How soon to book excursions - Alaska

[Sam&Joe25th]

DW and I are going to Alaska Sept 4th on The Spirit for our 25th anniversary. First cruise and down to only

103 days to go! We booked in June 2011 and have been watching the clock ever since!

 

I know I should book the absolute must excursions as soon as possible - for us that being The Tracy Arm Fjord and Yukon & White Pass Railroad in Skagway, but other than that;

Is there a general rule of thumb concerning how long you can wait to book the less important (to us) excusions and not have to be concerned about sell out?

Am I right to think that the fact that we are going in September would mean less demand for excursions?

Am I right to think we would be safer to book some excursion at port or on our own, with this being Alaska as opposed to Mexico, Bahamas and the like? I guess I'm, thinking less likely to be as many shady characters to deal with?

The main reason I ask is, of course 1) available income and 2) We always tend to over-book, over-schedule and generally over-do when we vacation. Alaska has been a life long dream of ours and we don't want to miss a thing but at the same time would like to be relaxed and refreshed after vacation for a change.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Sauer-kraut]

Go on over to the Alaska Home Ports board. Over there you can get recommendaitons for private tours that will more than likely be cheaper than what you buy from Shore Ex on the ship.

 

If you are active in your roll call you might be able to share a tour, sometimes there are small groups that are looking to fill a van/transport and you will get a much more private and better tour than being on a huge bus. You will also get informatiobn on how to do the train tour on your own, again saving money.

 

They are a helpful bunch over there and you can put forth your idealized itinerary and find out if it is actually doable, or over exerting yourselves.

 

Good LUCK!! and have fun.

[cruzeluver]

We did the Yukon & White Pass Railroad but did not book it in advance. Just showed up at the depot and bought our tickets same day. Cheaper than going through the cruise line and we weren't crammed into one train car like the poor folks who booked through the ship were. Fantastic experience that I'd gladly do again. Alaska is amazing! Have a great time.

[paul929207]

With Princess, you do not pay for the tours in advance. They are charged to your onboard account. You can cancel them until a few days before you reach the port. The closing date and time are in the Princess Patter.

 

So, there is no reason to wait. Any tour can sell out.

[cruzrbachoua]

DW and I are going to Alaska Sept 4th on The Spirit for our 25th anniversary. First cruise and down to only

103 days to go! We booked in June 2011 and have been watching the clock ever since!

 

I know I should book the absolute must excursions as soon as possible - for us that being The Tracy Arm Fjord and Yukon & White Pass Railroad in Skagway, but other than that;

Is there a general rule of thumb concerning how long you can wait to book the less important (to us) excusions and not have to be concerned about sell out?

Am I right to think that the fact that we are going in September would mean less demand for excursions?

Am I right to think we would be safer to book some excursion at port or on our own, with this being Alaska as opposed to Mexico, Bahamas and the like? I guess I'm, thinking less likely to be as many shady characters to deal with?

The main reason I ask is, of course 1) available income and 2) We always tend to over-book, over-schedule and generally over-do when we vacation. Alaska has been a life long dream of ours and we don't want to miss a thing but at the same time would like to be relaxed and refreshed after vacation for a change.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

We went in September and at all our ports were told that is was one of the weeks that had the best weather. We did alot on our own, very freindly and walkable towns. In Juneau we got off and walked over to the Mt Roberts tram ride and took the first one up. If the weather is right and there is no cloud coverage you get excellent shots of the ships at dock. Then once up top there is a little shop and some walking trails. We walked around and there are amazing views of Gastenau (sp?) Channel. It is also an all day ticket so you could go up and down as much as you want. Then we went to the big blue bus which took us to Mendenhall GLacier. We walked the paths up there and even over to the water fall right next to the glacier......we could feel the rush of the water...amazing. If you want any other pointers, costs or maps I still have all my stuff and feel free to email me, just put CC member in the subject line. ;) But i agree alaska is beautiful and you will love it!

[MCC retired]

OP didn't state which CL?

As previously stated , Princess does not charge your shore tour until

you are onboard .:)

A great feature that allows you to change your mind closer to sailing.

Tours like the White Pass & Yukon Railroad have lots of capacity , no hurry there.

However , any tour with limited capacity like helicopter tours, float planes , ect. should be booked asap.

So if Princess ,go ahead and book what most interests you now. Other CL , select what is most important

and only book them now.

[LarryL]

We did the Yukon & White Pass Railroad but did not book it in advance. Just showed up at the depot and bought our tickets same day. Cheaper than going through the cruise line and we weren't crammed into one train car like the poor folks who booked through the ship were. Fantastic experience that I'd gladly do again. Alaska is amazing! Have a great time.

 

That's what we did. Much cheaper and had room to roam and take photos. :)

[Keith1010]

You never know. If it is something that you are sure you want to do, then it's best to book it in advance.

 

Keith

[chipmaster]

Once you see your cruise excursions offered on by the ship I'd say go ahead and reserve, ther eis really no downside as you don't get charged and can cancel anyone till the day of sailing.

 

For some like the flightseening, helicopter, bear watching are very limited best to reserve and have a spot.

 

Also don't discount looking at private/independent. The only downside for those is you often need to put a deposit or pay in full with much more restrictive cancellations.

[mycruiseandvacations]

Although you and DW have over a 100 days to go the shore excursions for Alaska tend to book up, especially the best ones! I encourage you to consider booking early. All of the Alaska ports offer exceptional activities, in Victoria my wife and I like taking in the gardens in the morning and then relaxing with afternoon tea at the Fairmont Hotel before reboarding the ship. In Alaska here are some of our favorite excursions when sailing (I have sailed on 4 different lines some 7 times!) :

 

As a minimum on a budget:

 

Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau

Saxman Village in Ketchikan

White Pass Summit in Skagway.

 

I prefer to be adventurous so last trip we:

 

Adventured to see Orca Whales -majestic whales in Juneau

Took a helicopter up to a glacier in Skagway

And a fly experience above Misty Fjords in Ketchikan.

 

My brother and His family is younger and they

 

Experienced nature at its best with a three port excursions package!

Along with us they saw majestic whales in Juneau

Then they ziplined through a forest in Ketchikan

And went real adventurous a saw amazing wildlife rafting down a river in Skagway.

 

Creating dream shore excursions is an area I love to do when we travel to Alaska. There is so much to see and do! The great thing is there are now travel companies that have put together shore excursion packages and a couple of them advertise on Cruise Critic to make this easier.