Ahhh! Help!

[kgarroutte]

We are from Northern California and sailing out of Seattle to Alaska in mid-July on Carnival Spirit. I am LOST on what excursions to partake in. Being from NorCal we don't need a lot of what I see (nature, whale watching, etc.). Hubby is interested in Salmon fishing and dogsledding. Both seem overpriced for me. I'm looking for something that is once-in-a-lifetime and worth the expensive Alaska prices (I say that with no ill-will, we are from California). I'll appreciate any recommendations. FYI: we prefer to book off ship. TYI

Ports of Call:

Tracy Arm Fjord 10am (pretty sure this is just a pass through)

Skagway 7am-8pm

Jeanuea 7am-3pm

Ketchikan 7am-1pm (I think hubby is going fishing on this one)

Victoria 8pm-midnight

Edited February 17 by kgarroutte
add more detail

[SoloAlaska]

What makes Alaska special is the nature. If you’re not interested in seeing nature then why book an Alaskan cruise.

 

Salmon fishing in Ketchikan ranges from $250-300 per person for a half day if you book it privately. Pretty decent price for an excursion of that length with very small group sizes. They usually can also arrange for any catch to be processed and shipped to your home.
 

Skagway is where I would look at doing dog sledding but it won’t be quite as you expect probably. Sled dogs don’t usually really run in the summer because of the heat but some tour operators have short tracks with carts you ride on that the dogs will pull. There are other excursions that are a visit to a musher camp which some people really love. I use to live with 60 sled dogs so I never bothered with these excursions but others will have more positive to say I’m sure.

 

Juneau a lot of people usually go whale watching but since that’s not of interest you might want to consider Mendenhall glacier.

[lisabdh1]

Juneau - All Tours - Juneau Tours and Excursions - Juneau, AK

 - you could also do the tram up to the top of mountain, beautiful views

Skagway - YUKON RAIL & BUS | Chilkoot Charters & Tours  Walking tour

- highly recommend one of their tours and there is a great walking tour of the town

Ketchikan - Totem Bight State Park

- best thing in my opinion, but if you are docked downtown there is also the free shuttle loop with museums, Creek Street, and shopping

[Coral]

There are 2 different types of dog sledding excursions.

 

One - where they run on gravel and this is cheaper. Usually kids think this is good enough.

 

The other which you land on a glacier and go dog sledding there (helicopter ride). These are the more expensive excursions. They are more likely to be cancelled due to weather. Skagway and Juneau are the ports for this tour.

 

---

 

There often is a Tracy Arm excursion that will be booked through the ship to be in a smaller boat. This is definitely worth it. Pricey but you won't regret it unless weather is horrible.

 

I would agree with the above poster about Skagway and Chilkoot tours if you do not do dog sledding here.

 

 

[lobsternight]

Yes Alaska excursions are expensive.  Also may want to check a bit deeper with the fishing trips as to what can be caught at the time of your trip.  Always changing.

 

If you want a life experience in Juneau consider the Taku Lodge 5 glacier flight and bbq.  It will not disappoint, in my opinion money well spent

 

Also think the White Pass train/bus combos  an be good choice.

[diesel1973]

Another item to consider .about the fishing charters is the price of having your fish processed and shipped to your home. Depending on the type of fish and the amount , it could cost more than the charter.

[wolfie11]

King salmon fishing has been limited to one fish 28” or greater per person.  Probably not worth shipping home.

[edinburgher]

On 2/17/2024 at 12:59 AM, kgarroutte said:

I'm looking for something that is once-in-a-lifetime and worth the expensive Alaska prices

I totally agree with the above recommendation to take one of the White Pass train/bus combos ideally travelling up into the Canadian Yukon to Emerald Lake  through some stunning scenery.

 

kgarroutte, this is not an overly expensive trip, and is definitely a "one off", even better should you have  some knowledge of the history which you can relate to.

 

Our guide was a college student spending summer in Ketchikan and on the section by bus, he.recited some of the Alaskan themed poems by Robert Sargent along the way. Listening to the words, looking out at the landscape and imagining the terrible hardships in winter gave our trip extra meaning.

 

Before taking that trip, I recommend folks read a few of his poems, although there are works by other poets also available to read.

 

 

Edited February 19 by edinburgher

[Reebster]

We rented a car in Skagway and drove through the Yukon Territory. We stopped in Carcross to do some walking around the town, had lunch at a place along the way and stopped at a place where you could play with sled dogs, All very affordable, and the scenery was incredible and we still made it back in time to do the afternoon excursion on the train. 

