No excursions, so what do you suggest?

[wifeofbedo]

Hubby and I are escorting the in-laws on their first cruise. We are not doing any planned excursions due to the fact that my father-in-law has Alzheimers, and is unpredictable day to day as to what he is feeling up to doing. Their budget is really limited as well. Can anybody give me general suggestions of what we can do in each port, (Cheap) that takes 2-4 hours or so? We don't want to miss the "must do's" or the finer points of each port. This will be our first Alaska cruise as well.
Our ports are:
Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan.

Thanks for all your help!!

"Blessed are the FLEXIBLE for they shall never be bent out of shape"

Vision / Seas 03/2002
Star Princess 03/2003
Radiance / Seas 07/2004

[cindyln]

the Lumber Jack show in Ketchikan is about 1 hour long and would be good. It is fun. Also there are buses off the dock that will take you to Mendenhall glacier in Juneau much cheaper than the ship. The train in Skagway is 3 hours but pricey. This is a nice town to just sit and people watch. We found a nice little coffee shop off a back alley that had coffee to die for.

[Kayla's Mom]

You can have plenty of fun in Alaska without spending much money. When we went in 2002, we didn't have that much money, but we had an AMAZING time -- we knew we'd go back when we had more money to spend on whale watching, etc. But you'll have fun whatever you do.

In Ketchikan, we just wandered around the shops, which are nice and took the funicular (about $1 each) up to the hotel at the top and looked at the Totem Poles which are right there. We watched folks fish off the docks on Creek Street and were thoroughly entertained. I thought the gift shops in Ketchikan were the best. (We missed Skagway, but I hear good things)

In Juenau, we likewise walked around and did the shops plus took the public bus ($5) to Mendenhall Glacier.

In Sikta, we bought the ticket to the bus that goes around town for a few bucks. We went to the Raptor Center, too.

In Seward, we did spend a lot (for us) of money -- we did the Kenai Fjords boat trip, the Seavey's dogsled camp, and the Sea Life Center -- all excellent, but we saved a lot by using the Toursaver coupon book. We also enjoyed Portage Glacier, the Big Game Park, and the Alyeska Ski Lift on the way back to Anchorage with coupons.

Have a great trip!

RCCI Legend of the Seas to Alaska 8/02
NCL Star to Hawaii 04/04

Next up:
Island Princess to Alaska 8/13/05

[hooked-on-travel]

A good (and cheap) suggestion for Skagway is the national park service place. [url="http://www.nps.gov/klgo/index.htm"]http://www.nps.gov/klgo/index.htm[/url]
Ranger lead slide shows, tours of historic district, museum, etc. and it's right in town.

[CaribbeanBound]

Alaska On the cheap...

Juneau: we rented a van for $65 from Rent-A-Wreck in advance and were met at the pier. We drove to Mendenhall Glacier Park where we took in the glacier and two self-guided trails: Photo Point and Nugget Falls (Free). Toured the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery ($12 for our group of 6). Highly recommend both. Hit Safeway for an early afternoon snack and souvenirs. Upon returning the van we were given a gratis tour of downtown. We elected to be dropped off in town to shop. Red Dog Saloon was too crowded so we just checked out a few shops in route to the ship.

Skagway: Rented a van for $75 from Avis which is located very close to the piers. We drove to Carcross, Yukon Territory, Canada (130 miles roundtrip). As it turned out, there’s really nothing in Carcross, but the trip was [I]incredible[/I]. (It’s not the destination —– it’s the journey). There was almost no traffic at all. We saw but one bus, a truck, and maybe 2 dozen cars the entire trip. We saw bears, caribou, mountain goats and bald eagles. We saw snow capped mountains and crystal clear lakes, numerous water falls, sweeping valley and mountain views, raging rivers, the White Mountain Pass Train. We got back into town about 2pm and shopped. Many interesting stores. The place was packed with 4 ships in port. Enjoyed an Alaska Amber Ale at the Red Onion Saloon and were driven back to the ship by the folks at Avis. Between 8pm and 10pm that night we saw numerous Humpback whales, including tail slaps, and a breach within 50 yards of the ship.

Ketchikan: the skies were clear. Short-sleeved shirts were the dress of the day. We simply walked around town. They experienced an electrical power shortage for about 1 hour around 8am. Some shops closed temporarily. Not much time to do anything special in Ketchikan other than visit the National Park Service’s museum which was quite informative, and shop. The town had some really fun shopping opportunities. Three places to stop in... "Good God" and ask for a sample of his Special Reserve smoked salmon; "Sockeye Sams": a nice all-around store; check out the ancient whale bone carvings. Look for the awesome (and reasonably priced) fossils and gemstones at "Poker Creek Gold" , and ask for a taste of the Birch Syrup at “Sam McGees” on Creek Street. We enjoyed another Alaska Amber Ale in a 3rd floor pub overlooking the dock. We didn’t leave the bar until the lines, to get back on the ship, got short.

If we had it to do over again, we wouldn't change a thing!

[saw1953]

There is also a book of walking tours for the Alaska ports. I got mine at Amazon, I think. Its called Inside Passage Walking Tours and is by Julianne Chase. This is mainly what we are going to do.

Sheila

Til the Regal to Alaska
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;8;14;16;0;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]

Grandeur of the Seas 5/04
Regal Princess 11/03
Summit 10/02
Enchantment of the Seas 09/01

[gonnago]

The lumber jack show is #29.95. The walking is free. Creek Street shops are good for browsing and learning. You don't have to buy.

There is a two-storied mall across from the docks in Ketchican with an elevator. Fun to see Native crafts, etc.

Juneau calls for a trip to Mendenhall. You can take a $10.00 round trip blue bus shuttle right to the Visitor's Center and the trails.

Juneau's streets are touristy, but the flowers, flags, etc make for a pretty setting. We enjoyed walking there, too.

Alaska is expensive, especially if you are on a budget as we were. Good luck and have a good time.

[I]"Thanks to all for your help & advice. Our May 28th cruise was much better for it!"[/I]