Excursions in May, advice please?

[Luv2Cruise32]

This is our first trip to Alaska, been to the Carribean to many times to care to go back. Of course this trip is not as cheap and I want to make sure I am making good choices. Now normally I use all independent vendors and book ahead of time with them. I can not find much info on independent vendors. SO I would like to tell you what I have found on the CCL shore ex. list and what we plan to do and would like to know if you think it is priced right and if not or you can think of something better to please advise. Thank you so much.

 

May 20th sailing on the Miracle.

Skagway- Yukon Scenic Drive $109 pp

Juneau- Whale Watching and Salmon Bake $179.99 pp

Ketchikan- George Inlet Lodge and Wilderness Crabbing $149.99 pp

 

Thank you for your input, I am willing to take any personal vendor advice also.

[EagleRocker]

Hi, I have copied below a very recent post of mine on the Silversea board for a May 15 cruise and suggested excursions. For Skagway, depending on how long you are in port, I highly recommend renting a car and driving yourself to Carcross or further in the Yukon, especially if you have a family or a large-ish group. We did that last year and it was easy and enjoyable.

 

"Hi mydogislulu. My husband and I are on the same cruise - our first time on Silversea, but we have been on four prior Alaska cruises so I have some thoughts. I look forward to meeting you.

 

I understand that the state museum in Juneau will be closed when we are there (it is moving and will be shut for a while). Whale watching in Juneau is usually very good and there are many tour operators besides the ones offered through Silversea. The Mendenhall Glacier is well worth seeing, including for the various trails around it. At the dock in town, there are various options for getting there and back, such as the "Blue Bus" (the Glacier Express), which is quite cheap (something like $16) - the key is to be sure you note the time of the last bus pickups. We took a helicopter to a glacier on our first Juneau trip and it was wonderful, but it is pricey. The Mt. Roberts Tramway will give you some incredible views of the fjord. Besides the gift shop and restaurant, not a lot to do up top other than hike, and it may be too slushy or snowy for that. We did it once in early May and the trail had a lot of snow on it and parts were closed. It was fun but tricky. This year, given that we have such a long port time in Juneau, we have a car reserved from Avis and plan to drive all over the place to see things we have not seen before.

 

Sitka is a lovely town and should be quiet - we will be the only ship in port. The totem park is not all that far of a walk from the dock. It might be a good idea to ask about bears - we went to the park as oblivious tourists and loved it, and learned when we got into town that there had been bear sightings there the day before. We took an excursion in which you take a boat ride to (I think) Baronoff Island and ride ATV/jeep-like vehicles around, including ending up on a gorgeous beach looking back at Sitka. It was fun and is not hard to do, and the boat ride lets you see a lot of beautiful scenery. I think Silversea is offering this excursion.

 

We did ATV/boat ride similar excursion in Ketchikan which was fantastic (more rugged than the one in Sitka), but I don't believe it is available to us on this cruise, because we are in Ketchikan for such a short time. My husband went kayaking in Ketchikan on our last visit and had a great time. I believe Silversea is offering at least one kayak excursion. I, instead, went with other family members on the Private Tour by Hummer, which I believed is being offered on our cruise. It is pricey, but we all enjoyed it. We got a pretty in depth tour of the town from a local and saw a lot of things I have not seen despite having been to Ketchikan several times before. You can have as many as 5 people go, so splitting the costs that many ways makes it reasonable. I am thinking of the Misty Fjords by Floatplane excursion - I hear nothing but positive things about that.

 

Skagway is in a physically gorgeous setting, but is mainly a tourist town. The White Pass Railway is pretty fun. Also, there is a (free) lovely hike you can take just outside of the main part of town that goes to Upper and Lower Dewey Lake - we only made it to Lower Dewey Lake, but it was gorgeous. Renting a car and driving into the Yukon is really fun, but I don't think we will be in Skagway long enough for that.

 

Whatever you decide to do, Alaska is gorgeous. I will keep my fingers crossed for good weather for us. For what it is worth, on our first two May trips, we had gorgeous weather almost every day, sunny and fantastic and jackets often not needed. On the third early May trip (the other was in September), the weather was not as good. You never know, although at least May is supposed to be a drier month and there are no mosquitos. Bring clothes to layer, a warm hat and gloves, and a good warm jacket as well as a lightweight jacket for rainy days."

[Budget Queen]

This is our first trip to Alaska, been to the Carribean to many times to care to go back. Of course this trip is not as cheap and I want to make sure I am making good choices. Now normally I use all independent vendors and book ahead of time with them. I can not find much info on independent vendors. SO I would like to tell you what I have found on the CCL shore ex. list and what we plan to do and would like to know if you think it is priced right and if not or you can think of something better to please advise. Thank you so much.

 

May 20th sailing on the Miracle.

