Shore excursion recommendation for NCL Sawyer Glacier cruise

[jfu]

First time going to Alaska with NCL Jewel and going with 2 kids(3 and 5 years old). Here is our itinerary.

http://www2.ncl.com/itinerary?N=0&Nu=p_Key&key=JEWEL7VANKTNJNUSGYVICSEA&TB_iframe=true&width=934&height=526&name=itinerary_map

 

1. For Ketchikan, I am planning to just walk around and explore the city. Should I join any short excursion beside walking around?

2. For Juneau, I am interested on the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer tour provided by NCL. But since our cruise will pass the Sawyer Glacier(Tracy Arm?) on the at sea day, does it worth to join the tour? Is May too early to see a Whale?

3. For Skagway, I am planning to join the White Pass Railway tour. Any other suggestion?

4. What should we expect to see on the "cruise inside passage" and the at sea day?

 

Thanks for your help.

[rayliang]

1. For Ketchikan, I am planning to just walk around and explore the city. Should I join any short excursion beside walking around?

I'm partial to Ketchikan Taxi Tour... Dave gives you a great tour of Ketchikan and surrounding areas, taking you to go see salmon runs, bears, eagles, and totems, and all the fun little stories regarding Ketchikan.

Also, for your young ones, maybe the lumberjack show, if you never seen one before?

 

2. For Juneau, I am interested on the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer tour provided by NCL. But since our cruise will pass the Sawyer Glacier(Tracy Arm?) on the at sea day, does it worth to join the tour? Is May too early to see a Whale?

May is not too early to see whales. For Tracy Arms / Sawyer Glacier, it is almost imperative to join the small boat tour to actually get close to the Sawyer Glacier, as big cruise ships often will not even see the glacier before leaving Tracy Arms, due to ice conditions. Call NCL to make sure you guys get on that small boat tour for Sawyer Glacier.

 

3. For Skagway, I am planning to join the White Pass Railway tour. Any other suggestion?

If none of you are big train buffs, may I suggest renting a car instead and drive yourself around Skageway & up to Carcross? The drive is easy as there's only the 1 highway. One reason for this is because renting a car is far cheaper then trains. Also the car gives you greater flexibilities on where to go and how long to stay, you can drive to the start of Chilkoot Trail, for instance. Most importantly, there is the possibility that when you ride the train, you might be traveling in pretty thick fog going up the valley. That what happened last August 2011 morning, when I was driving from Skagway to Carcross. The fog that morning was very thick and seriously hampers visibility.

 

4. What should we expect to see on the "cruise inside passage" and the at sea day?

If you have decent visibility, drop your two kids off to the kids club in the morning, then go find a lounge chair and just sit either inside or outside, and watch the absolutely beautiful scenery. Bring binoculars and see if you can spot wildlife and sea creatures.

 

Or, hit the casino :P

[ute_fan]

jfu -- We're on the same sailing that you are. If you're interested, here's a link to the meet & greet roll-call that we've got scheduled: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1422810

 

Based on my experiences traveling with little kids years ago, I'd also recommend renting a car in Skagway and driving to Emerald Lake instead of taking the train. The train is beautiful, but unless your kids are really into trains, I think they'd have a more enjoyable time with something where you could stop and let them get out and run around a little bit. One thing you might want to consider is the sled dog place in Carcross (http://www.yukonhuskies.com/kennel_tours.html). When my kids were little, they would have preferred seeing the puppies to riding the train.

 

I've never been to the lumberjack show in Ketchikan, but it seems to be a rather family oriented activity, so that might be worthwhile. Another possibility might be the duck tour -- but there again, I've never done it.

 

As far as the Tracy Arm excursion goes, here's a brief explanation. If you choose that excursion, you'll board a catamaran that sails from Juneau shortly before the Jewel does. You'll sail up Tracy Arm, but since the catamaran sails faster than the Jewel does, you'll be able to stop and see whales or other wildlife if the captain spots any. When we did this excursion in 2004, we were able to see both North and South Sawyer glacier, while the passengers who stayed on the ship had a much more distant view of South Sawyer and didn't see North Sawyer at all due to ice. The Jewel follows the catamaran along, and you reboard the cruise ship through the tender doors -- just like you would for a tender port in the Caribbean.

 

My one word of caution is that this early in the season, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the ship doesn't even attempt to go up Tracy Arm. The last few years it's had a lot of ice, and the ships have been diverting to Endicott Arm very frequently. Endicott Arm isn't as narrow or windy as Tracy Arm, so it's not as likely to have the ice problems that Tracy Arm does.

 

My other comment is that my 18 and 21 year-old kids were bored with the catamaran after about an hour. I'm not sure if little kids would enjoy it or not, and it's pretty expensive if they don't.

 

As far as the sea days, enjoy the scenery! We saw a whale on our way from Vancouver in 2004. It took me a while to realize what that plume of water was :o, but I finally realized it was my first whale sighting. Keep your eyes open for whales and dolphins, and enjoy the beautiful Alaska scenery.