Taku Glacier Lodge Flight and Feast

[rox1234]

We are sailing on the Rhapsody July 17 and have this excursion booked in Juneau on July 19th. Any feedback?

[Budget Queen]

It's an excellent tour.

[brunolvr]

We are sailing on the Rhapsody July 17 and have this excursion booked in Juneau on July 19th. Any feedback?

 

We did this excursion in 2006 and would love to do it again if it wasn't so expensive. The flight over the Juneau icefields is phenomenal and the BBQ salmon dinner served was delicious. My husband says that's the best salmon he's ever had and, being from the Pacific Northwest, we do eat quite a bit of salmon.

 

Take a look at our pictures:

http://good-times.webshots.com/slideshow/560402105FjhZME;jsessionid=abclpTP4qwAxPcpN4z7hs

[clogaltocruise]

We splurged on the Taku floatplane/salmon bbq excursion a few years ago and loved the experience. Since then, we have recommended it to friends who recommended it to friends. Allwere pleased to have taken the excursion.

 

I hope you enjoy it. We sure did!

[gottagoacruzn]

Its a very good tour, several years ago went up there and took some great photos, be sure to take a picture of Scarface the bear that hangs around there. It is pricey but worth it.

 

virginia

[Sailorgirlseattle]

Fantastic! I'm terrified to fly but am so completely glad we did this trip. The views of the glaciers and the surrounding moutains are stunning, and the lodge/meal is wonderful. I ended up buying the cookbook just to get their recipe for herbed biscuits! I'd recommend this trip in a heartbeat.

[canadarocks]

How does this excursion compare to just a Glacier flightplane or helicopter trip? Is the trip to the lodge and the meal worth the extra expense? And if you aren't a fan of salmon (my crazy husband! :rolleyes:) do they have any substitutions?

[georgiatraveler]

We did this excursion a couple of weeks ago and it would definately be the one I would do again. The flight is the highlight, but being at the lodge is a great experience too. I first thought 2 hours would be too long to be at the lodge, but it really didn't seem like long enough.

 

We had our closest bear sighting at Taku Lodge. My daughter and I met a black bear on one of the trails, a little too close for my comfort, but we and the bear backed away, so I think he was probably just as relieved as I was to end the encounter!

 

Don't worry if you don't like salmon, there is plenty to eat without the fish. Actually eating the salmon reduces the number of herb biscuits you can eat, and the biscuits are the best part of the meal. We also bought the cookbook to get the biscuit recipe. I can't get the texture right, but the taste is perfect.

[MizzNewbie]

We did the Taku flight and meal recently. We didn't see any bears, but the mosquitoes were ferocious The lodge supplied bug repellant.

[poolwife]

Can a person go to the Lodge and for the meal without taking the flight? I am also terrified of flying in little planes.

[dakrewser]

Can a person go to the Lodge and for the meal without taking the flight? I am also terrified of flying in little planes.

There's no other way to get there, I'm afraid. Most of Alaska is inaccessible by road.

[mooline]

I just took this excursion on the 6-13 sailing of the Star.

 

It was awesome. I have a farily lengthy review, with links to pics and video, posted on this board. You can find it in this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1013077&highlight=taku+lodge

 

Enjoy - it's an incredible experience!

[georgiatraveler]

Poolwife, I was stressed about the plane and considered backing out even as I was boarding, but I am so glad that I went. It was the absolute highlight of our 10 day trip.

 

While we were at the lodge I couldn't wait to get back on the plane! Any apprehension that I had about the size of the plane vanished as I marveled at the spectacular views that I had of the mountains and glaciers.

[Sailorgirlseattle]

Poolwife, I'm a scaredy cat on planes too (all planes, not just the little ones!), but I LOVED this trip. For me, this really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and for an hour of being scared in the air, it was well worth it.

[mooline]

Hey guys, if it helps at all, I am a pilot and so is my husband. From what we saw, the folks who run the floatplane operation to Taku Lodge are very safe and professional.

 

I wish my landings were half as good as the ones that Paul gave us!

 

And georgiatraveler, I bought the cookbook too, haven't tried any recipes yet, though. However, I did notice that there is a handwritten change to the Herb Biscuit recipe. They changed it to 2 TABLEspoons of baking powder - it was printed as 2 TEAspoons. Maybe worth a try?

 

If anyone wants, I can scan and post a couple of recipes here - they will be PDFs.

 

Let me know if you'd like to see a few (special requests welcome.) :)

[travelbuds]

My wife and I are planning to do this tour, but now she's wondering if it is worth buying a meal that she wouldn't eat much of. She thought it would be a great ride with nice scenery, but she doesn't eat much at lunch (or dinner for that matter)-usually a little cottage cheese or yogurt, fruit and veggies. I told her I'd eat her lunch if she just wants to take the ride! I can eat anytime!

