Alaska - Would I miss anything by not booking excursions?

[NeepierRoad]

I'm taking my first non-Caribbean cruise in September to Alaska and wondered if I'd be missing anything by not booking any excursions?   They are quite pricey and I am a lowly solo traveler watching all my pennies. 😉

[rjrpar]

1 minute ago, NeepierRoad said:

I'm taking my first non-Caribbean cruise in September to Alaska and wondered if I'd be missing anything by not booking any excursions?   They are quite pricey and I am a lowly solo traveler watching all my pennies. 😉

Yes you will

[publicpersona]

You will miss practically everything unless you do excursions through the ship or independently. Alaska is nothing like a Caribbean cruise. It isn't going to be cheap. Hold your nose and pay for experiences you will never forget.

 

Includes days prior to the cruise to go up into Denali and do other Alaska touristy things. No, not cheap.

 

Take an air taxi to a Ruth's Glacier on Mt. Denali. Take a plane tour of the fiords. Take a train ride into Yukon. Go for a whale watch.

 

All of these things will be very expensive, but you will remember them in ways a $79 beach break in St. Martin can't supply.

[Kellie in Texas]

Yes, you'd miss a ton! But what ports will you have? Some have more availability of places to walk around on your own without an excursion. 

[firefly333]

Some ports you can book on your own. I booked a bus ride to a glacier natl park and enjoyed it on my own pace. 

[LindaD22]

It would be better to delay your cruise and save for the full experience with excursions than to go, sit on the boat and miss everything. While the scenery is beautiful, you will not truly appreciate Alaska until you go on the excursions and see all it has to offer. 

[Oceansaway17]

12 minutes ago, NeepierRoad said:

I'm taking my first non-Caribbean cruise in September to Alaska and wondered if I'd be missing anything by not booking any excursions?   They are quite pricey and I am a lowly solo traveler watching all my pennies. 😉

please do not say you are l lowly.  I too travel solo all the time including 4 times to Alaska.

I would say excursions are needed if not withing walking distance.

NOW, if you go to Sitka, you can walk after taking shuttle to town down by the water and follow a path to the national park and the Salmon hatchery.  No charge

If in Juneau, it is a great place to walk around along the water but do take the Mt Roberts Tram up for great views.  Ketchikan is also good place to walk around and I would pay and see the lumberjack show right near the port

 

I would say overall if whale watching, helicopter flights and other things are too expensive for you (and they are for me too) then think about my above suggestions.  If you go to Skagway and do not want to pay for the train, then at least walk around town.

 

Lastly, if you only plan to go to Alaska once, I would save up for another year and do a cruise out of Vancouver that includes a land tour.  But the 1 week out of Seattle is also nice.

 

[NeepierRoad]

Wow, I'm really glad I asked!  Thank you for the great advice.  

[smokeybandit]

11 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Some ports you can book on your own.

I've found the private tours to be just as expensive as the RC-sponsored ones in Alaska

[CruiserMickey]

7 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Lastly, if you only plan to go to Alaska once, I would save up for another year and do a cruise out of Vancouver that includes a land tour.  But the 1 week out of Seattle is also nice.

I would HIGHLY recommend doing your cruise out of Vancouver vs Seattle. From Vancouver cruises go between Vancouver Island and the mainland of BC. From Seattle, cruises go on the west side of Vancouver Island and the seas are much rougher.

 

As far as excursions, you really should try and see some of the beautiful countryside. My. Roberts tram…bus to Mendenhall glacier…are not expensive and provide amazing views without the cost of expensive adventure trips.

 

I have been lucky enough to do multiple Alaska cruises because I live an hour from Vancouver. But I have tried to see it the inexpensive way so I can go more often!

[Oceansaway17]

I love Vancouver too and was on the first cruise Ovation did in 2019 and going under the bridge.

There are more direct flights to Seattle.

Overall Alaska is not one of the places to cut corners on. I say to anyone, go when you can afford it without worrying each day.

[time4u2go]

27 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Some ports you can book on your own. I booked a bus ride to a glacier natl park and enjoyed it on my own pace. 

That had to be quite the bus ride considering that Glacier National Park is in Montana!

[neverbeenhere]

Having been many times, here are a few easy access things that weren't mentioned.

 

 

Ketchikan- Deer Mountain Fish Hatchery, Totem Heritage Center are a reasonable walk from the ship. Of course Creek Street.

 

Juneau - Also State Capitol Tour and a number of museums are close to the pier

 

Skagway - no tour need, the town has plenty to see

 

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by neverbeenhere

[firefly333]

1 minute ago, time4u2go said:

That had to be quite the bus ride considering that Glacier National Park is in Montana!

That's not what I said. I said a national park that had a glacier... a ... meaning generic.  I broke my right wrist and taking short cuts... reread   .... says a glacier national park ... btw I've also been to the one you mentioned... people love to correct when they misread. 

 

I didnt say the name of the one in alaska. Might be helpful if you posted it instead. Whatever. 

[zimmerman]

Depends what you want of a trip (and how deep your pockets are).

 

We did Alaska (from Vancouver) and  didn’t do any excursions, still loved it.

 

For transparency only a couple of the ports were particularly nice. So you would be cruising for the sake of cruising (not necessarily the stops).

 

we were lucky enough to see the glacier (I don’t think every cruise manages it).
 

