Advice for Alaska excursions

[Nily D]

Hi! my husband and I are taking our first ever cruise to Alaska in June (Inside Passage, RT from Vancouver on the Ruby), and we have gotten some wonderful advice on this forum! thank you!

 

Are there any "must do" excursions? Currently, I've booked one for every port:

- Juneau: Mendenhall Glacier Explorer

- Haines: Nature/wildlife expedition (goes to Chilkoot river/lake)

- Ketchikan: Ride on a boat from the Deadliest Catch. I was a fan of this show and it sounded like a good experience. But it's expensive. Has anyone done it and is it worth it?

 

Are there better excursions for our port days? We have been to Alaska previously and drove ourselves around for 2 weeks. On that trip we did the helicopter and dog sledding at Denali, and some boat trips and hiking near Homer. We love the outdoors, wildlife, photography, and learning about local history.We are not really into the super adventuresome stuff like zip-lining or white water rafting. Not really interested in fishing or whale watching tours.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[Oscar13]

We had a friend join us May of last year to do Alaska and she is a BIG fan of Deadiest Catch.  The grin on her face when she got off was priceless.  She had a great time.

K

[Torfamm]

I’ve done the Deadliest Catch excursion and it’s lots of fun. It’s easy to book directly and I imagine much cheaper that way than booking it as a shore excursion through Princess if that is how you did it. It couldn’t be easier since it leaves right from where the cruise ship docks

 

https://alaskacrabtour.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwtqmwBhBVEiwAL-WAYTXVWQUCBVh6AQ80UD1PFykqrGuEzv6sFiujnpeW1eb9LDIeW4HlnxoC3H0QAvD_BwE

 

 

[Nily D]

Thanks!! I did book through Princess, and it was $264 pps vs. $219 pps if booking directly. How does it work if I cancel the excursion on Princess? Do I get a refund to my credit card? Or does it turn into onboard credit?

[Donwoods123]

1 hour ago, Nily D said:

Thanks!! I did book through Princess, and it was $264 pps vs. $219 pps if booking directly. How does it work if I cancel the excursion on Princess? Do I get a refund to my credit card? Or does it turn into onboard credit?

In the past, when we canceled a shore excursion before we sailed, we received a refund to our credit card.

 

The Deadliest Catch shore excursion is amazing.  One of the best things they did was to sail close to an island and feed the eagles.  They flew really close to the boat to get the food.

 

I am confident that you will have a great time.

[LeeW]

We have been using Alaska Shore Tours for years.  In Juneau they use the jet boats that used to be owned by Orca Enterprises.  Roomy and far better than ship tours.  You can also book this with visits to the glacier (they run one of the bus lines up there):

 

https://alaskashoretours.com/excursions/juneau/whale-watching-tour/

 

It is incredibly easy to get to the Mendenhall Glacier - you don't need a tour.  Buses from about 5 companies run from the parking lot under the cable car and you buy your tickets at a kiosk there.  Used to be $8 a trip but these days it is $40 or so and includes visitor center access, even if you have a national park pass.  Trails do NOT require a pass.  If the ship tour is less than the bus fare it can be a good deal, but your time at the glacier will be limited.

 

 

If you can afford it, the Neets Bay floatplanes out of Ketchikan are amazing.  Have only done that once due to price.  This can get cancelled for weather.

 

 

Haines/Skagway we prefer the Eagle Preserve raft trip, but yours is also a good one.  Independent is cheaper, and you will take the same ferry and buses the cruise line uses if your ship docks in Skagway.  Gentle raft trip with lunch and great staff, many who have been there for years.  Again, expensive.

[Outerdog]

Agree with Lee on Haines/Skagway Eagle Preserve raft trip. Very hands-on experience as you might imagine. Lots of eagles. This isn't a rafting experience. It's a floating experience.

