SightCRR

Juneau has one on Douglas's Island and Skagway has one just outside city. Both include transportation. Check youtube for both. I think you can do these outside the cruise line but I am not sure about that. Ak tours only run 3-4 month is why they are so expensive. At least you are not spending $700+ to fly to dogs on snow.

Plus most of the good excursions are full and sold out.

One advantage with the cruise line rail in Skagway is that the train will likely pull up right next to the ship. Further walk on the return. Many times will sell out. Forget about helo and any flying as they likely have been sold out for months. Same with Tracy Arm. In Ketch if at Ward Cove read up about how to get to town & look into Crab Boat tour but it is pricy. Juneau whale watch. Try for Jayleen but likely gone by now also. For any tour you are interested in check personal youtubes as they will have every one you can think of. Newest the better. Except for flying with low clouds the weather in AK is never bad but the warm coats, raincoats, gloves and hats are not up to the task and tours will go on.

You say best but don't say price. Ketch Crab boat tour, Skagway Helo Glacier Landing, Juneau Jayleen Whale watch. Watch all your choices on youtube before you decide.

With that additional info sounds to me like it will work and likely have other OoSeas people on the fast ferry back. I don't know if Grayling are available but they would be a treat to catch and release.

When and how much to spend is most important to bear tours. If not flying you could just luck out. in either case. There is a chance on the road to Carcross via rental car for black bear from Skagway or herring cove rain forest trail from Ketch.

Not sure about comfort but make sure you sit on the left side (when facing forward) heading up. On the right side most likely just see the hill side.

Go to youtube and watch one of each. Look for new personal ones not the ad ones.

Time of the year means a lot when asking about this. Salmon in the river means animals. No salmon not many animals.

Go to youtube and search for port names for every stop. Just about every tour will be on there. Look for personal ones not the ad ones and newer the better. Be sitting down when you see the prices. Many will run $200+ and if flying $600+ p/p. There are cheap walking tours and free things to do but dont expect few people and much exciting tours. Some ports will be overrun with people looking for tours or that have already booked tours. We like to know who we go with to be able to read the reviews. I strongly suggest that you know what you are doing before hand and not walk off the ship and wonder what to do. "Port Monkeys" on youtube does walking tours and they walk alot and cruise alot. For 2025 look now and very likey good info to verify in 2025. In winter many things shut down and info is hard to come by until spring 2025.

Does tour end at ship or somewhere else. If somewhere else add in travel time back to ship.

I would find out about cancelation policy and book it now then cancel later because likely gone by now. go to youtube to watch tour.

We are booked on the 28 day HAL Alaska Jun 2024. HAL offered tour at Hubbard and when we booked cruise about 7 months out tour was already waitlisted. We are watching for changes after final payment.

Now your question make sense. Check the cancelation policies of all your planned tours then book helo in both so if first one is cancelled you can go on backup. Whales in Juneau are also very good. The helo trips in Juneau are short but take a little while to get to airport. Helos in Skagway are also short but very little travel time to get there. Skagway also has some other short free hikes to do after helo. I think the scenery on the way to landing in Skagway is better but my helo trip in Skagway was long time ago.

Helo trips in general are the most canceled trips due to weather so take that into consideration. Do you mean helo to Mendenhall in Juneau? I would think Skagway has better chance at better weather. Maybe you mean Juneau instead of Ketch. Mendenhall has receded so much you get to see very little of the glacier from visitor center. Anytime you can get on a helo it is spectacular as is being close to glacier.

youtube is your friend. Here is one that sold us on Seward Helo but haven't done it yet so can't recommend it. Start watching youtube. Just about every excursion will be on it. Look for personal ones not the ad ones and newer the better. BEST WAY TO SEE ALASKA: Seward helicopter tour! (Episode 12) (youtube.com) zip line in ISP if stopping there.

In years past Avis use to have drop off at the gift store and it wasn't it the best when they opened late or had cars jammed in and blocking each other but they moved to airport. Good tip to check National. We did not check National as that would save two cab rides and depending on when they open speed things up. One more tip they don't have many cars so don't delay to much and you may run into winter hours for people working now. I would think but I don't know that the demand in April would be less.

Read up about Ward Cove in Ketch and which lines dock there. Buy the laundry package to ease the baggage load. View some youtube videos to see reviews of ships you want to know more about. Do you have any thoughts about ships with more than 5k passengers? You likely want the most and best times in port. Nothing in the 5 pm to 11 pm time frame.

For our cruise in 2024 here are our plans. We have not done this yet so have no idea about good or bad. Kodiak: Avis. Bad part is that pick up/ drop off is at the airport not very close to cruise pier. Homer: Adventure Alaska Car Rentals 907.235.4022, said they would have car near pier or give ride to pickup/drop off. We have rented from them before and had good experiences. Dutch: BC Vehicle Rentals, 907.581.6777, close to airport which I think is close to cruise pier. Kodiak and Homer both easy to drive in when we have done it before but have not it in April. If you do rent get at least 2021 AK milepost for maps and what to see. Or at least check milepost out from library.

You can verify the location of ship and schedule here. Cruise Ship Schedule Calendar Combined Ports (claalaska.com). If Princess tour whatever they say. If on your own verify location of pickup then take 10 am add 30 for ship being late then add what it takes to get to meeting point. Then verify how long tour is, how long it takes to get back and plan to be back at 5 pm for extra cushion. If tender never mind as you never know. Often non Princess providers will know more about your tour times than you do.

This site will tell you where you are docking. Then you can search maps to see locations and distances to totem parks etc. If Ward Cove forget about totems due to long distance travel times. Cruise Ship Schedule Calendar Combined Ports (claalaska.com)

The real key to inside passage is where the ship leaves from. Vancouver has better chance of going up the east side of Vancouver Island. Seattle west side and then when north with shorter time inside. One of the main hurtles you have to deal with is how to get to ship. You don't say where you live but I think you want non stop flight if possible then minimum hassle to get to ship from airport. Another thing to consider when thinking about inside is the time you travel may be in the dark. View some you tube videos on the cruise and port views. Most all cruises go to the same cities. Skagway has mountains all around with very little city. Juneau has mts and city. Ketch has nice boardwalk for wheelchairs. ISP huge mts all around not much city. TheSnowCloud Juneau area Webcams One sample of many youtubes: My First Alaska Cruise Was Not What I Expected. Here's Why - YouTube

Totem Bight is very close to Ward Cove. Silver bus. 10 min bus ride. Check timing for log show.

Yes all ports have excursions. Likely cost more than cruise fare when totaled. Can do cheap or expensive. $50-800 pp. each. Search on youtube for individual reviews (not the ad ones). Likely many are full for 2024. When choosing cruise look for longest port times and I would avoid Ward Cove dock in Ketch because of short times so far out.

If taking the bus to Totem Bight study the bus route and get on one stop before most people which may be at the museum so you have more of a chance at a seat. Never mind this idea if docking at Ward Cove. Plus get the on-line descriptions of the totems in case they are not available at T/B. Also in Ketch if you have a National Park Pass bring it as the Discovery Museum is included. In Juneau if taking the $50 tram have a plan B in case of fog/clouds and skip it if you can't see the top station or wait til later.