Please help with Alaska itiniary and excursions

[love2travelc]

Hi Alaska Experts!

My family is taking a cruise to Alaska this July. We have a 14 year old and a 11 year old. Any comments or inputs in any of the following would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

7/16: fly to Vancouver and spend the night,

7/17: get on board Radiance of the Seas,

7/19: Ketchup - excursion: what's not to be missed with the kids?

7/20: Juneau - excursion: what should we do here?

7/21: Skagway - excursion: White Pass railroad trip, anything else?

7/22: Icy Strait Point - excursion: the kids want to do zip lining, but not sure about my husband and I, What else do you recommend?

7/24: Seward - possible excursion: Kanai National Park catamaran cruise (6 hours), take the train at 6:00pm to Anchorage, arrive at 10:15pm, spend 1 night in Anchorage,

7/25: rent a car and drive toward Denali, spend 2 nights in Healy,

7/26: take the shuttle into Denali,

7/27: drive back to Anchorage and take a later flight at 5:00pm to go back home.

 

 

Thanks!

[paul929207]

In kKetchican, I think the kids would like the Lumberjack show. It is kind of hokey, but a nice show. It is about a 5 minute walk from the ship.

[Snoofer]

Juneau - WHALE WATCHING!! ABSOLUTELY

Skagway - White Pass RR - a must! Be sure to walk around the town as well. It is an old gold mining town with lots of history. I think that will be pretty much all you'll have time for. We did also do the dog kennel tour - we enjoyed that as well. If I had only one pick - it would be White Pass RR

Icy Strait was new when we went there - not much to pick from. We did a "bear watch" which was exciting but we didn't see any bears. We also did a salmon fishing tour and that was wonderful. Be sure it's salmon season, though.

Seward - do the Kenai Fjords tour - definitely! It's awesome!

We also spent two nights in Healy at a wonderful B & B. Toured Denali - a sure "don't miss"!

Sounds like a fantastic trip you have planned - you'll love it!

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

From Juneau, you can drive to the Mendenhall glacier or take flights to see glaciers.

[Happy ks]

Your plans look pretty good. I'd not highly recommend the Lumberjack show for kids older than 10, we saw it and our kids 13 and 16 couldn't wait to get out of there. Whatever you do in Ketchikan, get out of town, it's just a tourist trap.

 

Juneau is a little better, we went out to Mendenhall Glacier and did a whale watch. Didn't really see any whales but it was fun. There is no guarantee how many whales you will see, every day can be different.

 

I've not ziplined yet, but plan to in Mexico next year. From what everyone says that has done it, it is a blast.

[trixietx]

I did whale watching in Icy Strait Point and we saw lots of whales. I loved it. My DH went halibut fishing and loved that. Another couple we met on board did the zip line and like it.

 

In Skagway take a helicopter to the glacier. They will take all four of you and you land on the helicopter and leave you there for 20-30 minutes. We really enjoyed it. We did that in the morning and in the afternoon took the train.

 

In Juneau we got off the boat and chartered a plane from Wings Airways for one hour and it was the best. He flew us all over and the glaciers,ice and wildlife were just amazing. They normally do the Taku Villeage and Bake or something like that tour. The pilot enjoyed it and so did we!:)

[jmspcl16]

I second going to the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. Also a walk into town to see the Red Dog Saloon is worth your time. Juneau a fun town with a great history. If adult beverages are your thing, the Alsakan Amber is fantastic! The brewery is in Juneau. I wanted to take a tour but time did not permit it. We were there in mid August and the salmon were running. The streams were so full I could have reached my hand down and easily plucked salmon out of the water. Also watch for the "golf balls" in the trees --- those are bald eagles.

 

We did the totem pole tour in Ketchikan. The tour was a nice way to get out of town and see the landscape and the surrounding towns. The information on the tour was fantastic and it included a tour of "downtown" Ketchikan. We also saw the Lumberjack show in Ketchikan.

 

We did a bus tour in Skagway. It was alright. I really enjoyed walking around the town seeing its famous buildings and hearing its storied history. My only regret is that I wish I had taken the train. The dock is also interesting in Skagway with the artwork on it.

 

No matter what you do enjoy your time in Alaska and on your cruise!

 

:)

[yogi2929]

You will be the only ship in port.

