Tours you can't book ahead of time?

[OneTwoThreeFourFive]

As I've been looking into what to do in Alaska with my family, I've been running across what seem to be a variety of significantly cheaper (especially for our group size) tours available only once you get off the ship.

 

Sitka apparently has a $10/person shuttle that goes to the raptor center and bear fortress.

Juneau has taxis that will take you to the Mendenhall glacier.

Icy Strait Point seems to be different?  They appear to encourage you to book through the ship.

Victoria appears to have multiple tour operators that charge a group rate rather than per-person both in and just outside the dock.

 

This would save us quite a bit of money and potentially get us more personalized service.  What worries me about going this route is the lack of information, and the chance that whatever we want will be sold out or otherwise unavailable that day, and we'll be completely out of luck.

For those who have already done an Alaska cruise, especially if you've gone the walk-up route rather than booking through the ship, what can you share?  Is it worth the risk?  Are the vendors ever just not there?  Are there any other vendors I should know about?  Are there any port guides that include the vendor booths?

Edited April 23, 2023 by OneTwoThreeFourFive
Formatting

[CruiserBruce]

There is always the possibility of them being sold out. First of all, some sights, locations or activities have capacity limits. Secondly, Alaska is heavily dependent on seasonal labor coming in from outside of Alaska...and it hasn't returned well since Covid, so there can be fewer services offered.

[oaktreerb]

Icy Strait is available to explore without excursions.  Whale watching should be arranged in advance.  The zip line may be a walk up adventure.  You can always walk down the road to Hoonah.

 

There is a bus in Juneau that goes to Mendenhall.  Look online at the Juneau visitor’s bureau.  If you have a national park pass, take it for entrance to the visitor’s center.

 

Don’t know how long you are in Victoria.  It is an easy walk down to the inner harbor which is beautiful and interesting.    Most stops in Victoria are very short.  

[jas283a]

We did Mendenhall walk-up. There was plenty of other buses, didn’t seem like a problem. Granted this was pre-COVID. Grabbed a car in Victoria, it was fine.