Planning for 2025 - Helicopter Flight and Dogsledding

[Sparky74]

DW & I cruised Alaska with HAL last year. We really enjoyed the trip and both agreed that we’d like to return. As we’re Australians, it’s a bit of a trek to get there but we’re looking at the possibility of 2025. 
Our main (only) disappointment in Alaska last year was that our shore excursion in Juneau, a helicopter flight and dog sledding on Mendenhall Glacier was cancelled due to the weather. See below for a link to the relevant part of my trip review. 
Now, I know that the weather is difficult to predict, especially in Alaska, but I’m wondering if anyone can shed some light on the LIKELY-HOOD of this tour being cancelled. How often does it go and how often is it cancelled? What months is it more likely to run? And are we better to book through the ship or direct with someone shoreside? If shoreside, book ahead or on the day?

At this stage we’re thinking of booking B2B cruises to give us two visits to Juneau and thus two chances at this bucket-list experience. We will have the luxury of 8 weeks vacation 😱😁 in 2025 but, alas, limited funds. I did wonder about building some time into our itinerary to return to Juneau later on, if necessary, either by plane or the Alaskan Marine Highway ferry, if we miss out again. 
Your thoughts would be appreciated. 
 

 

[Cbtours]

1 hour ago, Sparky74 said:

DW & I cruised Alaska with HAL last year. We really enjoyed the trip and both agreed that we’d like to return. As we’re Australians, it’s a bit of a trek to get there but we’re looking at the possibility of 2025. 
Our main (only) disappointment in Alaska last year was that our shore excursion in Juneau, a helicopter flight and dog sledding on Mendenhall Glacier was cancelled due to the weather. See below for a link to the relevant part of my trip review. 
Now, I know that the weather is difficult to predict, especially in Alaska, but I’m wondering if anyone can shed some light on the LIKELY-HOOD of this tour being cancelled. How often does it go and how often is it cancelled? What months is it more likely to run? And are we better to book through the ship or direct with someone shoreside? If shoreside, book ahead or on the day?

At this stage we’re thinking of booking B2B cruises to give us two visits to Juneau and thus two chances at this bucket-list experience. We will have the luxury of 8 weeks vacation 😱😁 in 2025 but, alas, limited funds. I did wonder about building some time into our itinerary to return to Juneau later on, if necessary, either by plane or the Alaskan Marine Highway ferry, if we miss out again. 
Your thoughts would be appreciated. 
 

 

Hi Mark, we did Alaska in may this year (doing B2B vancouver return and enjoyed two days in each of the ports.)

it was the most spectacular scenery and the one place we definitely would like to return too! 
your report last year prompted me to investigate insurance re snow sports (as dog sledding counted as). It would have been $321 for one day for Frank as an addition to his travel insurance. Given there is no guarantee it wouldn’t get canceled, we (me) decided against it. At $699 each in first place it was already a huge step. However if we go again I would consider literally just doing that one excursion 😁

 

All the best planning and hope Cathryn’s ankle is mended now. 🥰

 

[Northern Aurora]

Skagway also offers helicopter trips to a glacier and dogsledding.  Is Skagway on your itinerary?  In any event use google to locate the website for Temsco which, at least in the past, as offered such excursions in both Juneau and Skagway.

[Sparky74]

At this stage we’re looking at 14 night cruises out of Vancouver with Princess. This cruise typically has 2 calls at Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway; once on the way North to Anchorage and again on the way back South to Vancouver. With the Australian Dollar valued so low, every penny counts so I’m looking at the more affordable sail dates: June 7th, June 14th, June 21st, July 5th, July 19th, August 2nd, August 16th, or September 6th.

 

Are any of these dates MORE LIKELY to have better weather than others and thus more chance of the helicopter flying? Are any of these dates likely to be busier than others or all about the same? With everything else being equal, which date would you choose?

