Alaska Excursions--post your reviews here!

[fettfan13]

Bus tour in skagway, whale watching in juenau definatly worth the money. Indian village and lumber jack show in kettichan wonderful

 

[Twinparents]

We just got off of the June 28th sailing and here is what we did:

Vancouver: My DH and DS went Sturgeon fishing and caught a 150 pound Sturgeon. They said it was the experience of a lifetime. We also spent quite a bit of time at Stanley Park, Granville Island and the Salmon Hatchery. All were great experiences and other than paying for parking were free.

Skagway: We did the helicopter up to the dog sled camp and this was by far our favorite excursion. My youngest daughter is 9 and Grandpa was 80 and all of us would do this again in a heart beat. We took a helicopter ride up to the Denver Glacier and the scenery was breathtaking. The dog camp is on the Denver Glacier and we spent about an hour up there looking and learning about the dogs, holding the puppies and then taking turns mushing the sled. If we had one complaint it was that the sled ride wasn't long enough because we all enjoyed it so much. This was a pricey excursion but worth every penny.

Juneau: We did a private whale watching excursion with Orca Enterprises and had a very good experience. Their offices were easy to find and right by where the free shuttle drops you off. We had 28 passengers on our boat which also had a captain, 2 servers and a naturalist who gave us a presentation on what we were seeing. We only saw Humpbacks and sea lions (we wanted Orcas) but apparently we had a great experience because we ran into a group of 5 whales that were lunch feeding and so we stayed in the same spot for almost an hour and saw the whales a bunch of times. They served hot tea, coffee, juice, cheese and crackers and smoked salmon.

After the whale watching Orca Enterprises transported us to Coastal helicopters where we did a private flight to the ice fields. The ice fields were amazing but I didn't really feel like Coastal put safety first. We basically were free to roam on the ice fields while our pilot walked around with his hands in his pockets. Our kids ages 9, 14 and 14 were getting a little too close to the large holes and crevices and the guide didn't say a word even though my husband and I were pulling them pack and scolding them. We later heard from a group that did the Disney version of this excursion and it sounded much safer. They had cramp ons, walking staffs and the guide wouldn't let them go to close. While we probably saw some more amazing views I would not ever choose to do this again with children.

Ketchican: Husband and the kids did the Fishing Derby and just had an o.k. time. Apparently, the excursion really depends on how good your guide is. Our friends were on the same excursion and loved it because they caught a lot of fish. Our kids were frustrated because just when one person would catch a fish the guide would move to another location and there was nothing. My husband felt like our guide moved too much and didn't know where to go to catch fish. The lunch was actually the fish you caught made into a soup and my kids did not enjoy it. However, my daughter won a t-shirt for the catching the smallest fish.

My parents went on the Wilderness exploration and crab feast that was previously reviewed on this thread. They thought this was a good experience and enjoyed the views and pulling the crab pots. They said the dinner was excellent.

I decided that I needed some extra time shopping so changed my excursion at the last minute. This however was a problem. Apparently, Disney has changed their policy that all excursions must be changed 2 days before you board the ship. You can change your excursion on the ship but you are charged the higher price of the excursion you booked or the excursion you cancelled. I ended up doing the tour of the city and the totem pole park by Trolley. The tour guide "Ed" was fantastic and quite entertaining. I enjoyed learning about life in Alaska and the excursion was only about an hour and half which left plenty of time for shopping.

 

[PBader]

Bet your DH & DS were tickeled to death with that sturgeon!!!!!!

 

[Mickey1Fan]

How long are you in port at Ketchican. A woman from church sails in July and they know someone who wants to take her and the family on a tour.

Thank you.

 

[denise]

We just got off of the June 28th sailing and here is what we did:

Vancouver: My DH and DS went Sturgeon fishing and caught a 150 pound Sturgeon. They said it was the experience of a lifetime. We also spent quite a bit of time at Stanley Park, Granville Island and the Salmon Hatchery. All were great experiences and other than paying for parking were free.

