Alaska - Would I miss anything by not booking excursions?

[Cruisechristi]

In my opinion and having cruised all over the world… Alaska is unique in that a lot of what you can see cruising is not available otherwise. There is so much beauty there and getting off the ship and exploring is fantastic. However, I am not always a fan of cruise sponsored excursions. Yes, I know if you are delayed, the ship will not wait for you. Yes, that is a risk. But there are so many opportunities that are not crowded with large groups. We actually rented a car at Skagway and drove up to the Yukon. I found about that idea from cruise critic. It was a wonderful way to explore and the highlight of our cruise. Alaska is one of our favorite destinations while cruising and hope to do another soon. 

[lenquixote66]

Alaska was my second favorite vacation in the 75 years that I have been traveling.I was on a 7 day land and 7 day sea and bought excursions in every port .

[celoplyr]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

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

In fact, I've found that not only are they as expensive, sometimes the private tours are more expensive than really good sale days on RCL.  I booked one for $150/person that was going for $250 with the company itself.

[Tree_skier]

4 minutes ago, celoplyr said:

In fact, I've found that not only are they as expensive, sometimes the private tours are more expensive than really good sale days on RCL.  I booked one for $150/person that was going for $250 with the company itself.

This actually ended up being true for me too.  I booked a really good deal for a seaplane glacier viewing flight on Royal cheaper than I could have bought it directly through co. that was operating it.  It pays to watch for bargains.  

[jean87510]

We went the Southbound route Seward to Vancouver.  We traveled via bus Anchorage to Seward. 

Juneau - took bus to Mendenhall Glacier and walked around.  Went back to port.  Did an inexpensive afternoon whale watch.

Ketchikan - took local bus to totem park.  Then to a hiking trail.  Then walked around town

Icy Strait point - Kayaking which was our most expensive excursion but great

Skagway - rented electric bikes.  Rode about 30 miles.  Probably my favorite excursion.

Haines - did my only ship excursion with a motorized kayak.  Loved it.

 

It was our 1st time.  We knew we would be back and we are in September 2024 for a land and cruise tour for my 60th.  I will do the helicopter then if I want to or a glacier trek.  I saw so many amazing things, animals, nature, I can't even imagine on our limited budget.  I still had a wonderful time.  We really didn't break the bank.  We looked at what was interesting to us and any DIY.

[cruiseguy1016]

3 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

We went the Southbound route Seward to Vancouver.  We traveled via bus Anchorage to Seward. 

Juneau - took bus to Mendenhall Glacier and walked around.  Went back to port.  Did an inexpensive afternoon whale watch.

Ketchikan - took local bus to totem park.  Then to a hiking trail.  Then walked around town

Icy Strait point - Kayaking which was our most expensive excursion but great

Skagway - rented electric bikes.  Rode about 30 miles.  Probably my favorite excursion.

Haines - did my only ship excursion with a motorized kayak.  Loved it.

 

It was our 1st time.  We knew we would be back and we are in September 2024 for a land and cruise tour for my 60th.  I will do the helicopter then if I want to or a glacier trek.  I saw so many amazing things, animals, nature, I can't even imagine on our limited budget.  I still had a wonderful time.  We really didn't break the bank.  We looked at what was interesting to us and any DIY.

 

That ride, with those views, would be worth the price if it was an excursion. Since it was part of the trip (getting from the airport to the ship) and didn't cost extra, it made it an even better deal.

[jean87510]

2 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

That ride, with those views, would be worth the price if it was an excursion. Since it was part of the trip (getting from the airport to the ship) and didn't cost extra, it made it an even better deal.

Unfortunately this was the only mistake I made.  We should have taken the train.  The bus was crowded with coughing people and was at the time we had to still test to return to the US.  It was a 6 hr tour with ACT from Anchorage to Seward with 2 stops.  I loved the views as it was amazing and I saw a lot of wildlife but was really uncomfortable.  I think next time I will spurlge for the train or just do the direct transfer.

[Ashland]

We've  cruised Alaska 5 times with RCI and our very first cruise there we had no excursions. Of course that has changed over the years but the first time there we were just fine with the cruise ... views and just the fact that we were in Alaska.

[Bella0714]

You’d be missing quite a bit by not taking excursions, but that’s not the question I would ask: “Should I still go to Alaska even if I can’t take excursions?” I’d say yes to that. It’s such a beautiful, otherworldly place. Find a cruise that spends a day in Glacier Bay. That alone will be worth the price. Take the bus to Mendenhall Glacier and walk the trails. You might see bears. Get out on the lower decks of the ship with a decent pair of binoculars and look for whales. Watch the beauty float by. 

