Alaska (Princess) Excursions-Advice ASAP

[Sea Breaze]

Ahoy Experienced Cruisers!

 

We will soon be aboard the Sapphire Princess (6/27) for our first Alaskan cruise. Booking excursions has been a bit overwhelming--but the CC boards have been very helpful!

 

Here is what I've booked so far for DH & I (mid-50's, moderately active):

Ketchikan (6:30a-4p): Rainforest Sanctuary 9-11am

Misty Fjords Seaplane 1-3pm

(thru Princess)--is this too much to do in one day?

 

Juneau (2p-10p): Whale watching & glacier walk 3p-7:30p (Orca)

 

Skagway (6a-5p): Helicopter tour 9a-11a (40min fight/40min on glacier)

(thru Princess)

 

Victoria (7p-midnight): we will only have a few hours in the evening and have been there before, so I thought we would just stroll around.

 

Any advice? Are there other places/excursions we should look at? We do want to be careful to not overbook and enjoy our respite from our busy jobs.

 

Thanks!:)

[UlvaZell]

Ahoy Experienced Cruisers!

 

We will soon be aboard the Sapphire Princess (6/27) for our first Alaskan cruise. Booking excursions has been a bit overwhelming--but the CC boards have been very helpful!

 

Here is what I've booked so far for DH & I (mid-50's, moderately active):

 

Ketchikan (6:30a-4p): Rainforest Sanctuary 9-11am

Misty Fjords Seaplane 1-3pm

(thru Princess)--is this too much to do in one day?

 

Juneau (2p-10p): Whale watching & glacier walk 3p-7:30p (Orca)

 

Skagway (6a-5p): Helicopter tour 9a-11a (40min fight/40min on glacier)

(thru Princess)

 

Victoria (7p-midnight): we will only have a few hours in the evening and have been there before, so I thought we would just stroll around.

 

Any advice? Are there other places/excursions we should look at? We do want to be careful to not overbook and enjoy our respite from our busy jobs.

 

Thanks!:)

 

Looks good. The excursion I really wanted to do in Juneau was the helicopter trip up onto Mendenhall Glacier to go dog sledding. There was no way I could get DW on a helicopter. In Skagway we went on the White Pass Yukon Railway. It travels about 20 miles inland. The scenery was incredible. All of our other ports (Ketchikan, Sitka) we simply wandered through town shopping, eating and taking pics...

[Sea Breaze]

Thanks much for taking a look at our itinerary! It is daunting to plan shore excursions when you have never been to the area.

[chipmaster]

Looks pretty sweat to me, you spared no expense in that excursion lineup ;)

 

Your Ketchikan looks fine, you have 2 hour for lunch, should be plenty of time, IMHO.

 

In Skagway looks like you have a good 1/2 to do other stuff.

 

Ahoy Experienced Cruisers!

 

We will soon be aboard the Sapphire Princess (6/27) for our first Alaskan cruise. Booking excursions has been a bit overwhelming--but the CC boards have been very helpful!

 

Here is what I've booked so far for DH & I (mid-50's, moderately active):

 

Ketchikan (6:30a-4p): Rainforest Sanctuary 9-11am

Misty Fjords Seaplane 1-3pm

(thru Princess)--is this too much to do in one day?

 

Juneau (2p-10p): Whale watching & glacier walk 3p-7:30p (Orca)

 

Skagway (6a-5p): Helicopter tour 9a-11a (40min fight/40min on glacier)

(thru Princess)

 

Victoria (7p-midnight): we will only have a few hours in the evening and have been there before, so I thought we would just stroll around.

 

Any advice? Are there other places/excursions we should look at? We do want to be careful to not overbook and enjoy our respite from our busy jobs.

 

Thanks!:)

[FINTUCKYFARMS]

Ahoy Experienced Cruisers!

 

We will soon be aboard the Sapphire Princess (6/27) for our first Alaskan cruise. Booking excursions has been a bit overwhelming--but the CC boards have been very helpful!

 

Here is what I've booked so far for DH & I (mid-50's, moderately active):

 

Ketchikan (6:30a-4p): Rainforest Sanctuary 9-11am

Misty Fjords Seaplane 1-3pm

(thru Princess)--is this too much to do in one day?

 

Juneau (2p-10p): Whale watching & glacier walk 3p-7:30p (Orca)

 

Skagway (6a-5p): Helicopter tour 9a-11a (40min fight/40min on glacier)

(thru Princess)

 

Victoria (7p-midnight): we will only have a few hours in the evening and have been there before, so I thought we would just stroll around.

 

Any advice? Are there other places/excursions we should look at? We do want to be careful to not overbook and enjoy our respite from our busy jobs.

 

Thanks!:)

 

I think you are going to have an awesome time! You will love the whale watching. I paired it with Mendenhall Glacier and visited the trails and visitor center. We saw lots of bears, salmon and eagles at the glacier. If you are thinking about something in Victoria, the horse drawn thingy was really interesting and we learned lots of interesting tidbits. There is also a nature walk with a sealion feeding that I am looking at or the enchanted gardens. Good luck for awesome weather!

[2010newbie]

I will be taking my first cruise on the same ship, a few weeks after you. I would really love to hear your impressions on the ports and excursions you selected. We still have not decided what exursions to do. We have 4 of us to pay for, so it can get pricey.

 

Enjoy your trip!!!!

[zookiebird]

Sea Breaze: Your excursions very much match what we did in '08 and we had the time of our lives! One suggestion, in Skagway we took a helicopter ride to a glacier and went dog sledding. It was expensive but truly was an unforgettable experience, one that we still talk about. AK is incredible. You're going to have a fantastic time. :)

[Sea Breaze]

THANKS, everyone for your replies! Since this is our first Alaskan cruise (and only our second one-the last being 20yrs ago!) I really appreciate your expertise!

 

and, zookiebird- I went ahead and booked the dog-sled/musher's camp excursion! Hadn't really considered it before, but it sure does look like fun!:)