Juneau helicopter tour

arriving Juneau on the Norwegian Bliss first week of June. Juneau in June😜😂😛

NCL does not list an excursion taking a helicopter flight to a glacier unlike Princess. Has anyone booked the local tour operator and what was your experience. As slots are few, I don't want to wait too long to book...the Bliss is in port for only 6 hours.

Thanks

I'm pretty sure they offer helicopter tour excursions in Juneau, that's the main port for it. Be sure to scroll through all of the offered shorex's for your cruise, sometimes the wording might not scream helicopter (i.e. Glacier Exploration or Dogsledding Adventure). If for some reason your cruise isn't offering it, the company we used there (through Princess) was called Temsco. Their website is http://www.temscoair.com. You might be able to book directly with them.

I think there are 3 vendors;ERA, Temsco and Coastal.

Look in the Juneau Visitor Guide.( you'll find a link in the Helpful Resources thread.)

Be sure to have a back up plan in case the ride is cancelled due to cloud cover.

Thank you for the responses. I called the cruise line and they said the excursion will be offered, should be posted in January. With so many passengers, I figure I have to jump on it as soon as it is posted. As for cost...that remains to be seen. I thought Princess charged about $400....I found it for $299 on the visitors guide as was suggested above.

Thanks too all.......

Tom

I think there are 3 vendors;ERA, Temsco and Coastal.

Look in the Juneau Visitor Guide.( you'll find a link in the Helpful Resources thread.)

 

Be sure to have a back up plan in case the ride is cancelled due to cloud cover.

There are 4 vendors also Northstar.

. As for cost...that remains to be seen. I thought Princess charged about $400....I found it for $299 on the visitors guide as was suggested above.

Thanks too all.......

Tom

There are numerous - different - tours. You likely are not comparing the same tour. Differences on landings, and time are essential. But, ship booked tours are generally more.

arriving Juneau on the Norwegian Bliss first week of June. Juneau in June😜😂😛

NCL does not list an excursion taking a helicopter flight to a glacier unlike Princess. Has anyone booked the local tour operator and what was your experience. As slots are few, I don't want to wait too long to book...the Bliss is in port for only 6 hours.

Thanks

NCL doesn't run their own tours, ALL are "local operators". Doesn't matter how you book- the SAME tour.

arriving Juneau on the Norwegian Bliss first week of June. Juneau in June😜😂😛

NCL does not list an excursion taking a helicopter flight to a glacier unlike Princess. Has anyone booked the local tour operator and what was your experience. As slots are few, I don't want to wait too long to book...the Bliss is in port for only 6 hours.

Thanks

I did a tour with Coastal Helicopters last year. It was $299 each. We spent about 30-45 minutes in their staging building getting weighed (they arrange the passengers in the helicopter by weight) and putting on our glacier boots. Those boots will fit over whatever shoes you're wearing. You aren't allowed to take any bags of any sort (no purses for the ladies either) but they are locked in a big box in their building. The flight to the glacier takes about 10-15 minutes, you get to spend about 30-45 minutes walking around and then 10-15 minutes back to the airport. I thought it was great! We landed on Herbert Glacier - I believe they might choose different glaciers depending on weather, how busy they are, etc. The pilot did a very smooth take offs and landings - he also had some good commentary during the flight. They should have a shuttle from the dock area to the departure area and back. I would book with whoever you choose ASAP so that you aren't disappointed by waiting too long and there being no openings. It's a great experience.

arriving Juneau on the Norwegian Bliss first week of June. Juneau in June

NCL does not list an excursion taking a helicopter flight to a glacier unlike Princess. Has anyone booked the local tour operator and what was your experience. As slots are few, I don't want to wait too long to book...the Bliss is in port for only 6 hours.

Thanks

Our excursion with Coastal Helicopters last summer was the highlight (among many) of our Alaskan cruise. Coastal has various options - we chose the helicopter/dog sledding combination with an extra landing to see the crevasses/blue ice. A van shuttles you to and from the airport. (I believe that the two of us paid $100 less than we would have booking a similar excursion through Princess.)

https://www.coastalhelicopters.com

My sled dog pictures are embedded in my review of our entire Princess cruise, including a pre-stay in Seattle, but if you scroll down, you can see pictures of our excursion.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2533305

It is important to have a back up plan, as we were told that 70% of Coastal's flights were cancelled in the month of July last summer, due to weather. Not all of the companies land on the same glacier, (Coastal lands on Herbert), and I've read that at times flights are cancelled on one glacier but not on another, depending on the specific weather conditions of each glacier.

Rain was predicted the entire week of our cruise, but we didn't see a drop the whole week, in fact, our musher was wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt on our dog sled ride!

It was a fabulous experience!

We did Coastal two years ago. HIGHLY recommend them. The glacier landing was the highlight of the cruise and well worth the cost. Do whatever it takes to go on this excursion.

arriving Juneau on the Norwegian Bliss first week of June. Juneau in June😜😂😛

NCL does not list an excursion taking a helicopter flight to a glacier unlike Princess. Has anyone booked the local tour operator and what was your experience. As slots are few, I don't want to wait too long to book...the Bliss is in port for only 6 hours.

Thanks

yes i use Coastal and have used them twice. They are great. I have booked them again for this coming June. Have a great time.

Robin

All this feedback is great and much appreciated. I love cruise critic as a source of information. Looks like I will choose either coastal or gems or. Now to decide if the standard tour or the pilots choice for an extra $150 is orth it.

Regardless I think I better book next week to insure I get a seat.

Thanks everyone!!!