If you sail one-way, try to get a balcony on the LAND side of the ship.
That would be Port (left) heading south, or Starboard (right) heading north.
Some of the scenery, even from a bit far out, is gorgeous...!
We did this in late May, because we wanted to see the snow on the mountains, and wow, did we ever!!
Next, IF you can find an itinerary that includes Hubbard Glacier, try to include that!
Note that occasionally, due to weather, the ship cannot get all the way in to that area, but that's a possible risk for any portion of a cruise.
We thought Hubbard Glacier was MUCH more impressive than all of Glacier Bay. When we were there, the calving (large chunks of the glacier falling into the water) was amazing. It was very active.
And the ship stayed there for quite a long time, slowly spinning so that any position on the ship would have a direct view. Of course, on a cruise like that, one probably doesn't want to just stay in one place... better to walk around on deck, and just look at ALL of the area!
The train to or from Anchorage is beautiful. If possible, get an Observation ("Gold"?) car ticket. And do it during daylight; all the trains may be during daylight (?).
We had one of our favorite excursions ever on that cruise, but I don't think it's available anymore.
In Juneau, we arranged to take a small hovercraft, and we visited a glacier where we could just pull right up.
Note: There was a PAIR of hovercrafts used, with 4 (I think) passengers on each, plus crew.
As we made our way, DH and I quietly mumbled that the reason there were two was probably in case one got stuck!
It was a very special outing!
We loved every minute of that cruise!
RM
That would be Port (left) heading south, or Starboard (right) heading north.
Some of the scenery, even from a bit far out, is gorgeous...!
We did this in late May, because we wanted to see the snow on the mountains, and wow, did we ever!!
Next, IF you can find an itinerary that includes Hubbard Glacier, try to include that!
Note that occasionally, due to weather, the ship cannot get all the way in to that area, but that's a possible risk for any portion of a cruise.
We thought Hubbard Glacier was MUCH more impressive than all of Glacier Bay. When we were there, the calving (large chunks of the glacier falling into the water) was amazing. It was very active.
And the ship stayed there for quite a long time, slowly spinning so that any position on the ship would have a direct view. Of course, on a cruise like that, one probably doesn't want to just stay in one place... better to walk around on deck, and just look at ALL of the area!
The train to or from Anchorage is beautiful. If possible, get an Observation ("Gold"?) car ticket. And do it during daylight; all the trains may be during daylight (?).
We had one of our favorite excursions ever on that cruise, but I don't think it's available anymore.
In Juneau, we arranged to take a small hovercraft, and we visited a glacier where we could just pull right up.
Note: There was a PAIR of hovercrafts used, with 4 (I think) passengers on each, plus crew.
As we made our way, DH and I quietly mumbled that the reason there were two was probably in case one got stuck!
It was a very special outing!
We loved every minute of that cruise!
RM
Statistics: Posted by ResearchMed — Sat Aug 24, 2024 9:49 pm — Replies 14 — Views 793