Alaska excursion sticker shock! Must dos?

[Trip planner]

we have been considering an Alaskan cruise for a few years. It has always been slightly higher than our vacation budget, mostly because we live on the east coast and flights to Vancouver are expensive. Well we finally decided to go for it and now I am looking into excursions and I am suffering sticker shock! Especially from the dog sled. I had assumed we could do excursions in the $100/person range not $250-$800/ person. (Family of four) . Do I really need to add another $4k to the cost of this trip? I had read some articles that said dog sleds and small planes were musts.

 

[mya1k9]

I've never been on a Alaskan cruise but have always wanted too. My philosophy on big ticket vacations is, it's a once in a lifetime event, do everything you want so there are no regrets, this is probably not something you would ever do again. However, I personally don't think I'd do the small plane, your flying to get there so I wouldn't want to fly more, but the dog sled, yes, absolutely!!!!! Whatever you decide have a wonderful time!

 

[sharksfinatic17]

We went to Alaska two summers ago, and our excursions averaged $200 a person. We did not do the helicopter/dog sled excursion. We are a group of 10, my parents pay for everything, and I just couldn't justify the cost (I do all the planning). We had awesome excursions - Skagway - Chilkoot Tours - train up/bus back with the added in lunch and dog sled experience (on dry land), Juneau - private boat with Harv and Marv, and Ketchikan - float plane to the Misty Fjords with Island Wings. All were booked independently and incredible. There are plenty Alaska reports with people doing really inexpensive excursions and having a wonderful time. I don't feel like our trip was ruined because we didn't do the helicopter/dog sled excursion. I was thrilled that I had the opportunity to visit Alaska.

 

[AngelDisney]

We did the dog sledding excursion in 2015 and loved it! DD's iPhone lock screen still shows the dogs from the excursion pulling us on the glacier even after our trip to Asia last summer. This shows how much she likes it. We live in Toronto. Before I decided to book it, I had researched on dog sledding in Ontario. They are usually 3 to 5 days overnight trip that costs a bit more than the excursion. It means I would pay more for staying in the cold for days (I hate being in the cold for a long time) without a helicopter ride which is a special experience by itself with wonderful views of the glacier. I decided to splurge on this and do not regret it a bit. It's the highlight of our cruise. No matter what excursions you choose, you would enjoy your trip to Alaska. I definitely want to visit Alaska again. There is no way you can see everything on a 7-night cruise. I may not want to go on a helicopter ride or dog sled again though.

Have fun planning!

 

[plutolovr]

Alaska is one of those itineraries where you can really do a lower-priced cruise on another cruise line, because the excursions are so worth the extra money. Dog-sledding is just awesome with the helicopter ride, and the whole experience.

 

[Dug720]

Alaska excursion prices are a result of a combination of VERY limited availability on a lot of them and a short season in which operators can make their money for the year.

 

[aggiedog]

We haven't done Alaska, but in cruising in French Polynesia, the Caribbean, and the Baltic, independent excursions are frequently significantly cheaper than those offered by the cruise line. For our DCL Baltic cruise, we did 2 excursions with DCL and 2 we arranged ourselves from research done on TripAdvisor. We all felt the independent ones were better - not only due to cost, but also much smaller groups, more personal, the ability to use the full port time instead of just a few hours, etc.

There is always concern about a non-DCL excursion not making it back and the ship not waiting for you, which scares many people into sticking with DCL. It can happen, but these companies have a vested interest in making sure you get back to your ship. In the internet review age, a company that makes you miss your sailing will not do well long term.

 

[Macmaro]

We went on the Wonder in June and did excursions in each port. We had an amazing time and didn't spend a ton. We did the dog sledding in Juneau but saw no need to do it on the glacier. I have no doubt it was a different experience but it wasn't worth the extra charge for us. The dog sledding was the highlight of our trip for my wife and 9 yo. Despite the lack of snow it was a blast and the guides did an outstanding job.

We did pay more for excursions this trip than any other cruise but that was only because we rarely do excursions in the Bahamas, Caribbean, or Mexico opting instead to just walk around. We also did the Whitepass train/Liarsville in Skagway and the Lumberjack/Saxman Native Village in Ketchikan. All were done through Disney. My wife and daughter were the ones that wanted to do the Alaskan cruise while I was lukewarm to it. We all agreed that it was among the best experiences we've had.

 

[hamm1207]

Being an Alaskan, it's important to keep in mind that we make our money off the tourism industry and we only have a short window of time each year. Also, paying our employees is more expensive than paying employees in the Bahamas and Caribbean. You'll often find slightly cheaper excursions when booking through a company directly, and many of the ports have things to do that don't require an excursion--sometimes you just have to get out of town... Enjoy!

