Alaskan excursions

[bigtony1963]

We are going on our first Alaska cruise in early may 2015. I was wondering what are the best excursions to go on and is it better to book through cruise line or on shore thanks Tony skagway, juneau, ketchikan, icy point straight

[VermeulT]

Tony - look through this board and a lot of the posts will answer many of your questions.

 

In sum - booking through the cruise line vs on your own - will not likely save you money but will likely give you a more personalized trip with less people.

 

"Best" excursion is very subjective. What do you want to do - how active are you - what are your interests - what is your budget....

 

No matter what - start investigating. Most excursions can be reserved now, and depending on how popular they are, you'll want to reserve your spot sooner than later.

[ken4556]

There is so much to do and see that your hardest part is going to be to decide which one to take. Pick tours that you want to do based on whether you want to hike or just sit on a boat and take in the scenery. For example, I love the show Deadliest Catch, so the Bearing Sea Crab Tour in Ketchikan was one of my favorites, but if you are not a fan of the show then it may not be of interest. You may also want to very what you do from port to port. See the whales in one port, see Glacier's in another, going hiking in another, etc...

 

You cannot see it all in one port day, so pick tours what you want to see and do the most. Make sure you will enjoy what you are going to do, do not do something because someone else enjoyed when you don't have the same interests.

 

In average, booking through the cruise line costs about $10.00 more per tour, but you have the option to cancel 24 hours in advanced with no penalty. You also do not have to worry if the ship is running late or has to cancel the port call. Just something to keep in mind if you book on your own.

[bonvoyagie]

Here is a great place to learn more about the various AK ports. www.cruiseportinsider.com

[Giantfan13]

Tony

 

I would assume this isn't your first cruise, bu the number of posts you have made here. So, do you usually book excursions with the cruise line you are on??> If you do, then just continue to do so. If you are like many here, who prefer to sort of go at your own pace, then a DIY itinerary is best for you. See what is offered in each port, and then check out which tour companies give you want you want to do, which are higher recommended, and which gives you the best bang for your buck. You can always just get off the ship and find vendors in most ports, ready to take you where you want to go. Most are good, but sticking to those recommended here will assure you of a great time.

 

For us, we never do any ship excursions. First time in Alaska, we did private excursions, and the second time, we just winged it on our own in each port, renting cars when necessary.

 

You have to do some research and some homework, we simply cannot tell you which are the best unless we know what you are looking for.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Cookiecookie]

I would always book direct rather an than with the cruise. Not because it's cheaper ( it's not ) but because it will be more personal and smaller groups.

[bigtony1963]

thanks to all the replys i have cruised a few times and booked excursions both ways. i am having trouble finding Alaskan port excursions except through the cruise line i am going to keep looking thanks

[grammyprf]

Google each port to see what they offer....tripadvisor also rates these.

 

Things to do...... Happy researching!:)

 

thanks to all the replys i have cruised a few times and booked excursions both ways. i am having trouble finding Alaskan port excursions except through the cruise line i am going to keep looking thanks

[VermeulT]

I'd suggest cruiseportinsider, tripadvisor, and each town's chamber of commerce (google the city).

[travgurl]

We are cruising next summer on Holland. After doing lots of research and reading reviews here are the excursions we have booked. In Juneau--Harv and Marv whale watching, Skagway--Tours of 98 drive up the Klondike highway all the way to Emerald Lake and in Ketchikan explore the town on our own. Check these out to see if they interest you. These excursions will allow us to experience and see a lot of Alaska. Hope this helps.

[Ginnyfyr]

We are going on our first Alaska cruise in early may 2015. I was wondering what are the best excursions to go on and is it better to book through cruise line or on shore thanks Tony skagway, juneau, ketchikan, icy point straight

 

Hubby and I are just off the Grand Princess. We hit all of your ports except Icy Straight. I booked all excursions through Princess this time because I just started a new job within the last month and didn't have much free time to research private excursions. Keep in mind that May is very different from September, so what we got to do may not be possible in May just due to nature! In Ketchikan we did the Zodiac boating through Ketchikan Outdoors, which was amazing! We had such a fun time. They provide you with all the gear to keep you warm (rubber pants & coat, warm socks, rubber boots, wooly hat, thermal gloves, rubber gloves) and even binoculars. We saw all kinds of wildlife, including a few humpback whales not far from our boats, so that was pretty awesome. In Juneau we booked the Mendenhall glacier + whale watching, which is run thru Allen Marine. Very professional people, very personable, super knowledgeable - you can't go wrong with these guys. We were lucky enough to come upon a whale who was breaching (coming up out of the water) and having a grand time playing around. Obviously you can't guarantee that kind of thing on every trip, but these guys know where the whales are and will do their best to ensure you get to see some wildlife; you can't go wrong with them. In Skagway we did the White Pass rail trip with a bus ride into the Yukon (and then back to Skagway). Unfortunately our train ride was mostly fogged out (what we did see was lovely!) but things cleared up for the ride into the Yukon so that was the highlight of this excursion. We visited Carcross and Caribou Crossing, where we did a dog sled ride (incredible!), enjoyed a delicious lunch, and had some fun playing with husky puppies, goats, horses and donkeys. We had a bit of time so our tour guide took us up the road to Emerald Lake, which pretty much made my cruise as I'd originally hoped to rent a car and drive there but none were available by the time I thought to do that. It was a stunning spot and I'm so, so thankful that she took us up there - one more thing checked off the bucket list!