Alaska Cruise - turns out it's on grandma's bucket list - new question in post 74

[NancyIL]

yes, they'll stay overnight in seward - so they're already there for the cruise..
i always arrive for cruises the day before - i'm a nutcase that way...

thanks for mentioning the holiday inn express...
i couldn't figure out which one was better, the HI or the best western..
we were having a tough time choosing which one..

i the HI looks really nice...

by the way, do you know where the boat will be docked?

she thought she might visit the sea life center in seward..
she's not going to go on a fjord cruise as she's afraid of getting seasick and she doesn't want to get sick before getting on the big ship...
so she'll just do little things in seward....

Since they aren't planning to go on a Kenai Fjords cruise, I would suggest a visit to Exit Glacier: http://www.nps.gov/kefj/planyourvisit/exit-glacier.htm They can take a taxi, or there's a shuttle company that goes from town to the glacier: http://exitglacierguides.com/

The Sea Life Center is nice, but it's pretty small. Unless they do a behind the scenes tour, an hour or two ought to be sufficient.

The ship will be docked not far from the HI Express, but with luggage they might want to take a taxi. I was on a cruise that ended in Seward. I arranged for a taxi to pick us up at the ship, stop at the train station to pick-up our train tickets, then take us to Exit Glacier and back to town a few hours later.

Are they also staying overnight in Talkeetna? There aren't many lodging choices there, and I haven't stayed overnight. However, the RCI/Celebrity cruise tours stay at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, and I ate lunch there. It's very lovely.

 

[sayhello]

Thanks for all those suggestions. We'll check them out.

I'm having a good time helping her plan the trip!!

By the way, in the end she reserved the train trips directly with Princess, so she'll be in their train car for Fairbanks to Denali and from Denali to Talkeetna and Anchorage. We called them up and they were really sweet on the phone.

We still have to reserve her last train segment (anchorage/seward).
We'll try to do that one tomorrow.

oh and she'll rent a car just for when they're in fairbanks. She's already reserved one with Alamo.

I'm glad she chose Princess for the train rides! I think she'll really enjoy that. The cars are very nice, and it's a great way to sight-see as you go.

Sayhello

 

[disneyholic family]

I'm glad she chose Princess for the train rides! I think she'll really enjoy that. The cars are very nice, and it's a great way to sight-see as you go.

Sayhello

they do look nice!
she's also going to stay at the princess lodge in denali...
since it's in an area with other things around it's good for her husband in case he decides to stay back at the lodge while DD goes out on some of the long day treks.....with stuff around the lodge, it will give him some things to explore...even if it's just window shopping in the souvenir shops...

and we made the last few reservations tonight....the hotels in seward and anchorage and the train from anchorage to seward...

the only thing left to do now is finally reserve the internal flights...
and also find a hotel in vancouver for after the cruise.....we haven't researched vancouver as yet...she'll stay there friday/ saturday then fly out.....

 

[disneyholic family]

Since they aren't planning to go on a Kenai Fjords cruise, I would suggest a visit to Exit Glacier: http://www.nps.gov/kefj/planyourvisit/exit-glacier.htm They can take a taxi, or there's a shuttle company that goes from town to the glacier: http://exitglacierguides.com/

The Sea Life Center is nice, but it's pretty small. Unless they do a behind the scenes tour, an hour or two ought to be sufficient.

The ship will be docked not far from the HI Express, but with luggage they might want to take a taxi. I was on a cruise that ended in Seward. I arranged for a taxi to pick us up at the ship, stop at the train station to pick-up our train tickets, then take us to Exit Glacier and back to town a few hours later.

Are they also staying overnight in Talkeetna? There aren't many lodging choices there, and I haven't stayed overnight. However, the RCI/Celebrity cruise tours stay at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, and I ate lunch there. It's very lovely.

no she decided not to stay overnight in talkeetna....they'll be in fairbanks 4 nights (but the first night they arrive late at night, so that doesn't really count), then denali for 2 nights, anchorage for one night and seward for one night...in fairbanks they'll have a car, but travel from fairbanks to denali and then to anchorage and then to seward , will all be by train...

thanks for the glacier suggestion...she's likes that idea!!

