Alaska Tour/Excursion Recs from the Pros!

[Coral]

2 hours ago, Autumnz said:

Yes, but there is a limit to how much we can afford on this trip.  🙂  I did contact vendors in regards to Tracy Arm as times online are for 9am  departure.  We dock a 9am.  If someone can work with us- that sounds like a must do (although I worry then I'll be spending too much time on boats!).  

Tracy Arm tour is a priority for me. I pick a ship that has times that will make that tour.

[oaktreerb]

Denali is a national park and has much to offer beyond wildlife viewing at a distance.  The mountain and the topography are amazing.  There are educational programs and hikes offered at the visitors center and you can enjoy visiting the sled dogs that live and work in the park year round.  You can also schedule a visit to Jeff King’s Husky Homestead for a great encounter with his dogs that are trained to run in the Iditarod.   

Edited July 6, 2020 by oaktreerb

[oaktreerb]

Some cruise lines will let you transfer to a smaller tour boat as you are at the entrance of Tracy Arm and after your tour into Tracy Arm take you to Juneau to meet your ship.  From a smaller boat you get a different perspective of glaciers, huge chunks of ice floating in the water,  you may see whales, and we even saw a couple of bears along the shore.  

 

We enjoyed the floatplane trip out to Taku Glacier Lodge with the salmon bake in Juneau.  We flew over glaciers and were surprised to see a bear that came out of the bushes to clean up the grill drippings!

 

Actually, if you want to wander around town, that’s ok, too.  Skagway offers some great hiking trails.  Skagway is also a national park with a lot of information to share about the gold rush.

 

Ketchikan has Creek Street, married man’s trail,  some nice shops.  

 

Don’t stay on the ship.  Go out in the rain and wind and see how people live in Alaska.  Be really happy with a warm sunny day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Autumnz]

40 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

Denali is a national park and has much to offer beyond wildlife viewing at a distance.  The mountain and the topography are amazing.  There are educational programs and hikes offered at the visitors center and you can enjoy visiting the sled dogs that live and work in the park year round.  You can also schedule a visit to Jeff King’s Husky Homestead for a great encounter with his dogs that are trained to run in the Iditarod.   

Good to know!  Thanks!

[Autumnz]

44 minutes ago, Coral said:

Tracy Arm tour is a priority for me. I pick a ship that has times that will make that tour.

It's funny because when I was first booking a ship, I didn't want Tracy Arm.  Now, I do!  I do like a smaller boat experience (option) as well to see it as an excursion!

[Autumnz]

16 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

Some cruise lines will let you transfer to a smaller tour boat as you are at the entrance of Tracy Arm and after your tour into Tracy Arm take you to Juneau to meet your ship.  From a smaller boat you get a different perspective of glaciers, huge chunks of ice floating in the water,  you may see whales, and we even saw a couple of bears along the shore.  

 

We enjoyed the floatplane trip out to Taku Glacier Lodge with the salmon bake in Juneau.  We flew over glaciers and were surprised to see a bear that came out of the bushes to clean up the grill drippings!

 

Actually, if you want to wander around town, that’s ok, too.  Skagway offers some great hiking trails.  Skagway is also a national park with a lot of information to share about the gold rush.

 

Ketchikan has Creek Street, married man’s trail,  some nice shops.  

 

Don’t stay on the ship.  Go out in the rain and wind and see how people live in Alaska.  Be really happy with a warm sunny day.

 

 

We hope for sun, but we are happy in the rain too!  Can't wait to explore!  

 

 

 

 

[Coral]

3 minutes ago, Autumnz said:

It's funny because when I was first booking a ship, I didn't want Tracy Arm.  Now, I do!  I do like a smaller boat experience (option) as well to see it as an excursion!

I want Glacier Bay and then a long day in Juneau for Tracy Arm through Adventurebound with an 8 am ship arrival.

 

I have not had luck with Tracy Arm going via ship. Obviously the cruise lines have similar luck as me because most have taken it off their schedules. Tracy Arm needs a small boat experience.

Edited July 6, 2020 by Coral

[wolfie11]

You're basically spending a week in the Anchorage bowl area, where half the population of the state lives.  Personally, I get out of that area as fast as I can when I hit Alaska.  My personal choice is Denali for wildlife and scenery.  It's the only reliable place in Alaska to see the Big 5 (bear, moose, caribou, Dall sheep, wolves) and there are excellent hiking trails.  I also like Seward, Homer, and Valdez.  In Alaska,we say that the best thing about Anchorage is that it's only a half hour away from Alaska.

[rkacruiser]

7 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

I also like Seward, Homer, and Valdez.  In Alaska,we say that the best thing about Anchorage is that it's only a half hour away from Alaska.

 

Ah, you are being too tough on Anchorage.  Anchorage has interesting sites to visit for visitors.  It's an easy city in which to drive.  It has good dining (Glacier Brew House) and in some cases, unique establishments such as Moose's Tooth Pub.  I have visited Anchorage several times over the years and always find my visit worthwhile.

 

Seward and Homer:  yes, delights in their own ways.  I'd include Kodiak as well in that opinion.  Valdez:  my only visit was in 1996, so my memory is foggy about that community.  The oil pipeline and related facility is the only thing that really stands out in my memory.  

[oaktreerb]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

 

 

Seward and Homer:  yes, delights in their own ways.  I'd include Kodiak as well in that opinion.  Valdez:  my only visit was in 1996, so my memory is foggy about that community.  The oil pipeline and related facility is the only thing that really stands out in my memory.  

We were in Valdez on the Maasdam last year.  Not much has changed, I think.  We took an excursion to Worthington Glacier.   There was a bus that dropped people off in the very small town area.  To drive into Valdez on the Richardson Highway would be a very long but scenic drive.