[emeraldcity]

The Alaska Cruise was amazing, but it wasn't the cruise or the walks around various towns that ended up being the cherished memories we still savor. It was the excursions.

 

The train in Skagway, the small plane out of Talkeetna to land on Ruth Glacier on the slopes of Mt. McKinley, white-water rafting in Denali, 4-man zodiac boats we got to drive on a guided tour in Ketchikan, the glass-topped train from Denali to Anchorage. It was an incredible experience.

 

Determine what your goals are. I went primarily for the scenery, but I also wanted to get a feel for the history and the geology. The Visitor's Center at Mendenhall is a fantastic resource for helping understand the forces that create the glaciers. The Skagway train helps you understand the huge obstacles the gold rush miners faced in trying to reach the gold fields. The white-water rafting and the zodiac boats involved stepping out of our comfortable world and experiencing something of the wild and rough side of life that Alaska epitomizes. And the staged Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan turned out to be an incredible way to learn about how the skills of the loggers were developed to deal with the terrain and the environment.

 

Take a look at a map of Alaska and you will realize what an incredibly tiny portion of the state you will see when you skirt the edge on your cruise ship and step ashore in a few towns along the way. If you only ever get to do it once, will you have short-changed yourself if you skipped an excursion or two because it cost more than you were expecting?

[Ozark_Kid]

We visited Alaska for our 1st time last May. We cruised from Seattle. 

1st Juneau 

We did a whale watch excursion.  Seeing a few whales break the surface was OK but I liked the scenery much more.  I do not want to do that excursion again. Afterwards we enjoyed walking around town. 

2nd Skagway 

This was a great visit.  There are a lot of trails to hike.  After researching we decided to do the Yakutania Point Park.  It was beautiful. After spending time there we walked the town. We visited Klondike Doughboy.  Taste great! We ate at the Skagway Brewing Co.  The food is great. 

Here is one website to give you an idea of what trials are available. 

 https://www.nps.gov/klgo/planyourvisit/hiking.htm

3rd Sitka 

Here we walked to the Sitka Historical Park.  There was good scenery walking there.  Once at the park we walked the trails that were loaded with cool looking totem poles.  The trees were tall and beautiful.  The river that runs through it is nice and we got to view a few bald eagles. 

From the Park we visited the Alaska Raptor Center.  It cost a little but worth it. Next we walked through the town. It was a great day. 

4th Victoria 

We did an excursion to a so called castle.  It was a neat one and done but I was expecting more. 

I have to say I enjoyed the ports we did on our own more than the ones we did excursions.  Yes, you can miss stuff when you skip excursions but you will miss just as much doing them.  Take the time to research each port and you will find plenty to take in.  A word of advice, get in shape as much as you can before you go.  You will be walking several miles at each port. 

[Stayinggolden83]

6 hours ago, jean87510 said:

Unfortunately this was the only mistake I made.  We should have taken the train.  The bus was crowded with coughing people and was at the time we had to still test to return to the US.  It was a 6 hr tour with ACT from Anchorage to Seward with 2 stops.  I loved the views as it was amazing and I saw a lot of wildlife but was really uncomfortable.  I think next time I will spurlge for the train or just do the direct transfer.

The train is absolutely the way to go. I live in Anchorage, and anytime we have family or friends visit we always do the train to Seward. It makes the journey longer, but it's such a nice ride, and you also see scenery that you don't get to see from the road. 

[bonsai3s]

9 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

That ride, with those views, would be worth the price if it was an excursion. Since it was part of the trip (getting from the airport to the ship) and didn't cost extra, it made it an even better deal.

Agree...brought back fond memories.

 

Many years ago, we took a trans-pacific...Asia to Russia ending in Seward. It was almost unbearably hot and humid when we started in Beijing...but it was snowing hard the morning we arrived in Seward...everything white, covered with several feet of snow.

 

You should've seen the the top deck...half the crew playing like little kids...they've never seen snow.

 

We were supposed to take the train to Anchorage but ended up on a bus. We will never forget that most beautiful, magical, and utterly surreal ride.

[Joseph2017China]

Only excursions I took in Alaska was a Food tour in Juneau, which was awesome, and something you can't do on your own.  Most ports you can tour on your own, without a tour and save tons of money.  