Skagway: We did the helicopter up to the dog sled camp and this was by far our favorite excursion. My youngest daughter is 9 and Grandpa was 80 and all of us would do this again in a heart beat. We took a helicopter ride up to the Denver Glacier and the scenery was breathtaking. The dog camp is on the Denver Glacier and we spent about an hour up there looking and learning about the dogs, holding the puppies and then taking turns mushing the sled. If we had one complaint it was that the sled ride wasn't long enough because we all enjoyed it so much. This was a pricey excursion but worth every penny.

Juneau: We did a private whale watching excursion with Orca Enterprises and had a very good experience. Their offices were easy to find and right by where the free shuttle drops you off. We had 28 passengers on our boat which also had a captain, 2 servers and a naturalist who gave us a presentation on what we were seeing. We only saw Humpbacks and sea lions (we wanted Orcas) but apparently we had a great experience because we ran into a group of 5 whales that were lunch feeding and so we stayed in the same spot for almost an hour and saw the whales a bunch of times. They served hot tea, coffee, juice, cheese and crackers and smoked salmon.

After the whale watching Orca Enterprises transported us to Coastal helicopters where we did a private flight to the ice fields. The ice fields were amazing but I didn't really feel like Coastal put safety first. We basically were free to roam on the ice fields while our pilot walked around with his hands in his pockets. Our kids ages 9, 14 and 14 were getting a little too close to the large holes and crevices and the guide didn't say a word even though my husband and I were pulling them pack and scolding them. We later heard from a group that did the Disney version of this excursion and it sounded much safer. They had cramp ons, walking staffs and the guide wouldn't let them go to close. While we probably saw some more amazing views I would not ever choose to do this again with children.

Ketchican: Husband and the kids did the Fishing Derby and just had an o.k. time. Apparently, the excursion really depends on how good your guide is. Our friends were on the same excursion and loved it because they caught a lot of fish. Our kids were frustrated because just when one person would catch a fish the guide would move to another location and there was nothing. My husband felt like our guide moved too much and didn't know where to go to catch fish. The lunch was actually the fish you caught made into a soup and my kids did not enjoy it. However, my daughter won a t-shirt for the catching the smallest fish.

My parents went on the Wilderness exploration and crab feast that was previously reviewed on this thread. They thought this was a good experience and enjoyed the views and pulling the crab pots. They said the dinner was excellent.

I decided that I needed some extra time shopping so changed my excursion at the last minute. This however was a problem. Apparently, Disney has changed their policy that all excursions must be changed 2 days before you board the ship. You can change your excursion on the ship but you are charged the higher price of the excursion you booked or the excursion you cancelled. I ended up doing the tour of the city and the totem pole park by Trolley. The tour guide "Ed" was fantastic and quite entertaining. I enjoyed learning about life in Alaska and the excursion was only about an hour and half which left plenty of time for shopping.

Kimberly----first off, I didn't know Grandpa was 80! Wow, he fouled me...
Sounds like you had lots of fun. Wish we were on the same cruise again, maybe next time. I wouldn't of eaten fish soup either
We are sticking with Disney excursions this time because we only booked this cruise when we got back from the Repo Cruise in May. With school and booking hotels and flights I had no time to research private tours. We cancelled New Years on the Dream and changed it to this one. I'm happy because I really wanted to do Alaska but sad because the Dream sounded fun for New Years. Perhaps another time.
Can't wait to see your pictures.

Bet your DH & DS were tickeled to death with that sturgeon!!!!!!

You should have seen the picture, that thing was so huge!

 

[wdhinn89]

We just got off of the June 28th sailing and here is what we did:

Vancouver: My DH and DS went Sturgeon fishing and caught a 150 pound Sturgeon. They said it was the experience of a lifetime. We also spent quite a bit of time at Stanley Park, Granville Island and the Salmon Hatchery. All were great experiences and other than paying for parking were free.

Skagway: We did the helicopter up to the dog sled camp and this was by far our favorite excursion. My youngest daughter is 9 and Grandpa was 80 and all of us would do this again in a heart beat. We took a helicopter ride up to the Denver Glacier and the scenery was breathtaking. The dog camp is on the Denver Glacier and we spent about an hour up there looking and learning about the dogs, holding the puppies and then taking turns mushing the sled. If we had one complaint it was that the sled ride wasn't long enough because we all enjoyed it so much. This was a pricey excursion but worth every penny.

