Alaska cruise excursions tips & logistics help

[maylee7615]

Hi guys!

 

I'm hoping to get some advice for an upcoming trip to Alaska. My family (of 4 - with a 20 yr old girl & 25 yr old boy) are going on a northbound cruise departing from Vancouver. I have been put in charge of planning our days off of the ship.

 

A little bit about my family - we enjoy low-moderate level hikes. We are not looking to bike, kayak or fish. I have been whale watching before and found it rather boring. However, I would be excited to see some bears. I would loveeeee to go dog sledding, except I've read that it's pretty disappointing in the summer, unless you fly to a glacier.

 

Ideally I would like to divide our day between exploring the town and partaking in a special activity. I am running into two main issues: 1. I am on a budget. I've cruised the Caribbean before and am aware that excursions through the cruise, although convenient, are rather expensive. I'm open to booking things from the vendors off-ship, but I want to ensure they are licensed & not scams, and research ahead of time to see which are the most enjoyable and the best bang for your buck. My second issue...there is so much to see in just a few short hours! I've read some trip reports, blogs and looked at the ships excursions to get an idea of the typical tourist attractions. Although I do like going off the beaten path for most trips, the time factor is limiting here. I have listed below our tour route & a list of rough ideas of what to do in each place.

 

The advice I'm mainly looking for...is it possible to do this on your own? If so, do you recommend certain transportation? If logistics are too much of a hassle I'm not completely opposed to booking things through our ship. A rough estimate on how long activities will take. Anything that's a must-see I'm missing out? Also- authentic restaurant suggestions for lunch (can't forget that! Ha. One of us is a vegetarian though, and only one eats fish. Guess that crosses off salmon bake and crab fishing!) Any help & advice is greatly appreciated!

Depart Vancouver

(We will be getting here 3 days early - haven't researched anything yet)

 

Cruising the Inside Passage

(Day at Sea)

 

Ketchikan (7am-4pm)

-Misty fjords (I've read about sea plane trips here. Due to budget restraints, most helicopter excursions are not possible, however I'm thinking it may be fun to splurge on one extravagant adventure.)

-Saxman native village

-Totem brite state park

-Explore town

 

Juneau (10am-8pm)

-Mendenhall Glacier & gardens

-Mount Roberts tram

-Explore town

 

Skagway (7am-8pm)

-White pass railway (having a hard time understanding this one. I'll admit I haven't looked that much into it, but many people have said its gorgeous and some said its way too long. I'm looking at the 3 hr or 4 hr one, but having a hard time justifying spending 1/3 of my time on a train.)

-Mushers camp and dog sled (see above concerns, is it worth it?)

-Chilkat Eagle Preserve

-Klondike gold fields (I think our kids might be too old for gold panning, but it seems like a big attraction. Is it more historical?)

-Original street car

**definitely not doing all of this

 

Glacier Bay

(Day at Sea)

 

Hubbard Glacier

(Day at Sea)

 

Whittier --> train to Anchorage

 

(We will have approximately 1.5 days in Anchorage before our flight home. We made reservations to rent a car. I haven't looked up things to do here yet, but I did see that Denali Park is rather far and probably not possible in this time frame )

 

Speaking of renting a car - I something called rent a wreck - a company that brings rental cars to the cruise ship dock, do you think this is useful in any of the ports?

 

Again we are concerned with trying to do this on the more DIY style, minimum costs incurred, but we definitely want to make this a trip to remember and would like to see as much as possible, without trying to shove in too much, fine line. Any specific or general tips - greatly appreciated Thank you in advance!!

[Budget Queen]

Ketchikan, Misty Fiords is excellent by floatplane, your "bear" priority is good here, also by floatplane to Traitor's Cove would be my suggestion. BUT it isn't cheap. You don't have any opportunity other than spending time at Mendenhall hopeing for some bears to sight. Would require an investment of time. The only "rent a wreck" which isn't even available any longer is out of Juneau, and YOU have to get to their office. NONE of these ports deliver cars to you. So you have mis information.

 

Your rest of your list for Ketchikan, needs you to find out the details, any would be a great choice, depending on your interests. Totem Bight is a simple EASY adventure, gotten to via city bus. Print out and bring the totem guide with you. Take a look at Potlatch park which is next door. Head out to here, first thing, you need to allow 3 hours for Totem Bight, another hour if including Potlatch Park.

 

Juneau- would be a good place for a car rental. IF you don't do any bear tours, which are highly recommended, then this needs to be a priority for you. Nugget Falls trail is very good to also consider, but time needs to be spent at the Moraine trail which has the platforms and sometimes bear activity. Plan on a couple hours at least. Doing a search on this board will have a list of other stops to consider.