[KAWS]

My wife and I are planning to do this tour, but now she's wondering if it is worth buying a meal that she wouldn't eat much of. She thought it would be a great ride with nice scenery, but she doesn't eat much at lunch (or dinner for that matter)-usually a little cottage cheese or yogurt, fruit and veggies. I told her I'd eat her lunch if she just wants to take the ride! I can eat anytime!

 

I don't eat fish and they don't offer an alternative, but I'm still taking the excursion. The flight alone and the lodge experience to me is going to be worth the price of the excursion.

[grak]

Absolutely the best experience!!!! Saw bear, salmon and all of the meal was wonderful. The salmon is sooooo fresh I would bet even non fish lovers would love it. I couldn't complain about anything. I, too, am fearful of flying but was not a problem. Beauty beyond words!!!!

[georgiatraveler]

Mooline, I have made the biscuits 4 times since we returned on June 9th. I was worried about the teaspoon/tablespoon change, but I think tablespoon is correct. The taste of my biscuits is great, but they are tough. I've been looking at biscuit recipes on line trying to figure out what I am doing wrong and it looks like the 1-1/4 cup of water is not enough. Last time I cut the recipe in half but used 1 cup of water which seemed to help. Everyone had loved them, but I know mine are nowhere near as great as they were at Taku Lodge...I'm also trying to figure out how to have a glacier view out of my dining room window too!

[brunolvr]

And georgiatraveler, I bought the cookbook too, haven't tried any recipes yet, though. However, I did notice that there is a handwritten change to the Herb Biscuit recipe. They changed it to 2 TABLEspoons of baking powder - it was printed as 2 TEAspoons. Maybe worth a try?

 

If anyone wants, I can scan and post a couple of recipes here - they will be PDFs.

 

Let me know if you'd like to see a few (special requests welcome.) :)

 

I'd love to see the recipe for the Herb Biscuit, mooline. Also, anything else look or sound really delicious? Thanks!:)

[georgiatraveler]

Brunolvr, If you do a search for "Taku glacier lodge herb biscuit recipe" you can find it online. The recipe online calls for 2 teaspoons of baking powder, but in the book that you buy at the lodge it has been changed (by hand) to 2 tablespoons.

[Sailorgirlseattle]

I've found that the biscuits need a little more water than the recipe calls for. I usually put in just shy of the 1 1/4 cup, then add the rest, then slowly add a trickle more here or there until it feels right. You definitely don't want too much water. Also, I think the biscuits may be tougher if they're over-kneaded. I've been using a fork to initially mix up the ingredients, then a final mix-up by hand before the 8 kneads on a floured board. Mine usually come out flaky, like the lodges.

[rkdahl]

We were booked on this excursion last week and it was canceled due to low ceilings and visibility. We've done it before and it was great!

 

I'd highly recommend trying for a noon or later flight if possible. The Juneau weather is often low ceilings and misty early mornings. In our case by Noon they were flying again. It was only the early flights that were cancelled.

 

I'm a pilot too and was wondering how they would handle the weather that morning. I checked and it was IFR with 400 ft ceilings. When we checked in at the dock they said they were doing a weather check. About 10 minutes later they scrubbed and we got a full refund on the ship.

 

Good call. Because if they didn't cancel it, I was going to. It was not flyable that morning.

[Sprigs616]

A couple of comments ..

 

- The best seat on the plane is the co-pilot's seat.

- If you're considering also taking the Mt. Robert's tram, you can skip it since the float planes fly right by Mt. Roberts and you'll have much better views from the plane.

- Unless you eat freshly caught salmon all the time, forget your preconceived notions about cooked salmon. I don't usually like salmon at restaurants but I'm now a believer that there is such a thing as good salmon. It wasn't at all fishy and it was cooked perfectly. Seriously, the freshness coupled with the bbq and glaze made me forget I was eating salmon. Keep in mind that the Taku hosts do this all the time so they really know what they're doing at the bbq. Yummy!!

- I was terrified before we got on the plane but I couldn't believe the smooth take off and landing. Much smoother than any take off or landing I've experience. I didn't know when we left the water or when we touched down. Once we were in the air, I was too busy being in awe to be afraid anymore.

- Take note of the glacier names as you fly over the glaciers if you want to caption your photos. Mine are glacier #1, glacier #2 .. etc.

- Taku served a pretty good beer. As soon as we arrived, we went straight into the lodge and ordered a glass of beer ($), then strolled around the grounds a bit before dinner.

 

All in all .. a perfect way to celebrate my birthday!

[mooline]

I'd love to see the recipe for the Herb Biscuit, mooline. Also, anything else look or sound really delicious? Thanks!:)

 

Hi Sandy:

 

Apologies that I didn't see your post until now - I've been a bit preoccupied with work. Tomorrow, I'll scan and post some of the recipes from the cookbook. You'll love them!