Best excursions in Alaska

[Big L]

We have booked to go on the Pearl in May to Alaska and have also booked a 5 day Rocky`s tour with NCL before the cruise. Can anyone let us know which are the best excursions to go on and also if anyone can give us any infirmation on the Rocky`s tour. In NCL`s brochure there is not much infirmation.

[NoVaCruiser60]

We took the Star to Alaska in Sep 05; it was the last cruise of the season, so weather was a limiting factor for our shore excursions. One solid tip: Don't miss the White Pass Railway excursion offered out of Skagway. Its an old fashioned, narrow gauge track that winds along the original goldrush trail...incredibly scenic without being scary. You'll wonder how the heck they laid the track, and how they ever survived without it. The rail trip comes "stand-alone" or with several options. I would recommend just the roundtrip rail; we took the "ultimate Yukon" version and the add-on visit to Caribou Crossing was awful. It was billed as "rustic," but it had all the charm of a travelling carnival: rubber chicken lunch, cheap "false-front" buildings, a taxidermy museum of random beasts, and the sorriest dog-sledding adventure you'll ever witness. The dogs were tethered in a muddy field (no snow/ice available at that time) and dragged those who paid extra around on a sled in that same muddy field. Now that's entertainment!

[7SeasLover]

We're on the Pearl on May 13th. Which cruise date do you sail?

[uomograsso]

We cruised on the Spirit in Sept 2003 and hands down this was the best excursion we went on. It was unbeleivable!

[UpYonder]

Yep - The White Pass Railway was great! We plan on doing that again on our next trip.

[Big L]

We are booked for the 27th May sailing

[ENGINEER]

The highlight of our Alaskan cruise this past August on the Sun was the 5 hour Tracy Arm Fijord catamaran trip to South Sawyer Glacier. We left Juneau shortly before the ship was sheduled to leave. The catamaran held about 100 people. There was a naturalist on board who did a great job explaining the sights. We came upon three Hump Back whales, nesting eagles (with baby), bears, and lots of sun. The icebergs and the ice flow got more dense and bigger the closer we got to the South Sawyer Glacier. The "coke bottle blue" in this floating ice in almost indescribable. It was very exciting! As we got to the South Sawyer Glacier there were hundreds of harp seals laying about on the ice flow. While we were there there were 4 incidents of "calving". After we left the South Sawyer Glacier we went to the Sawyer Glacier. The naturalist explained the different kinds of glaciers and how the glaciers carved the fijord. We then made our way to meet up with the Sun, who had been making her way down the Fijord as far as she could (which was not so far) and was waiting for us. It was then that you could truly appreciate the size of the fijord and the majesty of Alaska: the Sun was dwarfed by the wall of rock she was anchored next to. There were so many people out on the deck to see the fijord and were there when we made our way back to the ship. The bumpers went out to keep the catamaran and the ship from hitting each other. The gangway was put in place, and as we waited our turn to board the ship, we looked up and couldn't even see the top deck of the Sun.

We had so many people ask us about our excursion. All said they would have done that if they had known about it. We heard about this originally through the Cruise Critic. We are so glad we did. We didn't have to worry about the weather dampening our day. As an example, when we were in Skagway, we talked to people who took the train, and there wasn't a lot of visibility due to cloud cover. They were disappointed.

We didn't have a minute of disappointment......oh wait - we did! We were disappointed when it ended.

[electricron]

Why should anyone be surprised or disappointed to have rain or cloudy skies when sailing to Alaska?

From weather.com........

The Tongass is the largest forest in the National Forest System, covering a land area the size of New Jersey. It is a glimmering rainforest full of glaciers, spectacular scenery, mountains, waterways, and thousands of islands separated by straits and channels.

The climate in of southeast Alaska is influenced by the ocean, so although it experiences four seasons, it does not have the extremes of hot and cold - and dry - experienced farther inland. Summer temperatures usually range from the mid 40s to mid 60s with extremes dipping into the 30s and "soaring" into the 80s. Annual rainfall in downtown Juneau averages over 90 inches and in Ketchikan over 120! Needless to say, good rain gear and warm clothing are essential. Layers of wool clothing and rubber boots are standard dress in all the areas of Southeast Alaska.

 

Doesn't rainforest = rain and cloudy skies? ;)

 

And I agree completely, my largest disappointment came when we disembarked the ship. I can't wait to go back again.

[garycarla]

I would STRONGLY suggest going to the PORTS OF CALL section and click on ALASKA. You will get tons of input over there on cruising Alaska. We have gone twice and loved both.

[Budget Queen]

The highlight of our Alaskan cruise this past August on the Sun was the 5 hour Tracy Arm Fijord catamaran trip to South Sawyer Glacier. We left Juneau shortly before the ship was sheduled to leave. The catamaran held about 100 people. There was a naturalist on board who did a great job explaining the sights. We came upon three Hump Back whales, nesting eagles (with baby), bears, and lots of sun. The icebergs and the ice flow got more dense and bigger the closer we got to the South Sawyer Glacier. The "coke bottle blue" in this floating ice in almost indescribable. It was very exciting! As we got to the South Sawyer Glacier there were hundreds of harp seals laying about on the ice flow. While we were there there were 4 incidents of "calving". After we left the South Sawyer Glacier we went to the Sawyer Glacier. The naturalist explained the different kinds of glaciers and how the glaciers carved the fijord. We then made our way to meet up with the Sun, who had been making her way down the Fijord as far as she could (which was not so far) and was waiting for us. It was then that you could truly appreciate the size of the fijord and the majesty of Alaska: the Sun was dwarfed by the wall of rock she was anchored next to. There were so many people out on the deck to see the fijord and were there when we made our way back to the ship. The bumpers went out to keep the catamaran and the ship from hitting each other. The gangway was put in place, and as we waited our turn to board the ship, we looked up and couldn't even see the top deck of the Sun.

We had so many people ask us about our excursion. All said they would have done that if they had known about it. We heard about this originally through the Cruise Critic. We are so glad we did. We didn't have to worry about the weather dampening our day. As an example, when we were in Skagway, we talked to people who took the train, and there wasn't a lot of visibility due to cloud cover. They were disappointed.

We didn't have a minute of disappointment......oh wait - we did! We were disappointed when it ended.

 

 

The Pearl doesn't have this add on excursion since it goes to Glacier Bay and gets into Juneau too late to go independent.

[Budget Queen]

For me, the top tour choice is flights. :) No other way to see the expansive beauty and vastness of Alaska.