Best Alaskan Shore Excursions!

[West Texas Gal]

Hello! I've just this minute joined Cruise Critic. I've enjoyed reading the articles for some time.

 

I am 65. My husband is 70. Our son in 39. We are all going on our first ever cruise to Alaska on the Crown Princess in June of 2016. My eyes are blurry from checking out shore excursions.

 

I'm considering a train in Skagway for my husband and me and a train/hike combination for my son.

 

I'd like to get on the Tracy Arm day trip out of Juneau. They don't know if it will be offered or not, yet.

 

I think we may have been lucky in getting assigned to the 10th deck, the Caribe deck, on the ship. My husband and I are supposed to be in an aft facing cabin and our son is nearby in an inside cabin, just down the hall.

 

If any of you have any ideas on things we really should do for any of the shore excursions, please let me know. The ship won't have any of their offerings out for a few more months so I can't check those out.

 

This is a very helpful site. I'm so glad I found it. Thanks, in advance.

[CruiserBruce]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Some research on the portion of Cruise Critic devoted to Alaska, located here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

would be very beneficial.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Hello! I've just this minute joined Cruise Critic. I've enjoyed reading the articles for some time.

 

I am 65. My husband is 70. Our son in 39. We are all going on our first ever cruise to Alaska on the Crown Princess in June of 2016. My eyes are blurry from checking out shore excursions.

 

I'm considering a train in Skagway for my husband and me and a train/hike combination for my son.

 

I'd like to get on the Tracy Arm day trip out of Juneau. They don't know if it will be offered or not, yet.

 

I think we may have been lucky in getting assigned to the 10th deck, the Caribe deck, on the ship. My husband and I are supposed to be in an aft facing cabin and our son is nearby in an inside cabin, just down the hall.

 

If any of you have any ideas on things we really should do for any of the shore excursions, please let me know. The ship won't have any of their offerings out for a few more months so I can't check those out.

 

This is a very helpful site. I'm so glad I found it. Thanks, in advance.

 

 

IMO:

 

Seeing/hearing glacier calving is the single best thing about Alaska that is hard to find readily available elsewhere. Depending on itinerary, no need for excursion.

 

Floatplane ride with mountain lake landing is a must do. But, make sure the company has (and assigns you to) a Dehavilland - the original but dying breed of classic planes.

 

Whale watching in Alaska can be hit or miss. As a northern Californian, I am biased and recommend that you save things like whales, salmon, gold panning, and "purple mountains majesty" for your future trip here.

 

Helicopters: many Alaska helicopter rides are very short and meant primarily for transport to a glacier where you get to see snow and ice up close and personal :-)

Seriously though, if you want to experience a bird's eye view of true natural beauty, save your helicopter dollars for an hour long ride on Kauai where you'll wonder at the NaPali coast (just like Indiana Jones, King Kong, et al.)

[ronandannette]

RE: the post above^^...good advice maybe, but the OP isn't going to California or Hawaii. She's planning a trip to Alaska. :confused:

 

I've done a lot of research for our upcoming Southbound (leaving on Friday). Everybody's interests are different but I've narrowed it down to what seem to be the "iconic" experiences Alaska cruisers anticipate. The 3 main categories I've come up with are:

• Flight-seeing
  
• Whale Watching
  
• Bear-spotting (which usually involves a flight to the optimum locations)
  

 

Juneau and Icy Strait (Hoonah) seem to be the preferred ports for whales. The bears seem to be more prevalent a little further south and most of the highly recommended excursions are out of Ketchikan. The helicopter/float plane excursions are offered in every port and some of them combine the flight with a stop on top of a glacier or to a dog-sled camp.

 

The renowned White Pass Railway runs into the Yukon out of Skagway. Many cruise passengers will take this excursion. There are also lots of other types of activities like ziplining (available in almost every port), gold-panning and lumber-jack shows, fishing expeditions, native culture shows, etc., and endless opportunities for nature hikes and local boat tours. Any and all of this stuff is fairly unique to Alaska, at least as far as cruise experiences go. Good luck with your planning!

Edited August 8, 2015 by ronandannette

[xlxo]

My eyes are blurry from checking out shore excursions.

 

I'm considering a train in Skagway for my husband and me and a train/hike combination for my son.

 

I'd like to get on the Tracy Arm day trip out of Juneau. They don't know if it will be offered or not, yet.

