Excursion questions

[Barek]

We would appreciate any comments on this. We're on the Westerdam in June, and are feeling overwhelmed by the excusion options. For a combination of budget reasons, plus her aversion to small planes, we can rule out any of the aerial tours - but that still leaves quite a few to consider!

 

For going whale watching, we had been planning to book a whale/wildlife viewing excursion out of Juneau ... but how do the ones out of Sitka compare? We're in Sitka from 8am-5pm, which seems a long time for a location with relatively fewer excursion options (at least that I've found so far) - and I see relatively fewer suggestions on this forum for Sitka excursions than compared to elsewhere, so wondering what others do when here.

 

In Junea, is the Alaskan Salmon Bake worth it, or would you consider it better to eat on-ship (or at local restaurants) and spend the time doing other excursions? We're in Juneau from 7am - 8pm, so we were thinking of the Mt. Roberts Tramway, a Medenhall trip, and either a whale watching or Tracey Arm tour (depending on suggestions above re: whale watching in Juneau v. Sitka).

 

In Ketchikan (7am - 1pm), we were thinking of doing Totem Bight & Lumberjack Show - or maybe just Totem Bight and walking around ... anyone have opinions on the lumberjack show?

 

For Victoria (6pm - midnight), we were also going to just walk around. We live near Seattle, so have been there before and can easilly return later if we want (saving excursion funds for the other ports); although Butchart Gardens are always enjoyable - so we may consider that.

 

This ended up longer than I intended ... but if anyone can give input, especially on Juneau and Sitka, it would be appreciated!

[NancyIL]

We did a whale watch in Juneau with Alaskan Marine Adventures, then were dropped off at Mendenhall Glacier afterwards. The whale watch was enjoyable, but next summer I want to spend more time in town, as well as return to Mendenhall.

 

We'll be in Sitka in July, and I have already reserved the 4-hour wildlife cruise with Capt. Davey, because I've read great things about his tours here at Cruise Critic. http://www.puffinsandwhales.com

[dmmorton]

We are booked to go on our second cruise to Alaska and one of the first thing my 3 teens said was "Are we going back to the Salmon Bake?". We had canoed to the Mendelhall glaciar first, so went a little later than lunch time and thought it was really fun. Saw the Salmon swim upstream, toasted marshmellows, and of coarse ate Salmon. We will be going back again.

Diane

[SweetAngel]

In Junea, is the Alaskan Salmon Bake worth it, or would you consider it better to eat on-ship (or at local restaurants) and spend the time doing other excursions? We're in Juneau from 7am - 8pm, so we were thinking of the Mt. Roberts Tramway, a Medenhall trip, and either a whale watching or Tracey Arm tour (depending on suggestions above re: whale watching in Juneau v. Sitka).

 

Here's my favorite Juneau excursions in order from best to least best (although I really did enjoy all of them):

#1 BEST: Helicopter sightseeing, landing on glacier

#2: Mt. Roberts Tramway

#3: Salmon Bake

#4: Tracey Arm tour

#5: Mendenhall Glacier

 

I LOVED the salmon bake!!!!! There was something special in the air that night, a really nice mood that just gave you a very good feel for Alaska. There is a lovely little stream where you can pan for gold, and there is local live music and a good sample of Alaskan foods.

 

Mt. Roberts offers good views, and everyone should see those views if they can fit the excursion into their day. You should get a nice pic of your cruise ship in the Alaskan surroundings. I liked this excursion, though, because I am a hiker, and I most enjoyed hiking the trails at the top. There was a guided walking tour up there and then a chance to continue hiking on your own. We saw a bear.

 

Tracey Arm was a delightful tour. The small size of the boat gets you up closer to the glaciers and we saw good calving that day. We saw whales (in September), dolphins, and a bear. I never took a whale watching tour, but I thought this was a better choice since we got to see the whales, the glaciers, and the scenic beauty of Tracey Arm all in one trip. Whales are never guaranteed.

 

Mendenhall is your standard Alaska glacier in a nice setting ... good to see if you have never seen a large glacier up close before.

 

BUT my very favorite excursion in Juneau was the helicopter ride over the glacier fields. Nothing, I mean nothing, compared to that! You have no idea what's out there till you get up over the mountains and see it! Juneau seems like any other civilized mountain town till you get up in the sky and see the incredible, impenetrable frozen sea that goes seemingly forever, fart beyond the horizon ... like something you'd see on a National Geographic movie ... but incredible to see with your own eyes. No wonder there are no roads leading in or out of Juneau. Helicopters are expensive, but no one on our tour was disappointed. We all left being thankful that in our lifetime we got to see something that awesome. That was the REAL Alaska!

