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Help with Alaska Excursions


ccarroll57
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I have started researching excursions for our cruise next year and the one thing I have found so far is that they are very expensive.....

 

We have a family of five (3 kids 19, 15, 15) and I want to get the most of this experience so I'm wondering if anyone can tell me of a great experience they have had with an excursion at one of my stops. I want to do it all and want to try and narrow down the list so am looking for help. We are open to pretty much anything.

 

Also if there is a port that is good to just tour around without an excursion, I would be interested in that as well.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

 

 

15-Jun Vancouver, British Columbia 4:30 PM

 

16-Jun Inside Passage (Cruising) Cruising

 

17-Jun Ketchikan, Alaska 6:00 AM 4:00 PM Docked

 

18-Jun Icy Strait Point, Alaska 9:00 AM 6:00 PM Docked

 

19-Jun Juneau, Alaska 7:00 AM 9:30 PM Docked

 

20-Jun Skagway, Alaska 7:00 AM 4:30 PM Docked

 

21-Jun Hubbard Glacier (Cruising) 8:00 AM 10:00 AM Cruising

 

22-Jun Seward, Alaska 5:00 AM

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You didnt indicate your interests, physical ability, budget. As you looked over your ship's excursion list, what appeals to you?

You can spend 0 to $1000 pp at each port. Most travellers HAVE to budget! A rental car is a popular option in Skagway and juneau, esp for a family . There are maps in the town web sites and Visitor Guides. ISP and Juneau are both great whale watching tours: but since juneau offers many other activities, people often do the tour in ISP. Maybe budget for one excursion that will provide a special Alaska memory for your family.

There are numerous trip reports posted in Stickys near the top of the forum page. Many are detailed photojournals, with info on sights ,activities, DIY itineraries, vendors to use, etc. Look thru them to get great budget saving ideas.

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I am going to throw some things out here:

 

Skagway - Glacier Point Wilderness Safari. It includes hiking and canoeing to a glacier: https://skagwayshoretours.com/tour/glacier-point-wilderness-safari/

 

Juneau - Tracy Arm excursion. This is a small boat trip to Tracy Arm. Many people consider this one of the best tours they have been on. It takes all day but is the same price as whale watching in Juneau. If you are lucky, you might also see whales, bears and other wildlife. Very few cruise ship passengers can go on this due to time but you are in port all day. This is the best excursion that I have been on. This will also get you to a glacier (and very close compared to cruise ships) incase Hubbard is iced out or bad conditions prevent you from going there.

 

https://www.adventureboundalaska.com

 

---------------

 

There are some obvious other choices that your kids would also like such as Glacier Trekking, landing on a glacier via helicopter and going dog mushing: http://www.temscoair.com . There is also zip lining which teens seem to like.

 

I am sure others will have some great ideas. Save up as Alaska can be expensive.

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Thank you for the suggestions! There are so many options, it is hard to know where to start.

 

I am going to throw some things out here:

 

Skagway - Glacier Point Wilderness Safari. It includes hiking and canoeing to a glacier: https://skagwayshoretours.com/tour/glacier-point-wilderness-safari/

 

Juneau - Tracy Arm excursion. This is a small boat trip to Tracy Arm. Many people consider this one of the best tours they have been on. It takes all day but is the same price as whale watching in Juneau. If you are lucky, you might also see whales, bears and other wildlife. Very few cruise ship passengers can go on this due to time but you are in port all day. This is the best excursion that I have been on. This will also get you to a glacier (and very close compared to cruise ships) incase Hubbard is iced out or bad conditions prevent you from going there.

 

https://www.adventureboundalaska.com

 

---------------

 

There are some obvious other choices that your kids would also like such as Glacier Trekking, landing on a glacier via helicopter and going dog mushing: http://www.temscoair.com . There is also zip lining which teens seem to like.

 

I am sure others will have some great ideas. Save up as Alaska can be expensive.

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I don't know how active your family is, but I'll give you some ideas based on traveling with my daughter.

In Vancouver, if you arrive a day early, you can get a free shuttle from downtown out to the Capilano suspension bridge. There is a nominal fee for entry, but they have a nice gift shop, places to eat, and of course the walk through huge trees and the suspension bridge. From downtown we also walked along the waterfront out to the Vancouver Aquarium and did a behind the scenes tour with the penguins.

In Skagway, we have done the Oceanraft several times and just love it. You couldn't pay me to do the White Pass RR again, but I'm in the minority, I'm sure. Just too much sitting for us. Also in Skagway, The Glacier Point Wilderness Safari is pricey, but I think one of the best ways to spend the day. There are also no cost hikes in Skagway from the National Park Service.

In Ketchikan we have done kayak trips with Southeast Sea Kayaks. You don't have to be experienced, and it's lots of fun. Not too expensive.

In Icy Sraight we walked to town and did a whale watch. They have a long zip line at ISP, but I didn't try it.

In Juneau, hike out to Nugget Falls at Mendenhall Glacier or take one of the glacier/ whale watch combo tours.

