kkmcan Posted June 6, 2023 #1 Share Posted June 6, 2023 I was wondering if there is any advantage to pre-booking our glacier shuttle transfers now directly online (not thru cruiseline) or wait til we arrive and book at one of the kiosks. Is there any savings? Also I've seen the blue school buses or the white buses.... any recommendations on either of those. Thanks so much! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cbtours Posted June 6, 2023 #2 Share Posted June 6, 2023 1 hour ago, kkmcan said: I was wondering if there is any advantage to pre-booking our glacier shuttle transfers now directly online (not thru cruiseline) or wait til we arrive and book at one of the kiosks. Is there any savings? Also I've seen the blue school buses or the white buses.... any recommendations on either of those. Thanks so much! We booked through the ship and had a fantastic driver who was both knowledgeable and very funny! We were dropped right at the visitor centre whereas I believe the blue and white regular transport drop you quite a way from the centre. the walk to nugget falls is about 1.5km each way from the centre. It’s an absolute must do. the visitor centre is also a must. so allowing as much time as possible for those boys the glacier we felt it best to go right there. absolutely loved our time there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfaaa Posted June 6, 2023 #3 Share Posted June 6, 2023 The advantage of booking at the dock on arrival is you can gauge the weather and decide if you want to spend the money on the excursion. The price is pretty much the same. I would not enjoy going to the glacier in pouring rain or on a cold windy day. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latebuyer Posted June 6, 2023 #4 Share Posted June 6, 2023 This is a good tip. I recall last time i came to juneau it was raining and i chose to go to the alaska state museum instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclue Posted June 7, 2023 #5 Share Posted June 7, 2023 Just take the Blue bus when you get to Juneau - if you decide to go to the glacier and the Falls. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreams_of_travel Posted June 7, 2023 #6 Share Posted June 7, 2023 20 hours ago, Cbtours said: We booked through the ship and had a fantastic driver who was both knowledgeable and very funny! We were dropped right at the visitor centre whereas I believe the blue and white regular transport drop you quite a way from the centre. That is not quite correct. I used the blue bus at the port May 2022, and they drop off/pick up from a parking lot/loop about two blocks/500-800ft from the visitor center. It's a flat walk from the lot to the base of the visitor center. Also ship excursions don't always allow you to spend as much time at the park to be able to hike to the falls. I've done both and will never take the ship offering again due to the time constraint. YMMV 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bookmomoftwins Posted June 7, 2023 #7 Share Posted June 7, 2023 How much time should you allow to go from the visitor center to the glacier, explore and go back? Trying to figure out if we can squeeze in doing this on our own after a whale watching tour. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreams_of_travel Posted June 7, 2023 #8 Share Posted June 7, 2023 10 minutes ago, bookmomoftwins said: How much time should you allow to go from the visitor center to the glacier, explore and go back? Trying to figure out if we can squeeze in doing this on our own after a whale watching tour. The falls are about 1.5 miles roundtrip from the visitor center. A few hiking sites recommend at least 45mins for the hike depending on your pace. I did it on a very fast, about an hour, (do not recommend) walk last year due to my own scheduling fubar. LOL! To fully enjoy the center, and the hike reading the signage, and taking pics maybe you could do it in 2 hrs? Not many people seem to leave the visitor center area, so the hiking trail to the falls is rarely busy, in my experience. Of course that depends on the cruise ship schedule of tours and going before or after the big rush. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cbtours Posted June 7, 2023 #9 Share Posted June 7, 2023 3 hours ago, dreams_of_travel said: That is not quite correct. I used the blue bus at the port May 2022, and they drop off/pick up from a parking lot/loop about two blocks/500-800ft from the visitor center. It's a flat walk from the lot to the base of the visitor center. Also ship excursions don't always allow you to spend as much time at the park to be able to hike to the falls. I've done both and will never take the ship offering again due to the time constraint. YMMV That’s great to hear then. I had read the opposite in researching prior to our trip as far as I’m aware. we definitely had plenty of time to hike to the falls then come back to the visitor centre with a good look around plus watch the short very interesting movie. we had two hours there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreams_of_travel Posted June 7, 2023 #10 Share Posted June 7, 2023 2 hours ago, Cbtours said: That’s great to hear then. I had read the opposite in researching prior to our trip as far as I’m aware. we definitely had plenty of time to hike to the falls then come back to the visitor centre with a good look around plus watch the short very interesting movie. we had two hours there. That's fair. It does depend on the cruise line, port timings, and their excursions. The one I took ages ago allowed for about 1.5hrs, which by the time we figured out about the falls, after the visitor center, and the closer viewing trails, it was too late. Perhaps cruise lines have changed their approach, and now allows much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveandpeas Posted June 19, 2023 #11 Share Posted June 19, 2023 Can anybody tell me the cost for Blue Bus or other (non-ship excursion) busses going from the port to the Mendenhall Glacier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ferry_Watcher Posted June 19, 2023 #12 Share Posted June 19, 2023 9 hours ago, loveandpeas said: Can anybody tell me the cost for Blue Bus or other (non-ship excursion) busses going from the port to the Mendenhall Glacier? We went in May '23 and the cost was $45 each. If you have a National Parks Pass let the person at the kiosk know, as we both saved $5, so our actual cost was $40 each. Keep your receipt for the return trip to town. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkat343 Posted June 20, 2023 #13 Share Posted June 20, 2023 On 6/7/2023 at 1:44 PM, bookmomoftwins said: How much time should you allow to go from the visitor center to the glacier, explore and go back? Trying to figure out if we can squeeze in doing this on our own after a whale watching tour. Our private whale watching tour dropped us off at Mendenhall Glacier at the end of our tour. Maybe contact your provider to get a sense of whether that is possible and if it would work out with the timing of your ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hottubmomma Posted June 20, 2023 #14 Share Posted June 20, 2023 We have an excursion ending at around 11:45, so I quick lunch and back on the bus to the glacier around 1....ship leaves at 5. Does that give us enough time to see the Glacier and the falls? I am worried about the return trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latebuyer Posted June 23, 2023 #15 Share Posted June 23, 2023 Do you tip the bus driver? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new_cruiser Posted June 23, 2023 #16 Share Posted June 23, 2023 (edited) On 6/6/2023 at 1:16 PM, Cbtours said: We booked through the ship and had a fantastic driver who was both knowledgeable and very funny! We were dropped right at the visitor centre whereas I believe the blue and white regular transport drop you quite a way from the centre. the walk to nugget falls is about 1.5km each way from the centre. It’s an absolute must do. the visitor centre is also a must. so allowing as much time as possible for those boys the glacier we felt it best to go right there. absolutely loved our time there. The blue bus and other shuttles all drop quite close to the visitor center. The various bus stops are spread over a couple of hundred feet. Also, you probably want to take a look at Steep Creek which is across that area from the visitor center. When the salmon are running, you have a chance of safely seeing bears there. I like that with the shuttles you can spend as much time as you want at Mendenhall. One time I did the Trail of Time which gives a different picture of the glacier and it's past extent. You may be confusing comments about taking the city bus to the glacier with the shuttle busses. The city bus costs much less (maybe a few bucks) but the bus stop for that is quite a ways from the visitor center (something on the order of a kilometer is what I remember). Edited June 23, 2023 by new_cruiser 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new_cruiser Posted June 23, 2023 #17 Share Posted June 23, 2023 On 6/19/2023 at 5:55 AM, Ferry_Watcher said: We went in May '23 and the cost was $45 each. If you have a National Parks Pass let the person at the kiosk know, as we both saved $5, so our actual cost was $40 each. Keep your receipt for the return trip to town. When I asked about that at the blue bus kiosk in June 2023, they said they aren't doing that anymore. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cbtours Posted June 23, 2023 #18 Share Posted June 23, 2023 27 minutes ago, new_cruiser said: The blue bus and other shuttles all drop quite close to the visitor center. The various bus stops are spread over a couple of hundred feet. Also, you probably want to take a look at Steep Creek which is across that area from the visitor center. When the salmon are running, you have a chance of safely seeing bears there. I like that with the shuttles you can spend as much time as you want at Mendenhall. One time I did the Trail of Time which gives a different picture of the glacier and it's past extent. You may be confusing comments about taking the city bus to the glacier with the shuttle busses. The city bus costs much less (maybe a few bucks) but the bus stop for that is quite a ways from the visitor center (something on the order of a kilometer is what I remember). It true it could be a different bus, I’ve not had experience with them, just comments on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latebuyer Posted June 24, 2023 #19 Share Posted June 24, 2023 Does the blue bus only take cash? I don’t think i got enough american money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new_cruiser Posted June 24, 2023 #20 Share Posted June 24, 2023 4 hours ago, latebuyer said: Does the blue bus only take cash? I don’t think i got enough american money! Credit cards are fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLM0928 Posted July 6, 2023 #21 Share Posted July 6, 2023 I just received this email from the Blue Bus - I would not hold out hope for a ticket -- We are very sorry but your Tour with M&M Tours MUST be cancelled at thistime.We cannot honor your booking due to the fact that we are out of GLACIERPERMITS!It saddens us to say but we have no Glacier Permits available. We havetried to hold on as long aspossible hoping to receive more Glacier Permits. As far as we have beentold, there will be no moreGlacier Permits forthcoming.We are not taking any new bookings for our Blue Bus or Juneau HighlightsToursat this time. Please check our website for NEW tours that do NOT go to theMendenhall Glacier. mmtoursofjuneau.comPlease check with our dock booths (M&M Tours of Juneau) the day you are inour beautiful little city of Juneau.They may have something available for you.Thank you,Tammy 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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