Alaska Excursion Costs?

[antmaril]

My friend and I are booked on the Discovery Princess out of Seattle to Alaska in August, 2025.  I was looking at some of the excursions we are interested in and noticed that they have gone up considerably since last week.  Ugh!  We are sixteen months out from this cruise!  Are these costs just going to go up endlessly?  I was hoping we wouldn’t have to pay for them so soon, but I guess we don’t have much choice.  Do they ever go down?  Go on sale?  
 

I have been to Alaska twice (HAL in 2009 and Princess in 2012), but this is my friend’s first time.  I definitely want us to go to the Yukon and take the train back to Skagway.  That excursion alone went from $264.99 pp to $319.99 pp.  Yikes!  
 

Thanks for your thoughts.  Even though I know there are other options, I prefer to book the excursions through the cruise line.

Edited April 18 by antmaril

[karatemom2]

Princess excursions have become noticeably more expensive of late. If they do have a “sale” many have noted they raise the price first, only to reduce it via the “sale” to the original price. As time goes by and the cruise draws closer, the prices just seem to be going up exponentially. Excursion prices for our Norwegian fjords cruise this summer have gone up across the board, some substantially. 
 

My advice is always to book early if there is a particular excursion on which you have your heart set. 
 

I will say that our years of cruising in Alaska have provided a lot of experience with independent tours there. We much prefer them over ship tours unless it is something we really want to do and a ship excursion is the only option. 
 

Alsska is a very easy place to find exceptionally reliable private tours or even just to tour independently with a rental car for transportation. There is an excellent tour operator in Skagway that offers combined train and van tours called Chilkoot Charters as one example based on your interest in that excursion. Highly recommended and very well reviewed. 
 

I imagine this thread will get moved to the Alaska port board, but if not, I would encourage you to research there for lots of great advice and content for people planning Alaska cruises. 

Edited April 18 by karatemom2

[Senga]

Prices are up worldwide.  Our private Iceland tours for June are much more expensive than last year BUT.....isn't everyone, in every country, complaining about the cost of groceries?  If you're comfortable with only cruiseline excursions, bite the bullet and stop comparing prices to the good old days.  Those days are GONE.  Better to pay the asking price than come home missing out on experiences you were looking forward to.  

[NavyVeteran]

If you definitely want a specific excursion, book now. It might sell out. The price may go up. If, by any chance, the price goes down in a sale, you can always cancel and rebook if there is still room available.

[sherryf]

7 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

There is an excellent tour operator in Skagway that offers combined train and van tours called Chilkoot Charters as one example based on your interest in that excursion. Highly recommended and very well reviewed. 

I will second the recommendation for Chilkoot Charters. We have used them twice - once for the bus/train tour to Caribou Crossing and once for the Lake Bennet train/bus combo.  They are excellent and cheaper than booking through the cruise ship.  The best part is that they use much smaller buses so more personalized tours without the huge crowd.

[antmaril]

15 hours ago, Senga said:

Prices are up worldwide.  Our private Iceland tours for June are much more expensive than last year BUT.....isn't everyone, in every country, complaining about the cost of groceries?  If you're comfortable with only cruiseline excursions, bite the bullet and stop comparing prices to the good old days.  Those days are GONE.  Better to pay the asking price than come home missing out on experiences you were looking forward to.  

Thanks for your thoughts. Of course, I understand that prices are up everywhere.  In this case, the “good old days” were last week.  😁.   I guess I was just surprised at how much the excursion prices went up in a week, 16 months out from the cruise.   
 

I think we will consider Chilkoot Tours in Skagway.  I have seen them recommended many times here on Cruise Critic.  
 

 

[LeeW]

Also check AlaskaShoreTours.  Lots of offerings in many ports and we have used them many times.  DyeaDave also great in Skagway (and they can book car/train combinations into Canada).

[wolfie11]

14 hours ago, LeeW said:

Also check AlaskaShoreTours.  Lots of offerings in many ports and we have used them many times.  DyeaDave also great in Skagway (and they can book car/train combinations into Canada).

Dave died a few years ago and the company has been out of business since 2019.

[Coral]

I am going to encourage you to book independently. Chilkoot Tours has a great reputation. You will not miss the ship.

 

I personally will always try to book independently and have never missed the ship. You will be in a much smaller group (van vs bus).

 

https://chilkootcharters.com 

 

 

Edited April 20 by Coral

[Coral]

14 hours ago, LeeW said:

Also check AlaskaShoreTours.  Lots of offerings in many ports and we have used them many times.  DyeaDave also great in Skagway (and they can book car/train combinations into Canada).

This is a booking site. I prefer to deal direct with the vendor for tours.

 

As @wolfie11 noted, Dyea Dave is no longer alive. He had cancer and his tours hadn't run in many years.

[antmaril]

7 hours ago, Coral said:

I am going to encourage you to book independently. Chilkoot Tours has a great reputation. You will not miss the ship.

 

I personally will always try to book independently and have never missed the ship. You will be in a much smaller group (van vs bus).

 

https://chilkootcharters.com 

 

 

We have decided to book with Chilkoot.  Thanks.  

[Coral]

1 hour ago, antmaril said:

We have decided to book with Chilkoot.  Thanks.  

You will be pleased. I promise. I went with them again last year. People in your van will most likely come from your ship.