Turkey Vultures!

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I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I had heard of turkey vultures but they certainly weren’t a bird that commanded much thought from me. Certainly not like Bald Eagles or Osprey or Red Tailed Hawks. Vultures are just kind of….spooky.

I think one almost hit us as we were driving through Hot Springs S.D. I know it scared me half to death (I was the driver ) and it was one ugly bird. By the time I was able to pull over for a look it was long gone. It happened so fast.

My next encounter was on the RiverQuest cruise in Connecticut. We were looking for bald eagles and we spotted a huge bird soaring on the thermals. Everyone got very excited. Cameras came out and then the bombshell…turkey vulture no eagle.

That brings us up to the present. Amid my distractions over the Alaska Cruise info I have been keeping my eyes open for chances to grab pictures of the fall foliage especially the cranberry bogs with their bright red berries.

 Sis sent me a link to the Yankee Magazine and suggested I enter one of my pictures of Rocky in the Cutest Cat in New England Photo Contest. While I was doing that I saw the  Fall Foliage Photo Contest. Although the leaves are only just starting to “pink” here in southern MA, the cranberry bogs are in full color and some are already harvesting.

In my search for the “perfect” bog picture I found what appears to be an abandoned cranberry bog.

There’s plenty of cranberries but it is filled with stumps and old dead trees. Even though it looks like it’s neglected there was something attractive about the way it was going back to the wild. As I was taking pictures of the bog I happened to look up at the tops of the dead trees and what to my wondering eyes did appear…not 8 tiny reindeer but about 15 – 20 big , big birds!

Just like the river cruise my first reaction was EAGLES! My heart began to pound and I tried to get a better look. They all had their heads tucked under their wings and against the cloudy sky I could only make out the silhouettes, not plumage or details. Then as I watched the one at the very top raised its head. As if on signal so did most of the others and they were clearly Not Eagles. They were Turkey Vultures and I couldn’t help but think of that old Saturday morning cartoon with the 3 vultures on the dead tree.

I remember the slow talking Beaky Buzzard from LooneyToons (Nope..nope…nope)

 and I think there was a buzzard in Jungle Book

and of course Vultures are prominent this time of year along with Ravens and black cats and witches.

In any case I didn’t realize that vultures roost in large flocks like that or that they resemble their cartoon caricatures so closely!

 I’m told that the flocks of vultures will stay pretty close to their roost so I may have a chance to try again to capture this in pictures.

 I need a little better light and a little longer lens.  I can see a great Halloween shot in my future!

Last Thoughts for now on Cruising Alaska

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Ok so I went a bit overboard on the stateroom stuff. I sounded like a paid advertisement for Holland America. OOPS! Plus now I know cruise ship cabins are boring! 🙂 But there are just a couple of last points I want to add to this series on the Alaska cruising.

One is the tradition od “dressing for dinner”. Historically dinner in the dining rooms on cruises were a formal affair. There were assigned times for each meal seating such as early or late, maybe 5:30 and again around 7:30. You were assigned to a table that often put strangers together. You sat with the same people throughout your cruise so hopefully you all got along.

The most formal dinner was the Captain’s Dinner when Jacket and Tie if not Black tie was strongly encouraged. Many of the cruise lines are getting away from this. The dining atmosphere is becoming more relaxed and casual. They are using a term “freestyle dining” or cruising which means that you can choose your own seating and the restaurant you want to eat in.

Beware of one thing…not all restaurants are included in the meal plan. Be sure if you chose not to eat in the dining room that the alternate restaurant is one of the inclusive options. If not you will surely have a wonderful meal but there will be a hefty price tag at the end of the meal. This can catch some new cruisers off guard.

On the Alaska Cruises through Holland America two of the dinner seating are formal. However if you don’t want to “dress the part” you can eat in the Lido Cafe which is casual. The same menu is offered as is in the dining room and it is an “inclusive” restaurant so no pricy surprise.

