Alaskan Cruise Shore Excursions

First Alaskan Cruise.....a lot of excursions to choose from....which ones are "must do"?

Depends, what do YOU want to do?

Whale watching in Juneau. But there are lots of options. For a first timer, I'd do a whale watching + Mendenhall Glacier.

Need a lot more info to say anything beyond that. You like fishing? Have lots of cash? Then go helicopter sightseeing or take a heli ride out to a glacier to do even more fun things like dog sledding or ice cave hiking.

Without regard to your budget, I'll tell you what I did and you can take from it what you will. The white pass train ride is a must. If I'm blessed to cruise Alaska a 2nd time, I will do it again. And again. The other must do item is the helicopter glacier tour. The memories of landing on the glacier, the bluish green water, and the clouds rushing overhead will be with me for the rest of my life. I've done the float plane also, and though I wouldn't trade that memory for anything, I probably wouldn't do it again. Alaska is very windy, and the turbulence and "drops" in the float plane was all I could do to keep from revisiting every lunch I ever ate. In a port or 2, I didn't do an excursion at all - but the memories of seeing bald eagles everywhere, and I do mean everywhere, and seeing the old gold rush Alaska as it was then are memories that rival any excursion.

White Pass & Yukon Railroad

Offered in Skagway

First Alaskan Cruise.....a lot of excursions to choose from....which ones are "must do"?

Be sure you also get ideas from Cruise Critic's Alaska forum.

I wasn't clear.....am looking for recommendations re: land excursions while in ports of call. We are booked on Princess.

I wasn't clear.....am looking for recommendations re: land excursions while in ports of call. We are booked on Princess.

The Alaska forum is still your best reference.

Your Roll Call is a good place to connect with those booking private tours.

Or if you are only asking about ship sponsored excursions, then I suggest you ask on the Princess forum.

I wasn't clear.....am looking for recommendations re: land excursions while in ports of call. We are booked on Princess.

Again, what are YOU looking to do? I could recommend a whale watch, but if you have no interest in whales, that would be a waste for you.

In Juneau, most people do whale watches, the Mt. Roberts tram, or go to Mendenhall glacier.

In Skagway, the train is a big thing. Usually combined with a trip to the Yukon.

In Ketchikan, there is the lumberjack show, amongst other things.

So, what do YOU want to do? Also, as suggested, go visit the Alaska ports of call forum for suggestions.

Yep! Read the Alaska forum...

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=55

And then start to narrow down your ideas and dreams. Everyone has different opinions and experiences, but you need to get some idea of what you'd like to do. We did the Mendenhall Glacier helicopter ride because we knew it would be a once in a lifetime experience, and it was! You can read what we did, in my signature I have my report.

First Alaskan Cruise.....a lot of excursions to choose from....which ones are "must do"?

I can only tell you what we chose, in a similar situation for our cruise next May on Holland. And obviously your ports may be different.

In Ketchikan we will be doing the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman tour, as we enjoy Deadliest Catch and our SIL's father is a crab boat captain. We booked this directly with Alaska Shore Excursions.

Our other 3 excursions were through HAL, but I'd imagine Princess has identical, or at least very similar, excursions.

From Juneau we will be doing the Taku Glacier Lodge, Feast & Five Glacier Seaplane Discovery.

From Anchorage we will be doing the Portage Glacier Cruise & Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (Intransit).

And from Sitka we will be doing an excursion called: Otters, Raptors & Bears: Oh My!

I highly recommend posting on the Alaska Ports Of Call board where these questions come up almost daily.

Keith

As mentioned, the Alaska forum is very helpful.

It's been a long time, but we took a walk through the rainforest in Ketchikan, a helicopter to a glacier near Juneau and a zodiac to marine preserve in Sitka. We loved all of them. In addition we explored each location on our own. The communities seemed small to our urban eyes and Arkansas doesn't have comparatively large metropolitan areas.

Our entire reason for our first cruise ever was White Pass & Yukon Railroad! It was well worth it and made my husband catch the cruising bug when he realized it was more than just sailing on a ship.

For me I will never forget the whale watching in Juneau. This was in 2002. And not a week goes by that we don't talk about that very first cruise. We've done a few since and hope to do many more!

I remember reading a trip report someone did and they did the tour on the boat featured on "The Deadliest Catch" crab boat. They were very into that show and they enjoyed the tour a lot. So YOU are really the only person who can decide what you want to see. A little research will help you narrow down what you might find interesting and then you can choose what to book or find private operators.

A guidebook on Alaska will help you immensely! Libraries have them...reference section! Go and check one out. Find out ALL about Alaska, and THEN you can decide WHAT you want to do! The more you know, the better time you'll have!

Just for a different perspective, instead of the train, we did a van tour to the Yukon from Skagway (requires passport) and it was fabulous. Driver stopped numerous times for photo ops (smallest desert in the world and numerous lakes) and at the end drove through town and told a lot of stories about Skagway. We both thoroughly enjoyed it.

In Juneau I just walked round and took the Mt Roberts Tram without a formal excursion and had a grand time

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We took the bus up to the Yukon. That was a highlight of our cruise. On the next one, we are taking the train up there. See Mendenhall too.

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