Comparing similar excursions in different ports: Seward, Icy Strait Point, Juneau,etc

[radhak]

We are taking the NCL Southbound from Whittear to Vancouver in June. We'd be touching on Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and then Vancouver (in that order). And all these have various excursion we could take, and of course some of these seem similar.

 

Does anybody have an opinion or experience to share about how some of the similar excursions at these different ports compare?

 

I see that whale watching (or 'Whale Quest') is possible at Juneau or at Icy Straits Point. Is there anything to choose between these two, as in there are more wildlife to see in one or the other; or the sea is calmer, or the whales are friendlier :)?

 

Then I see it's possible to take a bus to and walk on a glacier at Mendenhall (Juneau) or at Exit Glacier (Seward). Both seem to offer helicopter options, while Exit Glacier also has something called Ice Climbing (dunno if Mendenhall does too). Is either glacier a superior experience (maybe one is melting faster than the other ;)) , or can we just pick one and not over-think it?

 

How about flightseeing? Is getting in the air anywhere good enough, or some sights much better than others for seeing from a plane? See Mt. McKinley or Misty Fjord? Or something else?

 

Some of these excursions are hefty in cost, and multiply that by four, and you see why I want to be cautious about my booking any of these? Of course I don't want to be pound foolish and miss out on an experience because of penny pinching!

 

And that's the other thing - do we have to book excursions before hand, or is it always possible to get into them walking out of the boat? Or do any of these get filled up?

[epixx]

"Then I see it's possible to take a bus to and walk on a glacier at Mendenhall (Juneau) or at Exit Glacier (Seward)."

 

 

You cannot "take a bus to and walk on a glacier at Mendenhall" because the bus does not leave you anywhere near the trailhead (West Glacier) that leads to Mendenhall glacier access. Besides, this would be extremely dangerous on your own without proper equipment. We did this hike as a guided glacier trek with a private vendor, but you will not be able to do it because your port time is too short. The round trip hike and glacier trek took about 7.5 hours. Thus, if you want to hike on a glacier, I suggest you do it before you board your ship.

[Budget Queen]

We are taking the NCL Southbound from Whittear to Vancouver in June. We'd be touching on Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and then Vancouver (in that order). And all these have various excursion we could take, and of course some of these seem similar.

 

Does anybody have an opinion or experience to share about how some of the similar excursions at these different ports compare?

 

I see that whale watching (or 'Whale Quest') is possible at Juneau or at Icy Straits Point. Is there anything to choose between these two, as in there are more wildlife to see in one or the other; or the sea is calmer, or the whales are friendlier :)?

 

Then I see it's possible to take a bus to and walk on a glacier at Mendenhall (Juneau) or at Exit Glacier (Seward). Both seem to offer helicopter options, while Exit Glacier also has something called Ice Climbing (dunno if Mendenhall does too). Is either glacier a superior experience (maybe one is melting faster than the other ;)) , or can we just pick one and not over-think it?

 

How about flightseeing? Is getting in the air anywhere good enough, or some sights much better than others for seeing from a plane? See Mt. McKinley or Misty Fjord? Or something else?

 

Some of these excursions are hefty in cost, and multiply that by four, and you see why I want to be cautious about my booking any of these? Of course I don't want to be pound foolish and miss out on an experience because of penny pinching!

 

And that's the other thing - do we have to book excursions before hand, or is it always possible to get into them walking out of the boat? Or do any of these get filled up?

 

Hoonah and Juneau have 100% sightings of humpbacks. I suggest you book where your OVERALL touring time fits best. Both areas have equal chances of sightings, and every trip is different.

 

You need extended time and guides for any glacier access. Also requires many hours of time. There is little viewing similarity between these two glaciers, and is worthwhile to see both.

 

Flightseeing is excellent in Alaska, and each is a great option, depending on YOUR interests, which could involve the particular scenery and/or aircraft. I have flown all over Alaska, in the areas you mention. I have no favorites, they all were spectacular.

 

With these particular tours you are mentioning- whale watch and flights, you absolutely need to book these in advance. Aircraft at most, takes 10 people, you would be very unlikely to get 4 open seats anywhere. Whale watches are more available, but you may want to find out about boats and various cpts, who in my opinion, enhance the tour.

 

IF you are open to not finding availability then wait. I have gotten some reduced waits with walk ups, but I go single, BIG difference, with just looking to ADD flights, in addition to what I have already booked. This also might not be the best use of overall, short port time, scrambling to book tours.

[narsibvl]

We are taking the NCL Southbound from Whittear to Vancouver in June. We'd be touching on Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and then Vancouver (in that order). And all these have various excursion we could take, and of course some of these seem similar.

 

Does anybody have an opinion or experience to share about how some of the similar excursions at these different ports compare?

 

I see that whale watching (or 'Whale Quest') is possible at Juneau or at Icy Straits Point. Is there anything to choose between these two, as in there are more wildlife to see in one or the other; or the sea is calmer, or the whales are friendlier :)?

 

Then I see it's possible to take a bus to and walk on a glacier at Mendenhall (Juneau) or at Exit Glacier (Seward). Both seem to offer helicopter options, while Exit Glacier also has something called Ice Climbing (dunno if Mendenhall does too). Is either glacier a superior experience (maybe one is melting faster than the other ;)) , or can we just pick one and not over-think it?

 

How about flightseeing? Is getting in the air anywhere good enough, or some sights much better than others for seeing from a plane? See Mt. McKinley or Misty Fjord? Or something else?

 

Some of these excursions are hefty in cost, and multiply that by four, and you see why I want to be cautious about my booking any of these? Of course I don't want to be pound foolish and miss out on an experience because of penny pinching!

