Dolphin Doug

Juneauite here. Yeah, these late calls have us shaking our heads. Before Covid, season was done in September and everything was locked up. Now some shops will close, maybe lots, as we’re exhausted, and non-local workers don’t want to wait for two ships a week, with budget travelers onboard. I’m guessing you’re on the 10/21 sailing arriving 10/24. Wow. Late October has the worst storms. Not always—but shaking my head. Whale watching is iffy. There are plenty of whales, if you can get out there. Definitely go, but maybe you’ll get to shop instead. Ask your bus driver to drop you off at the first stop, closest to Sealaska, maybe you can run in. The good news is you get all day in Skagway. You can do your shopping there. And hey, what would an adventure be without a little excitement? I visited Juneau Oct 94 and remember wind, driving rain and leaves stuck to my windshield. My truck camper mattress didn’t dry out until California. No views, no snow but cold. Nasty in all ways. I moved here that December and am still here. So hurrah, neighbor! We’ll leave the lights on. (Tom Bodett of Motel 6 fame is Alaskan) Dolphin Doug

Alaskan here. You guys are picking nits. I mean that in a positive way, you know so much, but I think the questions are 101. The differences between Juneau and Skagway icefield landings are tiny. Weather and season are huge, neither of which you control. If you want a difference, book the first port. If cancelled there is a small chance you can do it in the next one. Dogs are dogs. You’re nuts not to do it if you want to, but they’re just dogs. My daughter is a dog person, and she’d wag her finger at me if she read that. If I were from down south, I’d book dogs and go anyway if the dogs are cancelled but they can still make a landing. The dog camps are higher on the glacier, and clouds always cancel them first. Lots of people refuse just a landing if the dogs cancel. Sure it’s nosebleed. Life. I lived here 10 years not knowing salmon. Now I know. I don’t eat bad salmon. Like Atlantic. Or ‘Wild Alaskan’. Junk. (King, silver & sockeye, yum.) You could cruise to Alaska 10 times and not dogsled, then discover you like it. Wouldn’t that be a shame? And always realize there’s a huge chance your tour will cancel due to weather. Expect it and do something else. If you book the ‘too’ expensive tour and don’t go, you can enjoy the rest of your cruise without stress. That way it’s a win-win. I’m not suggesting you go over budget. Every port has too much to do, lots of free stuff, but … well, I don’t eat bad salmon. I’m a cheapskate…. Dang it. Maybe I take my daughter up on her birthday. I’m talking myself into it. I shoulda gone to sleep a while ago. Enjoy. Dolphin Doug

I’m in Juneau, haven’t been to Hoonah (Icy) for a few years. The cruise ship dock is private, kinda like a private island in the Caribbean. You can buy independent, but it isn’t as easy. The zipline/tram is proprietary. Anyone from Hoonah on here? Dolphin Doug

Alaskan here. You’re good to go. I just recommended the bus/train combo on another thread, but you’re a different group. White Pass is cool, but you’ll want more of the Yukon when you get there. particularly if your bus leaves first. Dolphin Doug

Alaskan here. The car rental people aren’t wrong, but the train/bus combo is a better deal. The driver misses all the good stuff; you can drive or sightsee but not do both. And you’re lacking any commentary, the train sees different things, and you can stand up, plus, trains are cool. I’ve driven it half a dozen times, train once, bus once. Next time rent a vehicle. You’ll get up White Pass that much faster and have more time in the Yukon, eh? Dolphin Doug

