Need Help with Juneau, Skagway & Ketchikan excursions

[CALMOM]

I will be on the Princess Island departing Vancouver on 9/3/07 to Alaska. I would like to book my excursions now but are in desperate need for suggestions since it will be my first time to Alaska. Please share with me your experience with any of the excursions in Juneau, Skagway & Ketchikan.

 

There will be 6 in our group, 4 of us are in our 50's and 2 are in their late 70's but very active. The excursions must not include any type of flying since 2 of us are scared of flying. Very interested in seeing wildlife, marine life and glaciers. All types of water transportation is O.K. MY DH is a large man 6"3" @ 275 so would like to avoid weight surcharge if possible (it hurts his feelings:( ).

 

Also since we will be in port at Juneau & Skagway for 13 hrs. should I book more than one excursion or only book one and do sightseeing in town (is there a lot to see in town).

 

All 3 couples are celebrating their anniversary, 20 yrs., 25 yrs. and 50 yrs. so we would like for it to be a trip never to forget. Thank you so much in advance, this board is so amazing.

[DGSFlorida]

Having been to these ports twice before- I might recommend the following - in Ketchikan try the Totems & Lumberjack Combo which will give you a chance to see the native totem park outside the town and learn about the town's history and also see the ESPN contest with the lumberjacks which is very entertaining. You will have time to shop around the town as well.

 

In Juneau be sure to pick an excursion which includes the wildlife quest which is the catamaran cruise and a visit to Mendenhall Glacier. Those are the highlights but of course you have time to add to those while in port.

 

In Skagway be sure not to miss the White Pass Railway.

 

I know you will have a great time!

 

Feel free to email me if I can answer any questions you may have.

 

Duane

[CALMOM]

Having been to these ports twice before- I might recommend the following - in Ketchikan try the Totems & Lumberjack Combo which will give you a chance to see the native totem park outside the town and learn about the town's history and also see the ESPN contest with the lumberjacks which is very entertaining. You will have time to shop around the town as well.

 

In Juneau be sure to pick an excursion which includes the wildlife quest which is the catamaran cruise and a visit to Mendenhall Glacier. Those are the highlights but of course you have time to add to those while in port.

 

In Skagway be sure not to miss the White Pass Railway.

 

I know you will have a great time!

 

Feel free to email me if I can answer any questions you may have.

 

Duane

 

Thank you for your response. Did you actually get up close to Mendenhall and can you actually stand on Mendenhall? Do you remember what the excursion's name was exactly? Thanks again.

[EmmaWoodhouse]

Hi Calmom! If you haven't come over to the Alaska board, there's a very active group of us (including several people who have come back from cruises this summer and offered very detailed reviews).

 

We're sailing in just under a month. We've booked an independent kayaking excursion in Ketchikan, and my brother and dad plan to head to the Lumberjack show afterward.

 

In Juneau, we considered an independent whale-watching excursion, but as we'd done this previously in the Seattle area, we're doing a heli-tour/glacier trek (again, booked independently). (Happy to share the vendor names on request, though obviously we haven't gone yet and can't vouch for them.)

 

Skagway is a bit up in the air still, but I believe we're doing the "rainforest bike expedition" or some such through Princess, then at least dad and I are taking the 3 hour train (and my brother's girlfriend will likely try to do the Princess excursion to see the sled dogs).

 

Good luck deciding!

[cigal]

CALMOM is right - take the White Pass Railway. Amazing scenery and a very relaxing ride!

 

Last year DH and I did the snorkeling excursion in Ketchikan. We decided it was our favorite!! It is called Mountain Point Snorkeling. We saw a wide variety of different colored sea stars, as well as small, white, (harmless) jelly fish and many varieties of fish. The wet suits are included in the cost and keep you toasty warm.

 

Buy a picture though - no one will believe you went snorkeling in Alaska!

 

Whatever you decide - Have a blast!!

[geezerglide]

We got back from our first Alaska cruise last month. We were on the Diamond. Great weather the entire trip including the 3 nights in Denali. Beautiful ship and a fantastic time.

We booked the Misty Fjord cruise and floatplane trip thru Princess (we had to tender in Ketchikan and I thought that booking an early morning trip thru Princess would get us on an early tender).

We booked a helicopter trip to one of the glaciers in Juneau. You land on the glacier and get to walk around for 20 minutes. We booked thru Shoretrips.com. We did the Whitepass railroad trip in Skagway. Let me know if you have any questions.

[trvlcrzy]

can you actually stand on Mendenhall?

 

It is my understanding that the only way to stand on a glacier is from a helicopter ride. We have just returned from the Sun Princess, and we visited Mendenhall (from the viewing area at the visitor's center). I was trying to find a photo, but I can't find the Juneau pics yet. It appears that DH has only loaded the first disk... almost through all of Tracy Arm.

[sept10dsm]

Thank you for your response. Did you actually get up close to Mendenhall and can you actually stand on Mendenhall? Do you remember what the excursion's name was exactly? Thanks again.

They had buses right at the dock that we took, it was much less than the tour with the ship. I think they ran every 20 minutes or so. YOu can stay as long as you like. Mendenhall is just a few miles from the port and you can go right up to it. It's a hike, but right there. You can also take helicopter tours and land on the glacier.

 

As others have said, in Skagway, the White Pass RR has outstanding scenery. The town of Skagway has the Klondike Gold Rush NHP right there, too. The town is very quaint as are all 3 of these ports.

