Alaska Excursions--post your reviews here!

[brandysmommy]

Just back and wanted to share what we did as these boards gave a lot of insight for me. It is fragmented and brief but I wanted to get something out there while it was still fresh.



Tracy Arm Day - claim a lounge chair on deck 10 by 10am. Try for one between the two funnels that way you can also see the other side without. They grill out in the seating area of Beach Blanket for lunch but don't overly advertise - very good food - access through Beach Blanket. Wear sunscreen - it was 55-60 and sunny - those without sunscreen were burned.

Skagway - we rented a car from Avis - right in town, grabbed water from the grocery store and headed to the Yukon. We purchased Murray's Guide http://www.murraysguide.com/ for $5 - great investment. Did the Yukon Suspension bridge as well as Caribou Crossing. Drove to Emerald Lake and returned. Ate at Spirit Lake Lodge - ok food - terribly expensive $17 for a burger. Not many other options - might consider taking picnic food.

Juneau - we did the Mendenhall Glacier Dog Sled. Phenomenal experience. After, the bus driver dropped us into town. We did the Mount Roberts Tramway and hiked a bit at the top.

Ketchikan - we hired http://www.ketchikantaxicabtours.com/ Dave took us around - we saw everything (but couldn't find any bears) - eagles (so many), water falls, totem poles, totem carving, native village, forged for native berries which were so good, drove wooden streets and learned so much about the area. He dropped us off at the end at the Lumberjack show. We had purchased tickets on-line in advance and they were waiting for us. After the show, we headed back to the ship.

Victoria - we stayed on the ship - if your kids want to do the ship game in the lab - this is the time to do it - no one was there - my kids did it for hours.

The weather was great - only rained after we left Juneau - never needed more than a sweatshirt other than on the glacier - then added a 2nd sweatshirt, hat and gloves. I think we were lucky in the weather department though. Animators Palate was always freezing - as they have the doors that open to the deck and lifeboats. Other interior areas very comfortable with summerish clothes.

Any questions feel free to ask - need to get some unpacking and laundry done!

 

[RedSox68]

Must say that the Inn at the Market is a WONDERFUL place to stay pre- or post-cruise! We did the townhouse suite (upstairs master bedroom with bath). Was fabulous. Only complaint is that the bathroom is upstairs, but that was fine. Staff is super nice -- let us check in very early (before noon), check out late (our airport pick-up was 1:30 -- I bet they would've even let us stay later). You MUST go to the French restaurant at Pike Place (Maximilien).

We stayed one night at the Inn at the Market before we headed to Vancouver for the cruise in May. I wish we could have stayed more. The townhouse suite was amazing and we had a view of Puget sound and the Market Place. PLUS they have a lounge area on the roof with wonderful shares and terrific views. Very romantic at night time! Terrific staff, too, and loved the courtyard. BTW, Hard Rock Cafe is one block over on Pike Street and we really had a terrific meal there! Also, Elliott's on the waterfront had wonderful seafood. (Be aware, the walk DOWN to the waterfront is great, but then you have to come back up all those steps )

 

[mgmcpa]

See the Salmon Run
If you are lucky enough to visit in July/Aug when the salmon are running, visit the hatchery in Juneau. It's a $12 cab ride each way from the port, admission is $4 a person. INCREDIBLE and CHEAP. You can also take the city bus out there (we did this one way for $1.50 per person), but it's about a third of a mile walk from the bus stop to the hatchery.

You can buy to include this in other tours and will pay a lot more for it, but the extended tour just shows you indoor things that aren't half as exciting than the salmons running the ladder out front!

 

[Doingitagain]

I am a bit late getting to this post, sorry, just very busy after we got back! We were on the July 2, 2012 cruise.

Juneau -- Helicopter Glacier Walkabout. This was a short helicopter sightseeing followed by walking on a glacier. Great sightseeing, and interesting to be on the glacier. They provided gear to go over our clothing.

Ketchikan -- Private Boat -- Touring by Sea (through DCL). When you added up the cost of other tours, the price was reasonable. Plus we got to tell them what we wanted for our itinerary. We dropped crab pots, went salmon fishing, and viewed wildlife. Saw porpoises! We paid to have the two salmon we caught fileted and shipped home (expensive, but hey, how often do we go salmon fishing). Would definitely do this again.

