July 27 Alaska/Holland America

[cruiserdeb1]

We'll be on the Oosterdam with two teenagers. We're all experienced cruisers but Alaska is new to us. Other than knowing we'll be bringing clothes for rain/shine/cold/warm weather, I'd love suggestions on enjoying Haines, Juneau and Ketchikan without breaking the bank on helicopter tours and all-day fishing excursions.

[nana51]

I'll be on the same cruise as you. The first night in Denali we are doing river rafting, then in one of the ports we are doing the Mendenhall glacier, also a bike tour in one of the ports, and my big splurge is a zipline. I'm not in front of my info right now but it is easy to look it up.

[PROCRUISE]

We'll be on the Oosterdam with two teenagers. We're all experienced cruisers but Alaska is new to us. Other than knowing we'll be bringing clothes for rain/shine/cold/warm weather, I'd love suggestions on enjoying Haines, Juneau and Ketchikan without breaking the bank on helicopter tours and all-day fishing excursions.

 

Did 20 days in Alaska (6/5-22) including land/sea tour with HAL. Can make suggestions and give info but have no idea what teenagers would find interesting, or how strict a budget you're on.

 

Haines: this is a TINY little "city" in the middle of no where, but beautiful in it's own right. If you simply walk around, there are about 6-7 shops to visit and there is an eagle museum. If you want a little adventure, one of the two tours we took here was Glacier Point Wilderness Safari offered through HAL. They take you by boat over to the Davidson Glacier. You go out in large canoes and go right to the glacier and walk around and on it. Great for photography and just sheer beauty. Lots of information given and a snack served. Another option would be the White Pass Railroad out of Skagway, also offered by HAL.

 

Juneau: Large town, lots of shopping areas. We walked all over the place in the late afternoon. We took a private tour with Dolphin Jet Boats to see Mendenhall Glacier and go whale watching. Nice small group of only 12 people. If you consider going to Mendenhall Glacier, you must consider how much time the tour gives you there. You MUST walk down and back to the waterfalls by the glacier and the walk takes a good 15 minutes + each way. This is why we picked this private tour because the HAL tours simply did not stay at Mendenhall long enough for us.Whale watching was great, saw lots of orcas, and enjoyed the small group.

 

Ketchikan: Our favorite stop, but then again we lucked out with sunny weather that day too. Lots and lots of shopping. Must walk over to Dolly House and old red light district (now all shops) because it is so photographic and interesting, In the late afternoon we took the Bering Sea Crab Tour - it was phenomenal!! If your teens have ever watched Deadliest Catch on TV, this is one of the actual boats filmed in the show. The boat also comes to a little area where they know eagles live and they throw out some bait. Within seconds you are surrounded by dozens and dozens of eagles going after the food. You'll be amazed and come away with outstanding pictures of eagles.

 

These are just some suggestions and I hope you have a great time like we did. :-)

[h&swells]

I agree with PROCRUISE the Bering Sea trip is amazing - the guys on that boat are so genuine and honest, and the tales they tell will bring a tear to your eye - had to bite my lip a couple of times so as not embarrass myself.

[aqua]

cruisedeb1, If you like adventure, consider Above and Beyond Alaska in Juneau. I discovered them when I was looking for an alternative to the helicopter tours. They have several day trips listed on their web site. My husband and daughter did the Mendenhall Glacier Trek and had an amazing time.

 

nana51, We also did the river rafting in Denali. We did the "Paddle Run" instead of the option where you just ride along. It was so much fun!

[Susie51]

Thank you for the info about the canoe trip to the glacier.

[KroozFoolz]

We'll be on the Oosterdam with two teenagers. We're all experienced cruisers but Alaska is new to us. Other than knowing we'll be bringing clothes for rain/shine/cold/warm weather, I'd love suggestions on enjoying Haines, Juneau and Ketchikan without breaking the bank on helicopter tours and all-day fishing excursions.

 

Lots of ideas in this thread from the Alaska port of call board:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2056307

 

You can find lots of great info over there!

 

When we walked around Haines, we went into the IGA grocery store - very interesting to compare prices and types of stuff carried to what we find in our grocery store back home in Tennessee.

Edited July 6, 2014 by KroozFoolz