The Trip of a Lifetime to Alaska – Land and Sea – Trip Report - COMLETE!! 4/13/12 - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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A few years ago we went on an Alaskan cruise and land tour but we started in Vancouver and ended up in Seward and then did a 3 day land tour. We also went on Radiance. We went around Memorial Day 2008 and were expecting cold weather but we actually had temps in the high 70s or 80s and no rain the entire trip. Thank goodness we brought some shorts and short sleeve tops. It was one of the best trips we've ever taken!
Marnie- I'm so excited about your trip! I made my first trek to Alaska when I was Alexis' age (although we drove in a tent trailer on the Al-Can highway from California for 6 weeks, so not quite so glamorous ) and it has stuck with me for the rest of the life. I think she's the perfect age for it! Can't wait to hear about your plans and I'm crossing my fingers early for a McKinley sighting for you!
While I now live in Alaska - I have actually been over the Alcan 5 times in my life. The first time I was actually only about 14 months old. The last time I was about 14 years old. It is an amazing trip. And you are so right, not near as glamorous as a cruise ship, but you do see some amazing stuff!!!
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I remember your mentioning the Alaska trip a while ago (maybe at the end of your California TR), and it seemed like a long ways away! It's already here! You got some really great deals, too! Looking forward to reading more!
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I forgot to mention that I ended up purchasing an Alaska Toursaver Coupon book. http://www.toursaver.com/ It costs $100, but I’ve already saved $135 for one of our train rides (so I’m up $35 at this point). There are some other things I can probably use it for when we are there, so that should also add up to some more savings. I also purchased (along with some Alaska guidebooks – DK and Fodor’s) a Milepost book. http://www.themilepost.com/ This book is a great resource if you’re driving around Alaska. It has all the milepost stops (hence the name) and where you can find anything along the highways and where they are located. If you’re just taking a cruise, it’s not needed, but since we’re driving around for a couple of days before, I thought it would be a great resource (and it has been). I have post-it notes all over it, and highlights as well! And Trip Advisor was another great resource, especially when it came to hotels and such for our land portion. Gosh, so much research was done, I’m tired of it!
Here are the plans for our trip as they stand now. United had better not have another computer meltdown this weekend, as our flight from BDL to Chicago is on United and if we were flying out last weekend most likely would have missed our connection to Anchorage (if we could have gotten to Chicago at all). I guess just another reason that if you’re going on a cruise give yourself a day or more to fly in because you just never know what is going to happen!
Day 1 – Leave BDL at 6, arrive in Anchorage at 1:15. Since it will be a very EARLY day for us, not much is planned for this afternoon. We are staying at the Comfort Inn Ships Creek, which is right next to Ships Creek so the boys can go fishing (they even have equipment at the hotel). We won’t have a car, so just explore what we can around downtown.
Day 2 – I’m sure the boys will be up early to fish, since we’ll still be on east coast time. Pick up rental car back at the airport. Head out to Denali (about a 4+ hour drive). We’re staying at McKinley Creekside Cabins. http://www.mckinleycabins.com/ Go into Denali NP to pick up our shuttle tickets for tomorrow, as well as see the visitor center, and maybe head out to Savage River.
Day 3 – We are taking the Eielson shuttle bus into Denali NP at 6:30 AM. Eielson shuttle bus It’s about an 8 hour trip from what I’ve read. Hoping to see some wildlife and Mt. McKinley (I think they said only 30% of the people actually get to see Mt. McKinley due to the clouds/weather). That night, we are doing the Husky Homestead tour (Alexa’s request) to see the sled dog puppies. http://www.huskyhomestead.com/
Day 4 – No real plans today. We could spend the morning at Denali for things we missed. We are moving from Denali to Hatchers Pass, staying at Hatchers Pass Bed and Breakfast. Hatcher Pass B&B We might stop in Talkeetna on the way to Hatcher Pass to check it out or stop at the Independence Mine in Hatchers Pass. Independence Mine
Day 5 – We are doing a Family Hike on Matanuska Glacier this morning with MICA. http://www.micaguides.com/ It’s only 1.5 hours, but I felt the “boys” wouldn’t last for the 3 hour hike, so it’s better than nothing! Then it’s back to Anchorage. Not sure if we’ll have time to go to Alyeska to take the tram up to the top, or if we’ll just stay put in Anchorage to see what we’ve missed (maybe rent bikes on the Tony Knowles trail). Need to return the rental car to the airport tonight. We’re staying at the Comfort Inn Ships Creek again. We might be meeting up with Jennifer (jenifermg0) from the boards.
