Alaska Excursions--post your reviews here!

[Candy Apple]

Originally Posted by Cerberus9

It's a large aerial tramway in Juneau that takes you up Mt. Roberts. It's right downtown--the shuttle bus will drop you off at the entrance. It cost $81 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids). See the following for more details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Roberts_Tramway

Here's a picture I took from the top of the tramway showing the Wonder and another cruise ship.

Wow! It looks like you had a beautiful day there. I'm going to have to see if we can fit this in, along with our other excursion. How much time should we allow?

[clten]

Originally Posted by jdb in AZ

Did they have any crab for you to eat?

No, but there was a Disney Experience excursion that was on the same tour as us that stayed to have "dinner" with the crew. The tour without dinner was expensive enough, we didn't want to pay the extra for the meal. So don't know how the meal was or if it was worth the money.

[Schachteles]

Originally Posted by Candy Apple

Wow! It looks like you had a beautiful day there. I'm going to have to see if we can fit this in, along with our other excursion. How much time should we allow?

I am wondering the same thing...we are doing the dog sledding and helicopter ride...I originally booked the tram through Disney because it is the same price, but I cancelled it the other day worrying that if we don't get to to do I am out the $$ and if there is time I will just pay then.

[neoavatara]

...if you do everything on schedule.

I did the helicopter ride, came back to the ship by noon, picked up our infant who was in the nursery, went to lunch, and still spent a few hours in Juneau.

[buddywesley]

Did anyone do the wilderness exploration and crab feast in Ketchikan?

[jenandkam]

Skagway - Musher's Camp and Sled Dog Experience - We thought this one was pretty lame. You spent most of the time on the bus and then modified ARMY vehicle getting up to the camp. We only spent maybe 15 minutes on the sled with a guy who spent most of his time telling us that he needed to raise money and sponsors for his Iditarod (sp?) race. Would not do this one again, but some of the scenery getting up there was nice.

Juneau - Exclusive Whale Encounter and Mendenhall Glacier - We go lucky on this one. There were maybe 30 people on the boat (a small boat) and we had several whales swim pretty close to the boat, including a mother and her calf. The highlight of the trip for us. The glacier is beautiful, but the visitor's center is pretty non-existent so if you go I would suggest actually walking out to the glacier for sure. Would definitely do this one again!

Ketchikan - no excursion. We walked the town and shopped. Great time and got some goodies!

[Candy Apple]

For the Mount Roberts Tramway, I think I'd definitely do it on my own, especially if you have a 10, 11, or 12 year old.

From the Disney website:

Adult Price:$27 (ages 10 and up) Child Price:$13 (ages 6 through 9)

From the Mount Roberts Tramway website:

Mount Roberts Tramway Cost*:

- $27/adult; $13.50/child 6-12; Free/Child 5 & Under
* Local tax included.

Notice, Disney makes you an adult at age 10 instead of age 13! Personally, neither DS13 or DS11 are adults yet in my eyes!

[USUKMama]

Originally Posted by Candy Apple

Notice, Disney makes you an adult at age 10 instead of age 13! Personally, neither DS13 or DS11 are adults yet in my eyes!

I know - I've hit this with all the Disney excursions. DS is 10 and it has generally worked out cheaper (if less convenient) for us to book excursions independently. I wonder why Disney has a different "adult" age than the tour operators they are using?

[lmcarr]

how long does it take to do the tram? tia, lc

[Cerberus9]

Originally Posted by lmcarr

how long does it take to do the tram? tia, lc

I think the tram cars leave every 8 minutes or so. So you could probably do it in as little as half an hour.

[lmb80129]

Anyone do the Wilderness Exploration & Crab Feast in Ketchikan?

[2boys2girls]

Originally Posted by denise

Good to know! Did they have the little espresso cups or just big mugs?
How far was the walk? DH would love to get his espresso in Alaska!

I didn't notice if they had the espresso cups. I got the travel cup and large mug. I called ahead to see if they stocked them. You can call for free anywhere in North America using gmail so that's how I found out they had them and I just hoped that they would actually be in stock when I got there. They had lots. There is a place in Skagway that sells Starbucks coffee, but they are not an official franchise and do not carry merchandise. I spoke to the owner and she said that she can't convince Starbucks to allow her to sell the mugs which is disappointing because she could realistically sell a ton of them being so close to the docks. She sold me a nice Chai Latte though so I was happy enough.

It's very easy to find the starbucks in Ketchikan. It's about a 30 minute walk to the safeway from the port and we were lucky enough to be docked at the closest possible location to it. Once you get off the ship, just follow Water St to the right which will turn into Tongass Ave and take you right there. I followed the path using Google street view a couple of times just before we went so I would know what to expect along the way. Well worth it for me and we had beautiful weather the day we were there so it was great.

[buddywesley]

Originally Posted by lmb80129

Anyone do the Wilderness Exploration & Crab Feast in Ketchikan?

I'm wondering about that too. We are booked to do it on the June 28th cruise.

[PBader]

Originally Posted by USUKMama

I know - I've hit this with all the Disney excursions. DS is 10 and it has generally worked out cheaper (if less convenient) for us to book excursions independently. I wonder why Disney has a different "adult" age than the tour operators they are using?

I think it is just that way all throughout Disney once your past 9, it's adult pricing for everything from park tickets to dining.

[Cliffside]

Anyone take:

Skagway-Klondike gold dredge and White Pass Railway

Juneua- Dog sledding on Mendenhall glaceier by helicopter

Ketchikan- Rainforest Island Adventure

And for those people who went to the exclusive lumberjack show what age kids do you think it was geared too?

Thanks