Can't afford excursions, any suggestions?????

[Kylira]

We're doing the 7 day roundtrip from Vancouver August 23rd and MUST put a new roof on our house right away. :mad:

 

Putting a huge burden on the budget~~!!!! Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Thanks

 

 

It must be emergency roof season!! Days after making our final cruise payment, the bank told us we had to put a new roof on our house or our refinance wouldn't go through!! Well...since it's summer, I'm not working (I work as an OT in the public schools) and now we're a little strapped. We decided to splurge for one excursion (canoeing to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau for DH's 50th b'day), but we cancelled the rest. We did rent a car through Sourdough Rentals in Skagway, but it was only $80.00 for a day rental. We'll be there on August 25th.

 

I've sent away for visitor's guides from all our Alaskan port cities...they came rather quickly so you should get them before you leave. You can order the booklets online. Here are some links:

 

Alaska Travel Guide:

 

http://www.travelalaska.com/PlannerConfirmation.aspx?utm_source=9307&utm_medium=ad

 

Skagway:

 

http://www.nps.gov/klgo/planyourvisit/guidedtours.htm (park service site)

http://skagway.com/index.html (includes a city map!)

 

Ketchikan:

 

http://www.visit-ketchikan.com/

 

Juneau:

 

http://www.traveljuneau.com/

 

We're leaving in 47 days on the Golden Princess! This is our first cruise. Have fun. :)

[McDebbie]

Thanks for all the great ideas. Luckily (?) we had to replace our roof in 2006 after Hurricane Wilma so we don't have that to contend with but still like the inexpensive ideas. Good luck to you all on the roof replacements, ours was actually rather painless after we got the HOA out of the way. :D

(that part involved the threat of a lawsuit though)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We decided that we will splurge on a whale watching excursion in Juneau and the White Pass/Yukon RR in Skagway, but will do things "on our own" in Ketchikan & Victoria. In the past we have almost always taken excursions in every port (usually indepedent, though). I found a great map of a the walking tour in Ketchikan on another thread, but have no idea about Victoria. The ship will be there from 7PM to midnight. Any ideas?

 

Yes, I am a compulsive planner - our cruise is still a year away!:p

[Kylira]

I found a great map of a the walking tour in Ketchikan on another thread, but have no idea about Victoria. The ship will be there from 7PM to midnight. Any ideas?

 

Yes, I am a compulsive planner - our cruise is still a year away!:p

 

I, too, am a compulsive planner, but I've decided that's half the fun of cruising!! Here's the info I have for Victoria. Hope it's helpful. :p

 

http://www.tourismvictoria.com/

[KAYEF]

Oh, geez...................I just re-read my reply...............regarding shipping from the three Tongass stores in Ketchikan...................the coupon is for: $9.99

They mail EVERYTHING you purchase at their three stores in one box (if you present the copy of the original receipt so they can track the merchandise and have it all together) for just $9.99.

Our breakables were even bubble-wrapped. We received everything, mailed Priority Mail, in about a week after we'd purchased.

Since we did a back to back cruise, we had the coupon and saved that book...............looked at souvenirs "everywhere" and knew just we wanted to purchase at Ketchikan on our return.

What a deal...............we are very satisfied (especially since we had NO room in our luggage for souvenirs)

and

much of what we purchased was heavy.............such as Ulu knives MADE IN ALASKA with cutting boards, etc. (not the Made in China ones).

I've cruised to Alaksa many times and actually this is the first time I've been given a coupon book upon boarding. I've read on CC that they are near where one boards, but I've never seen them.

Have a fun trip!

[winddncer]

I've cruised to Alaksa many times and actually this is the first time I've been given a coupon book upon boarding. I've read on CC that they are near where one boards, but I've never seen them.

Have a fun trip!

 

That weird because my Mom swears that last year they were waiting to board for a post-season repositioning cruise (that wasn't going to Alaska) and people were still trying to hand them out. :D

[floatinrocks]

Wow!!!! Thanks for all the amazing money saving tips, I really appreciate them all.

Will look for the Hop On Hop Off although I'm told Ketchikan, Juneau & Skagway are small enough to tour walking. As for Tongass Trading I'll look for the coupon books when we board, may even remember to ask!!!

 

DH will love a tour of a brewing company in Juneau!!!

