HELP- Must change ONE excursion!!!

[disneydiane61]

I have planned our excursions for our August 17 Alaska cruise and have presented it to my DH for his approval. They are all "water based" excursions and DH says we need to spend at least a little time on land. Please give me some advice on which tour to scratch and what to put in its place. I am open to any advice. I know that I probably won't find anyone who has done all three, except maybe Budgetqueen :). But I'm really uncertain about which way to go.

 

Juneau- Whale Watching Trip with Captain Larry and Orca Enterprises

Sitka- Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest

Ketchikan- Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour- The Aleutian Ballad -Deadliest Catch

 

The all look terrific and are right in the $115- $150 price range. I am also know to be the Queen of Seasickness, but have heard that the waters are calm when near port. Right????

 

Thanks.

disneydiane61

[buttah75]

can't you spend time on land while not on one of those excursions?

[NancyIL]

We whale watched in Juneau last year and will be on a wildlife cruise in Sitka this July. Those two are the most similar, and both get rave reviews. I've read mixed reviews of the Ketchikan excursion - but it's a bit different.

[Budget Queen]

Sorry, I would not recomend giving up either Juneau whale watching or Sitka boat tours. They aren't siimilar. :)

 

Do you have any extended port time in any of these ports?? If so, add some, "land" options. Easy to do in my opinion. I have not been on your Ketchikan excursion. I'm always on flights out of that port. :)

[CowPrincess]

I am also know to be the Queen of Seasickness

 

We had about 20 mins of rockin' & rollin' on the Bering Sea crab tour crossing an exposed area of water. The weather that day was dreadful, though, and it may be MUCH better when you are there. Or not. (Our ship hit gale force winds for about 12 hours on departing Ketchikan, and that heavy a wind is not terribly common.) There's just no guarantee that the waters will be as smooth as silk. As far as I recall, the other 2 tours were in very sheltered waters.

[wrp96]

I highly recommend Captain Larry's. We had such a fabulous time PLUS we still had time to go to Mendenhall Glacier and do the Mt. Roberts Tram and shop. Look at your port times and you may be able to get the best of all worlds.

[vbmom87]

Did you see this thread on the tour you are planning in Ketchikan?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=776173

[jn99]

Having done similar and in one case (Aleutian Ballad) the same tour I woudl recommend skipping the Sitka boat tour. The waters there are the most exposed and therfore there is a better chance for rough waters and I think you will see more, and see more up close on the other two tours. Of course, weather and nature can be fickle so you never know what your experiences will be like with either! Sitka was also the nicest port to just walk around in IMO.

 

I definitely would not skip out on the Aleutian Ballad tour. You might ask your husband to reconsider though, depending on your time in port you might have more than enough time on land even with all three tours.

[flashdog_1]

To save time after the whale watching excursion, have them drop you off at Mendenhal. That will save probably more than an hour. You'd then only have to take the shuttle bus $8 back to Mt Roberts tramway near where the ship will be. Or, there is probably a combination of the whale watching and Mendenhall? I know the ship offers it, but I don't know if Capt Larry does.

 

In Sitka, if you have time in port after the excursion, there is plenty to see walking around town.

 

And in Ketchikan, surely you have time to do Creek Street and the funicular there.

[countrygal52]

It depends on HOW MUCH time you have in Ketchikan. We were in port only 6 hours that day and only had time to do the "Aleutian Ballad". Even tho the trip itself was 3-4 hours, we stayed for a bit to talk to the capt. and crew and get our pictures taken with them and purchase t shirts. It was our last port day and we wanted to make sure we got back in time for 6pm seating at dinner. We picked up last minute souvenirs at the shop by the dock and then headed back on board. If we had had more time in port I would have loved to seen Creek St. and the totems.

 

Maybe some other time:)

[wrp96]

Captain Larry's does offer combination whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier but you have to organize it in advance. We only found out about that option when we got off the tour boat but unfortunately the vehicle going to Mendenhall was already full (although the annoying kids from our whale watch tour were going to Mendenhall so maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all).

[disneydiane61]

Thanks for all the great advice so far. We have a very short amount of time in Ketchikan, so if we do the Deadliest Catch tour, that will be the only thing we can do. I know we will have a little bit of port time after tours in Sitka and Juneau, but, DH is under the belief that 3 water based tours is a little "overkill". Undecision still abounds.:confused: Does anyone have any "I wouldn't miss, Just gotta do, #1 in my book" land based tours for Juneau, Sitka or Ketchikan?

[flashdog_1]

Will you have seen any glacier besides the one on your sea day? Will you have flown over a glacier to get to your port of embarkation (like you fly over Mendenhall/Juneau ice field to get to Anchorage)? You can do that, flying over a glacier or 4, or dog mushing on a glacier from Juneau via helicopter, or I think Ketchikan, too, which gives you such an impression of the vastness, from a higher perspective. And no seasickness!

 

Budget Queen says the whale watch and otter trip are totally different, so this will be a hard decision for you.