Review of recent Alaska Excursions from Coral Princess July 21

[kaudrey]

Hi,

 

The full trip report is on the Princess thread (look for "Review - Coral Princess July 21 Northbound to Alaska"), but I thought I'd put the port excursions part here as well. Let me know if you have any questions. The trip was wonderful!

 

We booked all of our own excursions, thanks to recommendations here.

 

Ketchikan – flightseeing with Southeast Aviation. This was great. It was actually sunny in Ketchikan that day – a very rare occurrence. We got lots of great pics and landed on the water when we saw some bears on the shore. The pilot was very informative and I’d recommend this company. Then we just walked around Creek Street and town, and went to Wines International to restock our supplies – it has a decent selected and the prices were not terrible.

 

Juneau – whalewatching with Harv and Marv. Also highly recommended. We had Harv (Pete) and he was a lot of fun. Since there were six of us, we had the boat to ourselves. It was rainy and cold but we still had a blast. Found whales several times, and had a sea lion play right next to the ship. This was a highlight of the trip despite the weather. We took a $7 bus to Mendenhall in the morning to go hiking (note – you don’t have to take the MGT bus, there are about ½ a dozen different buses that go to Mendenhall for $7 – just pick one; I think ours was Juneau Tours). My boyfriend and I hiked the East Glacier Loop and then went along the beach to Nugget Falls. Others in the party did shorter hikes or joined us later in the morning. Harv and Marv picked us up at the glacier, saving us the ride back for our afternoon excursion.

 

Skagway – rented a van from Avis and drove out to Whitehorse. The weather was cloudy but we got some cool mountain pictures. Used Murray’s guide – THANKS Murray! We stopped at the cemetery and went to Reid Falls, then did the little hike Murray mentions at one point for great views (BTW Murray – the guys hoofed it and it took them 13 minutes – you must be fast! It took me about 17 minutes…). The view was worth it. Got our passports stamped and had ice cream in Carcross and drove to Whitehorse and had lunch there. On the drive, we saw a mom bear with 2 cubs (so cute!), another bear, and a lynx (very briefly, but he sat still long enough for a picture).

 

Glacier Bay and College Fjords were both stunning. It was fun looking for calving; took lots of pictures!

 

Let me know if you have any questions,

Karen

[VJA]

We will be in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan, and I am dying to go dog-sledding, but a helicopter ride is out of the question. Are there any dog-sled tours from those ports that don't include a helicopter.

[kaudrey]

Sorry, I don't know the answer to that. It wasn't an excursion we looked into. Hopefully, someone else will pop in to help!

[celebrate20]

Hi,

Thanks for the review!

I have a question for you regarding Mendenhall. How long did it take you to hike to the glacier and the waterfall? Also, what did you about eatting. Ive heard that there isnt anywhere to get food at Mendenhall. We have Harv and Marv scheduled for the afternoon as well.

Thanks!

[kaudrey]

Hi Celebrate,

 

Hiking - depends what you do. The established viewpoints are around the visitor's center. There are a bunch of hikes - the NPS website can describe them for you. We did the East Glacier Loop - it is about 3.5 miles and a moderate hike with switchbacks. I'd say it took us an hour and a half. It took my other friends about 2 hours, but they aren't really hikers. The walk on the beach to Nugget Falls is about a mile each way, with a little rock scramble at the end - 45 minutes to an hour.

 

As for food, we brought it with us in our backpack. There is no food out at Mendenhall. Harv also had a small cooler with some snacks in it on the boat if you are starving.

 

Have a great time!

[celebrate20]

Thanks, I cant wait. So between the two trails, it took you over three hours? What time did you get up there? We are suppose to meet Harv and Marv in town at 1:30. Did you take food off the ship? If we think we can do that, we will and then have them pick us up at Mendenhall.

Thanks!