Glaciers

The Mediterranean Inn is in a much better location. Although things have been cleaned up quite a bit, there are more homeless in the area around Pioneer Square due to having more services for them in the area. Not necessarily unsafe but a bit unsavory at times.

The view from the hotel is more south facing towards downtown so not sure you can see the Pier 91. You might contact the hotel. You will be able to see any ships arriving or departing from Pier 66 which is located along the waterfront downtown.

Most of the time you’ll be on the deck of a boat or a sidewalk. If not hiking you won’t need hiking boots. I take two pair of sneakers and trade them out if they get damp. As for a coat, certainly not a winter parka. A light weight hooded waterproof jacket with a hood with those layers you mentioned.

As long as you don't do the scramble down to the glacier from the West Glacier Trail, it is an exceptional hike. The trail itself is safe and gives you fantastic views from above Mendenhall Glacier. It's one of our favorite hikes.

Most certainly look at independent operators. Look at the times for both the whale watch and dog sledding tour and then fit what works. Whale watch operators are more similar than different. They all go to the same places looking at the same whales. Nobody is better than anyone else. Much of it depends on the size of the boat and time on the water. Besides Jayleen’s and Harv n Marv, Juneau Whale Watch is also very good. We’ve had less than 30 passengers on 4 trips with them on their double decker boat with plenty of room for viewing at the rail.

We were on the Royal last year on a 14 night RT from Vancouver. We sailed to the west of Vancouver Island in both directions.

The Belltown Inn is 4 blocks from the Norwegian terminal, a short walk down hill. It’s a bit more reasonable pricewise than many downtown hotels. It’s near many restaurants and within a 15 minute walk to both the Space Needle and Pike Place Market. There are no hotels closer than the Marriott & Edgewater.

Also, do you plan on doing a land tour as well as the cruise? Month you're looking at going. Some things may not be open very early or very late in the season. Also the shuttle bus at Denali begins June 1 for the Tundra Wilderness Tour.

Previous conversation on parking in Vancouver.

I don’t know about best but Salmon Berry Tours, as Northern Aurora mentioned, gets good reviews. Depending on your group size it might be cheaper to rent a car in Whittier for the day. You can do everything the tour does but you just wouldn’t have the narration. https://www.salmonberrytours.com/tour/whittier-to-anchorage-transfer-and-tour/

We've been to both by boat several times and College Fjord is a better experience although I do read some very good reviews of doing Misty Fjords by plane which is a better experience than by boat.

Above and Beyond has a couple off the beaten path tours up the West Glacier Trail and then down to the glacier. Just hiking the trail itself without going down to the glacier gives you exceptional views from above Mendenhall Glacier and can be done on your own. https://beyondak.com/trips/mendenhall-glacier-guided-hiking-tour/

@kahuna21 Down near the bottom of this page is some information on this hike from a cruiser. https://profcruise.com/tips-for-ward-cove-ketchikan/

The cost difference between lines and independents is pretty insignificant most of the time. I can’t imagine making that a consideration between choosing a line. What we’ve found with booking independent is smaller group sizes and a better experience. I read an article that cruise lines in Alaska can charge a commission of up to 50% for simply booking the excursion. If you want the money to stay with the operator, book direct with them. There are other details that are often overlooked like mandatory gratuities. We were surprised this year on a Panama Canal cruise with NCL that gratuities were $20/day vs. $16 with Princess. If the OP is concerned with difference in excursion cost, this may be a consideration as well. Docking in Ward Cove in Ketchikan and tendering in Juneau would most certainly be higher on our priority list when choosing a line.

Hopefully you can open these links that give pricing for NCL & Princess Excursions. You might have to navigate around a bit. Too bad your friends don’t want to try independent operators. I have not read of any posts that indicate an Alaska independent tour operator getting back to the ship before the ship leaves. Just doesn’t happen in Alaska. https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgqGrBhDtARIsAM5s0_n6nbRjtmuC9K0lE8vGQ4xoT_ioA1Pyjv7DJhb6iC4E58G5d1tnmj8aAs3nEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/search?destination=Alaska+Cruises&amp%3Bactivities=Featured

I do think there may be a slight advantage of going after the first tours have returned. They will have communicated with the next trips out on where they saw the whales.

Look at the Alaskan Bar. More of a locals place and much less touristy with a rustic local feel.

Yes, in the past it's been $10/person.

When we lived in Anchorage two of our favorite excursions that we’ve done multiple times is hiking on Matanuska Glacier and the Spencer Glacier Iceberg Float. Matanuska Glacier is two hours north of Anchorage and now requires a guide. You can purchase tours out of Anchorage or just rent a car and drive up. The views along the highway are wonderful. Spencer Glacier is best accessed from the Portage train station. It’s a short 30 minute ride to the whistle stop that departs at 1:25pm returning at 5:25pm. https://alaskanrafting.com/product/spencer-glacier-placer-river-float/ .

We hopped off the bus and did some hiking. When done we went back to the road to catch a bus. The first two buses back were full and we were able to catch the third one that had two seats. Waited about 45 minutes total. The buses communicate with each other and make note of where they drop folks off.

Royal uses Smith Cove Pier 91. This is a link to the preliminary schedule that shows the Ovation at Pier 91 on May 17, 2024. https://www.portseattle.org/sites/default/files/2023-10/2024 Prelim Sailing Schedule 10.4.23.pdf

Look at using Port Valet if your carrier participates. After dropping your luggage outside your cabin door the night before disembarking, the next time you see it will be at your destination airport. https://www.portseattle.org/page/port-valet-enjoy-seattle-luggage-free

We used the train after disembarking in Vancouver one trip. Dropped our bags with the bellman at the Pan Pacific and then went exploring for the day. Vancouver has a lot to do. Caught the late afternoon train to Seattle. Worked well and much more comfortable than a bus.

Last year Princess offered a bus from Canada Place direct to the Seattle airport for $79/person. We received a signup flyer in our cabin regarding it a couple days prior to disembarkation. Might check to see if it still operates.

@tobes We live not too far from the Belltown Inn. It’s a good hotel and near many restaurants one block down on 2nd Ave. It’s a 4 block walk to the NCL/Oceania Pier from there. If not cruising on NCL you might consider the Mediterranean Inn on Lower Queen Anne. Also near many restaurants and one of the closest hotels to Pier 91 where the rest of the lines depart from.