If these were your stops...

[TheCalicoCat]

At which ones would you choose to take a ship day?

(I have expensive plans in Ketchikan & Kodiak, so they are not on the list, also missing are Tracy Arm & Hubbard Glacier as they are cruising days.)

Juneau

Icy Strait Point

Anchorage

Homer

Sitka

& Victoria

 

What would you do in those ports that makes you think I am nuts for even considering not taking an excursion. (Caveat, I am not interested in Cultural or food based excursions - strictly nature for this girl.)

 

By "ship day" that does not mean that I am 100% opposed to getting off & taking a quick look around - where possible (or a quick bus like in Anchorage)

[CowPrincess]

Our 14 day R/T Seattle last year cost so much, we maximized our time on shore :) Not everything was an excursion, though. My 8th trip to Alaska, so we did some "slice of life" stuff in Juneau and Ketchikan. However, we DID leave the ship and do something at each of the ports that we went to.

 

Why do you want a "ship day"?

[mapleleaves]

everyone has different interests and priorities . You really need to do some research and decide on WHAT to do and WHERE. Check your ship's excursion list for ideas. Look at past trip reports/ photojournals ( in STICKYs above) to get some great ideas. Look at the town web sites.

http://www.experienceketchikan.com/

 

There are budget friendly options at every port ... free, under $20 for a shuttle, or under $100.

 

Juneau has lots of options compared to Icy Strait, therefore many people choose to do their whale watching in ISP and do another activity in Juneau.

 

The harbor at Victoria is so picturesque ....Empress Hotel, parliament bldgs., rose gardens, Or walk from Ogden Point where the ship is docked and after about 15 minutes you'll come to Fishermans Wharf which is an active busy wharf, with sealife, houseboats, restaurants.

http://fishermanswharfvictoria.com/

[Alaskanb]

A few ideas. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/12/alaska_n_3429308.html

[oaktreerb]

In Alaska I would never take a ship day in port unless it was pouring rain or i was sick! I am always prepared to go out in the rain.

 

If you want inexpensive just take the bus into town in Homer. Stop at the Pratt Museum and walk into town from there. Or wander around on the Spit. The area is still beautiful and interesting and you may run into a moose in town.

 

Sitka should be a tender port. Take a walk. It is beautiful.

[martincath]

Sitka and Victoria are both places that, to me, it's the folks who take an excursion out of town who made the wrong choice! YMMV though, since both offer buttloads on the 'culture/historic' side of things to see walking around rather than 'nature', for generally very modest prices or free (Victoria has a couple of spendier options but with CAN$ sucking hard even they will seem cheap to you).

 

You could do the Raptor Center and Fortress of the Bear in Sitka on foot or by a cheap bus, plus entrance fees; obviously captive rather than a truly wild animal experience, but these may work for you - I guess it depends exactly how you personally define acceptable 'nature' activities!

 

Whalewatching out of Victoria is also a steal compared to any Alaskan port, though still not a negligible cost at c.US$90pp - but your port times need to be carefully considered, as a lot of Victoria stops are token PVSA compliance visits for just a few hours. Unless you have 5+ hours scheduled in Victoria, and arrive by 4pm, I doubt you can feasibly take an independent 3 hour whalewatch - and ship-sponsored ones can be shorter with correspondingly lower chances of encounters (unlike Juneau/ISP there are no money-back guarantees here, since Orcas range far & wide - instead all the tour companies give you as many free rides as you need to actually see whales, which is no use to you you are only in town for one day).

[Budget Queen]

What is fantastic about Alaska cruising is EVERY port is very worth while to see, and very different from the others. (unlike the Caribbean which always seems to have a crappy port included in itineraries :) )

 

I would also suggest- IF you are not going to be viewing Kodiak Bears- then consider doing your bear tour out of Homer or Anchorage where you have longer port days, as an example. I believe there was a nice local tour in Kodiak mentioned on this board???

 

Reading through your shore excursion list, has good concise descriptions that I'd suggest you make any lists of something you like to do.

 

You can certainly do as much or little as you like. If you want a ship day- then maybe rank your interests and preferences?

[TheCalicoCat]

Our 14 day R/T Seattle last year cost so much, we maximized our time on shore :) Not everything was an excursion, though. My 8th trip to Alaska, so we did some "slice of life" stuff in Juneau and Ketchikan. However, we DID leave the ship and do something at each of the ports that we went to.

 

Why do you want a "ship day"?

 

We really like the quiet relaxation & reflection... No hustle & bustle or watching the time to make sure we make it back, etc. (We don't partake of the evening adventures - early to bed, so that is the only time for us to just be.)

[TheCalicoCat]

My son has recently shown an interest in whale watching - so I guess that could be an ISP activity...

 

It's still early - I don't want to jam a whole lot of stuff in just because.

 

& I am booking 2 bear excursions - one in Kodiak & one in Ketchikan. (Fortress of the Bear in Sitka was going to be our fall back, but I don't want to "plan" it since we should be there during prime bear season in 2 prime viewing locations...)

 

I like hiking, but I have found that that doesn't work well with "What time is it? What time do we have to be back at the ship? Packing appropriate gear, getting to a trail head, having transport there when you need to get back, etc."

Edited January 11, 2016 by TheCalicoCat

[CowPrincess]

Juneau

Icy Strait Point

Anchorage

Homer

Sitka

& Victoria

 

As BQ mentioned, there isn't a "loser" in the bunch, sorry. Every port has something to offer, though given your

 

I am not interested in Cultural or food based excursions - strictly nature for this girl.

