Tons of Alaska questions!

[Prose]

Thank you you much! This was all so helpful! We'll get to Starbucks in Ketchikan! Did you do the tour with our without the meal after? My daughter loves crab so much but I don't want to miss dinner on the ship. Do they do one that ha lunch after instead of dinner?

We were only the second sailing by Disney to Alaska ever (June, 2010), and I don't think dinner was an option on the excursion at that time. Anyway, we had dinner on the ship.

 

[princessnicchia]

Skagway is a super fun port! If weather is bad, you could see if you could get last minute train tix---there usually are some because they can seat a lot. The Red Onion is fun (someone mentioned earlier) but it is a bar and used to be a brothel...so not sure if that is where you want to take your six year old (lots of people DO take their kids there, I'm just letting you know in case you wouldn't want to). They have good food and it is supposed to be haunted.
Weather has to be pretty bad to cancel in Alaska. That's not to say things don't get cancelled---but if it's raining, everyone up here still goes and does their thing (or we wouldn't get to do anything pretty much). So fog, REALLY crazy winds, are what would cancel excursions.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Our whale watching tour would bring us directly to the glacier but I hesitate because I read that there isn't anything to eat over there and after an all morning excursion my daughter won't do well without lunch. Do you think there would be enough time to get to mendenhall after we eat at Tracey's crab?

We had some snacks on our whale watching boat, but I took a granola bar for my DD to hold her over until we ate at Tracy' after Mendenhall.

Depending on what time your excursion is over you could eat at Tracy's and then catch the Blue bus to Mendenhall.

 

[albumlady]

Planning our 2nd disney cruise (1st in the Caribbean...now going to Alaska!) in July for our daughters 6th birthday! She turns 6 on Tracy arm day.

I'm such a crazy over-planner I want to make sure I have everything planned out!

Here's my game plan:

Excursions-
Skagway: glacier dog sledding
Juneau: whale watching tour with adventures in Alaska followed by lunch at Tracy's king crab and then mendenhall glacier on our own.
Ketchikan: deciding between bearing crab tour, fishing or bear viewing. (Literally CAN'T DECIDE!) opinions would be VERY helpful!

I've read tons of trip reports and the Alaska excursion thread.

Here are my questions:
I'm worried about our dog sledding tour getting canceled because of weather. I can't seem to find anything else that interests me for our family. I have a game plan for Juneau and Ketchikan should tours get canceled. I even read that there are places locally to go should your tour get canceled to find other tours options, but couldn't find any information like that of where to go in Skagway.


If our Skagway excursion gets canceled, what are some last minute things we can do? Any must try restaurants in town?



My dilemma is Ketchikan is that if our dog sledding tour in Skagway gets canceled, I'd love to splurge and do the flight seeing bear tour in ketchikan. But if it doesn't get canceled, I don't want to end up double splurging and I know there's no way of knowing what the weather will be like. So I think it's best to do a less expensive tour in Ketchikan and just keep our fingers crossed that the dog sledding works out.

We did the Alaska cruise last August and it was seriously the vacation of a lifetime! The kids absolutely loved it - you will have a fantastic time no matter what!

Skagway - We did the White Pass Railroad to Carcross, Yukon Territory. I was hesitant about this because I have three girls and wasn't sure that this would be super exciting but it had gotten such great reviews. We LOVED it! The train ride is crazy and then in Carcross we had lunch and a ride on a sled with some sled dogs. Our guide in the motor coach that brought us back down was terrific (we booked independently of the ship through Chilkoot tours to save some money on our tween Disney adults). Anyway, this very well may be an option if your glacier ride is cancelled. I am pretty sure that Chilkoot has a booth right at the ship dock.

Juneau: We booked a float plane trip to Taku Lodge - this was going to be our big splurge of the trip. Unfortunately the weather in Juneau did not cooperate and it was SOCKED IN with fog that day. We ended up wandering around town and doing a little shopping. However, we did eat at Tracy's Crab Shack and this is a DON'T MISS!!! Soooooo good! And we are from Seattle and get good crab a lot. I am not sure about timing to Mendenhall glacier so no help there. We though about going but people coming back said there was no visibility and you couldn't see anything because of the fog

Ketchikan - We did the crab boat tour - so fun!!!! Would totally recommend it! The guides were great, lots of neat info, just a fabulous time. We didn't do the meal just because I was too cheap and I knew we could eat on the boat.

Hope that helps even a little. Even with losing out on our excursions and having terrible weather in juneau this was the best family vacation we have ever taken. All three girls had a great time and we did so many fun things together as a family on the boat. You will have a blast!