 

[sayhello]

no she decided not to stay overnight in talkeetna....they'll be in fairbanks 4 nights (but the first night they arrive late at night, so that doesn't really count), then denali for 2 nights, anchorage for one night and seward for one night...in fairbanks they'll have a car, but travel from fairbanks to denali and then to anchorage and then to seward , will all be by train...

thanks for the glacier suggestion...she's likes that idea!!

I'm pretty jealous right now! Except for the marathon flights, it sounds like a fabulous vacation!

Sayhello

 

[disneyholic family]

I'm pretty jealous right now! Except for the marathon flights, it sounds like a fabulous vacation!

Sayhello

i'm jealous too!!!

i forgot to say that they'll then get on the southbound cruise, followed by a day and a half in vancouver (they fly out of vancouver on the red eye)..

and of course, they'll have a bunch of excursions while on the cruise..

and then the finishing touch?

where are they flying to from vancouver?

i'll put it to you this way..

Hey DD, you just finished a 2 week visit to alaska, what are you going to do now?

one guess what the answer is..

 

[NancyIL]

i'm jealous too!!!

i forgot to say that they'll then get on the southbound cruise, followed by a day and a half in vancouver (they fly out of vancouver on the red eye)..

and of course, they'll have a bunch of excursions while on the cruise..

and then the finishing touch?

where are they flying to from vancouver?

i'll put it to you this way..

Hey DD, you just finished a 2 week visit to alaska, what are you going to do now?

one guess what the answer is..

Could they be going to...Disney World? Sounds like they have a great trip to look forward to!

 

[disneyholic family]

Could they be going to...Disney World? Sounds like they have a great trip to look forward to!

you guessed it!!!

vancouver on the red eye to the happiest place on earth!!

WDW for two weeks!!

(well, you know, once you make that trek across the atlantic, it pays to hang around for a while)

 

[NancyIL]

you guessed it!!!

vancouver on the red eye to the happiest place on earth!!

WDW for two weeks!!

(well, you know, once you make that trek across the atlantic, it pays to hang around for a while)

It's good that they are used to hot and humid weather, because they'll certainly have that at WDW in the summer!

 

[sayhello]

you guessed it!!!

vancouver on the red eye to the happiest place on earth!!

WDW for two weeks!!

(well, you know, once you make that trek across the atlantic, it pays to hang around for a while)

Oh, now I thought you meant Disneyland!! Since they were on that side of the Continent. I guess Disneyworld is good, too.

Sayhello

ETA: Looks like the bizarre posting order thing is happening again!!! Timestamps messed up & all. 'cause I'm posting this at around 2:40 in the afternoon my time, despite what the timestamp says!

 

[disneyholic family]

It's good that they are used to hot and humid weather, because they'll certainly have that at WDW in the summer!

WDW summer weather is definitely hideous!! and that's an understatement...but better a hideously hot/humid WDW, then no WDW at all!

Oh, now I thought you meant Disneyland!! Since they were on that side of the Continent. I guess Disneyworld is good, too.

Sayhello

ETA: Looks like the bizarre posting order thing is happening again!!! Timestamps messed up & all. 'cause I'm posting this at around 2:40 in the afternoon my time, despite what the timestamp says!

they have to get to the east coast anyway - to fly back home...

i noticed that posting weirdness.......it happened to me in a few threads...very confusing...

 

[disneyholic family]

how long does it take to get from the denali park entrance to the eilson visitor center?

they're planning on taking the park shuttle (she just reserved seats on it).

They want to do the park ranger walk at 1 from the eilson visitor center, but she doesn't know how long it takes from the park entrance to the center.

 

[disneyholic family]

well i finally bought them their airline tickets across the atlantic (using FF points)...business class flying west and first class flying east.....good thing it was using points as i could have never afforded that for cash
funny thing is, they're entitled to 4 suitcases per person on that flight home (in other words, 8 suitcases in total).,...unfortunately, i think they're only entitled to 1 suitcase each on the internal flight....so those extra 3 cases aren't really so useful...

now i just have to get them their internal domestic flights.....
i'll do that over the weekend..