[kgarroutte]

Why Alaska if not nature? (that was snarky, not helpful) But....It is my husband's choice and our daughter and family are stationed in WA, so we get to visit them and then have someone to watch our 9 yo son.
I appreciate the input on fishing, that's at the top of my husband's list. And I REALLY appreciate the specific links.
For the car rental, did you book in advance? Was that difficult?

[SightCRR]

On 2/19/2024 at 7:46 AM, edinburgher said:

he.recited some of the Alaskan themed poems by Robert Sargent along the way. Listening to the words, looking out at the landscape and imagining the terrible hardships in winter gave our trip extra meaning.

 

Before taking that trip, I recommend folks read a few of his poems, although there are works by other poets also available to read.

 

 

Likely Robert W. Service. 

[Reebster]

We did arrange to rent the car in advance online through Avis. There are more companies now to choose from, and I think there's now a Jeep rental service as well, but I highly recommend the drive. We enjoyed it more than the White Pass train because we were able to stop whenever we saw something interesting, so it wasn't just non-stop scenery (which truly is amazing). You'll need to have your passports on you if you drive because you'll cross into Canada (which was no hassle at all, I think we saw one other car) and they will usually stamp your passports.

[edinburgher]

2 hours ago, SightCRR said:

Likely Robert W. Service. 

It absolutely was, and thank you for pointing out my error. That guide only added to our enjoyment of the day and I was trying to give others the same experience, so although I got half of his name wrong, I did at least try.......

Edited February 27 by edinburgher

[lisabdh1]

For car rentals, definitely check how many ships are in port that day - and call early to ask about how likely they are to be booked up closer to the date in port.

[sharon_pei]

Avis's rental is $450+ for 1 day from what I can find. At that price point, we decide to opt for the train/bus combo. But it may still make sense for those larger groups of 4-5 people i guess.

[ABQrobin]

Tracy Arm cruising day is not a pass-thru.... it is an epic event.  YOU really should think about doing the small boat tour.  It gets you right up to the glaciers, and you might see even more.  We saw quite a few mountain goats on a hillside.  Its gorgeous.

My video:

 

 

 

And at Juneau.... we loved the helicopter tour:

 

 

 

BOTH ARE WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!!!

[kgarroutte]

On 3/7/2024 at 8:30 AM, ABQrobin said:

Tracy Arm cruising day is not a pass-thru.... it is an epic event.  YOU really should think about doing the small boat tour.  It gets you right up to the glaciers, and you might see even more.  We saw quite a few mountain goats on a hillside.  Its gorgeous.

My video:

 

 

 

And at Juneau.... we loved the helicopter tour:

 

 

 

BOTH ARE WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!!!

Thank you, we just made the decision to take the small boat closer!

 

[ABQrobin]

3 hours ago, kgarroutte said:

Thank you, we just made the decision to take the small boat closer!

 

Keep an eye out for this when it gets posted as available on your cruise.  It WILL sell out immediately.  On our last trip, they did open up a second boat closer to sail date but there are no guarantees you can get a spot.  Literally everyone will be trying to get on it.

Have a great trip.

[kgarroutte]

1 minute ago, ABQrobin said:

Keep an eye out for this when it gets posted as available on your cruise.  It WILL sell out immediately.  On our last trip, they did open up a second boat closer to sail date but there are no guarantees you can get a spot.  Literally everyone will be trying to get on it.

Have a great trip.

It's in my cart, so it's available and there are a lot of spaces available.

[viking69]

On 2/16/2024 at 7:59 PM, kgarroutte said:

We are from Northern California and sailing out of Seattle to Alaska in mid-July on Carnival Spirit. I am LOST on what excursions to partake in. Being from NorCal we don't need a lot of what I see (nature, whale watching, etc.). Hubby is interested in Salmon fishing and dogsledding. Both seem overpriced for me. I'm looking for something that is once-in-a-lifetime and worth the expensive Alaska prices (I say that with no ill-will, we are from California). I'll appreciate any recommendations. FYI: we prefer to book off ship. TYI

Ports of Call:

Tracy Arm Fjord 10am (pretty sure this is just a pass through)

Skagway 7am-8pm

Jeanuea 7am-3pm

Ketchikan 7am-1pm (I think hubby is going fishing on this one)

Victoria 8pm-midnight

Check out a helicopter tour and glacier landing. Look at some of the independent tour sources for each port.