May 2019 - 5 Night Bahamas (Miami Roundtrip) Cruise on Disney Magic
Cruise1Sue
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Joined 06/2018
2
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Review36
Helpful VotesGoing on our first cruise in September to Alaska.
Past cruises
September 2018 - 7 Night Glacier Discovery Northbound (Vancouver To Seward) Cruise on Westerdam
Amazing Alaska Land/Sea Adventue!
This was our first cruise and it was amazing! The Westerdam was perfect for us...relaxed, comfy, classy, good food and fun. The weather was great in the 60s and 70s (except Glacier Bay day and morning/evening at Denali, it is Alaska😉 ), clear, and no rain. We saw an unbelievable amount and variety of wildlife from the ship and in Denali (whales, orcas, Dolphins, more whales, bears moose, wolves, caribou, whales, sea otters, seals, dal sheep, seabirds, puffins, swans, did I mention whales☺️), ! We even saw 3 wolves right in front of our bus! Also unusual were beluga whales and puffins. We saw A huge calving of a glacier, road 2 trains, saw all of Mt. Denali from Anchorage all the way up to Denali, in the park all day, and all the way from Denali back to Anchorage the next day from the train, plus we saw the northern lights! We were pampered from beginning to end. Loved the Westerdam, loved cruising, loved Alaska!
I think our McKinley Explorer guide with 10 years experience said it best when he said that the beautiful day on the train that we were experiencing was a picture postcard day, but for the first time in 10 years, he would describe our land/sea adventure as not just a postcard but an entire perfect picture brochure vacation😄 And it was😍
Westerdam
Sail date: September 02, 2018
Amazing Alaska Land/Sea Adventue!
This was our first cruise and it was amazing! The Westerdam was perfect for us...relaxed, comfy, classy, good food and fun. The weather was great in the 60s and 70s (except Glacier Bay day and morning/evening at Denali, it is Alaska😉 ), clear, and no rain. We saw an unbelievable amount and variety of wildlife from the ship and in Denali (whales, orcas, Dolphins, more whales, bears moose, wolves, caribou, whales, sea otters, seals, dal sheep, seabirds, puffins, swans, did I mention whales☺️), ! We even saw 3 wolves right in front of our bus! Also unusual were beluga whales and puffins. We saw A huge calving of a glacier, road 2 trains, saw all of Mt. Denali from Anchorage all the way up to Denali, in the park all day, and all the way from Denali back to Anchorage the next day from the train, plus we saw the northern lights! We were pampered from beginning to end. Loved the Westerdam, loved cruising, loved Alaska!
I think our McKinley Explorer guide with 10 years experience said it best when he said that the beautiful day on the train that we were experiencing was a picture postcard day, but for the first time in 10 years, he would describe our land/sea adventure as not just a postcard but an entire perfect picture brochure vacation😄 And it was😍
Cruise tips
We loved the luxery car on White Pass Train! Well worth extra money! Only 14 passenger (vs 50), really comfy seats, personal guide, great food and drinks, a large uncrowded platform, plus you are first car up and last car back for extra special views. Went into town to the visitors center, had a flight of beer at the new brewery , shopped, got some good pictures , and met Tlingit from Juneau carving soapstone and spoke with him about his art and purchased a seal from him.
Ship arrived in Seward and we got on a coach for Denali. We spent last evening and next day in Anchorage. We stayed at the Westmark which was OK, it did have a harbor view and was convenient to walking around town. We had a good dinner at The 49th State Brewery. The next morning we slept in and packed. We had a really good breakfast at Snow City Cafe. We walked to a small park. Then we did some shopping , stopped at visitors center, and spent the rest of the afternoon in the Federal Building watching films on Alaska ( nature, wildlife,volcano, earthquake) and listened to a park ranger talk. We walked back to our hotel, got on our transfer bus to the airport and a short ride later we were at the airport, then on our way home. Great views flying out of Anchorage, even saw northern lights on flight home!
Rented a car. Went to Mendenhal Glacier in the morning and hiked to Nugget Falls and went to visitors center. Heard from other travelers that they saw the momma bear and two cubs down the trail to salmon run by the parking lot. We enjoyed the entertainment and lunch at The Red Dog Saloon. Drove out to St. Therese Shrine, pretty views, and saw an eagle in the trees. Then walked around and shopped.
Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia
A lovely port, only wish we would have come earlier, needs 2 days earlier or more. Canada Place is great to watch ship sail in and out. Pan Pacific Hotel is convenient and beautiful stay (expensive but we felt worth it). Mass at Holy Rosary Cathedral was walking distance for us. Dinner at Steam Works had a nice view, good food, and was close by for us.
Nice port...wish we had more time here to explore more. Did HAL tour of town and Totem Bight. Walked up Creek Street to the salmon ladder. Did some shopping.
Westerdam
Enjoy the crows nest, relax on comfy chairs and watch for whales....and go wherever the naturalist is speaking ( usually outside on deck 10)!
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