Peal to Alaska

[luvinacruise]

I'm sailing on the Pearl in June to Alaska. This one goes to Glacier Bay.. Has anyone done this cruise? Wondering what tours the ship offers are worth doing. Thank you for any info.

[roger001]

I'm sailing on the Pearl in June to Alaska. This one goes to Glacier Bay.. Has anyone done this cruise? Wondering what tours the ship offers are worth doing. Thank you for any info.

 

 

Many, many, many folks have done that cruise. You've picked a good one....and a great ship. However, tours at each port stop, what would interest you, and then someone can report on those. For me, if you like king crab, stop by Tracy's Crab Shack in Juneau. Crab legs, crab bisque, crab cakes, all pricy but super good...and still about half the price of the other places. Tracy has a web site.

[mcmomny]

We loved this cruise!

 

We booked with the ship whale watching in Juneau and the rail Road in Skagway and quickly found out we could book on our own for much cheaper but we still had fun!

 

It rained like crazy in Juneau so only did the whale watching which was poor because of the weather.

 

Skagway was sunny and warm and we did alot of hiking and walking around the town before the train ride and still had time after the train ride to tour the town some more.

 

Ketichan was rainy again and we walked up the creek to the Eagle preserve and beat the tour buses so we ended up having a private tour!

 

We had a balcony which was perfect for the Glacier Bay, highlight of the trip!

 

Check out your roll call for people wanting to share excursions to help on the cost!

 

Have a great time

[dustyroad]

it depends on what you want too do. the independent tour co's are very reliable and will save you money on tours. i see you dont have a countdown clock. get one here on cc and it will help the days going by more exciting. do a search for pearl reveiws and you will learn everything about the ship and also alaska cruises on her. but first come to the alaska thread and pretty much all your questions will be answered.

[rjm11]

If you are asking about tours specifically in glacier bay, there aren't any- it's a "cruising" experience- you don't dock there. But they do have a NPS ranger who comes on board and over the loudspeaker describes what you're seeing and points out wildlife. On ours (the last week of August) we saw grizzly bears, whales, mountain goats, and even wolves in Glacier Bay Park. You need a good pair of binoculars though (especially for the mountain goats and wolves- they were tough to see).

 

As far as excursions everywhere else- there are tons of great things to do. Juneau is the place for whale watching- basically 100% sightings with any of the outfitters there- we used Harv and Marv (google it). In Skagway we rented a car and drove into the Canadian Yukon for gorgeous scenery and a relatively cheap day. In Ketchikan we did the Rainforest Sanctuary through NCL, but it was only OK.

 

Have a great time the Pearl is a wonderful ship and that's a great itinerary.

[Freeway1]

We did this cruise last year and found it to be a great experience, the Pearl is a great ship. We rented a green jeep in Skagway and drove into the Canadian Yukon found this to be a worth while trip. Glacier Bay is a wonderful place to visit. You will enjoy

[Elkpad]

Our family has done Alaska 3 times - it's gorgeous! I know we will go again. The Pearl is a great ship, and our service was fabulous. As far as excursions/tours, of course they are subjective. Your family may like things that mine doesn't, but I can share some of the memorable ones we have been on.

 

Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier - We have done this one twice. It's stunning views and very informational. It was also very amazing to see just how much the glacier has receded from one visit to the next. However, it's still a very nice tour, and pretty much any of the mendenhall tours would be worth it in my opinion.

 

We also enjoyed a visit to the Red Dog Saloon, very "gold rush western" type of bar and pretty popular. There is a section you can sit with kids and of course, another section for adults only.

 

Skagway - We usually just get off and explore town ourselves nowadays, but we have done the train and the gold-panning/city tour. The kids loved the gold panning as there was a dog and they got to participate in actually getting some gold flakes, and they loved the cemetery tour and hearing about the "town characters" that were buried there.

 

Ketchican - Rainforest tour - the kids didn't enjoy this so much, but as adults we did due to the scenery. About the only part the kids liked was the totem carving demo and the reindeer which they could feed. That was the highlight.

Gold Creek Salmon Bake - We did this on one of the other trips and it was very popular with my kids. they had a very good buffet lunch/dinner. Good music too. The kids actually enjoyed this more than the rainforest tour we had done previously.

 

Have a great trip and enjoy the scenery!

[flcruiser1969]

Loved my trip to Alaska. Was on the Star though. My favorite was the glacier helicopter ride. Great ride and then your group walks around on the glacier. Figured it was something I may never get to do again. A tad pricy but was very well worth it. My DM agreed.

[bonvoyagie]

We were on the Pearl June 2012 and had a blast - it was our third AK cruise so we did some different tours than a first timer might. As for independent vs ship - there are some tours that are simply not available any other way. When there is a choice sometimes the independent is cheaper - but most all of them offer a more personalized experience due to smaller sized tours.

 

AK has something for everyone - from white water rafting to zip lines and everything inbetween. Here is a website that tells a bit about each port, tells you about the ship tours, as well as independents and what you can do on your own. www.cruiseportinsider.com

 

You might also visit the ports of call Alaska board here at CC - here you will be able to ask AK specific questions without regard to cruise line.

