What WOULDN'T you do in Alaska?

[cruzin4us]

Hi All,

I've read everything about what to do in Alaska, but I'd really like to hear from those that have recommendations on what not to do. For instance.....snorkeling because you don't see much and the water is cold ;)

What tours or excursions have you found to be a waste of time (and especially $)?

Thanks everyone!

[krogerlady]

Hmmm....good question....I was on CC for a year before our cruise, and don't remember seeing a question like this. We got back June 18, so things are pretty fresh. First off, I am 62, willing to try a lot of things, no major physical problems, other than a bit "fluffy"...that being said, I wil never zipline again. Just me, everyone else had a great time. I can't even tell you why. I was just very anxious the whole time, and glad it was over. That being said, I would only do one excursion in Ketchikan, and try to enjoy more of the port, and I would do no excursions in Sitka. Too pretty to be tied to a group. Also, did not get to see enough whales!! We were in Auke bay over two hours and saw a lot, got some great pictures, but if I go again, I will book the longest whale watch I can find. Also, no matter what it took, I would not leave myself with 18 hours to kill in Anchorage before my flight left. Ya just can't fill all that time without becoming totally exhausted.

[frugaltravel]

I would not book a tour with Homer Ocean Charters again. They canceled my tour just 2 hours before the scheduled departure.

[Budget Queen]

I never recommend shorthchanging time, and over extending driving in Interior Alaska. Be well aware of time and distances required. Don't get caught up in a marathon driving trip with no time at destinations.

 

Also, make independent vendor reservations, when ALL your plans are in place. When you willy nilly book, without looking at the whole picture, you subject yourself to poor planning, extra useless days, too short time, cancelation fees etc.

[tetleytea]

Pretty much anything you can do just as easily in the lower 48. It's not just that the same tours are going to be far cheaper down south--it's that time in Alaska (let alone in port) is at a premium. It makes more sense to spend Alaska time doing Alaska stuff.

 

Mine tours aren't going to be any different in Alaska, the Lumberjack show is no different than what you would see in Branson, the Alaskan (and note I said ALASKAN) garden tours are nothing special unless you are really deep into horticulture, and there is no shortage of gambling boats all over, so why spend scenery time gambling away in the ship casino? You can hunt for gems in North Carolina, you can pan for gold in Northern California. The shows, like Days of 98 and Liarsville (in Skagway)--seriously--you can go to a show on any given Friday night at home. All are unique. There is nothing particularly more unique about a show in Alaska, and for the same price you could get good seats at an Andrew Lloyd Webber in any major city. And what in the WORLD are you even doing in those Caribbean jewelry shops??

 

Even more activities you can do in the lower 48, but they aren't quite the same in Alaska. But still.... You can hike, bike, raft, horseback ride, train ride, ATV ride, 4x4 ride, or ride a Segway in the lower-48; you just won't get the same scenery. So if it's the scenery you're after, okay--but if it's just the novelty of riding a Hummer, why bother? You can train ride the Rockies or the VIA rail in Canada. You can whale watch allover the East and West coasts for far cheaper, but the scenery isn't the same, and neither is the wildlife. You can zipline (rainforest canopy and all) in Central America or some ski resorts. You can even helicopter and flightsee in the lower-48 for FAR cheaper. So you have to ask, do I have to see ALASKA scenery, or do I just love to fly? If it's the latter, save your $700 and spend it on a $250 hot air balloon ride later instead. And all these tours that revolve around eating: you eat all the time. You can get fresh Alaska salmon for $19.99 a pound at your local grocery store. What exactly is so special about that eating tour? The Seward Sea Life Center--not that much there you wouldn't see at Seaworld or the Atlanta Aquarium. Let alone the Anchorage Zoo.

 

And of course anything you would consider fancy or classy, that's not what Alaska is about. There's a place for it in Paris or New York (or maybe on the cruise ship). It's out of place in Alaska.