Here's some top 5 ideas at each port from another cruise line. Once you pull into port.... the tours are very similar....

 

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Hmm.... Tracy Arm all day from Juneau??? If you objective is to see Glaciers.... going to Glacier Bay will satisfy that hunger instead of trying to see Sawyer from Juneau on the Tracy Arm all day trip. I would looking at Juneau activities instead.

 

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Edited August 8, 2015 by xlxo

[Krazy Kruizers]

The boat ride out of Juneau to Tracy Arm is a long day.

You may want to consider Whale Watching for this port. And you will still have time to take the Blue Bus out to Mendenhal Glacier.

We have done the train ride in Skagway 2 or 3 times and loved it.

[SuiteTraveler]

Take a helicopter to land on a glacier.

Flightseeing over the Misty Fjords

Dogsledding

Whale watching

 

The train you have selected is really good.

[West Texas Gal]

Thanks soooo much for your replies. They are very helpful!

[xlxo]

I'm considering a train in Skagway for my husband and me and a train/hike combination for my son.

fyi.... Different White Pass Railway combo's have different distances from Skagway and allows for different experiences/activities. Some excursion distances thoughts from Skagway looking at Google Maps on the Klondike Highway...

• 67 miles to Cariboo crossing
  
• 65 miles to Carcross
  
• 22 miles to Fraser, BC
  
• 14 miles to BC border
  
• where is the hikers pickup? 10 miles? (Glacier station may be 14 miles because of the track curves compared to the direct road approach)
  

I haven't been on a hike combo. But I do remember hiker's being picked up just outside Skagway (Laughton Glacier?) for a shorter ride into town. Will hikers be satisfied with such a brief experience of the railway? Of course their interest may be the hike and not the train ride. Personally I like a ride including Fraser to see the microclimates and the beautiful scenery.

 

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Edited August 8, 2015 by xlxo

[MCC retired]

Juneau - Helicopter to land on the Glacier is still my favorite after several Alaska cruises. $$$ but memorable .

[bosswench]

The train out of Skagway is not to be missed. Of course every excursion in Alaska is amazing!

[Donder1]

Skagway: look into renting a car from Avis. Way more fun than train and follows the same route. Less expensive by far.

 

Kechikan: Dungenous crab feast!

[Keith1010]

You have already received some good advice but I really want to highlight a couple of items.

 

As CruiserBruce noted there is a wealth of information about Alaska on the Alaska Cruise Line Board. On that board you can not only read comments by others but often there are review about tours that people have taken as well as posting questions that you have.

 

When it comes to best please remember that what one person thinks is best could be something that another person dislikes since we all have different likes and dislikes and preferences.

 

I have been to Alaska close to ten different times on cruises and some of what is posted as likes certainly those who posted them consider them great but for me some of them would not work at all and would not be why I visit Alaska. Only you will know the kinds of tours that you prefer.

 

So do visit the Alaska board. I would start off by reading many posts, where you will get a very good sense of what is available in port and then you can ask more specific and pointed questions about specific tours.

 

Keith

[dorisis]

The train out of Skagway is not to be missed. Of course every excursion in Alaska is amazing!

 

The train ride was my favorite.

[panda24]

We've done Alaska three times and one of our favorite excursions was the train in Skagway. My parents are both 70 and I'm 35. Is your cruise going to Sitka? If so, that's where I recommend whale watching.

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

[Putterdude]

IMO the very best excursion in Alaska is the WP&YR if only to the summit. Over the years I have had the pleasure of riding it down from Whitehorse when it was an operating railroad and much earlier from Skagway to Lake Bennett. However, in current times I really enjoy the trip just to the summit and then spend rest of the day wandering around in Skagway.

[Treven]

If, by chance, your itinerary takes you to Haines, and any of you are photographers, I can highly recommend the photographer's excursion. It's lead by a local photog and he takes you to places where he likes to go to take pix.

 

Edited August 21, 2015 by Treven

[donaldsc]

Since we do not know you, there is no way that we can tell you what is the best excursion for you. However, if I was forced to make 3 choices, I would say that #1 is the Anan bear watching trip out of Wrangle (done it 3 times), #2 is the Ice Carving Festival and 5 days in Chena Hot Springs in February to see aurora even though this is not a cruise ship excursion, #3 is the ZooKeeper for a Day visit to the Anchorage Zoo w your granddaughter.

 

DON