 

Skagway- sounds like the train is NOT for you, so, cross it off the list, don't be swayed because it's popular. You state you haven't researched it, and don't want hours on the train. This could be another place for a car rental, I only use Avis, there are two independents. You would need to allow at least 5 hours, but you could include a cheaper dog camp, which has cart rides. Caribou Crossing. turn around is Emerald Lake. Purchase Murrary's Guide which is excellent.

 

Correct Denali Park is out with only 1 1/2 days. You mention train Whittier to Anchorage, did you book this or is it a cruise contracted train? Do you know what time it is leaving? An alternative, probably similar pricing would be a one way car rental. Bonus is all the touring you can do before Anchorage.

 

I suggest you NOT make all these plans yourself, involve everyone- since they are all adults. As you are finding out, some tours are very costly, there is no point in bringing an uninterested party along. Split up, a suggestion.

 

All of this touring I suggest is independent.

[scapel]

Hi guys!

 

I'm hoping to get some advice for an upcoming trip to Alaska. My family (of 4 - with a 20 yr old girl & 25 yr old boy) are going on a northbound cruise departing from Vancouver. I have been put in charge of planning our days off of the ship.

 

A little bit about my family - we enjoy low-moderate level hikes. We are not looking to bike, kayak or fish. I have been whale watching before and found it rather boring. However, I would be excited to see some bears. I would loveeeee to go dog sledding, except I've read that it's pretty disappointing in the summer, unless you fly to a glacier.

 

Ideally I would like to divide our day between exploring the town and partaking in a special activity. I am running into two main issues: 1. I am on a budget. I've cruised the Caribbean before and am aware that excursions through the cruise, although convenient, are rather expensive. I'm open to booking things from the vendors off-ship, but I want to ensure they are licensed & not scams, and research ahead of time to see which are the most enjoyable and the best bang for your buck. My second issue...there is so much to see in just a few short hours! I've read some trip reports, blogs and looked at the ships excursions to get an idea of the typical tourist attractions. Although I do like going off the beaten path for most trips, the time factor is limiting here. I have listed below our tour route & a list of rough ideas of what to do in each place.

 

The advice I'm mainly looking for...is it possible to do this on your own? If so, do you recommend certain transportation? If logistics are too much of a hassle I'm not completely opposed to booking things through our ship. A rough estimate on how long activities will take. Anything that's a must-see I'm missing out? Also- authentic restaurant suggestions for lunch (can't forget that! Ha. One of us is a vegetarian though, and only one eats fish. Guess that crosses off salmon bake and crab fishing!) Any help & advice is greatly appreciated!

Depart Vancouver

(We will be getting here 3 days early - haven't researched anything yet)

 

Cruising the Inside Passage

(Day at Sea)

 

Ketchikan (7am-4pm)

-Misty fjords (I've read about sea plane trips here. Due to budget restraints, most helicopter excursions are not possible, however I'm thinking it may be fun to splurge on one extravagant adventure.)

-Saxman native village

-Totem brite state park

-Explore town

 

Juneau (10am-8pm)

-Mendenhall Glacier & gardens

-Mount Roberts tram

-Explore town

 

Skagway (7am-8pm)

-White pass railway (having a hard time understanding this one. I'll admit I haven't looked that much into it, but many people have said its gorgeous and some said its way too long. I'm looking at the 3 hr or 4 hr one, but having a hard time justifying spending 1/3 of my time on a train.)

-Mushers camp and dog sled (see above concerns, is it worth it?)

-Chilkat Eagle Preserve

-Klondike gold fields (I think our kids might be too old for gold panning, but it seems like a big attraction. Is it more historical?)

-Original street car

**definitely not doing all of this

 

Glacier Bay

(Day at Sea)

 

Hubbard Glacier

(Day at Sea)

 

Whittier --> train to Anchorage

 

(We will have approximately 1.5 days in Anchorage before our flight home. We made reservations to rent a car. I haven't looked up things to do here yet, but I did see that Denali Park is rather far and probably not possible in this time frame )

 

Speaking of renting a car - I something called rent a wreck - a company that brings rental cars to the cruise ship dock, do you think this is useful in any of the ports?

 

Again we are concerned with trying to do this on the more DIY style, minimum costs incurred, but we definitely want to make this a trip to remember and would like to see as much as possible, without trying to shove in too much, fine line. Any specific or general tips - greatly appreciated Thank you in advance!!

 

Hi,

First let me say that Budget Queen has a lot of Alaska experience and gives very good advice. For what we did last June see http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39335712#post39335712

Post # 8.

If you do any driving I would suggest a copy of Milepost. GPS also and be sure it has Alaska on it.

I think you can do a lot of this on your own. Even driving to Denali if you have time and make the Chateau reservations yourself.

Two good choices are Juneau Helicopter trip to a Glacier with a dog sled ride. That was expensive on one of our trips and I thought it was too expensive with the dog sled ride and would only recommend the helicopter ride.

