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Too Many Alaska Cruisers Get These 7 Things Wrong
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Jan 28, 2025
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 ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 94 cruises I have done to date. BUY MY CRUISE-THEMED T-SHIRTs ————————————————- * Check out my T-Shirt range: http://bit.ly/TFTStore SUPPORT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS ————————————————————— * Become a Channel Member and get perks: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/Join * Become a Patron on Patreon and get perks: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers * Make a donation: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=V9STJGYSEMGLJ * Buy my book “Cruise Traveler’s Handbook: USA Amazon https://amzn.to/2YVFmG4 and https://amzn.to/3tzIxBn UK Amazon https://amzn.to/3oXbzYc and https://amzn.to/3qawqIQ FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA ———————————————
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the stakes are high for you it may be a
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once-in-a-lifetime trip you've been
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dreaming of or if you're returning and
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think you know the traps there's still
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much that can actually go wrong when
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heading to alaska an alaskan cruise
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often costs twice the price of a
0:15
caribbean one excursions are
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phenomenally expensive so it's got to be
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right when you go
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i'm gary bembridge and here's seven
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things that i have found are essential
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to successful alaska cruise some i
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learned from making mistakes and others
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from those around me that i saw people
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keep making first thing people trip up
0:35
on is choosing the crews as all look
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very similar on the surface there are
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just two itineraries and they share
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three key features but it's much more
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complicated than it seems if you want to
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get the best trip
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the two itineraries are either the
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inside passage which are round trips
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usually out of vancouver or seattle or
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one-way trips between the north and the
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south between ports near anchorage
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whittier or seaward and vancouver or
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seattle
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both of these share three key features
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first of all they're usually seven
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nights long
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secondly they call on the same three key
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ports skagway juno and ketchikan
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although some may use sitka and thirdly
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they include one or more days of scenic
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glacier cruising in places like the
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hubba glacier or glacier bay however
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look at the itinerary closely to check
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how many days will be spent in alaska
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versus just getting there and back for
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example
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inside passage cruises out of vancouver
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or seattle have two days at sea getting
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to and from alaska the north to south i
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recently did on majestic princess had
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only one day that we were not in alaska
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now i recommend you go on a cruise
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calling on skagway ketchikan and you
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know as this is where the best
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excursions and activities are so make
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sure you have all three of them on your
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itinerary but then look carefully at how
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long the ship will be in each port
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some ships are in one or more ports for
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really limited time so for example i saw
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discovery princess spent just five hours
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in juneau and celebrity solstice just
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four hours in skagway you want to have
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as much time as possible in each port to
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do the best or even multiple activities
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in each to get the most of being there
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taking all of this into account i
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preferred my north to south cruise as it
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had just one day not in alaska got me to
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the hubba glacier i experienced the
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incredible lacy explorer train from
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anchorage down to whittier which i flew
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into it went to glacier bay and it also
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avoided the more complicated and slow
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vancouver invocation which has both
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canadian and u.s immigration checks and
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could be a real nightmare however for
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first timers an insight passage is a
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simpler way of doing it because there's
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less flights and easy logistics and you
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still of course see incredible side to
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alaska now no matter which you choose a
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mistake i made the first time i went on
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alaska cruise was not to add in pre and
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post cruise stays
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first of all
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it's a really long way to go it took me
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nine and a half hours flight from the uk
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and then i had to get up to anchorage
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and then there was an eight-hour time
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difference now many us travelers spend
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six or more hours getting to the cruise
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and they face time differences too as
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well
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it's worth having days to recover and to
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be really on top form for an alaska
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cruise it's hectic it's tiring there's
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many excursions lengthy excursions it's
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full days out on deck watching for
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wildlife looking at glaciers and scenery
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so consider adding also a land-based
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trip to see more of alaska and certainly
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a chance to see wildlife close for
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example to denali where lions like
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princess and hollow america own lodges
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operate scenic trains and scenic buses
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one thing many worry about getting wrong
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is when to go i don't think there is a
3:59
wrong time the season is short it's
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roughly five months from may to
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september it's always in demand and it's
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always going to be pricey it's likely to
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rain pretty much any time you go and the
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weather will fluctuate from being chilly
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right through to being warm pretty much
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all year round as well now personally i
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like the beginning of the season may or
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june before it gets busy certainly
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during school vacation time later in the
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year if you do want to see
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wildlife then the peak months of kind of
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late june through to august is
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especially good particularly once the
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salmon run has started and the bears
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really come out and are visual
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but on my main june cruises i saw whales
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i saw bears i saw sea otters and loads
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and loads of birds if you can go early
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in the season or the very end it's
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likely to be slightly less busy and
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definitely a little bit less expensive
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although some businesses and some tours
