Alaska Excursions--post your reviews here!

[jilljill]

Yes yes yes, I want to do this one! I am so hoping it doesn't sell out. I also looked into booking outside of Disney, it only saved 24.00 for 2 people. I agree that the savings aren't worth it. Now if I can't book with Disney then I might see if I can get it with someone else. I am wondering if we will have enough time for 2 excursions. I would like to do a whale one.

I just booked this thru DCL a couple weeks ago and we sail 5/27.
If booking 2 excursions thru DCL there has to be 2 hours between the end of the first and the start of the 2nd.

 

[Never to old]

I just booked this thru DCL a couple weeks ago and we sail 5/27.
If booking 2 excursions thru DCL there has to be 2 hours between the end of the first and the start of the 2nd.

Thanks for the info. You don't happen to recall the times for the Taku lodge one? I am getting anxious because I still have 7 days til our booking window opens up.

 

[mouselike-harrier]

The times for the Taku Lodge and seaplane is 8:15 and 12:30. I booked outside Disney and got 9am, which is way better for us. Even though it did not save a lot of money, I booked it far in advance and got a better time. My son really wanted to do this trip. Also, I booked our Skagway Hike and Float trip for a total savings of $120, outside Disney. Can't wait for our trip!

 

[Never to old]

The times for the Taku Lodge and seaplane is 8:15 and 12:30. I booked outside Disney and got 9am, which is way better for us. Even though it did not save a lot of money, I booked it far in advance and got a better time. My son really wanted to do this trip. Also, I booked our Skagway Hike and Float trip for a total savings of $120, outside Disney. Can't wait for our trip!

Thanks for the info. 8:15 would work for us. We are early risers. But isn't that a little early for lunch?

 

[beffiefox]

The times for the Taku Lodge and seaplane is 8:15 and 12:30. I booked outside Disney and got 9am, which is way better for us. Even though it did not save a lot of money, I booked it far in advance and got a better time. My son really wanted to do this trip. Also, I booked our Skagway Hike and Float trip for a total savings of $120, outside Disney. Can't wait for our trip!

Who'd you book the Skagway Hike and Float trip through?

 

[mouselike-harrier]

Who'd you book the Skagway Hike and Float trip through?

Skagway Float tours. Very nice, very professional, and high ratings from Trip Advisor. They pick you up right at the dock.

 

[KashasMom]

All of our excursions were booked on our own and ALL were fantastic!

In Juneau we've twice gone with http://www.orcaenterprises.com/ - lots of whales and a great time!

In Juneau we did the pilots choice glacier landing with http://www.temscoair.com/pilots_choice.php.

In Skagway we did dog sledding with http://www.temscoair.com/dog_sled_tour_skagway.php.

In Skagway we rented a car and drove out to Emerald Lake with stops along the way (amazing time!) using http://www.murraysguide.com/.

In Ketchikan we did Anan Creek with http://www.islandwings.com/bear-viewing-tours (awesome bears!!).

In Ketchikan we did Misty Fjords with http://www.islandwings.com/misty-fjords-glaciers-flightseeing-tours.

Alaska is amazing and one thing I'd recommend is to see if from the air - whether a helicopter or seaplane. You get a totally different perspective and realize how huge and beautiful it is!

 

[Never to old]

All of our excursions were booked on our own and ALL were fantastic!

In Juneau we've twice gone with http://www.orcaenterprises.com/ - lots of whales and a great time!

In Juneau we did the pilots choice glacier landing with http://www.temscoair.com/pilots_choice.php.

In Skagway we did dog sledding with http://www.temscoair.com/dog_sled_tour_skagway.php.

In Skagway we rented a car and drove out to Emerald Lake with stops along the way (amazing time!) using http://www.murraysguide.com/.

In Ketchikan we did Anan Creek with http://www.islandwings.com/bear-viewing-tours (awesome bears!!).

In Ketchikan we did Misty Fjords with http://www.islandwings.com/misty-fjords-glaciers-flightseeing-tours.

Alaska is amazing and one thing I'd recommend is to see if from the air - whether a helicopter or seaplane. You get a totally different perspective and realize how huge and beautiful it is!

Can you please tell me more about your tour at Anan Creek? How long were you there? Was there different places that you walked to or did you just stay in 1 spot?