Skagway -- Skagway Triple Adventure. Great excursion. We did biking, rafting, and hiking. Only issue was mosquitos. If you are going end of July, beginning of August, definitely do this because you go by the water where salmon are running.

Note that we had been to Alaska the year before, and did the Mendenhall Glacier, floatplane, long hike to a glacier and whale watching, so we looked for something different this year.

 

[Caewings]

Hi again - I searched the thread and haven't seen any reviews of "The Klondike Experience" in Skagway. Anyone done this one?

Note, my husband and I are bringing our 18 mo, 5 yr, 8 yr olds as well as my parents and 19 yr old sister. I've had to choose my excursions pretty carefully! I'd love to know what this activity is really like. Thanks!

I am going in 2 weeks w/ very similar ages. 18mo,5 yo,8yo plus my MIL so I have had similar trouble choosing stuff

 

[worldfamous]

subbing

 

[Doingitagain]

A quick note, not sure if I posted this here yet or not.

We booked a private boat excursion through DCL. We paid for it up front.

I saw the charge come through on our stateroom bill, but really didn't think about it until I got home and reviewed everything more thoroughly that they didn't credit us for the upfront payment. Thus we were double charged. DCL corrected it when I contacted them, but it took a week for the refund to show up on our credit card.

Just a heads up so you check if you have an excursion like this!

 

[pudinhd]

Our cruise just ended today...

We booked a 6-passenger boat to whale watch with Harv & Marv in Juneau. It was excellent! So many whales and Captain Liz was fabulous!

We also did the Bear Country & Wildlife Expedition through DCL in Ketchikan. Wow!! Lots of bears including cubs! At one point we were about 5 feet from a mama bear and her 2 cubs. The guide was great and very specific about what we were to do while remaining calm!!

So sad to be going home! Many thanks to everyone for their helpful posts!

 

[mmgrdg]

This is great info...still trying to decide if this would be a good cruise for my kids (13&14)... So it's helpful to see what people did and liked/disliked.

 

[gojulia]

Here's what we did:

Skagway: Liarsville Disney Character Experience thing
Grizzly Falls Ziplining (my favorite thing about the whole trip- you must go!!!)

Juneau: Best of Juneau

Ketchikan: Float Plane trip

Victoria: just took the bus into town and walked around after dinner. It was lovely and so glad we got off the ship!

 

[tink1963]

Our cruise just ended today...

We booked a 6-passenger boat to whale watch with Harv & Marv in Juneau. It was excellent! So many whales and Captain Liz was fabulous!

We also did the Bear Country & Wildlife Expedition through DCL in Ketchikan. Wow!! Lots of bears including cubs! At one point we were about 5 feet from a mama bear and her 2 cubs. The guide was great and very specific about what we were to do while remaining calm!!

So sad to be going home! Many thanks to everyone for their helpful posts!

Oh I'm so glad to hear you had a great expierence with the Bear Country & Wildlife Expedition. We did this last year and OMG so loved it. Who was your guide? We had Matt and he was great. Funny and knowledgable. Do they still do small groups?

 

[Jefferson1964]

We are big Disney Fans and have been to WDW at least 25 times and DW 1 time. Just returned from the Aug. 13-20 Alaskan Cruise. This was our families first cruise and done with a 9 month old and 9 year old and had a great time, Disney is wonderful, its like putting WDW in a ship. With the 9mo we were limited to what excursions we could attend as a family and booked them all through Disney easy as could be. I will say being mid August we did not have any mesquito issues and the salmon run was wonderful as was the weather with no rain and mild temperatures for being in Alaska.

In Skagway we did the White Pass Rail up/back and it was so beautiful and took around 3 hours for the entire trip. NO PASSPORT needed, we had them just in case but the train attendant said no passport was needed since we were not getting off the train in Canada. We came back walked around town and went to the National Park building in the center of town and my 9yo became a junior ranger and recieved a badge, really cool and free. Afterward we did the Mushers Camp. I had my doubts after reading a post from the beginning of this thread but they have made big changes from what I read and what I experienced. We drove up Lynn Canal which was beautiful and saw at least 4 eagles on the way. Walked to base camp across a creek which was full of Salmon, I mean FULL it was fun to watch. Then went to the UniMog and rode up the mountain, met our Musher, had picture time with the sled dog team, rode around the track several times and a very good pace. Rode back down for a talk on the equipment and puppy time, my 9 year old boy luved it and I was even given a puppy, loades of fun even if your not a dog person and the staff was nice.

Juneau--we did the whale watching excursion and mendenhall glacier tour. The boat held some 150 people but is large enough that I never felt crowded and they had great smoked salmon and crackers, hot chocolate for everyone. We rode out and were sitting there when several pods of whales came around the boat we counted some 20 whales total. This boat was fast and the driver took us back towards Skagway several miles and saw Eagle Glacier and many many towering mountains, then onto an Island Filled with Sea Lions then to another island with Seal, it was a great trip and narrated the entire time, the driver stopped along the way as we saw 2 eagles at the waters edge. Then onto Mendenhal Glacier, very beautiful and worth the visit.

Ketchikan--we did the Axe Man show and Native Village. Both were great, the axe man show had me laughing and my son participated and won a wooden axe. The native village with the totem poles was very informative, as my wife is part cherokee she participated in the dance and had a great time.

We would have luved to do some different excursions but again were limited by our 9mo but were very happy and satifisfied in what we did experience. You might want to check your excursion times expecially in Juneau and Ketchikan as afterward we felt extremely rushed. We never got to go into town to visit the shops in Juneau as when the excursions were over it was all aboard time and ketchikan the driver was nice enough to drop us a couple blocks from the ship so we could walk back and stop in a store or two before boarding but again only had 30 minutes or so. I wished disney had of taken some time from skagway as we were there 12 hours and put it towards Juneau and Ketchikan. Also get up early on port days to see the sunrise and get some great photos pulling into dock. I saw people with 10K lenses at Tracy Arm but it was only me and another guy taking early morning shots going into ports with our pocket cameras and I have some excellent photos. Well have fun Disney does it right and the staff is friendly. Hope this helps.

 

[pudinhd]

Oh I'm so glad to hear you had a great expierence with the Bear Country & Wildlife Expedition. We did this last year and OMG so loved it. Who was your guide? We had Matt and he was great. Funny and knowledgable. Do they still do small groups?

Our guide was Jon H. He has only been with the company since May, but he was fabulous! Our group was 12 people and everyone was nice! We would definitely do this again!

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Must say that the Inn at the Market is a WONDERFUL place to stay pre- or post-cruise! We did the townhouse suite (upstairs master bedroom with bath). Was fabulous. Only complaint is that the bathroom is upstairs, but that was fine.

We stayed one night at the Inn at the Market before we headed to Vancouver for the cruise in May. I wish we could have stayed more. The townhouse suite was amazing and we had a view of Puget sound and the Market Place. PLUS they have a lounge area on the roof with wonderful shares and terrific views.

Another recommendation for the INN AT THE MARKET from us. I'd stayed there before in a regular room, but the suites were fabulous for our family of four. We had an amazing view and wish we had more than one night as well. It's literally half a block from the market and couldn't be in a better location. I do agree about the second bathroom--would have made it perfect. But we managed

We were on the August 6-13th cruise and had a fabulous time. We also didn't have any problem with bugs. Our weather was patchy, but nothing horrible. The coldest/wettest was Tracy Arm, but that somehow seemed appropriate and didn't bother us. The rain was more of on occasional drizzle.

Skagway: A little drizzly in the am as I recall, but clear later. We did a Disney Excursion: Yukon Jeep Klondike Adventure. Very fun, and it was great being in our own jeep, but there was quite a bit of driving involved. We went to Carcross, making a number of stops along the way, including my favorite at the tourist center and a local coffee shop (which was fabulous). We then took a dirt road and did some very fun off-roading before stopping by a lake to have a snack of pepper jack cheese, crackers, and reindeer sausage. The latter was very good, even when DH told our DD12 that she was eating Rudolph (funny guy, LOL). Beautiful scenery. 7 our of 10.

