Alaska Cruise Excursion Question

[Quagmire]

We are headed to Alaska in July and my daughter really wants to do a dog sled excursion. Does anyone have any recommendations either thru Disney or an independent vendor they can recommend? Thanks.

[sayhello]

The only people I know who have done dogsledding while on a DCL Alaska cruise did it through the ABD add-on, and absolutely loved it!

Sayhello

[algae]

I'd recommend doing it through DCL. Even though it may cost a bit more than going on your own to the same vendor, the convenience is worth it. Going through DCL gives you a shuttle from the port to the heliport (which can be pretty far away). If you go on your own, you have to get yourself to the heliport usually. Also, the weather changes so quickly, letting DCL worry about getting you a refund for cancelled trips saves you some potential pain.

[Luv_Tink]

www.alaskaexcursions.com is the company that Disney contracts with for some excursions. We booked through DCL for the summer seld dog camp excursion in Skagway this past August, but I would not hesitate to book direct with this group. The experience was fabulous, the staff wonderful, and my girls are still talking about riding in the cart and snuggling the puppies.

[Calfan]

We did the Dog Sled Adventure by Helicopter in Juneau on our Alaska cruise last August and loved it. The helicopter ride was amazing, and the sledding was so much fun. Our first choice was the Disney Exclusive Dog Musher for a Day, but this excursion was already sold out by the time we were able to book (we were Silver Castaway Club). The plus of the Dog Sled Adventure by Helicopter is that it offers a child rate. I had actually made a private reservation with Coastal Helicopter because I wanted to make sure we would be able to go dog sledding even if we weren't able to get a spot on one of the DCL dog sledding excursions. We were in Juneau on my DD's 10th birthday, so I wanted to make absolutely sure we would be able to go dog sledding. I cancelled the Coastal reservation once we were able to book the Dog Sled Adventure by Helicopter through DCL because, due to the child rate, the DCL excursion was actually cheaper than booking privately (my DS 8 and DD both qualified for the child rate since my DD was still 9 when the cruise started). Friends that we were taveling with did the Dog Sledding on the Mendenhall Glacier excursion, and they also loved it. They got to spend time with puppies, whereas we did not (although we did meet and interact with our actual dog sled team). We had gotten to pet puppies in Caribou Crossing, so it wasn't a big deal to us that our excursion didn't include puppy time, especially given the savings due to the child rate. (The Dog Sledding on the Mendenhall Glacier excursion only offers one rate.) So one thing you should take into account is whether you want puppy interaction. But I would absolutely recommend dog sledding.