The other was Misty Fjords where you land on a lake and the views are magnificent.

Out last trip on HAL we stopped in Haines rather that going all the way to Skagway.

On the Skagway train trip there is only one real good view back over the Fjord. It is kind of a boring ride, but I made it exciting by going to the platform frequently and maybe get some pictures. This was on another trip, not this last one.

The review above has some contacts. It is nice to have contacts that someone else has used and worked well.

People in Alaska in the travel business are very nice and helpful.

Dr.Joe

[scapel]

excuse double post

[maylee7615]

@budgetqueen - thanks, lots of good info! If we do Potlatch park in Ketchikan, would you recommend skipping the Glacier Gardens in Juneau? After researching the tram in Juneau, I'm thinking of skipping that and focusing on Mendenhall, and getting the rainforest experience with the view at Glacial gardens. I'm glad you agree that the train is not for us, I almost feel obligated to do the things EVERYBODY does sometimes, I don't want to miss out! But I feel like our time will be better spent elsewhere. Even though Denali is out, I read there are certain parts of Anchorage where you can see Mount McKinley, do you know where that is? I found out the train to Anchorage only leaves at 6pm, it seems wasteful to spend our day hanging around Whittier. The only other option I've found thus far is the transfer through the cruise, which is $55 per person. Still looking for alternatives. Thanks for all your tips!

 

@Dr. Joe - Thanks, just read your trip report & looks like you had a great time. Contacts are definitely helpful, I'm going to reach out to some of them and make note of the good restaurants ha!

[Wisconsin Travelers]

Hi guys!

 

I'm hoping to get some advice for an upcoming trip to Alaska. My family (of 4 - with a 20 yr old girl & 25 yr old boy) are going on a northbound cruise departing from Vancouver. I have been put in charge of planning our days off of the ship.

 

A little bit about my family - we enjoy low-moderate level hikes. We are not looking to bike, kayak or fish. I have been whale watching before and found it rather boring. However, I would be excited to see some bears. I would loveeeee to go dog sledding, except I've read that it's pretty disappointing in the summer, unless you fly to a glacier.

 

Ideally I would like to divide our day between exploring the town and partaking in a special activity. I am running into two main issues: 1. I am on a budget. I've cruised the Caribbean before and am aware that excursions through the cruise, although convenient, are rather expensive. I'm open to booking things from the vendors off-ship, but I want to ensure they are licensed & not scams, and research ahead of time to see which are the most enjoyable and the best bang for your buck. My second issue...there is so much to see in just a few short hours! I've read some trip reports, blogs and looked at the ships excursions to get an idea of the typical tourist attractions. Although I do like going off the beaten path for most trips, the time factor is limiting here. I have listed below our tour route & a list of rough ideas of what to do in each place.

 

The advice I'm mainly looking for...is it possible to do this on your own? If so, do you recommend certain transportation? If logistics are too much of a hassle I'm not completely opposed to booking things through our ship. A rough estimate on how long activities will take. Anything that's a must-see I'm missing out? Also- authentic restaurant suggestions for lunch (can't forget that! Ha. One of us is a vegetarian though, and only one eats fish. Guess that crosses off salmon bake and crab fishing!) Any help & advice is greatly appreciated!

Depart Vancouver

(We will be getting here 3 days early - haven't researched anything yet)

 

Cruising the Inside Passage

(Day at Sea)

 

Ketchikan (7am-4pm)

-Misty fjords (I've read about sea plane trips here. Due to budget restraints, most helicopter excursions are not possible, however I'm thinking it may be fun to splurge on one extravagant adventure.)

-Saxman native village

-Totem brite state park

-Explore town

 

Juneau (10am-8pm)

-Mendenhall Glacier & gardens

-Mount Roberts tram

-Explore town

 

Skagway (7am-8pm)

-White pass railway (having a hard time understanding this one. I'll admit I haven't looked that much into it, but many people have said its gorgeous and some said its way too long. I'm looking at the 3 hr or 4 hr one, but having a hard time justifying spending 1/3 of my time on a train.)

-Mushers camp and dog sled (see above concerns, is it worth it?)

-Chilkat Eagle Preserve

-Klondike gold fields (I think our kids might be too old for gold panning, but it seems like a big attraction. Is it more historical?)

-Original street car

**definitely not doing all of this

 

Glacier Bay

(Day at Sea)

 

Hubbard Glacier

(Day at Sea)

 

Whittier --> train to Anchorage

 

(We will have approximately 1.5 days in Anchorage before our flight home. We made reservations to rent a car. I haven't looked up things to do here yet, but I did see that Denali Park is rather far and probably not possible in this time frame )

 

Speaking of renting a car - I something called rent a wreck - a company that brings rental cars to the cruise ship dock, do you think this is useful in any of the ports?

