Alaska on the Bliss

[merle65]

We booked our cruise on the Bliss September 22nd. What do most tourists do go out sightseeing on their own or do excursions I can't make up my mind Are there car rentals at all the ports? I find there excursions are very expensive but then again it's Alaska. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[ColinIllinois]

If you haven't done so already you should check out the Alaska ports of call forum. A wealth of information for you.

 

 

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

[merle65]

Ok thank you for the information. Just booked this cruise this week and trying to find time to research excursions plus other things for the trip has got me a little stressed.

[RD29P5]

It really depends on what you want to do, and what you have time for. With the exception of Skagway most of the port calls aren't all that long. Juneau is usually the shortest, seems that most people go out to Mendenhall glacier one way or another. In Skagway I'd say that the White Pass Railway is probably one of the most popular things to do.

 

Excursions are costly, no matter how you book them in Alaska. You can save a bit by booking on your own, however when doing that or going off on your own be aware of the time, and remember to update your phone or watch to local time. The ship will not wait for you, as I witnessed in Juneau. It was probably an expensive lesson for the people left on the dock as the ship pulled away.

[www3traveler]

Also be aware that because of the current warm weather in Alaska, some excursions are being canceled for safety issues.

[pspercy]

Sept 22 is late in the season, there should be great sales in the stores. Weather could be on the wet side. We took the Mt Roberts tramway in Juneau, White Pass railway in Skagway, otherwise just wandered around town. we'd love to go back, have a great trip.

 

P.S. As for car rental, Skagway is the only Alaska stop on your trip which is connected to the outside world !

[deladypilot]

We have rented a vehicle in Juneau but it was on a 10 day Alaskan cruise and we had all day. Not sure it would be worth it on the short day the Bliss has. If you decide to try that, we booked through Avis and it is just outside of the main pier area, not where NCL usually docks. So it is bus into town from pier, walk to hotel and get vehicle and then back to ship later.

[hurley7]

We booked our cruise on the Bliss September 22nd. What do most tourists do go out sightseeing on their own or do excursions I can't make up my mind Are there car rentals at all the ports? I find there excursions are very expensive but then again it's Alaska. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

We found the Tracy Arm cruise to be a VERY good value. $250/pp, but WELL worth it. You leave from the ship as it is departing and cruise independently of it all afternoon, before reboarding the ship at the glacier. It allows you much closer to the glacier than the ship is able to get, along with taking you down some side channels to view waterfalls, etc. Many of the others were higher priced for a much shorter excursion. I have pictures if you would like to see them.

[Oceansaway17]

Juneau is a great place to shop and especially for Blue Diamonds. Doing the Roberts Tram is nice too as it gives good views.

Skagway the train for your first visit. Otherwise walk around town.

Keticikan has nice shops and restaurants. The Lumberman show is very enjoyable.

[BirdTravels]

We booked our cruise on the Bliss September 22nd. What do most tourists do go out sightseeing on their own or do excursions I can't make up my mind Are there car rentals at all the ports? I find there excursions are very expensive but then again it's Alaska. Any ideas would be appreciated.

The best tour was the Tracy Arm tour mentioned above.

 

Photos from our live post from the Bliss can be found at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2641186

[friendlyshuswapbc]

Yes Merle65..We too are looking into finding one excursion to enjoy for photography, but mostly will sightsee on our own. For myself, (Gloria) its my first trip to the beautiful state of AK. So I don't want to stress out over booking everything. I want to mostly enjoy the Bliss and breathe in the fresh air! Then .. oh my we'll have to return again to see more another time lol. Have a great time, whatever you choose to do! Gloria & Rob; Sept. 8th sailing .. Can't wait!!

[Jonnarundisney]

We found the Tracy Arm cruise to be a VERY good value. $250/pp, but WELL worth it. You leave from the ship as it is departing and cruise independently of it all afternoon, before reboarding the ship at the glacier. It allows you much closer to the glacier than the ship is able to get, along with taking you down some side channels to view waterfalls, etc. Many of the others were higher priced for a much shorter excursion. I have pictures if you would like to see them.

 

I’ve been trying to figure this out. So even being in Juneau a short time you can still do Tracy Arm? You board the excursion boat to go to the glacier and then the boat “picks you up” as they pass back by? I’ve seen pictures and it looks awesome I just thought maybe we wouldn’t be able to do it since we are only in Juneau until 1:30.

[Jonnarundisney]

We found the Tracy Arm cruise to be a VERY good value. $250/pp, but WELL worth it. You leave from the ship as it is departing and cruise independently of it all afternoon, before reboarding the ship at the glacier. It allows you much closer to the glacier than the ship is able to get, along with taking you down some side channels to view waterfalls, etc. Many of the others were higher priced for a much shorter excursion. I have pictures if you would like to see them.

 

I’ve been trying to figure this out for next summer. Can you still do Tracy Arm if we are only in Juneau until 1:30? Does the boat pick you back up at the glacier? When does NCL put the excursions on sale for next summer?

