Have I bitten off more than I can chew???

[DT1304]

Now that everything is booked and paid for, and set sail passes printed, I am having second thoughts, thinking that perhaps I have tried to fit in too much. What do the experts out there think?

 

I am travelling with my wife (who will be 20 weeks pregnant at the time) and three kids (12, 10, 7). We will have just come from 4 days in Anaheim at disneyland, 2 days in Vancouver pre cruise seeing as much as we can in the short time, and then this is what we have booked:

 

Ketchikan: (in port 6am to 4pm)

Ketchikan Duck Tour, 8:30am to 10am (all 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

Lumberjack Show, 11am to 12:15pm (all 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

 

I would like to explore Creek Street, perhaps do my own self guided walking tour of the area, but would also like to see Totem Bight park if possible.

 

Icy Strait Point: (in port 9am to 6pm)

Whale watching tour, 2pm to 5pm (all 5 of us) (Booked privately on small boat with Hoonah Adventures)

 

Juneau: (in port 7am to 8:30pm)

Gold Panning and Gold Creek Salmon Bake, from 12pm. (All 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

 

I would also like to go to Mendenhall Glacier and MAYBE do the walk to Nugget falls.

I would like to go to Red Dog Salloon for a beer or two.

If weather is good, we would like to also go up Mt Roberts Tramway. (We may however go up Grouse mountain in Vancouver if time and weather works in our favour so this could make this excursion obsolete)

 

Skagway: (in port 7am to 4:30pm)

Adventure Park and Zip Lines tour, 8:15am to 11:30am. (Just my two older kids and I) (Booked through ship)

To the Summit minibus tour, 1:15pm to 2:45pm. (All 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

 

Seward: (arrive at about 6am)

Seavey's Real Alaska Tour, 11am to 5:15pm. (All 5 of us, booked direct with Seavey's) This includes tour of Seward, mile 0 of Iditarod trail etc, Exit Glacier, lunch at Resurrection Roadhouse, visit Seavey kennels, play with pups etc, summer sled ride.

 

We then get the 6pm train to Anchorage, stay the night, and leave the next morning at 11am for LA.

 

Spend that night and next day in LA, and then fly home to Australia at 11pm.

 

Okay, so all you seasoned Alaska travellers out there, can we manage all this or should we cancel any?

[KruisinKath]

I haven't been on my cruise yet, so am not "seasoned," but it doesn't seem like you have too much going on. In most ports, you have the ability to scale back on the "extra" stuff you want to fit in, just in case weather doesn't cooperate or the kids get restless or tired and you want to go back to the ship.

 

Just my 1 1/2 cents! You're gonna have a great time!

[bonvoyagie]

By the time you finish with Disneyland and get to Vancouver you will probably have a good idea of how much the family can do. You may want to take one of your Vancouver days as a breather - or at least make two easy days of it - you will also have a sea day between Vancouver and Ketchikan and another between Skagway and Seward. As for the cruise - I see nothing wrong with your plans - Ketchikan is very small and walking to Creek Street is easy. You can also take public transit to Totem Bight. Ketchikan is also a good place to get some trinkets - look at any of the three Tongass Trading Co locations.:).

 

Juneau - Red Dog Saloon is not high on my list of must dos - too touristy for me - I would rather take the Alaskan Brewery Tour.

 

The gold mine tour you are on takes you about 10 min from the cruise docks and the overall duration is 3 hrs (noon to 3PM?) so if your port times are correct (remember you need to be back probably 1/2 hr before the listed time). So that gives you about 5 hrs either side of the tour to hop the shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier - which is more like a 40 min ride from the docks. I have not done this - but it sounds like fun.

 

Skagway - if you are a train buff you might want to see if you can find a tour that uses the train one direction. If not then you are just fine.

 

There is so much to do in AK that one trip is not enough :D. I can understand that coming from so far away you want to make the most of your time.

 

Even though you have made your choices - I suggest that you take a look at www.cruiseportinsider.com here if you look on the excursions tab you can scroll through the cruise line excursions and possibly watch a promotional video about it. I found one for the salmon bake. I also suggest that you use Google Maps to explore the areas you are going to. It will give you a better idea of how far the different items are from each other.

 

Enjoy your trip

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I like everything you are doing. I am not sure I would have done each of these through the cruise line--because they tend to be much more expensive and take the best touring times. [ie. in Ketchikan: If you take the public bus $1pp each way to Totem Bight Park you can visit in the morning and then take a Duck tour you book on your own and see the Lumberjack show in the pm. With the times of these through the ship you wil not be able to go there and have time to tour around. I think it is even too far with a taxi there and back.]

