Thanks to our client Dan from Delaware for sharing his family’s experience on their Princess cruise tour.
We really enjoyed the Princess experience, overall. We weren’t sure going in to the cruise, given how great the Disney trips of the past have been. The staff, dining, activities; all were very pleasant, and we feel, on the same par as Disney. In regard to the lodges, we enjoyed them all, but our family favorite was the McKinley lodge. While our room may have been a bit nicer at the Denali lodge, according to our kids, McKinley felt more like a “lodge”, and I would agree. All of our excursions were great, especially the whale watching/Mendenhall glacier trip out of Juneau, and the downtown sightseeing tour we took in Skagway, which we all enjoyed a great deal. One excursion, which we set up on our own, rather last minute while we were in Talkeetna, was a flightseeing trip up into the glaciers surrounding Mt. McKinley. We used the Sheldon Air Service, which worked out great. The sights were unbelievable, and we were able to land up on the mountainside, on the glacier, close to the McKinley. The kids (and Beth!), were able to sled down a portion of the glacier. The Sheldon folks own quite a bit of the Alaskan bush pilot history, which added to the experience. The picture above is from this experience.
We’re already kicking around ideas for next year, so as things materialize, we will definitely be in touch. Thanks again, Tim, for all your help!…..Dan and family
Last week we featured an amazing photo from our client Michele taken on her Alaska cruise. Here is the rest of Michele’s report on the cruise in response to our questions.
Michele’s Norwegian Pearl Alaska Cruise (May 2015)
Ketichikan
How did your stateroom work out? The stateroom was a great size for the three of us and the balcony was very spacious. There was plenty of storage for the three of us to put our clothes in and the closet was accessible from both the dressing area as well as from the hallway near the stateroom door.
Did you enjoy your shore excursions and would you recommend them? Which one was your favorite? I did the Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari in Juneau. This, by far, was my favorite excursion of the trip (
see Michele’s picture and description of this excursion from last week’s Snapshot Story... Read More
Thanks to our client Michele from Illinois for sharing this amazing photo she took on her May 2015 Norwegian Pearl Alaska cruise.
“I did the Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari in Juneau. This, by far, was my favorite excursion of the trip and ranks pretty high up there among all of the excursions I have ever taken. I have had a Nikon D90 camera for several years but it sits in the closet because it seems too confusing to operate. The tour guide (Andy) was a graduate of a photography school out of California who was extremely patient and very helpful. He would help us as a group as well as individually and you could really tell that he loved photography. I was kind of disappointed when we went to Auke Bay to board the vessel to whale watch as my husband Paul and I had previously went on a whale watch excursion in this area. At that time we saw some resident orca whales (dorsal fins only) and only one humpback whale dorsal fin. This time we had a resident male humpback, a female, and her calf. The calf was breaching nearly the whole time we were there! We actually left before he was tuckered out but it was time to move on. Next up we went to a marker that had juvenile stellar seals jockeying for position on the marker with a bald eagle perched on top. From Auke Bay we proceeded to Mendenhall Glacier where we walked a 3/4-mile trail and practiced our photography skills again. It was a very nice trail that terminated at the visitor’s center at the glacier and from there we headed down to the beach for more photos before boarding the bus back to port.”
This September I was fortunate to stay at the Alyeska Resort near Anchorage on a travel agent tour of the area. What a resort this is! Our guide said it was the best resort in all of Alaska, and it did not disappoint.... Read More
by Tim Larison, co-owner Family Travel Gurus/Larison Travel LLP
In September 2012 I sailed on a wonderful day cruise out of Seward, Alaska touring the Kenai Fjords National Park with Major Marine tours. This was my second experience with Major Marine, I had taken my wife and 11 year old twin boys in 2005 on the same cruise, and both cruises were great! I’ll show you some of my pictures from both of these cruises and tell you why the Major Marine tour is a not-to-be-missed Alaska adventure.
It was a beautiful Sunday morning as I arrived at the Seward harbor.
The Holland America Zaandam had arrived earlier that morning – the last cruise ship to visit Seward for the season. A Kenai Fjords cruise is a great pre or post cruise add-on for those who start or end their cruise in Seward. Several major cruise lines, such as Holland America, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean, have a number of ships arriving and departing out of Seward each week during the May – September Alaska cruise season.
You may ask, “why take another cruise when I just got off a 7 day one?!” Well, the Major Marine Kenai Fjords cruise is a different experience than what you get on the larger ocean cruise ships.
Here’s a picture with me, my wife Anne, and our twin sons Josh and Andrew back in 2005 before going on our Kenai Fjords day cruise. We had just come back from a 7 day Celebrity cruise ourselves and we looked forward to the scenic views we would get from a smaller boat.
