Help with Juneau Plans

[azkcruizers]

We will be in Juneau on May 19th from 7am to 9pm.  I've done a lot of research and trying to cement my plans for the day!  Hoping for opinions on if this looks doable or am I missing something!

I'm thinking that we could get off about 8:30am and roam around the port in the shops and possibly check out the Red Dog Saloon before returning two people in our group to the ship and the other two will be taking the 5 glacier seaplane trip at 11:30am.  That should return about 12:45pm.  Hop back on the ship for a bite to eat.

We have a whale watch scheduled from 2-6pm being dropped off at the Mendenhall Glacier.  We are looking to just take some pictures and do the Nugget Falls trail.  From what I have read, I will have had to contact a cab company to arrange a ride back to the ship.  I was thinking to try to do that for about 7:30 pm thinking that should give us time to get back to board the ship.  This is the part I'm concerned about.  Is it too late to go to the glacier?

 

Thanks for your help!!

[AKfamily]

Nope! It should be light out at that time of evening. I’d allow at least an hour for the trail to the falls. The cab part is what I’d be the most concerned about. They aren’t always the most reliable here. Call that morning when you get into port to schedule a pickup, and call again after the whale watch to confirm. Also, most shops won’t be open until 9 or 10am downtown. I recommend coffee and pastries at Rookery or a walk to Overstreet Park to see the sea walk and whale sculpture, or both! 

[wolfie11]

You might also consider spending the afternoon at the glacier and taking the evening whale watch....

[azkcruizers]

14 hours ago, AKfamily said:

Nope! It should be light out at that time of evening. I’d allow at least an hour for the trail to the falls. The cab part is what I’d be the most concerned about. They aren’t always the most reliable here. Call that morning when you get into port to schedule a pickup, and call again after the whale watch to confirm. Also, most shops won’t be open until 9 or 10am downtown. I recommend coffee and pastries at Rookery or a walk to Overstreet Park to see the sea walk and whale sculpture, or both! 

Thanks for the suggestions, I"ll look into that!

[azkcruizers]

1 hour ago, wolfie11 said:

You might also consider spending the afternoon at the glacier and taking the evening whale watch....

 

 

I had thought about that as well...I was considering doing the whale watch from 3-7pm.  I don't know why I was thinking that the whale sightings would be a better chance earlier in the day.  Is there a better time to whale watch than another?

[donaldsc]

On 10/18/2018 at 5:25 AM, azkcruizers said:

We will be in Juneau on May 19th from 7am to 9pm.  I've done a lot of research and trying to cement my plans for the day!  Hoping for opinions on if this looks doable or am I missing something!

I'm thinking that we could get off about 8:30am and roam around the port in the shops and possibly check out the Red Dog Saloon before returning two people in our group to the ship and the other two will be taking the 5 glacier seaplane trip at 11:30am.  That should return about 12:45pm.  Hop back on the ship for a bite to eat.

We have a whale watch scheduled from 2-6pm being dropped off at the Mendenhall Glacier.  We are looking to just take some pictures and do the Nugget Falls trail.  From what I have read, I will have had to contact a cab company to arrange a ride back to the ship.  I was thinking to try to do that for about 7:30 pm thinking that should give us time to get back to board the ship.  This is the part I'm concerned about.  Is it too late to go to the glacier?

 

Thanks for your help!!

 

Why are the 2 people who are doing the tour going back to the ship to get a bite to eat.  Grab a bite to eat and stay in town.

 

DON

[wolfie11]

The whales feed pretty much 24/7, especially in May when they haven’t eaten for 6 months.

[zqvol]

There are too many interesting places to eat in Juneau to go back to the ship to eat.

[vivian02]

I think we are on the same cruise since we will be in Juneau on May 19th. I think you have done your home work very well as far as your plans go. The one thing we can't control is the weather. My wife and I usually try to get out to Mendenhall when in Juneau. This last cruise in September of 2018 was not problem. However May of 2017 it was over cast and raining. In 2017 we just stayed close to the ship and sure enough the whales decided to do their thing in good view of our ship. I called that the free whale watch. This year we made it out to Mendenhall which we have always enjoyed. For those who have never been out to Mendenhall I will attach a picture.  

[azkcruizers]

On 10/19/2018 at 6:36 PM, wolfie11 said:

The whales feed pretty much 24/7, especially in May when they haven’t eaten for 6 months.

Thank you!  I guess somewhere I thought someone said early is best but I know so much is by chance anyways!

[azkcruizers]

On 10/19/2018 at 4:22 PM, donaldsc said:

 

Why are the 2 people who are doing the tour going back to the ship to get a bite to eat.  Grab a bite to eat and stay in town.

 

DON

 

On 10/20/2018 at 5:50 PM, zqvol said:

There are too many interesting places to eat in Juneau to go back to the ship to eat.

 

This is a special girls trip with my two sisters and my Mom who will be 84 and has to travel in a wheelchair.  My parents have always cruised with my family and we lost my Dad two years ago.  Since then I take my Mom when I cruise with my own immediate family.  Seeing she can only walk a very short bit, but has trouble with steps, uneven ground, and the motion of the ship and in different places she will be spending most of her time sitting in a chair or the wheelchair.  One of my sisters and I had really wanted to do the seaplane and that's why my Mom and other sister were getting back on board the ship for that time.  After the flight we were jumping back on so I could get back to my Mom and just had thought it might be easier to grab a bite on the ship to eat seeing we are trying to squeeze as much out of the day as we can.  Although my two sisters are going I am and feel pretty much responsible for my Mom so I know I'll be anxious to get back to her ❤️  Thank you for the suggestion and maybe we will find something amazing to eat off the ship!

[azkcruizers]

On 10/21/2018 at 4:58 PM, vivian02 said:

I think we are on the same cruise since we will be in Juneau on May 19th. I think you have done your home work very well as far as your plans go. The one thing we can't control is the weather. My wife and I usually try to get out to Mendenhall when in Juneau. This last cruise in September of 2018 was not problem. However May of 2017 it was over cast and raining. In 2017 we just stayed close to the ship and sure enough the whales decided to do their thing in good view of our ship. I called that the free whale watch. This year we made it out to Mendenhall which we have always enjoyed. For those who have never been out to Mendenhall I will attach a picture.  

 

I'm sailing on the May 13th Ovation of the Seas so maybe we are!  I see that the trail to Nuggett Falls looks unaccessible by wheelchair but I read a review of someone saying that you could get there by wheelchair.  Any thoughts on that?

[mapleleaves]

The Photo Point Trail is paved so w/c accessible.

Nugget Falls trail is mostly gravel but there are rocky and muddy bits to navigate.  Can't imagine taking a w/c thru there.   Look for video of the Nugget Falls Trail on youtube and see for yourself.

 

This link to Mendenhall has phone numbers for the taxi  companies PLUS a very detailed map of each trail.  (call the cab about 30 minutes before you're ready to leave .... if they're in town it will take them 20-30 minutes to get to you)

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tongass/about-forest/offices/?cid=stelprdb5400800