Independent Excursions?

[KAWS]

In the past we've always booked our excursions independently. For Alaska this doesn't look like to be much of an option. Has anyone been able to book/take excursions independently here?

[NancyIL]

On the contrary, there are LOTS of independent vendors in the Alaska port towns! What ports will you visit?

 

**OK - just saw that you're on the Golden Princess - and so am I in late May!

 

In Juneau I hope to whale watch with Harv and Marv: http://www.harvandmarvs.com

 

In Skagway I'll do the 9-hour rail/bus excursion to Carcross with Chilkoot Charters: http://www.skagwaysbesttour.com/

 

I'm not sure what I'll do in Ketchikan, but we did a Misty Fjords flight in 2007 with Island Wings: http://www.islandwings.com

 

Because of the short port time in Victoria, I will book Princess's excursion to the Butchart Gardens.

[Yukon]

I think that most of us here at CC book independently - the frequent posters certainly do. In Alaska it's not always cheaper, but it's virtually always a more personal experience.

[kathynorth]

We booked half our excursions through independents and half through the ship. All the independents we used while in Alaska were professional, on time, safe, informative, etc. We've booked independents in the Caribean and Bahamas and didn't have the same experience. When I posted what I was considering for our summer 2008 cruise I received lots of suggestions for independents from our fellow posters.

[cbowler]

Absolutely you can book independent excursions! I've read many, many, many trip reports over the past year and I would venture to say that many, if not most, used independent operators and had a good experience.

 

We have booked the following if it is of interest to you:

 

-Ketchikan: Misty Fjord seaplane flightseeing with Island Wings

-Juneau: Whale watching with Harv & Marv

-Skagway: Yukon and White Pass Rail tour (rail/bus combo) with Chilkoot Charters

 

My advice is to read as many pages of these threads as you can to gather ideas and then do some searches on this Alaska forum to read more info on the the specific excursions that interest you. There are many, many options!

 

Good luck!

[KAWS]

We've always booked independent excursions in the Caribbean. Some were better than others, but every time I was happy that I did it the way that we did. I felt like we got a much better experience.

 

But for Alaska, the things we've booked aren't available anywhere else but the cruise ship. Here's what we have in mind:

 

Juneau – Mendenhall Glacier & Salmon Bake (perhaps we should just go to the Glacier on our own and then book the Salmon Bake through the cruise ship)

Skagway – Glacial Point Wilderness Safari (this sounds incredible and I have no idea where I'd find this independently)

Ketchikan – Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour (they don't seem to take independent excursions)

 

Victoria – Butchart Gardens (this we will do on our own)

[KAWS]

Because of the short port time in Victoria, I will book Princess's excursion to the Butchart Gardens.

 

Nancy, why would you go through Princess when you can just go there yourself? We're there for the whole evening so it wouldn't be hard to get back to the ship in time.

[CC Help Michell]

We've always booked independent excursions in the Caribbean. Some were better than others, but every time I was happy that I did it the way that we did. I felt like we got a much better experience.

 

But for Alaska, the things we've booked aren't available anywhere else but the cruise ship. Here's what we have in mind:

 

Juneau – Mendenhall Glacier & Salmon Bake (perhaps we should just go to the Glacier on our own and then book the Salmon Bake through the cruise ship)

 

You can visit Mendenhall via vendors on the pier, or via local transportation. You might want to look at Thane Ore House for your salmon bake -- or consider Liarsville (in Skagway) as an alternative.

 

Skagway – Glacial Point Wilderness Safari (this sounds incredible and I have no idea where I'd find this independently)

 

You might want to book this one through the cruiseship; lots of Google info on this one, some of which indicates it's sponsored by Chilkat Guides (if that gives you another search term in case you want to see if you can book it independently).

 

Ketchikan – Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour (they don't seem to take independent excursions) It seems they don't -- they are truly unique, so the cruiselines all offer them now (they began in '07 and took some independent bookings then). I also highly recommend this tour -- it was one of our two faves in Alaska in '08.

 

Victoria – Butchart Gardens (this we will do on our own)

 

I think for what you have in mind for your ports of call, you might be as well off booking through the ship. That doesn't indicate that independent excursions in Alaska aren't an option, however. There are lots of them -- it just doesn't seem what's available met with your interests for this trip?

[NancyIL]

Nancy, why would you go through Princess when you can just go there yourself? We're there for the whole evening so it wouldn't be hard to get back to the ship in time.[/Quote] We don't arrive in Victoria until 7 p.m., and the Butchart Gardens are 14 miles north of Victoria: http://www.butchartgardens.com/planning-your-visit/where-are-the-gardens/where-are-the-gardens.html I don't plan on renting a car at 7 p.m.to drive there myself, and I imagine a taxi ride there and back will cost close to what the Princess tour costs. This is one port where I'll play it safe and book a Princess tour. However, if one "missed the boat" in Victoria, it wouldn't be that difficult to get to Seattle.

