Alaska cruise

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

For Skagway - does anyone know if there is a way to visit the pet the pups or gold panning places if you are driving yourself? We are renting one of the green jeeps but a stop at the gold panning place for 30 minutes might entertain the kids. Just not sure exactly where it is or if you would have to reserve a spot in advance, or if they only work with official tour companies.

We did the gold panning as part of the abbreviated Liarsville excursion. It was short, maybe an hour or so and got a steak and eggs campfire cooked breakfast before the panning. We were out of there by 8:30 or so

 

[BruinEd03]

I actually looked on their site over a month ago and it was all booked for the day we're in port. I'm thinking that Disney booked all of the spots. I was pretty bummed about having to pay more for it.

I just checked a few of the Wonder cruise dates and there were spots open for some of the dates. Your cruise might've just been very popular.

 

[Keyser]

Some of the suggestions will depend on your family: are they the type that wants to learn history, see wildlife, do something active, etc.?That might tell you whether you'd get more out of something like a zipline, kayaking, a fishing trip, boat sightseeing, plane/helicopter rides, hiking to see glaciers, historical tours, Native American history, shopping, etc. For our family, it's kind of a challenge as our older daughter is much more into seeing new things and learning new things, and the younger one almost doesn't care about any of that, as long as she can be active.

Regardless, though, I'd recommend looking at making your own arrangements (rather than the Disney excursions): much cheaper, and I felt we got much better and more personalized experiences, and better use of our time. Obviously, if the Disney excursion is the only way to do something, you're stuck, but otherwise look at the places that offer port excursions.

In Skagway, for our family (and really just about anyone) I would highly recommend the Chilkoot Charters Rail/Bus tour. It was awesome, and in our case ended up being tailored more to what our family wanted to do (it's not a very "active" excursion, but it was varied and unique enough that my younger daughter still liked it). In Juneau, we did both whale watching (morning) and the Mendenhall Glacier (afternoon), and these were both things we enjoyed. Our planned excursion (float plane) in Ketchikan was rained out (so...much...rain... - it was the rainiest day of the summer in what is the rainiest town in the US!), and the tour we ended up finding at the visitor center on was pretty underwhelming (though the massive drenching we received most of the day was probably a factor, as well). Others on our cruise seemed to like the lumberjack show there, but we had just seen one in Vancouver (Grouse Mountain), so we skipped it.

Here's my longer review, from our trip a few years ago. It's on a thread where lots of people discussed excursions, so you might get other ideas there, or in trip reports:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/a...ur-reviews-here.2723087/page-69#post-52093898

 

[Happy99]

Jumping on this thread - We just decided to go on the September 2, 2019 Alaska cruise. I am starting to read all I can but wanted to ask some questions as well. Looking for ideas of excursions for two adults that are not adventurous. Meaning no zip lining, I would do it hubby would not, no canoeing or kayaking. I am afraid of helicopters and get motion sickness another fear of going in one and being very sick. I am not sure about hiking as I don't know if my husband can handle anything strenuous an easy hike would be fine.

With these restrictions what would your suggestions be on excursions at the ports? We prefer to book excursions outside of the cruise offerings as we find they are usually better and cost less. Any recommendation on companies would be welcomed as well. Thank you all in advance.

 

[BananaCupCake]

Thanks everyone for all your great input!