[tetleytea]

In Skagway, I suggest finding another couple and rent a car together. You're talking like $50 a couple. Well worth it, and it's worked out well for us. Actually, when we did it, we didn't even do it for the money.

[cavecats]

An amazing way to see any port, city, state/province is to Geocache. All you need is a hand held gps receiver.

 

I posted the following on another thread but this is a good place for it as well:

 

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt game played with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, that have been hidden all over the world. Currently there are over 800,000 geocaches hidden in over 200 countries on all seven continents including Antarctica.

 

For a "traditional" geocache, a geocacher will hide a waterproof container, containing a log book, pen or pencil and trinkets, (usually dollar store items) then note the cache's coordinates. These coordinates, along with other details of the location, are posted on www.geocaching.com. Other geocachers obtain the coordinates and details from the web site and seek out the cache using their GPS handheld receivers. If and when they find the geocache they sign the logbook and then post their find (adventure) online. Geocachers are free to take objects from the cache in exchange for leaving something of similar or higher value, so there is always "treasure" for the next person to find.

 

I personally have hidden 40 and have found over 3800 in my travels around Quebec, Ontario, Canada as well as 13 other countries. If you go to the website www.geocaching.com you can put in your postal code/zip code and check out how many are around your home. Unless you are in the boonies, I bet you have at least 10-25 geocaches hidden within a five mile radius of your home. :D

 

Hubby and I discovered this "game" while we were in Prince Edward Island celebrating our 25th anniversary a few years ago. We were sitting at the breakfast table at a B&B wondering what we were going to do for the day when I glanced at an article on geocaching in the Lifestyles section of their Saturday newspaper. Our vacation(s)/lives have changed since that moment. We now snowshoe / hike / bike and regularily go away on geocaching jaunts; sometimes alone, other times as part of a geocaching "mob".

 

I also geocache with my Mom who is in her mid-seventies. For the last three years we have incorporated "geocaching" into our girls-week (vacation) together. The first year we were on a Western Caribbean Disney cruise and geocached Key West, Grand Cayman Island, Mexico and even found three on Disney's Island itself. Two years ago we discovered Newfoundland and had a blast. We visited (geocached) all sorts of beautiful and interesting places up and down and around the Avalon peninsula. Last October Mom and I hit (geocached) Las Vegas.

 

Honestly, it's a game for all ages and I have met some fantastic people through geocaching.

 

Oh don't get me started...lol...check out the web site. You are more than welcome to find and check out my profile "cavecats".

 

FYI

Skagway has 11

Juneau has 40

Ketchikan has 14

Vancouver - zillions

[cecil1]

I don't know how many are in your group, but we're renting a car in Juneau for the 4 of us for the day. It's between $60-$70 but that's sure cheaper than paying for an excursion that lasts 3 hours and costs as much as the rental car per person!

Hello, which car rental did you find up there? We've been to Juneau several times and find not much to see there, so thought we would do some driving.

A name of a car company would be great!

Thanks,

Barbara

[fruitbat]

We agree with geocaching as the best cheap way to see anywhere! We've cached all over the Caribbean; found a beautiful little park in San Juan that way. We hope to geocache in Alaska when we cruise next July!

[acjjj]

Just back from Alaska with same itinerary. We too had a budget to stick to but felt we had wonderful experinces. (Our biggest challenge was getting our teenager out of bed during the hours we were in port!)

Our excursions:

Ketchikan: Totem Bight via city bus. I had printed explanations of the poles from the internet. Staff were working on restoration of a pole and they were very patient with our questions.

Juneau: State Museum -- a totally unexpected delight. We saw and learned much. My 12 yo enjoyed the hands on displays (14 yo stayed in bed that day!). We walked over to see the Govenors mansion as we had heard so much about Sarah Palin.

Skagway: Town walking tour with National Park Ranger and their museum (small but very interesting). Walked to Yakutania Point and watched whales playing in the harbour for about an hour.

Hope you have a lot of fun!

[surfisla]

Hi,

 

I am a Ketchikan resident and there are plenty of good things you can do on a budget. The married man's trail was a good suggestion. It's the trail that the married men secretly took to get to the red light district (Creek Street) back in the day. I also suggest going to the art museum (next to library) $2 entry fee.

