Alaskan cruise next month.

[PlayboyPenguin]

I am going on an Alaskan cruise next month. I am taking my mother and her husband as an early x-mas present. I am quite familiar with all of the places we are going except for Sitka. Anyone know of anything we should do while we are in port there?

On a side note, I am not sure any of you had the "pleasure" of meeting my mother while she was here in december...but I am considering starting a thread concerning what caliber a bear should use if he runs into my mother in the woods. So wish me luck.

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[Bigbaddude]

I live there for a couple of years not a lot to do.
Go to the P-bar have a pop and look at pictures on the wall.
Jump in a cab and go for a ride on all 15 miles of road they have.
Watch it rain from the p-bar.
I wish I was going love that town .

 

[Member 5605]

I have a 300lb suitcase you will need to take with you on your cruise.

I wish the bear lots of luck from that small description.

 

[mpmax]

Going on a cruise with your Mom, that sounds a wee bit gay.

 

[treemanx]

I am going on an Alaskan cruise next month. I am taking my mother and her husband as an early x-mas present. I am quite familiar with all of the places we are going except for Sitka. Anyone know of anything we should do while we are in port there?

On a side note, I am not sure any of you had the "pleasure" of meeting my mother while she was here in december...but I am considering starting a thread concerning what caliber a bear should use if he runs into my mother in the woods. So wish me luck.

Sounds awesome, wish I could afford to go. How much does something like this cost per person?

 

[PlayboyPenguin]

Sounds awesome, wish I could afford to go. How much does something like this cost per person?

Cruises are about the cheapest vacation you could possibly take for what you get. I paid about $3,000 for all three of us. That is 7 nights of food, entertainment, and lodging for 4 people. Plus, every day when you wake up your hotel is in a new city. That $3,000 included about $600 in plane tickets too so the cruise was about $610 a person.

 

[pdxjohann]

That sounds fun. Just unpack one time. The staff keeps you straight and suggests fun things to do. Let someone else drive the boat and cab and prepare your meals. Good call. I often wondered if you could trawl for fish off the stern? (My tip, find your favorite bar and bartender right off the git-go. Tip them as if it were enough for the whole trip. Then just watch the super service from their appreciation and hope for double bonus at the end

 

[The Quiet Man]

Well, someone has to ask the obvious. What are the laws/rules regarding carrying on an Alaskan cruise if you are legal in OR/WA and AK? Do you stop at any Canadian ports? What are the cruise ship rules? Does Homeland Security get involved in this mode of travel?

 

[mpmax]

No carry....You will pass through metal detectors when you board the ship. I believe the bags are also screened. Concealed carry in Canada? You're kidding, right? You will need a passport or quickpass to get off/on in a Canadain port.
Last time I took my Mother on a cruise to Alaska, we took the train to Seattle and boarded there. Very easy.

 

[HappyRoman]

Sitka is an old Alaskan village that became a town. Used to have a thriving economy with several lumber mills and a huge paper mill, even a recently as 6 or 7 years ago, they started depending on the Summer cruise ship trade, so there are lots of nic-nak stores all around the harbor where the tenders will take you in. DO NOT book a sport fishing trip, thru the cruise ship, as you can not take fish back to the boat. If you want to fish, you can contact one of several guide services in Sitka direct, I recommend Karen and Mike at Big Blue Charters and make your own arrangements. They will help you catch Fish, and then you can have it canned, or processed, vacuum packed, blast frozen and Air Freight for about 2$# sent to PDX via Alsaka air and if you know when it's to arrive, it will be great.. We shipped 100's of pounds back when we were there.. The Russian Orthodox influence is shown in there little church's and if you do get a taxi, there are several national reserve parks, or do a day car rental ( at the airport.. only place to get a car) and visit the tundra and native American areas. It's a great little island. PM if you want more.. thanks Sandy

 

[Trlsmn]

Hey Dave just by coincidence my mother is also going on a cruise to the inside passage next month it would be one heck of a coincidence if it was the same cruise. Norwegein cruise line.

 

[PlayboyPenguin]

Hey Dave just by coincidence my mother is also going on a cruise to the inside passage next month it would be one heck of a coincidence if it was the same cruise. Norwegein cruise line.

We almost always do Norwegian, in fact we are Lattitudes Gold level members, but this time we are taking Holland. We have tried Norwegian, Holland, Celebrity, Princess, and Royal Caribbean and we like them all. Holland tends to be a little more pampering and Norwegian gives you the most freedom.

 

[PlayboyPenguin]

No carry....You will pass through metal detectors when you board the ship. I believe the bags are also screened. Concealed carry in Canada? You're kidding, right? You will need a passport or quickpass to get off/on in a Canadain port.
Last time I took my Mother on a cruise to Alaska, we took the train to Seattle and boarded there. Very easy.

Correct. The only time it bothers me is when we go hiking in Alaska. Otherwise I feel pretty safe. If everyday police had the level of effectiveness and numbers that the security does on the cruise ships I would probably never carry.

We got off the boat in Belize one time and a local climbed a fence and came to far inside the restricted area. He was immediately swarmed by about 20 local police and cruise security. They were not polite either. It ended up with the guy being keg tossed back across an 8ft fence. They do not mess around.

We hired a driver on one of the islands on one trip and he said tourists from cruises are almost never harmed because locals know what will happen to them. He said if he killed a local man he could probably get away with it, but if he robbed a cruise ship tourist the local police would beat him severely and burn his car.

 

[mpmax]

A lot of the security officers are from Nepal, former British Military-Gurkas.

 

[Trlsmn]

We almost always do Norwegian, in fact we are Lattitudes Gold level members, but this time we are taking Holland. We have tried Norwegian, Holland, Celebrity, Princess, and Royal Caribbean and we like them all. Holland tends to be a little more pampering and Norwegian gives you the most freedom.

Well enjoy regardless!

 

[Member 5605]

I was informed that the stores up there like the 7-11's here are called 14-22's because everything costs 2x.

 

[The Quiet Man]

No carry....You will pass through metal detectors when you board the ship. I believe the bags are also screened. Concealed carry in Canada? You're kidding, right? You will need a passport or quickpass to get off/on in a Canadain port...

I've spent a lot of time in Canada and know that drill. My original thought was that if the ship did NOT dock in Canada that you could be going directly from where you were legal to another place you are legal. I've not done any cruising and never knew how they worked security, especially from a CONUS port directly to Alaska. Interesting.

 

[deen_ad]

I've spent a lot of time in Canada and know that drill. My original thought was that if the ship did NOT dock in Canada that you could be going directly from where you were legal to another place you are legal. I've not done any cruising and never knew how they worked security, especially from a CONUS port directly to Alaska. Interesting.

metal detectors at the boarding points. Last Alaska cruise we took left from Seattle and docked back at Seattle. The ship (Holland America line) would not allow weapons aboard although I had no trouble with my HK folder. We did dock for 6 hours at the other Vancouver (you know, then one in Canada) not here is WA. Less problem there than at home with security.

 

[PlayboyPenguin]

I've spent a lot of time in Canada and know that drill. My original thought was that if the ship did NOT dock in Canada that you could be going directly from where you were legal to another place you are legal. I've not done any cruising and never knew how they worked security, especially from a CONUS port directly to Alaska. Interesting.

The ships have to dock in Canada for legal reasons. If they travel from US port to US port with no foreign ports in-between they have to pay minimum wage to their crew.

Just make sure to choose one of the boats that stops in Victoria and not Prince Rupert. Victoria is beautiful and vibrant. Prince Rupert is like spending a day in downtown Beaverton.

 

[coosbaycreep]

Isn't Sitka where that historic Russian church and all the totem poles are? I went to Juneau 4 or 5 years ago on the AK state ferry (probably not as comfortable as the cruise ship you're going on), and one of the towns we docked at along the way was offering cheap bus tours and the totem poles and church were the "highlights". Not real impressive, but it was better than staying on the boat with the weirdos I was sleeping next to.

Juneau's cool though...and expensive, and one of the few places that makes Oregon weather feel like the sahara desert.