Princess excursions/booking on your own

[myangel]

I was wondering if anyone knows the difference (besides price) in doing the excursions through Princess, (mainly the Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter in Juneau) or booking it on your own. Thanks for your help!

[Host Caroline]

The main difference is price and perhaps scheduling. If you book on your own with Coastal you will have definite time and I believe their pricing is still under Princess (haven't checked into that tour for this year so don't know how much lower). If you are trying to coordinate more than one tour you can sometimes do easier with the cruise line tours although many independents will coordinate.. For example: you can whale watch with Capt Larry and then do helicopter tour with one booking etc.

[coastal traveler]

We just returned from Alaska. We booked some tours thru Princess and some on our own. We had booked a dog sled/helicopter ride thru Princess. It was rescheduled to a later time because of weather. We were able to reschedule our other tour with no problem since they were both booked thru the cruise line. I'm not sure we could have handled it as easily or could have done both tours if we had booked independantly.

[myangel]

Thank you all!!!

[Hate 2 W8t]

Since no one else pointed out this difference, I will add it to the list...

 

On a cruiseline tour, you won't get left at the dock if your tour ends late. If you go independent, you could be watching the ship pull away from the dock with you still standing on it.

 

This being said, I would assume most independents work very hard to keep this from happening. But, sometimes things happen. Mechanical problems can delay a return whether you are on a bus, train, boat, or helicopter. I have read some stories about people being left behind on the boards. You may want to do a search.

 

For me, I have only booked independent tours where I feel comfortable with the time cushion in case we did have a problem. My dog sled/glacier flight in Skagway is through the ship. Yeah, I could save a few bucks on my own, but I see those few bucks as insurance and avoiding that fear of a problem. I can get worked up over missing a flight or even an appointment. For me, this is money well-spent.