Alaska Excursions

[fielddreamer]

We have done many crusies but never Alaska and I need some advice from all of you. In looking at the excursions on the ships and looking at excursions off the ship I see some are only a min. price difference between the two. I almost always book off the ship and never have had a issue but this time I am a little confused on comparing the difference in pricing and some of them look like the same as in the train tours ! Thanks Bob

[easyboy]

Cruise line ship excursion are done by private contractors. IMO, if there are exact similarities, it could probably be the situation of the excursion you are looking at.

 

 

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[Kamloops50]

We have done many crusies but never Alaska and I need some advice from all of you. In looking at the excursions on the ships and looking at excursions off the ship I see some are only a min. price difference between the two. I almost always book off the ship and never have had a issue but this time I am a little confused on comparing the difference in pricing and some of them look like the same as in the train tours ! Thanks Bob

 

Many of the excursions a block booked by cruise lines in Alaska. The train in Skagway has only a couple of runs that are open to the general public.

[satxdiver]

There is only one train in Skagway so the ship excursion and individual bookings will be on the same train. The one thing to remember is that the ship(s) will book up most of the times leaving individuals with what is left. Also the train will usually board the ship pax somewhere near the ship while the general public board at the station after the ship pax have boarded.

 

In Juneau simply take a taxi to the glacier as it is cheaper. If you want to ride the tram, buy your own ticket again cheaper. If you want to go whale watching, there are several really good operators to help you out.

 

In all three AK ports there will be kiosks near the ship selling private tours if you don't arrange one ahead of time.

[paul929207]

We thought the train from Skagway over the mountains to the Yukon was great and worth the Princess price

[fielddreamer]

There is only one train in Skagway so the ship excursion and individual bookings will be on the same train. The one thing to remember is that the ship(s) will book up most of the times leaving individuals with what is left. Also the train will usually board the ship pax somewhere near the ship while the general public board at the station after the ship pax have boarded.

 

In Juneau simply take a taxi to the glacier as it is cheaper. If you want to ride the tram, buy your own ticket again cheaper. If you want to go whale watching, there are several really good operators to help you out.

 

In all three AK ports there will be kiosks near the ship selling private tours if you don't arrange one ahead of time.

 

I saw in posts the booths of tours on the dock so I figured that . In Juneau that must be the Mendenhall Glacier , We are leaning on the train and either the whale watching or glacier ! The pricing makes the so. carib. look like chop liver ! Thanks Bob

[ams cruiser]

I saw in posts the booths of tours on the dock so I figured that . In Juneau that must be the Mendenhall Glacier , We are leaning on the train and either the whale watching or glacier ! The pricing makes the so. carib. look like chop liver ! Thanks Bob

 

We had a wonderful train trip through Chilkoot Charters in Skagway. We did the Yukon Rail and Bus tour, where they pick you up at the dock, drop you off at the train station, and then pick you up in Fraser. On our trip Chilkoot had reserved the last car for us, which was great for the people standing outside taking pictures on the back platform. The train ride was beautiful, but we really enjoyed the bus tour back into the Yukon and then back to Skagway. If you are on the train round-trip, you pretty much see the same sights both ways. Not only was it less expensive than the Princess version, we were on a mini-bus with only 11 people with one of the best tour guides we have ever experienced.

 

If you are interested in other excursions we did - helicopter with dog sledding in Juneau, Misty Fyord flight seeing in Ketchikan, you might want to take a look at the review I did of our Ruby Princess RT out of Seattle trip last summer. (Just scroll down to find the excursions.) All but one of our excursions was booked privately, after getting great advice on these boards. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2533305

[fielddreamer]

Just got done reading your review of your trip. We pick-up a lot of helpful hints and will now do a lot of research. Thanks for taking to time and I know it will help make are trip in Aug better ! Bob & Donna

[ams cruiser]

Just got done reading your review of your trip. We pick-up a lot of helpful hints and will now do a lot of research. Thanks for taking to time and I know it will help make are trip in Aug better ! Bob & Donna

 

I’m glad it was helpful! Alaska is so incredibly beautiful, and there are many wonderful excursions. Be sure to check out the Alaska boards, if you haven’t already done so.

[DRS/NC]

The train/bus trip in Skagway is great -- you get to see the fabulous scenery from 2 sides!

