Just Back from Alaska - Private Tours Only

[ladylawyer]

We're just off the Radiance, having done a south-bound cruise from Seward, following a wonderful CruiseTour. First, I have to say that, if you can afford both the time and the additional monies, do the CruiseTour! We cruised to AK in 2005 and only did the round-trip out of Vancouver. Frankly, that is better than nothing. However, I was left wanting more ... and boy did I get it! Great experience! Also ... if you do decide to book the CruiseTour, be sure to take one of the tours that goes to Alyeska. It's only offered on a couple of the tours and I'm so glad that we didn't miss that stop.

 

Anyway, for the cruise, I set up private tours, for the most part. We were a group of 10 (5 couples, ranging in age from mid-30s to mid-60s). Three couples had been to AK before, but 2 couples were first-time cruisers on their first visit to AK. Therefore, I wanted to set up tours that wouldn't be a re-hash for the experienced couples, but still give plenty of background to the newbies.

 

You will have no trouble finding the websites of the tours mentioned, by Googling the names.

 

Juneau: This one is tough, as there really aren't a lot of non-whale-watching/non-glacier flightseeing tours. Since we had already set up a whale-watching tour in Icy Straight Point, and most of us did one as part of the CruiseTour, in Seward, I didn't want to schedule another. Flightseeing is great ... but very expensive. Therefore, we just booked a trip to the Mendenhall Glacier through Mighty Great Trips (MGT), which was the one no-so private tour. Our driver, Karl, was very knowledgable about the area and the tour was more-than adequate. I was looking forward to taking the tram to Mt. Roberts, since the mountain was clear (it was shrouded in clouds on our last visit), later in the day.

 

Skagway: Last year, a friend returned from Alaska raving about Dyea Dave. He went on and on about what a hoot this guy was, so I booked him about a year out (early bird, and all). His mini-bus can hold 16, so I added some friends who were also on the cruise. We took the Emerald Lake tour, which is all day and pretty much follows the route taken by the train (White Pass & Yukon Route), only it goes much further into Yukon Territory, Canada. In fact, you must bring your Passport to take this tour, as you are stopped at the Border and asked to produce it.

 

Dave is a character. He's been in the area for over 35 years and boasts about his prize-winning rhubarb plants (seriously ... he'll take you by and show them to you). He wears an old top hat that adds to his charm. There was some confusion about the meeting place, initially, and one couple from his other mini-bus tour didn't show, causing an initial delay and some consternation on his part. However, once we were underway, he gave us a tour of the town, including his sister's house (LOL), and the usual attractions. The best part of the tour, however, came with the trip to Emerald Lake. The nice thing about a private tour versus the train is, if you see something you'd like to take a look at, he'll stop and let you jump out. Try that with the train ... no, really, don't try that with the train!

 

We saw bears and a porcupine, plus wonderful scenery. He stops at the real Canadian border, as well as in Carcross and Emerald Lake. Emerald Lake is not to be missed. I found this YouTube video on it. The actual colors are much more vivid, if you can imagine:

 

We lunched at Spirit Lake Lodge, which is on your own. However, since the tour only cost $79 per person, we really didn't expect it to include the price of lunch. My only complaint is that we went a long time before we got to Carcross, where the we were able to use the restroom. Fifty-something-aged women cannot be expected to wait a couple of hours to use the facilities. Granted, it's not like he was passing restrooms, on the road. There really aren't facilities. So I am not blaming him ... but still ... Ladies, be warned. No huge cups of coffee for breakfast, that morning! :(

 

The trip ended back in Skagway, including the Old City Cemetary and past those prized rhubarb plants. He will drop you off in town, or take you back to the ship. The tour got 15 thumbs up!

 

Icy Straight Point (Hoonah): I read a wonderful review on Cruise Critic, last year, and took notes. The OP to that review booked her ISP tours through Misty Bay Lodge. Again, I contacted Hope, who runs the Lodge with her husband, Dan, last Summer. (On a side note, a number of people on our Roll Call were unhappy that the good tours were booked, when they started looking about 2 months before the cruise. No kidding! There is a limited number of private tours - particularly in a small location like ISP. If you're going, book as early as you can and avoid disappointment or, worse, a ship tour :eek:).

