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Bear Viewing / Weather / Cruise West

Sydney - Australia
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101 posts
30 reviews
20 helpful votes
Bear Viewing / Weather / Cruise West
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Hi There from Sydney, Australia,

Would appreciate some feedback ...

a) Am planning to do Cruise West's - Alaska Insude Passage

Cruise 2007 but, can decide on Spirit of Endeavour or Spirit of '98

(am thinking of AA category cabin w/outside passageway)

b) Am thinking of cruising mid Aug or late Aug (will be doing land

tour approx 7-10 days prior). What is the weather like at this time

of yr ?

c) Bear viewing, the more I investigate the more confussed I get.

Considering the time I'm going, where's the best ? Redouby Bay ?

I'm told bear viewing is good mid Aug to mid Sept in Haines @ a

fraction of the cost (not that I'm opposed to paying to see bears in

their natural habitit, I just want to make sure I see them)

Many Thaks :)

Prescott, Arizona
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304 posts
2 reviews
1. Re: Bear Viewing / Weather / Cruise West
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As for a time of year, I'd not wait too long. September is when the rains come to much of SE Alaska. Haines and Skagway get dumped on in September so mid/early August is better.

As for bears, I lived in Haines and used to encounter the largest number of bears near Chilkoot Lake. Now, that doesn't mean you'll be able to see them. They come out when they want to come out and frankly, there's plenty of time when I was happy NOT to see them. Battary Point also has a good amount of bear activity. Both of these places are heavily forested, so in some cases, seeing that bear means seeing it tooooo close! Chilkoot Lake has a river that runs into the ocean that often gets bears cruising along the shores spooking fish away from fisherman.

I think for Haines, if you go looking for bears you'll either get munched or you won't see them. The best bear viewing I had while living there for a few years was just by chance. Keep in mind, bear sitings are rare, even for residents of Haines, which is why they're so special.

Haines, Alaska
Destination Expert
for Haines
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53 reviews
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2. Re: Bear Viewing / Weather / Cruise West
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We have seen several brown bears this year on the Chilkoot River.....the river is only about 1 mile long, linking the Chilkoot Lake to the ocean......since the salmon are so late in running this year, the bears are still in the meadow areas eating grass or down on the beach turning over rocks looking for shell fish and seaweed.....I think you would have an excellent chance to see bears in August as the pink salmon will be running then......best time of day would be early in the morning about 5 or 6 oclock or late in the evening just about twilight......try not to go in a large bus or van.....maybe rent a car for a day or two and just sit silently watching the river banks......they will be there !!....

Santa Cruz...
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for Santa Cruz
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4 reviews
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3. Re: Bear Viewing / Weather / Cruise West
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We were on the Spirit of '98 last month - May 17-25. We sailed from Juneau to Ketchikan. I think you will really enjoy the trip. The Spirit of '98 is sort of duded out as a turn of the centur steamer, in its decor. I believe that the actual layout of the ships in the fleet does not differ too much. i.e. the bridge and a sundeck on the top, a dining room and galley on the bottom deck, and a lounge in the front of the ship on one of the two other decks. We had a AA cabin and were very satisfied with it. The spirit of Endeavour is sleeker-looking and more modern in decor. They hold about the same number of passengers....around 98 or 100.

Bears. I assume you are considering a separate bear viewing trip. I don't think this was being offered as an "optional" tour on our sailing.

However, from the ship we saw bears in Glacier Bay, around Sitka, in Endicott Arm and on the way to Tracey Arm. The 'exploration directors' are very good at sightings and letting everybody know about them. Our ship had binoculars in the cabins and there were more spread around the lounge. We spent several hours in Endicott Arm, watching the glacier calve and looking for wildlife. We were put out to float around in DIBs to get closer to shore. We saw a mother bear and two cubs here, as well as mountain goats, Dall porpoises, harbor seals floating on ice floes, and a hump back whale or two.

Speaking of *optional* tours....well, first of all, the cruise includes many tours in ports. There are also some you can add on at additional cost. (called "optional".) We didn't take any flight trips over glaciers, since we had done that in Southwest Alaska a few years ago.

