Alaska Excursions--post your reviews here!

[seattle-swarm]

What a goldmine of information here! Thanks everyone!

 

[erk711]

Just got back today and also wanted to share our experience 'to pay it forward' for all the great advice.

In Juneau we went on the Alpine Glacier and Zipline Adventure through Disney. We had about 45 minutes at the park to look at the glacier, walk to the falls, or look for bears down at the stream. It was a bit rushed and we couldn't do all three but still very enjoyable. The Zipline was the main attraction for us though. The staff were excellent and a lot of fun. We thoroughly enjoyed this adventure.

In Ketchikan we went to the Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure through Disney. Yes, we snorkeled in the waters of Alaska! The staff were all super and just as promised, they made it informative, showed us lots of great wildlife and kept us warm!! We would HIGHLY recommend this excursion!!

 

[Julesag25]

I was randomly reading through several of the posts and wanted to know about appropriate age of children. We have a 6 and 3 year old so is there enough for the 3 year old to enjoy himself? This is a Make-A-wish trip for him and we want him to have a blast.

Thanks!

 

[Ellester]

I was randomly reading through several of the posts and wanted to know about appropriate age of children. We have a 6 and 3 year old so is there enough for the 3 year old to enjoy himself? This is a Make-A-wish trip for him and we want him to have a blast.

Thanks!

We did the trolley tour/White Pass railroad in Skagway and a whale watching trip with Orca Enterprises in Juneau with a 4 1/2 year old (along with our 9, 12, & 15 yo's) and she loved it all. The trolley ride was short and in a retrofitted trolley car. We took a small bus for about an hour up the mountain, stopping several time for pictures. She loved the novelty of the bus and the scenery kept her occupied as well. She also loved the train. It wasn't crowded on our car so she was able to move around quite a bit without disturbing anyone else. I took her out on the platform several times which she loved. I did hold on to her pretty tightly though! In Juneau, it was about a 20 minute bus ride to the harbour. The boat trip was about 3 hours but she loved it all! Again, there was room to move around and she loved being out on the back of the boat searching for whales (we saw a ton!). They served hot chocolate, Capri Suns, cheese and crackers on the way back. (Smoked salmon too, but she didn't like that) I don't think she had seen a juice pouch in a week so I think the Capri Suns were the biggest hit! We then took the Orca bus to the Mendenhall glacier where she was able to run around some before the 20 minute ride back to Juneau. We also did a bus tour in Ketchikan that my mom booked that day at the visitors' center. We all felt that was somewhat of a bust as the clerk made a big deal about the possibility of seeing bears (he quoted a 80-90% chance) but the driver admitted the chances were pretty slim since it was high tide. If we had known that, we would have most likely skipped the tour. My mom really wanted to do it more than the kids did. We did see tons of salmon, a few eagles, and the Saxman totem poles. But the tour itself wasn't all that great and our 4yo fell asleep half way through. After the tour we walked through Creek Street and up to the salmon ladder, which all the kids thought was really cool. We were on the last cruise of the season and the salmon were in full run so it might not be as interesting earlier in the summer.

I did notice that many of the excursions/tours weren't available to the under 5 set so that did impact our choices. Overall, I was happy with our choices and all the kids agreed that it was a fabulous trip! I'm sure you will all have a blast no matter what you end up doing!!!

 

[rwhistler92]

Thanks for the post Ellester.

I am noticing the under 5 age on a lot of things my older kids want to do. My DD will be 4.5 when we go next year.

 

[Ellester]

Thanks for the post Ellester.

I am noticing the under 5 age on a lot of things my older kids want to do. My DD will be 4.5 when we go next year.

I am sure your dd will have fun no matter what you end up doing. I am working on my trip report which will detail all we did but some highlights for her were the Princess Tea which we did on Tracy Arm day and the Princess gathering on the last sea day. Every day she would announce at some part of the day "This is the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!". It was SO darn cute! I won't lie, there were a few tears here and there. But over all, it was a wonderful vacation for all our kids from 4 1/2 up to 15!