 

You are right about the excursions you've chosen in Ketchikan and Skagway - they're only available through the ship.

[KAWS]

We don't arrive in Victoria until 7 p.m., and the Butchart Gardens are 14 miles north of Victoria: http://www.butchartgardens.com/planning-your-visit/where-are-the-gardens/where-are-the-gardens.html I don't plan on renting a car at 7 p.m.to drive there myself, and I imagine a taxi ride there and back will cost close to what the Princess tour costs. This is one port where I'll play it safe and book a Princess tour.

 

I guess I thought we'd just take a taxi but this makes sense. I'll have to check out the Princess tour for this. I admit I didn't even give it a glance because we thought from the beginning to do this one on our own. Thanks for the other perspective.

[NancyIL]

I guess I thought we'd just take a taxi but this makes sense. I'll have to check out the Princess tour for this. I admit I didn't even give it a glance because we thought from the beginning to do this one on our own. Thanks for the other perspective.

And you have me wondering about doing this on our own, because I assumed we would visit the gardens on a Princess tour if we were in Victoria in the evening! But with 2600 passengers on the ship - many of whom will want off the ship at 7:00 - I think it could be chaos getting off in a timely manner. Then there will be Friday night Victoria traffic to contend with. Maybe I need to post a question on the Canada board about this!

[NancyIL]

Here are several threads about touring Victoria:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=878684

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=893156

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=904522

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=852557

[tee_harbor]

Juneau – Mendenhall Glacier & Salmon Bake (perhaps we should just go to the Glacier on our own and then book the Salmon Bake through the cruise ship)

 

As someone else said, you can easily get to the glacier yourself and then stay as long as you'd like.

 

You can do the salmon bake separately, it's the same company as your cruise would book: http://www.bestofalaskatravel.com/alaska_day_tours/pages/j_gold_creek_salmon.htm and again, go when you want, not be herded on and off a bus on someone else's schedule.

 

There's also the option of flying out to the Taku River salmon bake:

http://www.wingsairways.com/taku-lodge-glacier-flight.html Obviously more money, but you're getting flightseeing too, and a great meal.

 

Also, those two things are only going to take a few hours out of your day. Do you have other plans in Juneau?

 

 

Ketchikan – Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour (they don't seem to take independent excursions)

 

Like Juneau, that will only take a few hours. Have you other plans there?

[TexasJam]

In Juneau, booked the Harv and Marv whale watching. They have confirmed a drop off at the salmon bake. We will then take the salmon bakes free shuttle back to the ship.

 

In Skagway, booked the 7-hour rail/bus excursion with Chilkoot Charters.

 

In Ketchikan, pre-reserved for the wilderness exploration & crab feast booked thru Princess.

 

Jamie

[ShibaInuMom]

We've always booked independent excursions in the Caribbean. Some were better than others, but every time I was happy that I did it the way that we did. I felt like we got a much better experience.

 

But for Alaska, the things we've booked aren't available anywhere else but the cruise ship. Here's what we have in mind:

 

Juneau – Mendenhall Glacier & Salmon Bake (perhaps we should just go to the Glacier on our own and then book the Salmon Bake through the cruise ship)

 

Skagway – Glacial Point Wilderness Safari (this sounds incredible and I have no idea where I'd find this independently)

 

Ketchikan – Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour (they don't seem to take independent excursions)

 

Victoria – Butchart Gardens (this we will do on our own)

 

The Meldenhall excursion only spends 45 minutes at the glacier, and the bus driver threatened to leave us behind if we were late getting back to the bus. Also the salmon bake is Wild Alaskan Silver Salmon, NOT Red Sockeye Salmon. Silver Salmon has a very mild taste, and is not to my liking.

[KAWS]

In Juneau, booked the Harv and Marv whale watching. They have confirmed a drop off at the salmon bake. We will then take the salmon bakes free shuttle back to the ship.

 

THIS sounds like the best day. We've decided to take a pass on the Mendenhall Glacier (we'll see lots of glaciers on our wilderness safari) and I checked out Harv and Marv's and this sounds great. I've got a phone call/email in to them to see if we can go with them. And I have a request in to the Golden Salmon Bake to ask about times and request tickets. Now that I know that H&M can drop me right there, it's even better.

 

Thanks everyone for your help. I am very happy with the new ideas that we have for our day in Juneau.

