Opinions on excusions in Juneau

[vfb2girls]

For those who have already taken their Alaskan vacation I would like to hear about the different excusions that you took in Juneau. As of now we are booked on a whale watching tour but my husband is now kind of put off by it since talking to others who have taken this tour and were not impressed. So I told him I would ask about other excusions to do and we would discuss it. So if anyone has any inpu I would appreciate hearing about it. Thank you

[wspatton]

For those who have already taken their Alaskan vacation I would like to hear about the different excusions that you took in Juneau. As of now we are booked on a whale watching tour but my husband is now kind of put off by it since talking to others who have taken this tour and were not impressed. So I told him I would ask about other excusions to do and we would discuss it. So if anyone has any inpu I would appreciate hearing about it. Thank you

 

Below is an Excerpt from my Sun Princess Review at:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=409730

 

 

D. Juneau

Three hours after leaving Tracy Arm, we arrived in Juneau. There was apparently a fairly serious mishap as the ship was being tied up, and one of the dock workers was injured. They worked on him on the scene for probably 45 minutes before they transported him to the hospital. We never heard how he was, but hope he was OK.

 

We were delayed in leaving the ship until they could get that situation stabilized, but once off the ship, our tour van was ready to drive us off to what I think was the highlight of our cruise: “Whale Watching with Harv & Marv”. There have been several threads in the Cruise Critic message boards about the various providers of Whale Watching excursions, and a few of these have given glowing reviews of Harv & Marv.

http://www.alaskawhalewatch.com/

 

All I can say is that they were definitely the right choice for us. Besides our Boat Captain Marv (a.k.a. Pete Nelson) there were only four of us on the boat (the other couple was another Cruise Critic couple we had met through our Roll Call thread). We spent about 2.5 hours out near Shelter Island, and saw probably 50 humpbacks. HINT: take a Digital Camera with LOTS of memory, and set the shutter to do continuous shooting. That way you can capture the entire sequence of the whale’s breach.

 

With such a small group, Pete was happy and able to do whatever we wanted, whether it was keep looking for whales, or go find eagles or something else. This small, family run operation aims to please. After the whale watch was over, instead of just running us back to the ship, Sandy (the van driver and father of “Mrs. Harv”) offered to swing by Mendenhall Glacier so we could get out and see that. This was completely unsolicited, and “above and beyond,” if you ask me. Then, he was willing to drop us wherever we wanted in Juneau. I can’t say enough kind things about this great small business.

 

We took Sandy up on his offer, and he dropped us off at the Gold Creek Salmon Bake. Again, a super choice for Great local cuisine and lots of it. These folks were also very friendly and proud of their product. The Salmon was very good, but you should be sure you specify some that is more undercooked than overcooked. The sides were good, and the Alaska Wild Blueberry cake was exceptional.

 

Even after this full itinerary, we still found time to catch the free shuttle back to downtown Juneau and pick up an ornament and grab a whiskey at the Red Dog Saloon. There were quite a few cruisers in the Saloon from each of the four ships in port at the time.

 

Tracy Arm and Juneau made for a most memorable, if long, day in the middle of our cruise. I hope the injured dock worker recovered.

 

Good Luck,

Bill

[cruising dfl]

We went hiking up onto the Mendenhall Glacier with Above & Beyond Alaska. The hike was gorgeous, hiking onto the glacier and walking on it for quite a while was amazing. And we did some ice climbing which I've always wanted to do. If you enjoy hiking, this is the best way to see the Mendenhall, in my opinion; we spent hours on the glacier and really interacted with all of its features. We have the most incredible pictures, which I hope to be able to share later today. Enjoy your planning!

[Budget Queen]

Your husband's "reports" are highly unusual. Most whale watch tours get raves, as this is a very accessable area for close up viewing of humpbacks.

 

It certainly isn't for everyone. I have taken many many tours in Juneau. I suggest you start with looking over a shore excursion list and narrow down your interests. There are just too many excellent tours.

[NancyIL]

We went hiking up onto the Mendenhall Glacier with Above & Beyond Alaska. The hike was gorgeous, hiking onto the glacier and walking on it for quite a while was amazing. And we did some ice climbing which I've always wanted to do. If you enjoy hiking, this is the best way to see the Mendenhall, in my opinion; we spent hours on the glacier and really interacted with all of its features. We have the most incredible pictures, which I hope to be able to share later today. Enjoy your planning!

 

Ah, it was YOUR review that mentioned Above and Beyond! Someone else asked about glacier hikes and I couldn't remember where I read the review! Here's the link to their site for the OP: http://www.beyondak.com/daytrips.html

[vfb2girls]

Thanks for the quick reports, I have decided that since I am going to be doing 5 days of fishing with my husband to make him happy the least he can do is indulge me in the whale watching tour. This is the one tour that I am most excited about but when you hear negativity you begin to second guess your choice.