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may not be open very early on and
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towards the very end of the season
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although
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any time you go is going to be busy
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there are around 30 ships sailing in
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alaska in the season and with only those
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limited ports there will always be five
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to six ships in each port when you call
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the third thing people ask me often is
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what is the right line to go to alaska
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with and should they go with a line they
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like or one of the lines like holland
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america that has been cruising there for
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over 75 years or princess that's been
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there for over 50 years there is a lot
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of choice as pretty much every single
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line from ultra luxury to mass resort
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style lines is either based in alaska
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for the season or does some cruises in
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alaska so you should be able to go on
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your usual favorite however
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my advice is the itinerary should be the
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more important consideration and i
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recommend at least consider going on a
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line that will take you into glacier bay
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going there should trump your usual line
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preference in my view it is so amazing
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and going to alaska without seeing it i
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believe is a big miss
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glacier bay only allows two large cruise
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ships in per day and only a few lines
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have access honda america and princess
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have the most access followed by a
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norwegian cruise line very few other
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lions can offer you glacier bay of
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course holland american princess are
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traditional classic premium cruise lines
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with the reputation for being more staid
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and possibly older guests however this
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gets turned on its head in alaska based
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on my experiences
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on my alaska cruises on both holland
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america and princess i saw much younger
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and much more varied age ranges than
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usual dramatically more
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multi-generational families than usual
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many kids and teens of all ages and
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little attention to the usual more
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formal dress code even on former nights
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people dressed informally even if you
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choose your favorite line do not expect
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it in my view to be the normal crowd an
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on board vibe people choose the line
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more for the itinerary and budget than
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in any other region from what i've seen
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more than in any other region i also get
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asked if a balcony cabin is a must for
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alaska and if it's a mistake not to have
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one now if you can
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stretch to a balcony cabin as it's
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particularly good when you're doing
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scenic cruising days these are long days
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and it's great to be in your cabin and
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out on the balcony watching it go by
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some of the best views and photographs
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i've got were from my balcony cabin if
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they make an announcement that they
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spotted whales or bears you can quickly
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just jump out on the balcony and look at
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them of course if they appear on the
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right side of the ship
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can you make a mistake by choosing the
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wrong side of the ship though that leads
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me on to the question can you make a
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mistake by choosing the wrong side of
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the ship in my view it doesn't make a
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huge difference however
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if you're doing a north to south i would
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tend to if you're heading south try and
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be on the left hand side the port side
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because the land is on that side and of
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course if you're heading the other way
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you go on the starboard or the right
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hand side so
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the land is on your side of the ship on
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my last trip i couldn't get a cabin on
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the left-hand port side for my north to
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south and i did feel i missed out a
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little bit in some places because i
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didn't have the scenery but it didn't
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make a massively huge difference one
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mistake that i almost made on my first
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trip was around budgeting there was a
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lot of extra costs you need to budget
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and build in if you're going to alaska
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i've already mentioned that you'll often
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find on average for the cruise you will
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be spending twice going to a busy area
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like say the caribbean then you need to
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factor in of course on board extras like
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gratuities drinks wi-fi
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specially dining shopping spa casino
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however if you want to get the most out
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of alaska i do feel that you must spend
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on excursions the towns themselves are
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interesting enough but they're small
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skagway only has a population of between
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800 and 1000 and there's pretty much not
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much going on ketchikan is basically a
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bit of a tourist trap town filled with
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souvenir shops juno has a bit more going
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on as it's the capital but for all the
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action is out of town and often involves
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float planes helicopters boats and even
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trains and those things cost
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i recommend you try and budget to do a
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series of key things in alaska now i
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know everybody can't do this but
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consider them first of all get up close
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to glaciers walk on them fly over them
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go dog sledding on them hike on them or
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have a boat get you really close to them
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juno is a fantastic place for that i
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tend to do my glacier stuff here because
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you've got the mendenhall glacier and
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many other glaciers around here i did a
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helicopter ride up to the norris glacier
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to go dog sledding but that cost six
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hundred dollars last time on my recent
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trip i did a helicopter ride to walk on
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a glacier that was around 360 dollars so
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these are insane amounts of money you
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can then find cheaper options i can get
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a local bus for four or five dollars and
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then hike to the glacier
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ketchikan is another good place for
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glacier watching where you can go on a