 

We also did the bear watch. They guarantee that you will see a bear. There is a carved one on the observation platform overlooking the river. We ended up seeing a Mom and two cubs. The earlier tour only saw the carved one. We had a guide and two guards with guns. No way do you want to mess with the bears. Camped in bear areas and have seen what they can do.

 

There is a small museum and if I remember correctly some sort of a native dance. The museum is in the old cannery. All the stores are local or Alaskan. No chain stores here. The prices for the souveniors were less expensive here than in other ports.

 

DH and DD loved the zipline. They were convinced to go after they saw an 80 year-old couple go down on it. The zipline has a 'seat' and not those straps. In 2007 it was the longest in the world.

 

Be sure to talk to the guys tending the fire.

 

FWIW- We have AT&T cell phones and got a strong signal.

[CC Help Michell]

Hi Alaska Experts!

My family is taking a cruise to Alaska this July. We have a 14 year old and a 11 year old. Any comments or inputs in any of the following would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

7/16: fly to Vancouver and spend the night,

7/17: get on board Radiance of the Seas,

7/19: Ketchup - excursion: what's not to be missed with the kids?

7/20: Juneau - excursion: what should we do here?

7/21: Skagway - excursion: White Pass railroad trip, anything else?

7/22: Icy Strait Point - excursion: the kids want to do zip lining, but not sure about my husband and I, What else do you recommend?

7/24: Seward - possible excursion: Kanai National Park catamaran cruise (6 hours), take the train at 6:00pm to Anchorage, arrive at 10:15pm, spend 1 night in Anchorage,

7/25: rent a car and drive toward Denali, spend 2 nights in Healy,

7/26: take the shuttle into Denali,

7/27: drive back to Anchorage and take a later flight at 5:00pm to go back home.

 

 

Thanks!

 

I didn't see that anyone had linked you to the Ports of Call Alaska board here at Cruise Critic --- http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

This is perhaps the most knowledgeable, helpful, message board community I've found on the web. You will find a wealth of great information there, to answer all your questions.

 

In Ketchikan I recommend the Deadliest Catch/Bering Sea Fishing excursion, but if you are floatplane people with a bit of a budget to spend, you might want to do a floatplane trip to Misty Fjords. In Juneau, I agree with whalewatching, and in Skagway I'd take not just the railroad, but an excursion that goes further into the Yukon (Emerald Lake, for example). In Seward, we absolutely loved Kenai Fjords National Park, but we did take the excursion which went to Northwestern Glacier, not just within Resurrection Bay (lots more info on this on the Alaska board).

 

PS, I haven't been there yet, but Healy is the small town located near Denali's main entrance, often recommended for those who don't want to pay the "Glitter Gulch" prices for accommodations right at the park entrance. Healy isn't really a separate place on the road to Denali (unlike Talkeetna (which might be what you meant?)), so perhaps you might want to do a bit more clarifying on this region before booking your reservations?

[luvscruising2007]

In Ketchican we did the totem village and lumberjack show. Both entertaining.

In Juneau we did the Taku Lodge and Salmon Bake. It was float plane to the lodge and then a salmon lunch. Very good. The Taku glacier is right there by the lodge. We took a hike after lunch. When we returned to the lodge a bear had climbed a tree right next to the building and many of us spent about a half hour taking pictures. In retrospect it was probably a dumb thing to do, but we were all fascinated by being within just a few feet of a bear. We also had time to take the bus to Mendenhall glacier. The bus loads up right near where the ship is docked.

In Skagway we took the train.

In Icy Strait Point we took the whale watching tour. We didn't see many whales but we saw alot of other wild life.

Excursions can be very expensive in Alaska so pick and choose what fits your budget.

We enjoyed it all. I really think the excursions in Alaska are some of the better ones offered.

Have a great cruise.:D

[apeller]

In Skagway we took a beautiful tour into the Yukon - including a corny dogsled ride (on wheels) which was fun.

In Ketchikan we took a flight-seeing tour to Misty Fjord.

In Juneau we went zip-lining

In Seward we did the National Parks boat tour - most of these boat tours are fabulous because you are in a small boat and get really close to the glaciers and see lots of wildlife.

We also did a lot of walking around.

DD was 15 at the time and loved all our excursions. I booked everything independently using suggestions from the Alaska Port of Call board.

There is so much to do. Whatever you decide, you will have a great time.

[yogi2929]

I forgot to add- If you are adventurous you can snorkel in Ketchikan and raft the Mendenhall River in Juneau.