 

Victoria is probably the least likely to appeal to you. It is a city. What we did would likely hold no charm for you. Walked to Fisherman's Wharf, took the water taxi to the downtown area, did some sightseeing. Then we strolled back to the ship. That isn't to say that there is nothing else to do; friends did a whale watch and enjoyed it a lot.

 

On one trip to Alaska I did a "ship day" in Juneau and regretted it, despite enjoying the peace and quiet onboard.

 

Since Anchorage and Juneau are the longest stops, if I remember correctly, you could do "something" in those ports, then spend the majority of your time in port onboard.

 

You're going in 2017, right? That gives you lots of time to investigate all the options at all these ports.

 

Of course, you are the only one(s) who have to be happy with your decisions :) but right now, early in the planning stage, I think you owe it to yourself to have a good long look at everything that each port offers. JMHO of course.

[Alaskanb]

You're going in 2017, right? That gives you lots of time to investigate all the options at all these ports.

 

Of course, you are the only one(s) who have to be happy with your decisions :) but right now, early in the planning stage, I think you owe it to yourself to have a good long look at everything that each port offers. JMHO of course.

 

So agree with Cow Princess and BQ....

I understand the need to make bear excursion reservations early but there is lots more to the nature of Alaska than bears. Take your time and research what constitutes Alaska. Much of it's culture is determined by it's geology, geography, and natural history.

[TheCalicoCat]

So agree with Cow Princess and BQ....

I understand the need to make bear excursion reservations early but there is lots more to the nature of Alaska than bears. Take your time and research what constitutes Alaska. Much of it's culture is determined by it's geology, geography, and natural history.

 

Good Point

& I should have discussed it with my travel partner, because he has made plans himself (gee thanks for mentioning it to mom.):rolleyes:

DSCF8195 by Amy S, on Flickr

He'll be 8.5 on our next trip & he loves geography - so the car rental in Anchorage is definitely worth our looking more closely at...

[CowPrincess]

Good Point

& I should have discussed it with my travel partner, because he has made plans himself (gee thanks for mentioning it to mom.):rolleyes:

DSCF8195 by Amy S, on Flickr

He'll be 8.5 on our next trip & he loves geography - so the car rental in Anchorage is definitely worth our looking more closely at...

 

The 1964 Alaska earthquake and the changes it made to the landscape, might be of interest to him. There are lots of places along the highway between Anchorage and the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center where you can see very dramatic shifts in the landscape. I would think there has to be some sort of road guide thing that would discuss what happened in the various areas.

 

Just a thought :)

[donaldsc]

We really like the quiet relaxation & reflection... No hustle & bustle or watching the time to make sure we make it back, etc. (We don't partake of the evening adventures - early to bed, so that is the only time for us to just be.)

 

Just my opinion but AK is not the place you go to for relaxing. There is too much to see and every port is different. Also, you do not have to take expensive tours or even any tours to see stuff at your port stops. Most of the ports are smaller towns that you can walk to stuff.

 

DON

[Alaskanb]

Good Point

& I should have discussed it with my travel partner, because he has made plans himself (gee thanks for mentioning it to mom.):rolleyes:

DSCF8195 by Amy S, on Flickr

He'll be 8.5 on our next trip & he loves geography - so the car rental in Anchorage is definitely worth our looking more closely at...

Oh my-- he will have a great time exploring glaciation, volcanoes (Sitka) and earthquakes. If I recollect correctly there are lots of info signs along the road to Matanuska glacier and along Turnagain Arm. Do make your car rental reservation early to get a good price.

http://www.alaskakids.org/index.cfm/know-alaska/Alaska-Geography

Perhaps you could show him how Alaskan culture is influenced by it's geography. One of our favorite mementos of our 2012 cruise are prints of various animals depicted in native style. We met the artist who was very generous. http://www.crazywolfstudio.com/art.html

Edited January 11, 2016 by Alaskanb

[geoherb]

We've stayed on the ship in Victoria both times we took cruises that included it. In our case, the short time frame wasn't worth getting off the ship. Plus the fact that we had spend two nights there a few years before our first cruise there, so we had already seen the major tourist spots.

[arctickitty]

[quote name=

 

I like hiking, "[/quote]

 

 

Icy Strait Point has a short "Nature Walk" right near the dock. There is also beach walking right there. There is also a lovely sidewalk all the way to town, right along the water. It's not "hiking" but its great walking. Once you get to town, there are some parks, and there's hardly any traffic off the main roads. You can go up in the hills via side roads or even steps. If you kept walking toward the edge of town you get to some information panels about forests and then later about the early homesteaders. I remember lots of big, beautiful trees. I got an app for my iphone that had maps of Hoonah on it and also picked up a town map somewhere along the way.

[TheCalicoCat]

Icy Strait Point has a short "Nature Walk" right near the dock. There is also beach walking right there. There is also a lovely sidewalk all the way to town, right along the water. It's not "hiking" but its great walking. Once you get to town, there are some parks, and there's hardly any traffic off the main roads. You can go up in the hills via side roads or even steps. If you kept walking toward the edge of town you get to some information panels about forests and then later about the early homesteaders. I remember lots of big, beautiful trees. I got an app for my iphone that had maps of Hoonah on it and also picked up a town map somewhere along the way.

 

Thanks - this is more up my alley. :)