Juneau: Cloudy but dry. We did another Disney Excursion: Dog Sledding on the Mendenhall Glacier by Helicopter. As just about everyone else has said about these port adventures, this was the highlight of the trip. I was very nervous (up all night nervous) about the helicopter, but it turned out to be my favorite part of the experience. You can't understand until you are in there how amazing it feels to fly above the glacier, and then, on the way back, over the mountains. Definite once in a lifetime experience. The dog sledding camp was amazing as well. We had plenty of time meeting the dogs, taking our sled ride, and then playing with the puppies. 10 out of 10.

ASIDE: Before we signed up for this excursion we tried to find out what the difference was between this one and the other one that is priced about the same--other than they go to different glaciers. My friend and her family did the other one on the same day, and they didn't have puppies. Not sure if this is always true, but it was for us.

Ketchikan: Cloudy and may have had moments of drizzle but nothing significant. We did the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman Tour on our own. Note that as others have said this is exactly the same excursion done by Disney, but costs much less on your own (especially if you have a tween). I'm usually boat-leaving-without-me paranoid and stick to Disney adventures, but this is literally the same boat (there is only one) that everyone else is on. If they hold it for the Disney folks, they will hold it for you. It's also easily walked from the ship. We had a great time on this excursion, and as fans of the show, it couldn't be missed. One of the coolest parts was when they take you to the island to feed the bald eagles. 8 out of 10.

Victoria: Clear weather. We did the Ale and Brewery Tour through Disney and left the kids on the boat. Had a fabulous time. Loved this excursion & the adult time. We stopped at three bars for about an hour and sampled three mini pints of beer at each, as well as different bar food. I can't remember the names of all the bars, but I think the last one (and most memorable) was Spinikers. It was, I believe, the first microbrew in Victoria. On the way back to the ship we drove through town and got to see the parliament building and the Empress hotel--bonus! 8 out of 10.

 

[tink1963]

Our guide was Jon H. He has only been with the company since May, but he was fabulous! Our group was 12 people and everyone was nice! We would definitely do this again!

Awesome! We are sailing this time next year and plan on doing it again. Our group was 10 total, including our guide.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Calfan]

We were on the 8/6/12 sailing, and since I used this thread heavily as a resource prior to our cruise, I wanted to circle back and post about our excursions.

First, just want to echo the positive comments about the Inn at the Market for folks still trying to figure out where to stay in Seattle (maybe no one at this point, but the info might still be helpful for future reference). We also stayed in one of the one bedroom townhouses and really enjoyed our stay. We were there for 3 nights pre-cruise. Loved the location, and the staff were very friendly and helpful. I do agree that having a second bathroom downstairs would have been nice, but I just made sure that I got to sleep upstairs!

Also a couple of Seattle "excursion" reviews. Based on information I read in a trip report ("No Orcas, No Bears, No Fly, But Why," which I highly recommend), we bought combo tickets to the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit and the Space Needle. The exhibit is right at Seattle center. We LOVED this exhibit. The glasswork was so amazing and colorful and large-scale! The tickets include free re-admission at night, so we went back in the evening and it was equally spectacular at night, especially with the Space Needle lit up in the background. (The glass chandeliers in the Wonder and Magic atriums are Chihuly glass.) We also rode the Ducks in Seattle which was fun. Our driver was really into it, which added greatly to the experience.

Now, on to Alaska.

In Skagway, we did the Yukon Expedition. This involved a bus ride from the port through the town of Skagway and up into the Yukon Territory. The bus ride was about two hours, but it did not feel nearly that long, and we stopped several times for photo ops. We arrived at Caribou Crossing a little early, so our driver took us beyond Caribou Crossing so we could see Emerald Lake. I was amazed at how many lakes and rivers there are in the Yukon territory, and so many of them are that pretty milky green glacier water color that we became familiar with on Tracy Arm day. Caribou Crossing is definitely a town constructed for tourists, but oddly fun. We were served a BBQ chicken lunch there that was better than decent. They also had homemade donuts that were tasty (and I am not a donut lover). After lunch, we had time to check out the wildlife museum, which is a small museum full of taxidermied animals. Again, my reaction is that this was strangely fun. They have a woolly mammoth and polar and grizzly bears. Also a bison, and I was amazed at how huge it was. We also had the opportunity to visit some husky puppies in Caribou Crossing. From there we made a short stop in Carcross which is a less touristy Yukon town. Then it was down to Fraser, BC to catch the White Pass Railway back down to Skagway. I highly recommend the White Pass Railway. We saw stunning views, and the narration was interesting and informative. All of the DISers who advise to sit on the right side of the train if you are taking it down are spot-on. So glad we followed their advice. Overall, I would give this excursion an 8.5 out of 10. I think taking the train both directions might have gotten a little long.