 

An alternative is to rent a car in Skagway (less $$ than 2 excursions) & drive the Yukon Highway to Carcross, stopping as often as you like. DD, SIL & I did this in May 2017; it was fantastic!

 

It was my 4th Alaska cruise & 1st for my "kids". We really loved seeing a bit of Yukon/Alaska. Be sure to take your passport or passport card for this or the bus/train trip. You need it to cross into Canada.

[Smokeyham]

We had a wonderful train trip through Chilkoot Charters in Skagway. We did the Yukon Rail and Bus tour, where they pick you up at the dock, drop you off at the train station, and then pick you up in Fraser. On our trip Chilkoot had reserved the last car for us, which was great for the people standing outside taking pictures on the back platform. The train ride was beautiful, but we really enjoyed the bus tour back into the Yukon and then back to Skagway. If you are on the train round-trip, you pretty much see the same sights both ways. Not only was it less expensive than the Princess version, we were on a mini-bus with only 11 people with one of the best tour guides we have ever experienced.

 

I second the recommendation for Chilkoot Charters. Much smaller vans (as compared to the Princess' buses) mean there is much more flexibility to pull over for wildlife sightings, etc.

 

In Juneau we went whale watching with Harv and Marvs. The boat was much smaller than the Princess sponsored trip and the guide was excellent. People on the Princess sponsored trip seemed to be packed aboard.

 

Alaska is a place I would recommend arranging for your own excursions.

[eclue]

I also vote for Chilkoot Charters - excellent excursion.....better than booking through Princess..

eclue:cool:

[tanyaewa]

In Ketchikan we did the “duck tour” land/sea amphibious vehicle tour. It was super enjoyable and the local guide was very informative.

[fielddreamer]

I’m glad it was helpful! Alaska is so incredibly beautiful, and there are many wonderful excursions. Be sure to check out the Alaska boards, if you haven’t already done so.

 

We are on the Emerald and dock at 6 a.m. . Should we book the 7:30 or 8:30 tour. A little concern on getting off the ship in the morning. It looks like we have a few hrs in town when we get back ! Bob

[satxdiver]

We thought the train from Skagway over the mountains to the Yukon was great and worth the Princess price

 

Our first trip to Skagway we did the train up and bus back and enjoyed it. However I am not sure a r/t train ride would have been all that enjoyable. On a later trip to Skagway we rented a car and drove it through the pass and into the Yukon to Emerald Lake. That was also enjoyable.

 

I saw in posts the booths of tours on the dock so I figured that . In Juneau that must be the Mendenhall Glacier , We are leaning on the train and either the whale watching or glacier ! The pricing makes the so. carib. look like chop liver ! Thanks Bob

 

They have kiosks on or near the pier that sell tours but they sell out fairly quickly depending on how many ships are in port. The train in Skagway is definitely the way to go but maybe a one way with a bus the other way. I recommend train up and bus back.

 

In Juneau Mendenhall Glacier is a definite see before it is all gone. You can take a taxi for the 12 miles. DIL and DGD last trip did the whale watching tour with Harv and Marv's Outback AK. They enjoyed it thoroughly.

[ams cruiser]

We are on the Emerald and dock at 6 a.m. . Should we book the 7:30 or 8:30 tour. A little concern on getting off the ship in the morning. It looks like we have a few hrs in town when we get back ! Bob

 

With Chilkoot, the 7:30 was train first/bus for the return trip. I believe that the 8:30 was the reverse with the train for the return trip. We were very happy taking the train first, as it made our min-bus tour so leisurely, since we weren't on a schedule to catch the train. Mike was an absolute master tour guide, timing our stops so that we could we take pictures of the trains crossing near our stops.

 

I found the bus tour to be most enjoyable. We made a point of hopping off at every stop, and Mike was a great at taking perfect photos. (He knew exactly where to have you stand to get the most of the background vistas.) I'm afraid that if we had taken the train back after lunch, I might have dozed off a little!

 

We had no problem getting off of the ship on time (it's not like you're waiting to board a tender), and a Chilkoot representative was right there to meet us.

 

Taking the earlier tour gives you a little more time to walk around town afterwards. Chilkoot guides give you the option of dropping you off in town, or taking you back to the ship. We chose to get off in town, and it was an easy walk back to the ship.