Has this been a problem in the past. Leave on the Mariner June 22 and have read the mosquitos are at their all time worst. Are there shore excursions to avoid and do you cover with repellent before leaving the ship. Sounds awful from the news stories???

Hi anaclaire and welcome to LCT!! We went on the same cruise last June. Just to let you know about our experience, we didn't have any mosquito problems. BUT, we also didn't go into the forests or do a lot of "outdoorsy" activities. It was very warm in the port towns when we were there - high 80's and sunny. Take a pair of shorts just in case!!

We did the Sitka tour with the Russian dancers, totem pole park, and the Raptor center - no bugs there! (You can walk through the woods at the totem pole park so there might be bugs there this year.) The whale watching with Captain Larry - no bugs. And the steam train in Skagway - no bugs. Can't tell you about Ketchikan - missed that port.

Of course if you are doing totally different things, I can't speak about what mosquitoes you might run into. Also, there were no mosquito reports last year to speak of.

Have a great time!!

They must be ESKIMOsquitos!!! LOL

Seriously, inland areas in Alaska are highly mosquito infested during the summer months. It seems odd, as one normally thinks of insect problems in warm climates, but it is true. On our Alaska cruise, we really didn't go far enough inland to encounter them. But those who do are advised to take the highest percentage Deet repellant they can find.

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)

We went to the Taku Glacier Lodge (in 2001) out of Juneau or Ketchican - (I never remember which) for an Alaksan Salmon BBQ and the mosquitos were plentiful. We were wearing long sleeves and pants. They gave us something that looked like a tennis racquet to hold up in front of us. They had buttons to push and they zapped them before they got to us. Our clothes were quite covered with them, but, they were not inside the lodge and the porch and lawn area were clear. We only got covered when we went towards the "forest" in search of the bears. The lodge is across a river from a Taku Glacier and we flew to get there. It was the best experience and we'd do it again.

Don't forget that there are some products out there that have been newly recommended -- picaridin (KBR 3023) (Cutter Advanced) and oil of lemon eucalyptus (p-Menthane-3, 8-diol, or PMD) (Repel Lemon Eucalyptus Spray and other products). Or high concentrations of DEET, of course, but some younger children cannot handle DEET -- I don't know what the warnings are on these two new ones or on DEET with respect to children or pregnant women or people over age whatever. ("Whatever" means some age that's older than you, doesn't it? :D )

I saw this note in the July 1 issue of Bottom Line Personal that arrived today but I think I've seen it elsewhere recently. Maybe Consumer Reports and/or the newspaper health notes or -- I don't recall.