 

And that's the other thing - do we have to book excursions before hand, or is it always possible to get into them walking out of the boat? Or do any of these get filled up?

 

 

quite a few questions here... Let me give my 2 cents where possible....

 

WhaleWatching - This is what I figured would work out better. Yes, whalewatching is equally good out of both Juneau and ISP but Juneau has a lot more activities to do and ISP not so much. Whales and the zipline are the most popular out of ISP so we are doing the whalewatching in Juneau and the Mendelhall glacier and other sightseeing in Juneau.

 

We didn't really consider any of the flightseeing because they are costly and secondly the only one I would have liked to do is fly over Mt. Mickinley which would most probably be out of Talkeetna and we are not going there. I was briefly considering doing the Misty Fjords out of Ketchikan but got put of my mixed reviews.

 

Skagway, we wanted to do the train into Carcoss dessert, but unfortunately the train runs only upto fraser on the day we are docked. So instead we are renting a car and driving upto emerald lake ourselves armed with murray's guide.

[radhak]

Sorry, could not come back here sooner.

 

"Then I see it's possible to take a bus to and walk on a glacier at Mendenhall (Juneau) or at Exit Glacier (Seward)."

 

 

You cannot "take a bus to and walk on a glacier at Mendenhall" because the bus does not leave you anywhere near the trailhead (West Glacier) that leads to Mendenhall glacier access. Besides, this would be extremely dangerous on your own without proper equipment. We did this hike as a guided glacier trek with a private vendor, but you will not be able to do it because your port time is too short. The round trip hike and glacier trek took about 7.5 hours. Thus, if you want to hike on a glacier, I suggest you do it before you board your ship.

 

Thanks - your post made me go back and re-read all the descriptions, and I realize I missed this important point. The shorter tours to the Glaciers that last an hour or two are actually just to view, not to walk on them. And yes, those 'walk-on glacier' treks require professional quides. The one for Exit Glacier is the shortest duration, but still needs 5 hours. We'll keep that in mind when finalizing this.

 

Hoonah and Juneau have 100% sightings of humpbacks. I suggest you book where your OVERALL touring time fits best. Both areas have equal chances of sightings, and every trip is different.

 

You need extended time and guides for any glacier access. Also requires many hours of time. There is little viewing similarity between these two glaciers, and is worthwhile to see both.

 

Flightseeing is excellent in Alaska, and each is a great option, depending on YOUR interests, which could involve the particular scenery and/or aircraft. I have flown all over Alaska, in the areas you mention. I have no favorites, they all were spectacular.

 

With these particular tours you are mentioning- whale watch and flights, you absolutely need to book these in advance. Aircraft at most, takes 10 people, you would be very unlikely to get 4 open seats anywhere. Whale watches are more available, but you may want to find out about boats and various cpts, who in my opinion, enhance the tour.

 

IF you are open to not finding availability then wait. I have gotten some reduced waits with walk ups, but I go single, BIG difference, with just looking to ADD flights, in addition to what I have already booked. This also might not be the best use of overall, short port time, scrambling to book tours.

Thanks - that's critical info. I don't think we have the luxury of missing these tours. We'll quickly finalize and reserve in a day or two.

 

quite a few questions here... Let me give my 2 cents where possible....

 

WhaleWatching - This is what I figured would work out better. Yes, whalewatching is equally good out of both Juneau and ISP but Juneau has a lot more activities to do and ISP not so much. Whales and the zipline are the most popular out of ISP so we are doing the whalewatching in Juneau and the Mendelhall glacier and other sightseeing in Juneau.

 

We didn't really consider any of the flightseeing because they are costly and secondly the only one I would have liked to do is fly over Mt. Mickinley which would most probably be out of Talkeetna and we are not going there. I was briefly considering doing the Misty Fjords out of Ketchikan but got put of my mixed reviews.

 

Skagway, we wanted to do the train into Carcoss dessert, but unfortunately the train runs only upto fraser on the day we are docked. So instead we are renting a car and driving upto emerald lake ourselves armed with murray's guide.

 

I guess you meant you'd be doing the whale-watching in ISP and the other stuff in Juneau. And that's why I was asking the question - to split exactly like you are planning!

 

And most probably the flightseeing might prove to be the final straw that breaks our back (or our wallets), so we might have to drop it too. I'm just keeping that decision in abeyance, fingers crossed for some windfall ... !

 

As for the train at Skagway, I did not realize the schedule could change for us - I better check!

[Budget Queen]

Yes, whalewatching is equally good out of both Juneau and ISP but Juneau has a lot more activities to do and ISP not so much. Whales and the zipline are the most popular out of ISP so we are doing the whalewatching in Juneau and the Mendelhall glacier and other sightseeing in Juneau.

 

You are missing a significant tour out of Hoonah, brown bear viewing opportunities by ground. It offers higher sighting stats, going independent.

[narsibvl]

Budget Queen - since we were doing the Tundra Wilderness tour in Denali we forgo this tour out of hoonah.

[Budget Queen]

Budget Queen - since we were doing the Tundra Wilderness tour in Denali we forgo this tour out of hoonah.

 

 

Completely different bear viewing behaviors. Hoonah bears can be 50% bigger and offer the opportunity many people, want, salmon feeding, which Denali does NOT have.

[narsibvl]

Had a feeling you were going to say that :) ...I can't do everything in a single trip. Will surely keep this is mind for and if they is another trip .

[Budget Queen]

Had a feeling you were going to say that :) ...I can't do everything in a single trip. Will surely keep this is mind for and if they is another trip .

 

You can't see all you want in 10 trips. :)

 

My post is general information. Your "most popular list" left out Hoonah bear viewing. This is an attractive tour due to the ease of viewing and lower costs.