 

I started a blog for tourists coming to Ketchikan who have inquiries about what to do, what souveniers to buy, what NOT to do, and common questions in general. www.ketchikanblog.com

Hopefully you can get a general idea of what you can do for not a lot of money.

[cantw8togo]

We are in Vancouver for a day or so, what and where is the "PNE"???

 

The PNE is Vancouver's Pacific National Exhibition which is like a huge state fair. http://www.pne.ca/

 

I second the vote for Totem Bight State Park for an enjoyable way to escape the crowds. Here is a link to info about the totem poles. http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/totempol.htm

 

Here is a link to a TripAdvisor thread about inexpensive excursions, although most of the ideas have already been mentioned here. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g28923-i349-k2622820-Inexpensive_excursion_options-Alaska.html

 

Hope this helps,

N.

[vegs1]

If you would like to email me, I have a used Toursaver book I could send you. My email is: bvegso at live dot ca I, too, live in Ontario and just did a cruise to Alaska. You will LOVE it.

 

We have used some coupons in it but not many of the really good ones like the Bering Sea Fishermen's Tour, etc.

 

I gave away my own book. This one is one we purchased for my parents for Christmas to use on our cruise and they are done with it so they just gave it back to me. You may as well use it.

 

Here is the link and you can look at the different coupons available.

http://www.toursaver.com/

 

 

 

This is pretty much what they used:

 

Mt. Roberts Tramway

Black Diamond Covered Wagon Dinner

Cabin Nite Dinner Theatre (but they never took the coupon from us)

My daughter used a couple of the free souvenier coupons

Alaska Wildberry Movie

Alaska Museum

Anyway...let me know and it's yours.

Also, if you are spending any time in Vancouver, you may want to check out the Vancouver Entertainment Guide. It has lots of 2 for 1 coupons for the Capilano Suspension Bridge, Horse Drawn Carriage Ride in STanley Park, etc. We only paid 10.00 US for it which included shipping. I believe right now it's $8.99 US including shipping. Here's the link:

http://vancouver.entertainment.com/discount/browse.shtml

 

We used a lot of coupons in it for restaurants, etc.

 

Happy planning!

 

 

 

[msd360]

We walked to the Last Chance Mine from the dock in Juneau. It is a bit steep, but well worth it. Check here for directions. There is also a link in my itinerary. On the return, take a right after crossing the bridge to the flume trail, which is at least as cool as the mine, and once back in town, passes by the Gov's house. There is a city bus that goes to Mendenhall for $1.50 each way, and it is a cultural experience. You can stop at Walmart on the way back. The bus stop is at the signal before you turn towards the docks if you return by the flume trail and the Gov's house.

 

It was mentioned earlier to take the city bus to Totem Bight in Ketchikan, which I can also highly recommend. You'll want the blue bus that stops across the street from the Eagle totem near the docks along with several other color coded buses which you don't want. Note the bus isn't actually blue, just labeled such. Ask the driver to be sure you are boarding the right bus. It is a good 30 minute ride, but another cultural experience. Don't miss the totem shop on Creek Street. These are actually carved locally, not from China.

[Sea Breeze]

thank you for all the links for getting travel guides.... I used them tonight and can't wait to get them.. We almost took this cruise on the GOLDEN love that ship, but the dates didn't work out for us. We did a family cruise on the golden a few years back 16 of us... what a blast, and I would certainly love to cruise it again sometime.. Enjoy your cruise.. and sorry about your roof...

[floatinrocks]

Wow!! This is such a humbling experience to be offered so many suggestions and so much help. The roof is done, it looks fine, however, I really must say I can think of a lot more ways I'd rather spend my money. LOL

 

Thanks to each and every one of you for helping us to still enjoy our upcoming cruise without having to go in the hole to do it. You are all so very much appreciated. I just love CruiseCritic people!!!:D

[CaribbeanBound]

Alaska Ports

Alaska, by far, has some of the most expensive excursions. Frankly all of them look worthwhile. However, given the size of our group, we could not afford any of them. So we made our own arrangements. Here is how to do Alaska on a budget and see more of Alaska than most of the passengers on the ship!

 

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 grocery store 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 incredible. (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. The kids through snowballs. 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.

