Panning for gold on his 65th

[grummanyankee]

We'll be on Infinity out of WA for Alaska's Inside Passage Aug. 7th. Hubby wants to pan for gold for his 65th birthday. Has anyone taken a day excursion to do this? Did you book directly or go through the cruise line?

[Canary50]

We'll be on Infinity out of WA for Alaska's Inside Passage Aug. 7th. Hubby wants to pan for gold for his 65th birthday. Has anyone taken a day excursion to do this? Did you book directly or go through the cruise line?

*****

 

We took the panning for gold as a ship's excursion; which we did enjoy.

They gave us a bit of history about the gold rush which was very interesting, and they showed the equipment that they used to use. Then you get to pan for gold. However, I think they "plant" bits of gold in the water (a long basin kind of like a horse feeder). You get some "gold" in your sieve, and then on your way out they herd you through a boutique where they try to sell you little vials to put the gold in, as well as the chains to put it on. If you like them as souvenirs, it's perfect, but it'll cost ya!

This was in 2005 though, maybe it's changed.

 

They probably do have a gold panning excursion that you can directly book from the dock, but since we took it from the ship we didn't notice any. We took excursions from the dock in every other port, or walked through the towns ourselves.

Enjoy your trip! Alaska is beautiful!

[CruisinCadie]

On our AK cruise with Princess, we took an excursion in Skagway where one of the activities was panning for gold. They admit they "salt" the water with gold flecks--really tiny, but you get at least a few. This was through the cruiseline. I don't know where you're stopping, but ours was a fun day.

 

Kathy

[Fblack]

Just make sure you go on the gold panning tour that includes a great BBQ lunch. It's hard to beat fresh Salmon cooked on a BBQ.