Alaska Excursions--post your reviews here!

[PBader]

Originally Posted by cruisenow01

We are doing this same excursion. I had planned on ordering some Uncrustables the night before so that we could take them for snacks. I will have to be sure to order extra. My children love salmon and crackers so I may have to supplement on the boat (sneak some crackers into our stash). Perhaps packing a soft sided lunch box would help. Thanks for the heads up.

I thought I had read they took the uncrustables off the room service menu?

[texasteacher]

Disneypoor, I am definitely interested in the Vancouver limo contact information, but I'm not sure how to contact you. Thanks for any help you can give this posting amateur!

[disneypoor]

Originally Posted by texasteacher

Disneypoor, I am definitely interested in the Vancouver limo contact information, but I'm not sure how to contact you. Thanks for any help you can give this posting amateur!

Hi! I just sent you a private message with all of the information! Hope it all works out for you. He was great, and of course, we felt like royalty getting hauled around in a stretch limo. You should have seen the people just watching to see who was getting out. They were quite disappointed. I believe someone even asked him who we were when we were at Prospect Point. Gotta love it!

Susan

[disneypoor]

Originally Posted by cindy18

Definitely interested in the contact infor on the limo driver! We'll be in Vancouver from August 20-23rd, before getting on the ship. Thanks!

I just PM'ed you with the details. Hope it all works out for you!

Susan

[thej]

Originally Posted by cruisenow01

We are doing this same excursion. I had planned on ordering some Uncrustables the night before so that we could take them for snacks. I will have to be sure to order extra. My children love salmon and crackers so I may have to supplement on the boat (sneak some crackers into our stash). Perhaps packing a soft sided lunch box would help. Thanks for the heads up.

Uncrustables are an excellent idea. Thanks!

It's been so long since we've been on DCL I can't remember if the chips that you get with sandwiches from cabin service come in single serving bags... That would be toooo easy. We were going to pick up some snacks in vancouver to carry on for excursions, so between the two we should be good.

[rsjj]

Originally Posted by thej

Uncrustables are an excellent idea. Thanks!

It's been so long since we've been on DCL I can't remember if the chips that you get with sandwiches from cabin service come in single serving bags... That would be toooo easy. We were going to pick up some snacks in vancouver to carry on for excursions, so between the two we should be good.

the chips were not in bags. but this was 2005...so quite long ago. i learned from this board that you should bring zip lock bags, and that's what we put our sandwiches from room service and chips in another ziplock bag, and that was our "snacks" while we were out on our various excursions/town...our dss were little at the time (3 & 5), and we weren't sure how they would do w/local food. just to be safe, b/c we all know hungry kids aren't happy kids!

[poohj80]

Originally Posted by disneypoor

Skagway: We did the White Pass Railway, City, and Yukon Suspension Bridge tour. This was also a great excursion! We took the train to Fraser, British Columbia, and the sites along the way were beyond beautiful! It was about a 90 minute to two hour ride on the train, and then we boarded a bus that took us to the suspension bridge and then drove us back to Skagway. It was neat to take the bus back because it all looked different from the point of view you get on the bus compared to the views from the train. Plus, our driver was wonderful and provided lots of information as we drove back. I'd also recommend this tour.

Thanks so much! I have been waiting for a review of this tour!

We plan on taking out 5 yr old on this tour. Were there many small kids on your tour? if so, did they seem to enjoy it?

[buck4568]

We were on the June 7th sailing and had a great time.

Skagway: We did the Yukon 4x4 Jeep excursion which was excellent. It is a long excursion going from Skagway via Jeep convoy following the other jeeps inland to Carcross which is in the Yukon Territory. Along the way we stopped a few times for photo opts and also saw a total of 12 bears (black and brown, no grizzlies) along the route. One was a mother with two cubs, very cool. The guide is in the lead vehicle and all the Jeeps have cb radios which are used to narrate and ask questions along the way. One off road run when you get to Carcross which was pretty rugged going and then a brief stop for a little snack stop with some smoked salmon spread, cheese, crackers, reindeer sausage and water all laid out on the hood of one of the Jeeps.