One other thing I made a point to ask about was the plane reservations to get us to the departure port. I had heard all kinds of things about the best way to handle the flights and of course no one agreed on anything so I tossed it out for the agents to answer.

What it boils down to is this: If the flight is booked for you by the cruise line they assume the responsibility to get you to the boat on time. They will assist you if your plane is delayed or your connections missed. If you book your own flight and have a mishap, you are on your own.

If the cruise line can’t get you to the departure port in time due to airline issues then they will be responsible for getting you to the next port of call. If you book the flight yourself, you are on your own.

Now if dollar for dollar the flight was the same cost either way it would be easy to decide . Just let the cruise line handle all the details. The problem is that unlike the “olden times” when cruise lines reserved a block of flights and offered discounted fares, you can now get a better price by booking your flight on your own. Just remember you will be on your own to handle any snafus.

One suggestion is to book your own flight and arrive a day early in your departure city. Use the time to relax, adjust your body clock or sightsee.

According to the “pros” from AAA and Holland America, this will be one of the most expensive vacations most people will take in their life so this is one time they strongly urge that you insure your vacation with trip insurance.

Although I don’t usually buy trip insurance, I expect that I will for this trip because as has been pointed out numerous times in this series of posts..it’s a lot of money!

The Staterooms…Ocean View or Inside???

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As I mentioned in yesterday’s post I’m going to share with you what the Holland America Rep told us about the cabins on-board the ship. I did a short cruise to Nassau, Bahama’s at one time and shared an itty-bitty cabin on the inside of the ship. It was ok. We were only in the cabin to sleep at night. During the day if we weren’t ashore we were on the promenade deck or by the pool but Alaska is going to be a bit on the cool side for swimming I would think. They talked more about mittens and scarves than swim suits and tans.

Holland America says they have over 50 years experience cruising Alaska waters which is more than any other cruise line. I admit, if money were no object I would definitely go for a National Geographic Cruise but since that is really “in my dreams” I don’t have any real idea which is the next best line. That said I am now writing about Holland America because they have been the most forthcoming so far. RC (Royal Caribbean) was nice but they just threw so much at me in one phone call that as I said yesterday, I was left feeling very uncomfortable.

So back to the Holland America and the cabin options.

Obviously the most luxurious are the suites with balconies but if we/I am traveling on a budget is this really where we want to spend our money? In the session it sounded like you will be on a deck or in an observation area or on a tour most of the time. Once again cabins are places more for changing clothes and sleeping. The RC counselor was really pushing the ocean view and balconies. Holland America was far more flexible even pointing out that an ocean view can be a disadvantage if you are trying to sleep and the sun is as bright at midnight as it is at noon!

Apparently HA is known for its spacious and luxurious cabins.

The Penthouse Verandah Suite Category PS is the top of the line. At approximately 1160 square ft it’s bigger than my whole 1 bedroom condo which comes in at right around 1000 sq. ft. including my deck! Amenities include:  Bedroom with 1 king-size bed, oversize whirlpool bath and shower and additional shower stall, living room, dining room, dressing room, verandah, pantry,1 sofa bed sleeping 2 persons, DVD player, mini-bar, refrigerator, guest toilet, floor-to-ceiling windows. Although this is nice, I would rather put the extra money toward a shore excursion. This is just a bit too big for my taste on a budget.

Option 2: Deluxe Verandah Suite Category S. Approximately 556 square feet including the verandah.
Amenities include:  2 lower beds convertible to 1 king-size bed, whirlpool bath and shower and additional shower stall, large sitting area, dressing room, private verandah, 1 sofa bed sleeping 2 persons, DVD player, mini-bar, refrigerator, floor-to-ceiling windows. At about 1/2 the size of the premier accommodations I wouldn’t mind this especially, with 2 people. The question is, how much would this one set us back???

