Planning on going to Alaska- Questions???

[labmansid]

The wife and myself are seriously looking at going to Alaska next year. We are planning on taking a couple of weeks off for this, with one week, probably the second, being spent on a cruise ship of some sort. From just a (so far) limited amount of research, I was thinking sometime in mid to late July might be better for catching various wildlife activities. I have several co-workers that have been there already, and one in particular (the "cheapskate" ) says we should go in August/September when rates and other tourist concentrations are lower.
The choices of activities and the outfits that provides them seem a little overwhelming at times, and I am just wanting some input from those on this forum who have been already (I know you are out there!! ) on what you would recommend if you were going back. Would you try to go at a specific time for maximum wildlife/scenery opportunities? Would you piece together various excursions yourself, or are there outfitters you would recommend that could put most of it together for you?
I am leaning towards going on one of the smaller cruise ships based on another co-worker's advice. Even though they are more expensive, she did that and says it was worth it for the more flexible opportunities they provide. Has anyone on here done that?
Anyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[MT Stringer]

Subscribing. We hope to make a similar trip in two years with wife's cousin and her hubby. Hopefully, some Halibut fishing will be on the list of things to do.

[Shadow]

I volunteer to serve as your lens caddy! Sounds like my kinda trip.

[chocchip]

Sid,

I did an 8 day cruise on a 12 passenger boat with Discovery Voyages in Prince William Sound last July. It was pricey but so worth it. Photographic opportunities were everywhere, the food was to die for, and the 4 person crew was fantastic. After the cruise, we rented a car in Anchorage and spent 4 days in Denali on our own.

[lhdvies]

Sid, my only suggestion is that you definitely need to take me with you !!! (I'll assist Bruce). Good luck, I dream of such a trip.

[dcopeland]

Well, to go along with the comment about things being on sale in late Aug/early Sept at the end of the season.. you should also run into a salmon run. At least in Ketchikan and Haines.. Which Ketchikan's salmon are everywhere headed up river that goes right by/through town.. My understanding in Aug is prime season for the salmon run on the Chilkoot river near Haines, AK. and according to the owner of the lodge we stayed at last month there.. is prime bear season to go with it.. (not to mention the local bald eagles).. Not sure, but would assume a little earlier than that would be more prime season for the humpbacks, since later in the year they are headed for down around Maui.

And can I go as a an assistant's assistant's assistant or something..

Best of luck on the trip! It's in my top 2 of favorite places to go.. can't say it's #1 only because between it and Maui are my fav's but they are very different :) And so many places in Alaska I still want to explore!

Enjoy!

David

[Patti Edens]

Sid, I haven't been in a long time, so no help. However, if you haven't already seen Jennifer's (Chocchip) slideshow, check it out here. The photos are just incredible.

[J Eddington]

I have a friend who when last summer and drove from Cincinnati OH. It was quite the trip. Eric is a great guy and would be happy to answer any questions. If you would like to see his photos Alaska Highlights and Slideshows - Hatch Photo Artistry -- Eric Hatch

[ldelacruz]

Leon-Bruce,
Back off! I got this!

Sid,
What you need is a Mexican tour guide. You might want to order a fish taco and I speak Alaskan!

[PhotoByLeal]

I got this Lonnie,
A warm Jacket & Shooting Gloves!

[ttusa]

All you guys back off! What ya need is a lady guide who's been to Alaska twice LOL

[gll]

Sid we went last year in Sept and tourist season was winding down, the big thing is the weather, we didn't see allot of mountains because of the cloud cover, not much rain, just looks like it could any minute. but I know folks that had 2 weeks of rain in July so you never know, we did the cruise out of Vancouver Canada, went to the typical ports Skagway, Juneau, Icy Straits, getting off in Seward. We found a guy that would deliver a motorhome to Seward and we had 7 days in it, I highly recommend the motor home, lots of wide areas on the main road where you just pull over and spend the night for free, seems like it was 180 per day but when you consider a motel and a rental car I think its better. we stayed on the Kenai peninsula from Seward around to Homer then back to Anchorage to fly home, not that many miles but lots to see if there's no low clouds, as for wildlife its the same old story they are where ya find them and Sept is the start of hunting season, everywhere we went we heard we saw some yesterday ! Saw a few eagles at Homer, one griz on some river about 200 yards off, caribou in Soldotna, no real opportunities for photography. Flew into Silver Salmon creek and it was just unbelievable, absolute greatest photography experience of my life. the cruise stuff is ok but misleading, you wake up your at port, everyone in every port is waiting for you and your money, most tours are not designed for photography but rather to show you whatever and get ya back on time. very rigid schedules. when the ship pulls out the smaller towns turn out the lights till the next ship docks. you wake up in another port the next day, not allot to see as they travel all night. but its the only way to get to most of them as there are no roads into them from the main highways. went on a bear searching tour and that's all we did was search and not find, whale trips we saw whales just had a gray sky that day.
hope this is of some help, let me know if you have any questions I could answer,,,,,,, wish I was going with ya!

[labmansid]

Originally Posted by Shadow

I volunteer to serve as your lens caddy!

Originally Posted by lhdvies

Sid, my only suggestion is that you definitely need to take me with you !!! (I'll assist Bruce).

Originally Posted by ldelacruz

Sid,
What you need is a Mexican tour guide. You might want to order a fish taco and I speak Alaskan!

Originally Posted by ttusa

What ya need is a lady guide who's been to Alaska twice LOL

WOW!! I am truly humbled and honored to be amongst a group of people who are so giving, unselfish, and willing to come to the aid of their fellow photographer!! And Lonnie, I truly appreciate the offer to do translations for us, but we have been boning up on Alaskan lately by watching every single doggone episode of "Sarah Palin's Alaska" at least five times each, you betcha' !!

Jennifer, that sounds a lot like what I am thinking of doing. You got some really awesome shots on your trip. I think I saw that when you posted earlier.
David, thanks for the info. Yeah, I was a little concerned if we waited until too much later, the whales might be harder to catch. So you are saying that the salmon should still be running in Aug/Sept, along with the attending bears?
Janice, thanks for the link. Some great images your friend captured. I would love to get in contact with them. If you think they wouldn't mind me contacting them, maybe you could PM me with contact info. Or anyone else is welcome to PM me as well.
Therese, I thought I remembered you had been before.
Thanks for all the help, we really appreciate it.

[wwong]

For photography, I think a dedicated photo tour might be a better bet. I went on a cruise last early Aug and the biggest issue was time, next is weather [cloudy=dim]...

Salmon was running like crazy, saw one bear (1 min +/-), a lot of bald eagles (in distance) and others animals.

[labmansid]

Thanks for the tips, Gary, you must have posted while I was typing my other reply. I sometimes get distracted while typing (slowly ) and come back later to finish!!
Funny you should mention the motorhome, my "cheapskate" co-worker did that the last time they were there. They loved doing that. I have heard good things about the Silver Salmon creek, I may have to check that out. What type or what cruise line did you use? I was hoping the smaller boat cruises were not quite as touristy as you described, maybe a little more flexible, at least while enroute.
Thanks again.