 

Hope and Dan split the tours into 2 segments: A land portion, looking for bear and other wildlife; and a sea portion, looking for whales. Because Dan's boat is only certified for 6 passengers, we split our group into 5 (adding a solo passenger we knew) and 6. My group (6) started out with the land portion, while the other 5 started in the boat. Hoonah is a small Tlinkit (pronounced Klinkit) village of 760. The Radiance had 2100 passengers. So we more than tripled the population. Our guide is married to a Tlinkit woman and is very knowledgable about the culture. He answered our questions and gave us a fascinating history of the death ritual for the tribe, among other things. All the while, we were looking for bears ... and we found them, as well as some Sitka Deer. We were very grateful that our Guide (Patrick) shared his heritage and left with a better understanding of this very interesting culture.

 

The second half of our day was spent with Dan, on the boat. Initially, it appeared that we were not going to be very lucky. However, Dan was quite intent on finding whales, as they had encountered a pod of humpbacks on the earlier tour. The other tour operators are very cooperative and we received a call from another boat, alerting Dan to the location of a pod of whales. Hooray! We were off (and I mean OFF!!!) When we saw them, it was magic. There were 4 or 5 whales in the pod. We'd been told that, when you see their tails, that means that they're going down and may be down for up to 30 or more minutes. However, these humpbacks seemed to just be playing. They'd dive for 5 minutes or so, and then come back up. Wow, the spouting is really loud. You could hear them before you saw them! At one point, my friend and I were on the back deck of the boat, trying to anticipate where the pod would come up next ... when we heard a loud spout ... just a few feet from the boat!!! We just about jumped out of our skin! You aren't allowed to drive the boat too close to the whales, but they can come to you. And this one did ... big time. He swam under our boat, without touching it! I got some great "up close & personal" shots. Captain Dan was as excited as we were, pointing out the fins and it swam under the boat!

 

I just cannot say enough about how wonderful Hope and Dan were (BTW, this tour does include sandwiches and drinks ... and good ones, too). It was a wonderful day and probably the highlight of our cruise!

 

Ketchikan: I booked an unusually-named tour: Ketchikan Taxi Cab Tours. This is run by David & Kat. They are ... wait for it ... taxi drivers in Ketchikan. ;) We, again, split our group (this time 5 & 5), although the taxis will accommodate up to 6. Instead of Totem Bight or Saxman Village, we were taken to Potlatch Park, which has a wonderful display of native houses, buildings and totems, as well as a carving demo (although we didn't see one, that day, Kat was very knowledgable and showed us the tools used for the carving). We were there by ourselves. If you've been to attractions that are crowded with tourists, you'll appreciate the peace of having the place to yourself. It was very nice and there is no entrance fee.

 

We were also taken to the boat launch, where Bald Eagles were viewed, as well as Rainbow Falls and the overlook where the Salmon Hatchery is. Lots of great scenery for lots of great photos. All the while, we were being given information about the area and its history. The tour ended at Creek Street (for shopping), but they will also drop you off at the ship. It was a wonderful way to see a more personal side of Ketchikan.

 

So that was our cruise. We actually stayed a night in Vancouver (taking a LandandSea tour) and took the Amtrak Cascades to Seattle in the morning. In Seattle, we spent time at Pike Market. Some of us toured the Boeing Factory, while others toured the newly-opened Chihuly Gardens, before flying home to Northern CA.

 

Great trip. I'm happy to answer questions. ~ LL

[cellyml12]

Great review. Thanks for the info!:D

[aloisia]

Excellent review! Thank you very much. :)

 

When did you start booking tours? Our cruise is a year away & originally thought Feb - March. Perhaps for private tours I should be thinking earlier? :confused:

[deladypilot]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. It is much appreciated as I start making plans for our Alaskan cruise next year

[Assateague Island Princes]

OP - so glad you had a productive and interesting time with Hope, Dan and Patrick of Misty Bay Lodge in ISP. I went on a whale watch/bear search with them last August, and it was one truly one of my favorite excursions of the entire trip. They're such nice people too - which is a bonus when you get the drive-by views of those whales up close and personal, and the bears! oh, the bears! Really tickled that you had such a great time with them. I'm looking forward to going back to Hoonah someday for an extended visit, probably staying at Misty Bay Lodge. ISP is a lovely, unspoiled port and the town of Hoonah is "real" Alaska, isn't it?