 

Tracy Arm Glacier: Spectacular. The weather was so good that we were able to get within 200 yards of the glacier. This was the first time a ship this big has gotten this close. It was such an event that Princess sent a helicopter down from Juneau to record video and photo footage. The calving glacier was breathtaking from my grandfather’s balcony. Lots of blue ice. The captain slowly rotated the ship 360 degrees to allow all cabins a good view of the glacier. Several mother and baby seal duos were sighted on small icebergs near the ship. Bald eagles were also sighted.

 

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.

 

Victoria, BC, Canada: $10 (Canadian) cab ride each way got us into downtown Victoria for beer, shopping, and sightseeing. It’s way too far to walk from the pier.

 

We felt we did not have enough time in Ketchikan or Victoria to really enjoy those two ports as much as we would have liked.

 

Complete Review: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/alaska.html

[sandytoes03]

We're doing the 7 day roundtrip from Vancouver August 23rd and MUST put a new roof on our house right away. :mad:

 

Putting a huge burden on the budget~~!!!! Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Thanks

 

Other than doing FISHES whale watching in Icy Strait, my Dh and I always went on our own. We hiked in every port. I just google searched for local hikes and we planned out what we wanted to do. Sometimes we had to pay a little--like transportation to Mendenhall glacier, but then the hike there was free, and we utterly loved it. Don't know if you are hikers or not, but it was fabulous for us.

[FabFam4]

An amazing way to see any port, city, state/province is to Geocache. All you need is a hand held gps receiver.

 

 

Hi there fellow geocacher - we also try to find some cache while we cruise. It is a great way to discover new and interesting places and it is a fun activity for the whole family. Your post makes we want to get out and find some today.:D

[gipper77]

Just a thought can your HO Insurance help with the cost of a new roof?

[krogerlady]

This is probably not what you want to hear, but I went to Alaska in June. I want to go back again so bad, it hurts. And, if I manage to figure it out to go again, I will not do any excursions in any of the ports!! I loved what we did, and we felt compelled to plan plan plan, but when it was all over, I wished I had had free time in the ports. Even in Ketchikan...it was rush rush rush. If I could have just sat at a picnic table on the dock, ate my cup of chowder in an enjoyable leisurely pace, and watch the tourists, it would have been bliss!! There is just so much to do, and so much to see that is not going to cost anything, or very little. And everywhere there are coupons to get free souveniers. You can come home with a whole bag of stuff that you haven't had to buy, if you want to take the time to chase around the stores. Part of my group did, and they shared some of the stuff they got. Go, have fun, and don't worry about spending money!! Oh, BTW, you do have to get the chowder!!

[diverearl]

We hiked in every port. I just google searched for local hikes and we planned out what we wanted to do. Sometimes we had to pay a little--like transportation to Mendenhall glacier, but then the hike there was free, and we utterly loved it. Don't know if you are hikers or not, but it was fabulous for us.

 

I like the way you think, everytime the ship would dock I would disappear and then show up in the most unusual places and with a little effort often the fun is free. Here are pictures of a few of those appearances (usually just look up).

 

Ketchikan, my wife Teri got "Higher" than I did at this port. I took pictures underwater then went as high up the trails as you could and still see the ships and town. Teri went to Misty Fjords flightseeing with Sea Wind Aviation and had another great trip with Steve and Lesley (two of the best people in Alaska). Here is my view of our ship the Diamond Princess.

 

This was Teri's float plane flight takeing off from and returning to Ketchikan

 

Skagway - Emerald Lake went up the hill on your right as you get to the lake. It was overcast so the Pictures weren't as good as I had hoped for, I will just have to try again someday. That's the rest of my group just below my shoes in the safe zone.

 

Skagway / Carcross Canada - Engineer Brian L asked me to board the locomotive and we talked railroad for a little while as we "Y"ed the train. It sure shocked my small group of friends (and me) to see me pull the train up to the Depot. Just need to try to be in the right place at the right time.

 

My main point is it doesn't have to cost much if anything to have a really memorable trip to Alaska. Sometimes I need to spend the money and sometimes I just need to put out some effort. Hope you have a great trip.

[ellen9974]

I understand the problem you are having with money.....but.....I went on a cruise in June and was also on a tight budget...that being said ....I will tell you if you are into wildlife skip the whale watching tours.....I did not do it and that is the one thing I regret about the trip.....you can walk, take a bus or stay on board in all the ports. One day I hope to go back and if I do the whale watching will be the first thing I book. Hope you have a wonderful cruise;)