An Alaskan here. You’re: In Skagway for 13 hours with 1 ship- great. In Juneau for 9 hours with 1 ship- ok In Ketchikan for 6 hours with 1 ship- gaak. In Victoria for 4 hours…. From your description: First, B.O.A.T. Bring out another thousand. Alaska ain’t cheap. I could tell you free things to do in every port, but expect to pay on the trip (tours, spa, meals, gifts) what you paid for the trip. Otherwise you’ll be missing out. SKAGWAY Absolutely helo to a glacier. Do it, do it. You won’t regret it. Worse case, they cancel, and you get a full refund :). Train is awesome. You can do both. Sled dogs are awesome (they are brainless (happy) and born to work, not going to ‘save them’ is like not driving a Jeep offroad. If you find they are maltreated, post a report.) Let girlfriend/mom pick a second tour. You can’t do all three. Try to buy all your souvenirs here. JUNEAU Absolutely whale watch. Maybe helo. Doubt you have time for dogs and whales. Consider the Sealaska Cultural Center. Get dropped off nearby and walk back to your ship. If you helo, skip Mendenhall Glacier. KETCHIKAN Probably visit Saxman Village. Don’t go fishing (wrong week) or do it here. VICTORIA Probably walk in Victoria. You blink, and Skagway will be over. Hit the ground running in each port, then relax when your legs give out. Best food is onboard. Do not eat ‘Wild-caught Alaskan Salmon’. That’s tourist food. Pay extra for the onboard restaurant that serves King, Silver or Sockeye Salmon, King Crab (probably from Russia, but oh, well), and/or Halibut. Make sure it is fresh or flash frozen or don’t bother. Seriously. Don’t order the same thing as the ladies and share. Don’t eat the same thing twice. Buy fudge, ice cream, frybread, Alaskan Amber and Heritage coffee whenever you see it. ‘Made in Alaska’ and ‘Silver Hand’ (native) is expensive. Fossil ivory is friendly. And swimming in Alaska doesn’t mean what you think it does. It’s jump in, jump out. Go for it in Ketchikan, you can jump off the dock. You know you want to. Heck, do it in Skagway and Juneau too. If you do it twice, no one can call you crazy. (Known health benes). If you really, really want to buy an Alaskan souvenir, buy a pair of Xtra-tuffs. Ask a local where, in Juneau you’ll need to take a taxi. Enjoy. You’ll be back. Dolphin Doug

I live in Juneau. Glaciers like whales, are always good to see. And always better to see intimately. It’s not like there’s a good glacier and a bad one, but we all have our favorites. I’d love to see Hubbard Glacier, but I won’t drive my boat out there. Big water. If you book it and they cancel, you won’t care. On the other hand, I’d only do one glacier and one whale excursion per cruise. Too much of a good thing isn’t better. I touch the ice at Mendenhall Glacier once a year. Walk to Nugget falls 4x a year, visit MGVC once a month. I haven’t been to Tracy Arm since covid and I’m missing it, so this year I go. I’m visiting Anchorage this weekend and considering Exit and Matanuska even though hours away. They all have their beauty. Enjoy. Dolphin Doug

You’ve got a dilemma. Afaik, Jayleen’s and H&M offer longer water time but don’t have glacier permits (I think 3 hours). All the operators with permits offer 2 hours on the water, unless they have slower boats, which isn’t what you want. The taxi companies treat glacier permits like gold. They don’t want a short trip. Uber would be perfect, (no permit needed) but they aren’t real. Not in Juneau, not in Summer. The exception is Allen Marine with their big cats (140 pax), only sold on board, good outfit but not intimate. But also, operators only spend so much time with any group of whales. You could find a smaller charter operator and try to book back to back trips if you can’t afford the boat. Or book your boat and a Glacier express. You’ll waste an hour running downtown. I live here. You can only squeeze so many potatoes in a bag. Book whatever tour makes the most sense and promise yourself to go whale watching elsewhere, or come back and do it every year. Once you get whales in your blood, you’ll make it happen.

Lots of details in a proper reply. Land dogsledding is great in Juneau or Skagway, I don’t know about other ports. Helo (glacier) dogsledding also great in both towns, but I’m not sure when they start the season. Definitely spotty by mid-August (no snow, just ice). Depends on snowfall. I’d book in the first port, there is a tiny chance you could add it in the next port if you’re weathered out. (30% cank rate.) Whale watching is only in Juneau and Icy Straits. You don’t need the glacier combo if you fly. (<5% cank rate) Some ships only visit for seven hours, don’t get greedy and try to squeeze in too much. I’d book whale first and helo second if doing both in a day. Helo companies sometimes offer delayed departures, putting you on the horns of a dilemma if it bumps into your whale watch. The companies are good, but not likely to refund you if you simply don’t show up. Imagine deciding to do the delayed helo, skipping the cheaper whale watch, and then having the helos cank. Or taking the whale trip and finding the helos flew. Or you go whale watching, then spend two extra hours waiting to see if the helos fly. If they cancelled anyway (weather is weather), you’d just say, ‘oh well.’ What happens with the helos is they cancel a departure and 90% of the customers take the refund and wander off. 10% hang around, and sometimes can squeeze onto another departure. Or the next. There’s no right or wrong about it. This is where long port calls and slow ship days are great. I live in Juneau. You gotta go whale watching and up on the glacier once in your life. Then you’ll know. And dogs are cool. Dolphin Doug