What to do in Juneau with a 6:30AM port arrival

[lakes123]

We are on Coral Princess at the end of June 2018. Our stop in Juneau is from 6:30AM - 4PM. Things we are considering doing are whale watching, tram, Mendenhall Glacier. Is it possible to do any of these that early in the morning? If port arrival is 6:30, when should we plan on actually being able to get off the ship? (this question also applies to our other ports)

[Robinhill]

We are on Coral Princess at the end of June 2018. Our stop in Juneau is from 6:30AM - 4PM. Things we are considering doing are whale watching, tram, Mendenhall Glacier. Is it possible to do any of these that early in the morning? If port arrival is 6:30, when should we plan on actually being able to get off the ship? (this question also applies to our other ports)

 

 

definitely whale watching, possibly helicopter to dogsledding on a glacier if it is in the budget. :) Have a great time!

[zqvol]

In Alaska they usually start letting people off the ship no more than 5 minutes after arrival.

 

I would put the tram last on my list of things to do.

[new_cruiser]

I'm not sure how common it is but on our cruise (early August), it was often foggy in the early morning. It had usually lifted by around 8 AM. You might consider that in scheduling excursions.

 

For intermediate ports on our cruise, we were usually cleared and able to debark at the port time on our itinerary. We tendered at Ketchican and there was a slight delay past that because people were being loaded onto a boat for a Misty Fjords tour first, then we were able to board the tenders. At the last port, one had to sign up for departure times and got baggage tags to match it so they could stage offloading the baggage - not sure when the first people were able to depart.

 

The tram doesn't need a reservation or anything. We decided to wait and see what the visibility was to decide when and whether to take it. Most of the docking spots were quite near the tram (AJ dock is farther). We were cleared by 11:00 and had an excursion leaving the ship at 12:30. The visibility was good so we took the 2 minute walk to the tram, bought tickets and boarded. We were able to have a look around, visit the eagle, some of us watched the movie. Then we took the tram back down and were back at the ship in time for a quick snack before our excursion.

[montereybob]

No need to leave ship so early. Have a nice breakfast on board first. Then get off and take a shuttle to the glacier and hike the trail to the waterfall (at the glacier). Its a great experience, if the weather is good. Excellent lunches at the crab shack restaurant near the dock but get there at 11:30 to beat the long line. If you have time left, the gondola is fun with nice hiking trails at the top.

[xlxo]

Thoughts...

• look for a whale watch Mendenhall combo. This is your best use of time as both are west of the cruise docks.
  
• most tours end a couple of hours before you ship departure..... this is perfect for a visit to the tram a short walk away.
  
• The Coral used the nearby Franklin dock... I going to assume it's the same dock at this time for 2018. This can be confirmed in the Spring.
  

[Budget Queen]

Thoughts...

• look for a whale watch Mendenhall combo. This is your best use of time as both are west of the cruise docks.
  
• most tours end a couple of hours before you ship departure..... this is perfect for a visit to the tram a short walk away.
  
• The Coral used the nearby Franklin dock... I going to assume it's the same dock at this time for 2018. This can be confirmed in the Spring.
  

 

I don't find a combo tour a good idea for may cases, Simply too short. Superior is just a drop off or pick up. But I would give is NO priority over the whale watch timing. Simply just take a cab between Auke Bay and Mendenhall. Best use of time, if a drop off isn't available.