 

Other must-dos in Skagway are the train (obviously) and those helicopters you'll see there in port. They will fly you up and land you on a glacial ice sheet to get out and explore. Pretty fantastic ride up and over a mountain range. Nat Geo scenes for sure. When I think of all my trips up to Alaska, this is the one that comes to mind the most (and I can't resist sharing a couple pics)...

 

 

 

[Cruisintimer]

10 hours ago, Nily D said:

Thanks!! I did book through Princess, and it was $264 pps vs. $219 pps if booking directly. How does it work if I cancel the excursion on Princess? Do I get a refund to my credit card? Or does it turn into onboard credit?

Returned to credit card.

[Teechur]

10 hours ago, Nily D said:

Thanks!! I did book through Princess, and it was $264 pps vs. $219 pps if booking directly. How does it work if I cancel the excursion on Princess? Do I get a refund to my credit card? Or does it turn into onboard credit?

I just did a mock booking and it was $219 on Princess and $219 on the Aleutian Ballad website. We are on the Majestic out of Seattle on Sept. 8, 2024. Being the same price, we will book with Princess in case we can't port.

Which sailing are you on?

[Paula_MacFan]

10 hours ago, LeeW said:

It is incredibly easy to get to the Mendenhall Glacier - you don't need a tour.  Buses from about 5 companies run from the parking lot under the cable car and you buy your tickets at a kiosk there.  Used to be $8 a trip but these days it is $40 or so and includes visitor center access, even if you have a national park pass.  Trails do NOT require a pass.  If the ship tour is less than the bus fare it can be a good deal, but your time at the glacier will be limited.

 

According to the CLAA 2024 schedule it looks to be a very busy Alaska season, with as many as 6 ships in port at Juneau this summer.  https://claalaska.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/JNU-Juneau-2024.pdf

 

Accordingly, this notice has been shared on the Alaska CC board, giving cruisers a heads up on planning.  https://www.traveljuneau.com/plan-your-trip/

 

 

[Nily D]

@Teechur, we are on the Ruby in June, and the price for the Deadliest Catch is $269. Not sure why the price is different?

 

@Outerdog, your photos are amazing!! We did something similar on our previous trip and it was amazing. We landed on a glacier and then went on a sled dog ride, Plus time to visit puppies. Later I heard a segment on "This American Life" all about what it's like to work at that operation and it gave me a whole new appreciation!

 

I am going to look into the rafting expedition at Haines. that sounds really great and a bit more "special" then the bus tour. I read there will not be bears in June, but we would love to see lots of eagles.

[Teechur]

Maybe Princess is employing dynamic pricing in the summer? July is more crowded than September.

[Nily D]

Regarding the pricing difference for the Deadliest Catch, there is sales tax in addition to the $219 quoted on the website, so the total is actually $237. I think the difference is small enough that I will just go with my existing booking.

[Outerdog]

4 hours ago, Nily D said:

I am going to look into the rafting expedition at Haines.

 

Bad photo, but gives you an idea of what the raft is like:

 

The river is shallow, but it's cold out there.

 

 

 

 

The nests are large -- 2,000 pounds in the extreme cases.

 

 

 

[RDJ]

We did the best excursion in Ketchikan and it was amazing! We saw so many black bears including a momma and baby. They were snatching up the salmon run! If your budget allows, seeing glaciers from a helicopter is a completely different experience. 

[Nily D]

I would love to see bears. but I think June is too early?

[LeeW]

I've seen the notice about limited access to Mendenhall for year but always see lots of buses running in late August.  Supposedly they run out of permits in the summer.

 

More photos from two trips in the Eagle Preserve.

 

Late August was hot!

 

 

Didn't see this one, but they are around.  Tracks near put-out spot where we ate.

 

Fewer eagles in late August, but still there.

