Excursion Suggestion

[pajazz28]

DW and I going on a dream 10 Day Cruise Tour with NCL in June. Looking for suggestions on excurison at the following ports:

 

Icy Strait Point

Juneau

Skagway

Ketchikan (Ward Cove)

 

Things we are interested in whale watching, wildlife sighting, dog sleeding, food excrusion (seafood). 

 

Which port is better for certain excursion? Can we find excursion at the ports like for carribbean cruises? Which ports are better to not do  ship excursion and what kind of thing could we do in those ports? Are there any port you recommend a local tour instead of a ship tour? Any suggestion or information would be great. 

[Northern Aurora]

I will start with some ideas and others will also reply.

 

Icy Strait Point has excellent whale watching.

 

Skagway is all about the Klondike gold rush.  A number of the buildings are operated as museums by the National Park Service.  For train buffs there is the White Pass and Yukon Railway.

 

Juneau is our state capitol.  Some ideas include Mendenhall Glacier, our state museum, Sealaska Heritage Institute and the Mt. Robert’s tram.

 

Ward Cove is not in downtown Ketchikan which is a problem.

[Crew News]

Skagway - dog sledding.

 

[Crew News]

Juneau - whale watching

 

 

[JT1962]

14 hours ago, pajazz28 said:

DW and I going on a dream 10 Day Cruise Tour with NCL in June. Looking for suggestions on excurison at the following ports:

 

Icy Strait Point

Juneau

Skagway

Ketchikan (Ward Cove)

 

Things we are interested in whale watching, wildlife sighting, dog sleeding, food excrusion (seafood). 

 

Which port is better for certain excursion? Can we find excursion at the ports like for carribbean cruises? Which ports are better to not do  ship excursion and what kind of thing could we do in those ports? Are there any port you recommend a local tour instead of a ship tour? Any suggestion or information would be great. 

Icy Strait Point - Glacier Winds or Hoonah Travel Adventures for whale watching 

https://www.g-wind.com/

 

https://hoonahtraveladventures.com/

 

Juneau - If in port at least 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Adventure Bound tour to Tracy Arm Fjord / Sawyer Glaciers. Otherwise, the Whale Watching / Mendenhall Glacier Combo with Juneau Whale Watch 

 

https://www.adventureboundalaska.com/
 

https://www.juneauwhalewatch.com/ 

 

Skagway - The Bus / Train Combo tour with Chilkoot Charters

 

https://chilkootcharters.com/

 

Ketchikan - Ketchikan is easy to do on your own, but Ward Cove is further from town and will require the shuttle or taxi to downtown. Allow enough time to get back to the ship. Once in downtown Ketchikan, you can pick up a free walking tour map at the Visitor Center at the main piers in downtown.

 

 

[dd57]

I have always either reserved our excursions in advance or we did our own thing with public transportation, so I don't really know if you can get get an excursion at the dock.  But if you are at a port on a busy day with 3 or 4 behemoth ships in town, I would bet that all the tours are already booked.  There isn't a very flexible supply of tour options.

[Ashland]

Ketchikan...The Bearing Sea Fisherman's Tour. Price booking directly vs your cruise line.

 

This is an amazing excursion...our grandkids loved it !!!!

[lynncarol]

Agree that most independent excursions will be already full.  However, in Juneau you can easily purchase bus tickets near the pier to visit Mendenhall Glacier and Visitor Center and walk to Nugget Falls. If you have a National Park pass, use it to access the special viewing rooms in the visitor center.

In Skagway, take public bus and hop off at the train depot where you can walk to Gold Rush Cemetery and Lower Reid Falls. The Klondike Gold Rush NHP in town also gives a  nice walking tour, but you need to sign up in advance.  We hopped off the ship in the morning, signed up for an afternoon walking tour before heading to the Cemetery and falls.

[misguy]

On 3/16/2023 at 3:43 PM, Ashland said:

Ketchikan...The Bearing Sea Fisherman's Tour. Price booking directly vs your cruise line.

 

This is an amazing excursion...our grandkids loved it !!!!

Here is a video clip of the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's tour, and it is one of our favorites in Ketchikan.  

 

[misguy]

Here is a video clip from Whale watching in Icy Strait Point.

 

[zyx2008]

For Icy Straight Point, we went out with Glacier Wind and saw SO MANY whales.  It was great.

 

For Juneau, we were supposed to take a helicopter glacier experience and it was cancelled at the last minute.  Our backup as Mendenhall Glacier and a tour of a mine.  I loved the Glacier.  I wasn't a huge fan of the mine, but my kids and my Dad (engineer) enjoyed it.

 

For Ketchikan, we took a Princess tour that involved riding UTVs to a large waterfall and then went to George Inlet Lodge for lunch via boat (with someone pointing out animals and providing history).  This was great for a multi-generational group.  We also had time to walk around town before the excursion. 

[gottagoacruzn]

Hey Misguy, how long did you guys stay to watch the eagles? Inquiring minds would like to know.