Too late for Alaska Cruise Tours for end of June?

[hernonmom4]

Looking into booking an Alaska Cruise for the 1st time this June. We need to book last week of June. If I book the cruise now will I still be able to book cruise tours. After doing some reading it sounds like they sell out quickly. I don't want to spend the money if I won't get the full experience.

[BirdTravels]

When you go on NCL.com it will offer a cruise or cruise+tour. If it is offered, then it is available. If it isn’t offered, then it is sold out. 
 

The best cruise would be a one way northbound from Vancouver calling on glacier bay. It will be on an older, smaller ship. 

Edited April 3, 2023 by BirdTravels

[ChiefMateJRK]

Are you asking about "cruise tours" or shore excursions?

 

[PC Skier]

1 hour ago, hernonmom4 said:

Looking into booking an Alaska Cruise for the 1st time this June. We need to book last week of June. If I book the cruise now will I still be able to book cruise tours. After doing some reading it sounds like they sell out quickly. I don't want to spend the money if I won't get the full experience.

We have done Alaska cruises a few times. We always do our own excursions.  Go to the Alaska board, you can do it yourself. Just a little research required. 

[hernonmom4]

oops, I meant shore excursions. Looking at Bliss or Encore anyone want to give me a recommendation? Also looking for recommendations on do it yourself shore excursions.

[hernonmom4]

5 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

When you go on NCL.com it will offer a cruise or cruise+tour. If it is offered, then it is available. If it isn’t offered, then it is sold out. 
 

The best cruise would be a one way northbound from Vancouver calling on glacier bay. It will be on an older, smaller ship. 

So your recommendation is Vancouver to Seward? I saw a RC with thet itinerary. How imperative is a balcony cabin? At this stage most balcony cabins are "Run od Ship" (they pick them for you) 

[BirdTravels]

1 minute ago, hernonmom4 said:

So your recommendation is Vancouver to Seward? I saw a RC with thet itinerary. How imperative is a balcony cabin? At this stage most balcony cabins are "Run od Ship" (they pick them for you) 

If you were doing a cruise tour from Seward to Delani, the recommendation would be to take a one-way.

 

If you were talking about shore excursions, then the recommendation is the Encore, Round Trip Seattle, calling at Glacier Bay. There are still lots of ShoreEx, but it depends on what you're looking for. 

 

So,,, we cruise Alaska every year (we are cruising later in the season than you this year). And for us, a balcony is an imperative. We sit out every evening as we move between ports and watch for sea life (whales, dolphin). And enjoy the spectacular views. 

[Crazy planning mom]

In Juneau, they have vendors at the port.

Check out the Alaska Port message board.

[Lupush]

If you can't book tours via NCL, I would suggest using Viator.  I've used that service many times when excursions have not been available in advance or onboard.

[jcollin]

13 hours ago, hernonmom4 said:

So your recommendation is Vancouver to Seward? I saw a RC with thet itinerary. How imperative is a balcony cabin? At this stage most balcony cabins are "Run od Ship" (they pick them for you) 

Can you point me to this?  We are on the Jewel and would like to do our own excursion from Seward to Denali.  Thanks

[kitkat343]

We planned an independent tour to Denali, which worked out great, but I can't help you with the current logistics (I was there about 12 years ago so my info is out of date).  The buses through Denali roll out slowly, so you might not be able to get all the way in the park, depending on how early in June you go.  For current information, check on the Alaska board  

 

You might be a bit early for the bears (depends on exactly when your cruise is)

 

We sailed at the end of May/early June and were able to see everything but the bears.

 

 

We loved the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour in Ketchikan (which is fascinating and great for families), and the Temsco helicopter to Dog Sled camp in Skagway (please note that Temsco is the subcontractor for the helicopter tours for the cruise ships, and you can save 10% by booking directly through their company. Also, if you choose to visit a dog sled camp, please make sure you do it in Skagway, not Juneau since the weather is a bit more stable in Skagway. Also, please try to book your helicopter tour in the morning, since helicopter tours are often cancelled due to inclement weather. If your helicopter is scheduled for the morning, you will have a better chance of it being rescheduled for the afternoon, instead of the tour being cancelled outright. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that you will be able to participate in this amazing activity due to the unpredictable Alaskan weather).   You can book both of those tours independently through the providers.  Try the Alaska board or tripadvisor for more sources of providers.  

 

 

 

 

[kikipug]

On 4/3/2023 at 8:14 PM, hernonmom4 said:

oops, I meant shore excursions. Looking at Bliss or Encore anyone want to give me a recommendation? Also looking for recommendations on do it yourself shore excursions.

Best excursion we did was the Yukon Bus Tour with Frontier Excursions and Adventures.  All-day small-group tour that was worth every penny! https://www.frontierexcursions.com/tour/yukon-discovery-tour/

[Oceansaway17]

all the ports are fun to walk around in case you can't book an excursion.  In Juneau, ride the tram up to the top for wonderful views.

I bet once on the ship, you will find some tours have availability.