We did a trip to a bear sanctuary in one of the ports and walked the Totem trail. The bear place was very reasonably price  (maybe $20 or something).

 

We got to see the salmon, seals and bald eagles along the way too. Saw some flashes of whales from the ship too and got an escort from a huge pod of porpoises on the way back to Vancouver.

 

Depends what you normally go for; I didn’t mind being excursion-less.
 

*We did do a whale watching trip out of Vancouver so that met that need. We also had two weeks doing lots of stuff pre/post cruise so maybe that help pacify us not doing excursions.

[Ferry_Watcher]

If at all possible, take a whale watching tour excursion.

[neverbeenhere]

If you ever go to Maui (or other Hawaiian Island) do your Whale watching there. (Especially May and Dec) - Much warmer ride

 

If the Hawaiian islands are not in your plans, go see them in Alaska.

[Tree_skier]

I have done both ship sponsored excursions and booked some once I walked off the ship.  There are deals to be had.  I'm familiar with the one that @firefly333 mentioned.  You can take a bus to Mendenhall Glacier and view it, the falls and the nature center all on your own for a very inexpensive price.  If I remember correctly, it was $20 for the return trip.  Stunning views and a comfortable walk around the lake to the falls.  Just walk off the ship and look for the kiosk selling tickets to Mendenhall Glacier.

 

Another option in Juneau is the Mt Roberts Tramway.  Easy and inexpensive to do on your own.

 

Also, as someone else mentioned Sitka. It has a few inexpensive options as well.  After getting off the complimentary shuttle you can walk to National Park and Salmon Hatchery.  A lot of nice sights there and a great outdoor experience.

 

ISP has very little to offer if you don't book a cruise line excursion.  

 

Ketchikan we only wandered the town and shopped.  It's a nice spot to do that if you want to save money of excursions. 

 

Skagway, I have only done ship sponsored excursions so I can't help you there.

[firefly333]

2 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I have done both ship sponsored excursions and booked some once I walked off the ship.  There are deals to be had.  I'm familiar with the one that @firefly333 mentioned.  You can take a bus to Mendenhall Glacier and view it, the falls and the nature center all on your own for a very inexpensive price.  If I remember correctly, it was $20 for the return trip.  Stunning views and a comfortable walk around the lake to the falls.  Just walk off the ship and look for the kiosk selling tickets to Mendenhall Glacier.

 

Another option in Juneau is the Mt Roberts Tramway.  Easy and inexpensive to do on your own.

 

Also, as someone else mentioned Sitka. It has a few inexpensive options as well.  After getting off the complimentary shuttle you can walk to National Park and Salmon Hatchery.  A lot of nice sights there and a great outdoor experience.

 

ISP has very little to offer if you don't book a cruise line excursion.  

 

Ketchikan we only wandered the town and shopped.  It's a nice spot to do that if you want to save money of excursions. 

 

Skagway, I have only done ship sponsored excursions so I can't help you there.

That's the glacier. I took a bus right outside the gate at the port.

 

As I said sorry I'm typing left handed, broke my right wrist. Could spend extra time hiking the trails doing it on my own. Lucky I'm making any sense. Mostly I also do ship excursions. 

[Tree_skier]

3 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

That's the glacier. I took a bus right outside the gate at the port.

 

As I said sorry I'm typing left handed, broke my right wrist. Could spend extra time hiking the trails doing it on my own. Lucky I'm making any sense. Mostly I also do ship excursions. 

I'm sorry you have a broken wrist Jane... That'll teach to stay out of the Skate board park! Get better soon. 🙂 

[shipgeeks]

We did a 10-night Alaska cruise and did one excursion (White Pass Railway).  It was the same price whether booked via the cruiseline or not.

The only other time we took any transportation in a port was the local bus to the glacier.

Honestly, the best part of the cruise, IMO, was just being on the top deck while we sailed, and the day the ship was in Glacier Bay.  I don't feel like we missed anything by not going on whale-watching, helicopter, dogsled, etc. tours.  We saw whales, sea otters, eagles from the ship as we sailed.

Where does your cruise go?

[dani negreanu]

10 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

You can take a bus to Mendenhall Glacier and view it, the falls and the nature center all on your own for a very inexpensive price.  If I remember correctly, it was $20 for the return trip.  Stunning views and a comfortable walk around the lake to the falls.  Just walk off the ship and look for the kiosk selling tickets to Mendenhall Glacier.

 

Same here, we've done it in our own with the public bus.

[mek]

15 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

If you ever go to Maui (or other Hawaiian Island) do your Whale watching there. (Especially May and Dec) - Much warmer ride

 

If the Hawaiian islands are not in your plans, go see them in Alaska.

I've done both and we had a nice experience in Maui, but IMO, nothing compares to the whales in Alaska.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, NeepierRoad said:

I'm taking my first non-Caribbean cruise in September to Alaska and wondered if I'd be missing anything by not booking any excursions?   They are quite pricey and I am a lowly solo traveler watching all my pennies. 😉

Yes. The only purpose of paying the high price for an Alaskan cruise is to see Alaska. You don't have to drop a ton of money on a float plane or helicopter, but you should find excursions that get you out of the ports

[Tree_skier]

8 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Same here, we've done it in our own with the public bus.

That is probably even cheaper.!