[ladylawyer]

Excellent review! Thank you very much. :)

 

When did you start booking tours? Our cruise is a year away & originally thought Feb - March. Perhaps for private tours I should be thinking earlier? :confused:

 

Because I'm usually responsible for larger parties (there were 10 of us in my group + an additional 4 or 5 friends also on the cruise), I always prefer to start early. I was contacting the vendors last Summer. I did a lot of research, and chose my tours based on personal recommendations, as well as Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic comments. I didn't want to hear, "Sorry, we're already booked for that cruise."

 

Keep in mind that your ship may not be the only one in Port (we had 3 additional ships with us in Skagway). Therefore, you are competing with a lot of people, for the tours.

 

If you are just one couple or a smaller group, I recommend booking for the entire tour (i.e., in Skagway, the mini-bus held up to 16; in ISP, the boat held up to 6), and fill in the rest of the slots from your Roll Call. Believe me, people will be happy to have a private tour available to them, particularly if they book the cruise later. Also, it gives you a chance to get a feel for the people who will share your tour. :rolleyes:

 

I accept that I'm slightly Type-A on planning (OK, maybe more than slightly) ... but I'd rather be early than sorry. Since you've booked your cruise a year out, I suspect that you have similar tendencies. ;) ~ Lorna

[ladylawyer]

OP - so glad you had a productive and interesting time with Hope, Dan and Patrick of Misty Bay Lodge in ISP. I went on a whale watch/bear search with them last August, and it was one truly one of my favorite excursions of the entire trip. They're such nice people too - which is a bonus when you get the drive-by views of those whales up close and personal, and the bears! oh, the bears! Really tickled that you had such a great time with them. I'm looking forward to going back to Hoonah someday for an extended visit, probably staying at Misty Bay Lodge. ISP is a lovely, unspoiled port and the town of Hoonah is "real" Alaska, isn't it?

 

ISP wasn't offered on our first Alaskan cruise (2005), so I was really looking forward to visiting it, this time. Hope and I have been chatting since last Summer. When I finally met her, it was like seeing an old friend! She is such a sweetie. If we were ever to go back, on an extended trip, you can bet that we'd stay at Misty Bay Lodge.

 

Dan was a little distant, at first (he's definitely not the bubbly personality that Hope is). But I finally realized that he was just intent on giving us the best experience possible, and also realized that he wears a hearing aid, so he may not have heard my questions. However, when that whale came up to the boat, he was as excited as we were! At the end of the tour, he gave us a big hug.

 

We just loved all of them so much!!! I'm glad you had a similar experience!

[music]

Which tour did you take in Vancouver with Landsea? North shore or the city tour? Was it worth it? Seems sort of pricey.

[bobhsv]

Wondering if you still have Dyea Daves' email address. I cannot access it from his web site, for some odd reason. Tried with Mozilla and Internet Explorer, but no go. Thanks for the review, very nice.

Jen

[music]

dyeadave@msn.com We are using him also. We got a failed delivery notice with his email but it still went thru. He was very prompt in his replies.

[bobhsv]

dyeadave@msn.com We are using him also. We got a failed delivery notice with his email but it still went thru. He was very prompt in his replies.

 

Wow, what quick service from you. Thanks, much appreciated:)

[Cruise_More_Often]

Lorna, what cruisetour did you do? We're trying to decide whether to do one on our next Alaska cruise or DIY.

 

Isn't Hope the greatest!! I had the same felling about her. I could hardly wait to meet her in person. We were supposed to take the first morning whale watching tour, but DH and I were the only two signed up for that one. Hope called and asked if we would mind switching with another group of 6 for a later time, so she could see whether walk-ups would fill up our later tour. We left the ship early and had lunch at the Lodge with Hope. She continued to assure us that even if they didn't fill the other four spots, we would go alone with Dan.