[NancyIL]

THIS sounds like the best day. We've decided to take a pass on the Mendenhall Glacier (we'll see lots of glaciers on our wilderness safari) and I checked out Harv and Marv's and this sounds great. I've got a phone call/email in to them to see if we can go with them. And I have a request in to the Golden Salmon Bake to ask about times and request tickets. Now that I know that H&M can drop me right there, it's even better.

 

Thanks everyone for your help. I am very happy with the new ideas that we have for our day in Juneau.

 

I hope you can do the whale watch with Harv and Marv. I e-mailed them this week to check availability for May 25, and they were already completely booked. They take only 6 people per tour (they have 2 boats) and fill up pretty quickly.

[Excited to go crusing]

we booked independantly with Seawind Aviation in Ketchikan, for the Misty Fjords floatplane trip, it was great & they got us back to the dock about noon, which gave us time to sign up for a short bus tour of Ketchikan ( also jsut bought on the spot) Have fun, I think there is a taxi website if you want to check fares to Butchart from the dock, I'm guessing tis around $100 rt. I had the link once, if I can find it again, I'll post it :)

[H2O babe]

Not sure where you are seeing that independent options for excursions are not available?? We booked all our excursions independently in 2006 and have them booked independently for 2009 as well. Using the search option on this forum will give you lots of ideas and even quite a few links as well. If you be a bit more specific about what ports you'll be in and when and what types of things you like to do there are many here that will give you great advice.

 

K.

[KAWS]

Well Harv and Marv's is all booked up. :(

 

Now what? Any other recommendations for a great excursion provider?

 

I'll post something with it's own thread but just wanted to check here first since a lot of you have already been to Alaska and might know.

[wvufan]

We suggest contacting Orca Enterprises. Query that and you'll get their website with phone numbers. Carol is the boss. They are located in Juneau and they run Captain Larry's whale watching. We have been with him twice and it was magnificent both times. Orca can also arrange other exursions for you at no extra charge. For example, when we wanted to take a flightseeing tour to the Misty Fjords, they found out that Island Wings was booked up and they arranged for us to go with Carlin Air (fantastic-comparable to Michelle). Further, we also booked a helicopter glacier landing though them.

 

The great thing about the way we did it is that when there were several itinerary date switches, they found out about it before it was even on the Celebrity site and made all the changes for us. And, in Juneau, when heavy fog was forecast, they found a way for us to take the helicopter tour first and then the whale watch-we were the only ones who got to land on the glacier that day. Hassle free, professional service.

 

In Juneau, we had them drop us off at the Mendenhall glacier. I know you plan on skipping it, but perhaps you might want to rethink that. We took a nice walk down to the big waterfall near the glacier. Also, there is a path right at the visitor center that can take you into bear viewing areas. While we were there, a black bear actually tried to get in to the visitors center! Great photo ops! From there, we took the shuttle back to town and had lots of time to do other things.

 

We very highly recommend the crabbing tour. Second best excursion in Alaska (Misty Fjords is the best).We actually booked it on their site even though they say to book through the cruise.

 

A lot of great things to do in Skagway. The railroad or renting a car and going to Emerald Lake with Murray's Guide are both fantastic.

 

In Sitka we walked to the national park and the raptor center.

 

You can get the local bus (can't remember the name of the carrier but it is something like the gray line) at the Empress hotel to Butchart. The Empress is a fairly easy walk from the ship. Absolutely gorgeous and going on your own is so much better than the ship tour as you won't be on their quick schedule.

 

We have been on many cruises, and Alaska is our favorite. That's why we went again this past September.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[StarTrkGeek]

We've always booked independent excursions in the Caribbean. Some were better than others, but every time I was happy that I did it the way that we did. I felt like we got a much better experience.

 

But for Alaska, the things we've booked aren't available anywhere else but the cruise ship. Here's what we have in mind:

 

Juneau – Mendenhall Glacier & Salmon Bake (perhaps we should just go to the Glacier on our own and then book the Salmon Bake through the cruise ship)

 

Skagway – Glacial Point Wilderness Safari (this sounds incredible and I have no idea where I'd find this independently)

 

Ketchikan – Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour (they don't seem to take independent excursions)

 

Victoria – Butchart Gardens (this we will do on our own)

We did the Mendenhall Glacier & Salmon Bake two years ago. Don't waste your time! We were given only 45 minutes at Mendenhall -- not nearly enough time! The lady bus driver even threatened to leave without us if we were late returning. I was really looking forward to the salmon bake because I really love red sockeye salmon. To my disappointment, they did not have any. The only kind of wild salmon that they provide in Coho (silver) salmon -- which has an extremely mild taste.

 

The reviews on the Glacial Point Wilderness Safari have been only so-so.