Alaskan Excursions for Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan --- are these good?

[Cruise_More_Often]

BigZfan, we went on the Chilkoot Trail Hike and Raft in 2006, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Teacher_91]

I am in the early planning stages of our July 2012 Alaskan Cruise. I'm reading Trip Advisor forums, the Frommer's Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call book, and everything I can find on this forum. I too am considering booking independently verses using the cruise ships excursions. Hopefully with more good info from 'those in the know' I'll be able to make the right decision(s)!

 

Keep the good advice coming & I'll keep reading! :)

[JoRoy218]

Hubby and I did the crab feast/float plane tour in Ketchikan this past Sept. LOVED LOVED LOVED it!!!! Only wished it were longer. Have fun!

[odd man out]

You'll love Harv and Marv. Here I am sitting on the bow as we race north to catch some whales.

[Alaskanb]

I chose independent excursions because of the small group size but I have allowed several hours between the end of an excursion and when the ship sails.

As BQ states --look at the company policy and then make a decision as to what is comfortable for you.

[Wavesprite]

I think one thing that is smart to remember about independent cruise operators is that they WANT to get you back on time. They would never want to get a review saying that they didn't get passengers back from a tour in time of sailing.

 

We were on a Princess cruise around the British Isles and in Belfast, bombs were placed all aruond the port, leaving about 2/3rd of the cruise passengers off the ship. In this case, they waited for every person to get back on board because of the special circumstance. One thing I learned was that you should always take the daily newspaper with you because it has your port contact on it.

[The Bunnis]

Being Canadian (from Toronto) and having been to Victoria, I would recommend that you do in fact get off the ship to at least walk around to see how pretty Victoria is. I haven't been there for a number of years but it is a lovely place. In fact, many people retire to Victoria so there is a lot of charm in the city. Why would you not want to at least see it ? There are extensive gardens and given that it is summertime everything will be a full bloom. And besides, don't you want to experience some Canadian hospitality :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello everyone, I have been lurking around the Cruise Critic message boards for months, reading and doing research for our Alaskan Cruise in July 2012. I have posted a few questions and have received some great advice. I am about to start booking our excursions and paying for them. Before I do, I'd like to post the tentative plan here to get any good or bad opinions on it.

 

This will most likely be our only trip to Alaska, and we want to make sure that are excursions are not similar to each other, so we can have a good and varied experience. We have planned a glacier tour, railway tour, hiking & rafting tour, whale watching tour, and a flight-tour.

 

Here is the current plan it can still be modified:

 

 

7-10 = Leave Seattle at 4:00pm

 

7-11 = Day at Sea

We will renew our marriage vows on the ship.

 

7-12 = Day at Sea with Tracy Arm Explorer Tour @ 11:00am

http://www.carnival.com/Activities/Excursion/178001

 

7-13 = Skagway 7:00am - 9:00pm

8:15am = 3 hour tour on the White Pass & Yukon Railway http://www.wpyr.com/

12:30pm = Chilkoot Trail Hiking and Rafting Adventure http://www.raftalaska.com/adventures.php

 

7-14 = Juneau 7:00am - 3:00pm

7:30am = 4 hour whale watching tour with Harv and Marv http://www.harvandmarvs.com/alaskawhalewatching.html

11:30am - 3:00pm = walk around Juneau and see what's happening.

 

7-15 = Ketchikan 7:00am - 1:00pm

9:00am = 2.5 hour Flightseeing & Crab Feast http://www.catchcrabs.com/flightseeingCrabFeast.htm

11:30am - 1:00pm = walk around Ketchikan and see what's happening.

 

7-16 = Victoria, BC, Canada 7:30pm - Midnight

We are going to stay on the ship during this port.

 

7-17 = Seattle at 7:00am

[sarafinadh]

Oh, do go to Victoria. It's lovely. Even if all you do is stroll the waterfront!

 

My favorite thing to do in Victoria is go to the Empress Hotel for high tea. My Mom and Nana took me as a little girl and I always go back when I am there!

 

If you enjoy that sort of thing it's a wonderful treat!

 

Butchart Gardens and the Butterfly Garden are wonderful as well, but they are out of the town centre and require some transit time. Not sure a port stop would be long enough...

[alaskawdw12]

I have only taken excursions that are booked through the respective ships for the last 2 cruises. I am hesitant to book something independently and have an issue with time to return or breakdowns in vehicles etc. Any thoughts on my concerns? I have a buddy who was on an NCL cruise a couple of years ago, when the Art Auction Director (a contractor for NCL) missed the ship leaving port. He was able to get someone to take him by boat to 'catch' the ship, which had to stop and lower a ladder for him to board. When my buddy talked to the Art Director, he mentioned he had to pay a lot of money, and if it hadn't been for him being a business partner on the ship, may have not been able to get back on board, unless he traveled to the next port stop.

 

Just don't ever want to have that type thing happen. The cost to get back on board seems to far outweigh what the differences in excursions would costs using the ship vs private.

 

Just curious of others thoughts.

 

Thank you :)

 

We seem to be in the minority :) but I'm with you! I also will only book excursions through the ship. Being nervous about the time just isn't worth it for me.

 

I've been doing A LOT of research for our trip to Alaska this summer, and it doesn't even seem like the prices are so different going on independent excursions or through the ship (for example - the lumberjack show and the wildlife expedition at the sanctuary in Ketchikan are the same price)! So if it's not even cheaper by a landslide - what's the point?

Also, the ship really does offer pretty much everything worth doing in each port (again, I've been doing my research :)), so why not let them do the work for you?

Plus, this way you can book 2 (sometimes even 3) excursions in each port, since the burden is on the cruisline. That way, if one of your excursions runs late and you don't make it to the next one - it's not your problem. I have read about people's activities running late. It's not far fetched, things can happen, and personally I'd rather have the security of knowing that no matter what - that ship isn't leaving without me.

 

To each his own :)

[aphelila]

Victoria is neat to catch a shuttle into the city (or 30 minute walk) to see the parliament buildings and statues around it, along with the Empress. I'd say we got about 2 hours out of it. I definitely wouldn't take a shore excursion there.

 

We didn't do any of the same excursions as you did, but if you're interested in more ideas check out our day by day blog (in my signature).

 

Have fun!