traveltime3400

We did your exact plan this July. Got a car from Juneau car rental. Picked it up at AJ dock. Drove to the tram. Right before the tram, on the left side of the road, there was a parking lot with paid parking. It was $2/hour and could be paid with a credit card. We paid for 3 hours and used about 2.5 (we did the loop, visited the eagle, got ice cream and shopped a little). After that went to Mendenhall Glacier and then visited the hatchery after hours - so much fun! It was a great day.

Sounds like a good plan. If for some reason you can't buy the tickets that day, I don't see the harm in reserving 1 ticket ahead of time since it sounds like you aren't using the shore excursion credit for anything else. Have a great trip!

That is what I would like to do as well. (We already have a car reserved.)

 

Is it possible to wait and buy the tram tickets on the ship the day you get to Juneau? I would prefer to wait until the last minute to see what the weather will be like. (The last time we were there you wouldn't have been able to see anything from the top of the mountain.) We don't dock in Juneau until 2 pm.

I'm sorry, I don't know if tickets can be purchased when you get there. It only cost us a few dollars due to our shore excursion credit, so I didn't feel it was a big risk to buy them. How much shore excursion credit do you have? Maybe just reserve 1 ticket ahead of time, then you can buy another one on shore if you actually want to do it.

We used our shore excursion credit to get tram tickets. We also rented a car and went to Mendenhall glacier and the hatchery.

We loved our 3 hour tour with Kat! 6 people in our group, 3 generations, and she did a great job. Dropped us off at the Lumberjack show when we were done, but the tour was much better than the show.

We tried several nights to make reservations at the MDRs on the Pearl and they wouldn't let us (group of 6). I can say that we really never waited much to get a table, maybe 5 min one time.

Happy travels! Can't wait to read your review!

We loved the hatchery! We got there after it was closed but we still were able to watch the fish. It was fun to cheer them on as they jumped down the ladder.

Maybe the experts will chime in on Lower Dewey Lake trail? We were considering it, but the kids were tired so we just walked around town after our Dyea Dave tour.

Gorgeous pictures and loving the review!

Hi Joy - I don't want to discourage you from calling. I should have been more specific, I heard that you request it from your room steward. But I would probably call too! Can't hurt to try. Crossing my fingers for you.

We took about 2 hours to do the tram (including the ride up and down, visiting the eagle, doing the loop, eating ice cream at the top, doing a bit of shopping). We also 2 hours for our Mendenhall Visit (including the scenic trail from parking lot to visitors center, getting stamps/stickers at visitors center, Nugget Falls trail with a nice rest at the waterfall, snack in the parking lot). Our kids don't hike super quickly so we could have done our visits faster with just adults. Hope that helps!

It's been a couple years since I was in Skagway last, but to tack on to this thread, do many of the businesses close at 5? Our train ride arrives back at 4:30 if I'm not mistaken, and it'd be great to take my old lady out for some retail therapy after being stuck with me and my parents for the entire day.

We were there July 13th. I noticed most of the shops closed at 6. Some of the larger ones closer to the ships were open later, so I would skip those and hit them on the way back if you want to get to more shops. Not sure about restaurants.

Joy - Thanks so much! The coffee makers are in balconies or "above". I've heard you can request a coffee maker in the other rooms, but that it isn't guaranteed. Have a great trip!

spidybabe - When spending time outside, the ship was cool but not cold for our sailing. Mostly it was the wind that made me chilly at times. I wore a fleece over a simple t-shirt or long sleeved shirt and I was just fine. Inside the ship was very comfortable. I remember the MDR was a bit chilly at times. We did not experience a single mosquito, but this will vary by the season/weather I believe.

We snagged some hot chocolate packets from Great Outdoors (the outdoor part of the buffet). I imagine the main buffet probably has them too. Have a great trip! Let me know if you think of any more questions.

Thanks everyone! It was hard to pick my favorite pictures! :)

Maggie - I hope you have good weather too! And get to see the fireworks, it was very special. Don't stand in the back, you will miss the ground show.

