Excursion Recommendations?

[Indytraveler83]

I'm on the Carnival Spirit on Aug 29 of this year, and looking at excursions for our trip. Our itinerary and my thoughts:

Day 1 - Seattle

Day 3 - Cruise Tracy Arm Fjord 

Day 4 - Skagway

          -Carnival offers a Rock Climbing and Rappelling excursion for $150, as well as a neat (but expensive) combo tour of the White Pass Railway and hile for $299

Day 5 - Juneau

          -several Carnival options here, from Whale watching for $190, a floar trip for $170, or a rather intriguing Bike and Brew tour for $126

Day 6 - Ketchikan

         -Carnival has a few options here, such as the Crab fest and "adventure" at $195, or sea kayaks for $170

Day 7 - Victoria

           -this is a short, late night stop that we will just walk around a little, if we get off the ship at all.

Day 8 - Seattle

 

This cruise is my 40th birthday celebration and a "bucket list" item.  While I'd love to go all out, it also has to be on a fairly tight budget.  I'd like to keep excursions at or below $150ish/person if possible.  We are fairly active, and I'd love to get out and hike, bike or otherwise get out and be active.  Not real interested in more passive excursions for this cruise.  

 

I'm entirely happy to book 3rd party, but am not very familiar with Alaskan operators.

 

I'd be pretty happy with Carnival's excursions in Skagway and Juneau (Rock climbing for $150 and biking for $129 would be perfectly acceptable budget options), but really am not excited about the price or experiences offered in Ketchikan.  Any thoughts on that, or better options for the other ports as well?

[Suzanne123]

Ketchikan

https://kayakketchikan.com

https://www.snorkelalaska.com

 

Skagway

free hikes right from downtown Upper and Lower Dewey trails

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/alaska/upper-dewey-lake-trail

https://www.oceanraftalaska.com

 

Juneau

https://beyondak.com

 

Edited January 22, 2023 by Suzanne123

[Northern Aurora]

Since hiking is of interest I wonder if our OP has considered the Mt. Roberts Tramway?  Some lovely views and trails at the top, and much less costly than the ship sponsored tours.

[pdmlynek]

Congratulations on turning 40!  Hope your celebration is a happy one.

 

To be honest, I'd recommend skipping all of these, and do something on your own.  I understand that the cruise lines are just trying to make money off you, but those excursions sound silly.

 

All three places that you've mentioned are great to do on your own.  

 

In Skagway, walk around the kitchy town, then walk up to the Gold Rush Cemetery, walk up to Lower Reid Falls, Upper Reid, then walk above the town to lower Dewey Lake before dropping down to the ship.

 

In Juneau, rent a car, and drive to Mendenhall Glacier, hike above it, see the visitor center, hike to Nuget Falls, drive back, walk about Juneau before getting on the ship.

 

In Ketchikan there is lots to see in downtown.  Grab a bus to Totem Bight S.P.,  See various totem pole museums, go for a hike above the city.  

 

 

 

 

[Indytraveler83]

On 1/24/2023 at 6:07 PM, Northern Aurora said:

Since hiking is of interest I wonder if our OP has considered the Mt. Roberts Tramway?  Some lovely views and trails at the top, and much less costly than the ship sponsored tours.

 

Looks very interesting!  The only thing is I noticed not a lot about it (such as price and operations hours/days) are readily published on the website. Any idea where I can get more info?

[Indytraveler83]

On 1/24/2023 at 7:34 PM, pdmlynek said:

Congratulations on turning 40!  Hope your celebration is a happy one.

 

To be honest, I'd recommend skipping all of these, and do something on your own.  I understand that the cruise lines are just trying to make money off you, but those excursions sound silly.

 

All three places that you've mentioned are great to do on your own.  

 

In Skagway, walk around the kitchy town, then walk up to the Gold Rush Cemetery, walk up to Lower Reid Falls, Upper Reid, then walk above the town to lower Dewey Lake before dropping down to the ship.

 

In Juneau, rent a car, and drive to Mendenhall Glacier, hike above it, see the visitor center, hike to Nuget Falls, drive back, walk about Juneau before getting on the ship.

 

In Ketchikan there is lots to see in downtown.  Grab a bus to Totem Bight S.P.,  See various totem pole museums, go for a hike above the city.  