[Peachestravels]

There are alot of free things to do in each part of Alaska. DH and I understand when you can't afford excursions. We had massive medical bills due to Cancer and could only afford the rooms and a few extras.. We have had a blast cruising and not doing any excursions. In Sitka you can go to Totem Trails, Harrigan Centennial Hall, St. Michael Cathedral, Castle Hill, and the beaches to look at star fish that come in low tide. 

In juneau you can do the State Capital Building, The Shrine of St. Therese, local hiking trails, local beaches, Russian Church, and downtown historic walking tour. They are all free also. 

In Ketchikan you can do Totem poles, historic walking trail, Alaska Discovery Center, Creek St., Settlers Cove, and Robert Beach. They are all free also. 

Alot of places offer free shuttle. 

You can make great memories for free. Happy Cruising!!

[TwinMamainMN]

We did NB Alaska Vancouver to Seward on Radiance in 2018 with our 3 kids (ages 10, 10 and 7) and my mom in her late 60s. The excursions were the highlight of the trip! Our 10 year old daughter needed wheelchair accessible excursions, and not the kind where you sit on a bus for a "city tour" as it would not interest her nor anyone else in our group except maybe my mom.

 

We flew to Vancouver a couple of days early to explore Stanley Park and Granville Island Public Market. We used Uber to get around.

 

In Ketchikan, we did the Bering Sea Fisherman's Tour on the F/V Alleutian Ballad to learn all about crab fishing, longlining and other ways to fish. We all enjoy watching Deadliest Catch, and this was the boat that took a huge rogue wave and capsized in 2016. Youtube has the video. They made changes to the deck and added seating. They had no problem accommodating our daughter's wheelchair and made sure she had a front row seat to everything. We also watched them feed some 20+ eagles and they parked her right in front of the railing, so her view wasn't blocked. 

 

In Icy Strait Point/Hoonah, we chartered a private boat with Glacial Wind Charters to go whale watching. It was the best and neatest thing I've ever done in my life thus far. We saw several orcas (including an orca calf!) and watched humpback whales bubble net/cooperative feed just a few yards off the bow of our boat. At one point, I felt a vibration in the hull of the boat, heard a new to me sound, realized it was the whales "calling" to feed, and saw humpback whales feed maybe 20 yards in front of our boat. Mouths wide open and hundreds of fish gulped down in a single swallow. You just can't duplicate that experience on land. Worth every penny!

 

In Juneau, we rented a mini van and drove to Mendenhall Glacier to explore on our own. The kids were fascinated and it was beautiful. Then we drove to Eagle Point Beach to explore and have a light lunch. Sadly, we didn't see any eagles, but the beach and view were amazing. We went on a tour at the salmon hatchery back in town before returning to the ship.

 

Despite what everyone claims is a "must do" in Skagway, we went against the grain and did not do the train to the Yukon. I knew our kids would think the train was cool for about 10 minutes and then be bored. We also knew that our daughter could not "walk" the train in her wheelchair and I had no idea how I would get her to the bathroom if necessary. We chartered a private van tour instead. We stopped at a huge suspended bridge to stretch our legs, use the restroom and have a snack. Wandered the tiny town of Carcross and had ice cream, and went to a Mushers Camp to see the sled dogs and ride a cart pulled by a team. I still can hear the dogs barking from excitement to run and our daughters giggles the whole time. Those dogs were fast!!

 

We hired private van transportation to get us from the ship in Seward to Anchorage. We spent one night in Anchorage due to flight times, and used Uber to go out for pizza and to get us to the airport.

 

Without these excursions, our Alaskan adventure wouldn't have been nearly as fun or as memorable. A once in a lifetime type trip and amazing memories forever.

[Tulsacoker]

wife and I took our first Alaskan cruise this past August....major regret on not booking excursions. It was our first cruise back since covid and all the excursions were either full of not to our liking. Book early please! We will be going back in a few years to right the wrong. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Tulsacoker

[cruiseguy1016]

To maybe help you understand the beauty of Alaska and what you might miss out on by not taking a few excursions, I'll relate what we did. We did our first trip to Alaska in 2017. We did a week on land (planned it on our own) going from Fairbanks to Seward to board Radiance southbound to Vancouver. We did so much on land but did not begin to scratch the surface. We had a great time on the cruise and got see and do so many things but knew we needed to see more of the interior. We went back in 2022 and spent two weeks on land seeing the things we didn't get to see the first time. Whether it's from the ship or on land, Alaska has so much to offer I would not recommend visiting without taking some excursions to see and do some of the things you can't do from the ship.