Mickeysgal - We really loved our tour with Dyea Dave. We all enjoyed the information from Renee and having so many stops along the way to see the beautiful sights. It was less expensive overall than a similar tour through the ship, even with our shore excursion credits, but that is just and added bonus. Our group really enjoyed the contrast of taking the train back. I *think* there was narration on the way back but I was standing on the platform 99% of the time so I can't say for sure.

AryMay - It is a 4 cup coffee maker. They provide pre-packaged pods of coffee. I am a coffee snob, so I never like those (not strong enough). I brought small basket filters and pre-ground coffee. Here is the coffee maker set up:

For the excursion credits, we had $75/port for our balcony room and $50/port for our inside room. We "officially" had one adult and one child in each room. For the inside room, I believe we ended up paying $4 for the tram tickets. There is a difference in price for child vs adult. I think it was around $38 for adults? Sorry I don't remember exactly. I thought it was kind of expensive, so I was happy to use our excursion credit for that (since we weren't going to use it for anything else in Juneau). Tickets through NCL were a few dollars more than buying independently....but we had those credits to use so it made sense for us. It was a similar situation for the Lumberjack show. I believe we paid a little bit (5-10) for our inside room, but that was because it was 1 adult and 1 child ticket.

In case anyone is interested, I posted a trip report on the Alaska board. I focused a lot on the ports and gave some ship info. Feel free to ask any questions!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=50626766&posted=1#post50626766

July 17th – last day

Still working on that coffee maker!

Early morning breakfast at Great Outdoors - a great final meal together with MIL and FIL (we only get to see them 2x/year). Got off the ship around 9:30. Our luggage was right there, we hopped in the parking garage shuttle back up to our car. Made it back to Portland with great timing.

Overall – Alaska is a beautiful magical place. We feel very fortunate that we saw so much beauty and spent quality time together as a family. The cruise was nice and it made for a convenient way to travel together for our group. The entertainment was nice. Some of the food was good, some not so good. But I will mostly remember our port time, watching the scenery from the ship, laughing and having a good time together.

July 16th – Victoria

Went to Summer Palace because my daughter wanted to do something “different” for breakfast. What a mistake, it was really bad! And, we were seated right at the end of the service so we didn't want to bother them to make something else. Lesson learned.

FIL and son went to play chess. Rest of us relaxed and watched the scenery. Watched the “cake decorating” competition with Tim Kaminski and another entertainer. It was pretty funny! Lunch at Summer palace. We packed because tonight we would get back so late. I took the kids to the hot tub and actually got in an enjoyed! Kids and in-laws played shuffleboard. Dinner at Lotus Garden – better this time. DH had an amazing dessert, red bean triangles which reminded me of baklava.

Butchart Gardens excursion through the ship. Before we boarded the bus, we strolled off to the pier for the pretty views. The pier has native artwork. Went back to the bus, got some history and information of the area from the driver as we traveled to the Gardens. The gardens were packed, wall to wall people. I've been there before, and this was not a peaceful garden experience. But, of course it is beautiful so we made the best of it. It was neat to seat the gardens start to light up as the sun was setting.

I really do wish we would have left earlier than 8:00 pm to enjoy more of the gardens. The only upside was that we were there for the fireworks display – that was amazing!

Me and the kids were enthralled. Unfortunately, our bus driver had instructed everyone to stand towards the back to try and leave early. He assured everyone that you can see fireworks from the back of the crowd. Well, half of the show is on the ground. It was a really special show, and half of our group didn't get to see it because of those instructions. The traffic was crazy getting out and we made it back to the ship late, but it was ok because we used the ship's excursion. The tour guide talked the whole way back, telling interesting stories about Victoria and the history of the gardens.

Ketchikan Part 2

Kat dropped us off at the Lumberjack show. We got tickets through the cruise ship (almost free due to shore excursion credit). The group had fun. I was certainly impressed with the athleticism and it was nice to get a little appreciation for some history of the town.

Kids got Passport Stamps and we walked back to the ship. As we approached the ship, I realized we had about 20 min until all aboard….I really wanted to just see Creek Street with my eyes. It made my daughter nervous that I would miss the ship, but I ran (literally) to Creek Street, took a few pictures and ran back with 10 min to spare. :)

Lunch at Great Outdoors, although I picked up some salmon from the salmon bake by the pool.

