Alaska on the Wonder - Looking for Excursion Advice!

[Tiggerish]

So, I’ve just made my final payment on the August 6 sailing of the Wonder to Alaska. Bucket list for my hubby, and we got a great deal by booking onboard our Miami-Key West cruise last year.

Appealing to forum friends for any tips, suggestions on excursions, etc.

 

[Nemo14]

We did a RC Alaska tour last August, so not all of my advice will apply, but here's a few things.

1.) Bring warm clothes, and a raincoat. We had precipitation every day, usually not downpours, but enough to be an annoyance.

2.) We did a whale watch from the village of Hoonah (Icy Straits) which was awesome. Saw several Humpbacks and a few Orcas.

3.) Alaska is so so beautiful, and we'll definitely go back, but not on a cruise. If possible, book a land portion too - there's so much more to Alaska than what you'll see at the ports. We really enjoyed Denali, and even Anchorage was pretty neat.

4.) The Hubbard Glacier was awesome. Just watching and listening to the calving was an experience we'll never forget. (Again, dress warm for this!)

5.) Have tons of fun!

 

[Nemo14]

Here's my trip report from our Alaska trip:
https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/alaska-bound.930062/

 

[ChuckElias]

First thing I would recommend is to spend a day or two in Vancouver before (or after) your cruise. It's such a beautiful city with so much to see. I love the city and hope to go back. You have Gastown right near the port, you have Stanley Park, there's an Anglican cathedral, you have an hour drive up to Whistler, which is gorgeous.

Here's the steam powered clock in Gastown that chimes on the quarter hour.

Definitely bring clothes that you can layer. We went over July 4 and we had a high of about 70 degrees, but it got much colder in the afternoons/evenings or when we got close to Tracy Arm glacier. Also, nobody tells you this until you get there, but Alaska is part of the only temperate rain forest in the northern hemisphere. Yeah. . . rain forest. So pack a travel umbrella.

But also pack your bathing suit. Remember, the pools are heated to 85 degrees.

Keep an eye out for unique character photo ops. Brother Bear characters were on our sailing; Minnie and Mickey had great "cold weather" costumes.

Our favorite excursion was a bike ride to a glacial plain in Skagway. Skagway was also my favorite port, personally.

We also did a whale watch in Juneau. It turned out to be very disappointing. Be aware that your experience can vary widely with a whale watch. Our first trip to Alaska we had a GREAT one, with whales coming up to our boat; but on our second trip we saw very little wildlife. So I would still recommend going, because if you get a good one, it's an amazing experience. But be aware that it's possible to get a less-than-good one.

Here are a couple more pictures from Skagway:

This is a railroad snowplow! They put it at the front of the train and it throws snow off the tracks. I thought this was really cool.

One of the earliest billboards in Skagway, painted onto the mountain wall:

 

[RMichael21]

We did an Alaska trip back in 2012 (with a cruise with RC) and had an amazing time. Like above posters, I'd definitely consider booking a land portion before or after the cruise. We had about 5 days in Anchorage and Denali before our cruise and thought this was a great way to see the inland portions of the state.

 

[Tiggerish]

We did a RC Alaska tour last August, so not all of my advice will apply, but here's a few things.

1.) Bring warm clothes, and a raincoat. We had precipitation every day, usually not downpours, but enough to be an annoyance.

2.) We did a whale watch from the village of Hoonah (Icy Straits) which was awesome. Saw several Humpbacks and a few Orcas.

3.) Alaska is so so beautiful, and we'll definitely go back, but not on a cruise. If possible, book a land portion too - there's so much more to Alaska than what you'll see at the ports. We really enjoyed Denali, and even Anchorage was pretty neat.

4.) The Hubbard Glacier was awesome. Just watching and listening to the calving was an experience we'll never forget. (Again, dress warm for this!)

5.) Have tons of fun!

Here's my trip report from our Alaska trip:
https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/alaska-bound.930062/

Thanks for this, B. I'll read that TR!

Edit to add: I did read that TR last year when you wrote it! Making notes, I'll be back with questions.

 

[Tiggerish]

First thing I would recommend is to spend a day or two in Vancouver before (or after) your cruise. It's such a beautiful city with so much to see. I love the city and hope to go back. You have Gastown right near the port, you have Stanley Park, there's an Anglican cathedral, you have an hour drive up to Whistler, which is gorgeous.

Here's the steam powered clock in Gastown that chimes on the quarter hour.

View attachment 276470

Definitely bring clothes that you can layer. We went over July 4 and we had a high of about 70 degrees, but it got much colder in the afternoons/evenings or when we got close to Tracy Arm glacier. Also, nobody tells you this until you get there, but Alaska is part of the only temperate rain forest in the northern hemisphere. Yeah. . . rain forest. So pack a travel umbrella.

But also pack your bathing suit. Remember, the pools are heated to 85 degrees.

Keep an eye out for unique character photo ops. Brother Bear characters were on our sailing; Minnie and Mickey had great "cold weather" costumes.

View attachment 276461

View attachment 276462
Our favorite excursion was a bike ride to a glacial plain in Skagway. Skagway was also my favorite port, personally.

View attachment 276463

We also did a whale watch in Juneau. It turned out to be very disappointing. Be aware that your experience can vary widely with a whale watch. Our first trip to Alaska we had a GREAT one, with whales coming up to our boat; but on our second trip we saw very little wildlife. So I would still recommend going, because if you get a good one, it's an amazing experience. But be aware that it's possible to get a less-than-good one.

Here are a couple more pictures from Skagway:

This is a railroad snowplow! They put it at the front of the train and it throws snow off the tracks. I thought this was really cool.

View attachment 276464

View attachment 276468

One of the earliest billboards in Skagway, painted onto the mountain wall:

View attachment 276466

Chuck, I totally remember reading your Alaskan trip report! I revisited it before creating this thread, but the pictures were gone.

I think we're going to do Vancouver after the cruise, because we sail on a Monday and disembark on a Monday, and I have to work around this little Mon-Fri thing called "my job", so it makes more sense to me to take 2 straight work weeks rather than chop up 3 work weeks.

 

[Tiggerish]

Life got in the way of vacation planning, but I've just taken care of booking the important stuff (Palo dinner, Palo brunch, Mixology and Bourbon Tasting) and am now investigating excursions.

Will be back with questions.

 

[ChuckElias]

Chuck, I totally remember reading your Alaskan trip report! I revisited it before creating this thread, but the pictures were gone.

I don't curse much, but if I did, I'd have a big fat multi-syllabic, hyphenated, NC17-rated curse word for Photobucket.

 

[Tiggerish]

I don't curse much, but if I did, I'd have a big fat multi-syllabic, hyphenated, NC17-rated curse word for Photobucket.

You would not be alone in that.

 

[ChuckElias]

@Tiggerish is sailing TODAY!! Enjoy Alaska!! Please do a trip report when you get back!!!

 

[Tiggerish]

Thanks for remembering, @ChuckElias!! We are currently breakfasting at the airport Westin (highly recommend—churros on the breakfast buffet!) before repacking and heading out for our 12:30 port arrival time. Our next meal will be in Cabanas!!

 

[MaryJaneP]

Our hope is to one day enjoy an Alaska DCL cruise. We thank you all for your posts and wish all travelling great cruises.

 

[Tiggerish]

Couple images from our day so far.