If you could only do ONE Alaska excursion, what would you choose?

[knittinggirl]

Some of those flight seeing excursions will be expensive with four people.

 

On our Alaska cruise we had be watch our money too.

 

I'd suggest the White Pass & Yukon railroad in Skagway. Will with four people, it's probably going to be around $500 for all. Depending on your budget, there are also White Pass Plus . . . you can get.

[Podie]

Ginny, in my opinion, if you've been on a whale watching cruise already, don't do it again. I'd been whale watching in Hawaii and watched them breach completely out of the water and crash back down. There was nothing like that with Harv & Marv. It was a lovely day, but it was just fins and tails, nothing like Hawaii. And Jay said this had been much better than the earlier cruise. So if money is a concern, I'd skip it.

[Rocklady]

You can take the city bus $1 to $2 (it travels once an hour) out to Totem Bight (donation) and see the totem poles at your leisure. There is a clan house and plenty of room for roaming kids. Catch the bus in front of the Masonic Lodge by the tunnel. Inquire at the visitor's center at the dock for the schedule. The bus also stops at Walmart should you need something (but remember the bus schedule)

[im4golf]

What about just wilderness tours in Icy Strait? Is there any? Alos want to to the Native Heritage Centre to dsee Tribal Tlingit Presentation. Can I get there from ship or do I have to take the tour? How much is it on your own?

[grandma13]

I would suggest Butchart Gardens in Victoria. They are open in the evenings and they are truly beautiful. Usually, ships have a short port time, so we take the ship excursion on this one.

 

Amen to that! We were there last year (before a cruise and in the daytime) and the gardens are spectacular. We went on a private tour, but I think being there in the evening you would need to do the ship's excursion. It is also pretty just to walk around the town. Definitely get off the ship for a little while at least! We really loved Victoria.

 

Nancy

[Marianna49]

Seems that most replies here are forgetting your kids. I am going to Alaska with 3 kids 19, 16 and 12. If we could only do one excursion it would involve a boat. We would whale watch, or do the sea otter excursion or the Bering sea deadliest catch tour.

 

I would stay off a tour bus...

 

I would be likely to rent a van and do some exploring on my own at another port.

 

I would also eat raman noodles until the trip to save money to spend in Alaska.

 

We have not gone yet, and excursions are included (or reduced) on our ship so we are doing more excursions than we normally would do. On other cruises we have not done any excursions through the ship and booked all on our own to save money.

Which ship line includes excursions?

[minpin04]

Which ship line includes excursions?

 

The really expensive ones like Cruise West or Regent Seven Seas.

[moosetracks17]

Do what my husband and I did....

 

In Juneau take the bus to the Mendenhall glacier and go see that.... $100 tops (snow, water, mountains, forest, views, smells, eagles, etc.)

 

Then in Skagway (pack a lunch from the ship or hike, go to the ship and eat lunch, hike again) go hiking to lower Dewey Falls and follow the trail. When my husband and I went at the end of May, you could hear caribuu calling to eachother across the river and hear ice crystals cling against eachother as they broke up from the ice on the surface of the river.

 

By hike I mean "designated trail in tennish shoes with bridges and easy inclines"

 

BREATHTAKING!!! Google "Skagway trail map' and youll get some good stuff.

 

DEWEY LAKE TRAIL SYSTEM

This trail system is easily accessible from downtown

Skagway by following 2nd Ave. east past the railroad

depot. The trailhead is located 400 feet north of

2nd Ave. along the railroad tracks. Ascending to Lower

Lake takes approximately 45 minutes; from here, hikers

can explore the trails around the lake, and from both

the north and south ends of the lake. The extensive trail

system offers hikers a variety of trails for short, full day,

and overnight hiking.

Go east on 2nd Ave. past the

railroad depot. Where the railroad

tracks cross the road turn left and

follow the tracks 400 feet north to

the trailhead (beware of trains

when crossing the tracks!) A short

distance up the hill the trail branches

off to the right (continuing

straight up the hill is a steep power

company maintenance road).

Descend the wooden staircase,

duck under the water pipe, and

continue up the hill. The trail jogs

left and crosses a short footbridge.

Here the trail continues on a steep

uphill for about 350 feet. There is a clearing and rock bench

at the top of this incline with a view of town and the harbor.

Continue up the steep switchback trail staying generally to

the right at intersections. Notice where the trail appears to be

going straight ahead but actually turns sharply right. Going

straight here leads to a reservoir and trail to the north end of

the lake. It is advised to take the sharp right to access the

lake. Shortly ahead at the junction sign the terrain levels out.

Turn right to walk along the west shore of the lake. Follow

the rolling trail to the south end of the lake. Turn left here

across the earthen levy and spillway to hike the rougher trail

around the east side of the lake, where you will have to

scramble over a few rocks before bearing left to rejoin the

main trail and return to the trailhead.

