Thread: The best of Alaska's scenery?

Thank you everybody for all your advice so far! At this point I'm just on the verge of going to my local trusted TA and seeing what they can come up with for myself, Grandma and Mom. But before I make the commitment I have just a couple last questions.

The background is, I'm taking my Grandma and Mom on a 6-8 day Alaskan cruise on either HAL, Princess, or Celebrity. And because Grandma is fairly restricted in movement (wheelchair with some walking) we'll probably stay on the boat most of the time, so scenery from the boat is a big priority. So, as we're looking at different cruise itineraries, I'm writing to ask you guys who know more about where these ships go than I do, what ports of call or general scenery would you suggest that'll give us the best views from the ship? So far we've got advice for Glacier and Hubbard Bay, but are there other great places we should be aware of?

And as a last little thing here, I'd like to get myself and Mom on a helicopter ride somewhere in the middle of this journey. Can you guys suggest where we should aim for a thrilling chopper ride? Curious about how much this would cost also.

Thanks so much for your help everybody!

As I mentioned on my other post, it would behoove you to talk to an agent who's been there done that. There's too much information to pass along in a simple post. Just make sure your local agent has been on all of these cruise lines so they can provide unbiased information on them and also that they have been to Alaska so they can provide specific information on the ports - what to do, what not to do, what to expect, etc.

Any of these three cruise lines would afford you a wonderful experience. As for cost, it depends on the type and number of cabins, and what type of shore excursions you decide on.

As for the helicopter tour, we did ours out of Juneau through an independent company and it was awesome! We also saved $100 per person by not booking with the cruise line.

Pete

If you chose a cruise that stops in Skagway you might consider the White Pass and Yukon Railroad as a shorex. The train come out to the ship so it would not be too difficult for Grandma. There are several versions but the basic one would probably be best. It is just up and down. The cost last season was about $105 pp.