Option 3: Superior Verandah Suite Category SS:
Approximately 389 square feet including the verandah
Amenities include:  2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, sofa bed sleeping 1 person, bathroom with dual sink vanity, full-size whirlpool bath and shower and additional shower stall, private verandah, DVD player, floor-to-ceiling windows, personalized cruise stationery, elegant bathrobes for use on your cruise, fresh flowers and fruit assortment, luxurious beds featuring Sealy Premium Euro-Top mattresses and finely woven cotton linens. Nice  but getting smaller and still includes a verandah.

Option 4: Still with Verandah but getting smaller still: Verandah Suite Categories – A, B, BB, BC
Approximately 292 square feet including the verandah
Amenities include:  2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, whirlpool bath and shower, sitting area, private verandah, DVD player, mini-bar, refrigerator, floor-to-ceiling windows, personalized cruise stationery, elegant bathrobes for use on your cruise, fresh flowers and fruit assortment, luxurious beds featuring Sealy Premium Euro-Top mattresses and finely woven cotton linens.

I just want to be sure I have a separate bed!

Option 5: Deluxe Verandah Outside Cabin Categories – VA, VB, VC, VD, VE and VF. Approximately 249 square feet including verandah
Amenities include:  2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bath and shower, sitting area, private verandah, floor-to-ceiling windows

Option 6….I feel like it’s the incredible shrinking room ! Losing the Verandah now:

Large Outside Cabin Categories – C, D, DD, E, F, G, H and HH
Approximately 197 square feet
Amenities include:  2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathtub and shower, window (Category G, H and HH may have obstructed views on certain ships)

Option 7: Oh Oh..no verandah and no outside ocean view. I wonder what kind of savings we would get with one of these.

Large Inside Cabin Categories – I, J, K, L, M and MM
Approximately 182 square feet
Amenities include:  2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, shower

Finally the last category. This is what I think I was in when I went to the Bahamas.

Option 8: Standard Inside Cabin Categories – N and NN
Approximately 155 square feet
Amenities include:  2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, shower

Have any of you cruised? Anyone with any experience with the cabins?

I checked out the Holland American website a little bit. Most of the information is right there with lots of pictures and virtual tours. The shore excursions are also listed based on the cruise itinerary you will be on. They also list general information about deposits, down payments and so on. Important to know as you line up your financial ducks.

Well, that about covers the rooms/ cabins. Next post I’ll wrap up with some of the finer details such as dress code for dinner and making connections. See you Monday! 🙂


 

Alaska Cruise Planning up-date

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I’m not sure if AAA has a Horizon’s publication throughout the country but here in New England they put out a monthly newsletter called Horizons AAA Southern New England. I really enjoy this newsletter and try to read it as soon as it comes in. Sometimes I’m not too successful but I managed to get right to the September issue this time.

In this issue I found out  that one of the new AAA discounts is at Friendly’s Ice Cream. You can get a AAA breakfast for just $3.00 or a AAA Triple Scoop Sundae for $3.00. All you have to do is show your membership card.

Also in this issue way down at the bottom (below the fold as they say) was a tiny paragraph that was titled “TRAVEL NIGHTS FOR MEMBERS”.

The one paragraph  said only “You’re invited! Learn about Alaska Cruise Tours at AAA’s Somerset office at 6pm 9/22. To RSVP call…(800) etc.

It just so happened that I had a few hours of “flex time” at work that had to be used before Oct 1 so I requested and was granted, the evening of the 22nd off.

About a dozen people were in attendance. About half of whom had actually been on a cruise before and 2 had been to Alaska so we were a “ripe” group. Most everyone looked to be nearing senior status, a lot of white hair and life lines on faces. I fit right in. There were more women than men. In fact I think there were only 2 men in the whole group.

There were about 5 AAA travel counselors and a representative from Holland America Cruise Lines.

Holland America was the line my sister had originally suggested. Then because we listened to a lot of people we kind of shied away from them and switched to Royal Caribbean. Sis took the itinerary from RC and showed it to her AAA travel rep and they said it was a good one but it was very expensive. I was feeling extremely uncomfortable because I just wasn’t really sure what we were getting for our money if we booked that. I really wanted some Face-to-face with someone.