 

[jilljill]

The times for the Taku Lodge and seaplane is 8:15 and 12:30. I booked outside Disney and got 9am, which is way better for us. Even though it did not save a lot of money, I booked it far in advance and got a better time. My son really wanted to do this trip. Also, I booked our Skagway Hike and Float trip for a total savings of $120, outside Disney. Can't wait for our trip!

Thanks for the info. 8:15 would work for us. We are early risers. But isn't that a little early for lunch?

When this is booked thru DCL or thru the company directly the actual flight time will be the same. DCL has you meet up on the ship at 8:15 and then they will transfer you to the plane.

I looked that the company's website and it said they only offer the 2 tour times.

I chose to do the later flight since I thought the early flight would be way too early for their salmon lunch, especially when we have late seating for dinner.

 

[Never to old]

When this is booked thru DCL or thru the company directly the actual flight time will be the same. DCL has you meet up on the ship at 8:15 and then they will transfer you to the plane.

I looked that the company's website and it said they only offer the 2 tour times.

I chose to do the later flight since I thought the early flight would be way too early for their salmon lunch, especially when we have late seating for dinner.

I am kinda torn now. I agree that the early flight is not great for the lunch. Since we are in port for a short time and don't think there will be enough time for a second excursion I am leaning towards the later one. But then I didn't know if it would be better to do the tram in the afternoon instead of the morning. Decisions decisions

 

[KashasMom]

Can you please tell me more about your tour at Anan Creek? How long were you there? Was there different places that you walked to or did you just stay in 1 spot?

My son and I are were flown in by ourselves on the seaplane. We were dropped off, met by a ranger for a briefing, and sent off on our own. I don't know if this was common and if it is still the same way. I admit I was quite nervous but it was fine as long as you know what to do should you run into a bear. The trail was about 1/2 mile long before we reached the bear viewing platform. You can spend some time there and in the photo blind, which is literally just across the creek from the bears. It was definitely worth it - given the limited choices to see bears at the time of year we were there (2nd week of August). From what we saw I would say that you are pretty much guaranteed to see bears.

 

[Never to old]

My son and I are were flown in by ourselves on the seaplane. We were dropped off, met by a ranger for a briefing, and sent off on our own. I don't know if this was common and if it is still the same way. I admit I was quite nervous but it was fine as long as you know what to do should you run into a bear. The trail was about 1/2 mile long before we reached the bear viewing platform. You can spend some time there and in the photo blind, which is literally just across the creek from the bears. It was definitely worth it - given the limited choices to see bears at the time of year we were there (2nd week of August). From what we saw I would say that you are pretty much guaranteed to see bears.

Thank you! I have a request in and I am waiting to hear back. I have my fingers crossed that they will have a opening for us.

 

[meajuly5]

All of our excursions were booked on our own and ALL were fantastic!

In Juneau we've twice gone with http://www.orcaenterprises.com/ - lots of whales and a great time!

In Juneau we did the pilots choice glacier landing with http://www.temscoair.com/pilots_choice.php.

In Skagway we did dog sledding with http://www.temscoair.com/dog_sled_tour_skagway.php.

In Skagway we rented a car and drove out to Emerald Lake with stops along the way (amazing time!) using http://www.murraysguide.com/.

In Ketchikan we did Anan Creek with http://www.islandwings.com/bear-viewing-tours (awesome bears!!).

In Ketchikan we did Misty Fjords with http://www.islandwings.com/misty-fjords-glaciers-flightseeing-tours.

Alaska is amazing and one thing I'd recommend is to see if from the air - whether a helicopter or seaplane. You get a totally different perspective and realize how huge and beautiful it is!

Did you bring children to anan? We are booked to go in July. How would you rank that v. Dog sledding? And v. Misty fjords? We are doing a misty fjord add on to the anan trip but it will be quick

 

[Vegam060]

I really want to take my honeymoon to Alaska and I know that disney is the rigth way to go. My fiance loves horses though and I was wondering what the horseback riding was like in Skagway. I figured it would be cool for her to say she went horseback riding in alaska. So please just let me know the pros and cons of the trips. ( sry if this has already been posted)

 

[katiefried]

Sorry if this has already been asked and I missed it! Does anyone know if the DCL Yukon tour goes to Emerald Lake? This is the tour that does the train one way and the bus another. I've been looking into Chilkoot tours but it looks like they leave at 7:30am and for our cruise (May 2014) we are supposed to be in port at 7:15am so I'm not sure if we would be able to make it. For those of you who've done the Chilkoot tours did you get into port earlier? Not sure if this is the time DCL usually gets into Skagway?