Day 6 – We’re up early for the train from Anchorage to Seward (dome car). Then we’re going on a boat trip with Major Marine to see Kenai Fjords. Major Marine Kenai Fjords Tour We’re staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Seward. Holiday Inn Express Seward, AK Will be doing laundry here if not the night before as there are no self service machines on the ship (boo RC)!
Day 7 – Another play it by ear day. We can get on the ship around 1 PM, I believe but it doesn’t leave the dock until 9 PM, so there’s really no rush. The boys might go fishing. Alexa and I can head to the Sealife Center Alaska SeaLife Center and/or Exit Glacier. Exit Glacier
Day 8 – First day at sea. We’re cruising by Hubbard Glacier, and we have lunch reservations for all of us at Izumi (Japanese food).
Day 9 – This is our Juneau day. We have a whale watch with Orca Enterprises at 11:30. Orca Whale Watching Would also like to go to the top of Mt. Roberts on the tramway, and head out to Mendenhall Glacier. Ship is in port from 9 AM to 9 PM so we should have plenty of time.
Day 10 – This is our Skagway day. I have a car reserved with Avis and at this point we plan on driving up to Emerald Lake. Emerald Lake Not sure what else we’re going to do at this point. We are in port from 7 AM to 8:30 PM.
Day 11 – This is our Icy Strait Point day. I don’t have anything planned at this point. We are in port from 7 AM to 4 PM. The boys could do a fishing excursion. Alexa wants to do the zipline, but she is just shy of the weight requirement (90 lbs) so not sure if this is going to work or not, hence I haven’t reserved anything.
Day 12 – This is our Ketchikan day. We are in port from 9 AM to 6 PM. We are doing the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour (Deadliest Catch) at 9:30. Bering Sea Tour No other plans at this point.
Day 13 – Day at sea. No real plans for today, other than lunch at Giovanni’s (Italian) for all of us. I guess we’ll also be packing everything up.
Day 14 – Arrive in Vancouver. We’re staying at the Pan Pacific (got a great prepaid rate on Orbitz) so we don’t have far to go. I would like to go to Capilano Bridge http://www.capbridge.com/ and Grouse Mountain Grouse Mountain if the weather permits and/or Stanley Park. Possibly meet up with Sue M. from the boards.
Day 15 – Pick up rental car at YVR and drive to the ferry to Victoria. Today is Butchart Gardens. Butchart Gardens Plan to spent the entire day in Victoria and come back on the 7 PM ferry. Ferry reservations are made. Return rental car to YVR (which was $15 for the day – DEAL!!).
Day 16 – Back to YVR to pick up rental car. We’re relocating to Seattle today. Not sure what else is on the agenda, maybe Stanley Park in Vancouver if we didn’t get to that. Right now staying at the Best Western Executive Inn in Seattle, but looking for something closer to downtown at this point. Need to return the rental car to SEA.
Day 17 – Seattle – Plans are to go up the Space Needle. Space Needle Go to Pike Place Market, and walk around downtown.
Day 18 – Fly back home to BDL. Both exhausted and broke, I’m sure!
Well, there you have it. I guess we’ll have to see if it all goes according to plan or not. And hopefully we’ll have good weather (although we all have rain gear, hats/mittens, and lots of layer). Quite the challenge trying to pack for this trip, and quite different from the normal summer trip to WDW or the Caribbean!
Wow Marnie!! Those are some excellent plans and my hats off to you for all that research. You guys are doing (and seeing) way more that we are. We hope to head back up next year thanks to an invite from friends who now live in Anchorage (free place to stay!!) to tour Anchorage and Denali.