 

[Geomom]

We did that Chilkoot Charters tour in Skagway--bus to the Yukon with lots of photo stops, BBQ lunch included at Caribou Crossing Trading Post, 15 minute dog cart ride, White Pass railway back to Skagway. Total for 3 adults, 1 child was $816. Worth every penny! It was a great combination! That was our priciest excursion. We also went the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park and got the kids' their junior ranger badges. (We had printed out the workbooks at home, and completed them before going to Alaska.)

Juneau--we just wanted to visit Mendenhall Glacier and then do some shopping, so we did the Glacier Shuttle through Juneautours for $30 each, roundtrip--they pick up/drop off every half hour. The kids did the Tongass National Forest ranger badge activities and earned their badges. Lots of people do whale watching tours from Juneau.

Ketchikan--we did the Saxman Native Village/Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show through Disney--$105/person. It gave us the native experience and the fun lumberjack show.

You can do Alaska cheaper than the $250-$800/person/excursion--you just need to figure out what excursions say 'Alaska' to you and what you're happy with spending.

 

[anricat]

We booked all our excursions third party. We did do a dog cart ride, it was short and part of a larger excursion. We didn't do anything involving planes or helicopters. We had an AMAZING time and I wouldn't change anything. Here's what our family of three (two adults and an 8 year old) spent. (This does not include the things we did in Vancouver, which were also fantastic.)

Skagway: Yukon bus and rail with dogcart ride via Chilkoot Charters - $600 (bus up to the Yukon, lunch, dog cart ride, White Pass rail back down)

Juneau: Car rental $60, explored the Mendenhall glacier on our own (I think it was maybe $5/person for the park entry), came back and had lunch on board the ship, then private whale watching tour (that we split with another family of three). Our portion was $367 for the whale watching for the three of us

Ketchikan: Explored and walked around on our own, lunch on board the ship and then an afternoon excursion of sea kayaking which was $250

So our total for a family of three was around $1300, which I think is reasonable. It sounds like your initial budget was around $400/port so $1200 total? So we had only three of us, but I think you can come in pretty close if you maybe budget more for some ports in others. For example, our kayaking excursion was only $250 for the three of us, so we spent less in that port than your budget would be (it was $89/adults and $59/kids) and the kayaking ended up being my daughter's favorite thing. We kayaked right under the bow of the Wonder out into the channel and had an amazing view! It was really incredible!

For our bus/rail/dog thing, it was all day and included lunch. So for an all day tour for $600 for the three of us, I think it was really quite a good price. Chilkoot was great and you'll see a lot of others raving about them here on the DIS. That was my husband's favorite excursion.

So for us, basically, we chose to have one really expensive day (Skagway), one mid-priced (Juneau) and one less expensive day (Ketchikan). It made sense to us to do it that way. So you could do one dog sled and have that be your thing and be more low key/ cheaper for the rest of your ports.

If you want more details about any of these excursions to get ideas, my trip report is in my signature. There's also a HUGE thread of Alaska excursion reviews that's pretty helpful. You should be able to search and find it. I think it's something like "Post your Alaska excursion reviews here."

 

[richkaryn]

We booked the bus up and bus back Yukon tour with BBQ lunch and added dog sled camp directly through Chilkoot Charters for skagway. I think we were right around $372 if I remember right for 2A, 1C. We have ridden a similar train elsewhere before and thought that having the extra stopping time with bus both ways for a cheaper price would be good. It was great!
Then we booked a misty fjords floatplane (with landing on the water/photo/exploring stop) in Ketchikan direct through Family Air Tours. This was a little over $600 with an early bird discount for the 3 of us, but worth every cent. hey picked us up right at the visitor's center a short walk off the ship. We were the only family in the plane. We had an amazing time and saw the most breathtaking views. Learned quite a bit about the area as well. I would recommend this to anyone in a heartbeat.
In Juneau we reserved a rental car from Juneau Car Rental Company which is right there when you get off the ship....maybe 100 yards walk. It was about $65 (cheaper than round trip bus to Mendenhall Glacier), and we visited Mendenhall, ran to the store to get some sinus medicine, and explored town.
Both tour companies we booked with had great reviews and both offered full refunds if your ship didn't make it to port, etc. They also both had policies in place to where if you missed the ship by their fault they would pay to get you back to the ship/next port. In Alaska these companies depend solely on the tourism that comes primarily from the cruise ships, and they want to maintain a spotless reputation, so they do what it takes to ensure you aren't delayed.

 

[xlxo]

Well we finally decided to go for it and now I am looking into excursions and I am suffering sticker shock! Especially from the dog sled. I had assumed we could do excursions in the $100/person range not $250-$800/ person. (Family of four) . Do I really need to add another $4k to the cost of this trip?

Thoughts....

• What is your cruise date.... we can suggest some hotel options for savings. Staying a few blocks away from the cruise terminal offers significant savings for a multi-day pre/post-cruise experience.
• instead of a dog sled.... there's also dog cart. There's also an opportunity to just meet the puppies.
• also look at "Best of.... " at each port for combo opportunities.

