shesmi

We did a tour in 2017 with Heli-Mush out of Juneau. Helicopter sightseeing to Norris glacier where the dog camp is, 2 mile ride on dog sled, then spend time visiting with dogs and then more helicopter sightseeing on way back to ship. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, incredible excursion. Expensive, but we felt it was worth every penny and more. Flying through the mountains was indescribable, landing at the camp and hearing the excited barking of the dogs was like nothing else. I'd say it's a must-do if you can swing it.

https://www.alaskahelimush.com/your-glacier-flight-to-dog-world/

Under the search bar on the right, in very tiny, light font, it says "unread content." I think that's what you're looking for

We took both helicopter and sea plane tours in Alaska and definitely the helicopter was smoother, and even though it did make some sharp turns (that I worried needlessly about), it was an extremely easy (and FUN) trip. The sea plane, on the other hand, is loud, lots of vibration and I felt every movement more intensely than in the helicopter. That said, I did take Bonine before both trips, but I don't know that I really would have needed it. I'm a very nervous flyer but enjoyed both tours without getting sick.

An additional thought about Denali - I forgot, there is a shuttle bus that goes through the park and you can get off at various places and catch the next shuttle to go to your next stop. So you're not confining yourself to a bus tour. You just have to watch the times closely so you don't miss the last shuttle going out of the park, lol.

If you are looking at Denali vs. Kenai ... I'll qualify this by saying we've only been to Denali and didn't spend time on Kenai. But a point of consideration, if you are visiting Denali specifically to see the mountain, the mountain is not always visible. Depends on the weather. It can be above the clouds a lot and you might see only part of it or not see it at all. You need a whole day to do a complete park tour, if you drive into the park, you can only go so far. The park tour was amazing and we saw a lot of wildlife, but IMO, you can see wildlife everywhere in Alaska, lol.

We took a bus from Denali-Anchorage-Seward, and we thought the best scenery was definitely Anchorage to Seward. If we had a chance to do it again, I think we'd probably skip Denali and do Kenai. Also looking at info on orcas, it looks like Prince William Sound (which you *may* be able to tour from Whittier or Seward, I don't know) has large permanent population of orcas, at least it does according to a whale watch company anyway.

Anyway, those are some thoughts from someone who has only visited Alaska once, for what it's worth. You are going to love it no matter what itinerary you choose!!!!!!

We did the same cruise last May on the Millie (Tundra wilderness tour. Fairbanks-Denali-Anchorage(just a short stop)-Seward.) At the first night orientation at the hotel in Fairbanks, the tour directors handed out a list of all optional land excursions and you can sign up for them then or up to the day of the excursion. I think all of the activities were after dinner. There was 1 or 2 goofy dinner-theater type things, which we didn't go to. In Denali, there was hiking with a guide, a trip to dogsled camp, several other things that I can't remember. The tour director collected money the day of the excursion, IIRC. I want to say that the tours ranged from $50 to $150 ish, but again, my memory fails me. Sorry, I guess I'm not much help, lol. At the hotel in Denali, you could also sign up for tours through the hotel, but I think they were pretty similar, if not the same, tours as we booked through Celebrity. Again, if I remember correctly, the tours are run by a company that contracts with Celebrity, which is probably why you can't find anything on the website. I'll see if I can find any more info amongst the stuff we saved from the trip and come back here if I do.

If you want to spend $$$ on a helicopter, consider Juneau glacier dog sledding. We did it through ERA helicopters. They do excursions through the cruise lines, but you can also book on your own. We thought it was the highlight of the trip. Some of the dog have run the Iditarod. Highly recommended.

For a great "native" Alaska, our favorite port was Icy Strait Point. Not all ships go there. You can hike, whale watch, several tram and ATV/jeep tours or just walk to town and talk to the native residents. No diamond or tanzanite shops anywhere, no cheap souvenir shops; a welcome change. We took a forest tram tour, which we thought wouldn't be all that interesting, but our tour guide was a tribal chief and he spent the entire tour telling stories about the native culture and personal stories of growing up as a young Tlingit boy. It was fascinating!!!! Oh yeah, and they have a very long, steep zip line ride next to the dock. lol.

We were in 6120, at the aft end of the row of lifeboats. You can see the lifeboats if you look straight down into the water, but sitting on the balcony, looking straight out at the water, you don't see them. It was a total non-issue for us. I think the sweet 16s extend further out over the lifeboats and would be even less visible.

FYI we fly with Michelle on Monday for the 2 hour tour as confirmed by Shona. Can wait, our flight leaves in 20 hours to Vancouver!

You will love it! We ended up booking with Carlin Air because we wanted the 2 hour tour and Michelle didnt have that available the day we were there. And Carlin ended up sending us to Alaska Seaplane Tours because he was having mechanical issue with plane and didn't get the replacement part in time for our flight. Regardless, it was an amazing flight - made an unscheduled landing in a cove because pilot spotted a bear by the shore (but bear was scared off by engine noise and we didn't get a good glimpse) and then a 2nd landing in a quiet area by a waterfall to get out and stand on the floats (too scary for me to do though, lol). It was breathtaking! Enjoy your trip!!

Thanks for the further comments! I'm starting to rethink our decision to take the shorter tour. Budget Queen, have you flown with other vendors and if so, is there one you would recommend over others? I may check if Randy still has space available on the 2-hour flight, but my husband isn't really comfortable with return time being an hour before sail time

I did the ground portion and honestly except for landing it was not exciting. We were on a small outcrop in the fjord and may have had a drink of juice although don't really remember. So don't think about it and enjoy flying with Michelle - she was delightful.

Thanks!!! I think we picked the right tour for us now, and I'm getting really excited!!

I think I read That Randy did the 2 hour trips, but I could be wrong. We also just booked the two hour trip and it will be Randy. But I am sure he will be great.

 

And Shesmi- the 2 hour does have a half hour on the ground mid flight so it is really 1 1/2 flight- if that is any help.

Thanks, that does actually help to think of it that way, only actually missing 1/2 hour flight time. We're going to book with Michelle for the 1-hour flight, mostly because I had my heart set on flying with her for a long time, and that kind of makes up for losing out on the ground portion (I hope).

I did some digging and found Randy is the owner of Mountain Air and has run flightseeing tours for a long time.... I found a lot of excellent reviews of his tours on TripAdvisor and other sites, so I'm sure it will be great no matter who the pilot is.

Thanks for your help; I'm sure y'all are correct! I know this is impossible to answer, but after having done a 2-hour tour, does a 1-hour tour seem like it would be long enough? I know, I'm overthinking it, but hubby wants to take the shorter one and save money, and I want to see and do "everything" LOL. There's no easy answer to that dilemma I guess.

We're planning on doing the Misty Fjords flightseeing tour with Island Wings, and our choices are a 1-hour tour with Michelle or a 2-hour tour with Randy. Has anyone done the 1-hour tour? I'm wondering if just an hour will allow enough time so that we'll feel like we've seen everything? Has anyone flown with Randy? I've heard so much about Michelle but nothing about Randy, so I wanted to get any thoughts y'all had that might help us decide which tour to do.

Thanks - we're so looking forward to this trip!!!

Sherri