LOTS of Stuff to Do !

Yesterday the computer that had all my video links on it, crashed.  Well, it was a controlled crash landing that the computer did on its own.  Unfortunately it did not save all the links I had developed, so back to the drawing board to get those.  I expect you will see them in the next day or two on the various pages, as I go back and find them.  Grrrrrr...

So far we have 66 tours listed for you in the 4 ports of call.  As you consider what you would like to do, be sure to check the time in and out of port on the top of each of the port pages.  You would not want to return back from your tour to see the ship sailing to the next port without you !  

I also checked out a coupon book for $99.  This is a two-fer deal.  You buy  one ticket to the attraction for the full price, and the second one is free.  This is called TOUR SAVER, you can Google it up under "Alaska Coupon Book."  It has a lot to offer, but some things are for hotels, and other things you won't use, plus some ports that we will not be visiting.  However, this is a list of what is in the book that you could use:
Ketchikan Zip Line, Juneau Zip Line, Rainforest Wildlife eagles and Totems tour in Ketchikan, flightseeing in Juneau, Misty Fjords by Tarquam Air in Ketchikan, Kayaking with South Seas Kayak in Ketchikan, TICKETS TO:  Salmon bake - Juneau, Glacier Gardens, Juneau, Mt. Roberts Tram, Juneau, and Jewel Gardens, Skagway

UPDATES

All our cruisers got an email today showing your cabin numbers and reminding you to check in here at least weekly, as we are 11 weeks away from setting sail to Alaska !  

I have updated the format of the "Been there - Did This" page, so you can quickly find information by port of call, and what fellow cruisers are saying about their shore excursions as well as about the STAR.  Every week this page will get more added to it, as fellow Cruise Critics provide feedback on their Alaska adventures in July, July, and August.

Also, you will start to see a few video links to some of the tours listed on the ports of call pages.  This gives you a glimpse into what your tour will be like.

By checking in here you will be a well informed visitor to these ports, with pretty well formed plans about what you want to do in each.  Since we visit a new port of call almost daily having your plans already in place will make your experience all that more fulfilling!

KETCHIKAN TOURS

Wow - it took me 2 full days to get these tours loaded to the blog!  New material tends to have problems spacing in between existing text, so it "explodes" sometimes disappearing, and other times breaks into pieces that you find scattered all over the page.  What a mess!  These are the MOST POPULAR as my friend Dean likes to say, so you will see lots of imput from folks that have just taken these tours.  I try to give balance to these comments so you will see the good and the bad if there is any.

I think you will agree that Ketchikan offers a LOT of stuff to do!  Or you can choose to just stroll the downtown area on your own.  It depends on how adventuresome your purse or wallet wants to be!

I'll try to finish up all the pages in the next week or so.  If you see something you really want to do, that is not an NCL shore excursion, I have given you enough information about the tour company that you can contact them on your own to book a tour.  Mid - July is not too early to do that, and for certain you would want to have completed such arrangements by the first week or so of August. 

If you want to join another couple in an adventure, I will be sending you an email with all our group's email addresses and names.  The blog is not a good place for that, however, I want to do a page for who is sailing with us so you will have some idea of our group of happy travellers.

I'll have more to share in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back.  Also, always scroll down this page, because for some of you who don't get here very often, you will be missing a lot of info if you only read the top postings...

NEW PAGE - Been there - Did this !

I had a couple of responses to questions I had put out on the CruiseCritic Board and those are posted today on the Been there - Did this! page. 

Members are starting to give feedback on their Alaska cruise experience on the Star and I will post them on that page as they become available.  A couple of things you will see as we go along are, as we get further into summer, the ship will be able to access the Tracy Arm Glacier more closely than it can during the early part of the tour season (May - July), and the weather will be warmer.  

Our cruise will be the next-to-the-last cruise the Star will do, and September is the end of the Alaskan cruise season.  All the ships will be leaving for repositioning to the Southern Hemisphere for Fall / Winter itineries.  If the cruise bug bites you, the repositioning cruises that will become available shortly are usually excellent bargains.  Some of the ships will leave the West Coast and transit the Panama Canal to Florida and other southern ports.

Juneau Page

More stuff to see and do added to the Juneau page.  On some of the tours, I can only give you a phone number to contact if you are interested in the particular tour.  This is because some of the people that own a particular attraction, book the tours only through one or more cruise lines.  And, for some number of these, they do not use NCL, or NCL does not work with them.  If you phone one of these be sure to tell them you will be in Juneau on the 13th of September and the ship sails at 1:30 pm. Always ask about their cancellation policy before you give them your credit card number.  Why?  Although it is rare, a ship can have a mechanical problem and arrive in port late, or may have to skip a port to maintain its schedule. In such a case you will want to be able to sucessfully recover your money. 

For tours in Juneau that are offered by various tour operatiors, just do a WWW. (tour company name) . COM and you can look at their website for additional information should you want it.

I also updated the page with a bit of history about Juneau so you can relate to what you will be seeing.

STUFF TO BRING DEPARTMENT
Add to your list  BUG SPRAY  and BINOCULARS.  We will be at the tail end of the summer so we can expect a few mosquitoes in some of the shady places we might visit  (not where the "shady ladies" abide!)   

Keep checking back for more updates.  If you have a tour that you have found, let me know, lets share the details here! . 

UPDATES !

The Skagway page is complete.  TEMSCO Helicopters, at least for Skagway is not taking reservations directly, but only booking through the cruise lines.

The Juneau page is starting to come together.  I am finding lots to do in our ports - more than can be accomplished in a day.  You will have to make some choices!  For all the tours that are not offered by NCL, I will get booking information onto the respective descriptions soon. 

I would suggest that booking NCL tours be done in late July, early August.  Also, you should get to the NCL website and fill out your passenger information which will make your boarding in Seattle go super fast.  I'll put more on that in the blog later.

All NCL Tours Listed + New Page

I finally have all the NCL shore tours listed, and with the exception of Skagway the pricing is there also.  NCL did something over the last 4 days that resulted in the tour pricing disappearing from their website.  I'll dig for the Skagway tour prices.  I am also working on getting more input from "locals" plus folks that have just come off this Alaska cruise.  (segway......>


.. So another page called BEEN THERE - DID THIS for some of my fellow Cruise Critic members that have stepped up to their obligation to write a review of their experience in Alaska.  The first one is there for your enjoyment - more will follow as people complete their cruises.  Before we sail you should have a pretty good idea of what other folks have found worthwhile / interesting on the cruise.