These boards are so amazing! Thank you for all the replies so far!

I also wanted to mention that we plan on staying at pan pacific two nights prior to the cruise. Any must sees in Vancouver?

Grouse Mountain for sure!!! You can spend a whole day up there and it is a great time! Good lumberjack show and bears to see. Plus zip lines if you want to partake and wonderful views. I can take or leave the Capillano suspension bridge but we really like Granville Island. Fun shops and bakeries, good places to eat - just a really quaint area of Vancouver.

 

[krisinparis]

Granville Island is super fun and if the weather is nice they have a cool splash park and water slide. You can grab lunch at the Farmer's Market and have a picnic. You could easily spend the day there! Our favorite excursions in Alaska where the helicopter ride/ glacier hike and the summer dog sledding (wheeled carts, not on the glacier). You will love Alaska- it is beautiful!

 

[Disneybridewifemama]

Thank you! I booked our pan pacific room last night. I'm so excited!

I feel the same way about being too cheap to miss out on one of the MDR meals. Especially since, if my research is correct, Ketchikan is the Taste of Alaska menu! I definitely don't want to miss that.

Are scarves and mittens

 

[Disneybridewifemama]

Oops, hit post too soon! Are scarves, beanies and mittens usually a necessity? We have our rain jackets and boots and I have read all about layering for Alaska! Not much is mentioned on if the cold weather "accessories" are needed.

 

[ahain]

Juneau: We booked a float plane trip to Taku Lodge - this was going to be our big splurge of the trip. Unfortunately the weather in Juneau did not cooperate and it was SOCKED IN with fog that day. We ended up wandering around town and doing a little shopping. However, we did eat at Tracy's Crab Shack and this is a DON'T MISS!!! Soooooo good! And we are from Seattle and get good crab a lot. I am not sure about timing to Mendenhall glacier so no help there. We though about going but people coming back said there was no visibility and you couldn't see anything because of the fog

We booked this excursion on our upcoming June 2015 Alaska cruise....did you book direct or through DCL? If you booked direct, did they refund your payment fully?

 

[jdb in AZ]

Oops, hit post too soon! Are scarves, beanies and mittens usually a necessity? We have our rain jackets and boots and I have read all about layering for Alaska! Not much is mentioned on if the cold weather "accessories" are needed.

A waterproof windbreaker or jacket is a necessity. We've never needed boots, but we haven't hiked out on a glacier either. I could have used a knit hat last time we were there, but the previous four times, nope. I've never bothered with mittens, but rarely wore them when I lived in snow country.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We booked this excursion on our upcoming June 2015 Alaska cruise....did you book direct or through DCL? If you booked direct, did they refund your payment fully?

If you book direct through DCL, they will refund your $$$. It's much cheaper to book when you get into port in Alaska -- there's kiosks right near the pier. Then if the weather is bad then you don't have to worry about canceling.

 

[ahain]

If you book direct through DCL, they will refund your $$$. You can book when you get into port in Alaska -- there's kiosks right near the pier. And if the weather is bad then you don't have to worry about canceling.

Yeahhhh....well, I already paid in full - booked directly through Wings Airways. Fingers crossed!

 

[Skylarr29]

Yeahhhh....well, I already paid in full - booked directly through Wings Airways. Fingers crossed!

from my booking email
Booking information:

·The full amount is required at the time of the booking.

·We accept Visa, Master Card, American Express and Discover Card.

·Cancelations: Full refunds can be made prior to 30 days in advance of the tour. A 75%refund can be made until 2 weeks prior to the tour. All tours are non-refundable once with two weeks prior to the departure date. If we cancel due to inclimate weather you will be fully refunded.

·Once payment has been received an email conformation will be sent and will include additional tour information.

·Please visit our website for answers to some of our most frequently asked questions:www.wingsairways.com/faq

 

[swooshbear]

We did our first DCL Alaska cruise in 2013 and our goal was to go dog sledding on a glacier. We had it setup for Juneau but the weather did not cooperate and our excursion was cancelled. We still had a great time, doing the Glacier Adventure in Skagway (rowed a canoe up to a glacier and walked on it) and the floatplane in Ketchikan.

We went back last year and as a backup plan, I reserved the dog sledding excursion for both Skagway and Juneau, keeping an eye on the weather reports and knowing I could cancel just before the deadline. The weather looked iffy for both days so we rolled the dice on Juneau. It turns out the weather was perfect for the whole cruise, not one drop of rain. But the cruise the week before had nothing but rain. The only hiccup was right before we were going to load onto the helicopters, the entire city of Juneau lost power so they could not fuel the helicopters. We had to go back to the docks, wait until the power came back on and then go back to the heli-port. After all of that, it was definitely worth it and the highlight of our trip.

