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You need to get your Alaska cruise right as for most it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip and the stakes are high, and as they cost more than many alternative cruises the stakes are higher. These are the mistakes I see people cruising to Alaska keep making - so you can avoid them
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the stakes are high for you it may be a
0:03
once-in-a-lifetime trip you've been
0:04
dreaming of or if you're returning and
0:06
think you know the traps there's still
0:08
much that can actually go wrong when
0:10
heading to alaska an alaskan cruise
0:13
often costs twice the price of a
0:15
caribbean one excursions are
0:17
phenomenally expensive so it's got to be
0:20
right when you go
0:22
i'm gary bembridge and here's seven
0:24
things that i have found are essential
0:27
to successful alaska cruise some i
0:29
learned from making mistakes and others
0:31
from those around me that i saw people
0:33
keep making first thing people trip up
0:35
on is choosing the crews as all look
0:38
very similar on the surface there are
0:40
just two itineraries and they share
0:42
three key features but it's much more
0:44
complicated than it seems if you want to
0:47
get the best trip
0:49
the two itineraries are either the
0:50
inside passage which are round trips
0:53
usually out of vancouver or seattle or
0:56
one-way trips between the north and the
0:58
south between ports near anchorage
1:00
whittier or seaward and vancouver or
1:03
seattle
1:04
both of these share three key features
1:08
first of all they're usually seven
1:10
nights long
1:11
secondly they call on the same three key
1:14
ports skagway juno and ketchikan
1:17
although some may use sitka and thirdly
1:20
they include one or more days of scenic
1:22
glacier cruising in places like the
1:25
hubba glacier or glacier bay however
1:28
look at the itinerary closely to check
1:30
how many days will be spent in alaska
1:33
versus just getting there and back for
1:35
example
1:36
inside passage cruises out of vancouver
1:38
or seattle have two days at sea getting
1:41
to and from alaska the north to south i
1:44
recently did on majestic princess had
1:46
only one day that we were not in alaska
1:49
now i recommend you go on a cruise
1:52
calling on skagway ketchikan and you
1:54
know as this is where the best
1:57
excursions and activities are so make
1:59
sure you have all three of them on your
2:01
itinerary but then look carefully at how
2:04
long the ship will be in each port
2:06
some ships are in one or more ports for
2:08
really limited time so for example i saw
2:11
discovery princess spent just five hours
2:13
in juneau and celebrity solstice just
2:16
four hours in skagway you want to have
2:18
as much time as possible in each port to
2:20
do the best or even multiple activities
2:23
in each to get the most of being there
2:25
taking all of this into account i
2:27
preferred my north to south cruise as it
2:29
had just one day not in alaska got me to
2:32
the hubba glacier i experienced the
2:34
incredible lacy explorer train from
2:36
anchorage down to whittier which i flew
2:38
into it went to glacier bay and it also
2:41
avoided the more complicated and slow
2:43
vancouver invocation which has both
2:45
canadian and u.s immigration checks and
2:47
could be a real nightmare however for
2:49
first timers an insight passage is a
2:52
simpler way of doing it because there's
2:53
less flights and easy logistics and you
2:56
still of course see incredible side to
2:58
alaska now no matter which you choose a
3:01
mistake i made the first time i went on
3:03
alaska cruise was not to add in pre and
3:06
post cruise stays
3:08
first of all
3:10
it's a really long way to go it took me
3:12
nine and a half hours flight from the uk
3:14
and then i had to get up to anchorage
3:16
and then there was an eight-hour time
3:18
difference now many us travelers spend
3:21
six or more hours getting to the cruise
3:23
and they face time differences too as
3:26
well
3:27
it's worth having days to recover and to
3:30
be really on top form for an alaska
3:32
cruise it's hectic it's tiring there's
3:34
many excursions lengthy excursions it's
3:37
full days out on deck watching for
3:38
wildlife looking at glaciers and scenery
3:40
so consider adding also a land-based
3:44
trip to see more of alaska and certainly