Anyway, these are some of the things we did that your kids might enjoy. There are so many choices at each port that you can really spend very little or blow the college fund on helicopters and float planes. You are going to have a wonderful time no matter what you decide to do. Maybe give the kids a link to the Celebrity (I'm assuming Clebrity ) web site and let them look over the options? There are private companies that offer similar tours sometimes at a savings over the cruise line.

 

Good Luck!

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Vancouver is definitely going to give you the best bang for your (no) bucks - by far the largest city you're visiting and with a wealth of free parks and gardens and generally cheaper-priced entry fees to pay attractions as well as food compared to anywhere in AK, especially since everything is priced in CAD$. Eminently walkable to most of the sights from any downtown hotel, and with excellent public transit for the more distant things (though with 5 people, a cab will often prove to be even better value than individual transit tickets for the things too far to walk to).

 

Skagway is an easy place to spend very little cash - unless you have train fanatic(s) who will insist on a pricey 'Ye Olde Traine Toure' you can ride up to White Pass on a bus or rent a car for a fraction of the cost (especially since at 15+, I think all your kids will be paying adult prices for everything). You can visit the local museum for IIRC $3 and sign up for a free Ranger walk around some of the sights. There are various short hikes too.

 

I'd agree that ISP is your optimal AK whalewatch port - assuming that's in the budget - as there are far fewer alternative options than in Juneau. The big zipline ain't cheap, but the cannery 'museum' is worth walking around and the trail through the woods right from the port is nice. We actually saw a whale right off the beach, so keep your eyes peeled! Walk into Hoonah, don't waste money on the shuttle bus (IIRC $10 return, it's only about a mile on foot and they even have a sidewalk) as you'll miss the eagle nests on the way unless the driver stops.

 

Ketchikan I'd be looking at the Totems - public buses and entry fees are cheap so you don't have to do the significantly-price-padded cruiseline arranged tours to Saxman and/or Totem Bight. We also enjoyed the Totem Heritage Center, which is easily walked to, dirt cheap, and very informative - and the wee museum downtown (Tongass Historical) was also worth the $3 entry. I think both of these are on the free 'salmon bus' that loops around town and cruise docks throughout the day in cruise season - but it's hard to get a seat unless you're the first ones at a stop so we've always just walked around.

 

If you have the budget for 5 helicopter/floatplane flight tours, sled dogs, Tracy Arm excursions I'm sure you'll enjoy them (unless you have some small-plane-haters) but you'll find shedloads of reviews on these all over the boards, TripAdvisor etc. so I've stuck to the free/cheap things.

 

Oh - nearly forgot! I'm sure that your 19 year old would be very appreciative of a beer tour here in Vancouver where they can legally drink! Best to get them hooked on decent booze before they are seduced to the dark side of macrolager binge drinking...;-)

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In Icy Straight Point check out Glacier Wind Tours they are outstanding. See their reviews on TripAdvisor. You will not be disappointed. Maximum on the boat is six people and it has a bathroom that is immaculate! With your size family you will have the boat to yourself and your kids will love it. In Vancouver look up Landsea Tours. We did the Vancouver DelightsTour with the Capilano Suspension Bridge and the Vancouver Lookout Tower. Cost including tax $520 for four adults and it was a seven hour tour. Your kids should really enjoy these two parts of the tour. I wish we had taken more private tours on our cruise versus ship tours. The Celebrity ship tours were definitely lacking quality and were not worth the price. You have lots of time for research. You may be able to join others on your Roll call for private tours which can lower your overall cost. Your kids can do some research for you by looking up the must see sights (TripAdvisor, Tourism Bureau) in each port then gather around and see what they liked best. Have fun planning. Also, ask lots of questions on CC, people love to share their experiences.

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If you have the budget for 5 helicopter/floatplane flight tours, sled dogs, Tracy Arm excursions I'm sure you'll enjoy them (unless you have some small-plane-haters) but you'll find shedloads of reviews on these all over the boards, TripAdvisor etc. so I've stuck to the free/cheap things.

 

Tracy Arm excursions don't include small planes. Cost last year was $162 for adults and $97 for those under 17. This is for an all day excursion. This won't break the bank compared to Misty Fiords flying or helicopter excursions. This is cheaper then Harv and Marv for a 4 hour whale watching excursion. Last time I went, I saw more whales on my Tracy Arm excursion then I did on my last several whale watching excursions.

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I found that planning for Alaska was really overwhelming in the beginning, and I LOVE planning trips :D

 

I found that it was easier for me to start by listing out our must-do's. What is that you want to experience on your trip that you can't do at home? For us it was Denali (we did a southbound cruise), glacier hiking and sled dogs. From there, it was a bit easier to find excursions that fit what we wanted and fit in on the trip.

 

Also, since you're ending in Seward, you can add on experiences before you fly home if you can spend some time in Alaska after the cruise. We did a Denali fightseeing tour and a glacier hike before we got on our cruise.

