Skagway - We did the Liarsville Character gold panning Disney Exclusive excursion. It was fun and the food was good. We got a bunch of really unique photos with the characters while gold panning, and came home with some real gold (4 very, very small flakes...).
Tracy Arm - We booked Palo for brunch right about the time we were crossing the "bar" into Tracy Arm (a 12:30 brunch). We watched a good portion of the entry from Palo's windows and that part of deck 10 was blocked for Palo guests. We were done and changed and back to deck 10 forward just as we got to the glacier and then watched as we cruised out of Tracy Arm from Deck 10.
Juneau - We did the 5 Glacier sea plane tour, which was beautiful. Incredibly scenic. Does not go to Mendenhall Glacier, though, and the one we did was just a fly over, no landing. but still worth every $$.
We also did the Mount Roberts Tramway in Juneau. It was $32/pp for an all day pass and takes you up and down the mountain. There is a raptor center at the top, a restaurant, and a 1-mile hike with two beautiful scenic overlook spots. The tram way is easy to walk to from the cruise dock. In fact, when the Wonder docked this past week and we shuttled in to town, the shuttles dropped us off right in front of the tramway.
Ketchikan - We did the Adventure Kart excursion. The trail was old logging roads, and boy, did we get dirty! But, we got to see Ketchikan from an elevation and an angle like no one else. We also got to see some of the clear cutting that happens for the wood in the area, and the rain forest in Ketchikan. The karts were 2-seaters and we switched drivers half way along the trail.
On board, plan to spend as much time on the open decks as possible, and dress warm (it gets cold and windy up there!). From the ship itself, we saw humpback whales, seals, bald eagles, other cruisers saw orcas, etc. So, bring your camera with you everywhere.
Also, it can get chilly and the hot cocoa on the top deck goes fast sometimes.
However, for when it is hot, it was nice to have marshmallows to drop into it while snuggled up on the open decks. Speaking of, check the cabinets where you would typically find clean towels on the pool deck, some of them have clean blankets!
Happy cruising!