[shipgeeks]

OP, I believe you said you are already booked.  I'm wondering what type of cabin you have. The popular recommendation is that a balcony is a must; I say otherwise.  We were given a balcony on our AK cruise, and only used it once - for an hour or two - during the entire 10 days.  Being up on one of the open decks was fantastic; we spent most of our waking hours there.  If the weather was not ideal, a covered deck, or public spaces with big windows, was great, too.  That's how we saw a huge group of whales, plus lots of other wildlife, as well as just enjoying the scenery along the way.

If your cabin choice is not finalized, I would recommend saving lots of $$ by booking an OV or inside.

[Wasasalad]

Thank you for all of your responses on this thread! I have learned so very much! Now I’m ok with the price of tours! I usually do ship tours because I’m solo. On Holland America I would meet others on CruiseCritic and join private excursions! Not happening with Oceania! No one seems to do CruiseCritic! Three people have each posted once on the roll call. I’m booked July 21, 2023 Alaska and British Columbia Array. In 2024 American Cruise Line Alaska. 
So much to see!
 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Wasasalad
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[eileeshb]

I’m a solo cruising to Alaska in October and as I’m coming from Ireland it will be a serious mission of a trip. I am planning to book excursions at all the ports partly due to the port times.

I’ll be cruising with NCL so at Ketchikan their dock is way out of town and the shuttle buses back to the ship stop ridiculously early and for that reason alone I booked the lumberjack show because the bus back to the ship from that will be later than the shuttle.  
Ketchikan is the one port where none of the excursions particularly appealed to me as they were horrendously unjustifiably overpriced, $100+ to get to totem bight park (the place with lots of totem poles) which is supposedly walking distance from downtown! Apparently you can do it via public transport but the bus stop is dodgy to find near the NCL pier.
Thankfully the $50 excursion credit per excursion from NCL means I won’t be paying a stupid amount of money on the lumberjack show. It also fully covers the tram in Juneau in addition to the reduction in the costs of some of the other excursions like the railway in Skagway and whale watching in Juneau.

 

For me doing an Alaska cruise involves a full 24hrs of travelling to get to Seattle or Vancouver. 

[Northern Aurora]

@NeepierRoad:  While you haven't posted your itinerary (or may be I missed that post as I have just skimmed this thread), but it is important to have a plan of action for these ports.  All of the SE Alaska communities have a visitor's bureau (often combined with their Chamber of Commerce).  Use google to find their respective websites.  Lots of ideas on those websites.

[NeepierRoad]

On 1/10/2023 at 7:52 PM, Northern Aurora said:

@NeepierRoad:  While you haven't posted your itinerary (or may be I missed that post as I have just skimmed this thread), but it is important to have a plan of action for these ports.  All of the SE Alaska communities have a visitor's bureau (often combined with their Chamber of Commerce).  Use google to find their respective websites.  Lots of ideas on those websites.

I'll be doing the northbound itinerary on Radiance of the Seas.  I'm preparing a spreadsheet with all the great suggestions for each port.  While I may have to pick and choose what excursions I want to experience, I am very happy to read all the other wonderful choices and ideas that have been shared!  This most definitely is very different from cruising the Caribbean!  I really looking forward to it.

Edited January 12, 2023 by NeepierRoad

[cw2go]

On 1/9/2023 at 6:22 PM, jean87510 said:

We went the Southbound route Seward to Vancouver.  We traveled via bus Anchorage to Seward. 

Juneau - took bus to Mendenhall Glacier and walked around.  Went back to port.  Did an inexpensive afternoon whale watch.

Ketchikan - took local bus to totem park.  Then to a hiking trail.  Then walked around town

Icy Strait point - Kayaking which was our most expensive excursion but great

Skagway - rented electric bikes.  Rode about 30 miles.  Probably my favorite excursion.

Haines - did my only ship excursion with a motorized kayak.  Loved it.

 

It was our 1st time.  We knew we would be back and we are in September 2024 for a land and cruise tour for my 60th.  I will do the helicopter then if I want to or a glacier trek.  I saw so many amazing things, animals, nature, I can't even imagine on our limited budget.  I still had a wonderful time.  We really didn't break the bank.  We looked at what was interesting to us and any DIY.

 

@jean87510 Can you give me more info? 

 

Thx, Patty 

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, cw2go said:

 

@jean87510 Can you give me more info? 

 

Thx, Patty 

yes.  Klondike Electric bikes.  Google for their website.  There is a cool video.  I loved it so much we are doing it again in 2024.  It was $159.84 total to rent 2 fat tire Electric bikes.  These were really good.