Am I Going TO Regret ‘Winging It’? On NCL Cruise To Alaska in 2 Weeks? (June 9th)

[Defhermit]

at the risk of annoying you all with another ‘help me plan my vacation’ post, I’m asking for some assistance!

 

I’ve never been in a cruise before. On a whim I booked this 1 week cruise to Alaska after getting excited about checking Alaska off my bucket list.

 

After copious forum-reading and review scanning I’ve determined that the only ‘musts’ I have for my trip (Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria) are the train in Skagway and whale watching on a boat of some sort, probably in Juneau?

 

Am I setting myself up for disappointment if I choose to not prebook anything, with those two goals in mind? Will I just be able to book myself into that train? Will be able to just find a sign-holding whale watching boat booker at port? Should I do that somewhere other than Juneau?

 

For the other ports I plan on just walking around.

 

Notes: I’m solo in this trip, that seems worth noting. Like, I can always just grab a seat at the bar when other suckers are waiting for tables at the restaurant...

[CruiserBruce]

If you been reading the board, then you will have seen the posts asking if there are vendors at the pier, and the answer is yes. Will there be seats on every possible tour? Maybe not. Being a solo probably helps some.

 

So if your happiness depends on being on specific tours, booking in advance is probably smart. If you are flexible, you could wait until you get there, understanding there is a possibility of missing the exact event you desire to experience.

[Defhermit]

If you been reading the board, then you will have seen the posts asking if there are vendors at the pier, and the answer is yes. Will there be seats on every possible tour? Maybe not. Being a solo probably helps some.

 

So if your happiness depends on being on specific tours, booking in advance is probably smart. If you are flexible, you could wait until you get there, understanding there is a possibility of missing the exact event you desire to experience.

 

Thanks for the response, but I still don't know if I need to book!

[mytime53]

No one can answer this for you. You could contact the vendors you are thinking of using and ask them. As an example, I am very familiar with the Alaska Railroad. I never thought they would fill up from Anchorage to Whittier in mid-May. But when I called for tickets for 4 people 2 weeks before we needed to ride it to get to our cruise, they only had 2 seats. I was shocked, and so was my daughter and her husband, who works for the railroad. We were fortunate that 3 days later, someone canceled a reservation, so it worked out.

[CruiserBruce]

Agree...no one is going to able to give you hard and fast answers. That why if something is critical to you, book it in advance.

[JT1962]

Based on the increase in the number of ships and passengers going to Alaska now, I would book ahead for anything I really wanted to do. You may be able to find options when you arrive, but it wouldn’t be worth the risk to me.

 

 

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[Herfnerd]

JMHO but if you know that there are only two musts , I would reserve if only for piece of mind.

[1025cruise]

Definitely book the train in Skagway. With all the ships and private tours, there are no seats left for walk ups.

 

For a whale watch, you are probably ok waiting until you get to Juneau.

[PATRLR]

Definitely book the train in Skagway. With all the ships and private tours, there are no seats left for walk ups.

 

For a whale watch, you are probably ok waiting until you get to Juneau.

Intereting, I would have thought it'd be exactly the opposite. But, I haven't been there yet, so, I defer to others.

 

That being said, the whale watch was a must for us as well. Based on research, we decided we wanted a smaller-ish boat and started making the inquiries. Just about everything we inquired for was booked, including the excursion sponsored by the ship (NCL Bliss). We did finally get a booking that we think will be good, but, based on what I observed for next week's sailing, I'd suggest researching and booking the whale watch now. But what do I know, maybe we'll get there and find dozens of folks hawking whale watch cruises...

[katrina915]

Ultimately, it gets down to what you want to do and how bad do you want to do it. If you booked on whim and just wanting to cross off your bucket list, then it probably doesn't matter much. But if you want to see something in particular, then I would book ahead if I were you.

 

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[BuckeyeMark]

If you can't have fun on a cruise to AK you're doing something terribly wrong - whether you book anything or not. Alaska is incredible.

 

That said, Harv and Marv whale watching is a fabulous and marvelous company that really provides a top of the line experience. If you can book them do it. You'll be glad you did. Other than that I think you can just go where you want and do what appeals to you along the way and you'll be fine. But I'd sure get H & M lined up. They're the best.

[DarkJedi]

I would definitely pre-book Skaguay, especially if you want the train.

[Budget Queen]

You know exactly what you want in Skagway? of the 3 different train, options and Only the train? You have no preference on whale watch? Type of boat or length of tour?

 

Sure you can walk up and get something. It would be best to do this early in your port time.

