Help with excursions

We are cruising next June 2019 and have booked a whale excursion in Juneau...it ends at noon. Our ship departs at 3 pm, I'm wondering if we have time to get to see Mendenhall Glacier or not? I'd like to be back on board before 2:00. Any advice or suggestions?

Also has anyone done the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Expedition with Carnival? If so how did it work? We were asked on the excursion page to email to do this...sadly they aren't taking booking for our cruise until January 2019...but I'm curious how do you pay for this? Onboard?

Still trying to figure out what to do in other ports...any suggestions are appreciated!

The cruise terminals are on the south side of Juneau while the stuff you want to do like the Mendenhall glacier is north of town. However, so are the whale watching ports. It is a 20 minute drive each way between the two and the excursion from the cruise has a bus taking you each way. I guess you could Uber but not entirely sure the rates or availability. Not sure how cranky the cruise folks get when you take the bus just one way.

Juneau sruise terminal location:

https://goo.gl/maps/RXp8HWpm63x

Mendenhall Glacier visitors center:

https://goo.gl/maps/uX7f43HHh452

We got on our whale watch in Auke Bay. Good chance you would get yours here too:

https://goo.gl/maps/3d8ErH93Ug72

Renting a car might be a good option even though the whale watching excursion will probably provide transportation from the ship to their location. What time do you dock? Which ship are you on? There is Avis and Juneau Rent-A-Car near the AJ dock (we were on NCL Pearl and only had to walk about 200 yards from the exit from the ship to Juneau Rent-A-Car). I'm certain the whale watching company have people drive themselves. Once you are back to land from the excursion you can hop in the car and Mendenhall is, more or less, on your way back to the ship. There is PLENTY of free parking right near the entrance to the Mendenhall area. You probably wouldn't have time to walk all the way to Nugget Falls (you need a minimum of about 90 minutes for that) but you're relatively close and with a nice view for photos. On your way on back there's a gas station right near downtown where you can fill the tank on the car again - you probably won't use but a couple gallons of gas. A rental for the day should be under about $75. I've rented twice in Juneau.

Good Luck!

You would be to rushed to see much of the Glacier

We are cruising next June 2019 and have booked a whale excursion in Juneau...it ends at noon. Our ship departs at 3 pm, I'm wondering if we have time to get to see Mendenhall Glacier or not? I'd like to be back on board before 2:00. Any advice or suggestions?

 

 

 

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To do both in the time frame you mention, a whale watching / Mendenhall Glacier combo tour would probably be best. There are usually options for this through the cruise line and their are independent options as well.

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The Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Expedition with Carnival, you will book with Carnival in advance of your cruise and then pay for it once you on the ship. It will be charged to your sign and sail account within a day. You should get instructions to meet in the theater and they will walk you through the halls to get you out to the excursion boat.

Your ship may leave at 3:00 however, they usually want passengers back on about a half hour early. There may be a combo tour available though through the ship. However, we prefer booking the whale watch tours with a private company- MUCH better!