Also, I saw that Chilkoot offers the Bennett Scenic Journey has anyone done this tour? Thanks!

 

[emilyann415]

Just curious, which Ketchikan excursion from Island Wings you liked best. We decided to do the Misty Fjords excursion instead of the bear viewing. Hope we made the right choice!

All of our excursions were booked on our own and ALL were fantastic!

In Juneau we've twice gone with http://www.orcaenterprises.com/ - lots of whales and a great time!

In Juneau we did the pilots choice glacier landing with http://www.temscoair.com/pilots_choice.php.

In Skagway we did dog sledding with http://www.temscoair.com/dog_sled_tour_skagway.php.

In Skagway we rented a car and drove out to Emerald Lake with stops along the way (amazing time!) using http://www.murraysguide.com/.

In Ketchikan we did Anan Creek with http://www.islandwings.com/bear-viewing-tours (awesome bears!!).

In Ketchikan we did Misty Fjords with http://www.islandwings.com/misty-fjords-glaciers-flightseeing-tours.

Alaska is amazing and one thing I'd recommend is to see if from the air - whether a helicopter or seaplane. You get a totally different perspective and realize how huge and beautiful it is!

 

[Mackie Mouse]

Sorry if this has already been asked and I missed it! Does anyone know if the DCL Yukon tour goes to Emerald Lake? This is the tour that does the train one way and the bus another. I've been looking into Chilkoot tours but it looks like they leave at 7:30am and for our cruise (May 2014) we are supposed to be in port at 7:15am so I'm not sure if we would be able to make it. For those of you who've done the Chilkoot tours did you get into port earlier? Not sure if this is the time DCL usually gets into Skagway?

Also, I saw that Chilkoot offers the Bennett Scenic Journey has anyone done this tour? Thanks!

We chose a Chilkoot Charters tour that took the bus up and the train back and leaves at 8:30, since we will enjoy that extra hour of sleep and didn't want to worry about the timing.

I didn't find any excursions through DCL that offered the same experience as what Chilkoot had.

 

[katiefried]

We chose a Chilkoot Charters tour that took the bus up and the train back and leaves at 8:30, since we will enjoy that extra hour of sleep and didn't want to worry about the timing.

I didn't find any excursions through DCL that offered the same experience as what Chilkoot had.

Thanks! Yeah I finally figured that out, they do leave a little later if you take the bus up first! And yes the DCL excursion doesn't seem quite the same. The description is very vague and says they drive by "lakes" so I don't want to take my chances assuming they mean Emerald Lake. It looks like maybe that's a little north of Carcross? So it wouldn't necessarily be on the way.

Did you enjoy the Chilkoot tour? Or maybe you haven't gone yet?

 

[Mackie Mouse]

Thanks! Yeah I finally figured that out, they do leave a little later if you take the bus up first! And yes the DCL excursion doesn't seem quite the same. The description is very vague and says they drive by "lakes" so I don't want to take my chances assuming they mean Emerald Lake. It looks like maybe that's a little north of Carcross? So it wouldn't necessarily be on the way.

Did you enjoy the Chilkoot tour? Or maybe you haven't gone yet?

We go during the July 1 cruise this year. Happy to report back here once our cruise is finished! We booked the excursion based on excellent reviews here.

 

[Debbru]

Thanks! Yeah I finally figured that out, they do leave a little later if you take the bus up first! And yes the DCL excursion doesn't seem quite the same. The description is very vague and says they drive by "lakes" so I don't want to take my chances assuming they mean Emerald Lake. It looks like maybe that's a little north of Carcross? So it wouldn't necessarily be on the way.

Did you enjoy the Chilkoot tour? Or maybe you haven't gone yet?

We did this Chilkoot tour (bus up, train down) on our June 2011 cruise - it was the best excursion we did in any of the ports (including the float plane in Ketchikan). The driver/guide was extremely entertaiing & accommadating - he stopped for all the "regular" photo ops & anytime someone asked. Driving up the Klondike Highway, one of the kids in our mini bus called out "bear" - the driver turned the bus around as soon as he could & brought us back to observe (from inside the bus) the Grizzly sitting just off the road munching on flowers!