[Cbtours]

5 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

At this stage we’re looking at 14 night cruises out of Vancouver with Princess. This cruise typically has 2 calls at Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway; once on the way North to Anchorage and again on the way back South to Vancouver. With the Australian Dollar valued so low, every penny counts so I’m looking at the more affordable sail dates: June 7th, June 14th, June 21st, July 5th, July 19th, August 2nd, August 16th, or September 6th.

 

Are any of these dates MORE LIKELY to have better weather than others and thus more chance of the helicopter flying? Are any of these dates likely to be busier than others or all about the same? With everything else being equal, which date would you choose?

Does this mean May is more expensive? May (when we went) cruised 6-20th return vancouver, has the least rainfall in my understanding. We had perfect sunny weather though I understand that was not norm. 😁🥰

[Sparky74]

4 hours ago, Cbtours said:

Does this mean May is more expensive? May (when we went) cruised 6-20th return vancouver, has the least rainfall in my understanding. We had perfect sunny weather though I understand that was not norm. 😁🥰

Unfortunately May is a blackout period when we’re not allowed to take vacation. 

[Cbtours]

4 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

Unfortunately May is a blackout period when we’re not allowed to take vacation. 

Never mind you’ll be retired one day and can pick and choose 😁

 

id be happy if I was too young to be retired don’t worry 🤣

[Coral]

If your cruise was in September - it would be cancelled (I didn't want to read the whole blog). Most dog sledding is done by then. I think Anchorage has a company that operates all summer but Juneau and Skagway are done by mid-August. Sadly - this is a well known issue.

 

I would go in May or June. I prefer May.

 

I just saw you can't go in May. Go in June. The earlier the season, the better chance for good weather (and snow on the glaciers).

Edited November 18, 2023 by Coral

[Sparky74]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

If your cruise was in September - it would be cancelled (I didn't want to read the whole blog). Most dog sledding is done by then. I think Anchorage has a company that operates all summer but Juneau and Skagway are done by mid-August. Sadly - this is a well known issue.

 

I would go in May or June. I prefer May.

 

I just saw you can't go in May. Go in June. The earlier the season, the better chance for good weather (and snow on the glaciers).

Thank you for the advice. 
I found the itinerary from our 2022 Alaskan cruise. (See attached image) We sailed from Seattle on August 27th and we were in Juneau on August 29th. 
One of the comments I made at the time was that we didn’t seem to have very long in each port. The 2025 Princess 14 day itineraries have much longer port days. 😁

[Coral]

5 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

Thank you for the advice. 
I found the itinerary from our 2022 Alaskan cruise. (See attached image) We sailed from Seattle on August 27th and we were in Juneau on August 29th. 
One of the comments I made at the time was that we didn’t seem to have very long in each port. The 2025 Princess 14 day itineraries have much longer port days. 😁

You are right in that RT Seattle schedules do not have as much time in port. They have farther to go to get to Alaska than Vancouver one way trips. They have less time in ports and only 1 glacier usually. One ways often have 2 glacier days and longer days in ports. I have done one RT out of Seattle and I agree - it is not the best.

 

Regardless, almost all dog sledding on glaciers is closed by mid-August due to lack of snow on glaciers (the dates change every year but due to climate issues - it is usually earlier most years). There is one company out of Anchorage that goes to a glacier that does have snow all season but that is rare.

[Sparky74]

Just to further complicate matters, we’re now wondering about doing two 7 night cruises, Northbound and then Southbound, and staying in Anchorage between them. 
Or possibly cruising from Vancouver to Anchorage, flying to Fairbanks for a week, flying back to Anchorage for a week, and then boarding the same ship in Anchorage to return to Vancouver. 
I think I need to do a lot more research!

[Coral]

17 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

Just to further complicate matters, we’re now wondering about doing two 7 night cruises, Northbound and then Southbound, and staying in Anchorage between them. 
Or possibly cruising from Vancouver to Anchorage, flying to Fairbanks for a week, flying back to Anchorage for a week, and then boarding the same ship in Anchorage to return to Vancouver. 
I think I need to do a lot more research!

