Alaska Excursions--post your reviews here!

[CaliGrrl]

Skagway - Liarsville Disney Exclusive - fun excursion with my son and parents. They do a little puppet show, you pan for gold, roast marshmellows, chip & dale and donald were there and then you eat... salmon, chicken, salads, dessert. It was a fun experience but IMHO a bit pricey.

Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier and Salmon Hatchery - The glacier is amazing! So beautiful and peaceful. We spent some time in the visitor's center, watched the movie and my son participated in the Junior Ranger's program. (just ask one of the rangers about it. It is geared towards 5-12 I would say, but my 3 year old was able to do some of it as well.) Then we walked down the "beach" to the glacier. We did not do any of the hikes. Since we did the 7:30am or around there, only 12 people were on our tour. We had the glacier to ourselves The salmon hatchery was a nice stop, but this time of year not much is going on. We enjoyed looking at all the tanks and touching some sea creatures as well.

Ketchikan - The Lumberjack Show - Very entertaining and a lot of fun! Great value for the money spent. My 3 year old didn't move the entire time... loved watching all the action. He even got a souvenir wood piece.

We spent time shopping in all the ports and just walking around exploring. Skagway was my favorite shopping spot with Ketchikan a close second.

[M&C]

We're doing the following excursions:

Skagway:
Klondike Rock Climbing and Rapelling (I'm terrified, but DD15 wouldn't let me out)
Musher's camp and Dog Sled Experience (DH and DD8)

Juneau:
Mendenhall Glacier Adventure Hike (DH and DD8)
Rainforest Canopy and Zipline Adventure (me and DD15. I'm okay with this. Done similar before.)

Ketchikan:
Private Skiff - Touring by sea (we all get to go together on this one. Yay!)

Most of these are morning to early afternoon, so we were hoping we can rent bikes in the afternoon to see the town better.

I would love some feedback.

[lmb80129]

Bumping for any additional info please!!!!

[caniac27]

Anyone do the ABD excursions? Or talk to anyone who did? Can't seem to find ANY reports or even mention of anyone doing it. I'm dying to hear about it!

Ah ha - went to ABD website and apparently the ABD doesn't start until June 7. So anyone on June 7 or later let us know about the ABD add-on!

[buddywesley]

bumping for more info. Really want to hear about Ketchikan excursions. Especially Wilderness Exploration and crab feast.

[kgsmith]

Originally Posted by caniac27

Anyone do the ABD excursions? Or talk to anyone who did? Can't seem to find ANY reports or even mention of anyone doing it. I'm dying to hear about it!

I don't think the ABD was offered for the May cruises. So we will have to wait until the first June sailing to get details. We are doing the ABD on the August 16 cruise. We can't wait!

[famviramontes]

Wondering if anyone has done the White Pass Train and then Bike down tour in Skagway.

[everafter1]

We were really pleased with our excursions with DCL. Here's what we did:

Skagway- Suspension bridge and white pass railway: adult departure- This was a great and easy excursion. Only negative was that it left very early on the morning. This tour takes a motorcoach up stopping in several places along the way for photos and crossing the border to Canada. The suspension bridge was really cool and there was a gift shop and snack bar there also. Then you take the train back down to Skagway. Really interesting tour with lots of pretty scenery. It was also nice that they offered a departure for all ages and for adults only. The tour also ended around 12:30, so there was lots of time to explore and shop.

Juneau- Exclusive whale watch and Mendenhall glacier- This was the whale watch tour on a smaller boat, which we loved. There were only about 35 people on the boat, so you could see very easily. We lucked out and saw lots of whales (Orca and Humpback, although they said it's not common to see Orcas in that area). We also saw sea lions and eagles. After the tour, they drive you to the glacier and you have some time there. Some people have said it wasn't enough time for all of the hiking they wanted to do, but we thought we got to see plenty.

Ketchikan- Bering sea crab fisherman tour and dinner with the crew- this was a really neat excursion! You board a ship from a season of Deadliest Catch and watch how they haul in different types of fish and crabs. They also let you touch and hold some of the things they've brought in. Additionally, they invite everyone for pictures with the crew. They also tell stories from their experiences at sea, which was very interesting. The dinner was an added treat. They take you to a local restaurant for a dinner (crab, of course) and tell stories from their time on the show and at sea. The regular excursion (without dinner) is also on the same ship during the day. The group going to dinner is quite small, though and it was really nice. A few people mentioned that they wished they'd booked the dinner also because they enjoyed the tour so much. We felt like this tour was really worth the money and very fun!

