Which Alaskan Shore Excursion??

[redfox04]

Hi--I'm trying to figure out which shore excursions to book for the Alaskan cruise (6/24/05 sailing) on the Mercury. We have two parents and two young adults in the family (the girl is 19, the boy is 22) and are wondering if there are any excursions good for families to do together--or to do period. Any suggestions? The cruise visits Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, Prince Rupert, and end up in Seattle.

[boten]

There are many excursions that can be taken by the entire group or you can split to different excursions according to interest.

You better post this question on the Alaska forum (under Ports of call). Many posters there will give you great advices and suggestions for each port.

[Bruin Steve]

We went on the Summit this past August with our girls (18 and 20)...

 

I think if you polled our family, the favorite, hands down, would be the Coastal Helicopter Glacier landing outside of Juneau...

 

It's a little pricey at $185 per person, especially when multiplied by four...but it's a whole lot cheaper than the similar tour offered by the ship...and it's better, flying you well past Mendenhall Glacier, up to the top of Herbert Glacier...and then home the length of Mendenhall...

 

In Skagway, the girls wanted to ride horses, so we went with Southeast Tours/Yukon Horses on a pretty nice trip up the White Pass to Emerald Lake Yukon for the horses...Again, much better than the short local horse ride trip the ship offers...

[alpal1993]

In Juneau we did Captain Larry's Whale watching,we had booked Coastal's Dog sledding but that got cancelled.They might like the tramway ride

The girls might like the Gold Panning and LumberJack show in Ketickan

Skagway we did Jeep Adventure and White Pass Railroad.

All stops are conveniently located near the "Downtown Areas"

Enjoy all ports were wonderful!

[barbon2]

We did not do Alaska with Celebrity but in Juneau we did the row boat excursion to Mendenhall Glacier which was wonderful. We got very close to the Glacier and had ice floating by us.

In Ketchikan we did the jeep excursion. It was Fantastic!

We did the whale watch in Sitka, also a great excursion.

Alaska was wonderful, can't wait to go back.

Barbara

[geoherb]

We did the snorkeling excursion in Ketchikan on our Princess cruise to Alaska. It was great. I just checked the Celebrity website, and it's listed as Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure ($91).

[tarheelmjfan]

How much time are you spending in Seattle. We, (DH, DS(13), & me) were originally planning to sail from Seattle, before we opted for a little longer cruise. We could have easily spent a week there, & still not seen it all. If you want suggestions for there, I'd be glad to let you know some of the things we had planned. In Juneau, we are taking the helicopter/dog sled tour, & the Historic Juneau Gold Mine tour, both through Shoretrips. In Skagway, we're taking the White Pass RR, & going to the Days of '98 show, which my TA said is a must in Skagway. She lived there, while working for HAL, for 2 years. If I were physically able, we probably would have going horseback riding, instead of taking the train. In Ketchikan, we're taking the Misty Fjords flightseeing w/Islandwings, & taking the Totem Bight SP & City tour. If you have the same itinerary we were originally thinking of, from what I understand, you won't be at Prince Rupert long enough to even get off the ship. Have a great cruise! :)

[Mysteryreader]

We booked only one excursion online before the cruise: the White Pass Rwy out of Skagway. We were glad we did b/c when we checked the excursion desk monitors onboard, it was sold out. The native village tour in Ketchikan we'd discussed was open; there are lots of local vendors offering trips to the Mendenhall glacier in Juneau.

 

If you're going to be going to Icy Straits, we heard lots of good things about the excursions there including whale watching and bear watching. B/c it's not the big cruise ship destination that other ports are your options are more limited so it's worth booking online if there's something you want.

 

M/R

[Cruisin Rick]

In Juneau, we decided to book the Whale Watching tour from the ship. It was just a last minute decision as we really had no great desire for whale watching. The funny thing was, we got so emotional over seeing the whales up close, I couldn't believe it! lol It was a highlight of our cruise. ( you get to pass by Mendenhall Glacier on the way to your tour boat... an added bonus)

We also enjoyed the White Pass railroad trip. I suggest going to the Ranger's Visitor Center in Skaggway in the morning and taking the train in the afternoon. The Visitor Center has movies and narrated slide shows detailing the history of the Klondike Gold Rush and you'll be so much more informed when you take the train. Oh yeah, another nice thing about the Visitor Center. It's free.:D

[lstrong]

Four of us rented a van in Juneau and were able to see and do many things on our own, Mendenhall glacier, hiking, Alaska Brewery, etc. etc. Very inexpensive way to see a lot - Rent A Wreck picked us up in town and returned us to the ship when we were through. Also good possibility to rent in Skagway, drive to the world's smallest desert, the Klondike, etc.

[camella]

Depending on your budget. we went a few years ago, my daughter was 4 and we had the two young adult stepdaughters. WE went on the excursion that takes you mushing with the dogs. It was the most amazing experience!! quite expensive, but you can get it a little cheaper on the internet. They take you by helicopter from the port to a dog mushing camp and then you get to go on one of the sleds with the dogs pulling you through the snow. The screams of delight from my daughter were worth every penny!!! AFter your mushing, they let you pet the puppies and show you the camps. The helicopter ride scenery was breathtaking!! if you can't afford that, I can completely understand, but I figured it was a once in a lifetime experience, you should try and do the Mendenhall glacier. Again, a helicopter ride, with breathtaking scenery and you actually land on the glacier. Very cool and a little cheaper than the other one. Have fun and don't forget your binoculars!!