3:46
a chance to see wildlife close for
3:48
example to denali where lions like
3:50
princess and hollow america own lodges
3:52
operate scenic trains and scenic buses
3:55
one thing many worry about getting wrong
3:57
is when to go i don't think there is a
3:59
wrong time the season is short it's
4:02
roughly five months from may to
4:03
september it's always in demand and it's
4:06
always going to be pricey it's likely to
4:08
rain pretty much any time you go and the
4:11
weather will fluctuate from being chilly
4:14
right through to being warm pretty much
4:16
all year round as well now personally i
4:18
like the beginning of the season may or
4:20
june before it gets busy certainly
4:22
during school vacation time later in the
4:25
year if you do want to see
4:27
wildlife then the peak months of kind of
4:29
late june through to august is
4:31
especially good particularly once the
4:33
salmon run has started and the bears
4:35
really come out and are visual
4:37
but on my main june cruises i saw whales
4:40
i saw bears i saw sea otters and loads
4:42
and loads of birds if you can go early
4:45
in the season or the very end it's
4:47
likely to be slightly less busy and
4:49
definitely a little bit less expensive
4:51
although some businesses and some tours
4:53
may not be open very early on and
4:55
towards the very end of the season
4:57
although
4:58
any time you go is going to be busy
5:00
there are around 30 ships sailing in
5:03
alaska in the season and with only those
5:05
limited ports there will always be five
5:08
to six ships in each port when you call
5:10
the third thing people ask me often is
5:12
what is the right line to go to alaska
5:14
with and should they go with a line they
5:17
like or one of the lines like holland
5:19
america that has been cruising there for
5:21
over 75 years or princess that's been
5:23
there for over 50 years there is a lot
5:26
of choice as pretty much every single
5:28
line from ultra luxury to mass resort
5:32
style lines is either based in alaska
5:34
for the season or does some cruises in
5:36
alaska so you should be able to go on
5:39
your usual favorite however
5:42
my advice is the itinerary should be the
5:44
more important consideration and i
5:46
recommend at least consider going on a
5:49
line that will take you into glacier bay
5:51
going there should trump your usual line
5:54
preference in my view it is so amazing
5:56
and going to alaska without seeing it i
5:58
believe is a big miss
6:00
glacier bay only allows two large cruise
6:03
ships in per day and only a few lines
6:06
have access honda america and princess
6:08
have the most access followed by a
6:10
norwegian cruise line very few other
6:12
lions can offer you glacier bay of
6:15
course holland american princess are
6:17
traditional classic premium cruise lines
6:20
with the reputation for being more staid
6:22
and possibly older guests however this
6:25
gets turned on its head in alaska based
6:28
on my experiences
6:30
on my alaska cruises on both holland
6:32
america and princess i saw much younger
6:36
and much more varied age ranges than
6:39
usual dramatically more
6:41
multi-generational families than usual
6:43
many kids and teens of all ages and
6:46
little attention to the usual more
6:48
formal dress code even on former nights
6:50
people dressed informally even if you
6:53
choose your favorite line do not expect
6:55
it in my view to be the normal crowd an
6:58
on board vibe people choose the line
7:00
more for the itinerary and budget than
7:02
in any other region from what i've seen
7:04
more than in any other region i also get
7:07
asked if a balcony cabin is a must for
7:10
alaska and if it's a mistake not to have
7:13
one now if you can
7:14
stretch to a balcony cabin as it's
7:16
particularly good when you're doing
7:18
scenic cruising days these are long days
7:20
and it's great to be in your cabin and
7:22
out on the balcony watching it go by
7:24
some of the best views and photographs
7:26
i've got were from my balcony cabin if
7:29
they make an announcement that they
7:31
spotted whales or bears you can quickly
7:34
just jump out on the balcony and look at
7:36
them of course if they appear on the
7:38
right side of the ship
7:41
can you make a mistake by choosing the
7:43
wrong side of the ship though that leads
7:46
me on to the question can you make a
7:48
mistake by choosing the wrong side of