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float plane for example and fly over the
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misty fjords and see many glaciers the
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second key activity to budget for
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particularly for a wildlife fan is to go
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whale and wildlife viewing well watching
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excursions in all of these ports will
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cost you around about 150 or so to go
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out
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that's a particular popular activity in
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skagway and ketchikan the third activity
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i recommend you budget for is the white
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pass and yukon railway in skagway the
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historic railway line it was built to
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transport goods and all when the gold
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rush started but now it's purely for
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recreation and it takes you high up into
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the mountain it costs about 135 though
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per person
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the fourth thing you may want to do is
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going eating and drinking they're often
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salmon bakes which can be a little bit
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of touristy but are great fun we can go
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to local breweries and i must say the
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best fish and chips i think i've ever
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had was when i was in juneau at the
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alaska brew house amazing if you're
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particularly active then you're gonna
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want to budget for some of the
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activity-based excursions like zip
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lining
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kayaking
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hiking
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there are though very limited cultural
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immersion activities and they are
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relatively inexpensive in ketchikan you
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can go and explore totem poles and
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indigenous history of course you should
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go to the great alaskan lumberjack show
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which is a lot of fun and that's about
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30 or so dollars as these can all be so
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costly you should cost out your
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different options you can go with the
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cruise line and i strongly recommend
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whatever you do book your excursions as
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far in advance as you can because many
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will sell out if they are sold out or
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the cruise line is too costly look at
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independent providers like
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venturashure.com
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and
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they will offer similar excursions or
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you can simply wait until you get to
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port because you'll find as you step off
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the ship there are many booths on the
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keysight offering trips that you can
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just book there and then i tend though
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to stick with either the cruise line
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ones or those through the independent
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providers because i feel they're better
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screened and of course the cruise line
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will wait only for the excursions if
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running late so make sure if you book
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with anyone other than the cruise line
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they you have plenty plenty of time to
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get back to the ship this brings me on
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to one topic that i know everyone going
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to alaska makes a mistake with no matter
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how experienced they are in my
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experience
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everyone i spoke to on my last trip said
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they wish they had brought something
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they left at home and that includes me
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no matter how well prepared you are but
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let's talk about clothing first
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assume it will rain and bring stuff to
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deal with that when you're on excursion
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walking about town or even just standing
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out on deck scenic viewing assume it's
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going to rain a hooded jacket is best
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though a portable umbrella is also a
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good idea i sometimes take my waterproof
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trousers i've only used them once when i
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was out and it was raining on an
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excursion but they're not essential
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next assume when you're out in port or
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scenic cruising you will be both really
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cold and really hot in one day and
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within hours of each other and the best
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way to deal with that is packing and
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planning layers i use the principle i
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was taught on expedition cruising base
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layer protection layer and waterproof
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layer for base layer i pack my long
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johns actually thick wool and socks and
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my long don style top i only use these
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when i'm on excursions that land on a
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glacier but for the rest of the days my
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base layer is kind of jeans t-shirt or
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long sleeve top
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i take a couple of options as my base
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layer for the protection layer i pack a
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couple of things a fleece a zippy top
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and also a thick warm jumper so again i
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have some options based on how cold it
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is per day i also take waterproof gloves
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a scarf and a warm beanie hat i also did
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pack a puffy jacket which i was glad for
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one of the scenic cruising days and up
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in the glacier so a number of different
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options
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of warmth if you like then of course the
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waterproof layer i've already covered
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let me give you an example in juneau i
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had all those layers on in the morning
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to fly and walk on the glacier but we
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when we returned by lunchtime i was
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walking around in just a t-shirt with
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all of those layers that i spoke about
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in my rack sack which by the way is a
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must-spring to put your layers in before
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or in case you need them when you're out
14:23
take a rucksack to pack those layers in
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make also sure that you bring sunglasses
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it can be very bright particularly if
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you're going onto glaciers
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for the ship during the day i just
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packed really casual gear polo shirts
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spare jeans and of course my gym gear i
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did pack a pair of smart non-jean slacks
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and a long-sleeved shirt for formal
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nights though on princess i actually
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didn't need to have those in the end but
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of course in theory on princess jeans
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are not supposed to really be worn in
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the dining room and some lines are a
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little bit stricter though in alaska
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despite the dress code you'll find it is
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much more relaxed than normal but just
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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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