Excursions booked without cruise lines

[hokies111]

I can't say I haven't been warned, though I'm still a little bit surprised by how expensive excursions are in Alaska.

 

I've heard in general that the cruise lines take a big cut from excursions and you can save money by booking directly. I'm not sure if Alaska is the exception because half of the vendors I find online shoot me back to the cruise lines website, and the other half charge the same exact rates . ( sometimes a few dollars cheaper).

 

My ports are Juneau, Ketchikan, icy straight , and Skagway . Specifically I was just looking to do whale watching -which seems to have the going rate of 165 plus tax.

 

Am I not searching hard enough, or is it just a fact that you won't get significantly lower rates outside the cruise lines ?

 

Thanks!

[BrusselsGirl07]

Hello! We have our first trip to Alaska this July and August, 2 weeks of touring by car and 2 x 7 day back to back cruises (there was so much to do in each port that we decided to sail back up to Seward again!).

 

All of our tours and excursions while we are on the cruise have been booked through local independent vendors. While they may not have been any cheaper than what the cruise is offering, the attraction is the small groups I will be in. So don't just look at the cost, look at if you will be in a small group.

[MichiganStateMom]

Try Harv and Marv's in Juneau. Small boats with heaters and bathroom and I think their rate is about 149$ plus tax. You WILL NOT be disappointed!!! I think they give some kind of guarantee if you don't see whales, but that was not the case for us. I'd check out their website for the details. Expensive - yes. Worth it?? Definitely!!

[mollanjake]

Haven't been to Alaska yet, but I have to agree with Brusselsgirl. I think the independent tours are sometimes a BIT cheaper, but almost always are smaller groups.

 

 

If trying to cut costs take a look at the Toursaver and Northern Lights coupon books. Maybe excursions that are of interest to you are in there. As recommended in this forum, makes\ sure you will save money before buying either book.

 

Good luck

[olemissreb]

You won't save a lot of money booking independent excursions in Alaska like you would in the Caribbean unless you are able to use a coupon from one of the coupon books. Unlike the Caribbean, tour operators in Alaska really only have about 5 months (at the most) to make any kind of money. The biggest appeal to the independent operators is definitely the small group and more personalized service.

 

In Icy Strait, we took a whale watch cruise with Glacier Winds and it was FABULOUS! It was just my family (5 of us) and the boat owner. We started off in the area where all the cruise line tours were and saw some whales - mainly the backs and tails, no breaches. When the whales we were watching there went under, the other tour boats left while Sean (the boat owner) took us to another area. We were the only ones there and we were treated to a baby whale practicing his breaches, tail slaps & fin slaps. My husband was using the sport mode on the camera and actually got the whole "sequence" of a whale breach not once, but twice! Sean said that he's had customers go out with him every year for several years and never even get one whole sequence. Totally worth the $165/person that we paid. Heck I'd have paid over $200/person for what we got.

[piglet33]

We're taking our first Alaska Cruise in August. I've done a lot of research both on here and using Google. We booked a Whale Watch-Wildlife Adventure and Mendenhall Glacier Drop-off with Adventures in Alaska for when we're in Juneau. For Skagway, we booked the Yukon Rail & Bus Excursion With 15-Minute Dogcart Ride & Lunch through Chilkoot Charters & Tours. Both were quite a bit cheaper than booking through the cruiseline. I heard lots of good things about both of those vendors & decided to go for it. We're just going to walk around and wing it when we're in Ketchikan.

 

Some places that I contacted did tell me that they are booked by the cruiseline, and I have to go through them for any reservations.

 

Good Luck!

Edited February 19, 2014 by piglet33

[ozziebound]

My wife and I are on celebrity century in July. I just emailed glacier winds on your recommendation, oldmissreb.

I'm looking at adventures in Alaska for Juneau but I'm wondering if doing both will be overkill (since they're both whale watching tours).

Any thoughts?

[hokies111]

Thanks for the recommendations , I looked at the coupon books but all of the good deals say (1 per a charter), which I assume means per each outing they will only let one person with a coupon . Didn't want to waste my money and worry about availability. I bit the bullet and booked icy straight whale adventures ($165 well reviewed 6 person boats ). $10 cheaper than celebrity, (unless celeb includes tax) though the cancelation policies are less lenient. I think technically if the port gets canceled I still have to pay them half, or full if less than 2 days notice.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[olemissreb]

My wife and I are on celebrity century in July. I just emailed glacier winds on your recommendation, oldmissreb.