Juneau: We did the Dog Sled Adventure by Helicopter. This was a fabulous excursion. The helicopter ride up to the Norris glacier was stunning. My DS 8 absolutely loved the helicopter. So did my DH who was not at all convinced he wanted to go on this excursion. The scenery is just breathtaking. We flew over the Wonder which looked like a toy down below and then over the Norris and Taku glaciers (and one more whose name I can't remember). Then we landed on the Norris glacier and were off on the dog sled. So much fun. I only got to drive once because my kids loved driving so much, but I got such a kick out of just sitting in the sled as it got pulled along. The driving was definitely fun too! As CaliforniaGirl09 mentioned in her post, this excursion did not offer the opportunity to visit with puppies, which would have been fun. However, this excursion is the only one of the 3 dog-sledding excursions that DCL offers in Juneau that has a child's rate, for which both DD and DS qualified. That ended up saving us around $400, so I didn't mind not getting to meet the puppies! Plus we had gotten to see puppies the day before in Caribou Crossing. I give this excursion a 10 out of 10.

Ketchikan: We did the Bering Sea Crab tour on our own to save a little money because, to echo CaliforniaGirl09, it is the exact same boat the DCL excursion uses. This was a really fun excursion, with the opportunity to hold crabs and other creatures and interact with the crew from The Deadliest Catch. They also brought up an octopus, which was really neat. They take the boat into native Alaskan territory, where they are allowed to toss fish to the bald eagles. It was awesome to see the eagles come swooping in to dive for the fish. I give this excursion a 7 out of 10. I do recommend it, but I think it would be ideal to combine with another excursion in Ketchikan for anyone doing the cruises out of Vancouver in 2013 who might have more time in port. I would have loved to combine this with the Great American Lumberjack show or the totem park or some bear viewing. I just felt like we didn't get to see much of Ketchikan with the short port day and this excursion that used up all of our port time.

In Victoria, we did the Butchart Gardens and Short City Drive. I also give this one a 7 out of 10, but only because 2/3 of the time in the gardens was when it was pretty dark. Luckily, we got to the Sunken Garden while it was still pretty light outside and got do that part pretty thoroughly before we really lost the light. The gardens are very beautiful and impressive. I just expected them to be a little more lit up at night. On the bus ride to the gardens, we drove through Victoria and past the Empress Hotel. On the way back, we got to see the parliament building all lit up with something like 30,000 bulbs. Almost like Small World in Disneyland! My DD wants to go back to Victoria because she thinks it looks like a place with lots of things to see.

Happy to answer any questions about our excursions.

 

[cujochurch]

THought I would check in with my experiences.

Skagway- we Did the helicopter/dog sledding excursion. We booked independently with Temesco because Disney was sold out. The confirmation email they sent us came with a map to walk to their office from the pier. They said it would be a 20 minute walk. However when we got off the ship we saw we were docked RIGHT next door. We only had to walk 5 minutes! This was an expensive excursion and I only agreed to do it cuz it was the only thing DH picked to do. I am so glad I did it. It was wonderful. I was a lil scared of helicopter ride but it was fine. I was already taking Bonine for sea sickness so I didnt get air sick at all and I get sick in cars, airplanes, etc. but this whole trip I did fine. We took about a 20 minute helicopter ride up to the glacier. We flew in and out of trees, valleys and over the glacier. It was a clear perfect day. Actually the whole week including 2 days in Seattle we had NO rain. I say it was thanks to me cuz I went out and bought a rain coat, rain hat and new umbrella just for this trip, lol. Anyway we landed right on glacier a lil south of the dog camp. They said we need to travel rest of way in the snow cat due to fog up higher. We traveled about 10 minutes and then you could hear the barking. The dogs were obviously so excited and all wanted to be picked to be harnessed to the sled. One dog didnt get picked and started barking and growling and then turned his dog house over in protest, lol. We split into groups of four. The sleds were actually 2 sleds hooked together. I was the the first driver on the last sled. DH sat in front of me with the other couple in front sled with a guide as their driver. I needed to lean to steer and use the brake when told and of course hold on, but the guide issued commands and leaded the dogs they way she wanted them to go. Then we stopped and changed drivers. We did this so that everyone could drive. DH went last cuz guide said that was most challenging part. We turned a sharp corner and got going really fast. I am glad to say DH did a great job!! He says the whole thing was life changing for him. I dont think it was quite that for me but it was worth the money that I had worried about and I would do it again. After we all drove we got to spend a lil time with the puppies. They were so cute, but these were not house pets, all these dogs smelled really bad, lol. But they were all healthy looking and very happy and excited to see people and run. I was a little worried about the conditions we would see but they all had there own lil house and a lil area all to themselves. Anyway then we boarded the snow cat back down glacier to helicopter for a 15 minute flight back to office. The took a picture of us while we were mushing. It was $20. We bought it and it cant wait to get it matted and hung up to display.