 

Again we are concerned with trying to do this on the more DIY style, minimum costs incurred, but we definitely want to make this a trip to remember and would like to see as much as possible, without trying to shove in too much, fine line. Any specific or general tips - greatly appreciated Thank you in advance!!

 

We used "Rent A Wreck" in Juneau a few years ago and it worked out great. They picked us up from the dock and drove us back to their office to complete the paperwork, gave us some good maps, and even pointed out a good restaurant where we ended up having a very reasonable lunch - something that isn't always easy to do in Alaska where the prices are pretty expensive. We were able to do everything we wanted to do during our time in Juneau, and it was not expensive at all. Good luck.

[scapel]

@budgetqueen - I read there are certain parts of Anchorage where you can see Mount McKinley, do you know where that is?

 

We were able to see it from Susitna B&B Veranda over the cook inlet. There is a park with a statue of Cook that overlooks the inlet. Possible you could see it from there if the skies are clear.

Juneau-- The Tram would be beautiful on a clear day. If you do buy a ticket it is good all day to go up and down.

On my three trips to Juneau, I have never had a clear day.

[Budget Queen]

We used "Rent A Wreck" in Juneau a few years ago and it worked out great. They picked us up from the dock and drove us back to their office to complete the paperwork, gave us some good maps, and even pointed out a good restaurant where we ended up having a very reasonable lunch - something that isn't always easy to do in Alaska where the prices are pretty expensive. We were able to do everything we wanted to do during our time in Juneau, and it was not expensive at all. Good luck.

 

This is out of date, Rent A Wreck is not even there any longer.

 

Juneau Car rental is the new local company. they do not offer shuttle service, you have to get there on your own.

[mtebor]

we thought about renting a car in skagway but opted for a private tour. I am so glad we did. you can check out my post on the HAL board or search for my post.

 

We did the same ports so hopefully that can help

[AkSusan]

@budgetqueen - thanks, lots of good info! If we do Potlatch park in Ketchikan, would you recommend skipping the Glacier Gardens in Juneau? After researching the tram in Juneau, I'm thinking of skipping that and focusing on Mendenhall, and getting the rainforest experience with the view at Glacial gardens. I'm glad you agree that the train is not for us, I almost feel obligated to do the things EVERYBODY does sometimes, I don't want to miss out! But I feel like our time will be better spent elsewhere. Even though Denali is out, I read there are certain parts of Anchorage where you can see Mount McKinley, do you know where that is? I found out the train to Anchorage only leaves at 6pm, it seems wasteful to spend our day hanging around Whittier. The only other option I've found thus far is the transfer through the cruise, which is $55 per person. Still looking for alternatives. Thanks for all your tips!

 

@Dr. Joe - Thanks, just read your trip report & looks like you had a great time. Contacts are definitely helpful, I'm going to reach out to some of them and make note of the good restaurants ha!

We are about 250 miles south of McKinley, so, when she's out, and, unfortunately, we've gone into our rainy/cloudy period, and, she hasn't been visible here in town for about the last 2 weeks, you can see it from downtown, earthquake park, driving towards downtown, from the hillside.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

[Budget Queen]

@budgetqueen - thanks, lots of good info! If we do Potlatch park in Ketchikan, would you recommend skipping the Glacier Gardens in Juneau? After researching the tram in Juneau, I'm thinking of skipping that and focusing on Mendenhall, and getting the rainforest experience with the view at Glacial gardens. I'm glad you agree that the train is not for us, I almost feel obligated to do the things EVERYBODY does sometimes, I don't want to miss out! But I feel like our time will be better spent elsewhere. Even though Denali is out, I read there are certain parts of Anchorage where you can see Mount McKinley, do you know where that is? I found out the train to Anchorage only leaves at 6pm, it seems wasteful to spend our day hanging around Whittier. The only other option I've found thus far is the transfer through the cruise, which is $55 per person. Still looking for alternatives. Thanks for all your tips!

 

@Dr. Joe - Thanks, just read your trip report & looks like you had a great time. Contacts are definitely helpful, I'm going to reach out to some of them and make note of the good restaurants ha!

 

Potlatch and Glacier Gardens are completely different. IF of interest then do both. Mt Roberts tram is easily added, walk up, if you change your mind. NEVER feel "obligated" in your tour selections. I see a lot of people doing just that however. Not sure why? Especially in Alaska the tours are a significant part of your visit. Be certain they match up with YOU.

 

In Whittier the regular run of the Alaska RR, works out excellent with a Prince William

Sound boat tour, this is greatly enjoyed by many people and is just, endless beauty. :) Purchased coupons can offer discounts.

 

McKinley will be right out there, IF viewable, you won't miss it. Especially viewable from the Cook Inlet.