[NancyIL]

Thanks for the quick reports, I have decided that since I am going to be doing 5 days of fishing with my husband to make him happy the least he can do is indulge me in the whale watching tour. This is the one tour that I am most excited about but when you hear negativity you begin to second guess your choice.

 

 

There's also the option of you doing what you want and your husband doing what he wants.

[jstducky]

I loved the whale watching in Juneau. Though you can see whales while on the ship cruising, you can see whales during a whale watchig excursion a lot more close up. When we went, we even saw a small pod of orca and followed them for almost and hour. We also saw about 15-20 humpback whales as well as seals and bald eagles. It was a great tour.

 

I've also done a helicopter flight and dog sledding in Juneau. If this is something you are remotely intersted in, then I recommend that you consider it. It is expensive, but in my opinion, worth every single penny I spent!

[OldCodger73]

If you like the outdoors and walking, a simple low cost option would be to take a shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier. There's a very interesting visitors center there and plenty of easy walking trails. The shuttles are $6.00 each way and the visitor center charges $3.00, but I could be wrong on the amount as we got in free with a Golden Age Pass.

[Cruisechick82]

If you like the outdoors and walking, a simple low cost option would be to take a shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier. There's a very interesting visitors center there and plenty of easy walking trails. The shuttles are $6.00 each way and the visitor center charges $3.00, but I could be wrong on the amount as we got in free with a Golden Age Pass.

 

Your prices are correct, at least for this year. Mendenhall is a good bargain. We took a helicopter flight with Coastal and landed on Herbert glacier. It was amazing! I definately recommend a flight if of interest.

[MercedMike]

On various trips to Juneau, we have tried many shore excursions. The Whale Watching cruise is wonderful! The ship's tour was through Allen Marine and we saw whales, dolphins, seals, a whole island of Stellar Sea Lions, and lots of eagles. Of course, your luck may vary, but in general they get good reviews. I don't know where you saw a bad one.

 

We also liked the gold mine tour. It was very interesting, and something a little off beat.

 

And the option of just hopping a shuttle out to Mendenhall is also a very good one.

 

Check out Cruising With The Halls on the link below for our reports of several cruises to Alaska, and different Juneau options.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Budget Queen]

A significant time saving option to always consider is IF you are on a whale watch- consider independent since most often you can be dropped off/picked up directly at Mendenhall Glacier. This saves at least an hour in shuttle time.

 

There also is no comparism to viewing whales from a tour vs a cruise ship. I spend most all my time out on deck, and have excellent sightings- helps to know the areas :) BUT you will also always see me on the whale watch boat tours.

[vfb2girls]

Once again thank you for the suggestions, it is always good to hear from others what they have found enjoyable on the various excursions. With so many to choose from it can be quite overwhelming. I went ahead and booked with Orca and they are going to drop us off at Mendenhall Glacier after our whale watching tour. I already know that we will not be spending as much time on deck of the ship searching out whales, with it being our very first cruise there is so much that we need to check out. And for taking a whale watching tour will be the only time we will have the opportunity to see them. My husband just needs to quit talking to some of his buddies, I know for a fact none of them spend any time on the cruise critic board so really what do they know!

[Bsan1221]

We went hiking up onto the Mendenhall Glacier with Above & Beyond Alaska. The hike was gorgeous, hiking onto the glacier and walking on it for quite a while was amazing. And we did some ice climbing which I've always wanted to do. If you enjoy hiking, this is the best way to see the Mendenhall, in my opinion; we spent hours on the glacier and really interacted with all of its features. We have the most incredible pictures, which I hope to be able to share later today. Enjoy your planning!

 

I agree with cruising dfl the hiking was amazing. This should be something you should consider to do! Its a bit pricey but worth every cent!

[Bsan1221]

We went hiking up onto the Mendenhall Glacier with Above & Beyond Alaska. The hike was gorgeous, hiking onto the glacier and walking on it for quite a while was amazing. And we did some ice climbing which I've always wanted to do. If you enjoy hiking, this is the best way to see the Mendenhall, in my opinion; we spent hours on the glacier and really interacted with all of its features. We have the most incredible pictures, which I hope to be able to share later today. Enjoy your planning!

 

I agree with cruising dfl the hiking was amazing. This should be something you should consider to do! Its a bit pricey but worth every cent!

[DEE9]

We were on Sapphire Princess Sept. 2-9. In Juneau, we took the 7:45 a.m. Mendenhall Glacier and Salmon Hatchery tour, booked through Princess. We were not pleased with it because we were at Mendenhall for only about 45 minutes. Not nearly long enough. We also booked Harv & Marv's whale watch. It was GREAT, even though it was cold and raining. Pete, our captain, tried really hard to satisfy us. We saw a pod of Orcas, several Humpbacks, Harbor Porpoises, and eagles. Have you considered the train in Skagway? It was the highlight of our trip. We've taken a lot of train rides and this was definitely the best. Have fun.

