Cruising to Alaska Golden Princess July 1 2015. Need advice

This is our first cruise. We are stoppibg at Juneau 1st and we are going to take ground transportation to Mendenhall Glacier. Probably will hike to a couple of teh ice caverns. Anyone else have good things to do here. Not sure how much time we have but want to see as much as possible.

3rd stop is skagway. Here we are on a waitlist for a boat trip to see bears etc. This is the important one. Does anyone have other great things to do as a back up in case we do not get on the excursion? Car rental to explore maybe? Places to explore? My wife is a wildlife photographer and that would be our main goal is to find great habitats. I looked at maybe renting a boat but looks like that may not be a good idea.

Last question... We will be at glacier bay.. We have an aft side cabin with balcony. Is view better from deck or would a relaxing morning be better on our balcony with some coffee. I heard that the deck can be very crowded.

Any how any help would be awsome.. Hope to see some of you there.

Best place for ideas in Alaska is on the Ports of Call boards.

Lots of info there.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

This link will take you to the Alaska Ports Of Call Board where you can ask these questions.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=55

Keith

This is our first cruise. We are stoppibg at Juneau 1st and we are going to take ground transportation to Mendenhall Glacier. Probably will hike to a couple of teh ice caverns. Anyone else have good things to do here. Not sure how much time we have but want to see as much as possible.

 

3rd stop is skagway. Here we are on a waitlist for a boat trip to see bears etc. This is the important one. Does anyone have other great things to do as a back up in case we do not get on the excursion? Car rental to explore maybe? Places to explore? My wife is a wildlife photographer and that would be our main goal is to find great habitats. I looked at maybe renting a boat but looks like that may not be a good idea.

 

Last question... We will be at glacier bay.. We have an aft side cabin with balcony. Is view better from deck or would a relaxing morning be better on our balcony with some coffee. I heard that the deck can be very crowded.

 

Any how any help would be awsome.. Hope to see some of you there.

Hi,

We were on the Norwegian Jewel in May for our 1st Trip to Alaska and were lucky enough to have perfect weather the whole time.

In Juneau we walked around town then took a tour with Panhandle Excursion thru Monty. They were in Town where the bus from the ship drops you off. It was a combination Whale-Watching and out to Mendenhall Glacier for around $100. It was a great time !

In Skagway we took a ship Tour Bus ride all the way to Caribou Crossing. Several hours and stops along the way including lunch. Then back on the Train, it was great ! A great day, a little pricey at about $200 each, but, we got our money's worth. Easy 5 or 6 hours.

In Ketchikan we did the Misty Fjords Boat Cruise, 4 or 5 hours for $200 each, pricey, but a Great day.

Hopes this helps.

Dave and Leona

The OP sailed four days ago. EM