The 2011 Alaskan Thread--Cruise Tips and Planning

[MJGirl]

Ok I know it's a little early to plan (but never too early right?)

Have a few questions for those who have been to Alaska...


2) Juneau: Is it possible to book through Disney (have never cruised) to book 2 different short excusions on 1 day. On the website when you reserve, can you pick different times of the excursions or are excursions times assigned?

TIA

I can answer question 2... On the Baltic cruise I booked 2 tours on one day while in St. Petersberg. It was tight, but I made it. I think it depends on the amount of time between the tours. On paper, we had an hour and a half between the tours, but when it came down to reality and traffic we got on the ship at 6:10 pm, and had to meet for the next excursion at 6:30 pm Just had time to run up to Pinochio's for pizza

 

[MarkRG]

Just pushing this back to page one...

 

[kris3kid]

Thanks for all the great info. I am so looking forward to the trip. We have booked the Deadliest catch tour because I hear that it fills up fast. Payment for this touor is required at the time of booking. Also Harv and Marv are booking for their tours next year as well, they do not require payment till I think 90 days before but you can reserve a spot.
We will be heading out to sea on May 17th, the meet post for this week is very small so I am not sure how full the ship will be, hoping for a great upgrade.

 

[jilljill]

Thanks for all the great info. I am so looking forward to the trip. We have booked the Deadliest catch tour because I hear that it fills up fast. Payment for this touor is required at the time of booking. Also Harv and Marv are booking for their tours next year as well, they do not require payment till I think 90 days before but you can reserve a spot.
We will be heading out to sea on May 17th, the meet post for this week is very small so I am not sure how full the ship will be, hoping for a great upgrade.

Do you have a link for the Deadliest Catch tour and which port it is?

 

[mishoe01]

Does anyone know which port is the best port for CRAB LEGS??

I know I'm doing whale watching in Juneau & a dog sledding/heli ride in Skagway. Haven't decided anything yet about Ketchican.

TIA!

 

[justmestace]

Do you have a link for the Deadliest Catch tour and which port it is?

http://56degreesnorth.com/

It's in Ketchikan, and it was my son's favorite. Along with learning all about crab fishing, they saw tons of whales and eagles while they were out there.
We booked it for him through the cruise line, but there's also someone standing out on the dock, so that you can book it then, if they have openings.

 

[justmestace]

Does anyone know which port is the best port for CRAB LEGS??

I know I'm doing whale watching in Juneau & a dog sledding/heli ride in Skagway. Haven't decided anything yet about Ketchican.

TIA!

The Crab Shack in Skagway, and Tracy's King Crab Shack in Juneau.

Ketchikan, by the way, is a GREAT place to get off the ship and just wander.

 

[mishoe01]

The Crab Shack in Skagway, and Tracy's King Crab Shack in Juneau.

Ketchikan, by the way, is a GREAT place to get off the ship and just wander.

YEAH! Exactly what I needed to know/hear

Any recommendation for a restaurant in Ketchikan?

 

[gydell]

Anyone for ziplining? Alaska Zipline Adventures - www.alaskazip.com


White Summit Pass Excursions have their dates up for 2011.

 

[rotary2808]

Anyone for ziplining? Alaska Zipline Adventures - www.alaskazip.com


White Summit Pass Excursions have their dates up for 2011.

I might join you on that. Which one are you looking at?

 

[gydell]

I might join you on that. Which one are you looking at?

We are going to do the Original Zipline tour in Juneau. They also have one that includes whale watching but times are not out yet to see if we can do both.

Delta has a 12pm flight from Van with 2 stops into Huntsville. Check it out and then you can fly with us too!

 

[rotary2808]

We are going to do the Original Zipline tour in Juneau. They also have one that includes whale watching but times are not out yet to see if we can do both.

Delta has a 12pm flight from Van with 2 stops into Huntsville. Check it out and then you can fly with us too!

Do you have the flight number on that? Are you flying back on the 10th?

