Which Alaska Itinerary for 2020

[buteraa]

Hi everyone,

Last year we took a Princess cruise to Alaska in early June. We would like to go again in 2020 but on a Disney cruise (this would be our first Disney cruise). We are two adults, no children and I found an itinerary that looks really interesting, but its only offered 1 time next year on July 20th. Here is the itinerary:

Dawes Glacier, Alaska
Icy Strait Point, Alaska
Juneau, Alaska
Ketchikan, Alaska

Has anyone does this cruise before? What did you think? I was most excited about see Icy Strait as I read this was a great place for whales. I am also looking at Cabin 6608 or 6612. Any thoughts on either of those? Also are the Verandah rooms covered so you don't get wet if its raining? This was a downside for us on Princess and it does like to rain in Alaska. Also what do you think about July cruising?

All of your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[doublesided]

Skagway was the best of all, I wouldn't book a cruise that misses it!

 

[Dug720]

Hard pass on Icy Strait Point. Most obviously manufactured, and worst, port ever.

I agree - pick one with Skagway.

 

[justafigment27]

We are going on a cruise that includes Icy Strait Point with DCL and I’m pretty excited about it - we have a private whale watching excursion booked. I’ll check back in a couple weeks and weigh in and let you know what I thought. I’m actually also interested in the history of the cannery that was there and the nature walk... it looks beautiful & I like that there is just one ship in port. I absolutely know that it is a manufactured port, but it seems like every cruise ship port I’ve been in is heavily geared towards tourists, so I guess I don’t know why this would be a lot different?

 

[mrsxsparrow]

Hi everyone,

Last year we took a Princess cruise to Alaska in early June. We would like to go again in 2020 but on a Disney cruise (this would be our first Disney cruise). We are two adults, no children and I found an itinerary that looks really interesting, but its only offered 1 time next year on July 20th. Here is the itinerary:

Dawes Glacier, Alaska
Icy Strait Point, Alaska
Juneau, Alaska
Ketchikan, Alaska

Has anyone does this cruise before? What did you think? I was most excited about see Icy Strait as I read this was a great place for whales. I am also looking at Cabin 6608 or 6612. Any thoughts on either of those? Also are the Verandah rooms covered so you don't get wet if its raining? This was a downside for us on Princess and it does like to rain in Alaska. Also what do you think about July cruising?

All of your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

For a "covered" verandah, you're looking for Cat 7A, a Navigator's Verandah. We got off the Wonder yesterday and had one for the week we were in Alaska. We had beautiful weather -- it drizzled a bit in the afternoon in Ketchikan but other than that it was blue skies -- but we still loved the extra "shield" it gave us from the wind!

 

[Dug720]

We are going on a cruise that includes Icy Strait Point with DCL and I’m pretty excited about it - we have a private whale watching excursion booked. I’ll check back in a couple weeks and weigh in and let you know what I thought. I’m actually also interested in the history of the cannery that was there and the nature walk... it looks beautiful & I like that there is just one ship in port. I absolutely know that it is a manufactured port, but it seems like every cruise ship port I’ve been in is heavily geared towards tourists, so I guess I don’t know why this would be a lot different?

There is a difference between having shops and stuff geared towards tourists and having stuff perfectly built just for tourists. It doesn't look old. There is no interactive stuff in the "cannery museum" - it's all fake. It even smells new. If they'd actually restored anything it might be interesting. Then again, probably not.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Our Icy Strait Point excursion was a combined whale/bear watching tour. The armed-and-dangerous guide escorting us on a walk through the woods of bear country was literally "loaded for bear." We did see bears, but fortunately they didn't get "up close and personal" with us. The bus ride through a poverty-stricken "town" showed how badly the natives need the tourist dollars to help their economy, tho some of the locals really hate that tourism has invaded their remote village. When we got back to the ship we saw a whale playing right along the shore, much closer than any whales we saw from the tour boat. oh well.

The sign painted on the side of the tour bus should have said "Hoonah" (as in Hoonah Indians.) Don't know whether it was a poor translation or what, but the lettering said "Hoohah." I do hope they're fixed it by now.

 

[AgentMama]

If you're picking Icy Straight Point for the whale watching, I say go for it. I understand that whale watching is also supposed to be good in Juneau, but not having done it, I can't speak to that. But we did whale watch in ICP and had an amazing experience.

The port is a manufactured port, and from talking with other passengers who chose other options, their experiences were not as good (including the nature walk).

It's a shame that DCL isn't offering the itinerary that includes Juneau, ICP, Ketchikan, and Skagway again.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We had terrible weather in Skagway but it was still my favorite of the ports. The drive up to the Yukon (we rented a green jeep) was just stunning even with the low clouds and rain. I would rather skip Juneau than Skagway, honestly, but that rarely seems to be an option.

 

[anjuan]

I also had a category 7A on our Alaska cruise this year and definitely recommend it. Another vote for an itinerary that includes Skagway. It is so beautiful. We did a private whale watching tour with Jayleen's Alaksa in Juneau and had an amazing time. We were able to see a baby humpback with it's mother who was splashing it's fluke back and forth for at least 10 minutes and breached out of the water multiple times. We loved it!

