Pacific Princess Alaska - what not to miss, tours etc

[whiterose]

We'll be on the Pacific May 14. Our 6th cruise to Alaska but some of the ports are new to us. any recommendations for tours, places we must see, anything we should avoid? Would appreciate any information about the ship and the tours offered by princess.

[WeBeGone]

Make sure to read the Ports of Call section on Alaska - everything you've ever wanted to know is there. Alaska is very easy to do yourself, without a ship's excursion. You didn't say your ports but our favorites were:

Ketchican - Totem Village and Creek Street

Skagway - the train to the top, round trip, then walk town.

Juneau - hired a taxi for a half day tour, then walked town.

Vancouver - bus to town then the territorial Museum

[Colo Cruiser]

Juneau-Taku Lodge flightseeing!!

[ShibaInuMom]

and scroll down to Pacific Princess. You will find one for your cruise with tons of info. We are on the 6/11/09 Alaska voyage on the Pacific Princess. Can't wait!!!:)

[Grego]

My guess is that you have the same itinerary as we did when it was the Tahitian Princess last year. Go back to the roll calls for that ship and read the treads there.

 

We especially enjoyed the whale watching and glacier tour in Juneau. I'm sure they are offering more in the smaller ports this year than we had to choose from.

 

If you are going to Kodiak, you might rent a car and do some exploring on your own. There's only 100 miles of road near the port but they take you to some really beautiful areas of the island.

[calliecat]

Make sure to read the Ports of Call section on Alaska - everything you've ever wanted to know is there. Alaska is very easy to do yourself, without a ship's excursion. You didn't say your ports but our favorites were:

Ketchican - Totem Village and Creek Street

Skagway - the train to the top, round trip, then walk town.

Juneau - hired a taxi for a half day tour, then walked town.

Vancouver - bus to town then the territorial Museum

 

What was the approximate cost for the taxi in Juneau? There will be 4 of us

maybe getting a taxi. Did you have them take you to specific spots or did they have a route that they took? We've done this several times in the Caribbean and really enjoyed it. I've taken the bus to Mendenhall but I'd really like to see more of Juneau than just downtown.

[Host Caroline]

In Kodiak we went with a local named "Carolyn" (will try to think of her name) and her mom for 3 hours and had a wonderful time. Went to the old WWII Bunkers, churches, great coffee house, special Native Americal performance and then spent a couple of hours in town. Don't miss the Russian church and the fish processing place is a Tyson chicken truck, which was kinda unusual. We met a lady in a gift shop there from about 5 miles from where we live in NC.. Kodiak is very untouristy.. loved it!

White Pass or Yukon Experience in Skagway.. if you have been to Anchorage I would go to SeaLife Center or out into Resurrection Bay in Seward.

We wanted to do this itinerary but the Thursday departure didn't work with new DH's schedule.. did similar one in '98 and it was marvelous!

[kruzinFran]

Whiterose,

 

Come join us over at the roll call for this sailing -- we'd love to have you! Kodiak, Valdez and Seward are new ports to most of us also but we're happy to share our ideas and plans.

 

The biggest "Must Do" in my mind is the Kenai Fjords cruise that was just recently made available. It's received many rave reviews on this board and sounds like wonderful fun. We also very much enjoyed the White Pass Yukon railway tour out of Skagway -- amazing scenery and a truly wonderful 'vintage' train.

 

Fran

 

We'll be on the Pacific May 14. Our 6th cruise to Alaska but some of the ports are new to us. any recommendations for tours, places we must see, anything we should avoid? Would appreciate any information about the ship and the tours offered by princess.

[StarTrkGeek]

My guess is that you have the same itinerary as we did when it was the Tahitian Princess last year. Go back to the roll calls for that ship and read the treads there.

Actually, it's not the exact same itinerary. The Tahitian Princess went to Sitka. The Pacific Princess does not go to Sitka; it goes to Icy Strait Point instead. Otherwise, the itineraries are the same.

[welly world]

I hope everyone posts their reviews when you come back! I would LOVE to hear about your trip!

M.

[chrysalis]

I agree about renting a car in Kodiak....we had a great day there.

[Sea Hag]

Don't miss Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau! You could get your taxi to take you there or you can catch a bus near the pier. There's a nice visitor center and walking paths and hiking trails. Nice place to go.

[whale-watcher]

We loved the Columbia Glacier cruise in Valdez...great excursion! New for this year is the Kenai Fjords boat tour in Seward...but the glacier dog sledding had really high reviews last year. We also rented a car in Kodiak, and had a fantastic time exploring on our own. Lots of info on the alaska board on the other ports (Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau, ISP, and Victoria). This is a great itinerary...I would do it again this year if I had the time!

[StarTrkGeek]

We loved the Columbia Glacier cruise in Valdez...great excursion! New for this year is the Kenai Fjords boat tour in Seward...but the glacier dog sledding had really high reviews last year. We also rented a car in Kodiak, and had a fantastic time exploring on our own. Lots of info on the alaska board on the other ports (Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau, ISP, and Victoria). This is a great itinerary...I would do it again this year if I had the time!

We are planning to do Columbia Glacier, but are having second thoughts because we have so many excursions planned. If you were to eliminate an excursion from teh following, which one would you get rid of?

 

• Juneau: Photo Safari on Land & Sea
  
• Skagway: Dyea Dave van tour to the Yukon, Emerald Lake, and Caribou Crossing (including husky puppy camp).
  
• Valdez: Columbia Glacier
  
• Seward: Kenai Fjords National Park boat tour
  
• Icy Strait Point: Whale watching with Glacier Wind tours
  

[allentownahoy]

I would skip the photo safari and explore the Juneau area on my own, possibly renting a car to do my own land photo safari (Mendenhall, Shrine of St. Therese, Glacier Gardens,Douglas Island,etc-whichever sites appeal to you).

 

DH and I did this 2 yrs ago and enjoyed it very much. Even saw a whale from shore at one of our stops- got lucky I guess.

 

Since you will be doing a whale watch in Icy Strait I think that will give you an even better sea photo safari.