Alaska excursion sticker shock! Must dos?

[anricat]

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.

We rented a car at the Juneau Car Rental company which is located right at the dock. For $60 we had a car for the day. We were off the ship at 8 and on the road by 8:10. We arrived at Mendenhall around 8:30 and we were practically the only people there. We stayed for the morning and then came back and shopped around town a bit before having lunch on board the Wonder. Then we did a private whale watching trip in the afternoon. It was perfect, cheaper for the car rental than a shuttle to the glacier and we were there when nobody else was around. Highly recommended.

 

[MUN]

We rented a car at the Juneau Car Rental company which is located right at the dock. For $60 we had a car for the day. We were off the ship at 8 and on the road by 8:10. We arrived at Mendenhall around 8:30 and we were practically the only people there. We stayed for the morning and then came back and shopped around town a bit before having lunch on board the Wonder. Then we did a private whale watching trip in the afternoon. It was perfect, cheaper for the car rental than a shuttle to the glacier and we were there when nobody else was around. Highly recommended.

Good advice. The bus trip to the glacier is expensive at $20 per person.

MUN

 

[Geomom]

Good advice. The bus trip to the glacier is expensive at $20 per person.

MUN

The bus trip went up to $30/person (roundtrip) in 2016. (And that is booking one of the glacier shuttles privately vs. through DCL.)

 

[MUN]

The bus trip went up to $30/person (roundtrip) in 2016. (And that is booking one of the glacier shuttles privately vs. through DCL.)

Wow! I thought $20 per person was a lot 2 years ago.

 

[KashasMom]

We went twice and did all the big ticket excursions. Everything was superb! You can book on your own - don't go through the cruise line. I agree with the other poster who said you can take a less expensive cruise. I wouldn't do Disney for Alaska, Europe, any port intensive cruise. Just not worth the money. Also if you're going...Glacier Bay is a must see and DCL doesn't go there.

Here's what we did:

Juneau - Orca Enterprises - twice (whales, whales, whales!), Mount Roberts Tramway, Temsco Helicopter Pilot's Choice - Double Glacier Landing
Ketchikan - Misty Fjords with Island Wings, Anan Creek (Bears) with Island Wings, both times had enough time to walk around town as well
Skagway - Dog sledding with Temsco Helicopters (it's better to do the dog sledding out of Skagway - weather in Juneau causes a lot of cancellations). We also rented a car and using Murray's Guide to the South Klondike Highway drove out to Emerald Lake - made several stops along the way - fantastic day! (Must bring passport since you cross into Canada.)
Sitka - walked around on our own - St. Michael's Cathedral, Sitka National Historical Park (Totem Poles), Alaska Raptor Center.
We've also been to Icy Strait Point when it was a new port - it wasn't so good then.

Everyone has different opinions about what they'd like to do but we didn't do anything that we didn't love. I always recommend getting up in the air when you go to Alaska. You can fully appreciate the size and beauty from above.

 

[phinz]

We rented a car at the Juneau Car Rental company which is located right at the dock.

This is what we'll be doing next time. I like having control of the steering wheel more than being packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes.

 

[RedSox68]

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.

First of all, if you haven't booked your flights yet -- don't fly into Vancouver. We flew into Seattle and saved hundreds, and then took Amtrak to Vancouver (incredibly gorgeous ride).

Second, look around and try to book an independent excursion company not through the ship. Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic always have good suggestions and reviews. When in Skagway, we did Chilkoot Tours instead of the cruise line (it was HAL) and saved a couple hundred.

 

[RedSox68]

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.

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Great pictures. You did the same things we did in those ports, but we booked independently for the excursions. In Ketchikan we walked off the ship and just booked a tour guide at the port and they had great specials and we saved more money.

 

[anricat]

First of all, if you haven't booked your flights yet -- don't fly into Vancouver. We flew into Seattle and saved hundreds, and then took Amtrak to Vancouver (incredibly gorgeous ride).

I appreciate that your heart is in the right place with the advice, but I wouldn't say "don't" but instead, be aware that flying into Seattle is a viable alternative depending on your desires, budget and time. Definitely take both scenarios into account and do the math, but don't assume that you're going to save a bunch of money flying into Seattle. For us, we flew into Vancouver for $333 per person, roundtrip. Flying to Seattle would have been around $300 round trip per person plus the Amtrak tickets, plus there were no options that would allow us to take the train the same day we arrived into Seattle so we would have needed a hotel overnight, so add that in, plus transportation between the airport and hotel and then hotel to train station. I looked into hotels near the train station and they were either total dives or way out of our budget. Plus the logistics meant that DH would have had to take an extra day off work and so you're talking about around 24 hours total from the time we left Texas to the time we arrived in Vancouver that was just a no-go for us.

If you're interested in Seattle and you've never been, it's a wonderful city and if it works for you and you want to spend a day there, go for it. We have family there and frequently visit so we really wanted to maximize our time in Vancouver so for all those reasons, flying into Vancouver was the winner for our family.

 

[xlxo]

I too found very minor savings for the extra hours or day lost to the train and transfers in my travels. Talking with others.... what savings really depends on what city you are coming from.

A variation is the fly into Vancouver and go to Seattle post-cruise for the savings. Check out both Cascadia cities.

 

[phinz]

Just to throw a monkey wrench into the whole Vancouver/Seattle debate, there's always the Victoria Clipper (ferry) from Seattle and then the Victoria to Vancouver ferry. I'm not saying it's cheap, but it's a unique experience.

