Questions about independent tour company excursion in Juneau

[sne26]

Good afternoon!

My family and I are going on an Alaskan Cruise for the first time on the Sapphire Princess in June.  I have booked an excursion through Alaska Shore Excursions for our stop in Juneau.  We will be doing the Mendenhall Lake Kayaking & Salmon Bake.   I would of done it through the cruise line but there aren't enough tickets left for us, plus this is cheaper.  

 

My questions are:

1. I think Alaska Shore excursions is a tour consolidator not an independent tour company.   Has anyone on here had any issues with excursions they booked through this company?

 

2. This is our first time booking a tour not through the cruise ship so I am a little concerned about how things will go.  The Itinerary says that we will arrive in Juneau at 6:30 am, and our tour starts at 8.   Will we have any issues getting off the ship in time to meet up for our excursion?  I know when we've done excursions through the cruise line, they had a meeting spot on the cruise ship, then we all debark together.  Will we have to wait for the people on the cruises excursions to debark first?  How does it work? 

 

3.  We have 5 in our family, and the kayaks hold 2.  Do the tour companies make sure they have even numbers for these types of excursions? I'm assuming that one of us will have to pair up with a fellow traveler, but what happens if there is an odd number? Would they have a one person kayak? 

 

Thanks,

Stacey

[Coral]

The answer to #2 is no, people are not in a rush to get off the ship right away at that time. You should be fine with that time frame. Tour companies watch if ships are late and will adjust accordingly. Though after saying that, I have never been late getting into Ketchikan.

[teagues]

14 hours ago, sne26 said:

3.  We have 5 in our family, and the kayaks hold 2.  Do the tour companies make sure they have even numbers for these types of excursions? I'm assuming that one of us will have to pair up with a fellow traveler, but what happens if there is an odd number? Would they have a one person kayak? 

This is a very common situation. While we have not done this specific excursion, our family of 3 has done a number of guided kayak tours across the country, always with 2-person kayaks, and it has never been a problem. Our 3rd person is always paired with the guide or a solo traveler or the odd person from another group. With an even number of travelers, the tour guide might take a single kayak, but I cannot remember any time another guest in our tour group was asked or allowed to take a single. 

 

FWIW, Another site that appears to be selling the same sort of excursion (AK travel adventures) says "...you will board the two-person kayaks, with either a new friend or traveling companion, and set off on your Alaskan adventure."