Juneau: We did the Salmon Bake and also walked about Juneau on our own. The Salmon Bake was good food but for $48 per person I thought it was a bit over priced. It is all you can eat with chowder, slaw, Alaskan style cooked chicken that my kids loved so it must have been good because they are fussy eaters, fresh cooked salmon and baked beans w/ corn bread . Also could roast marshmallows over a camp fire.

Ketchican: We did the Disney exclusive Lumberjack Show which was reviwed in a previous post. It was lots of fun and the popcorn for $1 a bag was good! They have a nice gift shop and the Alaska Shirt Co. had the best deals on sweat shirts etc. That is located straight down along the main St that the ships dock at.

Overall it was a great trip. We have been to a lot of ports around the world and I have to say that I have never seen so many Jewelry stores as we saw on this trip. Seemed like dozens in each port and not many busy!

[epjenk]

For those wanting to save a little on your Skagway day, we rented a car from Avis. For about $120 our family of 7 rented a minivan, bought the Murray guide and had a fabulous day. Lots of places to stop and look around on the way, dog camp @ carcross, and the highlights for us- a bear right next to our car walking down the road and seeing beautiful Emerald Lake. We got off the boat early and hightailed it straight to Caribou Crossing, so we were able to do the museum and puppy petting all by ourselves before the tour groups descended. My sister did the train and loved it, but my kids were so not into the train ride from Seattle to Vancouver I couldn't justify the extra $1,000 it would have cost us.

Juneau I highly recommend Juneau Limousine, particularly if you can get Judy. She took us around town and told us all about the history, drove us to Mendenhall Glacier (avoiding the crowded bus) and took us to pan for gold in Gold Creek (she brought pans). We had the limo for 3 hours, which was plenty. The kids thought they were rock stars in the stretch limo. We had lunch later @ Tracey's King Crab Shack. It was pricey, but by far the best meal I had all week. There is a food shack next door that sells burgers and such if you are going with little kids.

Ketchikan- our guys went Salmon Fishing and didn't catch a thing. They said the radio traffic was all about how none of the boats out that day caught anything. Not just no king salmon- no fish. I think they were glad they went, but if you will feel ripped off if you don't get a big haul, be prepared.

[cruisenow01]

Originally Posted by PBader

I thought I had read they took the uncrustables off the room service menu?

Surely they have some kind of sandwich that I can place in a baggy to take with us. At least I hope so. My daughter is a grazer. She likes to eat many small meals a day.

[Doingitagain]

DD22 talked to a friend who just returned from a DCL Alaska cruise. She said she thought the ship did a full turn at Tracy Arm glacier so all sides had an equal view. That would be a great idea, can anyone confirm?

[NWmom]

Originally Posted by Doingitagain

DD22 talked to a friend who just returned from a DCL Alaska cruise. She said she thought the ship did a full turn at Tracy Arm glacier so all sides had an equal view. That would be a great idea, can anyone confirm?

This one depends on the wildlife. The 5/17 did the complete turn (we were told), but the 5/24 had to do a back up due to seals and pups. Safetly of the animals first.

They did announce in advance they would not be able to do the turn, invited those from the aft to come forward, and told those at the rail to give others a turn.

Still beautiful on the way in and out.

[ilovemk76]

Train excursions - Do they have restrooms on the train? Do they sell stuff to eat and drink on the train?

TIA

[lmcarr]

they do have a restroom on the train and a water dispenser, but do not sell drinks or snacks.

[sabrecmc]

Originally Posted by ilovemk76

Train excursions - Do they have restrooms on the train? Do they sell stuff to eat and drink on the train?

TIA

There is a small coffee shop at the depot in Skagway. We did the early train up and they were open. Good coffee! Milk for my daughter. That was nice. I also brought loads of snacks. They sell some souveniers on the train, but no food.