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

[Sunny AZ Girl]

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;)

Did you mean don't skip the whale watching tours?:confused:

 

We are trying to keep our excursions balanced and affordable. Right now we are looking at just walking around/shopping in Ketchikan & Victoria. We plan on our big splurge being the Yukon RR & van tour with Chilkoot in Skagway and possible whale watching in Juneau. However, we are only in Juneau from 7 -3. We also want to see the glacier. So, we may just take the bus to the glacier and hike there for awhile. I'm not sure we would have time to do both well and the whale watching is pricey.

 

Also, we are only in Victoria from 7:30 - midnight. I am still not clear what would be open downtown during those hours for us to see on our own.

[Smeecanada]

.

 

Also, we are only in Victoria from 7:30 - midnight. I am still not clear what would be open downtown during those hours for us to see on our own.

 

All the main tourist area (Government Street) will be open. Also, usually the Royal BC Museum is open when the cruise ships are in town. Another interesting area is Chinatown - it's only a block long but some really interesting shops. You could easily walk and then take a kabuki cab back if you don't want to walk back.

[floatinrocks]

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

Thanks but we'd had some water leakage in the garage so the replacement was from natural aging. So no, insurance doesn't cover that.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

All the main tourist area (Government Street) will be open. Also, usually the Royal BC Museum is open when the cruise ships are in town. Another interesting area is Chinatown - it's only a block long but some really interesting shops. You could easily walk and then take a kabuki cab back if you don't want to walk back.

Thank you. We will have to check that out.:)

[ellen9974]

Sorry I did mean to say Do Not skip the whale watching tour.....;)

[barchi]

I second the Alaska State Museum in Juneau. It is great and particularly nice if it is pouring rain in Juneau. Also the state capitol building is open to the public and you can walk all through it. There are some intersting historical photographs and a nice view toward the downtown and the ship docks.

[cruzn single]

Thought I had posted on this thread before, but can't find it. We just walked around Juneau and found the State Capitol, the State Museum, and the most wonderful Russian Orthodox Church. At the Church the priest happened to be there and talked to the visitors for over an hour about history, the role that Church played in Juneau life, etc. One of our most truly memorable days on a cruise.

 

Later we went to a Salmon bake, but could have easily given that up. Not memorable!

 

Ketchikan we just walked around, went to a museum, and thoroughly enjoyed the day.

 

In Skagway, after doing the train ride (which was my husband's one wish for that cruise), we took the tour given by the Park Ranger, and again, learned so much history.

 

Alaskan towns are wonderful for "entertaining yourself" and it will be a wonderful memory.

[loves2cruz]

We purchased a toursaver book. It is a fabulous value. It allowed us to do 2 for 1 whale watching in Juneau. It was a wonderful time. Two for one kayaking in Ketchikan, 2 for 1 Mt. Roberts Tramway, 2 for 1 glacier cruise. There are so many different two for ones it may allow you to push the budget a little and do some fabulous tours.

 

There are often used ones available on ebay. Just check to see what coupons have been used.

 

Have a wonderful time.

[vbmom87]

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!!

 

 

It is all a matter of what "floats our boats." Running around picking up free souveniers is definitely not my idea of what I want to do when in a port. However, if that makes you happy, go for it. I am about seeing what each port has to offer. Without funds for excursions I would take advantage of hikes in the area to see Alaska. JTo OP: ust keep researching and you will find things to do that "float your boat."

[dreams_of_travel]

Try the Hop on, Hop Off bus if they are available. We enjoyed seeing the cities we visited and could get off and tour when we wanted.

thanks for that suggestion.

 

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!)!

yeah that is going to be my biggest challenge. i am traveling with TWO teenagers. will see how that goes. LOL

 

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.

 

Oh, BTW, you do have to get the chowder!!

 

what she said! that is how i felt last year on our Alaska cruise. this year, it will be different. we are doing our own stuff but mostly just enjoying the port towns. the ONLY thing we have planned is going out to Mendenhall again. though now, after reading this thread, i am thinking i need to get out to the Totems again.

 

chowder? where does one get this treat? it sounds yummy!

[floatinrocks]

We've decided to just walk around and use city/town buses to Totem Bight and Mendenhall, if we have time for both. We'll do the Totems first as I'm sure we'll see lots of glaciers from the balcony on the ship. I am so very thankful for all the links and suggestions, we've got walking directions to "off the beaten path" places which I know we'll just love and they're FREE!!!!

[crazy4cruisn]

Hi Ginny,

If you are in Victoria on a Saturday, take the tour to Buchart Gardens. Although you don't get the full impact of the flowers (they are illuminated), you will get to see an amazing fireworks show! Some are even 3D with windmill like objects that come up out of the ground.

 

Downtown Victoria is just more shops. There are street preformers across from the Empress Hotel at the docks. Walk through the Empress or have a snack there. It is really pretty.

 

Do go to the Raptor Center in Sitka! It is really good. I have not been to the Bear Center just out of town, but I hear it is also good.

 

Have fun!

Nan

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Hi Ginny,

If you are in Victoria on a Saturday, take the tour to Buchart Gardens. Although you don't get the full impact of the flowers (they are illuminated), you will get to see an amazing fireworks show! Some are even 3D with windmill like objects that come up out of the ground.

 

Downtown Victoria is just more shops. There are street preformers across from the Empress Hotel at the docks. Walk through the Empress or have a snack there. It is really pretty.