[musicorn]

We did this cruise in 2011 and loved it so much we are going back again this September, on the Pearl again.

 

We booked our own tours except for in Victoria where we booked the hop on hop off bus through the ship.

 

In Juneau we did the Menenhall Glacier and the Gold Creek Salmon Bake (recommend both).

 

Skagway we did Dawson Dolly's Wildlife Tour (not much wild life but a great and fun time) We are doing this one again this year too.

 

Ketchikan we did the Duck Tour.

 

Glacier Bay we ordered some nice hot chocolate with additives and sat back and watch nature at it's very best.

 

You will love this cruise no matter what you do.

[bonvoyagie]

Ahhh yes the adult cocoa beverages - we chose the Alaskan Snowplow :)

 

I will also list the tours we did - Juneau - Tracy Arm Explorer (we saw Mendenhall Glacier and did whale watching on our previous two trips)

 

Skagway - I did the Bennett Scenic Journey through Chilkoot - great for both history and train buffs (I am both). DW and MIL melted the credit cards and did the PM summit RT train trip.

 

Ketchikan - we simply walked around and did some shopping.

 

Victoria - all three of us had visited this town too many times so we spent our last evening onboard a quiet ship.

 

IMHO you do not need a Jeep to get around anywhere in the towns on this cruise. The road to Carcross and beyond is a nice two lane paved road with lots of turnouts and scenic overlooks. If you believe in taking your time getting to a place and then hurrying back home you could probably get all the way to Whitehorse. Just remember to be sure that you are back onboard the 1/2 hr prior to sailing - our captain was underway as soon as all were back onboard - and most ports we were gone well before the scheduled time. ie if everybody was onboard he was gone :D.

[azappraiser]

I'm sailing on the Pearl in June to Alaska. This one goes to Glacier Bay.. Has anyone done this cruise? Wondering what tours the ship offers are worth doing. Thank you for any info.

 

 

Loved the Pearl. :D

 

Glacier Bay was incredible... we stayed on our balcony and tuned the TV to the ship's channel to listen to the ranger narration. We were in a port side, mid-ship balcony on deck 10. The warm up drinks were the best... see attached menu. ;)

 

In Juneau, we rented a car from rent-a-wreck, which we drove out to Mendenhall Glacier, then stopped at the Alaskan Brewing Company and the Alaskan Knife Works on the way back to town.

 

In Skagway, we booked the Golden Glass Blowing Experience... a bit pricey, but very cool.

 

In Ketchikan, we boarded the Aleutian Ballad Crab Boat. One of the Captains (Derrick Ray) from the Deadliest Catch was on board as well.

 

We missed Victoria BC, but since ours was the last sailing of the season, NCL was able to comply with the foreign port requirement due to disembarkation in Vancouver BC.

Glacier Bay Drink Specials.pdf

[snorkelgirlca]

I'm sailing on the Pearl in June to Alaska. This one goes to Glacier Bay.. Has anyone done this cruise? Wondering what tours the ship offers are worth doing. Thank you for any info.

 

In 1999 I took my Mother for her 80th birthday on another ship to Alaska. 14 years later (yes she is now 94) she still talks about taking the helicopter to mendenhal glacier in Juneau. It is pricy but a once in a lifetime experience. If you have that option go for it.

 

I will be on the Pearl in may and heard many nice things about the ship. Will file a review when I get back

[sdmike]

In Juneau it's MUCH cheaper and easier to rent a car at the dock (National and Alamo have a shack there) and drive around town. You would reserve a car in advance so they have one for you. Mendenhall is a short drive, and depending on how much time you spend there you can stop by the fish hatchery or even go up to Eagle Beach. For less than $100 total versus $150 per person it's a no brainer to me. We put 7 of us in the van, so we saved about $1,000 doing it this way

 

In Skagway took a river float (yawn), and in Ketchikan we chartered a salmon fishing boat. You can see it all in my Jewel Alaska review in my signature

[spacepotatoes]

We didn't do this cruise on the Pearl but did go to the same ports. Here's what we did:

 

Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier and Mt. Roberts tram.

 

Skagway - we did the Yukon Bus & Rail tour through Chilkoot Charters. It was fantastic! We drove up the Klondike Highway to Carcross, Yukon Territory. We stopped at a lot of scenic places along the way. Lunch was included in Carcross, then we were driven to Fraser, British Columbia to catch the White Pass train back to Skagway. It was a great day.

 

Ketchikan - we used this as a shopping day. It rained the entire time but we had umbrellas so we ventured out anyway. We picked up a walking tour map from the Visitor's Centre (at the dock) and followed that route.

 

There are pics and more details in the Zuiderdam review linked below. Alaska is beautiful, have a great time!

[Linda the Book Lover]

You didn't say when in May but if you are going on the 26th join our thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1605243

 

The DH and I booked independent because we wanted to do things on our time schedule. We have a great few days planned but for us the best is going on NCL and being able to relax.