Just returned from Rhapsody - Lessons Learned from Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria

[andrea]

I've gained so much from the folks on this board, I thought I'd just pass along a few of the things that may help some others getting ready to cruise.

 

I was on the July 2, 2010 sailing on the Rhapsody of the Seas roundtrip from Seattle with stops in Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria.

 

Juneau - All I wanted was to take a shuttle to Mendenhall and I recalled folks on this board to specifically saying to take the MGT bus for $14 roundtrip. The shuttles and tours sell their tickets near the base of the tram, which is easy to find. Unfortunately for us, we were docked furthest from the center of town, which made for a little hike from the ship into town. For ships docked nearer to town, it would have been a much shorter and easier walk. I couldn't figure out which booth belonged to MGT, but all tour operators seemed to sell tickets as a shuttle to Mendenhall for $7 per person each way, so we just picked one (ended up being a light blue bus) and it worked fine. In retrospect, I wouldn't stress too much over which operator to use. Because it was cold and rainy we only spent one hour at Mendenhall - but if the weather was nicer, we probably would have stayed longer. Highlight of this trip was getting to see a significant calving event.

 

Skagway - As many on this board recommend, we rented a car from Avis ahead of time and purchased Murray's Guide (just Google the search terms "Murray's Guide Skagway" to purchase for $5 - quick and easy download - highly recommend) for a trip into the Yukon to Emerald Lake. It was a great trip and I highly recommend. Avis is very easy to find, just follow the signs to downtown from the pier and the Avis office is one of the first buildings you'll see when you get to town. It was an easy 10 minute walk to town. If you are with someone that has mobility issues, it is very easy to rent the car and return to the pier to pick them up. The folks at the Avis office were extremely nice and helpful and it was a beautiful trip. We stopped for lunch at Spirit Lake Inn because it is one of the few games in town. We split a bowl of soup and a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and an iced tea and the total was over $16. That's two people splitting a bowl of soup and a sandwich for that much. However, since options are limited they can charge as much as they want I suppose. I can't complain too much. The proprietors were extremely nice and the food was good. We also stopped in Carcross for popcorn, coffee, and ice cream at the General Store. All places of business we encountered accepted US dollars. At the time we went the exchange rate was $1 US = $1 CAN so it made for easy transactions.

 

Tracy Arm Fjord - I wouldn't stress too much about getting up too early to see anything or getting a good spot. The captain stayed at the glacier (or as close as we could get to it) for an hour allowing for plenty of time for photographs and turning the ship for everyone to get a good view. Plus, the view on the way out is the same as going in, so if I had to do over again, I would have opted for a couple of extra hours sleep rather than getting up at the crack of dawn.

 

Victoria - Signs at the pier indicated taxis to downtown were $8 each way and taxis to Butchart Gardens were $51 each way. At those prices, we decided to rent a car to go to Butchart Gardens. There is a Budget Rent A Car and a National Car Rental on Douglas Avenue a few blocks from the pier. We decided to take a taxi to the rental car place ($10). Rental for a mid-sized car for the day (including taxes) cost $76 with no pre-reservation. Fuel to Butchart Gardens and driving a little around town ended up costing $10. Both rental car companies offer drop off at the pier if they have employees available. They were happy to do so when we dropped the car off - we tipped a few dollars to the guy who drove us for the effort. Paid the rental car and gas and admittance to Butchart Gardens with a credit card. Paid taxi and concessions at Butchart Gardens with cash and US dollars (at the exchange rate of $1 US = $1 CAN) were accepted happily. The rental car, plus taxi to rental car place, plus fuel, plus admission to Butchart Gardens split five ways (there were five of us in the car) totaled $52 per person and we were able to go at our own pace. I recommend this option if you have a group going to Butchart. I also recommend bringing your own map and ask the rental car place to provide directions, because unlike most rental car companies, they did not offer to provide a map of the area - he was just going to provide verbal directions to the Gardens. I pulled out a map and he was able to highlight the route on the map we provided.

 

Seattle - We had a group of twelve that needed to get back to the airport post-cruise. We split a bus from Shuttle Express (with capacity for up to 25 people plus luggage) and it ended up costing us $15 per person. Quite a bargain considering shuttles were charging $28 per person at the pier. Also, on the way to the pier from the airport, a taxi for two of us cost $50. So, if you have a group, I recommend reserving a private shuttle ahead of time.

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions if anyone has any.

 

Here is a link to some photos from our trip.

We did a few days pre- and post-cruise in Washington and Oregon and some of the pictures are from that portion of our trip as well.

[cruiznLYNN]

Really appreciate the Juneau tip since I had heard that there were many vendors around the tram.

Lynn

[dy123]

Realy nice pics! Thanks for the info (especially the advice not to sweat the bus confusion)...

[Dancing Shoes]

How far from Skagway is this place? We plan on renting a car and driving up to Emerald Lake. Thanks....

[andrea]

How far from Skagway is this place? We plan on renting a car and driving up to Emerald Lake. Thanks....

 

Spirit Lake Inn is located along the road just before you get to Emerald Lake - probably within a couple of miles or so. I have to admit - it doesn't look like much from the outside, but the inside seemed nice and new. Bathrooms were clean. Owners were nice. Food was good (but expensive).

[JustUs275]

Enjoyed your pictures :)

[Putterdude]

Many thanks for your great post and review.:)

[NorbertsNiece]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review and pics.

[welly world]

Loved your pictures! Thank you for sharing!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review and sharing your pictures with us -- great!!

 

We have used the Blue Bus a couple of times in Jueanu to go out to Mendenhall Glacier.

[luvcdays]

Thank you for sharing. I hope we have some nice weather like you did!

[lilacbirman]

Thank you for your review and your gorgeous photo's. I especially like the first one of Mendenhall Glacier with the two trees in the foreground...very surreal...dreamy.

[andrea]

Thanks to everyone for their nice comments.

 

Thank you for sharing. I hope we have some nice weather like you did!

 

Regarding the weather - I'm not exactly sure I'd call it "nice". LOL In Juneau it was cold and rainy (low 50's). In Skagway it was cold and windy (low 50's). For Tracy Arm Fjord it was cold (high 40's). In Victoria it was HOT (they said their highs in the summer are normally around 75 - the day we were there it was over 90) - I even got sunburned!

 

Ha! So - I guess what everyone says is true. Plan for ALL types of weather!!!!

[KAYEF]

Spirit Lake Inn is located along the road just before you get to Emerald Lake - probably within a couple of miles or so. I have to admit - it doesn't look like much from the outside, but the inside seemed nice and new. Bathrooms were clean. Owners were nice. Food was good (but expensive).

Thanks for sharing your info.

We spent a whole summer in AK in our motorhome and if you think that restaurant was expensive, have you ever been into a grocery store in those small areas? Everything has to get to them, much of it from the "lower forty-eight."

In places like Skagway and north, they have to make their living in very few months.

I'm hoping we have sunshine for our drive north this time; last time the fog was flat to the road so we just returned our car..........AND, I have Murray's Guide this time!:)

July 26th...............we're off...................:):)