 

We loved our tour with Dan. We saw lots of whales, a bear on the shore and three sea otters who playfully swam up to the boat and played around. Like you, I was amazed at how loud the whales were.

 

Next time we'll do the bear watch.

 

Assateague Island Princes, we took this tour because of your posts about your experience. Thank you for recommending Hope and Dan!!!

[ladylawyer]

Which tour did you take in Vancouver with Landsea? North shore or the city tour? Was it worth it? Seems sort of pricey.

 

We took the short Snapshot tour, which give a very quick overview. However, since we'd been traveling for 2 weeks, I didn't think we could tolerate another long tour. We booked LandSea because I was very frustrated with the Hop On Hop Off Trolley last year ... the waits for the next trolley seemed excessive (however, we were there just before the beginning of the Alaska Season, and that may have explained it).

 

Our tour guide/bus driver was very sweet, but she admitted that it was her first day on the job and, man, could you tell. Frankly, I could have given the tour. In fact, I had info, from my several times in Vancouver, that she didn't know (like the fact that there used to be penguins at the Aquarium).

 

I hadn't been to the totem garden at Stanley Park before, so it was good for that.

[ladylawyer]

Lorna, what cruisetour did you do? We're trying to decide whether to do one on our next Alaska cruise or DIY.

 

Isn't Hope the greatest!! I had the same felling about her. I could hardly wait to meet her in person. We were supposed to take the first morning whale watching tour, but DH and I were the only two signed up for that one. Hope called and asked if we would mind switching with another group of 6 for a later time, so she could see whether walk-ups would fill up our later tour. We left the ship early and had lunch at the Lodge with Hope. She continued to assure us that even if they didn't fill the other four spots, we would go alone with Dan.

 

We loved our tour with Dan. We saw lots of whales, a bear on the shore and three sea otters who playfully swam up to the boat and played around. Like you, I was amazed at how loud the whales were.

 

Next time we'll do the bear watch.

 

Assateague Island Princes, we took this tour because of your posts about your experience. Thank you for recommending Hope and Dan!!!

 

We were on CruiseTour 13. Our Tour Director (the Awesome Andy!) told us that it was the coveted tour. He said that #15 used to be the one all the Tour Directors wanted, but it's Lucky #13, now.

 

Frankly, I chose it because, if I was going to go all the way to Alaska, I wanted to see as much of it as I could, and #13 went to all the cities (most leave out Alyeska, which was so beautiful).

 

I know that some prefer #11, because there is more time on the train. Honestly, it seemed like the only reason to go on the train was to have us purchase a very expensive meal. That's all they were talking about, and we were dispatched to the Dining Car as soon as we boarded and had our drinks (another expensive thing). Granted, my halibut was wonderful, but the guys had the prime rib and said that it was very dry. :( I liked the motorcoach better because you could actually see more. On the train, by the time someone pointed out something, it was gone. Plus, you couldn't really see much from the dining car. Our motorcoach driver would slow down, when we saw moose or other wildlife. I'm not sorry I did the train, but I wouldn't give up a city to spend more time on it (and next time, I'll bring a snack and ride in the domed car for the 4 hours until we arrived in Anchorage). ... OK, that was probably more info than you wanted ... :o

[ladylawyer]

Oh, I forgot to mention ... one of our friends decided to do the DIY thing, because he was traveling solo and thought the CruiseTour was too expensive. I'm sure he had a great time, but he told me that, when he finished booking the tours and travel, it was probably close to the same. We had Awesome Andy, who was just full of info, for the entire trip, and stayed at high end hotels/lodges.

 

My parents have done AK in their motorhome. If you have the time, that's probably the way to go. But they were gone for 3 months. For a week, I thought the CruiseTour was worth the money. JMHO.

[Keith1010]

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to write and post this.

 

Keith

[Assateague Island Princes]

Thanx for the shout out, Adele - I'm so glad you enjoyed Hope and Dan and the tour in ISP as much as we did. Lovely folks! And such a beautiful place, isn't it?