Teddy and I recently went on a cruise to Alaska. This was a first time trip to Alaska for both of us, and it went above and beyond our expectations. The trip was so amazing that we can’t decide what the BEST part of the trip was! Was it the Dog Sledding? The Helicopter Landing on the Glacier? The Train from Anchorage to Seward? Or the Floatplane through the Fjords?! Or the never ending beautiful scenery (with countless waterfalls) right outside of our window? WE CAN’T DECIDE!
So here’s our itinerary:
Day 1: Flight from Atlanta to Anchorage Alaska. We flew with United Airlines with a stop in Chicago. We spent the night at GuestHouse Anchorage. We booked direct for best rates. It’s important to note that if you are going to take a similar itinerary, I would highly recommend this hotel because of the free shuttle from airport to the hotel, and free shuttle from the hotel to the train depot next morning. We ate dinner at Sullivan’s Steakhouse, an easy walk from the hotel. The Happy Hour served great food with great value.
Day 2: All aboard the Alaska Train! We took the 6:30am train that takes you from Anchorage to Seward, where our departure cruise terminal is. They have another train that departs later in the day but we chose the earlier one to have more time on the ship, especially since we have a Concierge cabin with a welcome lunch in the main dining hall. If we take the later train we would miss the lunch entirely. If you are going to take this train ride, I would highly recommend the DOME class instead of Coach. The view alone is worth it!
Next we were onto our ship – the Celebrity Millennium. This is our first time sailing with Celebrity so we were very excited! Celebrity Millennium just went through a total refurbishment in February 2019 so most of the ship felt brand new. After settling down and enjoying our lunch, we walked to the nearby Safeway for some essentials. Celebrity offers a free shuttle to town if you have extra time and want to visit Seward.
Day 3: Cruising the Hubbard Glacier. This was pretty amazing. We were very lucky that it was a very clear day so the ship was able to get very close to the glacier (within 1/2 mile). Captain Theo said this was the closest he had EVER gotten to the glacier. All of the people around me on the deck confirmed that out of dozens of combined trips they’ve taken on this route, this was the closest they had ever seen it. The glacier was beautiful and I loved watching for the ice calving. It’s something you’ve got to see it to experience it.
Day 4: Juneau, Alaska. We were at this port from 9:00AM to 9:00PM, which was great because Juneau is a big town to cover! We took the Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier tour in the morning, and the Helicopter Dog sledding with Extra Landing in the afternoon. The dog sledding tour and the helicopter landing on the glacier were both once in a lifetime type of experiences. If you are going to do the glacial landing, make sure you bring a water bottle with you as you can bring home some real glacial water. It was definitely the best water I have ever tasted in my life.
For lunch, we wanted to have Tracy’s King Crab Shack but the line was EXTREMELY long. Instead we ate at the nearby Salmon Spot which is not to be missed!
Day 5: Skagway, Alaska. For Skagway, we took the Yukon Discovery tour. There are a lot of similar Yukon tours advertised on line but I like the one we booked because of the smaller group size and longer itinerary. The Yukon area was BEAUTIFUL. Next time I’m in the area, I will do it again but with the train instead so I can compare the two. If you are going to do this excursion, be sure to bring your passport with you because the tour enters Canada.
We also enjoyed some beer and food at the Skagway Brewing Company. Their beer menu was impressive and service was very good!
Day 6: Icy Strait Point, Alaska. At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be much to do in Icy Strait Point, but that’s really not true. Once you get off the ship here, you’ll get to a visitor center area with all the brochures and information on available shore excursions. The ZipRider seemed like fun and it was very popular. Since we just had 2 heavy days we decided to take this day easy and did not do any excursions. But we still enjoyed walking around the port area, doing some shopping, and seeing many wild animals like the American eagle. My favorite part of the day was our visit to the Crab House. The price here is not for the faint of heart, but their Alaska Crabby Bloody Mary is worth the cost.
Day 7: Ketchikan, Alaska. In Ketchikan, we took a Misty Fjords 2 hour tour. I absolutely recommend this tour and tour company. During the 2 hours we visited Punchbowl Lake and several waterfalls. We even landed on a lake, got out of the plane and enjoyed stretching our feet and just absorbing the beautiful surroundings.
We did most of our shopping at Sockeye Sam’s. They had great prices! At checkout, they gave us a nice reusable tote (with their logo on it) because we spent over $50. I thought that was a nice touch.
For lunch we ate at Annabelle’s Famous Keg and Chowder House. This place was busy, but the service was still pretty fast! I tried their Chowder Sampler. Perhaps I was spoiled by the Salmon Chowder I got at the Salmon Spot or the Crab Chowder I got at the Crab House, none of their chowders were as good. But based on their TripAdvisor reviews, it definitely seems I’m in the minority here. So moving on…
Day 8: Cruising the Inside Passage. This was a nice way to be coming to the end of an amazing trip. We enjoyed the views from our balcony all day, from the morning when I was awakened to the sight of a humpback whale. (Hint: When you hear neighbors screaming from their balcony, it is usually a good time to look outside for whales!!) I recommend taking your cellphone out and look at the map as you cruise through this area. There are a lot of islands, land, and tight areas to go through. It’s fun to see the little blue dot move along the map as you sail through!
Day 9: Vancouver, Alaska. In Vancouver we did the Sea to Sky Tour. We chose this tour mainly because they would pick us up from the Cruise port and drop us off at our hotel. The tour was OK. The Gondola ride was nice. The Mine Museum was interesting. The waterfall (Shannon Falls) was beautiful but we had seen it already (in an earlier trip to Vancouver). Worst of all, we had to go to a few other hotels to pick people up after we boarded the tour bus at the cruise port. Including the same 2 hotels 3 times each due to miscommunication. Then on the back end, we had to transfer to another bus with all our suitcases before being taken to our hotel (even though our original bus also stopped at our hotel, in front of our eyes).
We stayed at Sutton Place for the night. We got a great rate through Hotwire.com‘s “Hot Rate”. The hotel was absolutely beautiful! For dinner we ate at Coast, an easy walk from our hotel. We ordered the Seafood Tower which was enough for us to share, with a dessert.
Day 10: Time to come home. =( We boarded Westjet from Vancouver to Atlanta, with a stop in Toronto. We upgraded the second leg of the trip to First Class and the experience was wonderful. (A lot better than United First Class.)
Throughout the trip I noticed that most of the people we talked to had been to Alaska several times. Which confirms my suspicion that this is one of those destinations that is just so magical and beautiful that once you go, you want to do it again and again. I know there are so many more areas of Alaska I want to explore. Teddy and I are already talking about our next Alaska trip. I’m so happy that we chose Alaska on our recent cruise destination!