Alaska Further Research

Liz and I talked today about plans for the cruise we plan to take in 2018 for our last state. We narrowed down what we want to do. We were thinking Denali sounds fun, but it doesn't really work with a 7-day cruise. You only have a 33% chance of seeing it on a given day, so you really need to be there for multiple days. We'll save Denali for a future time. In the meantime, these are our criteria.

Criteria:

• Departure Date: Late July or August.
• Liz needs to be back by August 24, 2018. 
• Liz's baby is due in mid-April so we want to go as late in August as we can.
• Most cruise ships don't allow babies below 6 months, they usually want them to be at least a year old.
• Peak season is May through August
• It gets increasingly rainy the closer you get to September.
• Price: Low end to middle cost range
• Mode of Transportation: cruise
• Options
• Expedia Recommendations - 2nd option seems best
• Royal Carnival $869.00, plus $199.00 in taxes and port fees. Leaves from Seattle. 7 nights. Leaves in August. 
• Alaskan Cruise advice.
• Cruise reviews.
• Hidden costs
• Tips $12.00 per person per day
• Internet
• Port costs
• Taxes & fees
• Room choice
• Length: 7 days
• Most 7 day cruises go to virtually the same places including:
• Juneau
• Tracy Arm Fjords
• Glacier Bay
• Ketchikan
• Skagway (some)
• Dog sled
• Great view of glaciers
• 2 mile hike - Chilkoot Trail
• 15 mile bicycle tour
• Jeep rental - go off trail
• Small town
• Train - White pass in Yukon Route
• Victoria (some)
• Buchart Gardens
• Inside Passage (some)
• Sitka (some)
• Hubbord Glacier (some, but not many)
• Port of departure: Leave from Seattle, Pier 91.
• Options from the US are:
• Seward
• San Francisco
• Los Angeles
• Long Beach
• Whittier
• Seattle
• Pier 66 - Only used by Norwegian and Oceania (high end $2,699 for 10 day round trip from Seattle)
• Pier 91 - Smith Cove - All other cruise ships
• 10-minutes drive from downtown. 
• No attractions nearby. 
• Parking for local passengers
• Luggage storage pre and post cruise.
• Passengers can check in for flights while on board and their baggage will be delivered directly to the airport.

Beginning to Plan Alaska Cruise

Alaska is my last state!!!

So, I'm beginning to research Alaskan Cruises. Here are a few of my links.

Link to Cruises

http://www.smartcruiser.com/?kohana_uri=proxy.run:v=Cruise_SearchResults#

Researched average prices:

Seven-day Alaska roundtrip cruises cost about $580-$2,660 for an interior cabin per person, double occupancy, depending on sailing date, choice of stateroom and cruise line.

The summer time in Alaska (June – August) is the most expensive season but of course, the most popular time to visit. A 7-night Alaska cruise can cost anywhere from $500 per person to $5000+ per person, depending on the type of cruise ship and your choice of state room.

https://cruises.affordabletours.com/Alaska/

Norwegian Cruise - A cheaper Cruise

https://cruises.affordabletours.com/search/itsd/cruises/9828180506/

How Vacations Affect Your Happiness

You hear people say a lot that you should invest in experiences and not things, that they bring you greater happiness. I love that someone out there has studied how it affects your happiness and what about it makes you happy. 

Apparently the greatest boost of your happiness is not the actual trip, not how you feel after the trip, but rather the anticipation of your trip. It boosts your happiness for eight weeks.

Source: How Vacations Affect Your Happiness

It seems like the best way to apply this information is to plan a trip every eight weeks.

Polynesian Cultural Center

We got the Go Oahu cards which allowed us to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

http://www.polynesia.com/

I learned while I was there that many of the Polynesian students who are able to attend college through their work at the Polynesian Cultural Center - they are afforded scholarships.

We upgraded the Go Oahu package so we could get a guide.

Notice the bananas above!

Our guide was from Fiji.

He was quite a ladies man.

The benefit of having a guide is that they make sure you get to all of the presentations for each country represented at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Coconut tree climbing.

I loved visiting all of the different countries represented there.

They gave all leis before the luau.

The luau had dancing and performances.

And yummy Polynesian food.

After the luau I thought we were done. 

But no, there was a whole other performance.

It was really well done.

Lovely Hawaiian flowers.

Grand Canyon

I took a trip to visit Jeremy in Arizona. 

When he asked me where I wanted to go I asked for a few options.

Once he mentioned the Grand Canyon, the decision was made.

Despite all of my travels, I had never actually been to the Grand Canyon.



I had flown over it.

But never actually visited it.

It was majestic.

Here are a few more snap shots.

Some perspective of just how large the Grand Canyon is.

I loved this quote below.