I totally agree with you on packing for a trip like this being a challenge and way different from Disney or the Caribbean. I just know we are going to have some great weather!
Alaska is definitely a place that we would like to visit when DD is older. I am so excited to be following along on your journey. You guys have lots of good things planned. Can't wait to see all of your pictures!
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Check out my Pre-Trip Report for our 9/18-9/23/12 trip here:
That itinerary is a masterpiece! I love the look of the cabins at Denali. Definitely a challenge packing for this one. Sending that all your flight connections go as planned.
Day 10 – This is our Skagway day. I have a car reserved with Avis and at this point we plan on driving up to Emerald Lake. Emerald Lake Not sure what else we’re going to do at this point. We are in port from 7 AM to 8:30 PM.
Day 12 – This is our Ketchikan day. We are in port from 9 AM to 6 PM. We are doing the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour (Deadliest Catch) at 9:30. Bering Sea Tour No other plans at this point.
Great plans!!
On our Skagway even though we didn't drive ourselves (we used a tour company)- we also had a stop at Emerald Lake (it was beautiful)- so *IF* I'm thinking correctly you will likely be traveling the same road we took and if so there will be a lot of (obvious) stops along the way to stop and take pictures....
I have heard nothing but great things about the Bering Sea excursion; I seriously considered this one for us....
I can't wait to hear all about your trip! These last few days should just fly by...
Had some issues with seperating out parts of your post....hope this all makes sense!!!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom I forgot to mention that I ended up purchasing an Alaska Toursaver Coupon book http://www.toursaver.com/ It costs $100, but I’ve already saved $135 for one of our train rides (so I’m up $35 at this point). There are some other things I can probably use it for when we are there, so that should also add up to some more savings. I also purchased (along with some Alaska guidebooks – DK and Fodor’s) a Milepost book. http://www.themilepost.com/ This book is a great resource if you’re driving around Alaska. It has all the milepost stops (hence the name) and where you can find anything along the highways and where they are located. If you’re just taking a cruise, it’s not needed, but since we’re driving around for a couple of days before, I thought it would be a great resource (and it has been). I have post-it notes all over it, and highlights as well! And Trip Advisor was another great resource, especially when it came to hotels and such for our land portion. Gosh, so much research was done, I’m tired of it!
The Milepost is AWESOME! I even buy it occasionally and I live here!!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom Day 1 – Leave BDL at 6, arrive in Anchorage at 1:15. Since it will be a very EARLY day for us, not much is planned for this afternoon. We are staying at the Comfort Inn Ships Creek, which is right next to Ships Creek so the boys can go fishing (they even have equipment at the hotel). We won’t have a car, so just explore what we can around downtown.
FYI - It is Ship Creek (no "S"). Just so you have all your info right.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom Day 2 – I’m sure the boys will be up early to fish, since we’ll still be on east coast time.
Awesome place to fish. Just check with front desk re: fishing regs. You can only fish in certain place and have to be so far from cuverts and dams etc. If they are providing equipment as you mentioned, they should know what is legal or not. I would hate for you or your boys to meet up with my co-workers and get fishing citations.
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom Pick up rental car back at the airport. Head out to Denali (about a 4+ hour drive). We’re staying at McKinley Creekside Cabins. http://www.mckinleycabins.com/ Go into Denali NP to pick up our shuttle tickets for tomorrow, as well as see the visitor center, and maybe head out to Savage River.
Day 3 – We are taking the Eielson shuttle bus into Denali NP at 6:30 AM. Eielson shuttle bus It’s about an 8 hour trip from what I’ve read. Hoping to see some wildlife and Mt. McKinley (I think they said only 30% of the people actually get to see Mt. McKinley due to the clouds/weather). That night, we are doing the Husky Homestead tour (Alexa’s request) to see the sled dog puppies. http://www.huskyhomestead.com/
Even if you can't see Denali, the view up there are amazing! Last summer we drove to Fairbanks for DS to go to the Boy Scout camp up there and even with the clouds socked in, it was beautiful! However, I will keep my fingers crossed that you can manage to see "The Great One!"
