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Need Hogs expert info on Alaska trip
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May 15, 2019 17:20:24   #
TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA
 
My wife and I made our first cruise, on the Celebrity ship Infinity, in August 2004. It was round trip Vancouver to Glacier Bay and back. At the time, we enjoyed the trip but decided that it might be better to leave from Seattle and go by ship to Anchorage, returning home by air. The reasoning was that you get to see more of the coast and, if you leave from Seattle, you do not leave the US so there is no messing with Customs and Immigration.

At the time, I had an Oly E1 and used the 50-200mm (35mm eq 100=-400mm) almost exclusively. The only other lens I used was the 12-60. We only had rain on the day before departure (in Vancouver) and one other day (when we were in Sitka).

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May 15, 2019 18:24:42   #
johnblenko Loc: Pittsburgh
 
larrycain wrote:
This is Larry. I would like to plan a trip to Alaska. Lots of questions: I am a 77 young person! Would like to know best time to go, is there a certain cruise line better than others? I would be leaving from Phx. One suggestion was to fly to Vancover and depart from there. All suggestions welcome! An email is Arizonacain@q.com. Thanks!!!


Larry:

My wife and I went to Alaska in 1992. Beautiful beautiful state. I still call it the Kodak state for the richness of the colors. We left from Vancouver, itself a photographer’s paradise.

The only cruise line that I hear a lot of bad things about is Carnival, although you say you are a young 77 years so alcohol to excess and all night parties may still work for you.

We went the end of May. I have a photo of an electronic thermometer with a reading of 78. The mosquitoes get bigger as the summer progresses. I was also told that as the tourist season progresses the guides’ talks deteriorate in quality and duration as they have given them so many times.

We also did a land tour through Denali. In the park itself, you board a school bus and are driven through the park to minimize the number of vehicles on the roads. In May the sun is out for maybe 20 hours and we had to get up early. We decided that if we did Alaska again that we would do the land segment first and then the cruise.

The helicopter trip to the Mendenhall glacier outside of Juneau is fabulous.

Enjoy the trip!

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May 15, 2019 18:42:27   #
Todd G
 
I drove to Alaska from San Diego in September. The weather was perfect. During the summer there are a lot of mosquitoes.

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May 15, 2019 18:52:42   #
Chris Williams
 
Look into a trip to Brooks River to see the bears. I flew out of Homer Alaska but there are other places to fly from. Bears are everywhere and very accessible.











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May 15, 2019 18:55:51   #
Jaki
 
Hi Larry,
I’m not pushing any particular cruise line, but I would look for one that takes you up beyond the typical week up the inland passage. Get one that goes to anchorage, then you will have more stops along the way and some side trips if you choose.you will see the Harding Ice Field and ports like Seward, Homer, Anchorage. People think they have seen Alaska when they have only seen a little sliver in the Southwest. Out of anchorage you can fly to Denali or Fairbanks or lake Clark or Brooks for bear viewing! Only fly with highly experienced bush pilots who have worked in Alaska many years! Experience else where is not like flying Alaska! Lots of small plane crashes! I lived in Homer and flew bush, float planes. Enjoy your trip!

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May 15, 2019 19:14:51   #
sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey
 
We went in June. I brought lightweight down jacket. Bring rain gear.If going on a cruise bring a monopod.
We loved Regeant cruise. Bring the longest lens you have.

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May 15, 2019 20:39:05   #
Josephschmaeling
 
I did an Alaska cruise in 2005. You will need a long lens for wildlife. You will also need rain gear. You should look for a cruise that goes up the Tracy Arm. The Holland America cruises from Vancouver did it in 2005. Have a great trip.

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May 15, 2019 21:56:28   #
blanam Loc: Detroit
 
larrycain wrote:
This is Larry. I would like to plan a trip to Alaska. Lots of questions: I am a 77 young person! Would like to know best time to go, is there a certain cruise line better than others? I would be leaving from Phx. One suggestion was to fly to Vancover and depart from there. All suggestions welcome! An email is Arizonacain@q.com. Thanks!!!