[dustyroad]

Seems that most replies here are forgetting your kids. I am going to Alaska with 3 kids 19, 16 and 12. If we could only do one excursion it would involve a boat. We would whale watch, or do the sea otter excursion or the Bering sea deadliest catch tour.

 

I would stay off a tour bus...

 

I would be likely to rent a van and do some exploring on my own at another port.

 

I would also eat raman noodles until the trip to save money to spend in Alaska.

 

We have not gone yet, and excursions are included (or reduced) on our ship so we are doing more excursions than we normally would do. On other cruises we have not done any excursions through the ship and booked all on our own to save money.

 

ramon noodles are a staple of my life so i can cruise hahaha. but you are right about the kids point of view of '' having fun '''. i was on the 7 1/2 hr train-van tour with chilkoot and it was wonderful for me but the young kids on the tour got bored and fidgetty from setting so long. of course they did like the puppies when we stopped for lunch. the lumberjack show in ketchikan might be fun for them. and on creek street you can see the salmon on the bridge. somewhere i read a post of a shop on creek street that rented fishing poles, but i may be totally wrong on that. i would not spend the money on the butcherd gardens since the kids might not like flowers as much as the adults. in the summer months the dog-sledding is usually done on wheels unless you go by helicopter up too the top of the mt. and that would be very expensive for 4 people. eagle and otter tours are great too. they have great rafting tours in skagway, the whales are awesome in juneau and the lumberjack show in ketchikan are my choices for the kids. it is soo hard to decide what too do the first time you go especially if you need too stay on a budget. that is why so many cruisers go back too alaska after the first time. they can do different things the next time ;). have a great time.

[rednose83]

Here's some cheap or free excursions to supplement your trip if you'd like:

 

Ten Minutes to the Real Alaska

[ashok1982]

We only have enough to spend on one excursion during our 13 June 2009, trip to Alaska on the Pearl.

 

So we are trying to decide on what to do. We are a family of four: 45, 43, 14 and 11.

 

The NCL Pearl will be visiting; Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria. I am interested in somthing that will give us the widest range of experiences possible. Bears-Eagles-Whales-Mountains-Glaciers-Local things to do-basicly anything we cant see or do at home in Texas.

 

What would you'll suggest?

 

I am also doing the research to visit the same ports and found these urls useful for doing things on budget or free

 

Juneau - http://www.traveljuneau.com/cms/Free-Things.php

 

skagway - http://www.yukoninfo.com/skagway/info/thingstodo.htm

 

Ketchikan - http://www.visit-ketchikan.com/ThingstoDo/ToursandActivities.aspx

 

Victoria, BC - http://www.islandnet.com/~victourism/mall/free.htm

[MizzouMary]

I am also doing the research to visit the same ports and found these urls useful for doing things on budget or free

 

Juneau - http://www.traveljuneau.com/cms/Free-Things.php

 

skagway - http://www.yukoninfo.com/skagway/info/thingstodo.htm

 

Ketchikan - http://www.visit-ketchikan.com/ThingstoDo/ToursandActivities.aspx

 

Victoria, BC - http://www.islandnet.com/~victourism/mall/free.htm

 

Thanks for sharing!

[Redrocklighthouse]

My family was cruising Alaska in July 2009. My wife and I have a teenage daughter and son. We told the kids that each of them could pick a shore excursion. My son picked salmon fishing. I did quite a bit of research and after receiving a few recommendations from locals contacted Larry Wiseman at Avid Angler in Ketchikan, Alaska. Growing up in Canada, I have quite a bit of fishing experience. My entire family had a blast. Larry was tremendous through the booking process and was very flexible. He picked us in his large and comfortable fishing cruiser at the cruise ship dock. This was tremendous as we just walked off of the ship right on to his boat. No waiting for pickup, no driving to another dock....it was very convenient. Best of all, we caught a ton of fish. We caught so many Silver and Pink Salmon, we had to stop fishing a few times to rest. The boat had a very comfortable top deck for my wife and daughter to relax and soak up the views. Larry was a great host and I would definitely refer friends and family. I booked directly with him and everything he offered and said was true. Not always the case with many other fishing charters. Larry also had our fish cleaned and shipped back to St. Louis. It arrived as promised and our freezer is full. Thanks for a great trip Larry. His website is (http://www.avidanglercharters.com), phone:907 225 2625

[wakkow]

Do what my husband and I did....

Then in Skagway (pack a lunch from the ship or hike, go to the ship and eat lunch, hike again) go hiking to lower Dewey Falls and follow the trail. When my husband and I went at the end of May, you could hear caribuu calling to eachother across the river and hear ice crystals cling against eachother as they broke up from the ice on the surface of the river.

My dad and I also hiked around Skagway and really enjoyed it. Here's a photo I took near Lower Dewey Lake: Reid Falls was also worth the walk: and the "Yakutania Point / Smuggler's Cove Trail" had some nice views of the water. There's geocaches on all of those hikes too! :)