Alaska 2021

[schraderame]

My husband and I were going to go on our FIRST cruise in August of this year. There was an Alaskan cruise leaving on our actual wedding anniversary so it seemed like fate. Then COVID happened. We are still hoping to do this next year assuming we are able with government travel restrictions.

Does anyone have any recommendations on excursions or MUST DO'S on the 7 day Alaskan Cruise??

 

[JM23457]

My husband and I were going to go on our FIRST cruise in August of this year. There was an Alaskan cruise leaving on our actual wedding anniversary so it seemed like fate. Then COVID happened. We are still hoping to do this next year assuming we are able with government travel restrictions.

Does anyone have any recommendations on excursions or MUST DO'S on the 7 day Alaskan Cruise??

Imo there are no must-do's, as everyone is different.

That said, we really enjoyed hiking around Mendenhall Glacier and would recommend it to anyone.

 

[scottishclover]

Well, my husband still says the day we hired a car and drove from Skagway into the Yukon was one of the best days of his life. Amazing scenery, some local life in Carcross and we even saw bears at the side of the road on two different occasions. We were away for around 7 hours in total and still had time for a wander around town on our return. Previous poster is right - everyone’s idea of must dos are different. We tend to do lots of hiking and outdoorsy stuff on our cruises so if you are into that, then check out my trip report from last year for some ideas.

 

[disneygeek401]

Yep, IMO there are no must dos. Do whatever seems interesting to you. Do whatever you can afford. Alaska is alaska. It is beautiful. There are so many excursions and you probably can't go wrong with any of them

 

[TestingH2O]

I would definitely recommend looking at independent tour operators. We were able to go on private excursions and do EXACTLY what we wanted for much less than ship tours. (Of course, that comes with the caveat that that will still be allowed when cruising resumes.)

Our favorite day was a tie between whale watching in Juneau and a tour into the Yukon in Skagway. (We didn’t do the train.) Both days were absolutely amazing.

 

[Intr3pid]

Well, my husband still says the day we hired a car and drove from Skagway into the Yukon was one of the best days of his life. Amazing scenery, some local life in Carcross and we even saw bears at the side of the road on two different occasions. We were away for around 7 hours in total and still had time for a wander around town on our return. Previous poster is right - everyone’s idea of must dos are different. We tend to do lots of hiking and outdoorsy stuff on our cruises so if you are into that, then check out my trip report from last year for some ideas.

That drive from Skagway to Whitehorse (Yukon) was an amazing experience. We actually split up our rather large party such that half of us took the White Pass train up and drove down while the other half did it in reverse. This way, everyone got to experience the train and the drive, and the car rental company also got their car back in Skagway.

 

[BruinEd03]

My husband and I were going to go on our FIRST cruise in August of this year. There was an Alaskan cruise leaving on our actual wedding anniversary so it seemed like fate. Then COVID happened. We are still hoping to do this next year assuming we are able with government travel restrictions.

Does anyone have any recommendations on excursions or MUST DO'S on the 7 day Alaskan Cruise??

Really depends on what you want, however, if you are going to do the "Bering Sea Crab" expedition in Ketchikan, you should consider booking it directly (http://alaskacrabtour.com/). It's cheaper and is the exact same one as the one you book directly on the cruise.

There are also two different helicopter tours, one for the glacier and one for the dog sledding. While both occur on the glacier, they are two different experiences. The glacier one spends more time talking about the glacier, while the dog sledding one is really focused on dog sledding. Both are pricey and both are subject to weather cancellations. Have backup excursion plans.

If you want to go whale watching, if you do it in Vancouver (prior or after the cruise), you are more likely to see Orcas. If you go in Juneau, you are more likely to see Humpback whales.

As everyone else has said, there are no general "must dos" because everyone's interests are different. The only must do is to sit on Deck 4, the top decks, or a balcony, and spend some time watching the scenery.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

As others have stated you do what interests you and what you have the budget for. We loved the glacier excursion during Endicott Arm day. Not inexpensive by any means and it rained the entire time, for us, it was worth every penny. On the less expensive side, we rented a car in Juneau and toured Mendenhall Glacier and Eagle beach. Probably $150 for car, gas, admission for 4 adults. For the day.

 

[matt&jakesmom]

Prior to Covid, I booked Alaskan cruise for September 2021. Following to get recommendations. I'm already starting to research.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

We focused our time in Alaska on things we couldn't do other places in the USA. You can Dogsled in the lower 48 in places like Montana, there are lots of Gold Rush opportunities in the Lower 48, as well as whale watching.

That left us with experiencing glaciers. We took the small boat tour out on Endicot arm day (It was AMAZING to be so close and experience 3 calvings).

We took the helicopter flight and walk around tour of a glacier in Skagway. One of our top memories was getting to drink glacier water straight from the source!

And we took a flight plane tour of glaciers and landed for lunch and time at Taku Glacier lodge from Juneau.

In Ketckican we went out on our own and explored the rain forest. The rain forest was amazing. We were virtually alone experiencing nature in a pure form. I would definitely see the rainforest, I would not recommend doing what we did unless you are expert hikers. We are moderate hikers and one of us was exhausted after the 1 mile hike up what felt like a treadmill on the highest setting for an hour!

Alaska was our first cruise, and EVERYONE told us we HAD to have a verandah. We waffled on this a ton, but ultimately decided on an inside stateroom because it saved us so much money which we put into doing all those amazing Port Adventures that are the "budget busters." We don't regret that inside stateroom one bit. We have had a verandah on other cruises since, and we still agree if it comes down to verandah and just ok Port Adventures or an inside room and a budget that allows us to do amazing Port Adventures. We'll take the inside room anytime.

You can check out more details from my trip report below or feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Neil N]

I really enjoyed the VIP Carriage Tour on the White Pass Scenic Railway (SW59) out of Skagway. Pricey - but comfy chairs in a private car, maybe 16 seats total, with your own tour guide, snacks and all the Alaskan brewery beer you care to enjoy. Our car was first car behind the engine going up then last car coming down - made for some great pictures