But, if offered, I would recommend the White Pass and Yukon railroad trip out of Skagway. and if possible the train up and a minivan back. It takes about half a day. The scenery is spectacular. Another "optional" we loved was the Raptor Center in Sitka.

You are in for a treat. If you have any specific questions about the trip itself, let me know.

Ljubljana, Slovenia
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610 posts
367 reviews
884 helpful votes
4. Re: Bear Viewing / Weather / Cruise West
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Late August is marginal regarding weather. As previous poster suggested I would choose an earlier cruise.

Regarding bears - I am surprised to read that bear sightings are special even for the people who live there. On my recent 6-week trip to Alaska I encountered so many bears I stopped counting. I saw them on the roads, on lake shores, next to rivers, while hiking to glacier and even from day-cruise ships cruising out of Seward, Valdez and Skagway. Not to mention the ride into Denali Nat'l Park when we saw more bears in a day than during the whole trip... Well, perhaps I was just lucky :). Enjoy your cruise and trip.

Prescott, Arizona
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304 posts
2 reviews
5. Re: Bear Viewing / Weather / Cruise West
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<<Regarding bears - I am surprised to read that bear sightings are special even for the people who live there. >>

I posted that in response to HAINES and bear watching. I spent a lot of time outside, and while it is not uncommon to see bears, you can't just say, "hey, lets go look at bears" and expect them to be on cue. Like most towns, Haines has certain times of the year when bears are more inclined to be in the hood. We could also go weeks without seeing any.

Prescott, Arizona
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304 posts
2 reviews
6. Re: Bear Viewing / Weather / Cruise West
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As for bears and Skagway...forget it. 5 cruise ships, 6 helicopters, countless planes, one LOUD train and as many as 10,000 people packed into one teeeeeny valley isn't exactly the formula for prime wildlife viewing. The only bear sightings in Skagway that are very common are up on the pass during dandy lion season in the spring. While the Skagway Valley has a pretty diverse amount of wildlife, there just are not many individual animals in the various populations.

Alaska
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42 posts
2 reviews
7. Re: Bear Viewing / Weather / Cruise West
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There are a variety of places to see bears in SE AK. It is important to keep in mind that the best opportunity to see a concentration of bears corresponds to their feeding habits. Pack Creek accessable from Juneau is good for Brown Bears from mid June. Anan Creek, from Wrangell (also from Ketchikan by floatplane) is iebst from early July through mid August. Margaret Bay, Hyder etc are the same. One should be able to see bears on the beach from mid April through Sept, however these sightings are not a sure bet. I don't suggest traveling in SE in September as the weather is more apt to be cold, rainy and windy. However, for greenery, anytime of the year id great.

Sydney - Australia
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101 posts
30 reviews
20 helpful votes
8. Re: Bear Viewing / Weather / Cruise West
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Thank you all so much for your insight ... One further Q if I may ...

Anticipating I'll be in Anchorage early Aug and with further research have found thet Redoubt Bay nr Lake Clark mught be a good choice ?

Does anyone have any feedback on Bear Viewing @ Redoubt Bay (Lake Clark) early Aug ?

Chicago
4 posts
9. Re: Bear Viewing / Weather / Cruise West
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Hi, I have gone on three Alaskan cruises, all with Princes cruise. They left from Van Couver to the Anchorage area. I don't know your air flights but if you can rent a car, I suggest you do the land portion on your own. Its much cheaper and you will not have any problems. I alway stay at Bed & Breakfasts. I can give some to stay at. As for bears, I went out of Homer. It cost $500 but was worth it. Also I hightly recommend you go to Talkeetna and fligh around Mt. McKinley. They land on a glacier. It is great.

Sydney - Australia
Level Contributor
101 posts
30 reviews
20 helpful votes
10. Re: Bear Viewing / Weather / Cruise West
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Hi Walnutski,

Thanks, B&B info would be great, can you tell me them all or is it better I tell you where we're going ?

Regards

DogMinder

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