Is Sitka, Alaska worth cruising to? (Searching for whales & exploring the National Historical Park)

[@lynnecoles7276]

Sitka is beyond lovely.

[@claytonferguson6637]

such a negative vibe you put off with the "avoid this letdown" caption ... maybe its not Sitka, but instead yourself who's the letdown

[@HollyandAndrew]

Haha yes! That's definitely more likely!! We're nothing exciting, but Sitka was a charming little place. We just wanted to point out that not every wild life experience is full of whales and wildlife like most vloggers make it out to look like. :) Thank you for the feedback though! We're always trying to improve. :)

[@lynnecornelison5903]

So, would you actually advise to “Avoid This Letdown?” The experience you had looked like a nice port day. And I did not catch your saying anything negative about Sitka throughout the video. I would have titled it “Sitka, Alaska: searching for whales and exploring the National Historic Park.” It communicates expectation without stating a known fact of wildlife excursions: they are wild animals over which we have little control. By your choice of film clips, we saw that you didn’t have much success in that effort. Your filming technique of shooting up to capture the forest and totems is a good touch. I learned more information about the people and area than I have been getting from other videos. I like the balance of talking heads and scenery (when in new places, I want to see the area, not the narrator.). Bishop’s Museum said closed: was that known beforehand or were you surprised? We are visiting next year and are watching for info on all the ports. Yours really confirms my plans to visit the National Historical Park. It reminds me of a typical vacation with my family: stop and read historical markers and walk through forests. I have started skipping any video titled “Shocking” or with a negative angle or ridiculous facial expressions. But definitely do a verbal wrap-up of anything that was a detractor to a port visit. Not every place is going to be exciting - I have a hard time finding Ketchikan interesting. Other people love it. Keep up the good work.

[@HollyandAndrew]

Hi @Lynnecornelison5903, thank you for your thoughtful and well-articulated feedback. We strive to make each video better than the last, so constructive feedback like yours is super valuable and appreciated. You're right that we could be a bit more clear in what exactly we're suggesting someone to avoid (which is expecting you'll always see whales on a whale excursion). Sitka itself was fantastic. Thank you again, and always feel free to reach out with any more helpful comments!!

[@robertsander8509]

I LOVE Sitka!

[@HollyandAndrew]

We did too! We'll be back for sure (and try a hopefully better* wildlife tour). We just got unlucky with ours that day :)

[@kenwertheim5074]

We planned our Alaska cruise for May because we had heard the whales come back from Hawaii then but we didn’t see any whales however the glaciers made up for that, they were fantastic

[@MathewLauren]

We wanna see Sitka one day. It reminds us of Ketchikan a bit.

[@HollyandAndrew]

Yes, Sitka was similar to Ketchikan but an even smaller town. Very quaint and historic!

[@marshaofcmetraveling8791]

Cool sea lions! Love the totum poles

[@HollyandAndrew]

Thanks! We’re lucky we got to at least see sea lions. There wasn’t a whole lot of nature on our “nature” tour haha

[@doeboy736]

​@@HollyandAndrew negative nancies you two are

[@Jsngw]

​@@doeboy736 shhhh, don't encourage them to come back

[@Clouise2023]

We see them almost night just off the volcano

[@rosemarybreck4420]

Stika..eh..Whale WatchIng BUST!

[@haroldborbridge3833]

Usually you’re surrounded by whales!

[@HollyandAndrew]

We saw a few at dinner on the second night but that was about it :(