7:50
the ship in my view it doesn't make a
7:53
huge difference however
7:55
if you're doing a north to south i would
7:57
tend to if you're heading south try and
7:59
be on the left hand side the port side
8:01
because the land is on that side and of
8:03
course if you're heading the other way
8:05
you go on the starboard or the right
8:07
hand side so
8:09
the land is on your side of the ship on
8:11
my last trip i couldn't get a cabin on
8:14
the left-hand port side for my north to
8:16
south and i did feel i missed out a
8:18
little bit in some places because i
8:20
didn't have the scenery but it didn't
8:22
make a massively huge difference one
8:25
mistake that i almost made on my first
8:27
trip was around budgeting there was a
8:29
lot of extra costs you need to budget
8:32
and build in if you're going to alaska
8:34
i've already mentioned that you'll often
8:35
find on average for the cruise you will
8:37
be spending twice going to a busy area
8:40
like say the caribbean then you need to
8:42
factor in of course on board extras like
8:44
gratuities drinks wi-fi
8:47
specially dining shopping spa casino
8:51
however if you want to get the most out
8:53
of alaska i do feel that you must spend
8:56
on excursions the towns themselves are
8:59
interesting enough but they're small
9:02
skagway only has a population of between
9:04
800 and 1000 and there's pretty much not
9:07
much going on ketchikan is basically a
9:09
bit of a tourist trap town filled with
9:11
souvenir shops juno has a bit more going
9:14
on as it's the capital but for all the
9:17
action is out of town and often involves
9:19
float planes helicopters boats and even
9:22
trains and those things cost
9:25
i recommend you try and budget to do a
9:27
series of key things in alaska now i
9:29
know everybody can't do this but
9:31
consider them first of all get up close
9:34
to glaciers walk on them fly over them
9:36
go dog sledding on them hike on them or
9:38
have a boat get you really close to them
9:40
juno is a fantastic place for that i
9:43
tend to do my glacier stuff here because
9:45
you've got the mendenhall glacier and
9:47
many other glaciers around here i did a
9:49
helicopter ride up to the norris glacier
9:51
to go dog sledding but that cost six
9:54
hundred dollars last time on my recent
9:56
trip i did a helicopter ride to walk on
9:58
a glacier that was around 360 dollars so
10:02
these are insane amounts of money you
10:04
can then find cheaper options i can get
10:05
a local bus for four or five dollars and
10:07
then hike to the glacier
10:09
ketchikan is another good place for
10:11
glacier watching where you can go on a
10:13
float plane for example and fly over the
10:15
misty fjords and see many glaciers the
10:18
second key activity to budget for
10:20
particularly for a wildlife fan is to go
10:23
whale and wildlife viewing well watching
10:26
excursions in all of these ports will
10:27
cost you around about 150 or so to go
10:30
out
10:31
that's a particular popular activity in
10:33
skagway and ketchikan the third activity
10:35
i recommend you budget for is the white
10:37
pass and yukon railway in skagway the
10:40
historic railway line it was built to
10:42
transport goods and all when the gold
10:44
rush started but now it's purely for
10:46
recreation and it takes you high up into
10:49
the mountain it costs about 135 though
10:51
per person
10:53
the fourth thing you may want to do is
10:55
going eating and drinking they're often
10:57
salmon bakes which can be a little bit
10:59
of touristy but are great fun we can go
11:02
to local breweries and i must say the
11:04
best fish and chips i think i've ever
11:06
had was when i was in juneau at the
11:08
alaska brew house amazing if you're
11:10
particularly active then you're gonna
11:12
want to budget for some of the
11:13
activity-based excursions like zip
11:15
lining
11:16
kayaking
11:18
hiking
11:19
there are though very limited cultural
11:21
immersion activities and they are
11:22
relatively inexpensive in ketchikan you
11:25
can go and explore totem poles and
11:27
indigenous history of course you should
11:29
go to the great alaskan lumberjack show
11:31
which is a lot of fun and that's about
11:33
30 or so dollars as these can all be so
11:35
costly you should cost out your
11:37
different options you can go with the
11:39
cruise line and i strongly recommend
11:41
