Cuppcake40

9 hours ago, Richardgoogle said:

I reserved a sedan from airport. It's around $80 for the day, but adding the taxi cost back and forth (and time), renting from the dock side is apparently a more efficient option (I don't have another party to share the cost with). But I don't want the risk and hassle with Turo. Personal preference i guess. 

Yes, I've never had an issue with Turo in Montana or Wyoming. It's convenience for me over price,  unless astronomical.  

4 minutes ago, jeromep said:

I'm glad you asked this question.  I am no expert.  Last year in Juneau we booked a Jeep through Princess.  We literally walked off the dock to the booth they were at, handed them our excursion pass, and were handed a Jeep, its key, and a booster seat for my daughter and we were off.  Their iPad with their custom routing and audio program was mounted to the dash and tethered to the audio system and we followed that all the way out to Eagle Beach, as our first stop.  I think it was about a 45 minute drive out to Eagle Beach, about 20 minutes from Eagle Beach back to St. Therese, another 30 minutes from St. Therese to Mendenhall.  Of course, you get out and spend time at these locations.  Travel times to places around Juneau aren't excessive and Google maps is going to give you pretty good time in transit estimates since traffic doesn't seem to be a big deal.

 

I hope somebody else will answer your question, too.  I'd add to your questions, this year I'd like to just rent a car and navigate around on my own.  Where can I rent a car that is within a short walking distance from the dock (that Majestic Princess will likely be at)?

I rented a SUV through Turo.  The gentleman will bring the vehicle to the port and we will be off to explore. I have used Turo before and have not experienced any problems.  I believe it is $200 for the day with insurance. We are splitting with another couple so its pretty cheap. I debated a seaplane trip out to the glaciers but I just can't push the button on $1200 for 2 people for 45 minutes. I've read that you can get it cheaper once there but for now we will explore on our own and hopefully see things that others don't since we will be out on our own. 

On 4/11/2024 at 3:08 PM, jeromep said:

I'm not an Alaska expert, but this is about the best list of things in Juneau to do which are not related to Mendenhall.

 

We got a self-guided Jeep rental excursion that went out to Eagle Beach, but we knew the Shrine of St. Therese from a previous visit to Juneau and wanted to return.  The road to Eagle Beach goes right by the Shrine, so it was easy to spend some time there.  Plus we used our own GPS to meander around Juneau and explore a bit.

 

On our next visit we'll probably just rent a car for the day and explore on our own.

 

As for the current condition of Mendenhall, I still like going out there to visit.  The visitors center is pretty typical NPS, it does its job.  I've never been overwhelmed with NPS visitors centers, and I've been to quite a few.  They are utilitarian and provide basic interpretation for the NPS site, they aren't meant to outshine the natural environment they are set up to serve.  I'm not sure on our next cruise if we will go out there, but we'll keep our minds open to it.

I have rented a vehicle when we are in port and was going to explore on our own. Any specific advice? We have never been to the area but I had a list similar to the one above. Our ship gets into port around 9am and we pick the vehicle up immediately. How long should I allow to get to St Therese's and back. Google Maps is sometimes way off in estimates. Thanks.