To my horror ;), the good coffee machine was broken!!!

Good thing I brought good coffee and filters for my in room coffee maker.

Afternoon – relaxing

Early dinner at Summer Palace

Legends – FIL left because it was sooooooooooooo loud. MIL left when “madonna” came out in super skimpy outfits. We stuck it out. My son did not like it, again it was very loud and the lights were very harsh for him. My daughter enjoyed the show, and me and DH appreciated the talent.

July 15th – Ketchikan part 1

Breakfast at Great Outdoors. Met Kat from Ketchikan Taxi Cab, she was early and right off of the pier. Really nice driving tour. Amazing weather, everyone said it was unusually nice. Stopped at a small pier to look at eagles, baby eagles, and jellyfish. Stopped at Herring Cove for more eagles, sea otters and jam tasting nearby.

Driving back toward town, she whisked us off to the side of the road for an amazing whale show. 2 whales breached more times than I can remember, saw lots of tails and fin slapping. We were all enthralled and MIL and FIL said it was better than their whale watching tour in Juneau.

Traveled across to the other side of the island. Kat taught us about life on the island. The kids got a little tired of this part of the drive. We ended up at Totem Bight. Really enjoyed the short walk through the forest to the totem poles and clanhouse. Kat taught us about the totem poles and some cultural information about the native peoples in the area. Ate wild berries at the park, the thimble berries were very good.

July 14th – Glacier Bay

Breakfast at Great Outdoors.

Spectacular day! When I woke up at 6 am it was pea soup fog – I was worried! As we got closer to the bay, the clouds started to dissipate. Then, the blue skies opened up!!! The weather was warm and the views were spectacular. We were in awe and watched the glacier as the ship circled many times. Saw some small calving 5 times. It was amazing that such small ones still made such a booming sound. Enjoyed the sea otters (lions?), many birds, and blue green water. But mostly the awe inspiring blue-white glacier. Everywhere the ship explored in Glacier Bay was fantastic, we couldn't have been more lucky. My kids got Passport stamps with the Ranger in Spinnaker Lounge.

They opened up the rock wall in Glacier Bay and I have great pictures of my kids climbing the wall with the Glacier in the background.

Stunning and hard to put into words!

Lunch at Outdoor Grill. I had some good salmon chowder but otherwise was average for food. Kids went into the hot tub, DH and I read books by the pool.

Went past a little island with tons of sea lions. You could hear them barking loudly!

Family afternoon show with Tim Kaminski – very funny!

Visited bridge room

Rested briefly in rooms. Dinner at Summer Palace. My first really good meal, Atlantic Salmon with grilled leak, beurre blance sauce and green pea puree.

Acrobatics show was excellent!

Relaxed on balcony before bed.

Skagway Part 3

Drove part of the way back, few more stops and then some of us got dropped off in Fraser to take the train back down. Wow! We are not rail enthusiasts but this was really special. I loved that we did both the van and the rail for two different perspectives.

Went back to town, got Passport stamps at the historic site. Did some shopping in town, got some frybread and ice cream. MIL and FIL went back to ship. My son played at a cute playground (the play structure had treetops).

Walked back to the ship with directions from our tour guide scheduler. She sent us to the wrong ship! (She said, you see your ship? Don't walk towards it, go left. Well, that took us to another ship – Celebrity I think). So we took a chance and cut through a partially chained up parking lot and made it back with some time to spare (30 min). Dinner at Summer Palace. I had the vegetarian lasagna roll, which was pretty good.

Skagway Part 2

This is a picture of water! The clouds are a reflection.

July 13th Skagway – gorgeous weather!!! Part 1

Breakfast at Great Outdoors

Dyea Dave tour with Renee. Drove to Emerald lake with tons and tons of beautiful stops before we got there. Some were so spectacular, Renee was even taking pictures because it was so uniquely pretty (the mirrored lake pictures were “once a year” she said). We loved meeting the dogsled puppies (a trip highlight for some). Went to Carcross Desert and the little town (look up name). Lunch was quick and not so good at Chilkoot Trail bakery.