 

[Ellester]

Thanks for the post Ellester.

I am noticing the under 5 age on a lot of things my older kids want to do. My DD will be 4.5 when we go next year.

How old are your older kids? We contemplated splitting up on excursions but then decided we just didn't want to do that on a family vacation. There really was so much for all ages. A trip of a lifetime!

 

[bridgetmck]

Subscribing because we are considering this trip for next August. Our boys will be 6.5 and 4. I know that Disney offers things for all ages and I have been loving this thread because I want to know more!

 

[Jrsy Boy]

In Ketchikan we went to the Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure through Disney. Yes, we snorkeled in the waters of Alaska! The staff were all super and just as promised, they made it informative, showed us lots of great wildlife and kept us warm!! We would HIGHLY recommend this excursion!!

I enthusiastically second this! The sea life we saw was amazing and, right when we arrived at the "beach" there were two bald eagles on a rock just off shore. And we had a close encounter with the dreaded Lions Mane jellyfish, which resulted in a fun story to share.

 

[rwhistler92]

How old are your older kids? We contemplated splitting up on excursions but then decided we just didn't want to do that on a family vacation. There really was so much for all ages. A trip of a lifetime!

My kids will be 14, 13, 10 and 4. There wil be a lot of compromise, but I know we will have a blast.

 

[bridgetmck]

Would you all say that in Juneau there is enough to do with the Glacier, Nugget Falls and the Mt. Robert Tramway for a good part of the day? Is an excursion necessary? Keep in mind, we will have a 6.5YO and a 4YO in tow. I know that both boys will want to explore the glacier and falls.
thanks!

 

[Jrsy Boy]

Would you all say that in Juneau there is enough to do with the Glacier, Nugget Falls and the Mt. Robert Tramway for a good part of the day? Is an excursion necessary? Keep in mind, we will have a 6.5YO and a 4YO in tow. I know that both boys will want to explore the glacier and falls.
thanks!

My 2 cents: there are a lot of trails at Mendenhall Glacier as well as a visitors' center, so you could spend a lot of time there. The "hike" to Nugget Falls is more of a leisurely stroll, so should be just fine for your kids. Mt. Roberts Tramway was running when we were there but the top of Mt Roberts was engulfed in clouds, so we didn't bother heading up. We just figured there wouldn't be much of a view. That all being said, we went to Mendenhall, then walked around downtown and, by the time we did all that, we were ready to head back to the ship and relax for a bit.

 

[misseulalie]

If we book a DCL dog sled excursion and it gets cancelled (as I hear it is the most cancelled activity) What are our options? I do not want to "waste" a day on the ship. Are there typically spots on other excursions? Does DCL help you book other activities? I would be ok with a whale watching activity.

 

[doriemg]

Misseulalie,

Take it from someone who had 2 excursions cancelled due to weather, there are always other options. We had a morning helicopter tour cancelled in Juneau due to the weather. We went to Disney but they didn't have any free slots in the afternoon excursions so we just went into town and booked through another company. There are booths in Juneau where the shuttle bus drops you off.

We also had a float plane tour cancelled in Ketchikan due to rain, rain, and more rain. We went to the Ketchikan visitors building which is a short walk from where you get off the ship and there were all kinds of booths in there booking tours.

Our helicopter tour in Juneau was the absolute highlight of our trip and the best part is, they were much cheaper than Disney for the same excursion. So don't give up if the weather is bad. Just go book an excursion on your own. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[misseulalie]

Misseulalie,

Take it from someone who had 2 excursions cancelled due to weather, there are always other options. We had a morning helicopter tour cancelled in Juneau due to the weather. We went to Disney but they didn't have any free slots in the afternoon excursions so we just went into town and booked through another company. There are booths in Juneau where the shuttle bus drops you off.

