Alaska Excursions--post your reviews here!

[katiefried]

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!

That sounds amazing, thank you so much for the feedback!

Mackie Mouse, enjoy your trip!

 

[pixie08]

Not sure if this would help anyone but I finally got arlund to doing my excursion review/tr on my blog. This is what we did:

Whitepass
Whales,Mendenhall, cold creek salmon bake
Rain forest adventure

http://www.disneytravelrecord.com/p/trip-reports.html

If so hth!

 

[wachnicki]

Do the prices on the Disney excursions include tax?

 

[wallawallakids]

Not sure if this would help anyone but I finally got arlund to doing my excursion review/tr on my blog. This is what we did:

Whitepass
Whales,Mendenhall, cold creek salmon bake
Rain forest adventure

http://www.disneytravelrecord.com/p/trip-reports.html

If so hth!

Thank you for the link to your blog. It is great and very helpful. Thanks again!

 

[pixie08]

Thank you for the link to your blog. It is great and very helpful. Thanks again!

Thanks, I hope it helps anyone looking for info. I know the Alaska cruises tend to be harder to find TR's.

 

[chickamu]

We booked chilkoot tours
Era helicopters in juneau with dog sled
Misty fjords floatplane

The boards really helped..
Booked all on our own..so cheaper and paid for already

 

[pixie08]

Do the prices on the Disney excursions include tax?

If I remember correctly they do.

 

[wachnicki]

If I remember correctly they do.

Thank you!

 

[jrobin22]

I have a 2 year old, and booked this excursion for him as well. Will he do ok on this or is he too small? I noticed a lot of the other excursions they did not allow 2 year olds and on this one they do which made me think it would be ok, I would just like to verify that with someone who has been. Thanks in advance.

 

[IFAM5]

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!

Thanks to everyone for all of their tips! Wow, this disboard link is CHOCK full of great information! We are going on the Alaska cruise in August and I have booked the Chilkoot Tours for Skagway and the Orca Enterprises Whale Watching/Mendenhall Glacier tour for Juneau (Thank you, KashasMom, for the tips and links!).

For those of you considering the Chilkoot Tours in Skagway, my friend recommended the tour group and it was so great to hear similar positive feedback on this disboard thread. We are doing the Yukon Rail tour with the Dog Cart Ride and Bus Tour. We opted for the 8:30 a.m. departure which starts off on the bus tour and ends with the train ride. I figure my kids will have more energy on the front end to get on/get off the bus and then they can rest on the train ride on the back end (plus the extra hour in the morning will be a big help since the "train ride first option" leaves at 7:30 a.m.).

I booked Orca Enterprises' whale watching/glacier combo rather than Harv & Marv's because my parents are traveling with us and I didn't think my mom would like such a small boat. I noticed for our party of 7 (4 adults, 3 kids), the price on DCL was the about the same as Harv & Marv's and I know many on this thread commented that it was worth it because of the smaller boat. Plus, for our family, we would have to have a private boat on Harv & Marv's since we have kids under 13. For those of you looking for something "in between," Orca Enterprises' boat holds 72 but they limit seating to 40 people. So I think the boat size is in between Harv & Marv's and DCL's catamaran option if that helps at all. The price for Orca Enterprises' was several hundreds cheaper for our party so I opted to go this route. Just wanted to provide this info in case it's helpful to anyone.

Thanks again to all on this thread! Now I need to figure out what to do in Ketchikan...

 

[disneydentist]

This was my favorite cruise!

Skagway- we actually booked privately with Chillokot tours. Started with the white pass railroad to the Canadian border (same train as DCL just a different car). Then you get off the train and a small shuttle picked us up for a great drive through the Yukon and back to the ship. Cannot say enough how great this was.

QUOTE]

Which one of their tours did you book? We're having a hard time choosing. TIA

 

[OrcaPotter]

Which one of their tours did you book? We're having a hard time choosing. TIA

It sounds just like this one, which is what I booked for myself for this June: http://www.chilkootcharters.com/yukonraildog.htm

We're doing train up, bus down, with the dog kart ride added.

