Need Shore Excursion Advice

[Bridgee]

Hello Fellow Cruisers! My Mom and I will be on an Alaskan Cruise from May 12th through the 25th on the Celebrity Summit. I have been reading about all the shore excursions that are available and would really appreciate any advice you could share with me. My Mom is 78 and is not very active, so I am looking at all the Mild activity excursions. This, by the way, is our second Alaskan cruise and I am determined to do things a little differently. By that I mean, not spending our entire time looking at one gift shop after another. This time, I would really like to go on an excursion(s) that takes you into the scenic and picturesque beauty of Alaska. I absolutely LOVE wildlife and beautiful scenery and some of the excursions mention that you will see this in abundance. Case in point: Skagaway offers two excursions that caught my interest: One is 6 1/2 hour Eagle Preserve Float and Lynn Fjord Cruise and the other is the Eagle Preserve Wildlife River Adventure & cruise that is also 6 1/2 hours. They both sound wonderful and I don't know which to choose. Has anyone been on one of these trips and if so, what did you think of them? We will also (as you know) be stopping at all the other ports - Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka and if you know of shore excursions at those stops that are scenic and have wildlife or that you would highly recommend, I would really appreciate hearing about them.

 

Thank you!

[fti]

I would suggest that you take some time reading the first 3-4 pages on this Alaska board. It will give you a lot of suggestions. I think the Eagle preserve excursions from Skagway are to Haines though I am not positive. I think that would be a nice excursion but you can see eagles for free without an excursion. And the eagle preserve might or might not have many eagles - the prime time is the fall and winter.

 

Another excursion in Skagway that is nice is the train trip to the Yukon. Much is written about it on these boards.

 

Juneau has inexpensive excursion to Mendenhall Glacier, whale watching and more. Alaskan Marine Adventures, Orca Enterprises and Harvs and Marvs are mentioned frequently on this board for good whale watching trips.

 

A highlight of Ketchikan for me was a Misty Fjords small floatplane sightseeing excursion.

 

You might want to follow the other thread on this first page about shore excursions - asking pretty much the same questions as you.

 

Have a great trip.

[Mrs007]

Bridgee - we have been on 2 Alaska cruises and will be on our 3rd this June. We enjoyed our Eagle preserve float trip in Haines even though we did not see a lot of eagles in August, but the scenery was wonderful! In Juneau this year, we are hiring the local taxi at $55/per hour to give us a tour. In Sitka, I can not recommend more highly http://www.puffinsandwhales.com with Capt. Davey and the Ester G for a whale/eagle/puffin/sealife tour. Plus, Sitka itself is wonderful! We also saw an abundance of eagles in Sitka on the pier! Ketchickan, if you can, get back to wonder the shop at Creek Street and a Misty Fjords floatplane excursion would be great (that is what we are doing this year!) Also, in Skagway check out bus/train trips that go to the Yukon. I think you and your mother may enjoy those as well. We have not taken the train trip yet, so can't give you a personal review, but several on this site have, so I will let them give their thoughts. In any event, Alaska is beautiful - breath it in and enjoy!

[PDAZ]

There's also a Misty Fjords nature cruise -- it left us with plenty of time to wander around Ketchikan. We saw whales, sea lions, lots of eagles and two black bears on this cruise (well, not on the boat...). Misty Fjords is lovely -- very scenic!

[SakeDad]

This may or may not be an option for you but I thought I'd share what my Mom & I are doing. As this will probably be the ONLY time we get to Alaska for either of us I wanted the trip to be very special for my mom. I gave her a list of all the ships excursions and she picked what she wanted to do. She is 69 and while very healthy she's not a hiker or kayaker by ANY means. At the same time I'm 43 and an avid photographer who really wants to do the glacier helicopter tours and flight tours. So we agreed that there would be some things we do together, whale watches, garden tours, etc...and some things we would do seperately. We then have the excursions to talk about when we get back for dinner and really share with each other.

It's not for everyone if you want to be with each other every second of the trip. But if you can part for a few hours, and especially when you've already been to Alaska before, why not do what EACH of you really wants to do without worrying about what the other is doing?

It's working very well for us....and I hope this gives others the permission to seperate when you want and meet back later. Neither my mother or I would want either of us to do an excursion we were bored on or were too scared to do just so we could spend a couple of more hours together. We'd rather revel in the excitement as the other shares their day with us.:D

[Mrs007]

I forgot to mention - if you do the Eagle Preserve "FLOAT" (the one that is in a rubber raft) be sure to take an extra pair of socks. They have you take your shoes off and put on rubber boots. Needless to say there is no insulation, the water under the raft is very cold and so were my feet!!!

[Budget Queen]

In Sitka- this is a must do with a boat tour, since it has your priority of varied wildlife. I too highly recommend an independent for a more personal and perhaps longer tour.

 

Scenery can't be beat from the Klondike Highway up to Carcross with a rental car out of Skagway- if you didn't do that last trip??

 

Haines is no more scenic in my opinion and the eagles are not in the numbers of the cruise brochures. You have to opportunity to see them all over Alaska, if you look. :) The Lynn Canal reference is the same route of your cruise ship, if you want to be out for the sailing of it- perhaps find an inside front vieiwng area?

 

I would add a flight- no better way to see the beauty and vastness of Alaska. Go where you have the most time with either a glacier helicopter landing or Misty Fjords floatplane.

[MercedMike]

...My Mom is 78 and is not very active, so I am looking at all the Mild activity excursions...

 

We went to Alaska last summer with my dear 93 year old Aunt Ruth. She had a positive ball and really loved it!

 

For some spectacular scenery but mild activity I would suggest the option of renting a car in Skagway and driving into the Yukon to Caribou Crossing. Check our trip report at

Cruising to Alaska with Aunt Ruth

 

On a previous trip we did the ship's wildlife cruise excursion in Juneau, and it should be fine for your Mom too. We saw some spectacular wildlife including whales and stellar sea lions.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!