Can Photo Safari Land & Sea be booked day of Excursion?

[travelingmomof3]

Has anyone booked the Photo Safari the day of the excursion? I am holding off on booking my excursions because I am worried about the weather. If it rains I would prefer to save the excursion money and do my own tours but if it's nice it would be a great experience (or so I've read here). :D So do you think they will be full if I wait to book?

[DBMiller]

This is a very popular tour that books up fast. They only take 12 people per group. On my recent Princess Cruise, the time slot that I wanted was booked about six weeks in advance. You might give Gastineau Guiding a call to see if they take same day bookings.

[AmazingJourneys]

No, you can't hold off until the day of the cruise. Not only is this a very popular tour and will sell out by that time, but excursions have to be in by noon of the day before the tour.

[travelingmomof3]

OK thanks for your input - I will just bite the bullet here and book it now. Thanks! :)

[MercedMike]

Weather in Alaska is extremely variable. There is an excellent chance it WILL rain on any given day on your cruise. The locals and tour operators just put on a windbreaker and go ahead with their activities!

 

Such things as flightseeing and helicopters may be cancelled because of the weather. Otherwise, just go ahead on the tour and you will probably have a great time and not get very wet. We have rarely experienced cloudbusters in Alaska. More often it is intermittent drizzle.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[#1survivorfan]

Just got back from Alaska 2 weeks ago and did this very excursion through Princess. Gastineau Guiding is the company that does the excursion. We were so lucky to have Colin as our captain during the "Sea" part. He had amazing intuition about where the whales were and we saw soooooo much. Both humback and killer whales, many times of bubble feeding, and a killer whale baby so young that it's belly was still orange. This was a great excursion which I booked at the last minute just before we left and I was so happy I did. I highly recommend it....also when your on the boat, your with a very small group. I think this would be a good excursion in the rain also. The boat has huge side windows that they lift up, so your under the shelter of the roof but open on the sides for viewing and pictures. I also learned so much about photography during this trip. It was just great all around

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I am very interested in this tour. I hope to be able to book it through Carnival when when they open the excursions for booking.

 

I am curious about the walking part of it. I understand that it is mostly flat surface without much of an elevation gain. I am ok with that, but because of my knees am concerned about big grades. Has anyone done this who can comment on the hiking part of this tour?

[Suzanne123]

It's not a very strenuous hike, as you go up a small grade hill but then spend a lot of time at the edge of the lake. It's just a short distance from the area where the buses load and you can go at your own pace. At the glacier, everyone gets a tripod for their camera. Our guide, Dave, went up and down the trail all the while we were there because some people wanted pictures of flowers, others wanted the waterfall, etc. There's no pressure to keep up. You have about an hour at the glacier so you could even go out on your own if you wanted to do that.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

It's not a very strenuous hike, as you go up a small grade hill but then spend a lot of time at the edge of the lake. It's just a short distance from the area where the buses load and you can go at your own pace. At the glacier, everyone gets a tripod for their camera. Our guide, Dave, went up and down the trail all the while we were there because some people wanted pictures of flowers, others wanted the waterfall, etc. There's no pressure to keep up. You have about an hour at the glacier so you could even go out on your own if you wanted to do that.

Thank you! They provide a tripod? That is great.

 

I am still considering other options, but this one is moving it's way to the top of the list.:)