First Time to Alaska - Excursion Recommendations

[rikkikika]

I'm looking for excursion recommendations for first timers to Alaska. We are on Millennium out of Vancouver on June 6, 2014. We have stops in Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Juneau and Skagway. We are not looking for super rigorous activities, but more on the moderate side, but open to a bit of adventure as it is our honeymoon and a once in a lifetime trip for us. We've bought the tour books and have hit up the Alaska tourism site for info, but we'd really like to hear from people who done activities in these port stops. So please kindly suggest away!

[Kenito]

Alaska is a very port friendly place... if you want to spend the bucks there are some really nice excursions; or if you just want to walk around the ports, you can do that too and have a good time.

 

If you have no other opportunity to see the whales up close and personal, I recommend a small-boat excursion. The smaller the better. In Baja we can reach out and touch them... really exceptional.

 

The Park in Sitka is a nice walking tour.

 

[Budget Queen]

There are hundreds of tours, people rave about what they take. Few aren't worthwhile.

 

I suggest you first, look over shore excursion lists and make lists and narrow down your interests. There is no point in me raving about something, if it's of no interest to you. This is a place I never skimp. My travels involve a lot of tours, I take what ever I want and don't care about price.

 

This can be a very different style for some people who prefer other types of touring.

 

Posting more information will offer you more detailed responses. There are a small selection of very popular tours that many people take. You may want to also look beyond those.

[Tee706]

One of our favorite all-time shore excursions was in Ketchikan. It was the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's tour, which initially was of interest to us because we enjoy the Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch. What was not advertized on this excursion is that you will see American Bald Eagles like you have NEVER seen them before! Simply amazing!!

[trixietx]

We very much enjoyed the Deadliest Catch excursion in Ketchikan, whale watching and halibut fishing in ISP, in Juneau we took the helicopter that landed on the glacier and I think Juneau has some great shopping. In Skagway we have taken the White Pass Railroad and don't miss the Red Dog Saloon and Red Onion Saloon in Juneau and Skagway. Last year while we were in Skagway we booked a tour with Rainbow Glaciers Adventures in Haines, they have many different tours to choose from. We are doing a tour with them this year also and it is a nice ferry ride from Skagway to Haines!

[hefty64]

Just returned from cruise on the Zuiderdam. In Ketchican, we took a tour with Island Wings to view bears at Anan Creek. It was a super trip. We saw both black and brown bears. Would definitely recommend this trip. Mrs. Hefty

[rikkikika]

Thank you all for the initial responses! In regards to providing more detail arround what we'd like to do/see, I'd say we're interested seeing/doing the following: wildlife: bears, salmon run, bald eagles, king crab fishing and flight seeing/glaciers, dog sledding, gold panning. We are also big foodies, so recommendations for lunch/dinner spots in our ports would be most helpful!

[crazycruiserdc]

You might be a bit early for good bear viewing. We did a fabulous trip in Ketchikan through Island Wings to Anan Creek and saw tons of bears and eagles. Unbelievable! You have to plan this about 6 months out to get a spot. Also, dog sledding tends to get rained out in some of the ports. To avoid this we did dog sledding while in Anchorage. We drove 30 min. to Girdwood (which is between Anchorage and Seward off the Seward Hwy.). It is almost always guaranteed to run. We used Alpine Air. We just got back from sailing the Millennium on a southbound cruise in July. Loved Alaska! Avoid the select dining plan.

[rikkikika]

You might be a bit early for good bear viewing. We did a fabulous trip in Ketchikan through Island Wings to Anan Creek and saw tons of bears and eagles. Unbelievable! You have to plan this about 6 months out to get a spot. Also, dog sledding tends to get rained out in some of the ports. To avoid this we did dog sledding while in Anchorage. We drove 30 min. to Girdwood (which is between Anchorage and Seward off the Seward Hwy.). It is almost always guaranteed to run. We used Alpine Air. We just got back from sailing the Millennium on a southbound cruise in July. Loved Alaska! Avoid the select dining plan.

 

We're about 10 months out from our wedding and honeymoon, so thank you for the reservation tip around Island Wings. Could you let us know what you didn't like about the select dining plan?