When I arrived and they introduced the Holland America  Rep I thought we were in for a hard sell event but nothing could have been farther from that. The first thing the rep did was put on a 15 minute DVD with a sample cruise tour. This broke down the many, many offerings into 4 basic packages. This began to de-mystify the process right there.

When the DVD was finished the rep took the stage. Her first words were ” Booking a Cruise to Alaska is a very complicated process and you need to do your homework. Most people love Alaska  and say they will go back but few ever get the chance to go a 2nd time. There is no doubt about it, it is an expensive, once in a lifetime trip.”

WOW that didn’t sound like hard sell to me. It sounded more like a caution. The next thing she said was ” If you are going on a budget in 2012 and think you will be in a better place financially in 2013, wait. It’s better to go with a more flexible budget.”

That out-of-the-way she made another strong recommendation. Before you book your cruise make a list of what the trip means to you and what you want to see/ do/ experience while you are there. Cruising the Inside Passage is beautiful but what you will see is water and glaciers for 7-14 days. That is only 10% of what Alaska is all about. If all you do is cruise the shoreline  you will miss 90% of what this great land has to offer. The way to make a memorable vacation is the add the shore excursions of which Denali is the top draw.

Moving on to how the packages are built she explained:

  • Package 1: 7 day southbound cruise
  • Package 2: 7 day northbound cruise
  • Package 3: 14 day round trip cruise
  • Package 4: Expedition Cruises

She said a number of years ago the word began to spread that going “southbound” was the best way to see Alaska but in fact it didn’t matter. She said traveling northbound can save as much as $400-$500/ per person. So for the budget conscious this should be given serious consideration. She offered a map to show that all of the cruises pretty much covered the same routes;

Packages 1 and 2 allow you to add-on the 2 day Denali land tour. The transportation to and from Denali is by bus and train. Both have dome windows. Inside the park you are escorted on  school buses. They recommend 2 days in the park because mother nature is in charge. There’s no guarantee what animals will be out and about or how clear the mountain will be.

The 14 day cruise did not have an expedition to Denali and she did not go into the Expedition cruises. They could be discussed one on one as they were quite a bit pricier.

What time of year should you go? well, she said May and early June are the “Shoulder months” and less expensive. It is also the time of year you will see the most animals. Since the wildflowers and grasses are just beginning to bloom the animals come right down to the roadside. Sun set  at this time of year is around 10:30 pm.

June and July are the “High Season” It is the most expensive and the time when you experience the “Land of the Midnight Sun” as this is when the sun is up just about all night and day.

August and September is the time the season is winding down. You will probably have snow and it will definitely be cold. It’s the time of year you may see the Northern Lights. There aren’t as many animals as in the spring but you should still see many.

As for clothing..LL Bean was mentioned as were mittens and scarves and comfortable shoes and sneakers.

I’m about out of time for tonight but tomorrow I’ll fill you in what she had to say about the ships themselves.

( photos and map are taken from Travel brochures)

Vacation Travel Philosophy

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When I started this blog I said it was Sights, Scenes and Travel of an everyday person.  The intention was that you could follow along with my adventures and mishaps as I began to get my travel legs. I did not then nor now feel that I am an expert although I’m a lot more seasoned than I was. 🙂

When I travel with my sister and we get misdirected (aka lost) she laughs and says  “We’re not lost, we’re “sight-seeing”. And  what a great idea that is. Why do we care when we’re on vacation if we get twisted around a little? Unless we’re trying to make it to a Tour, we have all day. We never would have had our little adventure on the Longest Dirt Road In the World if we’d been worried about getting a little lost..oops , misdirected.

In Hawaii we went looking for a green sand beach. We never found it but we found the Southernmost Point and some beautiful sights we would have missed if we hadn’t taken that detour.

I ran across another travel quote that I think needs to be added to our travel lexicon. Rita Rudner is credited with this gem: “I never panic when I get lost. I just change where it is I want to go.”

I love it and I have done it!  Sure takes the stress out of traveling!