Skagway- Yukon Scenic Drive $109 pp

Juneau- Whale Watching and Salmon Bake $179.99 pp

Ketchikan- George Inlet Lodge and Wilderness Crabbing $149.99 pp

 

Thank you for your input, I am willing to take any personal vendor advice also.

 

 

Chilkoot Charters out of Skagway offers an excellent independent Klondike Highway tour. Alternatively, as already mentioned, It is simple and easy to rent a car, take along a printed copy of Murrays Guide.

 

Juneau- there are several excellent whale watches, I highly recommend Orca Enterprises. Being that the salmon back is outside with covered areas, it is easy to purchase the tickets from the dock side booth. The company runs a continous loop shuttle bus. You might want to wait and see what the weather is.

[coco2014]

I am going to Alaska in early May (5/7), do you think we can easily book whale watching (Juneau) and the train trip (Skagway) from the dock side booth?

 

I contacted Chilkoot Charters, but I think they said has to to book in advance. Has anything had experiencing booking the train/bus tour on the day of?

[NoobCruise]

I would not do the George Inlet Lodge. It is a beautiful lodge, but you are basically herded straight into a tiny room with one long table. They got annoyed with me because after we were dropped off on the dock, I paused to snap about 4 pictures. The room you eat in is very cramped and only half the people can look out the window while the other half face the wall. We were then given 5 or 10 minutes to look in the gift shop, then onto a bus, and back to town. There was no time to relax on the deck and just enjoy the view with a beer or glass of wine. The food is good, but I would have enjoyed it more at a restaurant with a view where I could relax and enjoy the meal at my own pace. Here's a pic I took of the lodge. That little 2 story building on the left is where we ate on the first floor. It's about the size of a single car garage and 20 of us were crammed in there at one table.

 

979 by Rescue-Diver, on Flickr

Edited March 27, 2014 by NoobCruise
embed pic instead of attachment

[Budget Queen]

I am going to Alaska in early May (5/7), do you think we can easily book whale watching (Juneau) and the train trip (Skagway) from the dock side booth?

 

I contacted Chilkoot Charters, but I think they said has to to book in advance. Has anything had experiencing booking the train/bus tour on the day of?

 

Bad idea out of Skagway, trying to book a combo tour. Especially if you are talking about the Yukon. You may be able to find one of the short Fraser/White Pass round trips for the afternoon.

 

With the whale watch, you may be able to get on an Orca Enterprises boat as a walk on, but may not have the full choice of times.

 

Why do you want to use your port time trying to book tours? If you continue with this plan, you will need to be in line and ready to get off the ship as soon as it's cleared. Then direct to any booking.

[coco2014]

Thanks for the info!!

 

I am just worry about the weather.

 

If it rain hard or foggy, then whale watching and the train/bus combo might not be as enjoyable

[DaveOKC]

Thanks for the info!!

 

I am just worry about the weather.

 

If it rain hard or foggy, then whale watching and the train/bus combo might not be as enjoyable

 

Weather can be an issue. We did the Juneau whale watch and the Skagway train and in both cases it was foggy at the start, but it burned off and we ended up having a great time. My advice is to book the later times.

 

And I understand wanting to wait to book, but sometimes its a chance you have to take.

 

DaveOKC

[sherryf]

Thanks for the info!!

 

I am just worry about the weather.

 

If it rain hard or foggy, then whale watching and the train/bus combo might not be as enjoyable

 

Quit worrying about the weather. Accept that the weather can be cool and wet. Expect to get rain every day, and be thrilled if you get sun. Be prepared with appropriate clothing and don't let the weather stop you from doing what you want to do. Don't let the weather ruin your trip.

 

When we went on the Eagle Preserve Float excursion in Haines, it poured rain, yet it was one of the funnest excursions I've done. The rain just made it more of an adventure. :D

[Eileen G]

Quit worrying about the weather. Accept that the weather can be cool and wet. Expect to get rain every day, and be thrilled if you get sun. Be prepared with appropriate clothing and don't let the weather stop you from doing what you want to do. Don't let the weather ruin your trip.

 

When we went on the Eagle Preserve Float excursion in Haines, it poured rain, yet it was one of the funnest excursions I've done. The rain just made it more of an adventure. :D

 

I could not have said it better. This is the attitude you must have to really enjoy your cruise to Alaska. Just count on it being cool and rainy and count it as a bonus if you get a sunny day.

[Budget Queen]

Thanks for the info!!

 

I am just worry about the weather.

 

If it rain hard or foggy, then whale watching and the train/bus combo might not be as enjoyable

 

In Skagway, you have the wrong idea. You can NOT tell weather more than a few miles out. What you may see in Skagway could be the compete opposite at the White Pass and Yukon.

 

I don't care how I whale watch, if it's important to you, then wait. But if you are looking for the train/Yukon shuttle tour, you need to book this in advance. These tours all leave early morning, you will have no time to arrange this and get there in times.