DD has already reserved all of her cruise excursions as well as many of their pre-cruise excursions...
and all of her hotels are booked...(except for the WDW portion - i'm hoping for free dining in august )

 

[disneyholic family]

So guess what was on my mom's bucket list?

seeing Alaska from the glass-domed train!!

Just when DD said, "grandma, i'm going to alaska in the summer", my mom immediately said - "you MUST go on the glass-domed train"...

she sounded as if she'd been on it, but she said no, she'd never been on it, but had always hoped to one day...

so guess what?

i'm now planning a trip to alaska for my mom and me!!!

while DD will sail on RCCL, i think that the princess itinerary is more appropriate for us.....
i don't want to miss out on Glacier bay (princess has both glacier and hubbard, while RCCL only does hubbard)...

so a question for those of you who have been on princess - they have 4 ships doing the alaska itinerary: Island, Coral, Diamond and Sapphire..

do you have an opinion on which one is better? pros and cons? are they all the same? they all have the same itineraries from what i can tell...i realize the island and coral are smaller, but that wouldn't necessarily make them better or worse..

i'd love to hear your opinions!!

by the way, DD is all set - she's booked her cruise (RCCL), land portion (they'll tour on their own for a week before the cruise), rental car for fairbanks, train for Fairbanks-Denali, Denali-Anchorage, Anchorage-Seward, all hotels (Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, Seward, Vancouver), almost all the excursions both before and during the cruise), all flights, etc. They're going to spend a night in Vancouver after the cruise then travel down to seattle for their flight to orlando...(not sure yet if they'll take amtrak or the quickshuttle to seattle).

oh and she booked the whale watching in icy straight point as you suggested! (as well as many of the other excursions you suggested)

 

[LindaBabe]

well i finally bought them their airline tickets across the atlantic (using FF points)...business class flying west and first class flying east.....good thing it was using points as i could have never afforded that for cash
funny thing is, they're entitled to 4 suitcases per person on that flight home (in other words, 8 suitcases in total).,...unfortunately, i think they're only entitled to 1 suitcase each on the internal flight....so those extra 3 cases aren't really so useful...

now i just have to get them their internal domestic flights.....i'll do that over the weekend..

)

Book them on Southwest - TWO bags each fly free!

 

[NancyIL]

how long does it take to get from the denali park entrance to the eilson visitor center?

they're planning on taking the park shuttle (she just reserved seats on it).

They want to do the park ranger walk at 1 from the eilson visitor center, but she doesn't know how long it takes from the park entrance to the center.

However long the total time is for the park shuttle - they'll be at Eielson Visitor center just before the half-way point. When we took the tour, we were on one of the earliest shuttles at around 6 a.m. - yawn!

So guess what was on my mom's bucket list?

seeing Alaska from the glass-domed train!!

Just when DD said, "grandma, i'm going to alaska in the summer", my mom immediately said - "you MUST go on the glass-domed train"...

she sounded as if she'd been on it, but she said no, she'd never been on it, but had always hoped to one day...

so guess what?

i'm now planning a trip to alaska for my mom and me!!!

while DD will sail on RCCL, i think that the princess itinerary is more appropriate for us.....
i don't want to miss out on Glacier bay (princess has both glacier and hubbard, while RCCL only does hubbard)...

so a question for those of you who have been on princess - they have 4 ships doing the alaska itinerary: Island, Coral, Diamond and Sapphire..

do you have an opinion on which one is better? pros and cons? are they all the same? they all have the same itineraries from what i can tell...i realize the island and coral are smaller, but that wouldn't necessarily make them better or worse..

i'd love to hear your opinions!!

by the way, DD is all set - she's booked her cruise (RCCL), land portion (they'll tour on their own for a week before the cruise), rental car for fairbanks, train for Fairbanks-Denali, Denali-Anchorage, Anchorage-Seward, all hotels (Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, Seward, Vancouver), almost all the excursions both before and during the cruise), all flights, etc. They're going to spend a night in Vancouver after the cruise then travel down to seattle for their flight to orlando...(not sure yet if they'll take amtrak or the quickshuttle to seattle).

oh and she booked the whale watching in icy straight point as you suggested! (as well as many of the other excursions you suggested)

That's great that you and your mom will also go to Alaska! I was on the Coral Princess, which I loved. It and the Island Princess are basically twins, and the Diamond and Sapphire are larger twins. The Coral and Island are narrower ships and can go through the Panama Canal, whereas the Diamond and Sapphire are too big for the Canal. They sail on different days of the week, so I would choose the ship that departs on the day you want to leave.