We also had a float plane tour cancelled in Ketchikan due to rain, rain, and more rain. We went to the Ketchikan visitors building which is a short walk from where you get off the ship and there were all kinds of booths in there booking tours.

Our helicopter tour in Juneau was the absolute highlight of our trip and the best part is, they were much cheaper than Disney for the same excursion. So don't give up if the weather is bad. Just go book an excursion on your own. Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks, It would worry me that we would go from excursion of a life-time to a sad walk around the city if it was cancelled.

Last question- how many helicopters are there per excursion? My husband is a bit worried about leaving the baby on board and the both of us on a helicopter. He would feel better if we split our group and go on separate helicopters.

 

[misseulalie]

Another question: When will we find out the timings of the excursions? I am thinking of doing the Bear Line Zip line and lumberjack show on the same day in Ketchikan.

If two of us are zip lining, what can the other people in our party do doing that time?

 

[Ellester]

Would you all say that in Juneau there is enough to do with the Glacier, Nugget Falls and the Mt. Robert Tramway for a good part of the day? Is an excursion necessary? Keep in mind, we will have a 6.5YO and a 4YO in tow. I know that both boys will want to explore the glacier and falls. thanks!

With young kids, all that could easily fill up your day. We only spent about an hour at Mendenhall due to having to catch a scheduled bus back but we easily could have spent much longer. There were things to do and see in the visitors' center that we just kind of breezed by and we didn't have time to hike all the way to the falls. It was an easy walk, but we just didn't have the time. I think you would be fine without an excursion. The tramway is right there in the middle of town where the shuttle dropped us off. If it is really foggy, you could just skip it until later in the day or altogether.

 

[TwingleMomFl]

If we book a DCL dog sled excursion and it gets cancelled (as I hear it is the most cancelled activity) What are our options? I do not want to "waste" a day on the ship. Are there typically spots on other excursions? Does DCL help you book other activities? I would be ok with a whale watching activity.

I am still so bummed that our dog sledding your was cancelled. Especially since we had prearranged for a private tour with another family.

When I looked outside the window that morning go in Juneau , and saw the fog/clouds down to the water I knew it wasn't good. They tried to postpone it to later but all the people on town said, if you can not see the top of the tram, chances are the helicopters will not be taking off.
We booked a whale/watching tour with mendenhal glacier in town. We could have used more time there but were really trying to get on the helicopter if possible. Because of that we didn't leave Juneau for the whale watching until almost noon. . If was very nice , but of course we were all crushed about not going in the helicopter. I have a great picture of my daughter pouting on the bus to the boat. And to add to our pain the whale watching boat went by the mountain and we could see part of the glacier we were supposed to go on.

I'm still so sad we missed out on it, but I guess we will have to go back again one day and try again.

 

[doriemg]

Thanks, It would worry me that we would go from excursion of a life-time to a sad walk around the city if it was cancelled.

Last question- how many helicopters are there per excursion? My husband is a bit worried about leaving the baby on board and the both of us on a helicopter. He would feel better if we split our group and go on separate helicopters.

We went with ERA and they had a lot of helicopters at base but I think they were all going to different locations. We landed on the Taku glacier but we were the only helicopter there. Not sure if you and your husband would be able to split up between 2 helicopters and still land in the same location. Have you considered taking the baby with you? If your baby is under 2 years I think they're free. The only thing I can tell you is I felt very safe in our helicopter and was never worried that something might happen.

 

[bridgetmck]

With young kids, all that could easily fill up your day. We only spent about an hour at Mendenhall due to having to catch a scheduled bus back but we easily could have spent much longer. There were things to do and see in the visitors' center that we just kind of breezed by and we didn't have time to hike all the way to the falls. It was an easy walk, but we just didn't have the time. I think you would be fine without an excursion. The tramway is right there in the middle of town where the shuttle dropped us off. If it is really foggy, you could just skip it until later in the day or altogether.

Thank you for the advice!