Juneau: We did a private whale watching excursion with Orca Enterprises and had a very good experience. Their offices were easy to find and right by where the free shuttle drops you off. We had 28 passengers on our boat which also had a captain, 2 servers and a naturalist who gave us a presentation on what we were seeing. We only saw Humpbacks and sea lions (we wanted Orcas) but apparently we had a great experience because we ran into a group of 5 whales that were lunch feeding and so we stayed in the same spot for almost an hour and saw the whales a bunch of times. They served hot tea, coffee, juice, cheese and crackers and smoked salmon.

After the whale watching Orca Enterprises transported us to Coastal helicopters where we did a private flight to the ice fields. The ice fields were amazing but I didn't really feel like Coastal put safety first. We basically were free to roam on the ice fields while our pilot walked around with his hands in his pockets. Our kids ages 9, 14 and 14 were getting a little too close to the large holes and crevices and the guide didn't say a word even though my husband and I were pulling them pack and scolding them. We later heard from a group that did the Disney version of this excursion and it sounded much safer. They had cramp ons, walking staffs and the guide wouldn't let them go to close. While we probably saw some more amazing views I would not ever choose to do this again with children.

Ketchican: Husband and the kids did the Fishing Derby and just had an o.k. time. Apparently, the excursion really depends on how good your guide is. Our friends were on the same excursion and loved it because they caught a lot of fish. Our kids were frustrated because just when one person would catch a fish the guide would move to another location and there was nothing. My husband felt like our guide moved too much and didn't know where to go to catch fish. The lunch was actually the fish you caught made into a soup and my kids did not enjoy it. However, my daughter won a t-shirt for the catching the smallest fish.

My parents went on the Wilderness exploration and crab feast that was previously reviewed on this thread. They thought this was a good experience and enjoyed the views and pulling the crab pots. They said the dinner was excellent.

I decided that I needed some extra time shopping so changed my excursion at the last minute. This however was a problem. Apparently, Disney has changed their policy that all excursions must be changed 2 days before you board the ship. You can change your excursion on the ship but you are charged the higher price of the excursion you booked or the excursion you cancelled. I ended up doing the tour of the city and the totem pole park by Trolley. The tour guide "Ed" was fantastic and quite entertaining. I enjoyed learning about life in Alaska and the excursion was only about an hour and half which left plenty of time for shopping.

Can you give me some info on your sturgeon fishing trip? Who did you charter with?
My husband and son would love this.
We chartered a boat to go halibut fishing in Ketichan but adding a sturgeon fishing trip would be great too. Who was your guide in Ketichan and what did they fish for?

 

[jarudinski]

Has anyone done the zipline in Ketchikan. We have the Bear Creek booked and interested and how people have liked it.
Chuck

We did this excursion on our cruise at the beg of June. We picked this one over their other zipline excursion as my DD (12) did not meet the weight requirement for the other course.

At the start of the excursion we got out gear and headed off to the test zip. The test zip allows you to do a practice run and get comfortable with the procedure.

We did 6 zip lines, had to cross a small suspension bridge, did a short rapel and then went down the 270 ft mt slide. My daughter loved this excursion and I think the slide was her favorite. One tip, if anyone in your party has long hair, bring hair ties and pull your hair back, to keep your hair out of the equipment.

One of the zips was very long and the lighter individuals in group (mostly the kids) didn't make it all the way to the end, so they had to manually pull themselves in. Good experience all in all.

The excursion was a lot of fun and the guides were great. After the excursion we were taken back to the shops where there was drinks and snacks. Also you could purchase the pictures taken on the excursion. There was a group picture and then an individual action shot. I thought the pictures were a bit overprices at $20 each, but that was the only negative thing from this excursion.

My husband is afraid of heights but he humors us and went anyway. He has done ziplining before in Cabo, but found this one to be a lot worse as you are ziplining from treetop to treetop and never really get back to the ground til the end. You are tethered to safety lines the whole excursion, but if you have any problems with heights this excursion may present a problem.


