Remember everyone has different tastes and preferences and suggestions and ideas, so here are my tips. For anyone else who has been to Alaska on a cruise, please feel free to add your tips:
1) Dress in layers. Weather in Alaska can change on a dime. Bring clothes that are easy to layer on and easy to layer off. Its not nearly as cold in Alaska during the summer as most people seem to think
2) Bring either an umbrella or rain jacket with a hood. Most people don't realize that Southeast Alaska, where most cruising is done is well known for rain. In fact Ketchikan averages a 1/2 inch or rain a day!
3) Bring a pair of binoculars. Powerful binoculars are obviously better than weak ones, but weak ones are better than no ones! In order to get a good view of wildlife in the water or along the shoreline, a pair of binoculars is a must.
4) Bring sunglasses. This may seem weird, but boy was I sorry when I went dog sledding and was naieve enough to leave my sunglasses in my backpack back at basecamp. If you are planning on landing on a glacier or going to a dog sled camp these will come in handy. When everything is as bright as can be and completely snow white everywhere, you'll be grateful you brought sunglasses!
5) Bring lots of film for your camera or enough memory for your digital camera. It seems that almost everywhere you turn in Alaska there is some new amazing, wonderful and absolutely breathtaking sight. You don't want to be stuck missing that perfect Kodak moment because you didnt bring enough film. If thats a case, then you're gonna have to hope that your memory is good enough to remember all that you saw in Alaska
6) Take advantage of seeing and doing truly Alaskan activities. Try a helicopter ride and land on a glacier, go dog sledding, go bear watching, go salmon fishing, go crabbing, go to a wildlife preserve, go to a native village, go see the totem poles. You don't want to go home and regret not seeing the things that make Alaska truly unique and special. This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity, don't let it pass you buy.
7) Read and research the cities and towns you'll be stopping at. There is so much history in each town and a plethora of activities. Pick the one that most interests you. Make a list of the things you want to do and see, then pick a cruise based upon that list. Alaska is more about the cities and the scenery than it is about the cruise line or ship
8) Most of all, go and enjoy this truly unique experience. Alaska is the great wide open the great unknown. You've never experienced anything like this great land before. Every turn of the head brings new experiences, new pictures. Get off the ship enjoy the city and the locals. Make the most of your chance to experience this great place.
Many of you have been to Seattle. You know to bring layers to dress there as well. Remember that a light sweater is great in Alaska with a thin parka to go over it for the protection of rain. Sunglasses are also important as was stated because the glare off the snow can be blinding.
Did you know that the Salmon spawn upstream. The cycle is be born upstream, make your way to the ocean, then swim upstream to spawn in the place you were born. Then die after the trek upstream. It is truly amazing to see the Salmon jumping to make it upstream. There are Salmon hatcheries that you can actually touch the Salmon. You wouldn't beleive the weight and how slimey they can be. I was a Mom for the field trip. The kids needed help to touch them.
The water is frigid from Seattle up. The water is never warm. So remember that if you want to do water sports. They have kayaking in Alaska where you can whale watch and such from the kayaks. They supply most of the wet weather gear.
You can also do excursions that take you for a Salmon bake along with other nature sites.
The dances you can see are also amazing.
I will find the disk with the digital pics and post some later. It is a great spot to go.
Truly Alaskan activities... very good point. Be sure to eat at our McDonald's, shop in our Costco store and drink Budweiser at a bar!
But seriously folks... bring the layers, umbrellas and sunglasses (We're smack in the middle of North America's largest rainforest - yes, you read that right... RAINforest!) Even on overcast days (most of them) I wear sunglasses just about every day. Whether I'm on the snow, water, or highway they'll help cut the glare nicely.
Salmon: Lad MacAuley (founder of DIPAC and MacAuley salmon hatchery) pioneered the technique for "imprinting" hatchery raised salmon. By varying water salinity and temperature in minute amounts over a few weeks during a critical period in the fish's development cycle, they can actually grow ridges and valleys (vaguely like rings in a tree, only external) on a tiny bone in the fish's head. They've encoded fish from each hatchery with a different bone pattern, so that even in the wild, biologists can tell exactly where a given fish came from.
Back to tips: The most important advice I can give is to just get out there and DO things! Unless you're taking a "shopping vacation" (where you go home with 10x as much stuff as you departed wtih), there's little need to spend more than a few hours in each port shopping.
Find something that you've never done before (but maybe always wanted to) and go for it! The people who were most afraid of getting seasick on my boat are always the ones who have the most fun whale-watching. Sorry for the stereotype here, but the women and children who get "dragged" along on a fishing trip with their DH are always the ones who catch the biggest fish and have the best time. Even folks afraid of heights and flying have an indescribably wonderful time on the helicopter flightseeing trips.
IF you're a history buff and can "sit still" long enough, grab a local (they don't even have to be a tour guide) and ask questions. Most folks are quite friendly, and there's some amazing history scattered around in some rather unusual places. Did you know most of the artifacts on display in the Red Dog Saloon came from the Alaska Territorial Museum when AK became a state? The owners of the artifacts felt things would be seen and appreciated by more folks in the Red Dog than if they were in the basement of the new State Museum...
Bottom line here is don't hesitate and don't be afraid. Alaska is part of the US. I haven't seen or heard of an un-scrupulous tour operator up here in 20 years. Any operation you're considering most likely does everything humanly possible to ensure you have the safest and most enjoyable time of your life!
Case, I have to agree with you. I was really leery and afraid of taking a float plane trip to Misty Fjords, because I was afraid I'd get airsick (I do get seasick on small boats) or freaked by the height. Neither was true, and that tour was one of the highlights of the trip!
And take at least twice as much memory or film for your camera as you think you'll need. It *still* won't be enough!
I have to admit...I never had a want to go to Alaska, until I watched the new Princess DVD...now I have to convince hubby....who has no desire whatsoever!
My sister and I have a cruise planned for September, 2007. Other than a helicopter sightseeing (I;m leery of that), what do you think of the dog sled camps and would there be snow at that time of the year? Just getting started on checking excursions. Is it wise to book through the cruiseline of private tours?
Did Alaska in Sept. this year. The weather for us was in the high forties, but was very refreshing for us as we're from the heat of Florida at that time. Booked the helicopter tour to walk on the glacier from the ship, cost an arm and a leg, but it was a thrill to do it. It was COLD and BREEZY on the glacier, so bring scarfs and good mittens. The tour provides warm cleated boots. During glacier watching from outside of the ship, I found windbreaker pants over whatever your wearing helped. Go outside to view the glacier, listen to the silence! The only thing heard was ice creaking at times, it was like TIME STANDING STILL. It was a sound I'll never forget. Bring a lightweight raincoat, rain can be plentiful. We were so fortunate to have no rain on our glacier tours, the crew said we were lucky that day. We had no snow on the ground, only saw it on mountain peaks. Our other tours, we booked locally when we got off the ship, just remember, make sure your independant tours fit into the timeframe of your being docked, if you don't get back to the ship on time, they leave without you, if you book with the ship sponsored tour, they wait for you if the tour is somehow delayed with it's return.Loved Alaska!
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