[canadarocks]

So now I'm wondering tetleytea........ what DO you do in Alaska? I think you pretty much ruled out everything!! :p ;)

[cruzin4us]

So now I'm wondering tetleytea........ what DO you do in Alaska? I think you pretty much ruled out everything!! :p ;)

 

 

Hee Hee.....I was wondering the same thing :) I guess that only leaves dog sledding ;)

[frugaltravel]

Hee Hee.....I was wondering the same thing :) I guess that only leaves dog sledding ;)

 

Was wondering the same thing :D Heck, you can go flightseeing and see bears in the lower 48. And you can go dogsledding in MN. Maybe we just shouldn't go to AK at all?!

[caa]

Gold Panning. This is one I really don't get. If you're panning in a box, you're only going to find the few flakes that the operator sprinkles into the sand. If you're panning in a stream, you'll just end up with no gold, a sore back and cold feet!

[tetleytea]

IMO there's lots to do. The thread was asking about what not to do. Do note that 2/3 of the stuff I mentioned, I'm not necessarily saying don't do it at all. There's just a different and/or toned-down version of it you can do down south. For example we did the flightseeing of Mt. McKinley w/ glacier landing. Not because we liked to fly in a Cessna, but because we wanted to fly specifically that mountain and land on a glacier. And our favorite trip ever was a glacier ATV trek. We can ride ATV's any time--just not on a glacial morraine at 11pm at night. And the Eagle Preserve raft trip in Haines--it's not about the rafting, it's about the eagles.

[Warrior1]

10 days of glacier viewing(?)

[irislady]

The only thing I wouldn't do in Alaska again is the drive from Princess's Copper River Lodge up to the Kennicot mine. BORING! You're driving along a former railroad bed, so there is nothing to see except for forest on both sides. LONG drive to get there, and then you can see the mine area in just a few mins. if you don't actually walk into that rickety old mine building. This was a few years ago. Budget Queen warned us then to choose a different excursion. Wish we had listened to her!

[cruzin4us]

The only thing I wouldn't do in Alaska again is the drive from Princess's Copper River Lodge up to the Kennicot mine. BORING! You're driving along a former railroad bed, so there is nothing to see except for forest on both sides. LONG drive to get there, and then you can see the mine area in just a few mins. if you don't actually walk into that rickety old mine building. This was a few years ago. Budget Queen warned us then to choose a different excursion. Wish we had listened to her!

 

This is EXACTLY the type of stuff I want to know! Thank you :)

[canadarocks]

Here's a small one. Always compare ship excursion prices with independent ones. In Alaska they don't tend to be much different, but one I noticed was the Days of '98 show in Skagway. If you go on your own (and you can pre-reserve tickets) it's $20 a ticket. The ship charges you $44 (which does includes transportation..... but you can walk there! :eek:)

[NancyIL]

The only thing I wouldn't do in Alaska again is the drive from Princess's Copper River Lodge up to the Kennicot mine. BORING! You're driving along a former railroad bed, so there is nothing to see except for forest on both sides. LONG drive to get there, and then you can see the mine area in just a few mins. if you don't actually walk into that rickety old mine building. This was a few years ago. Budget Queen warned us then to choose a different excursion. Wish we had listened to her!

 

I LOVED Kennicott! We weren't on a Princess cruise tour, but we flew from Chitina to McCarthy and stayed in Kennicott 2 nights. We did a half-day hike to and on the Root Glacier as well as the mine tour, and I loved it all - even though the hike just about did me in! Judging by how bumpy the 5-mile ride from McCarthy to Kennicott was, I wouldn't look forward to a 3-hour drive each way, either. However, the flights were short (25 minutes) and very scenic.

 

What I wouldn't do again is book the first Misty Fjords flight of the day. We were on the first flight, and it was too cloudy to see anything.

[frugaltravel]

The only thing I wouldn't do in Alaska again is the drive from Princess's Copper River Lodge up to the Kennicot mine. BORING! You're driving along a former railroad bed, so there is nothing to see except for forest on both sides. LONG drive to get there, and then you can see the mine area in just a few mins. if you don't actually walk into that rickety old mine building. This was a few years ago. Budget Queen warned us then to choose a different excursion. Wish we had listened to her!

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Kennicott too. Took the tour of the mill building (I am pretty sure you meant the MILL building -the mines themselves are a long way up the mountain from Kennicott and are off-limits to entry).

 

I also took a Root Glacier hike, which was a highlight of my time there.