[m2violin]

We were on the HAL Oosterdam August 26-September 2. Mother and I went on one of the helicopter glacier tours (four glaciers, and we landed on Norris Glacier). This was one of the highlights our our trip. One cannot fully appreciate the vastness of the glaciers until they see them "up close and personal." Actually walking on the glacier was quite an experience! Our helicopter pilot/guide was quite knowledgeable and gladly answered any/all questions.

 

We went to a salmon bake (not the one at Taku Lodge) which was slightly disappointing -- we found the salmon to be a tad bit overcooked. However, we loved the rainforest setting (there was a path by the creek one could take). Seeing the salmon spawning in the creek, as well as the entrance to the abandoned gold mine, was something else! I only wish my picture of the gold mine shaft turned out (it was dusk, and the rainforest is dense, plus I don't have a very good camera). I also enjoyed the folksinger who provided dinner entertainment (she's part of a Juneau folk group called the Glacial Erractics-I bought a CD!)

 

The Mount Roberts Tramway is quite expensive -- close to $20. The view is beautiful, but it's probably only worth it if you have lots of free time on your hands and can spend a lot of time up there. We did see an intriguiging performance by a Native American storyteller of a Raven legend (the raven figures quite prominently in the Native American folklore of the Alaska tribes).

 

We particularly enjoyed lunch at The Twisted Fish, which is right in the heart of downtown Juneau near the dock. If you're looking for a place for lunch that's not touristy, they have excellent fish and seafood.

 

While we did not go on a whale watching expedition, I have heard nothing but good about the expeditions. Some of our shipmates went and couldn't stop talking about what they saw. Frankly, I haven't heard any negatives about the whale watching tours.

 

Hope this helps!

[buckeye7]

Could someone please explain a bit more about the hiking options? We are interested in hiking with our 2 kids (14, 11). There is a guided hike for $80 arranged by Princess, but my husband thinks we should just hike on our own. What is the hiking like at Mendenhall Glacier? How easy are the trails? We'd like to hike at least several miles and see some great sights.

 

What do you think?

[Mc_Cruiser]

I can certainly recommend Northstar Trekking who take you on a helicopter to the Juneau icefields for either a walk on the ice or a climb on an ice wall. They provide ALL the equipment required and are very professional about the whole thing. They even pick you up in the town. We did the ice walk with our then 9 year old son, and it was one of the highlights of our Alaska cruise.

See http://www.northstartrekking.com/

[gottagetout]

Glacier Trekking was my FAVORITE excursion. I can't even put it into words. I fell in love with glaciers, they are absolutely stunning. I can not believe that I don't hear more about this on the boards. I did whale watching in Icy strait (point adolphus) and it was great, LOTS of tails, three breaches, spouting. BUT I also think this is a once (although hopefully we'll get back up there) in a lifetime thing. When else are you going to see glaciers?? We went with Northstarr and spent four hours on the glacier, a six hour trip in all. The entire time was breathtaking. It also includes the heli trip out to the glacier and back. On the way to the glacier they do a little sightseeing, so the price really includes a mini helicopter tour as well. Enjoy whatever you decide and I am sure you will make memories for a lifetime!

[cruising dfl]

Could someone please explain a bit more about the hiking options? We are interested in hiking with our 2 kids (14, 11). There is a guided hike for $80 arranged by Princess, but my husband thinks we should just hike on our own. What is the hiking like at Mendenhall Glacier? How easy are the trails? We'd like to hike at least several miles and see some great sights.

 

What do you think?

 

I'm not an expert on independent hiking at Mendenhall because we went on the excursion with Above and Beyond. One couple at our table, though, did go see the glacier on their own and shared their experience.

 

There is a city bus that you can catch near the capital building (I think) to get to the park where the glacier is located for just a few dollars. I would imagine that cab fair would be very reasonable, too, as it's not far from the port.

 

Once inside the park, I know there are trails that follow the lake at the bottom of the glacier, and the trail they followed ended at Nugget Falls (beautiful waterfall) close to the glacier. Becky from Above and Beyond walks her dog on that path, so it can't be too challenging.

 

The trails we took to get up and on the glacier with Becky were quite challenging, with some bouldering, walking across streams and some easy (no rope needed) climbing. It takes 60 - 90 minutes to get to the glacier on that path and it's not really marked. Above and Beyond is the only group that is permitted to take commercial expeditions on it, so I'm not sure it would be an option without them.

 

I can tell you that they were very professional and we found it to be a great value. Becky mentioned she's taken children as young as 7 on the hike, so it would be an option for you if you want to hike AND get on the glacier wtihout a helicopter. http://www.beyondak.com