I'm looking at adventures in Alaska for Juneau but I'm wondering if doing both will be overkill (since they're both whale watching tours).

Any thoughts?

 

Since I knew we were doing the whale watching in Icy Strait, we decided to walk around town and take the tram to the top of Mt. Roberts. Originally, we were going to take the blue bus to Mendenhall Glacier and walk some of the trails out there. It was sunny when we were in Juneau, so taking the tram worked out - and we got to see the harbor with the ship in it as well as bald eagles soaring right outside the window where we were eating lunch. Next time though, we'll head out to Mendenhall.

[Juicy2143]

I recently contacted Island Wings (got the name from somewhere on this site) and they are quoting $239.00 per person for a 2 hour Misty Fjords National Monument. Has anyone done this and is this a good deal or would another floatplane trip be better?

 

Due to budget, we can only do one high dollar excursion this trip and it was either this or whale watching and my concern with whale watching is sea sickness if it got choppy.

[olemissreb]

I recently contacted Island Wings (got the name from somewhere on this site) and they are quoting $239.00 per person for a 2 hour Misty Fjords National Monument. Has anyone done this and is this a good deal or would another floatplane trip be better?

 

Due to budget, we can only do one high dollar excursion this trip and it was either this or whale watching and my concern with whale watching is sea sickness if it got choppy.

 

We did this in Ketchikan and it was PHENOMENAL! The scenery was breathtaking and Michelle (the pilot) had this perfect soundtrack playing over the headphones as we flew. It bring tears to my eyes when I think about it. My youngest son was on crutches and the whole Island Wings staff was so accommodating helping him get into the plane. Michelle landed in a quieter cove than she normally does so that my son could still get out and "crutch" around on the land. The area where she landed was stunning! This was probably our best excursion of the 2 weeks we spent in Alaska and well worth the money.

 

The plane carries 7 total people including the pilot. For our trip, it was my family of 5 plus one other gentleman from a different cruise. My oldest son got to sit in the co-pilots seat on the way back. He wants to major in Aerospace Engineering at Auburn this fall and he also wants to get his pilot's license. Michelle was so awesome giving him tips on how to go about choosing a flight instructor. She got her pilot's license at age 17 so could relate to my 18yo son.

 

If you can book with Michelle at Island Wings - do it! Don't hesitate because her excursions fill up fast. Plus per FAA regulations, she's only allowed to fly so many hours per day and she strictly adheres to it.

 

As for sea sickness, I too usually get a little green around the gills. I read here on CC that many people start taking Bonine or Dramamine several days in advance to get it in their system and they have no problems. I did this and it worked like a charm. The medication usually makes me drowsy (even when labeled non-drowsy), so I would take it at night just before bed and it helped me get some really great nights of sleep.

Edited February 21, 2014 by olemissreb

[Juicy2143]

We did this in Ketchikan and it was PHENOMENAL! The scenery was breathtaking and Michelle (the pilot) had this perfect soundtrack playing over the headphones as we flew. It bring tears to my eyes when I think about it. My youngest son was on crutches and the whole Island Wings staff was so accommodating helping him get into the plane. Michelle landed in a quieter cove than she normally does so that my son could still get out and "crutch" around on the land. The area where she landed was stunning! This was probably our best excursion of the 2 weeks we spent in Alaska and well worth the money.

 

The plane carries 7 total people including the pilot. For our trip, it was my family of 5 plus one other gentleman from a different cruise. My oldest son got to sit in the co-pilots seat on the way back. He wants to major in Aerospace Engineering at Auburn this fall and he also wants to get his pilot's license. Michelle was so awesome giving him tips on how to go about choosing a flight instructor. She got her pilot's license at age 17 so could relate to my 18yo son.

 

If you can book with Michelle at Island Wings - do it! Don't hesitate because her excursions fill up fast. Plus per FAA regulations, she's only allowed to fly so many hours per day and she strictly adheres to it.

 

As for sea sickness, I too usually get a little green around the gills. I read here on CC that many people start taking Bonine or Dramamine several days in advance to get it in their system and they have no problems. I did this and it worked like a charm. The medication usually makes me drowsy (even when labeled non-drowsy), so I would take it at night just before bed and it helped me get some really great nights of sleep.

