Moving Beyond My "Sticker Shock" Over The Prices of Discovery Princess Excursions On My Upcoming Cruise to Alaska

[Rick&Jeannie]

15 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Yes, we were there in 2019 and it was a tad more pleasant.

 

Hah! Almost the exact same picture! 😄

[Speedy54]

13 hours ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

Go do some reading in the Alaska forum. There should be many ideas for you there:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

 

I will do so as you suggest. Thanks.

[Speedy54]

7 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Hah! Almost the exact same picture! 😄

Wow! My wife will have her eyes popping out.  Thanks.

[Speedy54]

9 hours ago, that said:

@Speedy54

“We have paid for one excursion, The White Pass Scenic Railway in Skagway, Alaska“

 

have done this three times over the years.  Love it!

Must sit on left side of train.  Bon Voyage

Thank you for your kindness.

 

[Speedy54]

12 hours ago, trin880 said:

I have also taken this round trip by train and we loved it, although it was a long train ride. It has been only a year ago and I don't remember how much it was, but it likely was lower than today. 

One of most memorable excursions was a rafting tour in the river near Mendenhall glacier. So much fun.

Dear trin880, If we were dealing with summer temperatures I might consider your recommendation. I admire your adventurous mature. Thanks for your comment.

[Speedy54]

12 hours ago, NWA395 said:

 

 

Thanks for being so generous in sharing your experiences.  Regards, Speedy54

[Speedy54]

8 hours ago, SSAtlantic said:

I would also say the White Pass excursion is good. 
Ketchikan is easy to walk on your own and enjoy Creek Street and the shopping. In Juneau, I most definitely agree to check out Jayleen Alaska for a whale watching trip. We toured with her as our captain several years ago and again with a different captain in 2023.  Both times it was a great trip.
Hope you enjoy Alaska, it is one of our favorite places to visit.  

My wife will be gratified to read your recommendations. Thanks.

[Speedy54]

12 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

For us, Juneau has the best whale watching. We've been with several of the operators - no bad experiences. Our current favorite is Jayleen. We went with her last year and are going with her again in a few weeks.

https://jayleensalaska.com/

 

Not planning on anything in Ketchikan other than walking around. The salmon should be running this time of year and straight through town. There's lots of artsy shopping, etc.

 

Lots of self-guided or guided walking tours available, and some are free.

An example:

https://www.alaska.org/guide/downtown-ketchikan-walking-tour

 

 

Thanks much BlerkOne.

[Cruisemeister2002]

With regards to the price of excursions we have a cruise coming up soon. The prices are quite astonishing. Yes I have in the past seen where private type excursions are expensive where the group size is limited and a personal guide is provided. I have booked four excursions and since booking the prices have increased to some $90  more than we paid. It has at times been even more than that. Many of our ports of call we have either taken in the excursions before, don't particularly fancy what's available or have already decided to do something totally different from what's available. When a few years ago we were in New York we did the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for half of what it cost the for cruise line excursion and we were not restricted time wise and were able to also do Battery Park and Macy's apartment store included in our costs.

[Speedy54]

Thanks for validating my perspective on this matter. We have been on river cruises in Europe over the past six years and it's an entirely different and more humble business model. 

[Ken the cruiser]

15 hours ago, DCThunder said:

Consider doing the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour in Ketchikan.  It's a lot of fun, especially if you like the Deadliest Catch TV show.  They should take you to see bald eagles and you'll see other wildlife as well.  Highly recommended, even if a bit cheesy.  We all need some fromage in our lives...

 

We totally agree. That is an awesome Ketchikan excursion. I did a 22-day Live From thread in May and the photos I took on that excursion start at post 407.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3004618-live-from-the-grand-princess-22-day-alaska-b2b-apr-30-may-22/page/17/

 

[roxievegas]

We are booked on a 17 day cruise for 2025.  I booked four excursions for hubby and me:

 

Juneau, whale watching booked at 204 now $269

sitka, rapture tour booked at $79 now $104

Icy Straits  booked $119 now $169

Haines, booked $94, now $124

 

I booked and paid two months ago, and the new prices showed this past week

 

On a previous cruise, we did the train and since I won't spend a ton of money, we didn't pay more than $130 each, so if it is now $250 each, that is a jump.  We enjoyed the train ride up, but didn't see any wildlife and the ride back was in a bus.  We had nice scenic stops, but I would not pay $500

 

 

[555]

34 minutes ago, roxievegas said:

We are booked on a 17 day cruise for 2025.  I booked four excursions for hubby and me:

 

Juneau, whale watching booked at 204 now $269

sitka, rapture tour booked at $79 now $104

Icy Straits  booked $119 now $169

Haines, booked $94, now $124

 

I booked and paid two months ago, and the new prices showed this past week

 

On a previous cruise, we did the train and since I won't spend a ton of money, we didn't pay more than $130 each, so if it is now $250 each, that is a jump.  We enjoyed the train ride up, but didn't see any wildlife and the ride back was in a bus.  We had nice scenic stops, but I would not pay $500

 

We haven't been to Alaska since 2008, so you can imagine what the difference in prices are to us. 😆

[EDDY0827]

In Juneau, there is the Alaska Brewery for lunch and then across the way you can tour the world's smallest Costco and get a $1.50 hot dog and drink!