[Budget Queen]

Thank you all for the initial responses! In regards to providing more detail arround what we'd like to do/see, I'd say we're interested seeing/doing the following: wildlife: bears, salmon run, bald eagles, king crab fishing and flight seeing/glaciers, dog sledding, gold panning. We are also big foodies, so recommendations for lunch/dinner spots in our ports would be most helpful!

 

 

For the Ketchikan fly in bear tours, you need July and later. There isn't any "real" king crab fishing. salmon, is better in August/Sept. bald eagles are seen entire season. Glacier helicopter landings, flightseeing are all good. :) Gold panning is most all, seeded.

 

Wildlife jackpots are Denali Park, needing at least 2 nights at, and ideal to get to at least Eielson, Kenai fjords boat tour- and boat tours out of Sitka, all are varied wildlife. Whale watching is ideal out of Juneau and Hoonah. Dog sledding is raved about with the helicopter and on snow. There are several areas to do drive up touring, Carcross, Denali Park, Seward, Juneau, Skagway.

[Host Jazzbeau]

You're too early for bear viewing in Ketchikan, but if you don't break the budget on other excursions I would highly recommend Island Wings' Misty Fjords Flightseeing there.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Could you let us know what you didn't like about the select dining plan?

 

I don't know what crazycruiserdc meant. We have sailed on Celebrity Summit (in the Caribbean) and the select dining worked fine. We recently sailed on Coral Princess in Alaska and their version of select dining also worked fine. We have never done fixed dining, and never had a problem on any of the ships (see signature below).

[jarand]

We just returned from two 7-night cruises, first on the Princess Diamond, followed by the Holland Zaandam. So we did all of those ports twice.

 

Skagway: 1. Rented a car and drove to Emerald Lake. Nice, but not incredible since we live in Colorado. (People who took the train said it was pretty but kinda long.) 2. Took the ferry to Haines, rented a car, drove around Haines and Chilkoot area, and went to Kroschel Film and Wildlife Preserve. *I'd highly recommend Kroschel's in Haines. Google it. If this is offered by your ship, and you've not done a lot of independent port excursions, you might take the ship's tour.

 

Juneau: 1. Went fishing with Wolverine Charters. Fun, nice captain, Jim Lewis. 2. Rented a car and went to Mendenhall Glacier and walked to Nugget Falls (very pretty), Glacier Gardens, Brewery, Salmon Hatchery, and Walmart for cheaper Alaska souvenirs. I'd do either of those days again. The standard tour is whale watching with Orca Enterprises or Harv & Marv, and people generally are happy with it.

 

Ketchikan: 1. Morning Lumberjack show (cheesey but really fun--buy tickets through ship excursion at same price and avoid line). Afternoon Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's tour. VERY good, one of our most memorable excursions ever. You can book independently if you do it in advance or book with the ship for about $30 more. Exactly the same. 2. Misty Fjord flight seeing, booked ourselves with Island Wings. Also very good.

 

There's touristy shopping in all ports. Ketchikan is probably best shopping, but they're all pretty much the same.

 

Food: We generally don't go all out for lunches because we eat on the ship for breakfast and dinner.

 

Juneau: Tracy's Crab Shack is a little hut right off the pier that is well known for great chowder and king crab. There is also a Gold Creek salmon bake that is very popular for about $40 each, and a shuttle bus will take you there. Sometimes it's combined with ship excursions to Mendenhall. (You can combine a "gold panning" experience with the salmon bake, but everyone I talked to said the gold panning part was terrible.)

 

Ketchikan: The Alaska Fish House or Crab Cracker are recommended by locals. Both are right by the Lumberjack show.

 

Skagway: The Red Onion bar and former brothel is a fun touristy attraction. Burgers and beer type place. You can take $10 trips upstairs--no worries--they just talk to you. :) We didn't do it but heard it was fun.

 

Haines: IF you should happen to rent a car, on the highway near Kroschel's is a little restaurant called 33 Mile. Quaint log cabin, excellent food and home made pies.

