It’s the last port of call on my 10-night Viking Orion Alaska cruise. It is also just a half day stop. Viking did not offer the Great Alaska Lumberjack Show as an excursion option (maybe not enough the “thinking person cruise” enough 😂🤔) but I find it great fun so booked tickets direct online. It was fun and they know how to please the crowd. Next stop is Vancouver after a sea day tomorrow. Have you done the lumberjack show? Thoughts? #myvikingstory #ketchikan #alaska
Today I repeated one of the best excursions I ever done on my travels. Back in 2018 on my first Alaska cruise I went on a helicopter ride up to a sledging dog base for a ride. I did this today on a gorgeous sunny and blue sky day in Juneau up to the Mendenhall Glacier. It’s a 15 minute flight up and around an hour there and then back. These dogs summer up on the glacier and then in winter race or are working dogs with rural communities. It is a very costly excursion but incredibly memorable. Have you ever done this, or would you like to? #juneau #alaska
Today we were at Icy Strait Point. As you can see the morning was chilly and coat weather to head up the cable car but by afternoon was sunny and polo shirt. This port was in a beautiful location but is a created port. It was way back when a salmon canning factory location but now been built as a place for cruise ships to call with cable cars, long zip line etc. Not one I can rave about. Though the area is stunning. Have you been? Do you agree or disagree?
#myvikingstory
I had hoped that with Viking moving to Starlink that I would be able to run livestreams whilst on the ship. But they block streaming and there is no package, like other cruise lines offer, to pay for a streaming package. I did various tests but both the visual and audio are not good enough. Possibly made worse by being in Alaska where Wi-Fi is erratic due to the landscapes. Sorry! Looks like will not be a livestream until 30 June unless things improve when we are closer to Vancouver by next weekend
Had two nights on a disappointing Viking pre-cruise extension. I don’t usually book these sorts of things and prefer to find my own hotels and sightseeing.
The Anchorage hotel (Hilton) was shabby and tatty, breakfast in a big conference room and uninspiring half day tour. Today was a transfer to Seward and a stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center that was interesting but definitely wished I’d done my own thing and caught the scenic train to Seward as I did to Whittier two years ago.
I wanted to test out the Viking pre-cruise offer. Not for me! I’m sure the cruise will be great though! Do you prefer to make your own arrangements or like and feel safer booking cruise line ones?
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