 

Do go to the Raptor Center in Sitka! It is really good. I have not been to the Bear Center just out of town, but I hear it is also good.

 

Have fun!

Nan

Hi Nan! Thanks for the tips.:) We will be in Victoria on Monday night. We only have 4 hours there and it seems the ships have been running late in arriving so far this year. I am hoping we will have time to enjoy the city. I think if time allows we will go downtown and enjoy the waterfront area (Inner Harbor). I would love to go to the gardens, but that does not interest my DD much. Also, the tours have been cut short lately due to late arrivals & I am just afraid we would not get our money's worth this time around. I hope to convince DH to go with me another time and I will look for an itinerary that gives me more port time then.

 

We will not be in Sitka this time around. Another thing to look out for later, LOL!

 

We will be cruising three weeks from now, yeah!:D We are very excited and have had so many great planning tips from all of our CC friends. We are looking forward to it so much.:cool:

[emeraldlover1]

check out Ketchikan Discovery Center.

AARP had a good article "10 Minutes to the Real Alaska" searchfor it on line if our host choses to block this link.

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/travel/the_real_alaska.html

 

Cheers

 

We went to the Discovery Center after walking around Creek St. as we needed to use the bathroom. For $10 for the both of us it was an interesting center, history lesson, short film, and then we walked around town and shopped. Ketchikan is certainly small enough to walk the town in the short amount of time you are there.

[Putterdude]

In most of the ports you will find muncipal transit will get you to a number of the attractions.

[Italy52]

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

 

We have also cruised to Alaska many times and this year was the first time that we were handed coupon books (before boarding, near ship's photographer in Vancouver and in the Seward terminal).

[karenvit]

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!

 

 

 

If no one else has asked--I would love your coupon book--I am particularly looking for the Alaska Railroad coupon from Anchorage to Whittier and/or Whale watching in Juneau--I would pay shipping and any other charges that you consider reasonable--thanks so much

 

Karen Vitiello

daniel.vitiello@comcast.net

[crazy4cruisn]

If anyone has a coupon for Southeast Kayak tours in Ketchikan I would appreciate having it. I can pay you for your help.

Thanks,

Nan

naheath@sbcglobal.net

[motherofteenagers]

We are also on a budget with a family of four. We have reserved a car in both Juneau and Skagway. Rent a wreck in Juneau for about $60 for the day.And in Skagway from Avis for $130. Still much cheaper for us than excursions for the 4 of us. I requested a free map of Juneau online, which was sent to me and paid $5 online to download Murrays' Guide for the Skagway trip. It looks very informative. Very detailed for the trip up to Emerald Lake. Including the best spots to see bears ect. Hope you have a great time.

[Kodi'smom]

We live in Vancouver and did the Alaska cruise last year. In Vancouver I highly recommend the Hop-On-Off-Bus. The forests of the entire coast from Vancouver through Alaska are much the same, beautiful verdant rainforests. We have a park in West Vancouver called "Light House Park" and it is as good an example as any coastal forest plus you safe from bears and cougars. It is right on the West Van bus route with beautiful vistas across the water. The HoHo Bus takes you through Stanley Park, Granville Island, Downtown, etc. You asked what the PNE is. Pacific National Exhibition. If you are on a budget don't go. It is a bunch of carnies, rides, carnival food, and to give it credit usually some good bands. A family of 4 is lucky to get out of there for less than $100. and if you only have 1 day in Vancouver for heavens sake don't waste it at a carnival that you can see anywhere. Two of the lucky things for you are 1. The cruise ship slips are all right in the middle of town, no transportation required to reach the towns and 2. The main point of the Alaska cruise is what you see from the ship as you sail through the inside passage. The glaciers you see right from the ship are amazing and so are the whales. Have a great trip.

[Drink-in-Hand/Toes-in-Sand]

In Juneau, stop by the Alaskan Brewery for a tour and free samples! I always do that (have a friend that lives in Juneau), then buy a 6-pack to take back to the ship. We also go to a Catholic church thats on the water

Do you go to the brewery first, and then to church??? Or vice versa?

 

Sorry, couldn't resist! :D

 

Many great recommendations here. Just walking around in towns like Skagway and Ketchikan is an experience not to be missed. I second the Lumberjack show, cheap good fun. Mount Roberts in Juneau--you can kill half a day riding the tram up, exploring the mountain, and hiking down the trail. And use those free souvenir coupons! Enjoy.

[knitterbetty]

PLEASE don't miss the Southeast Discovery Center in Ketchican. It's right near the pier, it's free, it's wonderful! I think it's free, maybe a small admission. Beautiful exhibits, you could spend hours there. Not crowded, I think lots of people don't know about it.

[nanlee6]

We just came back and we did not do any excursions. We explored the various towns on our own and enjoyed the free activities that were offerred.

[Querkyquilter]

Floatinrocks,

Ask the servers at the buffet or restaurant to pack you a picnic lunch then head out with a walking tour. However, be careful of bears as one tour guide said," we call tourist bear bait." The scenery is so grand you will never forget it and its free.

You'll have an awesome time.

[Sailkeywest]

What an amazing thread, I think it should be stickied :P *added to favorites* Really great suggestions from everyone!

 

That is what I hated most about our last cruise, always rushing to get from excursion to excursion, I felt as though we were being corralled from one place to another. I think my favorite thing we did was the one place where we just got off the boat and had lunch in some little restaurant instead of fighting all the crowds.

 

Thanks again for the suggestions!