 

Do you have plans for before and after?

[MaddieEms]

I'd recommend a helicopter glacier sightseeing tour with a short trek with Coastal. They were great and the prices were very reasonable.

 

 

[Marylandteachergirl]

I'd recommend a helicopter glacier sightseeing tour with a short trek with Coastal. They were great and the prices were very reasonable.

 

 

Which port is this Coastal helicopter tour? The pictures are fabulous!

 

Thanks!

[Budget Queen]

Which port is this Coastal helicopter tour? The pictures are fabulous!

 

Thanks!

 

Juneau

[olemissreb]

We did the Southbound Millie this past June and we had Select Dining. As a previous poster said, avoid it! The service was horrible - most nights waiting 10 minutes or more just to receive our menus! We were lucky to get wine and/or bar service before our appetizers or salads were served. We had My Time Dining on our Adventure of the Seas cruise 3 years ago and it was wonderful - very attentive wait staff - so we thought Select Dining would be the same. We were so wrong. Next time we sail Celebrity, we'll do traditional dining.

 

Now as for the excursions, we went independent in all ports.

 

Juneau - we planned to take the Blue Bus to the Mendenhall Glacier, but changed our minds and walked around town a little and then took the tram to the top of Mt. Roberts. (BOGO coupon in the Toursaver book saves you $31, but don't go unless it's sunny)

 

Skagway - White Pass & Yukon Railroad with Chilkoot Charters. Even though it was cloudy most of the day and rainy for part of it, it was a wonderful excursion! We took the train up and the bus back. Not sure if she'll be there next year, but Stanley, our tour guide, was fabulous!

 

Icy Strait Point - whale watching tour with Glacier Winds Charters. Sean & Teresa were the most hospitable and Sean took us further out than the cruise excursions. We ended up being the only boat out watching a baby humpback breeching and doing tail & fin slaps. It was AWESOME!

 

Ketchikan - we walked around in the morning for a little bit and walked down Creek Street. In the afternoon we took a flight seeing tour of the Misty Fjords National Monument with Michelle from Island Wings. OMG! Soooooooooooooooooo beautiful and Michelle had this wonderful "soundtrack" playing that just fit the beauty we were seeing perfectly.

 

When you get to Seward, take a Kenai Fjords National Park tour with either Kenai Fjords or Major Marine. We went with Major Marine and had a wonderful 6 hours out on their boat. The dinner that we paid extra for was also wonderful. If you have enough time, also go to the Alaska SeaLife Center and take an animal encounter. We did the Marine Mammal Encounter and it was very informative and fascinating (and we got a kiss from a Stellar Sea Lion!).

[crazycruiserdc]

I don't know what crazycruiserdc meant. We have sailed on Celebrity Summit (in the Caribbean) and the select dining worked fine. We recently sailed on Coral Princess in Alaska and their version of select dining also worked fine. We have never done fixed dining, and never had a problem on any of the ships (see signature below).

 

I was referring to the select dining specifically on the Millennium since that is the ship they will be sailing on. We experienced terrible service every night. We continually saw people with reservations that mysteriously got lost in the system. If you didn't have reservations they had a hard time seating people. There was always a line to get in with reservations and they were very disorganized. The hostess seemed frazzled the entire cruise. Once at the table, we often waited 15 min. or more to get a menu or any service. Once food was served you never saw the waiter again to make any changes if food was cooked incorrectly. The wine and bar staff did not come around until well into the main course to take drink orders so we never ordered any. Every meal took at least 2 hours. One night we just left after the main course to go see a show. We had been there over 1 1/2 hours. The only decent service we got was our evening at Olympic. If you check reviews on this ship you will see that others have similar complaints. It is as if this is the first time they have every done select dining. I have sailed on many ships and would never do this again on Celebrity. I have done a version of select dining successfully on RCL. But I do prefer the attention to detail you get at the set meal times. I hope things improve by the time you sail because it is nice to pick your own time. The food was outstanding but the bad service would probably keep us from sailing Celebrity again. This is what they are suppose to be known for.