One difference between the big ships and Major Marine is that on a smaller vessel you can have a lot of motion, especially in the segments where the Major Marine boat is on the open ocean. I strongly recommend taking an over-the-counter seasickness medication – like Bonine. On our 2005 cruise we saw many people get sea sick on our tour. Even Josh and Andrew got sick and they had never been sea sick on our previous 10+ ocean cruises! In 2012 I was ready – I took a Bonine pill one hour before my Major Marine cruise. Though I never get sea sick, even on that 2005 cruise, I didn’t want to take any chances!
I liked going to the back of the boat in the open air to view the scenery – even if it was a bit windy!
If it was too windy outside you could sit at a table inside next to a window. Here’s my family from our 2005 cruise studying our route on a map Major Marine provided.... Read More
by Tim Larison, co-owner familytravelgurus.com/Larison Travel
This September I visited Talkeetna, Alaska for two days. Talkeetna, on the edge of Denali National Park, gave me a wonderful Alaska experience.... Read More
Thanks to our client Teresa from Missouri for sharing this trip report of her and her husband’s 7 night Disney Wonder Alaska cruise in June 2012.
This was a wonderful cruise! Thank you so much for all the arrangements you made for us. Everything worked out just like you said it would!! We are glad we had you book the Disney ground transportation for us. That worked so well and was easy to locate at the airport. We recommend doing that!
Our stateroom was in a great location. Down two floors to dining and entertainment or up four floors to the pool deck. We didn’t use the pool, but we went up there a lot for viewing of the glacier and mountains. Our room was not too far from the aft lifts and it seemed to be a handy location for us. We used the stairs mostly, but had no problems getting a lift if we wanted one. Our stateroom attendant and the dining room servers were excellent.
Tracy Arm was unbelievably beautiful. We had never experienced anything like it. The glacier ice was a beautiful blue color. We were surprised at how close the Disney Wonder came to the glacier. We were able to see ice calving off, the splash it made, and the waves from the splash. The seals were fun to watch, too.
We only took one excursion through Disney: The Best of Skagway. We had been looking forward to that part of the trip. It was so amazing to us that they were able to build the railroad in such adverse conditions. Seeing that land today, still makes it seem impossible to navigate. The scenery was beautiful. We had hoped for blue skies, but didn’t get them. It was still very pretty. The picture I attached is of White Pass & Yukon Route Railway on our excursion from Fraser, B.C. to Skagway, Alaska. You do need your passports.
Ketchikan has quite a reputation for rain, but we were prepared. Before we left home, we purchased waterproof jackets and pants and were so glad we did. We tromped around in the rain up the famous Creek Street and happened upon the Discovery Center (admission fee $5.00 each!!) which was a great find. The park rangers in the Discovery Center were so informative and welcoming. Great people!!
In Juneau, we took the Mt. Roberts Tramway up the mountain to the overlook. We weren’t able to hike on the mountain due to the dangerous melting snow conditions, but enjoyed the movie and the scenery. We also shopped in the downtown area.
We definitely will check with you the next time we plan to travel. You took care of everything perfectly. Thank you!
We recently chatted with Carolyn Szekeres from Princess Cruises about Alaska and what Princess offers in general.
“At Princess, we consider ourselves to be the Alaska leaders. We have invested so much in our Alaska product that we think we really offer the very best Alaska experience. We have been named Best Cruise Line in Alaska 4 of the past 5 years by
Travel Weekly,” says Carolyn.
We especially like the Princess “cruisetours” -where you combine a cruise with several days exploring the interior of Alaska. Carolyn agrees: “A cruisetour is the only way to see all the best of Alaska. Glaciers with Glacier Bay are included on every cruisetour, Mountains with at least 2 nights at one or both Princess lodges in the Denali area, and Wildlife. We offer our exclusive Direct to the Wilderness rail program that takes our passengers on the domed rail car directly from the ship to Denali on the same day.”
We really enjoyed the Princess experience, overall. We weren’t sure going in to the cruise, given how great the Disney trips of the past have been. The staff, dining, activities; all were very pleasant, and we feel, on the same par as Disney. In regard to the lodges, we enjoyed them all, but our family favorite was the McKinley lodge. While our room may have been a bit nicer at the Denali lodge, according to our kids, McKinley felt more like a “lodge”, and I would agree. All of our excursions were great, especially the whale watching/Mendenhall glacier trip out of Juneau, and the downtown sightseeing tour we took in Skagway, which we all enjoyed a great deal. One excursion, which we set up on our own, rather last minute while we were in Talkeetna, was a flightseeing trip up into the glaciers surrounding Mt. McKinley. We used the Sheldon Air Service, which worked out great. The sights were unbelievable, and we were able to land up on the mountainside, on the glacier, close to the McKinley. The kids (and Beth!), were able to sled down a portion of the glacier. The Sheldon folks own quite a bit of the Alaskan bush pilot history, which added to the experience. The picture above is from this experience.
This was a wonderful cruise! Thank you so much for all the arrangements you made for us. Everything worked out just like you said it would!! We are glad we had you book the Disney ground transportation for us. That worked so well and was easy to locate at the airport. We recommend doing that!