Most ships turn around in Whittier or Seward. Seward is definitely worth spending time in. Anchorage is a city - I wouldn't spend too much time there. Research Fairbanks. Definitely do research before book anything. Doing 2 cruises will give you opportunity if there is bad weather one week.

[Sparky74]

I’m currently thinking that we might do a 7 night Northbound cruise (Vancouver to Whittier). Then spend two weeks in the Anchorage/Denali/Fairbanks area. We could then do a 7 night Southbound cruise (Whittier to Vancouver) on the same ship. I think it might be kinda nice to do both cruises on the same ship and see the same staff and crew again. Also I'm guessing that 14 days should give us sufficient time to explore the area.

 

I’m wondering if we can get by without hiring a car? We drive on the left in Australia and I’m not sure how I’d go driving on the "wrong" side of the road. 😁 I’m thinking maybe after getting off the ship we catch the train straight up to Denali for a few days, then on to Fairbanks for about a week. I wouldn’t mind doing a day trip to North Pole from Fairbanks. Then maybe fly to Anchorage for a few days maybe with a day trip (or even overnight) to Seward before we reboard the ship in Whittier. 
 

When is the best time to view Salmon running? Is June too early?

[Cbtours]

17 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

I’m currently thinking that we might do a 7 night Northbound cruise (Vancouver to Whittier). Then spend two weeks in the Anchorage/Denali/Fairbanks area. We could then do a 7 night Southbound cruise (Whittier to Vancouver) on the same ship. I think it might be kinda nice to do both cruises on the same ship and see the same staff and crew again. Also I'm guessing that 14 days should give us sufficient time to explore the area.

 

I’m wondering if we can get by without hiring a car? We drive on the left in Australia and I’m not sure how I’d go driving on the "wrong" side of the road. 😁 I’m thinking maybe after getting off the ship we catch the train straight up to Denali for a few days, then on to Fairbanks for about a week. I wouldn’t mind doing a day trip to North Pole from Fairbanks. Then maybe fly to Anchorage for a few days maybe with a day trip (or even overnight) to Seward before we reboard the ship in Whittier. 
 

When is the best time to view Salmon running? Is June too early?

Sounding like it’s going to be an awesome trip 🥰

[Coral]

20 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

I’m currently thinking that we might do a 7 night Northbound cruise (Vancouver to Whittier). Then spend two weeks in the Anchorage/Denali/Fairbanks area. We could then do a 7 night Southbound cruise (Whittier to Vancouver) on the same ship. I think it might be kinda nice to do both cruises on the same ship and see the same staff and crew again. Also I'm guessing that 14 days should give us sufficient time to explore the area.

 

I’m wondering if we can get by without hiring a car? We drive on the left in Australia and I’m not sure how I’d go driving on the "wrong" side of the road. 😁 I’m thinking maybe after getting off the ship we catch the train straight up to Denali for a few days, then on to Fairbanks for about a week. I wouldn’t mind doing a day trip to North Pole from Fairbanks. Then maybe fly to Anchorage for a few days maybe with a day trip (or even overnight) to Seward before we reboard the ship in Whittier. 
 

When is the best time to view Salmon running? Is June too early?

IMO - Fairbanks isn't worth a week but I have never gone to North Pole from there. So I may think differently if I had done that. If you said a week in Fairbanks alone, I would advise against that.

 

Two different ships may present different ports that are worthy (Sitka is one), after saying that, I have done the same ship/same port both directions multiple times. There is enough to do in most ports to visit multiple times. Heck, even going to the same glacier a week apart can look entirely different IMO.

 

Salmon don't start running until mid to end of July. I have been the week of the 4th of July 2x and it was too early both times. I almost always go in May and love that time (snow in the mountains, less rain, long days of sunshine).

Edited November 23, 2023 by Coral