[YVRBassElectric]

The Tracy arm excursion is the reason I booked an Alaska cruise this summer - the photos are amazing! They pick you up about 1:30 and bring you back to the boat 5 hours later, in open water, I can’t wait.

 

The last sailing it is offered is Sept 1 for this season, sorry OP

[YVRBassElectric]

Our first Alaska cruise we took a helicopter and walked on the glacier “Pilot’s choice glacier walk” it was amazing, once in a lifetime experience (it’s way more $$ than I remember paying)

[Luv2cruz1000]

We rented Green Jeep in Skagway and drove back as far as Emerald Lake in the yukon. Cheaper then doing the train ride and enjoyed stopping when ever we liked to get pictures

[Luv2cruz1000]

Just a quick add, we have cruised 3 times and never booked from the cruise ship. Only time we had to book was small boat to Tracy Arm. In Alaska there are plenty of kiosks at the pier and we have always found it cheaper to book with someone independent of the cruise ship. You can book ahead of time or a least have a good idea of what you wish to do! Be mindful of your time as the ship will leave without you but any tours from the pier are well aware of ship times and often even have a guarantee to get you back on time.

[YVRBassElectric]

Just a quick add, we have cruised 3 times and never booked from the cruise ship. Only time we had to book was small boat to Tracy Arm. In Alaska there are plenty of kiosks at the pier and we have always found it cheaper to book with someone independent of the cruise ship. You can book ahead of time or a least have a good idea of what you wish to do! Be mindful of your time as the ship will leave without you but any tours from the pier are well aware of ship times and often even have a guarantee to get you back on time.

 

I check prices, our last 3 cruises I only did one excursion through NCL - Puerto Vallarta has an amazing zipline that you have to book through the cruise ship

 

In Alaska, with the $50 shore credit, Platinum discount and currency exchange (I'm Canadian) - the price difference was less than $20 for the excursions we wanted

[hurley7]

I’ve been trying to figure this out. So even being in Juneau a short time you can still do Tracy Arm? You board the excursion boat to go to the glacier and then the boat “picks you up” as they pass back by? I’ve seen pictures and it looks awesome I just thought maybe we wouldn’t be able to do it since we are only in Juneau until 1:30.

 

 

Yes, the ship approaches the glacier, stops at a certain distance, and slowly turns so that everyone on board can have a view. As it does that your small boat turns from its position (much closer to the glacier) and moves back toward the ship. Pulls alongside and you reboard. It is amazing.

Edited August 12, 2018 by hurley7
Link is incorrect

[erdoran]

We're sailing September 1 (can't wait!). For Juneau we booked the Mendenhall glacier/nature walk for am, back to ship 12:30, and leave from ship 1:15 for Tracy Arm. I've read that the Tracy Arm ship meets up with the Bliss at the end of the tour - so yes, you can do both.

 

For us, we spent an entire weekend reading the Alaska ports of call board, then going thru the NCL excursions to narrow them down, and then seeing if we could find more details on our short list. We ended up, after putting a lot of time into research, with the following list, all through NCL:

 

Ketchikan - Adventure Kart

Juneau - Whale watch/photo safari AND Tracy Arm

Skagway - scenic drive - that one is a hard choice, the train sounds great, and there is one that goes to Bennett, but in the end we decided the scenic drive would give us what we wanted, getting as far as possible into the Yukon.

victoria - nothing now, had considered orca tour but it starts so late in the day we decided may not be worthwhile

 

We chose to book through NCL for convenience and peace of mind. Between my 10% discount and the $50/port credit we justified it to ourselves. Others swear by DIY tours; ultimately it's matter of personal choice. I'm sure the DIY operators would be out of business FAST if they caused pax to miss their boats!

[hurley7]

We're sailing September 1 (can't wait!). For Juneau we booked the Mendenhall glacier/nature walk for am, back to ship 12:30, and leave from ship 1:15 for Tracy Arm. I've read that the Tracy Arm ship meets up with the Bliss at the end of the tour - so yes, you can do both.

 

For us, we spent an entire weekend reading the Alaska ports of call board, then going thru the NCL excursions to narrow them down, and then seeing if we could find more details on our short list. We ended up, after putting a lot of time into research, with the following list, all through NCL:

 

Ketchikan - Adventure Kart

Juneau - Whale watch/photo safari AND Tracy Arm

Skagway - scenic drive - that one is a hard choice, the train sounds great, and there is one that goes to Bennett, but in the end we decided the scenic drive would give us what we wanted, getting as far as possible into the Yukon.

victoria - nothing now, had considered orca tour but it starts so late in the day we decided may not be worthwhile

 

We chose to book through NCL for convenience and peace of mind. Between my 10% discount and the $50/port credit we justified it to ourselves. Others swear by DIY tours; ultimately it's matter of personal choice. I'm sure the DIY operators would be out of business FAST if they caused pax to miss their boats!

 

 

Just wanted to let you know that we did the whale watching in Victoria and it was amazing. Not sure how much daylight you have in September, but last month we had plenty of light.