What to do in Juneau

[Cruisergal1981]

Would you recommend going to Mendenhall glacier on our own or doing a panning for gold (no salmon bake) tour? I’ve very torn on both. Help! 

[dmwnc1959]

7 hours ago, Cruisergal1981 said:

Would you recommend going to Mendenhall glacier on our own or doing a panning for gold (no salmon bake) tour? I’ve very torn on both. Help! 

I don’t know if you’ve read this recent thread about access to Mendenhall through public transportation or Uber. It’s worth a read. You may want to sign up for a ship tour.
 

Also, linked below is a page from the NCL Shore excursions (I’m not sure which cruise on you’re taking) in Juneau to give you an idea of what’s available based on your own personal interests. 
 

 

https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/search?destination=Alaska+Cruises&port=JNU&sort=price&sortOrder=asc&perPage=12

 

 

 

 

[deejuliet]

I have not done the gold panning tour so I cannot speak to that. However, I have gone to Mendenhall glacier. We did a combined Mendenhall and whale watching trip and we loved it! On the whale watching trip we saw lots of fins, tails and backs and it was very cool. At Mendenhall we went to the visitors center and walked the trail to the glacier. We saw a bear. on. the. trail!!! That was our favorite part!

[dmwnc1959]

1 hour ago, deejuliet said:

I have not done the gold panning tour so I cannot speak to that. However, I have gone to Mendenhall glacier. We did a combined Mendenhall and whale watching trip and we loved it! On the whale watching trip we saw lots of fins, tails and backs and it was very cool. At Mendenhall we went to the visitors center and walked the trail to the glacier. We saw a bear. on. the. trail!!! That was our favorite part!

I’ve also never done the panning for gold excursion, just really not my thing. I have been lucky enough to have cruised Alaska five times already and did the Mt. Robert’s tramway, the Gold Creek salmon bake, a whale watching cruise, as well as glacier flight-seeing out to the Taku Glacier Lodge for a salmon bake, and one helicopter tour that actually landed on the Taku glacier where we got out and hiked around a bit. Some of that was really freaking expensive. There’s a ton of stuff to do even if it’s just walking around town. Try and enjoy one of the local restaurants if there’s not too many ships in town. Have two more cruises booked for Alaska - one in 2025, the other in 2026. 
 

https://alaskafjordlines.com/wp-content/uploads/onlinewalkingmap.pdf

 

You could probably also just go to YouTube and search Juneau Downtown Walking Tour and come up with some really good videos. This one is sort of a walking tour with no commentary but some captioned descriptions, always find these kind of nice.

 

😁

 

 

Edited April 2 by dmwnc1959

[Coral]

Panning for gold seems to be popular amongst the kids age group. I think many adults find it hokey. I am sure other adults on this website will prove me wrong but that seems to be the consensus of those I have spoken to.

[royal3]

Definitely Mendenhall over panning. You can pan in any Alaska port. Not all ports have an easily accessible glacier. 

[GORDONCHICK]

We usually do whale watching with Harv & Marv's in Juneau.  Sometimes the driver will make a quick stop at the Mendenhall lookout, but it's not a long stop.

[SkippersCruisersMN]

On 4/1/2024 at 8:21 PM, deejuliet said:

I have not done the gold panning tour so I cannot speak to that. However, I have gone to Mendenhall glacier. We did a combined Mendenhall and whale watching trip and we loved it! On the whale watching trip we saw lots of fins, tails and backs and it was very cool. At Mendenhall we went to the visitors center and walked the trail to the glacier. We saw a bear. on. the. trail!!! That was our favorite part!

We did this tour as well and loved it! We are avid hikers and did wish for a little bit of extra time at the glacier.