Juneau- Mendenhall Glacier and Whale watching though Disney. I really wanted to book Harv and Marv so we would have a smaller boat with just out group of 8 but the rest of my group was to nervous to book independently so we went with Disney excursion. as I will explain is was wonderful. We went on bus to Mendenhall Glacier first. We first went on hike to the waterfall. We took some pictures there and walked all around falls and back up to visitor center. We then had about 20 minutes in visitor center. Enough time for a guick look and a little souvenir shopping. They offered a film but we didnt have time. I dont think you would be able to hike to falls and see movie. You would need to pick which one you wanted. Then we boarded bus for pier. Our boat was a two deck boat. About 200 people I would say. Our weather was beautiful. Again sunshine and warm weather. There is a covered cabin with seats that you can sit in, however we stayed on upper outer deck by rail so we would have a good spot once we stopped. The ride was winding and lil cold. Had coat and gloves on during ride but could remove once we stopped. We came upon a group of about 4 boats and we stopped. There were about 6 humpback whales all around us. And I noticed the little boat of harv and marv immediately and they were indeed close to the whales. We stayed there anchored for 30 minutes. During that time two whales swam right up to beside our boat and were very close. We say many whales surfice and blow air. And saw many tails. You could hear them when they blew air out of blow hole and dh took film with camera and you can hear it on there as well. It was really cool. This was the highlight of my trip and what had been looking forward to!! After whales we rode around to where there were sea lions and then harbor seals. We say many bald eagles. I have to mention during Tracey Arm day from the deck of wonder we saw 2 Orca. I saw them surface all the way, stick nose in air and then dive. We never say a whale breech which we knew was rare, however I hear the whale trip before us say one. We left about 9am. So maybe earlier is better? But it was absolutely magical and I loved seeing all the wildlife. I was worried about being on a bigger ship but we had to problem. Many people staid inside the whole time so there was not problem on the top deck. We stood by rail and when the whales were on other side we were able to cross to that side and were on 2nd row of people and could see well. If I did it again I would take a smaller independent trip. They seemed to be able to follow the whales closer and stay closer. We got lucky with a whale coming to us but they could actually go to them.

