Questions regarding Alasks shore excursions from 1st time cruiser

[CruiseCriticNoob]

Hello,

 

My spouse & I booked out 1st ever cruise today on the Nieuw Amsterdam for the 11th of June ( I know! Very short notice since we had some changes on our job front and will be making a move soon ).

 

As I tried to book my top 3 excursions for the trip, I found that all are sold out and I can only be waitlisted for now.

 

Port - Tracy Arm

Excursion - Tracy Arm Fjord & GlacierExplorer

 

Port - Juneau

Excursion - Dog sledding the Mendenhall Glacier

 

Port - Skagway

Excursion - White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad

 

 

My questions for the seasoned cruisers are -

 

1) What are the chances of getting a spot if you're on a waitlist?

2) Can I independently find & use providers for the same excursion on the ground directly ?

 

THANK YOU

[mapleleaves]

The train can be booked independently. If you're doing a RT train, just contact the train company for availabilty.

http://wpyr.com/

 

If you're taking the train up and a van or bus back, contact Chilkoot or Dyea Dave.

 

Helidogsledding is usually booked up and is often cancelled due to weather.

There are only 3 or 4 vendors .... call them directly to see what they can do for you. Look at the Juneau visitor information web site for the vendors. (Coastal, Era, Temsco maybe)

 

I don't know about Tracy Arm ..... google tracy arm tours to find the vendor. I think it's Allen Marine or Adventure Bound. Contact them directly about availablilty.

 

Good luck!

 

 

In the meantime, look thru trip reports posted above in STICKYs and you'll find lots of detailed photojournals with info on sights and activities.

Edited May 22, 2016 by mapleleaves

[peety3]

The Tracy Arm excursion is only available through the cruise line, and your odds of getting in are most likely extremely slim. The tour boat holds 150 passengers, so ~7% of the ship can go. If by chance Allen Marine and the cruise line agree to do two boats, 14% of the ship can go. Unfortunately, no other way to do this unless you have a long day in Juneau (which pretty much every Tracy Arm itinerary doesn't have).

 

The railroad in Skagway comes in numerous forms: round-trip by train, train one-way with bus the other, train one-way with bike the other, train one-way with kayaking then bus the other, etc. Many of these combinations are available in differing distances, so if one is sold out, maybe a different one isn't.

 

Depending on the cruise line, there could be four or more sledding tours in Juneau. Some are on snow, others are on dry land using a wheeled "practice sled".

[mapleleaves]

The Tracy Arm excursion is only available through the cruise line, and your odds of getting in are most likely extremely slim.

 

Are you sure about that? Perhaps that's just for the tracy arm tour that departs from the cruise ship?

 

Adventure Bound offers the tour on their web site. Even Allen Marine says if your ship isn't on their list you can book independently.

[xlxo]

Hello,

 

My spouse & I booked out 1st ever cruise today on the Nieuw Amsterdam for the 11th of June ( I know! Very short notice since we had some changes on our job front and will be making a move soon ).

 

As I tried to book my top 3 excursions for the trip, I found that all are sold out and I can only be waitlisted for now.

 

Port - Tracy Arm

Excursion - Tracy Arm Fjord & GlacierExplorer

 

Port - Juneau

Excursion - Dog sledding the Mendenhall Glacier

 

Port - Skagway

Excursion - White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad

 

 

My questions for the seasoned cruisers are -

 

1) What are the chances of getting a spot if you're on a waitlist?

2) Can I independently find & use providers for the same excursion on the ground directly ?

 

THANK YOU

Start by getting on the waitlist for the Tracy Arm excursion. The one departing from the cruise ship will save you hours in not retracing 50 miles of water compared to the Juneau return excursions by private vendors.

 

Unless you have a specific train time... the White Pass should have lots of space. My advice is to get a bus combo (Yukon? Best of?) to do more with your valuable Skagway port time.

[peety3]

Are you sure about that? Perhaps that's just for the tracy arm tour that departs from the cruise ship?

 

Adventure Bound offers the tour on their web site. Even Allen Marine says if your ship isn't on their list you can book independently.

 

In general, yes, I'm reasonably sure. Looking at the itinerary for the Amsterdam, it says Tracy Arm is June 13 10:00-10:30 as a service call, then Juneau is 1:00-10:00. The service call allows passengers to board the small boat tour from the cruise ship, and that tour is typically ~5 hours (3 hours scenery, 2 hours transit to Juneau). The Adventure Bound tour, and the Allen Marine tour booked directly, is a Juneau round-trip that takes 7 hours (2 hour transit each way, 3 hours scenery). I'd bet dollars to donuts that those tours are schedule prohibitive to any of the ships that visit or make a service call to Tracy Arm; they usually depart around 8am as they're geared for the itineraries that skip TA and instead spend the day in Juneau.

 

Yep, just checked Adventure Bound...every departure is 7:45 or 7:30am. For Allen Marine, you'd have to call and inquire (schedule not published online). There's a possibility they could offer an afternoon tour, as the four ships in Juneau that day arrive at 11am, 1pm, 1pm, and 1:30pm.

[CruiseCriticNoob]

Thank you all the responses.. this has been great!!!

 

We'll gotten on the wait list for Tracy Arm...

 

Regarding the dog sledding, I've researched a little and am confused if I should do a whale watching tour in Juneau and then do a white rail pass + dog sledding in Skagway... Is it too risky to book 5.15pm dog sledding tour at Skagway since the last possible slot for the activity..

 

I'm tempted to book the 5pm Dog Sledding at Juneau thru the cruise and head to the port when we dock to find a shorter whale watching tour... This way in case the sledding gets cancelled for the day, I can try to find a slot in Skagway for second half of the day (Any idea if there are enough operators offering these excursions in Skagway?)