Looking for land exc. prices for Alaska cruise

[fletcher57]

Hi, If any of you are booked for a Princess cruise to Alaska, I would love to find out what some of the land excursions cost. My cabin mate can walk "but not far". I don't know what her limitations are but I'd like to find some excursions that she could do comfortably. With that in mind I'd like to know how much the following excursions cost: 1) the two excursions involving White Pass Railway in Skagway, 2) the Misty Fjords and Wilderness Explorer in Ketchikan, and 3) the City Tour, Space Needle and Pike Place Market in Seattle with transfer to the airport.

 

If you can recommend a land excursion for her for Juneau and Victoria, BC that would be very nice.

 

Thank you. Joyce

[Essiesmom]

Hi, If any of you are booked for a Princess cruise to Alaska, I would love to find out what some of the land excursions cost. My cabin mate can walk "but not far". I don't know what her limitations are but I'd like to find some excursions that she could do comfortably. With that in mind I'd like to know how much the following excursions cost: 1) the two excursions involving White Pass Railway in Skagway, 2) the Misty Fjords and Wilderness Explorer in Ketchikan, and 3) the City Tour, Space Needle and Pike Place Market in Seattle with transfer to the airport.

 

If you can recommend a land excursion for her for Juneau and Victoria, BC that would be very nice.

 

Thank you. Joyce

I can only answer for Skagway: the train is right by the ship, not much walking. And as it is only half a day, there are cheap shuttles that take you into 'town' and back. It all depends on how far 'not far' is. A couple of blocks, a hundred yards? Across the street?

In Juneau, there is a bit of a walk to get from the pier to where they sell tours. You can get the tram there to the top of the hill, or catch the bus to Mendenhall Glacier. But once you get off the bus at the park entrance, there is a bit of a walk. She might consider bringing a walker with seat that she could use for rests along the way. EM

[fletcher57]

I can only answer for Skagway: the train is right by the ship, not much walking. And as it is only half a day, there are cheap shuttles that take you into 'town' and back. It all depends on how far 'not far' is. A couple of blocks, a hundred yards? Across the street?

In Juneau, there is a bit of a walk to get from the pier to where they sell tours. You can get the tram there to the top of the hill, or catch the bus to Mendenhall Glacier. But once you get off the bus at the park entrance, there is a bit of a walk. She might consider bringing a walker with seat that she could use for rests along the way. EM

 

Thanks for your very helpful reply. I will try to get an idea from her tomorrow regarding how far she can walk comfortably. Do you know what the prices are for the two White Pass excursions?

[Loonbeam]

Back in 2009 I think the railroad was around $120 pp - we chose the van option and another tour so can't go back and look at my records.

 

Understand prices can vary season to season, and even within the season...

 

Thanks for your very helpful reply. I will try to get an idea from her tomorrow regarding how far she can walk comfortably. Do you know what the prices are for the two White Pass excursions?

[cruisehappi]

We also sailed with a "limited mobility" person. We used all Princess in-house tours, because they're used to dealing with the limitations.

In Juneau, we caught the tour bus at the dock and went to Mendenhall Glacier. From drop-off area, had to walk a few hundred feet (easy) to the elevator that took us up to the visitor center, from which we could see the glacier. There are trails taking you closer to the glacier, but that required too much walking. Following glacier, went to a salmon bake, very quaint, great food, limited walking.

 

In Ketchikan, took one of the Indian village tours (there are several). Again, got the bus right at the dock, little bit of walking around the village, but not mandatory for those not able.

 

In Skagway, we did the all-day White Pass & Yukon Railroad tour. A bus picked us up right on the dock, gave us town history as we passed through, and made scenic stops all the way up to the Yukon. Our "limited" cruisemate stayed on the bus during a couple of the stops because he'd had enough of the getting off, getting on thing. We took his camera out with us and took pictures with it, so he was happy. Lunch at Carcross required walking about 50 feet, then seated lunch. Rest of day was on train. Train ride ends in town, but bus was there to take people all the way to the ship if they wanted to go ("limited" took advantage of this). Sorry, can't remember the pricing of this excursion, but it was worth every penny! I'm thinking it was close to $200.

 

In Victoria, we did a double-decker bus tour. Our friend managed to get to the second floor of the bus (narrow, spiral staircase), but did not get off for the photo stops. He could also have chosen the first floor, but it wasn't open-air.

 

After the cruise, our friend said he would have rented a scooter in some of the towns, so he could look around more. You might want to suggest this to your cabin mate. Your cruise will include all sorts of persons with mobility issues, and she won't feel singled-out or self-conscious. This is what our friend discovered and why he said he would have rented a scooter.

Happy Cruising!

[Budget Queen]

There are various White Pass RR tours. Train only, and three train/bus combos, of various lengths.