Larry,

You've received a lot of great suggestions, so I hope I'm not too redundant. I will send you my itinery and other misc stuff via email.

We took a 6 day land and 6 day boat cruise with Celebrity back in August 2010 (weather was great, Fairbanks was a bit chilly). All hotels and transportation: Air, Bus, Train, Ship were part of the package.. Our trip: flew into Fairbanks (did many tours via Bus), Took glass top train to Denali, early morning White water rafting, on to Denali, took school bus (type) deep into the park, continue train to Talkeetna, Bus to Anchorage, Bus to Seward for the Boat (Celebrity Millennium) . Water cruise to Hubbard Glacier, Juneau (whale watch there), Skagway, ICY Strait, Ketchikan, Vancouver, Fly home.

There is a lot of detail in the itinerary that I'll send via email. But of all of the places I WOULD NOT MISS is Denali National Park and the School bus ride into the park!!!!!!

25-105mm equivalent for 90%, but I was glad I had 1,100mm equivalent glass (I was shooting APSC at the time w/1.4x adapter, 2.2x Tele converter, 300mm lens). So on FF would recommend 24-70mm and as long as you could afford, at least 400-500mm. Or pickup a Sony Rx10 (24-600mm) $1600.

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May 15, 2019 22:05:54   #
twowindsbear
 
We also did the Holiday Vacation trip to Alaska a few years ago. (we also toured Hawaii in December on a Holiday vacation) Had a GREAT time on both trips. Our Alaska trip was fly from home - bus / train - cruise - fly home. Holiday also offers the reverse route. If do you take a group tour that includes both land & sea journeys, I strongly urge you to take the trip that offers the bus / train portion first. As another has posted, that part is rather hectic, get up early, drive-drive & look-look for a big part of the day & spend the night someplace else every day for a week. But, you ARE with a fairly small group, ours was 49 people, you get to know a bit about them first BEFORE you're 'dumped' onto a cruise ship with about 1400 other people that are total strangers. Plus - a BIG plus IMHO - the cruise is really calm & 'laid back' to allow you to rest & recover from the week of hecticness on the bus.

Another post mentioned insurance & hinted at insurance for your camera equipment. I'll suggest a GOOD trip interruption insurance that covers arranging & paying for medical treatment, transportation home if you have to leave the tour for a valid reason, and returning your remains should that ultimate need arise.

Have a GREAT trip, what ever tour you arrange.

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May 15, 2019 23:47:05   #
ricardo00
 
larrycain wrote:
This is Larry. I would like to plan a trip to Alaska. Lots of questions: I am a 77 young person! Would like to know best time to go, is there a certain cruise line better than others? I would be leaving from Phx. One suggestion was to fly to Vancover and depart from there. All suggestions welcome! An email is Arizonacain@q.com. Thanks!!!


Cruise ship viewing Alaska or land viewing Alaska:





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May 16, 2019 02:05:11   #
David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA
 
That last picture appears downright dangerous.

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May 16, 2019 03:00:21   #
Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak
 
If you leave the bears alone to do their own thing, there's no problem. The trouble is that some people seem to feel they have to tempt fate by approaching the bears to get a closer picture. Just use a longer lens, works the same.

Just a word of advice regarding Denali/Mt. McKinley/The Mountain--there is only about a 30% chance of seeing the mountain. Many folks are really disappointed when they don't get to see Denali, but that's just how it is. The fact is, it's such a huge land mass that it tends to make it's own weather. I've been up there when it was absolutely clear out, yet there were clouds surrounding the mountain. Can't do anything about it. Just wanted you all to know that so you'l be prepared in case it's clouded over.

Here's a suggestion, for what it's worth. If you intend to do a cruise that ends in Whittier or Seward, then go to Anchorage to fly home, take advantage of a few days and rent a car and drive up to Denali NP. If you make reservations ahead of time, you can get a room at the Denali Princess Lodge and take the bus ride into the park. The only way you can drive into the park is if you are going to camp and make reservations at one of the park campgrounds ahead of time. Kantishna is very popular due to the view of Denali across Wonder Lake. If you can swing that, it's a wonderful experience you'll never forget. Be prepared for any kind of weather, though.

