Juneau 7:00 am - 1:30 pm

[Quincella]

Good morning!

 

We'll be in Juneau off the NCL Joy on a Thursday from 7:00 am - 1:30 pm.  We have an excursion booked that leaves at 1:00 or 1:30 (the Allen Marine tour to the glacier...I forget the name of the tour) but have the whole morning free.  Our plan as of right now is really to just explore some of the walkable area by foot, maybe stopping in at the Red Dog Saloon, but is there anything that you've seen or done while walking around that you would recommend we for sure make time for? Or do you think it's really just a matter of walking around and seeing what we see?

 

Thanks...

[Guindalf]

Is there  misprint here? If you're there until 1:30 pm, how can you take a tour at 1:00 or 1:30????

[Quincella]

1 hour ago, Guindalf said:

Is there  misprint here? If you're there until 1:30 pm, how can you take a tour at 1:00 or 1:30????

 

Not a misprint.  The small craft excursion leaves about the same time as the ship, and returns us to the ship in the middle of the strait at its conclusion. 

 

Do you happen to have any Juneau suggestions? 

[karatemom2]

Do you have any interest in seeing Mendenhall Glacier while you are there? You could take a taxi out and spend some time there and then return to town. There isn't much in the area right next to the docks but the Saloon and shops, but if you venture a bit further the Alaska State Museum is a worthwhile place to spend some time. Lots of interesting exhibits.

 

 

Edited June 12, 2019 by karatemom2

[Quincella]

6 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

Do you have any interest in seeing Mendenhall Glacier while you are there? You could take a taxi out and spend some time there and then return to town. There isn't much in the area right next to the docks but the Saloon and shops, but if you venture a bit further the Alaska State Museum is a worthwhile place to spend some time. Lots of interesting exhibits.

 

 

I would like to see Mendenhall, but I figure every single person in Juneau off a cruise ship that day will be doing just that.  I think that may just be the route we go, though.  

 

Thanks for your response!

[Guindalf]

Our time in Juneau will be spent visiting the Alaska State Museum and partaking of the Gold Creek Salmon Bake on a ship's tour. We visited the Mendenhall Glacier, followed by a whale watching expedition the last time we were there (10 years ago).

 

This trip, we should have some time to explore the shops and bars in the town itself, which we didn't have time to do last visit.

[misguy]

We went to Mendehall and really enjoyed it.  There is a really good trail that goes out to Nugget Falls, and my wife was able to negotiate it fine using her wheelchair like a walker.  You want to see it while you still can it is vanishing quickly.  They have a time lapse video of how much it is shrinking, and it is possible that in another year or two, it won't be visible from the the park viewing area or Nugget Falls.

 

[LdyMags]

I love whale watching in Juneau!

[Quincella]

Thanks, all!  I appreciate the tips.

 

I think we're just going to book a morning excursion, because the "walk around and see things" ports seem to be NOT Juneau.  🙂

[karatemom2]

1 hour ago, Quincella said:

Thanks, all!  I appreciate the tips.

 

I think we're just going to book a morning excursion, because the "walk around and see things" ports seem to be NOT Juneau.  🙂

 

I didn't mean to suggest that you needed to book an excursion - just that you might not want to limit yourself to just walking the shops there in the main area. You can easily visit the Alaska State Museum and Mendenhall on your own with a taxi ride. And another option that you might enjoy within walking distance is Mount Roberts Tramway. Here is a link for that:

 

http://mountrobertstramway.com/

 

Juneau is actually a pretty easy place to do things on your own - some within walking distance of the ship, or just a short ride away. Just something to think about before you go to the expense of adding another ship excursion. I know they are pricey!

[Quincella]

7 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

 

I didn't mean to suggest that you needed to book an excursion - just that you might not want to limit yourself to just walking the shops there in the main area. You can easily visit the Alaska State Museum and Mendenhall on your own with a taxi ride. And another option that you might enjoy within walking distance is Mount Roberts Tramway. Here is a link for that:

 

http://mountrobertstramway.com/

 

Juneau is actually a pretty easy place to do things on your own - some within walking distance of the ship, or just a short ride away. Just something to think about before you go to the expense of adding another ship excursion. I know they are pricey!

I didn't take it that way at all, Karatemom!  I was just thinking through what my friend and I enjoy doing. We talked about it, and when we decided to book we both said that we want to do as much as possible that gets us uniquely Alaskan experiences, since neither of us has ever been there before.  We're also nature lovers, so the more we can get to outdoors, the happier we'll be.  

 

So with that in mind, we've now decided to book a morning kayak trip on Mendenhall Lake, which will get us back about 90 minutes before our afternoon excursion leaves.  It's a lot, but we're excited about it, so that's a good indication we've made the right decision.

 

[karatemom2]

30 minutes ago, Quincella said:

I didn't take it that way at all, Karatemom!  I was just thinking through what my friend and I enjoy doing. We talked about it, and when we decided to book we both said that we want to do as much as possible that gets us uniquely Alaskan experiences, since neither of us has ever been there before.  We're also nature lovers, so the more we can get to outdoors, the happier we'll be.  

 

So with that in mind, we've now decided to book a morning kayak trip on Mendenhall Lake, which will get us back about 90 minutes before our afternoon excursion leaves.  It's a lot, but we're excited about it, so that's a good indication we've made the right decision.

 

 

That sounds really fun! It's something we have actually considered but never done. Please come back and let us know how you liked it!