 

[Shanti]

we have been considering an Alaskan cruise for a few years. It has always been slightly higher than our vacation budget, mostly because we live on the east coast and flights to Vancouver are expensive. Well we finally decided to go for it and now I am looking into excursions and I am suffering sticker shock! Especially from the dog sled. I had assumed we could do excursions in the $100/person range not $250-$800/ person. (Family of four) . Do I really need to add another $4k to the cost of this trip? I had read some articles that said dog sleds and small planes were musts.

The most expensive excursions involve flying in a floatplane or helicopter to get there. Be aware that these flights are more dangerous in Alaska than they are in the lower 48 states, for reasons related mostly to climate & terrain.

These articles describe the phenomenon:

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0...-crash-why-it-s-so-dangerous-to-fly-in-Alaska

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-c1-alaska-float-pilot-20150102-story.html

Not advising you outright not to use a floatplane or helicopter, but to be informed & aware of the risks before paying for excursions that utilize them.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I had read some articles that said dog sleds and small planes were musts.

I've been twice and haven't done either one of those things. What is a must do to some is a mustn't do to others. It is going to boil down to what you enjoy doing. For me, I wouldn't pay $600/pp to take kids on a glacier to do dog sledding. My kids would have complained that they were cold, wet or muddy. There is another dog sledding excursion that goes down a dirt road instead of on a glacier and that is much less expensive.

Many people love the small planes. Others get really sick from the flight and it ends up being a waste of money. I haven't done one of those excursions because it involves sitting around for a long time and I already do that on the ship. I like to be active on my excursions.

You can save some money by shopping online for your excursions and buying those direct instead of paying DCL to be the middle man. Some of those will sell out, but when I was in Ketchikan, there were plenty of tour sellers waiting on the dock offering to sell us float plane tours and other tours. In Juneau, you can get off the ship and buy your own tickets for Mendenhall Glacier or Robert's Tramway. We did both last time and it was an excellent day out for us and much cheaper than buying a DCL sponsored excursion. Plus, sine we were on our own, we weren't rushed to get through everything to keep our tour group on schedule.

 

[Drusilla99]

We did the dcl Alaskan cruise in July and didn't do either of the excursions you are referring to. We did other excursions and had a wonderful time. I can't tell you the cost of anything we did, because we plan based on what interests us and those things were never on our radar. We did the train up/bus down and the ghosts & gals walking tour in Skagway, the teens did ziplining for teens only & we walked around & did mt. Roberts tram in Juneau, & we all did the lumberjack show in Ketchikan. The only excursion through Disney was the zipline. Lots of options, only do those you mentioned if you want to, not because you've been told you have to. Have fun planning!

 

[steves100]

HIGHLY recommend the dog sled but save money and do it direct w company

 

[phinz]

We did the train ride in Skagway, whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau and nothing in Ketchikan. I will always recommend the train ride (We did the VIP car, which was awesome since we got to be the last car on the way back down the mountain and there were only 14 of us in nice leather chairs) and the whale watching. Mendenhall was neat, but there are *way* too many people dumped at the visitor center, and you don't get much time if you do the whale watching too.

 

[Pooh2]

We did the Duck boat tour in Ketchikan, only about $44/person through Disney. It gave a nice overview of the town.
We did a bus tour with photo stops/lunch/gold panning in Skagway. I thought the gold panning a bit cheesey but enjoyed the rest of the tour. We saw a baby bear on the roadside!
In Juneau, we did a bus ride over to Mendenhall Glacier and walked to Nugget Falls ($50?).
So all of our excursions were amongst the cheaper ones available but a chance to get an overview of the area.

 

[MUN]

we have been considering an Alaskan cruise for a few years. It has always been slightly higher than our vacation budget, mostly because we live on the east coast and flights to Vancouver are expensive. Well we finally decided to go for it and now I am looking into excursions and I am suffering sticker shock! Especially from the dog sled. I had assumed we could do excursions in the $100/person range not $250-$800/ person. (Family of four) . Do I really need to add another $4k to the cost of this trip? I had read some articles that said dog sleds and small planes were musts.

No, you don't need to spend that much extra on excursions, unless of course you have a large number in your party. We took a private car tour from Skagway to the YT. It cost about $450 for the 4 of us. At Ketchican, we took a float plane trip that we booked outside of DCL. It was not cheap, but perhaps in the $1000 range for 5; I can't remember the exact price. At Juneau, we spent about $100 - $200 to visit the glacier and the Mt. Roberts tram. Plus, at all 3 locations, we had time to wonder around and visit the towns.

MUN

PS, the dog sledding stuff sounds stupid as well as expensive, but that's just my opinion, I know others love that stuff.