 

[meajuly5]

Has anyone done this with a 10 and 7 y old! Too long of a day? I booked the whitepass one but wooly led rally like to see more. Worried about whether the kids will be bored.

 

[jilljill]

Has anyone done this with a 10 and 7 y old! Too long of a day? I booked the whitepass one but wooly led rally like to see more. Worried about whether the kids will be bored.

Lots of info in this thread that I merged with your thread/question.

 

[gerryspeirs]

This is what I've booked so far for excursions- any opinions are appreciated

Historical City Tour and Salmon Bake- Skagway

Enchanted Taku Glacier Lodge Flight & 5-Glacier Seaplane Discovery- Juneau

Wilderness Exploration and Crab Feast- Ketchikan

Thanks!

Gerry

 

[AZMermaid]

Wilderness Exploration and Crab Feast- Ketchikan

We are booked on this one, I found a lot of good reviews on Trip Advisor, but not too many reviews here. When do you sail? I would be interested to hear how it goes- we sail July 15.

 

[meajuly5]

It sounds just like this one, which is what I booked for myself for this June: http://www.chilkootcharters.com/yukonraildog.htm

We're doing train up, bus down, with the dog kart ride added.

Please let us know what you think when you get back! I had booked the shorter one but the views of emerald lake are selling me on the longer one!

 

[RedSox68]

We only booked one excursion through the ship (HAL) -- the whale watching in Juneau -- which was excellent (included lunch at a lodge). We saw dozens of humpback whales, harbor seals, otters, eagles and puffins. The lunch was great and they gave us a little time to explore the beach.

In Skagway we booked through Chilkoot Tours --which was the best decision we made. Saved about $60 off what the ship was charging for the exact same tour and we had the most awesome tour guide (from Texas). Their shuttles are small -- only 20 people, so it is very personal and they stop wherever you want to take pictures. We did the train up and he was waiting for us and we went to Caribou Crossing, Emerald Lake, and lunch was included also.

In Ketchikan we just walked off the ship and booked one of the tour companies on the dock. We got a great savings and got a great 3-hour tour. We got back into town with enough time to eat lunch at Annabelle's and explore the town.

 

[meajuly5]

We only booked one excursion through the ship (HAL) -- the whale watching in Juneau -- which was excellent (included lunch at a lodge). We saw dozens of humpback whales, harbor seals, otters, eagles and puffins. The lunch was great and they gave us a little time to explore the beach.

In Skagway we booked through Chilkoot Tours --which was the best decision we made. Saved about $60 off what the ship was charging for the exact same tour and we had the most awesome tour guide (from Texas). Their shuttles are small -- only 20 people, so it is very personal and they stop wherever you want to take pictures. We did the train up and he was waiting for us and we went to Caribou Crossing, Emerald Lake, and lunch was included also.

In Ketchikan we just walked off the ship and booked one of the tour companies on the dock. We got a great savings and got a great 3-hour tour. We got back into town with enough time to eat lunch at Annabelle's and explore the town.

Do you recall how much time you were at emerald lake? Did you take many scenic stops or photos? I booked the same trip with the same company. Any kids on your tour?

 

[RedSox68]

Do you recall how much time you were at emerald lake? Did you take many scenic stops or photos? I booked the same trip with the same company. Any kids on your tour?

There were no kids on our tour, but we did see children at the various stops that were on other shuttles. The place where we had lunch had a petting zoo, husky puppies and an ice cream shop and gift shops. It was in the middle of nowhere and the sites were beautiful.

We spent enough time at Emerald Lake to get out and take pictures and enjoy the view. He stopped on the way up and on the way back so that we got different views. We went to quite a few photo stops. This excursion was one of our favorites and I would do it again. We went in May and there was about 12 feet of snow up there from a storm in April. It was amazing.