Overall, it was an amazing cruise

[rav4lcrv]

We signed on for the ABD, anyone else signed on for June 28th?

[ClaireinTN]

THANK YOU to everyone who has posted about their excursions!

[Inkmahm]

Originally Posted by neoavatara

My first helicopter ride too. Took my wife and five year old...and didn't feel anything but awe the whole trip. If you are scared of heights...well, that is another story ;-)

I felt as safe as you could be in a small air vehicle. Actually, the only time I felt fear was walking on the glacier...and looking down into crevasses a few hundred feet deep!

We are doing Alaska with DCL in August, but DH and I have previously done land/cruise tours with Princess in 2005 and 2008. That is affecting the excursions we have booked for this 2011 trip.

Skagway: 2005 we did the Whitepass railway and trip into Yukon. Up on a bus, lunch at Carribou Crossing, over to see Emerald Lake, back on the train. Loved the trip! The versions they have now have the added meeting with dog sledding puppies which would be a great addition.

2008 we did the 9 hour tour on our own with taking the train to the end of the line and eating lunch in Bennet. My DH is a big Gold Rush fan and I have to admit, it was very cool to see the area left as it was when the miners were there. Again, it was a bus ride back with lots of stops for pictures. I don't know that this trip is available because the train tracks had washed away awhile ago but if it has been rebuilt, I'd highly recommend booking this through Chilkoot tours.

2011 with DCL: Highly tempted to do the steam train version of the White Pass as it is rarely available. But the chance to see brown bear on the evening Wilderness excursion has won our first pick, especially since we can do the summer dog sled camp with it. If anyone is debating though and this is your one trip to Alaska, definitely don't miss the White Pass railway.

Juneau: 2005 we did the Pilot's Choice helicopter trip. For everyone that can afford it, flying over the glaciers is really something to see. Standing on a glacier is amazing. I agree 100% that the walking on the glacier was much scarier than the helicopter ride to get there and I am normally afraid of heights. The sense of distance is SO messed up on both the helicopter and the glacier. It really is a once in a lifetime excursion. We also did the Fish Hatchery and Mendenhall glacier tour.

2008 we tried to do the dogsledding on a glacier tour but it was canceled due to weather. This is THE most canceled excursion in all of Alaska. Anyone doing a helicopter flight out of Juneau, especially one with dog sledding, needs to have backup plans ready in case of cancellation. Our day was not a loss because we did whale watching with Harv and Marv in the morning. They use a 6 person boat and you get VERY close to the whales. While the boats must stay a certain distance away from the whales, they can shut their engines off and let the whales come close to the boat on their own. We had one whale that made me jump because it surfaced SO close to us. I thought it was going to treat our boat as a toy! We went back to Mendenhall Glacier to see how far it had receded since 2005.


2011 We are doing whale watching and the Mendenhall Glacier again, but going with Disney. We are on the smaller boat though (less than 36 passengers). It sounds like the glacier has receded very far from where it was originally. We want to see how far that is.

Ketchikan: 2005 we did a jet boat trip out of a fishing camp and loved it. It was May, so it was way too early to see bears and salmon. We did the Lumberjack show and thought it was okay, but wouldn't do it again. Kids would love it though.

2008 we flew with Island Wings to Traitor's Cove in late August to watch black bears fishing for salmon. We flew to see Misty Fjords on the way back. I highly recommend any float plane trip to Traitor's Cove. The bears are fun to watch and you are quite close to them. The salmon swimming upstream are also very interesting.

2011 we are doing the float plane tour to Neets Bay to see the bears fishing again. Since we've already been to Traitor's Cove, we picked the Disney excursion to Neets Bay.

[Smileneyes]

Would appreciate any feedback/reviews regarding the following excursions, please:

JUNEAU: Disney Exclusive Glacier Dog Musher for a Day

KETCHIKAN: Adventure Kart Expedition

Thanks in advance!

[DisneyCruiser2008]

Did anyone have any issues with seasickness on their whale watching excursions in Juneau? We are booked on a private tour with Harv and Marv...

[HarborBlvd]

[2littlestitches]

Has anyone gone on the float plane to the Enchanted Taku Lodge? It has gotten wonderful reviews on Trip Advisor, but I know Disney added a little twist with bringing a historical character to tell stories.

Thanks everyone, for all the wonderful info!