Leaving on the Bliss for Alaska on August 26. Any recommended excursions? We are only signed up for a whale watch in Juneau.

[DEBBO1012]

There are 10 of us traveling together and several want to take a train ride. Is one offered on the 7-day cruise?

[BirdTravels]

Train is in Skagway. 

 

Recommendation: Glacier Explorer to the Dawes Glacier in Juneau. You board a small tour boat just before the ship leaves Juneau. The small boat races ahead, stopping for sea life (whales, seals) and wild life (bears, eagles). The boat will go up a side arm, inaccessible to the big ship, and will take you to the face of the glacier. Depending on the ice conditions, the Bliss may have to stay out 5-6 miles from the glacier while you would be up front and personal. Once the Bliss catches up with you near the glacier, you will reboard the Bliss via a tender dock. 

 

There are a few photos from this excursion from my live post starting at Post #243. There are some [old] photos from the Bliss on this link. All of the menus and dailies are out of date, but the ship's pictures should be very close to what you will see. 

 

Edited July 21, 2023 by BirdTravels

[chillyw]

Favorite thing I've done in Alaska is a helicopter tour to a glacier with dogsledding. Expensive but worth every penny.

[kitkat343]

48 minutes ago, chillyw said:

Favorite thing I've done in Alaska is a helicopter tour to a glacier with dogsledding. Expensive but worth every penny.

Temsco is the subcontractor.  If you have trip insurance that would cover a changed/cancelled port stop you can book directly with them to save money.   They recommended that you book in Skagway instead of Juneau because the weather is more stable there.  Also take the earliest slot you can get because they will try to reschedule you later in the day if possible but if there are longer weather delays they may not be able to accommodate you for safety reasons.

 

I'd also recommend the Bering sea crabbing tour.  

 

And the Mt. Roberts Tramway was nice.

 

But if you are booking independently please check their cancellation politics and trip insurance coverage coverage in case NCL changes the port order, times or cancels the port stop altogether.  

 

 

 

 

 

[www3traveler]

Going this late in the Alaskan Season many excursions may have already shut down because thier staffs have already for school or other employment (teachers) in the Lower 48.

 

Helicopter or Float Plane excursions to the glaciers might not be possible if the glacier ice is soft to land.

 

Mount Roberts is exceptional and a clear day.

 

This late in the Season may shops are beginning to close for the Winter-- think Christmas shopping.  More than once I have done all of my Christmas shopping in Alaska.  Skagway used to have fabric shop just off the street with lots and lots of Alaskan print fabric for quilts.

 

A friend was just in Skagway last week, she and her Dad found a shop in Skagway that sold truffles.  Her pictures made my mouth water.

 

Enjoy

 

[chillyw]

Also, don't miss the Skagway Brewing company, great food and beer!

[Go2SeaTheWorld]

We walked around Sitka on our own and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Whalewatching also in Juneau.

We booked the forest tram at the top of the mountain on Icy Strait Point, but it was raining hard so passed on that.  Even taking the gondola to the top of the mountain, we were  unable to see much of Glacier Bay due to rain & fog.  Did enjoy walking along the beach to the tourist shops established in the former salmon cannery.  Booked Blight National Totem Park & Lumberjack show in Ketchikan. The Park was beautiful & really interesting. Show was cheesey & have seen better on ESPN back in the day when they used to carry those competitions. If had it to do over would definitely just do the park & take the rest of the time to sightsee on our own around the town. 

[chillyw]

Forgot to also add I've done two kayaking tours in Alaska and both were great. Highly recommend kayaking.

[sailingships]

Weve done Alaska in September and didnt need a special whale watching shorex. The whales were everywhere playing and getting ready for their 1,000 mile swim to Hawaii for the winter. They arrive there in November. 

 

The White Pass train shorex is offered in Sept. Its great.

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by sailingships

[Monica887]

Sitka - Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest - yes, we saw lots of wildlife from the ship, but it was nice to be on the smaller boat and getting a little closer and slowing down when there was something spectacular. 

 

Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier by Helicopter and Guided Walk - probably the best ship excursion I've ever been on. 

 

Skagway we rented a car and it was one of the best days of the trip. Nice to go at our own pace. Got my dog obsessed little girl to see and snuggle sled dogs. Drove up to Emerald Lake and back. There's a guide online somewhere if you're interested that includes highlights. 

[DEBBO1012]

Thank you everyone! Very interesting info. Keep it coming. We have all been on a cruise to Alaska before but want to make this one the most memorable.