Ketchikan- Bear Creek Zipline. Ok here is my disclaimer. I am scared of heights! I had been zip lining with a friend in St Lucia. DH really wanted to try it and guilted me into doing it. "If you can go with your friend, you can go with me!" So I agreed to do it. We were traveling with a group of 8. We were the only two that were going to zipline until the 16 year old we were with found out we were going and she changed her excursion to go with us. We took bus ride out to course. It was a course of 7 ziplines of ever increasing length and speed. A suspension bridge, a 40 foot repel and 250 ft slide. Alright I gave you my disclaimer. I hated iT!!! Yes the whole thing. However DH and 16 year old and everyone else loved it. The guides found out I was scared and teased me mercifully. Jumping on bridge, telling me one of the lanyards was the ejection lanyard so whatever I do dont touch it, etc. ha ha ha. It was all in good fun though. Two of the ziplines I stopped short. You then have to grab line, turn around and hand over hand pull your self to platform. Thank god it was only about 5 feet short cuz that was hard work. Of course I am the only one that did that. They said it was because I wasnt leaning back enough and curling my legs up enough. I tried but never got it just right. I was just glad I wasnt plummeting to my death, lol. The suspension bridge was in middle of zipping. It took me a lil longer to cross then others. Cuz like I said when they decided to tease me and shake bridge I just held on closed my eyes and didnt move (or breath) until they were done. The last line was really long and fast!! Then was the repel. Everyone before just jumped off and did it. I told myself that I could do and I would whimp out. But when It was my turn and It was time for me to jump of edge I couldnt do it. The guides were really sweet. They suggested I just sit on edge and the scoot off edge. That is what i had to do. At first I felt silly and not brave but then I decided I knew I was going to hate it,but I did it all anyway so I was a lil proud when I thought of it that way. Then came the 250 foot slide. You sit in a burlap sack and slide down. You were gloves and there is a rail that you can run your hands across or push down on to slow yourself down. Well that is what they said anyway. I was not able to slow myself down at all and you went really fast. I admit a squealed a lil bit but that was the only time I screamed all day!! SO yeah for me, lol.

Before we left I was concerned what clothes I should be wearing. I get really cold all the time so I was worried. On whale watching I had on long sleeve tee, fleece, coat, mittens, hat scarf. When we were actually stopped I took off my coat and mittens. Ziplining I wore long johns, pants, tee shirt coat. This was a really warm day so I left coat in office and and perfectly warm. Actually the times I got a lil scared I was too warm, lol. For the dog sledding. I wore long johns, tee shirt, fleece, coat, gloves, hat, ear warmer, scarf, 2 pairs of socks and boots then the outer glacier boots they gave you. Kept it all one and was just right. DH removed his coat as he got to warm. But like I said we had no rain and sunshine all week. Everyone kept saying how unusual that was and how lucky we got. Any other questions I can answer I will be glad to.

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

Does anyone know if you can get the bear country and wildlife expedition and Menenhall Glacier and Whale Quest excurisions independantly from Disney? I was wanting to see if I could find them cheaper somewhere else.

 

[mellers]

Does anyone know if you can get the bear country and wildlife expedition and Menenhall Glacier and Whale Quest excurisions independantly from Disney? I was wanting to see if I could find them cheaper somewhere else.

This was my post from last year, but it may help:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43653480&postcount=23

 

[Bradleyv1714]

I am going on an alaskan cruise on septermber 16th (in 8 days!!!) on Celebrity cruis lines.

The excursions that I have planned are:

Sitka: I wanted to go see the Raptor center but I was not willing to pay $44/person to the cruise line as I found out I could basically walk there and it was free to see the raptor center. the other thing I want to do is Hike the Herring cove trail, for this I would take a taxi there and hike it as the cruise charges $97/person to do this excursion with a guide. I would much rather pay a local to take me there, I hike it and then get back again. My ship will be at port from 8-5 which is a long time.

Skagway: I wanted to do the White pass trail as I was recommended this by everyone I have spoken to. I have wanted to do some kind of biking activity so I joined them together and got a white pass train and klondike boat tour. plus doing some walking around town.

Juneau: I already have 2 things planned with a possible of a 3rd; which are Alaskan Canopy expedition at 11:30am and a tour of the alaskan Brewery and bottling company at 3:40pm. I also wanted to go see the mendenhall glacier but not sure if I will be able to go see it and be back in time for the 11:30am zipline adventure. Anyone have any advice? I have heard of many ways to get to the glacier but they all will take some time. I know my ship docks at 7am but the glacier area itself does not open until 8am so I think if I take a taxi there I can do some hiking around and then back to the pier for the zipline expedition.

Icy strait point: I read online that this is THE BEST place to do whale watching, I booked this with a local guide that runs a 27ft catamaran and was $150/person instead of the $274/person that the cruise line was charging for whale watching.

Ketchikan: I will be sea kayaking tatoosh island.

I used tripadvisor to help choose all of the excursions I am doing.

does anyone have any recommendations on going to see the mendenhall glacier early in the morning hiking around a bit and making it back to the pier in time before 11:30am to do my zipline adventure? or should I just miss out on seeing the mendenhall galcier?