 

Thanks so much for the info. I think I will pick the floatplane. She did email me and said they had availability when we would be there. I think I better book now just in case.

[MNfamilycruiser]

We did this in Ketchikan and it was PHENOMENAL! The scenery was breathtaking and Michelle (the pilot) had this perfect soundtrack playing over the headphones as we flew. It bring tears to my eyes when I think about it. My youngest son was on crutches and the whole Island Wings staff was so accommodating helping him get into the plane. Michelle landed in a quieter cove than she normally does so that my son could still get out and "crutch" around on the land. The area where she landed was stunning! This was probably our best excursion of the 2 weeks we spent in Alaska and well worth the money.

 

The plane carries 7 total people including the pilot. For our trip, it was my family of 5 plus one other gentleman from a different cruise. My oldest son got to sit in the co-pilots seat on the way back. He wants to major in Aerospace Engineering at Auburn this fall and he also wants to get his pilot's license. Michelle was so awesome giving him tips on how to go about choosing a flight instructor. She got her pilot's license at age 17 so could relate to my 18yo son.

 

If you can book with Michelle at Island Wings - do it! Don't hesitate because her excursions fill up fast. Plus per FAA regulations, she's only allowed to fly so many hours per day and she strictly adheres to it.

 

As for sea sickness, I too usually get a little green around the gills. I read here on CC that many people start taking Bonine or Dramamine several days in advance to get it in their system and they have no problems. I did this and it worked like a charm. The medication usually makes me drowsy (even when labeled non-drowsy), so I would take it at night just before bed and it helped me get some really great nights of sleep.

 

I am so excited now - we booked with Island Wings too - I haven't heard such a wonderful description of the tour before - just that it was one of the best. Thank you - only 91 days :D to go.

[hokies111]

I was also looking at Float Planes in Ketch, as well as Helicopter Tours in Juneau. (as my second splurge after whale watching). The only negative thing I've found in my research about the float plane, is that it seems that people who have done both typically say they prefer the helicopter tour. (even though it gives much shorter flight time per a dollar). Still trying to decide.

 

Apparently you can charter a helicopter in Jeanu, split the cost with 5-6 people, and get a fairly decent rate. Not sure how feasible it would be to try to organize this on my roll call in terms of reservation/payments.

[olemissreb]

Thanks so much for the info. I think I will pick the floatplane. She did email me and said they had availability when we would be there. I think I better book now just in case.

 

I am so excited now - we booked with Island Wings too - I haven't heard such a wonderful description of the tour before - just that it was one of the best. Thank you - only 91 days :D to go.

 

 

Enjoy your tours with Michelle. If you can find out what songs she had in her "soundtrack", please come back and let me know. I remember some of the songs were from the album "Secret Garden" by the group "Secret Garden" and some from "Out of Africa". I really wish she could find a way to give everyone a copy of that music without running up against copyright issues. I would so pay extra for it because it would take me back to our day in Misty Fjords National Monument.

[MNfamilycruiser]

Enjoy your tours with Michelle. If you can find out what songs she had in her "soundtrack", please come back and let me know. I remember some of the songs were from the album "Secret Garden" by the group "Secret Garden" and some from "Out of Africa". I really wish she could find a way to give everyone a copy of that music without running up against copyright issues. I would so pay extra for it because it would take me back to our day in Misty Fjords National Monument.

 

I just emailed them now :D I thought it might be easier than me trying to remember and write down during the tour.

[olemissreb]

I just emailed them now :D I thought it might be easier than me trying to remember and write down during the tour.

 

I thought I had emailed them when we got back, but I can't find where I did and thought it might be a little too late now since it's been almost 8 months since we took the tour. :o

[MNfamilycruiser]

I thought I had emailed them when we got back, but I can't find where I did and thought it might be a little too late now since it's been almost 8 months since we took the tour. :o

 

It can't hurt to ask - so I did :D

[MNfamilycruiser]

I thought I had emailed them when we got back, but I can't find where I did and thought it might be a little too late now since it's been almost 8 months since we took the tour. :o

 

 

I guess it isn't the same each trip - I got a response saying that we could ask what was played after our tour.

[olemissreb]

I guess it isn't the same each trip - I got a response saying that we could ask what was played after our tour.

 

Darn! I guess I'll have to email them and see if they can remember what was played back in June of last year.