[DCThunder]

When I was last in Sitka, instead of doing the Whitehorse train excursion, I did a van trip.  It went up the highway on the other side of the river where the railroad tracks are.  At that time, the train didn't go as far into Canada as it usually does (Covid restrictions in Canada) so we went all the way to Carcross on the van and were able to stop at several scenic overlooks and lakes that weren't able to be seen if on the train.  We had lunch in Carcross (an interesting little town in the Yukon) and then drove back down the valley.  I don't recall the cost, but iMHO, it was a superior trip to that on the train, and quite a bit less costly.  

 

So don't just default to the train.  Consider alternative means of seeing the countryside outside of Sitka and into the Yukon.  I don't think you'd be disappointed.

[Ombud]

20 hours ago, Speedy54 said:

Juneau, Glacier Bay National Park, and Ketchikan Alaska

Juneau: Mt Roberts Tramway was cheaper thru Princess. Bring binoculars bc you can see everything from the top. Short, easy walk up after you get off Tramway. Love the salmon colored berries. Look down the ravine for A LOT of bears

 

Glacier Bay National Park: well that's just viewing from your balcony or open deck 

 

Ketchikan: there's a city bus that goes to both Saxman & Totem Bight for about $5 all day. Totems are self explanatory. As well as totems all over city that you can see from the free tourist bus that stops about 100' from where Princess docks. 

 

I do those 3 sites for $30-$45 depending on whether Princess is running their $25 Tramway ticket special. of course my prices are from 2023 so they might be up a little now

 

Forgot to add: check out uber to Saxman if more than 3 ... and welcome to Cruise Critic @Speedy54

Edited August 4 by Ombud

[BeasleysMom66]

I did the White Pass Railroad through Celebrity that also included a Idatarod kennel where we got to play with the puppies and dogs as well as panning for gold.  The gold thing was cheesy but a one and done since it was my first visit to Alaska.  I loved the railroad.  A bit long but worth it.

 

In Ketchikan DO NOT book an excursion through that guy at the pier.  I made that mistake and it was the biggest waste of $60 I have ever spent.  NEVER again.  The guide was awful and when we stopped at the creek/salmon hatchery in the hopes of seeing bears he spent the entire time talking to the woman who owns/runs the salmon place about how much they hated tourists and we were a pain to deal with.  Then just drove around "town" for 30 minutes and dropped us back at the pier and demanded a tip.  

 

Juneau I did whale watching, again through the ship.

 

If you have Icy Straight Point/Hoonah on your itinerary I highly recommend Alaska Whale and Drone Tours.  That was worth every penny.  I booked that independently.  

[marden1970]

16 hours ago, Thrak said:

We did this on our very first cruise. Great scenery and an interesting trip. Of course it was probably a lot cheaper than it is today. It seems that Princess excursions have all pretty much gone through the roof when it comes to pricing.

I agree about the pricing.  The excursion prices for our Hawaiian cruise are unbelievable.

[Speedy54]

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We totally agree. That is an awesome Ketchikan excursion. I did a 22-day Live From thread in May and the photos I took on that excursion start at post 407.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3004618-live-from-the-grand-princess-22-day-alaska-b2b-apr-30-may-22/page/17/

 

Thank you so much Ken. I will discuss with my wife this week as we are not leaving until 8/30.

[Speedy54]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

Juneau: Mt Roberts Tramway was cheaper thru Princess. Bring binoculars bc you can see everything from the top. Short, easy walk up after you get off Tramway. Love the salmon colored berries. Look down the ravine for A LOT of bears

 

Glacier Bay National Park: well that's just viewing from your balcony or open deck 

 

Ketchikan: there's a city bus that goes to both Saxman & Totem Bight for about $5 all day. Totems are self explanatory. As well as totems all over city that you can see from the free tourist bus that stops about 100' from where Princess docks. 

 

I do those 3 sites for $30-$45 depending on whether Princess is running their $25 Tramway ticket special. of course my prices are from 2023 so they might be up a little now

 

Forgot to add: check out uber to Saxman if more than 3 ... and welcome to Cruise Critic @Speedy54

Thanks for graciously chiming in Ombud.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, Speedy54 said:

Thank you so much Ken. I will discuss with my wife this week as we are not leaving until 8/30.

At post 182 we did this excursion on our first leg when we went to Skagway. This was another super fun excursion with a lot of wildlife! 😁

 

[NCMtnBoys]

On 8/3/2024 at 5:24 PM, paddingtonbear said:

Sounds like we did the same tour as Astro Flyer. We did a private excursion and it was great. They might be less expensive than the princess excursions the price of which goes up closer to the date of the cruise. 

 

We went with chilkoot tours but even their prices are stupidly expensive now. It was good though. they have different length tours. 
 

https://chilkootcharters.com/bennett-scenic-journey/

 

 

On 8/3/2024 at 5:48 PM, trin880 said:

I have decided to check how much we paid exactly a year ago for a White Pass with Chilkoot for the train round trip for 2. It was $500.

We booked the train one way and bus the other, directly through the Chilkoot link last December for next month and it was $320 total for two. 

[paddingtonbear]

1 hour ago, NCMtnBoys said:

 

We booked the train one way and bus the other, directly through the Chilkoot link last December for next month and it was $320 total for two. 

Yes, it's good to buy these excursions early.  I think they offer a few tours we did train, van, dogs, bbq, lake and saw a lot of animals on the way.  It was great. 

[Speedy54]

10 hours ago, NCMtnBoys said:

 

We booked the train one way and bus the other, directly through the Chilkoot link last December for next month and it was $320 total for two. 

Thank you for sharing your experience NCMtnBoys