Alaska and Inside Passage Excursion Question

[SantaFe1]

Does anyone have a price list for the excursions?  I’m particularly interested in Kenai Fjords, Icy Strait Bear Search, Skagway Vintage RR, Best of Juneau, Salmon Fishing in Sitka, and Misty Fjords in Ketchikan.  Also, any reviews of excursions taken would be welcome. Thanks!

[philw1776]

On Silversea Inside Passage our Misty Fjords got cancelled because of bad weather.  Seriously bummed.
Active cruisers might like  CHILLIKOOT FLOAT & HIKE ADVENTURE .  Hike uphill (with a hiking pole) and then down the trail 2.5 miles then finish with a fun float back downriver.  You can book it on your own.  They meet you at the dock.  They provide rubber boots for the float part and put your hiking boots in a waterproof bag.
Juneau I took the tram cable car near the dock up to Mt Roberts Tramway Station.  Hike the trails there on your own.  Great overlooks.  Some are easy.

[Pat FT]

We have been to Seward three times and Seward is a very beautiful small city with a free bus shuttle and inexpensive taxis.  Booking an excursion on your own would be pretty easy.  The Alaska SeaLife center is the included excursion and it is a wonderful but very small aquarium that focuses on research.  I would highly recommend an extra tour if you choose to go there (ie behind the scenes, or an encounter such as the sea otter encounter).  We have had the privilege of going on two different tours with Kenai Fjords National Park Tour and both were fantastic.  We saw whales, sea lions, otters and glaciers.  The buffet meal on Fox Island which was included in some of their trips is very good also.  We have also gone sea kayaking with Sunny Cove Kayaking and they have been incredible trips.  We kayaked next to a flock of puffins and right by an eagle eating its catch.  I can't really speak to the other ports as it has been a long time since we visited those ports except to say they are all beautiful.  Hope this information helps

[SantaFe1]

Thank you both.  We just booked this trip and I am being a mental traveler today, 8 months early.  We did an inside passage cruise several years ago, Seattle to Juneau.  So we haven’t been to the more northern ports.  And we are doing Denali before and then cruising southward out of Seward.  We can see the sea life center on embarkation day on our own.  I have always wanted to go to Kenai Fjords, but will look into doing a tour on our own, Viking’s are always about twice as much, which was why I wondered if anyone had the prices, for comparisons sake.  My husband loves to do a fishing trip, and was thinking of booking his own.  He did Viking’s fly fishing trip in Chilean Patagonia in February, but it was expensive!  Hope we get to do Misty Fjords, but we know all about missed ports and weather delays!

[dd57]

We did the Icy Strait Bear Search this July.  While I don't remember how much it cost, I do remember it cost the same as what is quoted on the Icy Strait website.  The excursion started with a school bus ride out to the river.  Along the way, the local guide described what is was like growing up there, and about current life.  After getting off the bus, there was a fairly short walk down to the river.  We stopped at several locations where the guide described the countryside (don't step off the boardwalk into the bog!).  At the river there were several decks to stand and look for wildlife.  We saw eagles and deer.  The tour after ours saw bears; you just never know.

 

In Ketchikan we did the boat based tour rather than the flight seeing tour because the boats almost always go and we had done flight seeing on a previous trip to Alaska.  While I'm sure the air tour is spectacular, it was still pretty amazing from sea level.  We had started with a 6-day pre-cruise extension starting in Fairbanks, boarded in Seward, and were pretty tired by the time we got to Ketchikan.  So a more laid back boat-based tour was perfect for us.   I don't remember the cost but it was within $20 of what booking direct would have been.  For both this excursion and the one in Icy Strait I figured out which tour company Viking was using and checked their websites for costs.  I have no idea if there are cheaper options with other tour companies.

 

 

 

 

[SantaFe1]

Thank you, all very helpful.  I am trying to get us bears, whales, glaciers, fishing and not repeat things too much.  There are several bear searches, but the Icy Strait one seems to work out best.  We also are doing the six-day Denali Explorer pre-cruise, so like you, will have spent nearly a week in Alaska before we even get on the ship.

[dd57]

In Juneau I went on the Photo Safari excursion which was run by Gastineau Guides.  We saw many whales breaching, diving, and youngsters playing around.  One 6 month old calf came up to another small boat to check them out, sticking his head up out of the water.  It was my favorite excursion.  You don't  have to be a professional, just interested in getting some great photos. Some people used their cellphones to take photos.

 

We did a Kenai Fjords tour several years ago and greatly enjoyed it.  The scenery is breathtaking,  you see many different kinds of wildlife, and it's pristine.  It is a better all around tour, and I would pick it over the Juneau one if you are only going to do one.  But we saw a few whales far away, unlike the Juneau excursion.  It depends on what you want.

 

Oh, we got to Seward around 4:30 PM on boarding day at the end of the pre-cruise extension.  So you only have the following day to do outdoor things in Seward.

[SantaFe1]

Thank you, all very helpful.  I am trying to get us bears, whales, glaciers, fishing and not repeat things too much.  There are several bear searches, but the Icy Strait one seems to work out best.  We also are doing the six-day Denali Explorer pre-cruise, so like you, will have spent nearly a week in Alaska before we even get on the ship.

43 minutes ago, dd57 said:

In Juneau I went on the Photo Safari excursion which was run by Gastineau Guides.  We saw many whales breaching, diving, and youngsters playing around.  One 6 month old calf came up to another small boat to check them out, sticking his head up out of the water.  It was my favorite excursion.  You don't  have to be a professional, just interested in getting some great photos. Some people used their cellphones to take photos.

 

We did a Kenai Fjords tour several years ago and greatly enjoyed it.  The scenery is breathtaking,  you see many different kinds of wildlife, and it's pristine.  It is a better all around tour, and I would pick it over the Juneau one if you are only going to do one.  But we saw a few whales far away, unlike the Juneau excursion.  It depends on what you want.

 

Oh, we got to Seward around 4:30 PM on boarding day at the end of the pre-cruise extension.  So you only have the following day to do outdoor things in Seward.

All very helpful, thanks.  Good to know that we can’t do anything in Seward the first day.  I thought about the photo tour, as my husband is a photographer.  But he has found on previous cruises that he is better than the tour, and doesn’t like to do them.  But this cruise looks to be wonderful whatever we do!