SightCRR

Search youtube for each city and hiking. In Ketch make sure you look at where you are docked ie Ward Cove or downtown.

Plus you get a cruise reminder of your cruise when you see the room number tag on your shirt that you haven't worn since getting back home.

Mendenhall has receded so much skip it. Back up flight in Denali good idea in case Juneau flight gets cancelled. Car rental in Juneau to drive to sights might be an idea.

I am glad to hear that your plans are more in place than I got from your other post. Both dates have different advantages. May more snow in mts for better viewing. Aug more salmon so more wildlife. Make sure your plans include Glacier Bay. Watch out for Ward Cove in Ketchikan with dock out of town and very little time in city.

Do you mean Alaska Cruise (Ship only) or Cruise Tour which is ship plus train/bus to interior. From your post I think you want ship only. Then easy transportation (round trip to same city) or one way SEA or Vancouver to 1-2 hours outside of ANC with flights to different cities. Then Glacier Bay or not. Then dates. Once those things are narrowed down start looking at cruise lines, port times, prices. etc Check youtube for personal reviews and note people's dress. Here is one that looks like ones to watch although from 2023. Alaskan Cruise Tips - Sailing The Inside Passage with Holland America (youtube.com)

Here is the link to schedules. In my opinion very valuable and accurate. 2024 Schedules | Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska (claalaska.com)

For our stop in Jun 24 we had a great time in D/H. One was a nice museum near the airport. More fun to watch Deadliest Catch now that we can recognize spots that we have been to.

Once you find a tour your think you would like search youtube for personal review and it will be there. Look for the latest ones and not the ad ones.

I need to start with I have not done both. We had a great trip with Jayleen which was booked more than one year in advance. My advise is book soon because 2025 may already be booked. Jayleen only has 6 people per boat and three boats per day. I think one of her uncles is either H or M or maybe both.

Here is a map of our trip. Almost 7000 nautical miles.

Never mind what I said about Seward. The hatchery w/ sea lions and bears after the salmon is in Valdez. Sorry about the mix up.

You left out some important info like when in summer. If in mid to late July or August in Seward head to the fish hatchery to see the sea lions and bears eat the Salmon. In ANC go tour Matanuska glacier. It is about 1-2 hr drive out of ANC. I think some of the tours may include transportation. Make sure to check youtube for touring ideas to see what suits you. Here is one idea. Start video at 8:45. Alaska RV Life: It's Time For The Thing We All HATE (youtube.com) For more ideas see BigTruck Big Travels Alaska videos which will take several days to see their ideas.

I remembered one more thing I didn't care for. When we booked it listed one tender port (Nome). The reality was five with the addition of tenders in Sitka, Valdez, Homer, and Kodiak. Lots of 4*,5* and CO made for early days or long lines or both.

Thank you for the great review of our cruise. We are non drinkers so can't comment on that topic. Two things we felt were outstanding and one was the glacier viewing. Hubbard, College Fjord, loads of others. We were lowly 3* and having so many 4&5's they know all the ins and outs and after a quick question and answer with them sharing tips it was a huge help. One downside for us was the number of medical offloads and not totally sure of the number but we heard that 3-4 people were going home as cargo. We did have a great time.

Here is a great video on the MICA guides at Matanuska glacier. They hobby rock climb fyi. Start at 8:15. Alaska RV Life: It's Time For The Thing We All HATE (youtube.com)

When we were on Westerdam in July we did TAF from the ship that left and picked us up in TAF. It was ok but the ship was in most of the same area with the same views. I think it is a multi hour trip back to Juneau on the smaller boat in the same area and I would skip it. The Jayleen's trip was fantastic and ours was booked more than a year in advance so book now if you haven't. I would skip TAF on the small boat and look for more to do in Juneau. One thing to do would be to walk to see the whale project.

Our 28 day in 2024 on Westerdam listed only one tender (Nome). Turns out there were five. Sitka, Valdez, Nome, Kodiak and Homer. Homer not on yours so forget about that one. Sitka had two ships out at dock so we tendered near downtown with quick ride into downtown and didn't have to worry about the long lines for bus. Here is where we learned about tenders but it is to early for info. We had been to Sitka before so we just walked around after trying to figure out how the tender lines worked without being 4-5 star and CO. Our plan was to get to Ocean Bar 45min to 1 hour before first tender ticket time ready to go to get on first tender. That worked on the other 4 ports after being later to ticket line in Sitka. Cruise Ship Schedule Calendar Combined Ports (claalaska.com)

You can stop looking at H/G and ISP. The place to look is in Skagway and Juneau. Home - Helicopter Airway Services - Temsco Helicopters Inc.Temsco Helicopters Inc. | Alaska Helicopter Glacier Tours, Dog Sledding & Charter Services (temscoair.com) Remember that dog sled tours on glacier are the most canceled of all tours. Sometimes the choppers can get to other spots on glacier so be ready to answer question " Do you want to fly to another spot without the dogs?" Check the cancelation policies and maybe book more than one and cancel. fyi both cities have dog sled tours on ground without the ice. Check youtube for videos of all the tours and look for the newest and personal not the ad ones. More fyi we have flown w/ Temsco but not to the dogs.

When looking at different cruises look closely at the times in ports. Watch out for and avoid Ward Cove stops outside of Ketchikan. From the recommendations above search youtube to view what the tours/excursions are like. Just about every one will be there and look for newest and private not the sale ones. One for first timers would be the Ketchikan Crab Boat Tour that includes close up eagle feeding.

When we went on June 13,24 the small boat got within 1/2 mile. There was a large calving event that was spectacular in both sight and sound. The reports we heard later from people on the ship that was back a couple of miles around the corner of the island were that they could hear the calving and people on the small boat cheering but could not see the calving.

Juneau flooding 8/6/24. Mendenhall River neighbors recount narrow escapes after record-breaking glacial outburst flood hits Juneau (ktoo.org)

To make sure you have a seat on the bus from downtown go to the bus stop one stop before the ACC.

It will depend very much on what ship you are on. For the ship you are considering watch youtube tours and study deck plans. Also if you want to spend outside make sure you dress for wind/rain. Our recent Westerdam deck 3 had no forward viewing but great port & stbd viewing. Deck 9 in front of gym had great viewing but was closed 30% of the time. The bow was open several times as was deck 6. Deck 10 near Club Hal lets you cut across ship. If you go on the cruise spend the first sea day exploring the ship with a deck plan from home and plan for sun and rain. My camera does not do well behind glass so that changed where I wanted to view. We booked an inside and HAL gave us free upgrade to fully obstructed behind tender in better location.

We booked this excursion as soon as we booked the cruise but were waitlisted. About 2 days before the excursion we were told that we made it. It was great. We got close enough to hear and see a big calf event. Later talking to people on the ship they were around the island corner and could hear the ice cracking and the peoples yelling but couldn't see it. One of the best tours we did.

On our Jun-Jul 2024 cruise we got to stop in Homer but it was a tender port. One of three other tender ports that were not on itinerary as tender ports. (Sitka, Kodiak, & Valdez)