NCL Alaska Shore Excursions

[PeterF206]

Conventional wisdom seems to indicate we're better off organizing shore excursions for our Alaska cruise (July 2015) on our own. Are there excursions offered by NCL that you think were awesome/terrific/don't miss and "worth every penny?"

[Cubechick]

Which ship are you on?? The itinerary will help with the answers you get.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Cubechick

[PeterF206]

Norwegian Sun, 7-day Glacier Bay cruise, northbound from Vancouver, with stops in Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau and Seward

[punkincc]

Conventional wisdom seems to indicate we're better off organizing shore excursions for our Alaska cruise (July 2015) on our own. Are there excursions offered by NCL that you think were awesome/terrific/don't miss and "worth every penny?"

 

What you say is generally true, but sometimes a great tour contracts with the cruiseline and you can get the superior experience with the ease of booking through the ship. An NCL excursion we took in Juneau, the Taku Lodge Feast & 5 Glacier Seaplane Discovery Tour is on our list of top 2 excursions ever, the other being the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tour in Kauai.

 

It is pricey, but the good thing is that the operator, Wings Airways, partners with many of the cruise lines, and the price to book through NCL is currently just $2 more than the booking price on the Wings website, so really no incentive to book direct for this one. Take a look at the pictures on their website. The flight over the glaciers, landing on the Taku River, the grilled salmon and chicken, all just top notch. $299 per person, 3 1/2 hours. If you are going to splurge, do it here.

 

Do your research on the ports and what is offered both independant and through the ship. Sometimes they are the same tours, but often, as with the whale watch tours, you will be in a big group, large ship, for the ship's tours while an independent tour with someone like Harv and Marv will get you a small group of 6, a small boat and a superior experience. Chilkoot Charters is a good one for Skagway, land and rail tour, I think 6 hours or so. And again, just about 6 of us. #3 of all time top tours.

 

Check out the Alaska board here in the Ports of Call section for lots of good advise on ports, tours and anything related to Alaska.

[Cubechick]

We really enjoyed the combo Mendenhall Glacier/Whale watch tour with NCL in Juneau. Although we weren't on a tiny boat, we didn't feel it was overcrowded and thought the tour operators were great. We also very much enjoyed the Mendenhall glacier stop, feeling that you had plenty of time to see what you wanted (although it isn't enough time to see both the botanical gardens and walk up to the glacier).

[www3traveler]

The Whitehorse train ride out of Skagway is a wonderful excursion. I booked through Norwegian. The trains are parked right off the ship. it is a very popular excursion that takes you on the mountain into Canada so you will need your passport for this.