 

In Icy Strait, we did a self-guided ATV tour through Hoonah Travel Adventures that we loved, and even saw bears!

 

Juneau was our port that we didn't have any excursions, but we only had about 5 hours there. Still, we went to the museum, shopped and had lunch at Tracy's King Crab Shack. You could rent a car and drive out to the glacier - that might be more economical for 5 people than paying for a tour.

 

Skagway we did a tour with Frontier Excursions that went into the Yukon, and we saw sled dogs there. This was a mini-bus tour that was cheaper than the train, but I know a lot of people love the train experience. You could also rent a car and make the drive yourself.

 

In Ketchikan, our kayak tour was cancelled due to the rain, but it's a nice area to walk around, but that wouldn't take all day.

 

My trip report is linked in my signature if you wanted to take a look at any of the excursions (I still have to do the last two days, but all the ports are there). Please let me know if I can answer any questions.

 

Happy planning :)

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Thanks for the response. Glad I'm not the only one overwhelmed. Great suggestions

 

 

I found that planning for Alaska was really overwhelming in the beginning, and I LOVE planning trips :D

 

I found that it was easier for me to start by listing out our must-do's. What is that you want to experience on your trip that you can't do at home? For us it was Denali (we did a southbound cruise), glacier hiking and sled dogs. From there, it was a bit easier to find excursions that fit what we wanted and fit in on the trip.

 

Also, since you're ending in Seward, you can add on experiences before you fly home if you can spend some time in Alaska after the cruise. We did a Denali fightseeing tour and a glacier hike before we got on our cruise.

 

In Icy Strait, we did a self-guided ATV tour through Hoonah Travel Adventures that we loved, and even saw bears!

 

Juneau was our port that we didn't have any excursions, but we only had about 5 hours there. Still, we went to the museum, shopped and had lunch at Tracy's King Crab Shack. You could rent a car and drive out to the glacier - that might be more economical for 5 people than paying for a tour.

 

Skagway we did a tour with Frontier Excursions that went into the Yukon, and we saw sled dogs there. This was a mini-bus tour that was cheaper than the train, but I know a lot of people love the train experience. You could also rent a car and make the drive yourself.

 

In Ketchikan, our kayak tour was cancelled due to the rain, but it's a nice area to walk around, but that wouldn't take all day.

 

My trip report is linked in my signature if you wanted to take a look at any of the excursions (I still have to do the last two days, but all the ports are there). Please let me know if I can answer any questions.

 

Happy planning :)

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Tracy Arm excursions don't include small planes. Cost last year was $162 for adults and $97 for those under 17. This is for an all day excursion. This won't break the bank compared to Misty Fiords flying or helicopter excursions. This is cheaper then Harv and Marv for a 4 hour whale watching excursion. Last time I went, I saw more whales on my Tracy Arm excursion then I did on my last several whale watching excursions.

Sorry for the poor grammar - I didn't mean to imply that all of the things I mentioned involved small planes, but I see how it parses that way now you've mentioned it! Ditto on whalewatches being comparable pricing to some TA excursions - you're right, but I only mentioned them to concur with 'if you have the funds and want to do one better to do it here than Juneau' point already made in the thread. Should have been expressed with more clarity.

 

 

TA tours can cost just as much as floatplanes though - not everyone has the option to take the cheaper 'both ways' version you did from Juneau. Unless port time is both long enough AND starts and ends at the right time of day you can't do them at all, but only the much pricier 'transfers at sea' version - which has 50% markup by the cruiselines (Princess etc. mainstream lines $239pp vs your $162), and no option to book direct or receive any kind of discount as it's strictly a 'buy through your line or not at all' proposition. With floatplane vouchers available in certain books that are not to be advertised here, they can actually cost less per person than even your TA tour did...

Edited by martincath
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TA tours can cost just as much as floatplanes though - not everyone has the option to take the cheaper 'both ways' version you did from Juneau.

 

I was addressing the OP and they have the time to do the AdventureBound tour. Honestly - for the price - it is a deal. They could charge a whole lot more but don't. Really nice people who love what they do.

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I was addressing the OP and they have the time to do the AdventureBound tour. Honestly - for the price - it is a deal. They could charge a whole lot more but don't. Really nice people who love what they do.

It's certainly a comparatively dirt cheap hourly rate for small-boat time in AK - and yes, OP would have almost zero risk of missing the boat since they're only coming from ISP the day before so the ship would have to try really, really hard to dock late.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'll tell you what I usually do when I am trying to decide what to do in ports, maybe it will give you ideas. I go to the website of whatever cruise line I am going on to their excursion page (not in my account). I go to each port and read through all of the excursions. As I am reading, I write down the ones that interest me, make a different list for each port. Then I slowly narrow that list down by reading reviews, research, etc.. It is a little time consuming but helps me get a better idea of what is out there. Some thing you will know right away, "that doesn't interest me". Since everyone has different tastes and interests, it's hard to ask others what you should do. I am currently doing the same for our first cruise to Alaska next June. I read boards on here, Trip Advisor and whatever else I can find.

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