[Robinhill]

Now that everything is booked and paid for, and set sail passes printed, I am having second thoughts, thinking that perhaps I have tried to fit in too much. What do the experts out there think?

 

I am travelling with my wife (who will be 20 weeks pregnant at the time) and three kids (12, 10, 7). We will have just come from 4 days in Anaheim at disneyland, 2 days in Vancouver pre cruise seeing as much as we can in the short time, and then this is what we have booked:

 

Ketchikan: (in port 6am to 4pm)

Ketchikan Duck Tour, 8:30am to 10am (all 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

Lumberjack Show, 11am to 12:15pm (all 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

 

I would like to explore Creek Street, perhaps do my own self guided walking tour of the area, but would also like to see Totem Bight park if possible.

 

Icy Strait Point: (in port 9am to 6pm)

Whale watching tour, 2pm to 5pm (all 5 of us) (Booked privately on small boat with Hoonah Adventures)

 

Juneau: (in port 7am to 8:30pm)

Gold Panning and Gold Creek Salmon Bake, from 12pm. (All 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

 

I would also like to go to Mendenhall Glacier and MAYBE do the walk to Nugget falls.

I would like to go to Red Dog Salloon for a beer or two.

If weather is good, we would like to also go up Mt Roberts Tramway. (We may however go up Grouse mountain in Vancouver if time and weather works in our favour so this could make this excursion obsolete)

 

Skagway: (in port 7am to 4:30pm)

Adventure Park and Zip Lines tour, 8:15am to 11:30am. (Just my two older kids and I) (Booked through ship)

To the Summit minibus tour, 1:15pm to 2:45pm. (All 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

 

Seward: (arrive at about 6am)

Seavey's Real Alaska Tour, 11am to 5:15pm. (All 5 of us, booked direct with Seavey's) This includes tour of Seward, mile 0 of Iditarod trail etc, Exit Glacier, lunch at Resurrection Roadhouse, visit Seavey kennels, play with pups etc, summer sled ride.

 

We then get the 6pm train to Anchorage, stay the night, and leave the next morning at 11am for LA.

 

Spend that night and next day in LA, and then fly home to Australia at 11pm.

 

Okay, so all you seasoned Alaska travellers out there, can we manage all this or should we cancel any?

 

No I don't think you have bitten off too much though you may be a little tired! The thing is, Alaska is like no other place I have ever been and there are so many once in a lifetime things to see and do. Who knows if you will get back here again to revisit it so my feeling is that you should try to see as much as you can. Also try to keep a journal each day of the things you do so that when you are referring to your photos you will better remember what was happening. When I first went there in2010 I had literally hu ndreds of photos, forgot to date stamp them and had nothing to refer to so that i could remember better. This June when I go back and take my six year old grandson I am going to be very careful about making notations and referencing photos so that when I get back to Maryland I can make a hard bound photobook for him to always remember our trip. (I am renting a car and starting in Fairbanks and we are doing 5 days on land working our way down to anchorage where we will take the train down to Seward to board the ship)

[Jldevlin]

That sounds pretty reasonable to me ... Vancouver can be a break after disneyland and you can do Stanley Park and Gastown if you are staying right downtown ... And when your day is done and you are back on the ship you can find some quiet time for the kids to relax. You are flying all that way and I dont blame you for wanting to see everything.Enjoy !!!!

[Coral]

 

Skagway: (in port 7am to 4:30pm)

Adventure Park and Zip Lines tour, 8:15am to 11:30am. (Just my two older kids and I) (Booked through ship)

To the Summit minibus tour, 1:15pm to 2:45pm. (All 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

 

 

I would cancel "To the Summit". It is a waste of time and doesn't really go that far.

[vbmom87]

Since you asked ;), and since you mentioned you would like to go to Totem Bight, I would skip the Lumberjack show and head to Totem Bight after the duck tour. Then with any remaining time, I would take the self-guided tour of Ketchikan. The bus to Totem Bight and Potlach Park only runs once an hour and the experts say to allow 3 hours for this trip counting your transportation up and back. But that three hours begins with you getting on the bus in Ketchikan. Just something to consider.

[chipmaster]

Your coming a looong ways, looks reasonable to me. You will have a day on the ship out of Vancouver to relax.

 

If I was to make an adjustment, find a way to get to Mendenhall, it is worth it IMHO.

 

One nice thing doing things thru the ship is that if you find you want to change your mind, I think you have 24 hours cancellation so if in the first port things get to seem to much you can dial back or do more research and adjust the next port.

