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Alaska
- Thread starter huh
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I haven't, but my aunt did a couple years ago. She LOVED the whole experience. I can ask her specific questions if you have any. One thing I know for sure: when you've helicoptered onto a glacier and they tell you not to get too close to any of the crevasses, they're NOT KIDDING. Her group was told that if anyone falls in, there'd be nothing done to try to rescue them. That's because it's such a loooooong way down, and the odds of surviving are remote. So what does she do? She gets REALLY CLOSE to one crevasse to take pictures. *sigh* (The pics came out great, by the way. 
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Stuntman
Android Expert
I went on one for my honeymoon. My advice is to keep your camera handy while you're on the ship. During our cruise, we saw an orca along side our ship. It jumped out of the water. I managed to snap a shot of it while it was at the height of the jump. Another time, a school of dolphin was also along side our ship. I didn't have my camera handy and by the time, I ran to the cabin to get my camera, the dolphin were too far away for me to get a good shot.
We personally weren't into the off shore excursions. If you like looking at wildlife and mountainous scenery, you will likely want to look into them. The towns that the ship docks in are quite small and there is not much to do there. Excursions tend to take you to areas that are more interesting.
We personally weren't into the off shore excursions. If you like looking at wildlife and mountainous scenery, you will likely want to look into them. The towns that the ship docks in are quite small and there is not much to do there. Excursions tend to take you to areas that are more interesting.
Gad, I'd love to go on one of those. They've been advertising excursions like them on television here in the Boston area since I was a wee lad of 10.
Stuntman
Android Expert
The Alaskan cruise I went on stops in cities along the pan handle like Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. These are in the lower latitudes and during the summer, there isn't much ice. The only time we saw ice was on the day it stopped at the northernmost point of the cruise which is off the coast of a glacier. There you can actually witness part of the glacier falling into the ocean. The ship didn't dock there. It just stayed there for part of the day for people to view the glacier. Then it headed back south.
cool..
but I guess .. it aint my cup of tea. watching ice fall.
I am more of a Baywatch kind of person... half naked women running on the beach.. in slow motion.. that is a vacation!!!
huh
Android Expert
I'm a beach bum at heart myself
I kind of wanted to do something "different" and memorable with my boys before they grow up...It's already flying by at warp speed
I like Cruises and all inclusives because you dont have to think about where are we going for dinner.."mom".what's for lunch "mom" what are we doing today.."mom"etc...etc...
plus surprisingly it's not a huge fortune compared to some of the other brilliant ideas I had...
I kind of wanted to do something "different" and memorable with my boys before they grow up...It's already flying by at warp speed I like Cruises and all inclusives because you dont have to think about where are we going for dinner.."mom".what's for lunch "mom" what are we doing today.."mom"etc...etc...plus surprisingly it's not a huge fortune compared to some of the other brilliant ideas I had...
Stuntman
Android Expert
I'm a beach bum at heart myself
plus surprisingly it's not a huge fortune compared to some of the other brilliant ideas I had...
The great thing about cruises is that you can visit a number of cities without having to worry about much of the travel arrangements between them. You always have food and a place to sleep. The buffet restaurant seems to be open 24 hours. The other ones do have off hours.
Regarding costs, the price of staterooms on the ship varies. On some ships, there are staterooms with no windows at all. They are usually the cheapest if you can handle it. On my first cruise we had such a room. There is a TV that has a channel showing the view from the front of the ship. That was our makeshift window to the outside.
The cruise usually does not include the price for off shore excursions. Depending on your cruise package, you may have credits for the excursions. If not, you will have to pay for them or find your own tour guide. You really should research excursions and the ports where the ship docks. Excursion costs will add to the price of the trip. Sometimes, we just hire a local tour guide. They tend to be less expensive than excursions and can offer something different than what the cruise line offers.
There will also be a couple of days when the ship does not dock at all. There are activities to do on the ship. There are shows, movies, workshops, physical activies you can do. You can also just lie on the deck and get some sun. The weather is usually best in July and August. Into September, there will be increasing chances of rain.