We stayed at the Pan Pacific both times and it's a great hotel and super convenient to the cruise terminal. The world's best gelato is a few steps away at Bella Gelateria (they won an international competition a few years ago). Also check out Japadog for some really awesome hotdogs.

 

[nicbic97]

Went to Alaska last summer with my 6 yo son. We did the following excursions:

Skagway-summer dog sled. It is MUCH cheaper than the winter dog sled excursion and it was lots of fun. No worries about cancellation due to weather. We got to hold 11 day old puppies, ride in these golf-cart type sleds while the dogs pulled us and pet the dogs who pulled up. The mushers gave a little presentation to about how the train and what it is like to run the itidarod. We went through an outside tour company, Alaska Excursions, that picked us up at the ship and then dropped us off in the little town so we could walk around. We had lunch and then went to the Days of 98 show. It is a little musical/play about the founder of the town.

Juneu: Helicopter ride to the glacier. We went with another outside company for this excursion and saved money. We lucked out because everyone else who was supposed to be in our helicopter were on an NCL ship that got delayed and we had the whole helicopter and glacier to ourselves! It was literally just us and our guide walking on the glacier.

Ketchikan: We were supposed to do a float plane through island wings, but it was cancelled due to fog so we went to the lumberjack show and the gastineau mill and mine. Both were lots of fun.

Vancouver: We went to grouse mountain and capilano suspension bridge and I highly recommend both!

check out trip advisor as you can get lots of ideas there for things to see and do and get recommendations for outside tours that can save you lots of money.

 

[TimonPumba]

They do a tea party with Ailce or Wendy, but not the "Princess Tea Party".

We did a private whale watching excursion in Juneau through Weather Permitting which included Mendenhall Glacier (with no time restraints) and it was amazing!

Tracy's Crab Shack was outstanding and very near where the shuttles pick you up to take you back to the ship.

When we cruised to Alaska last year, the tea with Alice or Wendy was replaced with tickets to the Anna and Elsa meet and greet.

 

[jdb in AZ]

fyi...

• Tracy is extremely popular when the cruise ships are in town... especially for dinner. Think about 2 to 4pm when the lines are shorter. When 4 or 5 cruise ships are in and everyone hearing about Tracy.... the wait can be significant when meal time comes.
• If you see a shack by the dock, it's no longer Tracy. In 2014, she moved into a slightly larger permanent building next door.

Finally found a picture of Tracy's "best legs in town."

 

[ahain]

from my booking email
Booking information:

·.......·Cancelations: Full refunds can be made prior to 30 days in advance of the tour. A 75%refund can be made until 2 weeks prior to the tour. All tours are non-refundable once with two weeks prior to the departure date. If we cancel due to inclimate weather you will be fully refunded......

Thanks! My booking e-mail didn't show that - it only addressed cancellation if I cancelled....so I sent them an e-mail to inquire...their reply, "
I can happily assure you that we are quite conservative and safety is always our first priority. We will cancel is the weather is unsafe. In addition if the weather would cause our tour to be less than quality we would also make the decision to cancel. In either case you would be refunded in full. But lets hope for perfect weather!"

 

[Disneybridewifemama]

Has anyone done the glacier point wilderness safari in Skagway?

 

[swooshbear]

Yes, we did the glacier point wilderness safari in 2013. This was a great excursion because we saw so many different things. From the docks at Skagway, you take a boat to meet up with the crew that takes you out on the canoes. The boat had windows that opened up and out so you could take pictures of whales, sea lions and other wildlife that we saw plenty of. Once you got to the canoes, you paddled right up to a glacier and walked around (I think it was around 15-30 minutes). It was amazing to see how the glacier carved the land and parts of it are literally under your feet, they do give you life vests and boots for this part of the trip.

 

[Skylarr29]

Yes, we did the glacier point wilderness safari in 2013. This was a great excursion because we saw so many different things. From the docks at Skagway, you take a boat to meet up with the crew that takes you out on the canoes. The boat had windows that opened up and out so you could take pictures of whales, sea lions and other wildlife that we saw plenty of. Once you got to the canoes, you paddled right up to a glacier and walked around (I think it was around 15-30 minutes). It was amazing to see how the glacier carved the land and parts of it are literally under your feet, they do give you life vests and boots for this part of the trip.

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What month did you sail? We have this excursion booked and I am really hoping we get to get out as well. I've read on trip advisor that not everyone does so the only thing I can surmise is that maybe the weather has something to do with that.