Another tour you can do is to take a flight seeing tour of Denali. K2 Aviation has flights that take you up to the mountain and land on Ruth Glacier, which is where the climbers rally before going up to the peak. I took a tour with a branch of K2 Aviation based out of Fish Lake, just a few miles before you get to Talkeetna. You get to board a float plane and the pilot will fly out into the Denali area, in and around some amazing towers and peaks. You get a real appreciation for the height of Denali's peak when you fly in at 8,000 feet and you look up at the peak another 12,000 above you.


(Download)

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May 16, 2019 08:05:02   #
DougS Loc: Central Arkansas
 
I HIGHLY recommend you drive! We drove there, and spent a month in Alaska. Not near long enough!!! Knowing all the photo ops you miss by using a cruise ship, you have my sympathy. I spent most of my time while on the ferries on the outside deck. The deck on the back has an infrared heated area where some walk-on passengers even camp out! Driest/clearest period is from May thru June. Not as cold as most think. Jacket and thermals, just in case. We rode the ferry's (5 total) from Seattle, up the inside passage, beginning 24th May. Left Alaska, into Canada 24t June. If you go to Kenai Fjords NP, you do not need to do a whale excursion elsewhere. My favorite place (?) was Katmai NP. We did not go to Brooks Falls, but still saw grizzlies up close! Never felt threatened, but only about 20 feet away! They have been doing this for 30+ years, no issues. Prettiest, most photogenic places in order(!!!): Katmai NP, road into Valdez, Glacier Bay (on a clear day), Kenai NP, Wrangell (Stikine River), Misty Fjords NP (if it is clear/partly cloudy), Denali NP (all the way back, and area around), road from Haines north into Canada (lonely, but beautiful!), Kenai Peninsula, Taylor Highway (to Dawson, Canada), Juneau area, Ferry route! I took over 7000 photos on that trip, got to stop when I wanted to take photos, unlike on a tour bus (if in Denal NP, when you see wild life, driver will stop if you let him/her know you see something, like a bear or wolf, caribou, porcupine, etc.), While in Alaska, we stayed in Bed and Breakfast accommodations. Our first time using these, loved them, much more private than expected, yet got to interact with the locals! Note: the ferries can, and do occasionally change their schedules, abruptly, so check while ashore for the next one for any changes. They are supposed to let you know, but... Happened to us, but I caught it, and used a small plane to go to Glacier Bay. I had built-in extra days at the ports just for this reason. Plenty to do with the extra days/time ashore! Allow extra days for Katmai, as weather can and will affect travel to there, I allowed 3 days, some folks from Germany didn't, we got to go/they didn't due to winds, having that extra days allowed paid off. Will send you most of my itinerary via email.

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May 16, 2019 14:19:07   #
insman1132 Loc: Southwest Florida
 
Been there, done that! Lucky you. We flew Detroit to Seattle, bussed to Vancouver, sailed on Princess Lines from Vancouver. Flew back from Anchorage to Detroit. Cruise is smooth on the inside passage all the way. 7 days on the boat. Take the 4 day extension up to Denali by rail. Went in July (also would be a good month to get out of AZ!) You will have a GREAT Time. You can reach me at rcvoy2004@yahoo.com if you want more!

P.S. Take your longest reach lens.

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May 16, 2019 18:11:04   #
Flyerace Loc: Mt Pleasant, WI
 
We did the 14 day cruise/land package with Royal Caribbean. We had a cabin with a balcony. When the outside public viewing areas became too packed with tall people, we went down one level to our cabin and stood on our private balcony. No one to obstruct us. The land portion takes you all the way to Fairbanks. If you don't do the land portion, you miss so much of Alaska. Denali Park is a "must do" destination. Have fun.

By the way, all foreign flagged cruise ships that visit the USA, must stop at a "foreign" port first. Vancouver is that foreign port, then they can stop at all the stops in Alaska.

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