Alaska excursions

[Hottubmomma]

I understand Viking has an included excursion for each port you visit but are these mostly walking tours into and around the port? Alaska is my dream come true cruise and we have booked a explorer suite so we have first shot at signing up for the excursions but I am trying to do research to see what else I may want to do in each port. I have found with other lines that the optional excursions are more expensive if you book through the ship..is this the case with Viking? Would we better off booking excursions on our own? Thank you for any insight you can give. Viking doesn't even post excursions for our August 2020 trip until April.

[Kellybc]

We did this itinerary June 2019. Keep checking My Viking Journey; our excursions and prices showed up sooner than expected. In the meantime, you can go to the Viking Ocean website and see a sample of the included and optional excursions. Some have changed since our cruise. You also can learn a lot on the Ports of Call - Alaska section of Cruise Critic. We were two couples and did a combination of included, optional and other excursions. We felt we could take a chance on Major Marine’s Kenaii National Park 7 1/2 hr boat tour since Orion was spending the night, and I got a 40% off Black Friday deal. Enjoy your research and your cruise. 

[dd57]

We did Seward to Vancouver in August 2019.  We only took 3 optional excursions.   I checked the prices with doing them directly rather than through the cruise line and found to my surprise that the costs were very close - within $10.  Maybe it was only those three, maybe it was because it was Viking's first year in Alaska, or maybe it will be the same this year.  I checked prices by googling the titles of the excursions and figuring out what vendor was being used.  Other vendors may have had different prices.  

[Mikeh58]

I did this cruise in late June/early July of 2017 on Princess. We had no problem booking excursions on our own the day of arrival in each port. The weather up there is so unpredictable that we waited until we were in port to decide which tour was best for us based on the weather that day. It was a fantastic cruise. I’m sure you will have a blast!

[Liz Masterson]

I second @Mikeh58 's opinion. I was up there on Coral Princess a few summers ago with friends. We did book several things ahead, including a helicoptor ride to a glacier with a dog sled ride that was amazing! But there were plenty of kiosks set up in Ketchican, Juneau, and Sagway with same day options. We used one to book a sucessful whale watching cruise in Juneau. 

[DaveSJ711]

Does Viking cruise from Seattle or Vancouver to Alaska?  Our Canadian friends used to have most of the cruise ship sailings to the Far North, but Seattle has increased its market share quite a bit over the last few years.

 

I ask this because I live right across the water from Seattle.  I've never seen a Viking ship docked in town, however.

 

BTW, I lived in Alaska for 10 years if anyone wants the real skinny on the state.

 

And BTW, to the cheesesteaks on this thread, I'm so sorry about yesterday's Seahawks win (but not really). 

Edited January 6, 2020 by DaveSJ711

[Hottubmomma]

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses. I can't wait for this cruise and will continue my research.

DaveSJ711 my cruise is from Vancouver to Seward.

[DaveSJ711]

7 hours ago, Hottubmomma said:

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses. I can't wait for this cruise and will continue my research.

DaveSJ711 my cruise is from Vancouver to Seward.

 

Seward is a great little town -- it's far less beholden to the cruise industry than the towns in Southeast Alaska.  Keep your fingers crossed for nice weather!  Take a boat trip to Kenai Fjords for absolutely stunning vistas.  You can take a walk to the mouth of Exit Glacier or, if you're really ambitious, hike to the top of Mt. Marathon (site of Alaska's most famous foot "race" on the Fourth of July).  Also recommended is the Alaska SeaLife Center.

[Hottubmomma]

Thank you for these suggestions, appreciate it very much.

[philw1776]

Sad news update for those of you taking a Denali pre or post excursion.  

The orange cat that for years was the mayor of Talkeetna has passed on to meowser heaven.

 

Alaska Denali & Cruise (but with Silversea) Photos

 

Edited January 9, 2020 by philw1776