 

 

 

 

I absolutely love all of the suggestions here!  I'm huge on hiking, though wouldn't mind doing one or two other things as well.  A few questions, since you seem fairly knowledgeable about the destinations:

 

In Juneau, is it fairly possible/easy to see whales from the cruise ship? I'm a little stuck on seeing them, but also don't want to dedicate a day to it.  I'd be happy to spend 10 minutes seeing them from my balcony if that's possible.  

 

Is there anything else adventurous you'd recommend at any of these ports?  Any other climbing, paddling or other neat things you think can be done without the ship tours?

[pdmlynek]

1 hour ago, Indytraveler83 said:

I absolutely love all of the suggestions here!  I'm huge on hiking, though wouldn't mind doing one or two other things as well.  A few questions, since you seem fairly knowledgeable about the destinations:

 

In Juneau, is it fairly possible/easy to see whales from the cruise ship? I'm a little stuck on seeing them, but also don't want to dedicate a day to it.  I'd be happy to spend 10 minutes seeing them from my balcony if that's possible.  

 

Is there anything else adventurous you'd recommend at any of these ports?  Any other climbing, paddling or other neat things you think can be done without the ship tours?

 

Thank you for the kind words. 🙂 

 

I liked hiking in all three destinations, because currently I live in a flat part of the US, and hiking in mountains is precious to me.  I presume that if you are from Indiana, you understand. 🙂 

 

As far as whales in Juneau go, I don't know, but there is plenty of information available about where and when to see which kinds of whales.  If I remember correctly, for example, the best place for Oracas is Johnston Straights, typically early in the morning.

 

[Indytraveler83]

8 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

 

Thank you for the kind words. 🙂 

 

I liked hiking in all three destinations, because currently I live in a flat part of the US, and hiking in mountains is precious to me.  I presume that if you are from Indiana, you understand. 🙂 

 

As far as whales in Juneau go, I don't know, but there is plenty of information available about where and when to see which kinds of whales.  If I remember correctly, for example, the best place for Oracas is Johnston Straights, typically early in the morning.

 

 

I actually moved from Indiana to Michigan recently, but get the idea there!  I love hiking in the mountains, we travel to the Smoky Mountains evey other year or so to try and hit parts of the AT on day hikes.  

 

My torture here is knowing that this Alaska trip is not something I can regularly do, so whatever I miss is likely to stay unaccomplished for quite a while.  

[oregonian123]

14 hours ago, Indytraveler83 said:

 

Looks very interesting!  The only thing is I noticed not a lot about it (such as price and operations hours/days) are readily published on the website. Any idea where I can get more info?

Hi, It's called GoldBelt Tramway. This link should help.

https://goldbelttram.com/

[Glaciers]

14 hours ago, Indytraveler83 said:

In Juneau, is it fairly possible/easy to see whales from the cruise ship? I'm a little stuck on seeing them, but also don't want to dedicate a day to it.  I'd be happy to spend 10 minutes seeing them from my balcony if that's possible.  

 

Is there anything else adventurous you'd recommend at any of these ports?  Any other climbing, paddling or other neat things you think can be done without the ship tours?

If your priority is seeing whales the best bet is doing an organized tour in Juneau. I spend hours looking for whales from the ship each trip and normally see them but from quite a distance. Occasionally closer but not often.   You might consider doing a tour with Juneau Whale Watch to maximize your time. After the whale watch they can take you to Mendenhall Glacier for some hiking around the visitor center. They  have busses back to the ship every 30 minutes or so.

https://www.juneauwhalewatch.com/

 

Another option is hiking the West Glacier Trail. It’s a wonderful experience as you look down upon the glacier from above it. If you hike up far enough you can see the tour helicopters landing on the glacier from above.  It would take a taxi or car rental to get there as it’s on the other side of the lake from the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center.   https://www.alaska.org/detail/west-glacier-trail-mendenhall-glacier

[Indytraveler83]

8 hours ago, Glaciers said:

If your priority is seeing whales the best bet is doing an organized tour in Juneau. I spend hours looking for whales from the ship each trip and normally see them but from quite a distance. Occasionally closer but not often.   You might consider doing a tour with Juneau Whale Watch to maximize your time. After the whale watch they can take you to Mendenhall Glacier for some hiking around the visitor center. They  have busses back to the ship every 30 minutes or so.

https://www.juneauwhalewatch.com/

 

Ooh!  Now this looks amazing.  I love the idea of getting out and seeing whales for a few hours, then having potentially several more to hike.  Thanks for the link on that one!

[islandchick]

We have done a couple of Kayaking trips with Southeast sea kayaks in Ketchikan and it was really great. I highly recommend them.