 

[xlxo]

Agreed.... there's also the Prince of Whales who want a scenic Orca whale watch with their luggage into downtown....
http://princeofwhales.com/seattle-tours/

 

[RedSox68]

I appreciate that your heart is in the right place with the advice, but I wouldn't say "don't" but instead, be aware that flying into Seattle is a viable alternative depending on your desires, budget and time. Definitely take both scenarios into account and do the math, but don't assume that you're going to save a bunch of money flying into Seattle. For us, we flew into Vancouver for $333 per person, roundtrip. Flying to Seattle would have been around $300 round trip per person plus the Amtrak tickets, plus there were no options that would allow us to take the train the same day we arrived into Seattle so we would have needed a hotel overnight, so add that in, plus transportation between the airport and hotel and then hotel to train station. I looked into hotels near the train station and they were either total dives or way out of our budget. Plus the logistics meant that DH would have had to take an extra day off work and so you're talking about around 24 hours total from the time we left Texas to the time we arrived in Vancouver that was just a no-go for us.

If you're interested in Seattle and you've never been, it's a wonderful city and if it works for you and you want to spend a day there, go for it. We have family there and frequently visit so we really wanted to maximize our time in Vancouver so for all those reasons, flying into Vancouver was the winner for our family.

I was going by the scenario that the poster stated they are flying from the east coast. When we booked our flights, there were NO reasonably priced flights from Philadelphia, Newark or JFK into Vancouver -- and many required more than one stop. Flying into Seattle round trip saved hundreds, and the Amtrak tickets were not that expensive at all. For us it saved a bundle -- but I always do research before I commit.

 

[richkaryn]

I appreciate that your heart is in the right place with the advice, but I wouldn't say "don't" but instead, be aware that flying into Seattle is a viable alternative depending on your desires, budget and time. Definitely take both scenarios into account and do the math, but don't assume that you're going to save a bunch of money flying into Seattle. For us, we flew into Vancouver for $333 per person, roundtrip. Flying to Seattle would have been around $300 round trip per person plus the Amtrak tickets, plus there were no options that would allow us to take the train the same day we arrived into Seattle so we would have needed a hotel overnight, so add that in, plus transportation between the airport and hotel and then hotel to train station. I looked into hotels near the train station and they were either total dives or way out of our budget. Plus the logistics meant that DH would have had to take an extra day off work and so you're talking about around 24 hours total from the time we left Texas to the time we arrived in Vancouver that was just a no-go for us.

If you're interested in Seattle and you've never been, it's a wonderful city and if it works for you and you want to spend a day there, go for it. We have family there and frequently visit so we really wanted to maximize our time in Vancouver so for all those reasons, flying into Vancouver was the winner for our family.

Same Scenario for us basically....It was cheaper into Seattle through Southwest, only because we saved on baggage fees both ways....but we would've had to get a hotel for same reason for the night, plus Amtrak tickets.....which in the end became more expensive when you factored in the added expenses.

 

[RedSox68]

Same Scenario for us basically....It was cheaper into Seattle through Southwest, only because we saved on baggage fees both ways....but we would've had to get a hotel for same reason for the night, plus Amtrak tickets.....which in the end became more expensive when you factored in the added expenses.

We actually ended up planning a stay in Seattle because we wanted to see the city -- so it worked out both ways.

 

[Trip planner]

I was going by the scenario that the poster stated they are flying from the east coast. When we booked our flights, there were NO reasonably priced flights from Philadelphia, Newark or JFK into Vancouver -- and many required more than one stop. Flying into Seattle round trip saved hundreds, and the Amtrak tickets were not that expensive at all. For us it saved a bundle -- but I always do research before I commit.

I appreciate the suggestion. The flights are definitely something that contributes to the high cost of the trip. We actually have good friends that moved to Seattle so we could visit them, see Seattle and save money. We actually pushed back this trip one year and are going on a cheaper 3-day cruise to the Bahamas and I am planning to book Alaska while on board. Then I am justifying the expensive trip because I turn 40 in 2018 and will be celebrating my 15th wedding anniversary.

 

[RedSox68]

I appreciate the suggestion. The flights are definitely something that contributes to the high cost of the trip. We actually have good friends that moved to Seattle so we could visit them, see Seattle and save money. We actually pushed back this trip one year and are going on a cheaper 3-day cruise to the Bahamas and I am planning to book Alaska while on board. Then I am justifying the expensive trip because I turn 40 in 2018 and will be celebrating my 15th wedding anniversary.

Comfort in planning and expense is the most important factor in any trip. If it takes too much time for your itinerary, or costs too much for your budget, then you shouldn't do it.

I should have also mentioned that I am a train fanatic. I love trains (going back to my childhood when we traveled via train from Florida to Rhode Island to visit my grandparents back in the day) -- and had read so much about the beautiful experience going from Seattle to Vancouver that, for me, it was a win win. We had already planned on pre and post cruise hotel stays, so the four hour train trip each way did not add to that decision. For me it was like an extra excursion and a great experience, but for others they may feel the time and money is better spent on an excursion or an extra night in a hotel. I like a PP suggestion about the Clipper and we may do that next time for another added experience.

Happy planning and safe travels!

 

[xlxo]

should have also mentioned that I am a train fanatic. I love trains

You want an extended stay in Vancouver. They just extended their subway system to be the longest automated driverless train system in the world. Forget self driving cars! USD$8 pass allows you to ride the system unlimited ALL DAY.
http://globalnews.ca/news/3101723/new-evergreen-skytrain-line-launches-Friday/

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We did a helicopter tour in Ketchican. It was absolutely amazing, highlight of our trip for sure! We used http://www.ketchikanhelicopters.com

They are a small, family owned company and would love to do another trip with them.

We also did zip lining through Skagway Shore Tours and had a great time as well.

Both were booked privately.

 

[EllinK]

The helicopter/dog sled/glacier excursion is simply remarkable. Save your money in the other ports and just do this. If you book directly with Temsco, you save ~$100/pp.