[olemissreb]

I was referring to the select dining specifically on the Millennium since that is the ship they will be sailing on. We experienced terrible service every night. We continually saw people with reservations that mysteriously got lost in the system. If you didn't have reservations they had a hard time seating people. There was always a line to get in with reservations and they were very disorganized. The hostess seemed frazzled the entire cruise. Once at the table, we often waited 15 min. or more to get a menu or any service. Once food was served you never saw the waiter again to make any changes if food was cooked incorrectly. The wine and bar staff did not come around until well into the main course to take drink orders so we never ordered any. Every meal took at least 2 hours. One night we just left after the main course to go see a show. We had been there over 1 1/2 hours. The only decent service we got was our evening at Olympic. If you check reviews on this ship you will see that others have similar complaints. It is as if this is the first time they have every done select dining. I have sailed on many ships and would never do this again on Celebrity. I have done a version of select dining successfully on RCL. But I do prefer the attention to detail you get at the set meal times. I hope things improve by the time you sail because it is nice to pick your own time. The food was outstanding but the bad service would probably keep us from sailing Celebrity again. This is what they are suppose to be known for.

 

I am so glad to know it wasn't just our cruise that this type of service was prevalent on. It won't keep me from sailing Celebrity again, but I will do traditional dining though. Select dining was the only area where the service was bad though for us. The rest of the crew and service in Qsine were wonderful!

[Maeltne]

Going myself shortly. Using Alaskan Toursaver to save some money. See: http://www.toursaver.com/deal/dealview/action/list/

 

We overlap in Ketchiken and Juneau and here is my short list of things to choose from in those areas:

 

Ketchiken

http://www.toursaver.com/alaska-rainforest-sanctuary-wildlife-eagles-totems/

http://www.toursaver.com/alaska-canopy-adventures-zipline-ketchikan/

http://www.toursaver.com/ketchikan-kayak-adventure-alaska/

http://www.toursaver.com/taquan-air-misty-fjords/ *** top of my list

 

Juneau

http://www.toursaver.com/alaska-canopy-adventures-zipline-juneau/

http://www.toursaver.com/alaska-bear-excursions/

http://www.toursaver.com/alaska-bear-excursions-bear-watching/

http://www.toursaver.com/mount-roberts-tramway/

http://www.toursaver.com/alaska-whale-watching/ *** top of my list

[quack2]

How about one for each stop

 

1. Mendenhall Glacier Float Trip (Juneau)

2. Icy Strait Zipline

3. Boat trip to Misty Fjords (Ketchikan)

4. Glacier Point Wilderness Safari (Skagway) or rent car and drive to Emerald Lake.

5. If you have time in Seward, I would take a boat trip on Resurrection Bay. Had a glorious day there last August.

[Budget Queen]

How about one for each stop

 

\

5. If you have time in Seward, I would take a boat trip on Resurrection Bay. Had a glorious day there last August.

 

I never recommend any Resurrection Bay boat tours, they just do not go far enough. You need at least 6 hours on the water, which are the Kenai Fjords park boat tours. These offer far more varied wildlife and a close up glacier view, all you get on the bay tour is a distance view of Bear Glacier.

[quack2]

I never recommend any Resurrection Bay boat tours, they just do not go far enough. You need at least 6 hours on the water, which are the Kenai Fjords park boat tours. These offer far more varied wildlife and a close up glacier view, all you get on the bay tour is a distance view of Bear Glacier.

 

 

You're absolutely right. Thanks for clarifying that you need the longer Kenai Fjords tour for the really great views. I can't believe what I nice day I had there last year. Unfortunately, the cruise that started that night saw far more rain than sun. That's Alaska. Beautiful in the rain or sun.

[rikkikika]

Thank you all for the great recommendations, how many activities were you all able to do in one day in port? or more so how many should you attempt?

[Budget Queen]

Thank you all for the great recommendations, how many activities were you all able to do in one day in port? or more so how many should you attempt?

 

This isn't that simple, it depends on the tours selected, and how each of those fit into your port time. Tours are of all lengths, locations, costs/time. You need to narrow down your tour list first- THEN figure out how many/what you can include.