[Budget Queen]

Now that everything is booked and paid for, and set sail passes printed, I am having second thoughts, thinking that perhaps I have tried to fit in too much. What do the experts out there think?

 

I am travelling with my wife (who will be 20 weeks pregnant at the time) and three kids (12, 10, 7). We will have just come from 4 days in Anaheim at disneyland, 2 days in Vancouver pre cruise seeing as much as we can in the short time, and then this is what we have booked:

 

Ketchikan: (in port 6am to 4pm)

Ketchikan Duck Tour, 8:30am to 10am (all 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

Lumberjack Show, 11am to 12:15pm (all 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

 

I would like to explore Creek Street, perhaps do my own self guided walking tour of the area, but would also like to see Totem Bight park if possible.

 

Icy Strait Point: (in port 9am to 6pm)

Whale watching tour, 2pm to 5pm (all 5 of us) (Booked privately on small boat with Hoonah Adventures)

 

Juneau: (in port 7am to 8:30pm)

Gold Panning and Gold Creek Salmon Bake, from 12pm. (All 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

 

I would also like to go to Mendenhall Glacier and MAYBE do the walk to Nugget falls.

I would like to go to Red Dog Salloon for a beer or two.

If weather is good, we would like to also go up Mt Roberts Tramway. (We may however go up Grouse mountain in Vancouver if time and weather works in our favour so this could make this excursion obsolete)

 

Skagway: (in port 7am to 4:30pm)

Adventure Park and Zip Lines tour, 8:15am to 11:30am. (Just my two older kids and I) (Booked through ship)

To the Summit minibus tour, 1:15pm to 2:45pm. (All 5 of us) (Booked through ship)

 

Seward: (arrive at about 6am)

Seavey's Real Alaska Tour, 11am to 5:15pm. (All 5 of us, booked direct with Seavey's) This includes tour of Seward, mile 0 of Iditarod trail etc, Exit Glacier, lunch at Resurrection Roadhouse, visit Seavey kennels, play with pups etc, summer sled ride.

 

We then get the 6pm train to Anchorage, stay the night, and leave the next morning at 11am for LA.

 

Spend that night and next day in LA, and then fly home to Australia at 11pm.

 

Okay, so all you seasoned Alaska travellers out there, can we manage all this or should we cancel any?

 

You are asking. This does not look like any problem with what you have booked. BUT, you have all these "extras" are you going to do any of them or not?

Ketchikan, if you want to include Totem Bight, I suggest you switch around your current plans and put those in the after noon. As soon as your ship clears, head out to the Blue city bus for Totem Bight. You do need to allow 3 hours, easily added. Creek St, is a 15min add on.

 

Juneau, Your "tour" is walk up availability, I would suggest you cancel what you have, and buy open tickets on the dock. A cab may be a cheaper, option for round trip Mendenhall. There is no cab line at Mendenhall, so either arrange a pick up or have phone numbers with you. You need an hour for Nugget Falls. I too, find the Red Dog pretty worthless, with only other cruise passengers in a recreated place. Superior is getting a look and drink at the Alaskan Hotel, across and down the street.

 

Skagway= you have chosen likely a big tour bus, going up and down the pass. You likely would have a better time, if you went private. There are a few independents lined up on the docks. Verity, if you go into Canada, as documentation would be necessary.

[DT1304]

Thanks to you all for your comments and suggestions.

 

I will discuss these all with my DW, and we will make any necessary changes.

 

Regarding the prices of private vs booking through the ship, all the ship booked excursions we booked were the same price as private. The timing however is something to consider so thanks for that advice.

 

46 days till I leave!!! Can't wait!!!!

[Budget Queen]

\

 

Regarding the prices of private vs booking through the ship, all the ship booked excursions we booked were the same price as private. The timing however is something to consider so thanks for that advice.

 

 

It isn't about money, timing is EVERYTHING, which now is lacking with your plans. Also superior options for the tours are significant, which you hadn't considered. Especially the Skagway "bus", if it happened to be a big tour bus. Way superior in a van, by yourselves.

[sherryf]

I am travelling with my wife (who will be 20 weeks pregnant at the time) and three kids (12, 10, 7). We will have just come from 4 days in Anaheim at disneyland, 2 days in Vancouver pre cruise seeing as much as we can in the short time, and then this is what we have booked:

 

Your itinerary didn't seem too bad to me, until I noticed the part about your wife being pregnant... and having 3 other kids to care for... and the 4 days at Disneyland... I suspect that once you finally set foot on the ship, your poor wife will be ready to collapse! While 20 weeks is usually a pretty good time to travel, it can still be tiring. Please take her condition into consideration and don't wear her out before you even get to the ship. :)