whatever you do book your excursions as
11:43
far in advance as you can because many
11:46
will sell out if they are sold out or
11:48
the cruise line is too costly look at
11:50
independent providers like
11:52
venturashure.com
11:54
and
11:55
they will offer similar excursions or
11:57
you can simply wait until you get to
11:59
port because you'll find as you step off
12:01
the ship there are many booths on the
12:03
keysight offering trips that you can
12:05
just book there and then i tend though
12:08
to stick with either the cruise line
12:10
ones or those through the independent
12:12
providers because i feel they're better
12:14
screened and of course the cruise line
12:16
will wait only for the excursions if
12:18
running late so make sure if you book
12:20
with anyone other than the cruise line
12:22
they you have plenty plenty of time to
12:24
get back to the ship this brings me on
12:26
to one topic that i know everyone going
12:28
to alaska makes a mistake with no matter
12:30
how experienced they are in my
12:31
experience
12:33
everyone i spoke to on my last trip said
12:35
they wish they had brought something
12:36
they left at home and that includes me
12:39
no matter how well prepared you are but
12:41
let's talk about clothing first
12:43
assume it will rain and bring stuff to
12:46
deal with that when you're on excursion
12:48
walking about town or even just standing
12:50
out on deck scenic viewing assume it's
12:52
going to rain a hooded jacket is best
12:55
though a portable umbrella is also a
12:56
good idea i sometimes take my waterproof
12:59
trousers i've only used them once when i
13:01
was out and it was raining on an
13:02
excursion but they're not essential
13:04
next assume when you're out in port or
13:06
scenic cruising you will be both really
13:08
cold and really hot in one day and
13:11
within hours of each other and the best
13:13
way to deal with that is packing and
13:15
planning layers i use the principle i
13:18
was taught on expedition cruising base
13:20
layer protection layer and waterproof
13:22
layer for base layer i pack my long
13:24
johns actually thick wool and socks and
13:26
my long don style top i only use these
13:29
when i'm on excursions that land on a
13:30
glacier but for the rest of the days my
13:33
base layer is kind of jeans t-shirt or
13:35
long sleeve top
13:36
i take a couple of options as my base
13:38
layer for the protection layer i pack a
13:40
couple of things a fleece a zippy top
13:42
and also a thick warm jumper so again i
13:45
have some options based on how cold it
13:47
is per day i also take waterproof gloves
13:49
a scarf and a warm beanie hat i also did
13:52
pack a puffy jacket which i was glad for
13:54
one of the scenic cruising days and up
13:55
in the glacier so a number of different
13:58
options
13:59
of warmth if you like then of course the
14:01
waterproof layer i've already covered
14:03
let me give you an example in juneau i
14:05
had all those layers on in the morning
14:08
to fly and walk on the glacier but we
14:10
when we returned by lunchtime i was
14:12
walking around in just a t-shirt with
14:14
all of those layers that i spoke about
14:16
in my rack sack which by the way is a
14:18
must-spring to put your layers in before
14:21
or in case you need them when you're out
14:23
take a rucksack to pack those layers in
14:26
make also sure that you bring sunglasses
14:28
it can be very bright particularly if
14:30
you're going onto glaciers
14:33
for the ship during the day i just
14:34
packed really casual gear polo shirts
14:37
spare jeans and of course my gym gear i
14:39
did pack a pair of smart non-jean slacks
14:42
and a long-sleeved shirt for formal
14:43
nights though on princess i actually
14:45
didn't need to have those in the end but
14:47
of course in theory on princess jeans
14:49
are not supposed to really be worn in
14:50
the dining room and some lines are a
14:52
little bit stricter though in alaska
14:54
despite the dress code you'll find it is
14:56
much more relaxed than normal but just
14:58
pack an option or two if you want to
15:00
know more about alaska cruising watch
15:01
this video where i dive in detail about
15:04
what is like cruising in alaska starting
15:06
with the biggest surprise i had and why
15:08
if i go to alaska again i will
15:10
absolutely repeat it see you over there
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