 

I think the mistake might have been the cruisetour itself, not the trip to Kennicott. We drove in, taking just under 3 hours each way from Chitina. It was a nice drive, though dusty when vehicles passed.

[NancyIL]

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Kennicott too. Took the tour of the mill building (I am pretty sure you meant the MILL building -the mines themselves are a long way up the mountain from Kennicott and are off-limits to entry).

 

I also took a Root Glacier hike, which was a highlight of my time there.

 

I think the mistake might have been the cruisetour itself, not the trip to Kennicott. We drove in, taking just under 3 hours each way from Chitina. It was a nice drive, though dusty when vehicles passed.

 

You're right...MILL tour, not MINE tour!

[karatemom2]

This is a very subjective topic, of course, most excursion choices or non-choices are such. What one person finds boring or a waste, another person might find completely enjoyable.

 

My DH doesn't like to fly, especially in small planes, so we would not do floatplane or helicopter excursions. We are not much into extreme sports so glacier trekking, mountain biking, rock climbing, ziplining etc. don't appeal to us. We also tend to avoid excursions through the ship, preferring to book with independent vendors directly.

 

The things we prefer tend to be around seeing the scenery, wildlife, hiking, exploring by car, foot, or boat and focusing on the history and local culture. Many people would probably find the things we choose not to their liking, but that's why it's great the options in Alaska are so varied.

[Chenega]

As an Alaskan resident, I would skip the one hour cruise at Portage Lake and drive to Whittier and go with one of the three companies to see the glaciers of Prince William Sound. I'd also skip the Natural History Tour at Denali; pay extra and either go on the longer tour or take the park shuttle at least as far as Eielson Visitor Center.

[tetleytea]

The things we prefer tend to be around seeing the scenery, wildlife, hiking, exploring by car, foot, or boat and focusing on the history and local culture. Many people would probably find the things we choose not to their liking,

 

I am 100% with you, except on the extreme sports part.

 

Also, besides it being subjective, it's also negative. It's not surprising if you get a negative response when you say you don't like something. But still, we don't have enough negative around here.

[canadarocks]

I am 100% with you, except on the extreme sports part.

 

Also, besides it being subjective, it's also negative. It's not surprising if you get a negative response when you say you don't like something. But still, we don't have enough negative around here.

 

I am very sorry if you took offense to my comment, as it was said in jest (hence the choice of emoticons). But I do apologize if the intent wasn't clear :(

[tetleytea]

Nah. Negative threads are harder, that's all I'm sayin'. That's why we don't have more of it, even though that's 50% of the useful information out there people need to know.

 

You should see what happens when you say anything remotely critical about Skagway operators. :D I did, and I got surrounded by a mob of angry Canadians. And I didn't even know Canadians were capable of violence. LOL!! (I think a violent Canadian might be something like a pacifist Irishman. hee hee hee hee)

[frugaltravel]

I'd also skip the Natural History Tour at Denali; pay extra and either go on the longer tour or take the park shuttle at least as far as Eielson Visitor Center.

 

I would skip both tours and only take the shuttle at least as far as Eielson :)

[CalifCruiser1]

In Kecthikan we have booked twice the Misty Fjords trip with Michelle at Island Wings both times it was too foggy. The first time Michelle was able to take us to the bears instead (WOW). Second time it was impossible - it was so foggy. We go in a couple of weeks to try it for a 3rd chance (keep your fingers crossed). My suggestion is have a back up plan just in case.

The Kenai boat trip out of Seward don't waste your time with the 3 hour tour- you don't see enough.

Don't waste time in ports you go all the way to Alaska SEE Alaska, go on the tours, take hikes, enjoy the local food, fish, checkout the wildlife, see what makes Alaska Alaska. It's a beautiful place enjoy what it has to offer.

 

California has beaches, bars, boating, does that mean I shouldn't bother going to the Carribean? Karon:rolleyes:

[bottom-dragger]

"oh no. here he comes again with the same old drivel"

 

you know i'd say it

 

you just have to wait

 

it's just a little farther down the page

 

it will envoke a negative response in many

 

but here it is.............................................

 

if you are ever in paris and visiting eurodisney is high up on your todo list, you'll enjoy the red dawg in juneau.