How to Choose Excursions with the Restriction of Time

[tennisqueen]

Greetings! I will be cruising to Alaska in mid-August and trying to plan out excursions but I am confused which ones to do given the restricted time in port, particularly Skagway and Juneau. We are in Juneau 2:00-10:00pm and in Skagway 6:00am-5:00pm. I've never been to Alaska and want to experience the uniqueness of this trip. Do I go on a whale watching excursion or will I see enough whales on the ship? Do I dog sled in either Juneau or Skagway or will that trip likely be cancelled? where is that experience better? Is it worthwhile to take the White Pass & Yukon rail trip? Your thoughts would be most appreciated!

[Keith1010]

In terms of the whales, I would highly recommend taking an excursion. You may see some whales from the ship but often you get much closer to the whales on an excursion. Personally, we like to go in a small boat to see them and the size that can carry around six or eight people to get a very close view.

 

You will have lots of time in the port.

 

Keith

[travelnole]

I have also been trying to find ways to fit in all the things I want to do. The priority for my trip was seeing wildlife, so I put those things into my schedule first. I also tried to let each person in our group do their special activity, and this meant we are sometimes split up.

 

Also, consider booking independently because it can give you more flexibility. For instance, my kids wanted to zipline, but we needed a later time than was offered by Princess. I called the same company and am booked for a 4:00 tour while in Juneau. I am working on the same thing for a glacier tour.

 

Here are our activities...

 

Ketchikan: Salmon fishing (for the guys), Bear watching at Anan Creek with Family Air Tours, explore town on our own

 

Juneau: Whale watching with Harv and Marv, Rainforest Canopy Zipline, visit to Mendenhall Glacier and Macaulay Salmon Hatchery (on our own), explore the town as time allows

 

Skagway: More salmon fishing, Glacier Discovery Helicopter tour, White Pass tour with Klondike Tours, and checking into a new zipline with Klondike Tours that goes over 3 waterfalls and sounds really cool, explore town as time allows

 

We are using a private transfer after the cruise and will stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on the way to Anchorage. The next day, we are taking the Alaska Railroad to Kenai Fords to a KF National Park Catamaran Tour.

 

This is the trip of a lifetime for our family, and we are packing a lot into it. Good luck with your planning. You are smart to start early!

[vbmom87]

Greetings! I will be cruising to Alaska in mid-August and trying to plan out excursions but I am confused which ones to do given the restricted time in port, particularly Skagway and Juneau. We are in Juneau 2:00-10:00pm and in Skagway 6:00am-5:00pm. I've never been to Alaska and want to experience the uniqueness of this trip. Do I go on a whale watching excursion or will I see enough whales on the ship? Do I dog sled in either Juneau or Skagway or will that trip likely be cancelled? where is that experience better? Is it worthwhile to take the White Pass & Yukon rail trip? Your thoughts would be most appreciated!

 

 

Your questions are difficult to answer. No way we can know if you will see whales from the ship, and if you do, will that experience satisfy your desire to see whales. If you see them from the cruiseship they will appear very small in the distance. Only you can decide if that would be good enough, or do you want to see them more up close and personal. Also realize that although some will see a breaching whale on their tour, most come back with only having seen blows, tails and backs.

 

With the dogsledding, yes, it could get cancelled, but no way to predict that now. If this is a priority make sure you contact the vendors direct to see what is the likelihood this tour will be a go in mid-August. If the chances are good, then book in whichever of the two ports, Juneau or Skagway, you are visiting first. If the tour gets cancelled you can call ahead to the next port and see if you can make a reservation. Also decide if you are willing to substitute a regular helicopter tour with a landing on a glacier for the dogsledding tour. Sometimes the dogsled tours are cancelled, but the regular helicopter glacier tours will still go out. Other times everything is cancelled. Have back up plans so you do not waste time coming up with a plan B. You want to make the most of the limited time you have in your ports.

 

We loved the White Pass Railway combo trip where we took the train up and the bus down. However, we love beautiful scenery and don't get easily bored looking at Mother Nature's wonders. You need to think about what your interests are to determine if this is something you would like. It could be a highlight of your cruise or you could be bored silly.

 

I suggest you keep doing your research until certain activities seem to be calling you. Follow your gut and not what you have read are other's favorite excursions in Alaska. Carefully read all you can, and then choose what appeals to you the most.

 

Good luck!!!!!

[tennisqueen]

all of your thoughts/feedback are very much appreciated. i will just have to make some decisions and not fret about what I cannot control!

[Bunkie103]

We took the WP&YR trip in Skagway into the Yukon and loved it. Up by train and back by mini-bus. Great driver with lots of information and made lots of stops for picture taking. The lunch they server in Carcross was excellent and I got to hold a 2 week old sled-dog puppy. We booked thru Chilicoot Tours and I would highly recommend them.