Princess cruise alaska, excursions

[Ed the sailor man]

We are embarking in Vancouver on Aug 13 for a 10 day Princess cruise to Alaska. We are taking a cruise with a land excursion to Denali. Cruise stops at Juneau,Skagway,Whittier,Glacier bay, College Fjord, Ketchikan. There are included excursions in Denali and Fairbanks.

 

There are a host of excursions at each port many of which seem very expensive and seem to offer tours of sites I assumed we would see from the ship""

 

I am looking for some guidance as to excursions at the above ports. What is quality and what is Hokey? Should we book privately? Most ship excursions are overpriced and include crab or salmon dinners. These do not seem to be a good use of time.

 

I appreciate any advice you can offer.

[Colo Cruiser]

Juneau-Taku Lodge flightseeing.

 

It was one of the best we have taken anywhere. ;)

[catmand]

Skagway if a history and/or rail fan the WP&Y R.R.

[sueandkent]

Check out the Alaska board under the Port Of Call area. We're going on our first Alaska cruise in Aug also and it's been a huge help to me. Lots of info on there regarding excursions, both private and ship sponsored. Yes, Alaska is EXPENSIVE for excursions. It took me a few weeks to get over the sticker shock. We found booking private excursions that involve prepayment or downpayment worked well as we've now paid for them over the past couple of months. Doesn't seem as bad this way.:eek:

[Cruiserkenn]

Skagway if a history and/or rail fan the WP&Y R.R.

 

Yes, the White Pass railroad is great for Alaska history and for wilderness sightseeing. A unique experience. Consider this one for sure if you are at all interested in the history of railroads.

[Cruiserkenn]

Yes, the excursions are expensive. You can have a great cruise without going on any excursions.

 

If interested, however, the whale watching tours in Juneau are wonderful, as is the wildlife tour in Haines.

[A.stew12305]

Don't bother with Liarsville, but the drive up White Pass was stunning and our driver/guide was great. The Mendenhall Glacier was beautiful, we just got one of the tours on the dock for something like $20pp and that got us over an hour at the glacier. The hike to the waterfall there was about 20 minutes slow walk each way and totally worth it.

[caribill]

If interested' date=' however, the whale watching tours in Juneau are wonderful, as is the wildlife tour in Haines.[/quote']

 

I also endorse both of these.

 

If you do whale watching, no tour is better than Harv and Marv in Juneau. It costs about the same as Princess, but only six people on the boat. Book in advance.