[geoherb]

Ice Strait is one port I'd recommend an excursion because there's not much to it otherwise. I stopped there on my northbound cruise last summer and simply wandered around. There's a trail near the dock that's a very easy loop. They have converted the old cannery buildings into shops with some interesting museum exhibits inside as well that explain how things worked when it was a cannery. The road to Hoonah is an easy walk. But once you get there, there's not much to see.

https://icystraitpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Icy-Strait-Point-Map.pdf

 

The highlight of my day was having some great views of bald eagles.

 

Ketchikan was subbed for Icy Strait on my southbound cruise. It's another port where I walked around. But there are interesting things to see just walking around. I had not been up to the fish hatchery and Totem Heritage Center before. On previous cruises, I've been kayaking in Ketchikan, snorkeling, and taking a public bus to Totem Bight. All were great adventures. The snorkeling was my favorite out of all of these.

 

In Juneau, I took one of the shuttle buses from near the port area to Mendenhall. It was about $5 less expensive than booking the excursion through the ship. (There are also public buses you can take to Mendenhall.) The other advantage of the shuttle buses is that they run regularly every 30 minutes. You can stay at Mendenhall as little or as long as you want. On my second stop in Juneau, I went to the State Museum. It is wonderful. I ate at some of the food trucks recommended by my shuttle bus driver the previous week. On previous cruises, we've toured the Capitol (with a wonderful guide), kayaked at Mendenhall Lake, and taken the tramway to the top of Mount Roberts. The latter is something you shouldn't plan ahead of time because if you can't see the top of the mountain from the bottom, you won't be able to see much when you get to the top.

 

In Skagway, I walked to the Gold Rush cemetery and Lower Reid Falls on my first visit last summer and also did one of the National Park Service's tours. This time was Soapy Smith's saloon. It's always interesting to hear about the history. On my second visit, I rented a bicycle and road along Dyea Road. It was an enjoyable ride. I ate lunch at Olivia's. It's a little bit pricy but very good. On previous cruises, we've taken the ferry to Haines to kayak at Chilkoot Lake. That was an excellent independently booked excursion. We ended up with single kayaks and a guide. We saw several excursion groups from cruise ships with eight triple kayaks per guide. We had a great personalized experience instead of a crowded one. We ate at the Bamboo Room, one of Charles Kuralt's favorite places. I had half a Dungeness crab. That I can remember my lunch from 17 years ago tells you how good it was.  On another cruise, we rented a car to drive to Emerald Lake. I enjoyed the freedom of stopping along the way when and where we wanted. One of my favorite memories from that day was eating a few wild blueberries at one of the stops we did.

 

The priciest excursion I took last year was the 26 glacier boat ride from Whittier on my turnaround day. It was wonderful. I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing glaciers. We also saw a lot of wildlife. My favorite were the sea otters because of how close we were to them. We also saw bears, whales, and lots of birds. Viewing glaciers from a small boat is a very different experience than viewing them from a cruise ship.

 

[rkacruiser]

20 minutes ago, geoherb said:

Ice Strait is one port I'd recommend an excursion because there's not much to it otherwise. I stopped there on my northbound cruise last summer and simply wandered around. There's a trail near the dock that's a very easy loop. They have converted the old cannery buildings into shops with some interesting museum exhibits inside as well that explain how things worked when it was a cannery. The road to Hoonah is an easy walk. But once you get there, there's not much to see.

 

You missed seeing the cultural show and the rain forest tram ride?  I enjoyed both as well as the visit to the cannery museum and shops.  Did not walk to Hoonah; it began to rain and rain and rain... and I got back on the Amsterdam totally drenched down to my underwear.

[cvpends]

Lots of great plans, what fun!  Icy Strait Point is actually fun to wander around, but I would add in a whale watching excursion there.  Don't expect too much activity from those Musk Oxen -- they just stand around doing not much of anything -- but it is interesting to learn about them.  While in Palmer you might want to jog on over to Wasilla and check out the Iditarod Trail Headquarters.  I enjoyed that.

[Autumnz]

That sounds interesting!  Thanks!

[cat shepard]

OP, if I may butt in - where do you plan to stay in Seward?

[Autumnz]

We reserved The Vue 

[pizzalady1]

On 7/10/2020 at 4:43 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

You missed seeing the cultural show and the rain forest tram ride?  I enjoyed both as well as the visit to the cannery museum and shops.  Did not walk to Hoonah; it began to rain and rain and rain... and I got back on the Amsterdam totally drenched down to my underwear.

We were in ISP on 2016 and at the time, did not see any info about the cultural show and tram ride. Are these new since then?

[Budget Queen]

1 minute ago, pizzalady1 said:

We were in ISP on 2016 and at the time, did not see any info about the cultural show and tram ride. Are these new since then?

No,   the tram ride-  is the short,  loop around the "Icy Strait "-  "compound",       In the "compound",  there is also the "show" which includes  native dancing.    Has been there for years.   

 

But,  in Hoonah,  there is also the Carving Shed,  that is frequently being worked in for a look as well.  

[rkacruiser]

44 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

the tram ride-  is the short,  loop around the "Icy Strait "-  "compound",       In the "compound",  there is also the "show" which includes  native dancing. 

 

My tram ride included a ride into the rain forest and along the waterway.  Salmon could be seen jumping as we rode along the trail.  It was a one way, reach the end of the trail, turn around and return to the port area by the same route.  Really enjoyed it, the cultural show, visiting the former cannery museum and wandering through the shops and speaking with the vendors.  Because I "stayed too long at the fair" with rain forecast, I got thoroughly drenched when I returned to the Amsterdam.  Just part of my memory of Icy Point Strait that I enjoy!