Juneau in May 20--on our own?

[nedfree1]

Will be sailing on the Celebrity Infinity and there will be approximately 9100 fellow cruisers in port on that day. The population of Juneau in a 2013 estimate is 33,000 citizens. The 4 ships will increase the number of folks there that day by 28% or a rather healthy hunk of humanity.

Questions: Should we rent a car and take off to Mendenhall Glacier or go with a tour or take public transportation from the dock? What other sites should we set out for, using the above categories of transport? What are the "can't miss" areas?

 

Thanks!:rolleyes:

[Glaciers]

If you’re not doing an organized tour like a whale watch where transportation is provided a rental car in Juneau is a good option. One of the cheaper places to rent a car too. You’ll be the second ship in with the 3rd not arriving until 10 and the 4th at 12:30pm. That bodes well for getting a jump on most everyone else.

 

You could head to Mendenhall first thing to beat the crowd and then drive out to the Shrine of St Therese and then a bit further to Eagle Beach. There have been whale sightings at both places. The hatchery was dumping fish near the Shrine last year and it’s very deep there. Although we didn’t see any from shore the caretaker said the whales seemed to be getting savvy to where the fish are dumped and he was seeing more near shore. Certainly a low sighting chance but possible.

[Coral]

I have been in Juneau several times with 4 ships and Juneau seems to handle it fine. It can be crowded but everyone is friendly and it works.

[xlxo]

What other sites should we set out for, using the above categories of transport? What are the "can't miss" areas?

 

I went with the "Best of Juneau" tour to get the highlights. After the glacier, my second favourite stop was the gardens. http://www.glaciergardens.com/

 

What do others think about the flower towers? I enjoyed the gardens more than the hatchery.

Edited January 8, 2015 by xlxo

[Coral]

I went with the "Best of Juneau" tour to get the highlights. After the glacier, my second favourite stop was the gardens. http://www.glaciergardens.com/

 

What do others think about the flower towers? I enjoyed the gardens more than the hatchery.

 

May 20th is pretty early to visit the gardens.

[kittercat85]

We rented a car in Juneau and my husband and I agree it was one of our best decisions on the cruise. We were the first ship in port that morning, got to the rental place right as it opened and drove right to Mendenhall Glacier. We looked around the visitors center, watched the short film, hiked out to Nugget Falls and back, then to another overlook.. and THEN finally, it was starting to get busy with lots of tour buses and things coming in. We had such a peaceful morning without the crowds.

[lovetotraveltx]

We rented a car in Juneau and my husband and I agree it was one of our best decisions on the cruise. We were the first ship in port that morning, got to the rental place right as it opened and drove right to Mendenhall Glacier. We looked around the visitors center, watched the short film, hiked out to Nugget Falls and back, then to another overlook.. and THEN finally, it was starting to get busy with lots of tour buses and things coming in. We had such a peaceful morning without the crowds.

 

We have a car rented this June. So, it was clear early morning at Mendenhall? What did you do the rest of the day with your car? How long did you keep it? Was it Avis? If so, easy to get to?

 

Thank you!

[ikirumata]

You are in a rare situation where your cruise ship will be in port long enough to take an Adventurebound excursion to Tracy Arm. IMHO, it is a must do!

 

http://www.adventureboundalaska.com/

 

Its about a 10 hour excursion through the Tracy Arm Fjord all the way up to both sides of the Sawyer glacier. Beautiful scenery, wildlife, and glaciers! It was the highlight of our Alaska cruise, by a mile! (I have pics in my signature)

 

Have fun!

[kittercat85]

We have a car rented this June. So, it was clear early morning at Mendenhall? What did you do the rest of the day with your car? How long did you keep it? Was it Avis? If so, easy to get to?

 

Thank you!

 

Everything was fine at Mendenhall early morning. We also did have fantastic weather our entire trip without a drop of rain the whole time... really rare!!

 

We just mostly drove around and explored afterwards. We ended up going to Walmart cause my husband had tripped on the stairs and wanted an ace bandage for his ankle... not funny, but kind of laughing about it. Picked up some snacks while we were there too and bought food for a picnic.

 

We went to the Alaskan Brewing Company tasting room and my husband sampled the beers. (We got there before another huge group too.. we felt like we were on fire that day!)

 

We're both into geocaching and did some geocaching around Juneau and went for a nice hike near Auke Bay at the Auke Recreation Area. It was just nice to get away from the crowds and really enjoy Alaska.

 

We rented from Avis from the branch at the Goldbelt Hotel. We were really lucky that we docked at the closest berth closest to downtown and the hotel.. like a 5 minute walk. We reserved the car from 8-5. We brought it back a little earlier than that just to be on the safe side.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions :)