Signing up for excursions in advance - to do or not

[usaspire]

Hello cruisers. I have heard from several past Alaska travelers that it is not that important to sign up for excursions in advance. they have said that many many vendors are always waiting outside the ship where you can sign up for them.

 

What has your past experience been like?

 

I am traveling with 3 other adults and we are interested in a Glacier helicopter ride and the zip line thing.

 

Thank you as always for all your valuable input

[thinfool]

Hello cruisers. I have heard from several past Alaska travelers that it is not that important to sign up for excursions in advance. they have said that many many vendors are always waiting outside the ship where you can sign up for them.

 

What has your past experience been like?

 

I am traveling with 3 other adults and we are interested in a Glacier helicopter ride and the zip line thing.

 

Thank you as always for all your valuable input

 

If you are new to cruising I suggest that you stick with ship sponsored excursions. They are more expensive but offer some level of security that the ship won't sail if you are late returning.

 

If you have experience, then yes, what Fommers states is usually true.

 

If you decide to go with the ship's program, I also suggest that you book online before you go. Many popular excursions are full by the time you board the ship.

 

Princess will take your reservation online but will not charge your CC until you actually take the excursion. Other cruise lines have different policies.

 

Have a great trip!!

[Keith1010]

If you want to take a Helicopter I highly recommend signing up for them sooner rather than later. That might not be the case for other excursions but there is a limited number of helicopters.

 

Keith

[donaldsc]

if you are new to cruising i suggest that you stick with ship sponsored excursions. They are more expensive but offer some level of security that the ship won't sail if you are late returning.

 

i disagree. Your chances of being stranded on an alaskan private excursion are approximately zero. That said, in some cases the ships tie up all the private options. I had to reschedule an anan bear viewing date because of this problem, however, you can save so much going private that i would check before going on the ship tour.

 

If you have experience, then yes, what fommers states is usually true.

 

If you decide to go with the ship's program, i also suggest that you book online before you go. Many popular excursions are full by the time you board the ship.

 

see above comment. As long as you can cancel without penalty, it doesn't hurt to book the ship tour just as a holding action.

 

Princess will take your reservation online but will not charge your cc until you actually take the excursion. Other cruise lines have different policies.

 

Have a great trip!!

 

don

[Cruises B]

Just a little reminder -

 

While you could possibly find private vendors in ports for different excursions, you may consider booking in advance the most popular tours, e.g. your helicopter tour, as they often got sold out beforehand. So there are chances that you could not buy the popular tour in port.

 

Have fun.

[gdisney]

We haven't signed up for tours in advance, but then again we're not doing the most popular, most expensive ones. Like glacier flightseeing, for example. If that's something you really want to do, as others have said might as well book it now as it doesn't cost in advance and could be cancelled later. Now, if you want to do things like take a bus to Mendenhall in Juneau and hike around a bit, no reason to book in advance imo.

[bonvoyagie]

I like to plan ahead, make reservations etc etc - so if there is something that I have my heart set on doing - I will book that tour (either ship or ind) now. Sometimes you have to pay for the entire thing up front - sometimes you pay as you go. With the tour I arranged through Chilkoot - I paid in full in advance. The tour I booked through the cruise line (only because I could not find a similar one on the independents) I also reserved in advance - and due to a change in policy by NCL - paid in advance as well.

 

BTW it is bull that they will hold the ship for you if you are on a ship sponsored excurison - they will arrange to get you to the next port of call - as will most ind tour operators. I think that you will find most of the ind tour operators in AK do some cruiseline business - and if they did not get you back to your ship on time - they would not be in business very long.

 

While it has been several years (9) since I was last to AK - I don't remember seeing many private tour companies hanging around the docks - maybe I was not looking as back then I booked everything through the ship - live and learn - and then get cruise critics :D.

[chipmaster]

Planning ahead is always wise for any vacation!

 

As others have said the most exclusive flightseening, helicopter and smaller excursions will almost always sell out.

 

You really have very little to lose, besides the work and downpayment by planning ahead and booking ahead once you know what you want.

[usaspire]

Sounds good. I went ahead and booked for my helicopter ride :). What are some smaller things we can see/do which are not listed in these tour guides site. I am also looking to do some independent things...any tips for that?

[kjj322]

Is there a better time of day to do helicopter galcier tour than another? IE Morning or afternoon.

[Orangeguy]

Hello cruisers. I have heard from several past Alaska travelers that it is not that important to sign up for excursions in advance. they have said that many many vendors are always waiting outside the ship where you can sign up for them.

 

What has your past experience been like?

 

I am traveling with 3 other adults and we are interested in a Glacier helicopter ride and the zip line thing.

 

Thank you as always for all your valuable input

 

As many have mentioned, its better to book ahead. Yes there will be people waiting for the boat to come into port, but these may not be the best operators.

 

It also depends on what week you are sailing. My cruise is the week of Memorial Day, so the ships tend to be fuller, and in turn the tour operators tend to be busier. I contacted several tour operators in different ports, one was completely booked up, and another said we got the last two spots.

 

Since you know that you want to do a helicopter tour, I would recommend going ahead and booking.

[radmoo]

Sounds good. I went ahead and booked for my helicopter ride :). What are some smaller things we can see/do which are not listed in these tour guides site. I am also looking to do some independent things...any tips for that?

 

 

We are sailing July 29 Star Princess, Inside Passage r/t Seattle

 

We don't usually do ship tours - found fab Private operator in St Petersburg on our Baltic Cruise but I am confused here. I think we want to do mush dogs, not sure about glacier copter tour and I might opt for rafting sans hubby.

 

Has anyone found any good independent options for the above mentioned tours?

[Sandi3667]

When we took our cruise last year, HAL offered a Mt. Roberts Tram excursion in Juneau (may be there this year too, but I haven't been able to check). That's the one thing we intentionally did not book beforehand. Not knowing what the weather was going to do, and the fact that we tied up right near the tram meant we didn't need them to provide transportation from the ship.

[tracyd1014]

Our first cruise to Alaska the folks we went with were going to save us all some money by booking our Mendenhall excursion with an outside vendor. It was all good until we were waiting for the bus to come and pick us up at the glacier but the bus never came. We called and the answering service said that all the bus drivers had gone home for the day. Thank goodness for the kindness of another bus driver who let us stand in his aisle to go back to the ship area. The same trip our friends had purchased an online Victoria tour. We stayed on the ship for dinner and took a later cab into town. We were let off in front of the Empress Hotel and our friends were waiting in line for the tour that never happened.

All of this made a believer of taking excursions through the ship. Peace of mind is worth SO much and people do get left behind. I know there are a lot of vendors with good reputations for excursions but for us, we will always use the ship for excursions.

[TheCalicoCat]

expensive but offer some level of security that the ship won't sail if you are late returning.

 

Not true - they have a schedule to keep. If you are on a ship sponsored excursion & the car breaks down or what have you happens, they will get you to the next port - the ship may not wait for you. (Sure it does more often than not but it is not a guarantee.)