Your favorite Alaska excursion?

[jamminlion]

White Pass and Yukon Route in Skagway.

Whale Watching in Juneau with Captain Larry and Orca Enterprises.

Totem Poles in Ketchikan.

 

Looking forward to whale watching in Icy Strait, and hiking to Mendenhall, and glassblowing in Skagway on the next trip in June.

[TheCalicoCat]

My husband and I (both 60+) are taking our first Alaska cruise this July – and we are OVERWHELMED by the number of port excursions (both by the ship and private companies).

 

In our past experience, there was something unique at each port – for Alaska each port seems to have the same wide number of similar options. We’re doing the typical stops )Denali National Park/Mt.McKinley [tour in advance of cruise], Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan then end in Vancouver).

 

So, for those of you who have done this trip – what is YOUR favorite tour memory? What is the ONE thing you would want to do again if you went again?

 

Your stories may help me narrow down my choices. Thanks,

 

The Tracy Arm add on excursion! (As I understand some ships tour Tracy Arm so everyone gets to experience it, my trip did not. It was an add on & hands down my favorite part.)

[Colo Cruiser]

My vote too!!! :D Excellent excellent excellent!! :)

 

In the top 2!!

 

 

Excellent excursion!!

 

 

http://www.takulodge.com/flight-and-feast-tour.html

[akdreamin]

I really enjoyed the White Pass train in Skagway. They had to stop the train for a couple of bears on the tracks! Pretty cool to see. Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching in Juneau. I enjoy the small boats that Harv and Marv's has. Walking creek street in Ketchikan and seeing all the old buildings and going to the old brothel was cool!

[donaldsc]

Anan but we did not do it off a cruise ship. We stayed several days in Wrangell and spend a full day at Anan. My second best would be the Fairbanks Ice Carnival which is in March so again you can't do it off a cruise ship.

 

DON

[poss]

I'm appreciating the continued input-- thank you very much.

 

Donald: Our cruise stops in Wrangell and it's one of the ports I'm least interested in (in fact, not at all). We'll be there third week of May, so way too early to see bears. Can you suggest anything else for that port? Btw, is Anan maybe worth a trip even though one probably won't see bears?

[Thoth]

I really enjoyed the White Pass train in Skagway. They had to stop the train for a couple of bears on the tracks! Pretty cool to see. Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching in Juneau. I enjoy the small boats that Harv and Marv's has. Walking creek street in Ketchikan and seeing all the old buildings and going to the old brothel was cool!

 

In May, I'll be going on the White Pass for the third time. Whale watching in Juneau will be my first time, so thanks for the encouragement. :) Supposedly there is a money back guarantee but they have never had to offer a refund. The whales always show up :D

Edited January 9, 2016 by Thoth

[poss]

I can see why people who especially enjoy railways, especially historic ones, would love White Pass. We didn't enjoy it very much when we did that excursion about eight years ago. The weather wasn't good, for one thing, so we didn't see a whole lot out the windows. Actually, we enjoyed the Yukon Suspension bridge at the end of that excursion probably more than the train ride itself. I know that Yukon is nowhere near as awesome as Capilano, but we liked it a lot. I sense that we're in the minority of not rating White Pass up there among the best excursions.

[TheCalicoCat]

I'm appreciating the continued input-- thank you very much.

 

Donald: Our cruise stops in Wrangell and it's one of the ports I'm least interested in (in fact, not at all). We'll be there third week of May, so way too early to see bears. Can you suggest anything else for that port? Btw, is Anan maybe worth a trip even though one probably won't see bears?

 

Chill day on the ship? (I'm probably going to pull one or two of those on my trip. Maybe a quick off/on)

[poss]

Well, Prince Rupert doesn't have any interest for us either (yet). I love our ship, but love to do excursions as well.

[NancyIL]

We took an airplane tour over Misty Fjords with Island Wings. We lucked out with fabulous weather that day and it was a wonderful experience. We also enjoyed whale watching and the Mendenhall Glacier. We did that with Princess on our first Alaska cruise in 2008 but will do it through a private company on our upcoming second Alaska cruise in May. We took the scenic railroad in Skagway, pea soup fog rolled in 10 minutes into the train ride and we couldn't see two feet out the window the entire trip. Others have had beautiful weather for that excursion, but we won't try it again. We also plan to snorkel in Ketchikan on this next cruise.

 

 

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We had the opposite experience in Ketchikan: the cloud ceiling was too low for us to get all the way into Misty Fjords (also with Island Wings), and we turned back. I haven't wanted to try that excursion on subsequent visits to Ketchikan.

 

We had fairly decent weather for the White Pass & Yukon Route train in Skagway. However, twice I booked the train all the way to Bennett (2007 and 2009), and both times the train tracks were washed out before we got there! Instead, we changed to a rail/bus tour to Carcross (with Chilkoot Charters: https://chilkootcharters.com/).

 

Both of my whale watching tours (in Juneau and Icy Strait Point) were on rainy days with limited visibility.

 

My favorite excursion was in Sitka with Captain Davey on the Esther G: http://www.puffinsandwhales.com/#_=_

 

I hope to do the Taku Lodge Flight & Feast next time I'm in Juneau.

Edited January 10, 2016 by NancyIL

[geoherb]

My favorite excursion was kayaking in Chilkoot Lake in Haines on an independently booked excursion. There was one guide for the two of us. We were able to go farther and see more and received personalized attention from him--compared to the big excursion groups that had 8-10 triple kayaks per guide.

[ChefPeg]

We had the opposite experience in Ketchikan: the cloud ceiling was too low for us to get all the way into Misty Fjords (also with Island Wings), and we turned back. I haven't wanted to try that excursion on subsequent visits to Ketchikan.

 

We had fairly decent weather for the White Pass & Yukon Route train in Skagway. However, twice I booked the train all the way to Bennett (2007 and 2009), and both times the train tracks were washed out before we got there! Instead, we changed to a rail/bus tour to Carcross (with Chilkoot Charters: https://chilkootcharters.com/).

 

Both of my whale watching tours (in Juneau and Icy Strait Point) were on rainy days with limited visibility.

 

My favorite excursion was in Sitka with Captain Davey on the Esther G: http://www.puffinsandwhales.com/#_=_

 

I hope to do the Taku Lodge Flight & Feast next time I'm in Juneau.

 

Good to know....we booked Captain Davey for next month. Was hoping to read a reveiw or something. Thanks!

[NancyIL]

Good to know....we booked Captain Davey for next month. Was hoping to read a reveiw or something. Thanks!

 

Here are the Trip Advisor reviews for Capt. Davey's tour: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60966-d1494146-Reviews-Esther_G_Sea_Tours_and_Taxi-Sitka_Alaska.html

[ChefPeg]

Here are the Trip Advisor reviews for Capt. Davey's tour: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60966-d1494146-Reviews-Esther_G_Sea_Tours_and_Taxi-Sitka_Alaska.html

 

Thank you! Looks like I made a good choice booking with Capt Davey. Can't wait to see the wildlife. Love Alaska!