 

Hint -- We actually drove to Alaska and put the car on a ferry to Juneau, but I found this out: Carry a set of car keys around with you in the gift shops. Prices are higher for cruise ship guests. Car keys make you look local.

[SweetAngel]

"far" -- Spelling error, haha.

 

fart beyond the horizon

 

I was eating 4-bean chili while I typed this post ... must have been a subconscious thing.

[fti]

It is rare that a cruise ship is in Juneau as early as your is, so most cruise passengers can not take the Tracy Arm cruise. I have heard nothing but good things about it and I am already booked to take it next July when I am doing a land-only tour and am spending four nights in Juneau. This would be my first choice based on all I have read on this board. If you get back to Juneau on a cruise ship again, and you don't have as much time to fit in the Tracy Arm cruise, you can always do the other things. But realize that pretty much all you would be able to do would be the Tracy Arm cruise - and maybe a quick walk into town.

 

If that doesn't appeal to you as much as the other things that were mentioned, then you can do several things like whale watch, salmon bake, helicopter, Mt. Roberts tram. I would not book the Mt. Roberts tram until you get there since it is so weather-dependent.

 

I think the best whale watching is either in Juneau or Pt. Adolphus (Icy Strait Point). I have heard that Captain Davey's boat excursion in Sitka is not to be missed.

 

You can get to Totem Bight on the public bus for $1 each way. If you want a guided tour of the totem poles, then you would have to book a formal excursion. I did this last August on my own. Just printed out the pole descriptions from online before I left and it was pretty easy to figure out once I got there. Figure 45 minutes or more to get there, and buses run once an hour. One hour there was enough for me. Others (Yukon comes to mind) could spend much longer there. But figure on one or two hours there if you take the public bus since it only runs every hour.

 

I have seen lumberjacks in MN so no need to do that in Alaska but I have heard it is a fun show, though a bit hokey.

 

John

[qiangf2]

"far" -- Spelling error, haha.

 

 

 

I was eating 4-bean chili while I typed this post ... must have been a subconscious thing.

 

Now you got our attention. :)

[qiangf2]

I think an excursion via a small boat to Tracy Arm will be a huge plus for your trip. The scenery there definitely exceeds whatever else you see from the cruiseship through the inside passage cruise. You will also have a very good chance to see Sawyer Glaciers. With that said, you may want to consider a whale watching tour in Sitka, instead in Juneau.

[Helabama]

In Sitka we did a 2-hour tour with Sitka Wildlife Tours. We really enjoyed the tour. The owner was our tour guide and their website also advertises their restaurant. On the tour I asked about the restaurant and everyone in the van decided they wanted to go there for lunch also. So we all had a delicious lunch--absolutely the best salmon ever. They also had excellent ribs. The tour also stops at a chocolate factory. Since the tour was only 2 hours, about 3 including lunch, we had plenty of time to walk around town afterwards. The tour and restaurant are operated by the Conines. Very nice folks.

 

In Juneau we did the Mendenhall Lake Canoe trip which I sort of reviewed in another thread entitled Mendenhall Lake something. I guess we're "glacier freaks" because we really enjoyed getting that close to Mendenhall Glacier and the icebergs in the lake.

 

We didn't book any whale watching tours because we had reservations to do that while we were in Seward. Unfortunately that was cancelled due to bad weather. We had already booked something for every port on the cruise, so we couldn't fit in whale watching on any of our stops. I guess we'll just have to go back to Alaska again :D

 

Too many things to see and too little time!

[Marie321]

Sitka is my favorite port. We went out with Davey of Esther G last summer. We saw whales, otter, seal, bald eagles, starfish of all colors, puffins, cormorants, muir, etc. It was WONDERFUL! St. Lazarius Island was the best! You can't go wrong with Davey!

 

http://www.puffinsandwhales.com/

 

In Victoria, don't miss Butchart Gardens! They are so beautiful!

 

http://www.butchartgardens.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

 

You will love the Westerdam!

[Barek]

Thank you everyone for your feedback - it's very much appreciated!

 

But one quick awkward question on the various whale watching tour options - restroom facilities. Unfortunately, it is a concern on tours over 2 hours. For the various independent options (either Capt Davey in Sitka, or Harv & Marv in Juneau), from what I can see of the boats, there isn't one - is this accurate?