 

Not sure if Tom Lang is still guiding.  We got an autographed copy of his Tales from Alaska from him.  Little books, very funny. See https://www.boudelang.com/

 

 

 

Edited April 4 by LeeW
format, more

[JimmyVWine]

On 4/1/2024 at 10:46 PM, Outerdog said:

Other must-dos in Skagway are the train (obviously)

Perhaps not so obvious.  There are tour agencies that operate small van tours out of Skagway that follow the same route as the train, so you get pretty much the same scenery, but the vans make more frequent stops for photo opportunities that you don't get on the train, and they go much further into the Yukon well past where the train trip ends.  

 

The train ends here:

 

But further along the van trip, you get to here:

 

And ultimately here, (Emerald Lake):

 

The stops at scenic overlooks and the trip to Carcross Desert and Emerald Lake make the van tours worthy of strong consideration.  

[Nily D]

Wow, that's beautiful! We are stopping at Haines and not Skagway though. I think there's a ferry? But given limited time, I was leaning towards just doing a Haines-based excursion. Would the van pick-up / drop-off from Haines?

[JimmyVWine]

8 minutes ago, Nily D said:

Would the van pick-up / drop-off from Haines?

Doubtful.  One would have to factor in 90 minutes each way minimum for the ferry to/from Haines, and then once in Skagway, the tour we were on is a 6.5 hour tour all the way up to Emerald Lake.  So that would be a 10 hour excursion and the ship won't be in port long enough to accommodate that.  Better to stick with adventures that are specific to the Haines port.  

[DCThunder]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

Perhaps not so obvious.  There are tour agencies that operate small van tours out of Skagway that follow the same route as the train, so you get pretty much the same scenery, but the vans make more frequent stops for photo opportunities that you don't get on the train, and they go much further into the Yukon well past where the train trip ends.  

 

The train ends here:

 

But further along the van trip, you get to here:

 

And ultimately here, (Emerald Lake):

 

The stops at scenic overlooks and the trip to Carcross Desert and Emerald Lake make the van tours worthy of strong consideration.  

I'll second the recommendation for the van tour from Skagway.  I took that in September 2022 and it was a great ride up the valley on the opposite side from the railroad.  We went all the way to Carcross in the Yukon and could have gone all the way to Whitehorse with more time.  The border crossing was very unigue as there's about 10 miles of separation between the Canadian boarder post and the US border post.  The railroad may be iconic, but the van trip is the way to go, IMHO.

[karatemom2]

Understood that the OP is visiting Haines and not Skagway, but for others reading these comments who may be stopping in Skagway, another good option is the train/van combo offered by companies like Chilkoot Charters. This allows you to get the best of both worlds and experience the train, which is a wonderful experience, but also see this scenic route from another vantage that the highway offers while also stopping at several places along the way. On our different trips to Alaska over the years, we have done train only, van tour only, car on our own, and the train/van combo, and for what it's worth I think the train up and van back is my favorite option.

[Arizona Wildcat]

6 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

Perhaps not so obvious.  There are tour agencies that operate small van tours out of Skagway that follow the same route as the train, so you get pretty much the same scenery, but the vans make more frequent stops for photo opportunities that you don't get on the train, and they go much further into the Yukon well past where the train trip ends.  

 

The train ends here:

 

But further along the van trip, you get to here:

 

And ultimately here, (Emerald Lake):

 

The stops at scenic overlooks and the trip to Carcross Desert and Emerald Lake make the van tours worthy of strong consideration.  

Absolutely agree the van tours have far better views than the train and can stop for photos.

Even better is hiring a car in Skagway.  You can see everything, luncheon in Carcross, Dyea and all the sights.  Just book ahead.  And you can cancell if the ship doesn't port.  Just book way ahead.  Sourdough Rentals is local and easy to work with.

[JimmyVWine]

27 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Even better is hiring a car in Skagway.

Agree...except...Dad would be assigned the task of being the driver, and Mom and Daughter would get to see Moose and Squirrel while Dad kept his eyes on the road!  That is the only reason why we opted to leave the driving to someone else. 

[JimmyVWine]

4 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

I think the train up and van back is my favorite option.

Does the van portion of this trip return from where the train stops, or does the van continue on to Carcross and then turn around?