[DEBBO1012]

Thank you everyone! Very interesting info. Keep it coming. We have all been on a cruise to Alaska before but want to make this one the most memorable. Our itinerary is:

*Sitka 11-6

Endicott and Dawes 

*Juneau 7-1:30 (we have already booked a whale watch)

*icy Strait 7-3

*Ketchikan (Wards Cove) 6:30-1:15

[YVRteacher]

Highly recommend the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour on the Deadliest Catch boat Aleutian Ballad.  Best shore excursion ever. This is in Ketchikan. You can book it through NCL or directly with the company. They will pick you up at Ward Cove.

 

For Sitka, look up Sitka Wildlife Tours. We just did the tour the included the forest hike, Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Sanctuary. We also took the shuttle into Sitka early to explore the town and harbour.

 

In Icy Strait Point, do the gondola that goes up Mt. Hoonah. Since you are doing whale watching in Juneau you don’t need to do it again in Icy Strait Point. Treat yourself to a bag of mini doughnuts in Icy Strait Point!

 

In Juneau, walk through town and go the Alaskan Fudge Company. Buy the truffles! Buy all the truffles!!

Edited July 22, 2023 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

If you want an incredible experience, book the small boat glacier viewing excursion through NCL on the day you go to Endicott Arm. 

[destar]

56 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Highly recommend the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour on the Deadliest Catch boat Aleutian Ballad.  Best shore excursion ever. This is in Ketchikan. You can book it through NCL or directly with the company. They will pick you up at Ward Cove.

Heard a lot about this excursion, on my radar for next May on the Bliss. They have a video on youtube.

[Comesaleaway1970]

On 7/21/2023 at 5:05 PM, chillyw said:

Favorite thing I've done in Alaska is a helicopter tour to a glacier with dogsledding. Expensive but worth every penny.

I’m scheduled to go on this tour can you recommend how to dress it’s leaving end of July-thanks in advance 

[Panhandle Couple]

2 hours ago, DEBBO1012 said:

Thank you everyone! Very interesting info. Keep it coming. We have all been on a cruise to Alaska before but want to make this one the most memorable. Our itinerary is:

*Sitka 11-6

Endicott and Dawes 

*Juneau 7-1:30 (we have already booked a whale watch)

*icy Strait 7-3

*Ketchikan (Wards Cove) 6:30-1:15

I saw this on the NCL site.  Did they replace Skagway with ISP?

I'm also tracking that the train engineers in Skagway will (most likely) go on strike the week of your cruise.

 

I haven't been to Sitka.

I would whale watch at ISP, great modern boats, and you get very close to the whales.  At Juneau they tend to overpack the boats.  At ISP you catch the boat right at the cruise dock, very easy.  At Juneau you are bussed to-from over 12 miles north of town.  We had some good crab at ISP as well as the reindeer chili.

 

Juneau, if you haven't been to Mendenhall Glacier, then it is a good replacement for whale watching. Also can use Roberts tramway to the top of the ridge, if you want to do some hiking along the ridge. Good scenery if it is sunny out.

 

Ketchikan - we did a glacier lake canoe and Jeep combo.  Pricier, but worth it if you like using Jeeps as their were designed for.  The canoe portion had a nice nature hike and crab chowder.  I don't know if it is available thru NCL.  We were bussed north of Ward Cove from town (non-NCL cruise) to do both, so it seems it should be available as a local excursion.

 

Brew Pubs!

Juneau has Devils Club (which we really liked) and Barnaby (just OK).

Ketchikan has Bawden Street Brewing, small but good beer.

[julig22]

2 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

If you want an incredible experience, book the small boat glacier viewing excursion through NCL on the day you go to Endicott Arm. 

Probably too late in the season. I'm leaving Aug 28 had it booked and it's been cancelled.  Description of the tour says through Mid August.

[chillyw]

10 hours ago, Comesaleaway1970 said:

I’m scheduled to go on this tour can you recommend how to dress it’s leaving end of July-thanks in advance 

 

We were there on July 4th week and it was warm. Temsco has lockers you can leave stuff in.

 

My recommendation is wear light layers and ditch anything heavy. They give you a slip on for traction over your shoes.

 

Skagway was about 78 or so the day we were there. I wore a base layer, outer layer, and light jacket with a ball cap. I was hot with the jacket on until I got up to the glacier and then it was honestly perfect.

 

I would recommend layers to keep you warm, with something easy to take off and carry in town. It's about 20 degrees colder on the glacier so plan for that. They dropped us off in Skagway after the tour if we wanted. Great chance to go to Skagway Brewing!

[Comesaleaway1970]

Thank you very much great info !!!!

[DEBBO1012]

Thanks to all, this is great information. Keep it coming as we are meeting online today to make some final plans.