 

[sayhello]

Does anyone know which port is the best port for CRAB LEGS??

I know I'm doing whale watching in Juneau & a dog sledding/heli ride in Skagway. Haven't decided anything yet about Ketchican.

TIA!

Do a float plane to the Misty Fjords in Ketchican! Absolutely gorgeous!

Sayhello

 

[mishoe01]

Do a float plane to the Misty Fjords in Ketchican! Absolutely gorgeous!

Sayhello

I honestly would love to, but don't think my budget can handle that as well as the heli/dog sledding excursion (that one costs a pretty penny). Great pics!

 

[sayhello]

I honestly would love to, but don't think my budget can handle that as well as the heli/dog sledding excursion (that one costs a pretty penny). Great pics!

Ah, yes. That dog sledding excursion is a pricey one, all right. But everyone I know who's done it says it's totally worth it! I think I'm going to have to try it next time!

Sayhello

 

[gydell]

Do you have the flight number on that? Are you flying back on the 10th?

Delta 1086. Yes we have to get back since Brent is missing a lot of school for this trip. I wish it had been Sat - Sat, or Sun - Sun. Less days out of school.

 

[rotary2808]

Delta 1086. Yes we have to get back since Brent is missing a lot of school for this trip. I wish it had been Sat - Sat, or Sun - Sun. Less days out of school.

Thanks!!!! I'll have to work on it. I looked on DL's website earlier and they didn't show a noon return flight. Typical.

 

[covereddish]

Thanks for this post! We are on the May 31 sailling and are so excited!

I am planning this trip for my entire family!!!! So excited! It is all of our first trip to Alaska....and to Seattle.

Thank you all for the tips and info so far! Your trip reports are GREAT!!!!

 

[DVC Mary]

Do your homework before DCL releases their Alaska excursions! There are only 3 ports on this cruise: Ketchikan (http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=25), Juneau (http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=23), and Skagway (http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=24). You can get plenty of port information from the Alaska discussion board at Cruise Critic (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55), as well as in any number of Alaska guide books at your library. My favorite books are Frommer's Alaska by Charles Wohlforth and Alaska By Cruise Ship by Anne Vipond. There are very few excursions that can only be booked through the cruise line. On the other hand, there are many excursions that can be booked with private vendors, or done entirely on your own on foot (walking tour) or with a rental car.

Is anyone else nervous about booking yourself? We've had good & bad experiences w/ this in the past. For example, horrible weather caused DCL to cancel some excursions & people got their $ back. We had a private one, tried to cancel, guy refused so we braved the weather, went out b/c he said the weather would be better soon on the other side of the island--NOT, & we made the most of it but the money we spent on it was a huge waste. We've loved DCL excursions & appreciated that on one excursion they gave us the option of cancelling w/ very good info on what was going on. 1st excursion had gone out, many people got sick, kids found the water too rough, etc. We were given the choice.

I guess w/ Alaska I was thinking that the DCL sponsored ones would be more kid/teen friendly. I also know that these excursions are A LOT more expensive than the ones we usually do, so I hate to get burned & lose my money if something goes wrong: bad weather, ship gets in late, etc.

Am I the only "worry wart" around? Assuage my fears please. I'm willing to be convinced.

P.S. I'm really getting irritated that Disney has not announced excursions & prices yet. My kids are getting the options of certain pricier excursions over others possibly, IF they are Christmas gifts from us. They'll still get gifts from others but SANTA & Mom/Dad gifts will be excursions. They'll still get stockings. Youngest may prefer gifts--dumb move IMHO, but we gave them the option.

 

[mmmears]

Am I the only "worry wart" around? Assuage my fears please. I'm willing to be convinced.

You're not the only one. I feel the same way. I think we will have more options (and possibly lower prices) if we book outside of DCL, but I do like the fact that if something happens we could get our money back if we booked through DCL. Tough one -- and I haven't figured out which way to go, either.

And I'm also with you on wanting Disney to release the touring options already... It would help me make our decision.