own. My DH is hesitate to do tours on our own, worries about time and being left behind. Anyone you know that did the Duck tour? Thanks for the info...32 more days!!
__________________
CU@C,
Teresa and Larry
#36-Carnival Splendor 9/16/12
7 night Mexican Riviera
Retirement Celebration
#37-Allure of the Seas 11/11/12
7 night Eastern Caribbean
in juneau we booked the mendenhall glacier & salmon bake tour through the ship but when we docked there were school buses that took you to the glacier for $5 the salmon hatchery is free i think like museums they take donations. the tour bus dropped us off at the glacier and came back in 1 hour so i would not really call it a guided tour. at the glacier there is an information center and displays, i don't know if there was a charge to get in. the tour through the cruise was only $40 so it's not really expensive. we also booked the white pass train in skagway through the ship for $99 per person you might be able to book it directly for $10 less but again not really a big price difference we also booked a horse back riding excursion ( just my daughter & I ) in skagway and that was a great experience because you really get to see the beauty & naturalness of alaska. in ketchikan we didn't book any excursions but when we got off the ship we did a double decker tour (very similar to the duck tour) for $25. per adult. here we got to see bald eagles, totem poles, & creek street however we could not walk all of creek street because we had to get back to the ship to get ready for early dinner ( the ship docks @ 1 p.m. and sails by 8 p.m. if you do a tour they start a 2:30 - 3:30 so if its a 2 - 3 hour tour its already pass 6 p.m.
Thanks Laura for the info. Another ?, the excursion list shows the Mendenhall and Salmon bake, 4 hours for $69, is this the same thing you did for $40? We dock at noon so would the salmon bake take the place of our dinner? Thanks for your help.
Teresa
__________________
CU@C,
Teresa and Larry
#36-Carnival Splendor 9/16/12
7 night Mexican Riviera
Retirement Celebration
#37-Allure of the Seas 11/11/12
7 night Eastern Caribbean
no. we did the mendenhall glacier & salmon hatchery. I do not really care for salmon, nor do my children so we did not do the salmon bake. the salmon hatchery was very informative. when we arrived at the glacier our tour bus driver told us not to go to the falls because we would not make it back on time. he said the falls look closer than they are but they would take more than the allotted hour to get there and back so we listened and viewed the falls through our binoculars. (we probably could have walked there & back, + the driver counts the passengers to make sure they are all there)
the food that you get with any tour is not a substitute for your meals on the ship. they alway serve lunch & dinner on the ship so when you are in port you can eat lunch before you disembark, or go back on and off the ship as many times as you'd like. your dinner table is always reserved for you and a full menu is offered regardless of your excursions. I also don't know if they really give you all that much food on any excursion it's more like a tasting or a snack i suggest you really try to make dinner back on the ship. Also the ship docks in tourist traps (lots of shops, & restaurants - not really the unspoiled beauty of alaska you'd expect to see) do not pay to eat in these restaurants that's why you are on a cruise all of your meals are prepared and served to you for free why would you eat in a saloon!)
BTW ..they now offer an expedited debarkation and onboard airline check-in for $20 per person. This includes the Vancouver airport passenger fee you usually pay at the airport. Basically they give you bar coded luggage tags the night before you leave. You put them on your suitcase and leave them outside your door as usual. You do not see your bags again until you get home. Then about 7:15AM in the Aurora Theater you get your boarding passes, luggage claim checks and a pass for the expedited customs and security checks. We boarded the bus at 8:20AM and headed to a special area outside the airport where immigration was cleared on the bus. Then off to a back gate where they had a special security check area and U.S. customs. We exited through a door right near our gate. Total time 90 minutes from the ship to our gate. And we never saw our luggage until we arrived home.
Have you read my detailed review on other boards. For some reason they did not post it here. Or I can e-mail it to you. Lots of tips.
Frank,
I would love to read your review and yes, just click on my name to my email link. Your review might not have posted yet because it's still in review. I heard it could take a couple of weeks. Thanks.
Also, I read on CC from someone who is a just got off the ship this past Saturday...
This was Gordon's last week, (the cruise director) they are sending him to another ship, the Legend, until Jan. No one knows yet who is taking over, just "some woman"...
We enjoyed Gordon too. He sure can sing.
Thanks for the airport info but we are doing a pre and post cruise day in Vancouver. We enjoyed our time there in May and wanted to do it again.
fairbanks frank..thanks for the weather update!
__________________
CU@C,
Teresa and Larry
#36-Carnival Splendor 9/16/12
7 night Mexican Riviera
Retirement Celebration
#37-Allure of the Seas 11/11/12
7 night Eastern Caribbean
I did a two day pre-cruise stay at the Sutton Place Hotel. RCL provided transfers from the airport to the hotel and it was a mistake. They gave us Airporter passes. It took over 90 minutes to get from the airport to the hotel and that's after waiting 25 minutes for the bus. The airporter makes a regular run and stops at lots of hotels both picking up and dropping off people. In the past I always took a taxi which cost $25 for two and about 20 minutes.
The Mendenhall Glacier and Salmon bake is very nice. It also includes a stop to the Hatchery. Look for eagles by the hatchery. The tour bus drops you off last at the salmon bake and you take their shuttles back to the ship. Very good food, but a few flies. Also, they have the biggest Huskie dog you will ever see. I hear he's on a diet now though.
Be sure to get a brownie at the SeaView Grill on the Radiance. BTW... I also have a photo gallery named Frank's Radiance on that other board. C-A.
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Radiance 9/10/05 Alaska
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