[mskaufman]

If you know what you want to do, why would you spend your time in port shopping for a tour. From reading the boards you have a good idea who the preferred vendors are. Why take a chance on being disappointed?

[naxer]

If I know what I want, it's offered, and I think it's a fair price, I book it. Why wing it if I don't have to? I also check the port schedules to see how many ships are in port that day. On my cruise, I'm on a large ship and there are a couple other doozies in Juneau and Skagway at the same time. There will be over 12,000 of us in port on those days.

[Defhermit]

Alright, alright! I went ahead and booked the lowest-cost Skagway train trip (through NCL) that I saw! 'White Pass Scenic Railway' claims to 'Ride 40 miles round-trip in vintage rail cars'! Does this mean that I run up and back on the train, compared to the 'one way on bus, one way on train' trips I read many reviews about?

 

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I'm trying to keep planning to a minimum to just relax on my trip, that's the motivation to the post. The train ride is really the only thing I can see kicking myself over missing so I went ahead and booked it.

[CruiserBruce]

"Roundtrip in vintage rail cars" doesn't sound anything like "bus" to me...

[Defhermit]

"Roundtrip in vintage rail cars" doesn't sound anything like "bus" to me...

 

Thanks for the attitude Bruce! I, too, know how to read!

 

I've just read a lot of reviews that seemed to indicate that most of the train trips are bus one way and train the other. I wasn't expecting to find that the cheapest option available (through NCL) was actually train both ways. So I posted it here in case someone would chime in confirming/denying that it was indeed train both ways.

[JT1962]

I've just read a lot of reviews that seemed to indicate that most of the train trips are bus one way and train the other. I wasn't expecting to find that the cheapest option available (through NCL) was actually train both ways. So I posted it here in case someone would chime in confirming/denying that it was indeed train both ways.

 

 

There are several combinations and distances offered. The round-trip train excursions to the summit are the shortest and usually cheapest. You will get to experience the train and still have plenty of time to explore Skagway.

 

 

 

 

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[jmo1]

There are several combinations and distances offered. The round-trip train excursions to the summit are the shortest and usually cheapest. You will get to experience the train and still have plenty of time to explore Skagway.

 

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From what I have read, the train both ways option is the only option where the Canadien border agents don't check passports. Even though the train goes into Canada, they keep everyone on the train, and reverse its direction back to the US. That is probably why it is the shortest option. Enjoy the ride!

[Budget Queen]

 

I've just read a lot of reviews that seemed to indicate that most of the train trips are bus one way and train the other. I wasn't expecting to find that the cheapest option available (through NCL) was actually train both ways. So I posted it here in case someone would chime in confirming/denying that it was indeed train both ways.

 

The one way Summit combo may also be of interest for you as it does give different views and not significantly different in price, usually. (independent)

[Rulers Mom]

The one way Summit combo may also be of interest for you as it does give different views and not significantly different in price, usually. (independent)

 

Agreed! We’ve done both ways and enjoyed them both, but we preferred the one way combo over the train ride up and back.

 

The trip back on the train was boring, same scenery but no narration. We sat on the “wrong side” going up, so we had to remember what was said and where we were when they said it, on the way back.

 

Be sure to sit on the left side of the train when leaving the port for the best views going up. If you take the bus up and board the train for the trip down, sit on the right side.

 

There was no bad side on the bus.

[Defhermit]

I'm sure it will be fixed up by the time I'm there, but I find it funny that this happened almost simultaneously as I decided to and went through with booking this train trip.

 

http://skagwaynews.com/2018/05/30/white-pass-train-service-cancelled/

 

Like, this happened on the same day I clicked the button to book it. This is exactly why I was hesitant to pre-book anything! Haha...

[JT1962]

I'm sure it will be fixed up by the time I'm there, but I find it funny that this happened almost simultaneously as I decided to and went through with booking this train trip.

 

http://skagwaynews.com/2018/05/30/white-pass-train-service-cancelled/

 

Like, this happened on the same day I clicked the button to book it. This is exactly why I was hesitant to pre-book anything! Haha...

 

 

They will refund you and / or offer alternatives if they do not run. It’s always good to have a back up alternative. Weather cancels many flying excursions and sometimes boating excursions.

 

 

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[JT1962]

The best decision I made during my Alaskan cruise was booking with M & M Tour Sales in Skagway. They have locations on each Pier and were very helpful in picking the right tour. They had the best pricing I saw on over 40 different tours and they even booked the Whale Watching in Juneau as well! Do yourself a favor and go see these guys! You'll thank me.

 

 

I’m curious as to what trip you took. Also what cruise ship did you take and what ports did you visit? What did you find to do in the other ports? What vendors did you use?

 

 

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