Just got back from AK... Any questions?

[tankin]

Figured that I've hunted this board for awhile... Time to give back.

I'll try to answer any questions...

 

[saraheli]

delete

 

[MUN]

Figured that I've hunted this board for awhile... Time to give back.

I'll try to answer any questions...

Did you enjoy your cruise?

 

[tankin]

@MUN My family is gold (plus cruises on other lines) and by far this was our most favorite cruise. I'm not sure we will ever cruise the Caribbean again. The scenery was great (I think I counted a total of 4 hours where we couldn't see land). My wife spent every evening reading on the veranda (light at 10 after all). We had great weather (rare but almost no rain).

 

[MMR]

Wondering about footwear for kids age 7 and 9. Will they be ok with sneakers and a back up pair, or do I need rain boots? Nothing worse than kids with cold wet feet.

 

[tankin]

@MMR We got really, really lucky. Almost no rain all week. Our kids are going to camp later this summer so we bought them waterproof hiking shoes (look like sneakers) for the trip plus their normal sneakers. They wore the normal sneakers most of the time. Did wear them on our "pre-trip" in Vancouver when we had one rainy day. Worked wonders (ha ha).

According to the crew members we talked to... your going to average 1 to 2 days of rain per week. Some weeks your lucky, like us, other weeks it rains everyday.

 

[mgcharleston]

Thanks for the updates! We are headed up there in 3 weeks and are signed up for glacier excursion that DCL is offering in Tracey Arm. I have saw mixed reviews for it so far. Did you guys do that tour and, if so, was it worth the dollars?? Thanks in advance!

 

[MUN]

@MUN My family is gold (plus cruises on other lines) and by far this was our most favorite cruise. I'm not sure we will ever cruise the Caribbean again. The scenery was great (I think I counted a total of 4 hours where we couldn't see land). My wife spent every evening reading on the veranda (light at 10 after all). We had great weather (rare but almost no rain).

We went on the DCL Alaska cruise 2 years ago and loved it. I'm glad to hear you had a great time.

MUN

 

[tankin]

@mgcharleston We did that tour. The adults loved it. Here's my comments from that thread


Just got off the ship yesterday and we did this excursion (Endicott not Tracy)...

Short version...
1. You either get on the boat at the top of the Fjord and sail down its length to the glacier or board at the glacier and sail up the length of the fjord.
2. The adults thought it was more than worth the money... We would all do it again
3. Boat is about the size of the tenders they use at Grand Caymen
4. Ours got significantly closer to the glacier than the ship
5. We had a naturalist on board who pointed out calving while we were at the glacier and then wildlife as we sailed back up.
6. We made small side trips into off shots as we sailed back up the fjord

Oh and we were told Tracey is probably closed for the foreseeable future. The entire fjord is full of ice and no small boats have been able to make it up the fjord in weeks (much less large ships).

 

[MMR]

@MMR We got really, really lucky. Almost no rain all week. Our kids are going to camp later this summer so we bought them waterproof hiking shoes (look like sneakers) for the trip plus their normal sneakers. They wore the normal sneakers most of the time. Did wear them on our "pre-trip" in Vancouver when we had one rainy day. Worked wonders (ha ha).

According to the crew members we talked to... your going to average 1 to 2 days of rain per week. Some weeks your lucky, like us, other weeks it rains everyday.

Thanks! I'm trying to avoid buying the waterproof hiking boots. They are growing like we'd lately!

 

[Nike4000]

@mgcharleston - Which sailing are you on? We're headed to Alaska in a few weeks ourselves.

@tankin - How were the bugs? Which excursions did you go on (other than the glacier excursion previously mentioned)? What did you wish you had or brought that you didn't?

 

[franandaj]

@Nike4000 we're on the July 4 cruise, which one are you on?

 

[Tikitoi]

Did you walk any suspension bridges? This is something I want to do. (Haven't read this thread....fyi. So not sure if this has been discussed or asked). Thanks

 

[Nike4000]

@Nike4000 we're on the July 4 cruise, which one are you on?

July 18th. We can't wait!

 

[ajo]

Did you walk any suspension bridges? This is something I want to do. (Haven't read this thread....fyi. So not sure if this has been discussed or asked). Thanks

We did the Capilano suspension bridge in Vancouver before our cruise and the Yukon suspension bridge after riding the train in Skagway. Capilano was amazing and I highly recommend it! Yukon was a disappointment after Capilano. It seemed so tiny!

 

[tankin]

@Nike4000
1. Bugs ... I don't ever remember bugs being an issue.
2. Skagway - Klondike Gold Fields ... Cheesy but the kids enjoyed it. You pan for gold (every pan is seeded with gold so everyone is a winner), learn about sled dogs (we had someone that ran the Iditirod talk us thru the race), lunch, learn about pop/beer, go inside a -40 room and smores. One note is that you can do same thing as a walk up. Its the "Big Nugget" Tour and the bus ride is $2 from the dock.
Juneau - Split day.
Ziplining - Great day. Trip out to Mendenhall (sp) and then ziplining (5 lines). You finish with ax throwing and smores
Deluxe Tour - Wife and younger kids liked it. 90 min at Mendenhall. Rain forest tour. Salmon hatchery.
Ketchikan - Saxman village & lumberjack show. RIP OFF!!!!! Lumberjack show is well worth the money. Kids loved it. Saxman Village we didn't like. While some of the info was interesting, none of the adults thought there was any value. Lots of little things.
3. We over packed if anything. Expected to layer everyday and didn't need to.

 

[mgcharleston]

@mgcharleston - Which sailing are you on? We're headed to Alaska in a few weeks ourselves.

@tankin - How were the bugs? Which excursions did you go on (other than the glacier excursion previously mentioned)? What did you wish you had or brought that you didn't?

Nike4000- we are on the July 11 sailing. 19 days to go! I am loving all this information that our fellow disboarder's are sharing!!

 

[Raya]

This is of critical importance to our trip:

Was Princess Tiana on board for met and greets?

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Hello! I saw that you posted you are Gold CC member so can you advise when the Platinum/Gold CC reception was? I was going to post a separate thread for it but thought I'd ask you first

Thanks,
Heather

 

[tankin]

@Raya Yes. She was at the Princess Meet & Greet.

@IBelieveInTheMagic Wish I knew! We had a conflict and couldn't attend.