 

[RedSox68]

We loved Skagway. If we do another Alaska cruise, I'd pick one that goes to Sitka, Homer or Kodiak.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We are going on a cruise that includes Icy Strait Point with DCL and I’m pretty excited about it - we have a private whale watching excursion booked. I’ll check back in a couple weeks and weigh in and let you know what I thought. I’m actually also interested in the history of the cannery that was there and the nature walk... it looks beautiful & I like that there is just one ship in port. I absolutely know that it is a manufactured port, but it seems like every cruise ship port I’ve been in is heavily geared towards tourists, so I guess I don’t know why this would be a lot different?

The history of the cannery is walk through and you can do it in 10 minutes. It’s in an indoor shopping area.
We were on Princess in May and we did the tribal presentation about Eagles and Ravens and the folklore surrounding their stories.
One very nice thing about this port is the fact that a golf cart is available for those with limited ability to walk across the bridge into the start of the attraction area.
I felt the food that was offered was overpriced and not particularly good, I had better halibut sandwiches in other ports.
I did see a whale while sitting at a table in the restaurant, that was neat!

 

[buteraa]

We are going on a cruise that includes Icy Strait Point with DCL and I’m pretty excited about it - we have a private whale watching excursion booked. I’ll check back in a couple weeks and weigh in and let you know what I thought. I’m actually also interested in the history of the cannery that was there and the nature walk... it looks beautiful & I like that there is just one ship in port. I absolutely know that it is a manufactured port, but it seems like every cruise ship port I’ve been in is heavily geared towards tourists, so I guess I don’t know why this would be a lot different?

Thanks! I look forward to your feedback.

 

[buteraa]

For a "covered" verandah, you're looking for Cat 7A, a Navigator's Verandah. We got off the Wonder yesterday and had one for the week we were in Alaska. We had beautiful weather -- it drizzled a bit in the afternoon in Ketchikan but other than that it was blue skies -- but we still loved the extra "shield" it gave us from the wind!

Thank you for the information!

 

[buteraa]

I also had a category 7A on our Alaska cruise this year and definitely recommend it. Another vote for an itinerary that includes Skagway. It is so beautiful. We did a private whale watching tour with Jayleen's Alaksa in Juneau and had an amazing time. We were able to see a baby humpback with it's mother who was splashing it's fluke back and forth for at least 10 minutes and breached out of the water multiple times. We loved it!

That sounds amazing, thanks for the information.

 

[Pens Fan]

We loved Skagway. If we do another Alaska cruise, I'd pick one that goes to Sitka, Homer or Kodiak.

We've never been to Sitka or Kodiak (though I'd love to), but we absolutely love Homer. After our last Alaskan cruise in 2017, we rented a car in Seward and drove through the Kenai Peninsula to Homer. We'd been to Denali before, and decided to focus on this area of the state for that trip. We spent four nights at an wonderful little inn right on Kachemak Bay. Homer definitely has it's touristy areas, but it's also a real, working Alaskan town. We loved it and the scenery is breathtaking. Lake Clarke National Park is short helicopter or plane ride away - great for bear watching!! We saw a HAL ship sail right by our inn one morning and then saw it docked near the Spit later that day, so I know they stop in Homer. But honestly it was so simple to just rent a car in Seward and explore that whole area on our own.

OP - as to your questions, I've not been to ISP but from what I've read about it I would not trade Skagway for that. There are way too many great options for tours from Skagway.

 

[justafigment27]

We just got back from our cruise this morning.

I really enjoyed our excursion in Icy Strait Point (private whale watching booked through Glacier Wind Charters). We definitely saw whales ... and a sea otter and a couple of sea lions. Learned from naturalist onboard the ship the Pt. Adolphus (just outside of Glacier bay if you look on a map) is almost a guaranteed spot to view whales and that’s where we headed on our whale watch. The views from the ship and from the whale watch were AMAZING! I was awestruck - my 17 year old said the whale watch in ISP was her favorite part of the whole trip. Yes it’s a manufactured stop, but IMO it’s a lot classier than the Diamond International and souvenir shops that lined all the other port areas on our cruise ... it’s tastefully done and, from the ship, the buildings blend into the scenery - log cabin/rustic looking that looks nice with the forest. They have just built a big tree top adventure thing ... so that took away from the peaceful little nature walk b/c you were surrounded by ropes and platforms for half the little trail. We were in port from 12:30-7:30 pm. We were met by our driver as soon as we got off the ship and were back in the shop area around 4:00pm. We looked at the shops, looked at the museum (basically one room) and then went down to the water (it was hot this week - a couple kids were swimming) and then took the nature walk. Back on the ship by 5:00pm. So if you don’t have an excursion planned, I don’t know what you would do here that would take a lot of time ...

But if I had to choose between Skagway or ISP, I’d probably pick Skagway b/c of all the sights we saw heading into the Yukon. But if you have already been to Skagway and want a good whale watch ... ISP would be the place. I’d seriously recommend a private whale watch though ... some of those boats were huge and I’d imagine it would be pretty hard to maneuver among the other people to get a good view.

I’m glad I didn’t have to choose between Skagway or ISP though ... we saw amazing things in both ports.