travel_frog

Is it possible/easy to rent kayaks at the marina and paddle over to the arch ourselves without pre-booking? We won't have a lot of time here and it's our last port so I am reluctant to book ahead. I'm thinking it should be easy to navigate there with arch visible from shore and everyone heading that way but worried a bit about boat traffic.

Thank you all for your feedback!! I think our daughter will be quite happy with this ship's entertainment offerings even if it does get cool for a few days 🙂

We mostly sailed on Princess in the Caribbean so far but considering taking a cruise next March on Panorama. Since partaking in the outdoor activities (slides, water park, rope course, etc.) with our 7-year-old is one of the main reasons for picking this ship, I was wondering if weather is USUALLY warm enough to enjoy these in March? Also, are there any other reasons we should be excited to sail on this ship (or maybe be aware of) when compared to Princess ships? Thank you!

We are a family of 3 and are planning our 4th visit to Alaska but first cruise, so I can kind of relate to the sticker price for all the tours... My approach though is that we're going to do a lot of hiking in most of the ports because we mostly go to experience Alaskan nature anyways and just do one expensive tour as a highlight experience. In some ports we'll do more cultural experiences like tribal village performances and Totem poles but overall I don't think you have to spend a lot of money to enjoy Alaska. Also, I believe most ports will have local vendors at the pier lined up with tour offerings (we stayed in Juneau for 4 days and just walked up to cruise port one day to book a few excursions). Our whale watching cruise cost us about $200 for all three but this was back in 2018 (but we also decided that it wasn't our thing even though we saw plenty of whales). We did a summer dog camp experience in Juneau even though I was most skeptical about it. We all loved it (our daughter was 2.5 at the time). The ride itself is very short, only about 1 mile in length, but dogs are so excited and it's fun to watch their interactions during the run. You also get to learn about mushing history and sport and interact with adult dogs and puppies. Mendenhall Glacier is very accessible and features multiple hikes. So does Mt. Roberts tramway. Haines is a sweet tiny town but with a LOT of hiking opportunities in amazing Alaskan outdoors. If local rental agencies still exist, they drop the car by the port (they met us at the ferry since that's how we came). At Chilkat State Park you have views of the glaciers. Chilkoot Lake is another beautiful spot (I believe this is where we saw bears at the dam but didn't do any hiking). We also drove to Kroschel Wildlife Center one of the days. Looks like they're still operating but their tours are usually booked through the cruise line although you can message them directly if you're willing to drive yourself (that's what we did). We haven't been to Skagway and Sitka yet but I imagine there are walking/hiking opportunities there as well. Have fun!

We're thinking of splurging on an air tour in Juneau during our port day there in June. I've done a helicopter tour with glacier landing in Girdwood a few years ago and want my family to experience this as well. On the other hand, Taku lodge seaplane tour also sounds amazing and seems like they fly over Juneau Icefield as well, so we get glacier experience... Any pros and cons for either to help us choose one over the other? In case it makes a difference, we'll be in port 1-10pm. Also, is it better to book this kind of tour through cruise line or do you have recs for direct booking with flight operators? Thank you!