Short turnaround time between excursions?

[CruiseCriticNoob]

Hello,

 

This is my first cruise hence the noob question! :)

 

Our ship will dock in Juneau from 1-10pm and my husband & I are booked for the dog sledding tour at 5:45pm through the cruise line . I really want to do a whale watching trip and have been so far unsuccessful in finding one that would start at 1:30pm and finish by 5:00pm.

 

I found a company that has availability for tours at 1:30pm but will drop us back by 5:30pm. Is that cutting it too close? The company says they do such tight turns all the time and worse case can drop us off direct at the dog sledding vendor's office which is 15 mins away from the port.

 

Has anyone experienced something similar & feels that the risk is an acceptable one to take?

 

Any guidance would be helpful.

 

Thanks

Heena

[Krazy Kruizers]

JMO -- but you are cutting it too short.

There is always the chance that the first tour could last longer and you would miss the second excursion which you would not get your money back.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I agree with KK. That's too tight.

 

It's nice of the whale watch people to offer to drop you directly at the dog sled place, but that might not work. It's probably a very limited tour, and if you don't show up at HAL's meeting point, it's possible that someone waitlisted for the tour will be put in your place and there won't be a spot for you on the tour. I don't know if your ship's tour people do wait listing, but I've seen it on other cruises.

[take us away]

Also think it is too tight as tours tend to run late and unless you prearrange with shore ex about maybe meeting them at the dog sled place, you may lose your places. Maybe contact HAL's excursion office in Seattle and see what they have to say as this may be a repeat for them.

[TiogaCruiser]

In my experience the meet up time is not necessarily the tour start time in the shorex description. You may find your meet time is 15 or more minutes before the tour start time. And it may be shoreside or shipboard. This sounds too tight to me too.

 

Are there other options for dogsledding either in Juneau or another port?

(Just to clarify, we're talking about the dogs pulling a training cart, right? And likely a tour of the kennels? If you can tell us the ports and what the dog tour consists of we might be able to help find another similar shorex too. If that is something you would consider.)

 

(I found that on our first cruise that dog cart rides and "doggie socialization" was available at the place we stopped at for lunch in the Yukan. It just wasn't listed. The cost of the add on was about $40.). HAL offered a dog cart only shorex for more than double that.)

Edited June 1, 2016 by TiogaCruiser

[DaveOKC]

Usually the HAL tours want you to meet 15 - 20 minutes before hand (assuming a pier port).

[Hlitner]

Too tight....especially when you consider the price (ouch) of the dog sled tour.

 

Hank