 

In Ketchikan we kayaked and it was great fun. The salmon were jumping out of the water right near us!! We went in early Aug. The town is great to just walk around and see it's beauty.

 

Alaska was our favorite cruise by far, you will have a wonderful time what ever you choose. You should check the Alaska boards as well as online for each of the towns. I'm sure their Visitor's Centers would be more than happy to mail local information free of charge. Have a great time planning your trip as well as on the cruise.

[captainbk]

My wife hates flying but absolutely loved the helicopter ride up to the glacier from Skagway. Not at all what she thought it was going to be like. She wanted to go again.

 

Highly recomend Orca Adventures for whale whatching from Juneau. They have the fastest boats so they get out there sooner and can linger longer before heading home. Capt Larry has been doing tours for 30+ years.

 

White pass railway is a MUST!!!!!! in Skagway.

[Minybear]

I will be on the Princess Island departing Vancouver on 9/3/07 to Alaska. I would like to book my excursions now but are in desperate need for suggestions since it will be my first time to Alaska. Please share with me your experience with any of the excursions in Juneau, Skagway & Ketchikan.

 

There will be 6 in our group, 4 of us are in our 50's and 2 are in their late 70's but very active. The excursions must not include any type of flying since 2 of us are scared of flying. Very interested in seeing wildlife, marine life and glaciers. All types of water transportation is O.K. MY DH is a large man 6"3" @ 275 so would like to avoid weight surcharge if possible (it hurts his feelings:( ).

 

Also since we will be in port at Juneau & Skagway for 13 hrs. should I book more than one excursion or only book one and do sightseeing in town (is there a lot to see in town).

 

All 3 couples are celebrating their anniversary, 20 yrs., 25 yrs. and 50 yrs. so we would like for it to be a trip never to forget. Thank you so much in advance, this board is so amazing.

 

CALMOM

Welcome to our cruise on the Island 9/3. This is our 2nd time to Alaska and first time on Princess.

 

We are coming into Vancouver on 9/1 and on we are planning on doing a tour with LandSea Tours http://www.vancouvertours.com/ Northshore tour and Grouse Mtn on 9/2 and on 9/3 Pre-cruise Vancouver highlights that picks you up at your hotel and all your luggage and after your cruise delivers you and all your family to the cruise terminal.

 

Ketchican - Suggest you take Best Of Ketchikan By Land & Sea. We did this last Alaska trip. It gives you the best of everything. We are doing Wilderness Exploration & Crab Feed due to this is like "the Deadliest Catch" plus this includes a crab meal.

 

Juneau - Go see Mendenhall Glacier Explorer and do a whale watching tour.

 

Skageway - White pass railway is a MUST. Choose any tour with the White Pass Highway. You cannot go wrong. We are doing Glacier Point Wilderness Safari which I have heard many great reviews on this resently.

 

Again welcome to our cruise :). Its just the 2 of use one over 50 and one (me) under 50. We are in a mini suite and cannot wait to go on our cruise in 66 days.

 

Minybear

[ottergal]

I might suggest that in Skagway you rent a car and do the drive to the Yukon yourself. You can even rent a van (that's what we did with 6 of us adults).

 

We heard nice things about the railroad, but getting out a bit and driving through the mountains was incredible. There are amazing geological/volcanic formations and cool little lakes. It was well worth it in our book.

 

You might see more going this way. One thing though, you are entering into Canadian space, so you should bring a passport with you.

 

Just another option.

 

We also did a great tour in Mendenhal/whale watching trip in Juneau. We saw bears at the glacier and the whales were amazing.

 

We didn't book any of this through the boat though (we were on NCL but hit the same ports) In fact, I think our folks used this board to get some real good information!!

[Premontre65]

We would highly recommend the whale watching and Mendenhall glacier combination.

[CALMOM]

CALMOM

Welcome to our cruise on the Island 9/3. This is our 2nd time to Alaska and first time on Princess.

 

We are coming into Vancouver on 9/1 and on we are planning on doing a tour with LandSea Tours http://www.vancouvertours.com/ Northshore tour and Grouse Mtn on 9/2 and on 9/3 Pre-cruise Vancouver highlights that picks you up at your hotel and all your luggage and after your cruise delivers you and all your family to the cruise terminal.

 

Ketchican - Suggest you take Best Of Ketchikan By Land & Sea. We did this last Alaska trip. It gives you the best of everything. We are doing Wilderness Exploration & Crab Feed due to this is like "the Deadliest Catch" plus this includes a crab meal.

 

Juneau - Go see Mendenhall Glacier Explorer and do a whale watching tour.

 

Skageway - White pass railway is a MUST. Choose any tour with the White Pass Highway. You cannot go wrong. We are doing Glacier Point Wilderness Safari which I have heard many great reviews on this resently.

 

Again welcome to our cruise :). Its just the 2 of use one over 50 and one (me) under 50. We are in a mini suite and cannot wait to go on our cruise in 66 days.

 

Minybear

 

Hi Minibear, Thanks for the info. Have you signed onto our roll call? It appears that so far there is only about 12 of us on the whole ship. We're thinking with only 12 people on the ship we will all be upgraded to suites with our own private butler :D . Sign on if you haven't, we're planning a get together on board the Island. Hope to see you there.

[Lewdog]

we loved the totem poles at Totem Bight Park in Ketchikan.

 

Skagway be sure to hit the Red Onion Saloon

 

In Juneau we walked around town and then went back to the ship and hit the hot tub.