September Cruise advice please

[Bindery]

My wife and I have booked a Seattle roundtrip on the Carnival Miracle leaving September 2nd.

Cruise sails the Tracy Arm Fjord then has stops is Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria BC.

Here is what I would like to do so far:

Skagway-Rent a car from Avis and drive up to Emerald Lake. Ship arrives at 7am-have car reserved at 8am. After returning tour the city.

 

Juneau-Ship arrives 7am. Take a shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier-walk around. Take shuttle or cab back to Juneau Adventure Tours for a 11:45am Taku Lodge Feast & 5 Glacier Flightseeing Tour. Ship leaves at 4pm

 

Ketchikan-Ship arrives 8am. Bering Sea Crab Fisherman tour 8:30am tour. Afternoon open-ship leaves at 6pm

 

I have nothing for Victoria BC other that just walk around the town.

Ship arrives 8am and leaves 5pm

 

My main question is should I book the tours now. I usually book tours direct and not use Carnival for booking.

Also I would appreciate any suggestions to my plans, especially for Victoria.

While in Seattle we do plan to rent a car and drive to Mount Rainier.

[HeatherC430]

While I can't comment on any of the specific Alaska tours you mention, we used the tour company Customized Tours for a Mt. Rainier day trip during our pre-cruise stay in Seattle. I was able to get discounted tickets via Seattle's GoldStar website for only $50 per person. We loved the day trip to Mt. Rainier & would recommend it to others staying in Seattle. There's a link to my photo review in my signature if you're interested - photos start on page 3 - we cruised on the Miracle too last September. Enjoy your cruise!

[sherryf]

My wife and I have booked a Seattle roundtrip on the Carnival Miracle leaving September 2nd.

Cruise sails the Tracy Arm Fjord then has stops is Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria BC.

Here is what I would like to do so far:

Skagway-Rent a car from Avis and drive up to Emerald Lake. Ship arrives at 7am-have car reserved at 8am. After returning tour the city.

 

Juneau-Ship arrives 7am. Take a shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier-walk around. Take shuttle or cab back to Juneau Adventure Tours for a 11:45am Taku Lodge Feast & 5 Glacier Flightseeing Tour. Ship leaves at 4pm

 

Ketchikan-Ship arrives 8am. Bering Sea Crab Fisherman tour 8:30am tour. Afternoon open-ship leaves at 6pm

 

I have nothing for Victoria BC other that just walk around the town.

Ship arrives 8am and leaves 5pm

 

My main question is should I book the tours now. I usually book tours direct and not use Carnival for booking.

Also I would appreciate any suggestions to my plans, especially for Victoria.

While in Seattle we do plan to rent a car and drive to Mount Rainier.

 

A couple of comments...

 

Juneau: I'm pretty sure the shuttles to the glacier don't start running until 9. Allowing half an hour each way and wanting to be sure you are back in time for your 11:45 tour, that gives you 1 - 1.5 hours at the glacier. This is plenty for some people, but others like more time to explore.

 

Victoria: You have a full day here, unlike many cruises that are only there for a few hours in the evening. Take advantage of it! If you are into gardens, Buchart Gardens is lovely. If not, consider the Royal BC Museum: http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/ There are lots of things to do in Victoria with the amount of time you have.

[Northern Aurora]

In Victoria, in addition to Buchart Gardens and the Royal Museum, consider Craigdarrock Castle.

[Bindery]

Since the shuttles to Mendenhall glacier don't start until 9am I think I will rent a car from Juneau Car Rental. They have quoted $57.50 for the day.

This way we can drive to Mendenhall and be sure to get to the floatplane tour on time. If we have any extra time we can drive around Juneau.

[tampafish]

I think a car in Juneau is an excellent way to go. We love to drive around Juneau. If you get time to drive out to the Shrine of St. Terese it's a nice place to check out! Driving over to Douglas Island and then turn right. When you get out near the end of the road you curve to where you can see across the water up to Mendenhall. It's gorgeous!!!

 

In Victoria I think you got great advice to check out Bushart Gardens or the BC museum. There are also tours of the Parliament building which is very close the BC museum. It's easy to grab lunch in the city and just sit and enjoy the harbor. Gorgeous city! If you have time high tea at the Empress Hotel would be nice as well. (Depending if you like that kind of thing).

 

We drove over the pass in Skagway 6 years ago in September with our kids. It was a lovely trip. We did it again this past summer. So fun! Take time to stop along the way at the little pull outs. Murray's Guide is a great idea for history and ideas of where to stop. There are some cute little stores in Carcross now. Keep an eye open as you drive. We saw and lynx and a huge brown (grizzly) bear right next to the road this past summer. Don't miss the Welcome to the Yukon sign going up and then the Welcome to Alaska sign going back. Just don't forget your passports so they let you back in the US. ;)

If you can go all the way up to Emerald Lake it's beautiful. Whitehorse was okay - nothing special in my book. I think it's worth taking your time to explore at different pull outs. The way the landscape changes (and the weather) as you drive is very interesting.

[Bindery]

Thank you all for the advise.

I am going to rent a car in Juneau. They changed the flight time to 10:45, but I think I can still get to Mendenhall Gracier and make the 10:45 time.

Then after we should have time to drive around Juneau and see the town.

Maybe stop at Red Dog Saloon.

 

Got a car reserved in Skagway and will do the drive and the stops suggested.

 

Still not sure what to do in Ketchikan after the Crab Fisherman tour.

 

In Victoria thinking we will go to Bushart Gardens and then just stroll the town for the rest of the time.