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom Day 4 – No real plans today. We could spend the morning at Denali for things we missed. We are moving from Denali to Hatchers Pass, staying at Hatchers Pass Bed and Breakfast. Hatcher Pass B&B We might stop in Talkeetna on the way to Hatcher Pass to check it out or stop at the Independence Mine in Hatchers Pass. Independence Mine
The mine is really cool. They used to have guided tours, but I think that now you have to do a self guided tour - Unfortunately budget cutbacks have really hurt our Parks and Rec departments!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom Day 5 – We are doing a Family Hike on Matanuska Glacier this morning with MICA. http://www.micaguides.com/ It’s only 1.5 hours, but I felt the “boys” wouldn’t last for the 3 hour hike, so it’s better than nothing! Then it’s back to Anchorage. Not sure if we’ll have time to go to Alyeska to take the tram up to the top, or if we’ll just stay put in Anchorage to see what we’ve missed (maybe rent bikes on the Tony Knowles trail). Need to return the rental car to the airport tonight. We’re staying at the Comfort Inn Ships Creek again. We might be meeting up with Jennifer (jenifermg0) from the boards.
Seeing as Matanuska Glacier is north and Alyeska is south, you might be hard pressed to do both in the same day!
FYI - couple of road tips for Alaska highways. Always drive with your headlights on....yeah, I know, it's day light all the time right now, but it's required! Also, if you are going less than the speed limit and you end up with 5 or more cars behind you, you are required to find the next safe place to pull over and let them all pass. And watch out for the "Safety Zones," if you get a ticket in one of these zones, it will be double the fine. Same goes for construction zones.
Meeting up is definately in my plans if you guys are up to it!
And another name for the Tony Knowles trail is the Coastal Trail and it is a great place to ride and won't kill you! There is a place to rent bikes at the corner of 5th and L, not that far from where you are staying.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom Day 6 – We’re up early for the train from Anchorage to Seward (dome car). Then we’re going on a boat trip with Major Marine to see Kenai Fjords.Major Marine Kenai Fjords Tour We’re staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Seward. Holiday Inn Express Seward, AK Will be doing laundry here if not the night before as there are no self service machines on the ship (boo RC)!
The train ride to Seward is way much fun! I've only done it once, but we saw all kinds of wildlife. I am hoping you will too. We saw sheep, moose, bear, eagles and a mess of other little stuff. When we took the glacier cruise we also saw otter, puffins, sea lions, orca, grey whales, more eagles and another bear!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom Day 7 – Another play it by ear day. We can get on the ship around 1 PM, I believe but it doesn’t leave the dock until 9 PM, so there’s really no rush. The boys might go fishing. Alexa and I can head to the Sealife Center Alaska SeaLife Center and/or Exit Glacier Exit Glacier
The SeaLife Center is a lot of fun. It can be pricey, so make sure to check your coupon book to see if you can get some kind of deal! DS and his scout troop earned the Oceanography merit badge down there last summer - and since we were doing that there, we got to go thru the Center for FREE!!!! YEAH!!!!!
Exit Glacier is a nice hike and won’t do you in either.
Well, from here on out, you are on your own so to speak....I have never been to Southeast, but I'm sure that you will be able to find people on the ship that are knowledgeable about what to do and where to go! Have a great trip!!!!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom Well, there you have it. I guess we’ll have to see if it all goes according to plan or not. And hopefully we’ll have good weather (although we all have rain gear, hats/mittens, and lots of layer). Quite the challenge trying to pack for this trip, and quite different from the normal summer trip to WDW or the Caribbean!
Well, hopefully the weather will be nice for you and you won't need the rain gear and hats/mittens! But better to have them and not need them than have to buy them somewhere along the line! You should probably toss in a couple pair each of wool socks too! You don't want cotton socks if doing any hiking etc! Cotton....bad! Wool....good!!!!
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) and it has stuck with me for the rest of the life. I think she's the perfect age for it! Can't wait to hear about your plans and I'm crossing my fingers early for a McKinley sighting for you!
And Trip Advisor was another great resource, especially when it came to hotels and such for our land portion. Gosh, so much research was done, I’m tired of it!
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