Your daughter's plans sound wonderful! While I have only driven between Vancouver and Seattle, and there's nothing terribly exciting as far as scenery - I have read that the train ride is partly along the coast and is really beautiful.

 

[disneyholic family]

However long the total time is for the park shuttle - they'll be at Eielson Visitor center just before the half-way point. When we took the tour, we were on one of the earliest shuttles at around 6 a.m. - yawn!


That's great that you and your mom will also go to Alaska! I was on the Coral Princess, which I loved. It and the Island Princess are basically twins, and the Diamond and Sapphire are larger twins. The Coral and Island are narrower ships and can go through the Panama Canal, whereas the Diamond and Sapphire are too big for the Canal. They sail on different days of the week, so I would choose the ship that departs on the day you want to leave.

Your daughter's plans sound wonderful! While I have only driven between Vancouver and Seattle, and there's nothing terribly exciting as far as scenery - I have read that the train ride is partly along the coast and is really beautiful.

we won't go together with DD.....it might be at the same general time, but ours will be a more sedentary view of alaska than DD's....

mainly, my mom has been dreaming of that train ride, so trains she'll get...
and then either princess, HAL, silversea or RSSC.....i'm trying to work through all 4 cruising options...
silversea and RSSC are much much smaller ships, but that might be nice...i don't know....i've been pouring over everything i can get my hands on..

as for princess, the sapphire will go into dry dock in spring 2012, so that might be a vote in its favor.....but it has so many passengers on board, i'm not sure my mom would like that...the Island princess was refurbished more recently than the coral princess, so that might be the deciding factor if i decide to go with princess.....

the HAL Statendaam also looks nice....it doesn't do hubbard, only glacier bay....and it goes to haines instead of skagway..

 

[sayhello]

So guess what was on my mom's bucket list?

seeing Alaska from the glass-domed train!!

Just when DD said, "grandma, i'm going to alaska in the summer", my mom immediately said - "you MUST go on the glass-domed train"...

she sounded as if she'd been on it, but she said no, she'd never been on it, but had always hoped to one day...

so guess what?

i'm now planning a trip to alaska for my mom and me!!!

while DD will sail on RCCL, i think that the princess itinerary is more appropriate for us.....
i don't want to miss out on Glacier bay (princess has both glacier and hubbard, while RCCL only does hubbard)...

so a question for those of you who have been on princess - they have 4 ships doing the alaska itinerary: Island, Coral, Diamond and Sapphire..

do you have an opinion on which one is better? pros and cons? are they all the same? they all have the same itineraries from what i can tell...i realize the island and coral are smaller, but that wouldn't necessarily make them better or worse..

i'd love to hear your opinions!!

As NancyIL says, the Coral & Island princess are the same, and the Diamond & Sapphire are the same. Personally, I really liked the size of the Coral Princess (but I've never been on the Diamond & Sapphire). I believe the Coral & Island princess have a larger percentage of balconies. I got a balcony on the "bump" (a part of the ship in the middle that extends out from the side of the ship a bit, and gives you better views). I highly recommend those cabins! The smaller the ship, the better the chance of getting to the glaciers if it's icy, and the closer they can usually get once they are there. I think I'm a little prejudiced about the Coral princess, but I really loved sailing on her! If the Island Princess was more recently renovated, I'd definitely go with that one.

Check with Princess to see if any of their cruisetours serve your purposes; otherwise I'd recommend doing what your daughter did, and arrange directly with Princess to ride their trains. Do the land portion first! I did the 14-day cruisetour that included the Kenai Penninsula; they have lots of different options.

I think you two are going to have a wonderful time!

Sayhello