Other excursions we did were ..

Skagway: Dog Sledding Summer Camp excursion. The kids had a blast. we had a short drive to the site and we got some interesting information about the area. Once we arrived, we were loaded into the Unimogs and then into the dog sleds. Once we were done, the kids wanted to go again. They sleds went much faster than I ever would have expected. After the dog sledding we went to bas camp to shop for souvenirs, hear a presentation on dog sledding and to play with the puppies.

Juneau: Mendenhall Float Trip. This was also a great excursion. We got on the bus for a short trip to the launch site. Once we were there we got outfitted in gear: rain boots, waterproof coveralls and life jackets. We got divided into groups, 9 ppl per raft. Our guide was a lot of fun, he took us near a small glacier piece in the lake so we could see it up close then we left the lake for the river. There was not much to do as the guide did all the work, so this excursion could be a hit or miss. Ours was great because of the guide and our raft mates, so we all had a lot of fun. There was some interesting sites among the river. The rapids never got very fast, they were pretty mild, much like the rapid rides in the theme parks. The folks in front got the wetest, not much for anyone else. Bring extra socks as your feet may get wet. You may want mittens too. When the trip was over we were taken to a camp, to get out of our gear, retrieve our belongings and were treated to refreshments. They also had pictures from the trip, 3 different shots. We recieved 1 free picture per ticket holder and could purchase the rest for $20 each if interested.

Overall, we enjoyed all our excursions and had a great cruise.

Julie

 

[Twinparents]

Mickey1Fan - We were only in Ketchikan from 1:30-7:30. We were about 15 minutes late getting in because the Carnival ship had not left the dock that we were supposed to be in.

wdhinn89 - We used Silversides Fishing Adventures at www.bcfishing-guide.com. I think it was about $725 for 3 people and that was a 12 hour a day. He did say there are different prices depending on the season and we were early season.

In Ketchikan they went on the Disney "Fishing Derby". It was mainly a family event and not for serious fisherman. There were fishing for whatever but people caught halibut, flounder rock fish and rat fish. My husband said next time he would charter the halibut boat.

Denise - you will have a great time. Wish we could go again! If you book the Fantasy let us know!

 

[NurseNash]

Thanks for the review! We have the Rainforest Island Adventure excursion reserved which sounds very similar other than we raft to the island before the hike and snack. Since we'll have a 6 yr old, thought this was a safer bet than the canoe. Did your kids enjoy the hike or were they bored look t plants and trees?

My kids were not bored but it was only about a 30 minute nature walk. Our guide showed us mud that is similar to quick sand (kids loved that) and she let the kids crawl into a "cave" that is made by huge tree roots (they loved that part too). We also saw two huge banana slugs (about the size of a roll of quarters and they are still talking about them)! We had had snacks before hand so my 7yo carried his cup of hot chocolate with him and sipped on it while he listened. Our canoe guide had told the kids to listen close b/c she was going to give a quiz on the canoe ride back and if they did good, they'd get a surprise. She forgot to give the quiz but she still gave them a pin that said "I canoed in Ketchikan". One BIG tip: There were A LOT of mosquitos. I was so thankkful I had brought some bug spray. I found bug spray with a 15% DEET solution at Walmart in the camping/sporting goods section here in Colorado. I bought some that looks like and is the size of a pen (so it is small and convenient... if you have ever seen the Tide Sticks it was that size with a spray pump on the tip). It fit easily into my pocket. Because it had DEET, I sprayed it on our hair and clothing. You will have fun! It made me feel like I saw some of the "real" Alaska... loved the plants on the nature walk. But I also liked that the length of the excursion still gave us time to check out the town. Our trip was in the afternoon so we put the kids in the kids club and hubby and I spent the morning shopping (kids had shopped with us in Skagway and Juneau and were shopped out). The time of the excursion did make us miss our 5:45 dinner seating but we had talked to our Head Server on the first night and he let us go to the second dinner seating and accommodated us nicely. Have fun! We really felt like the whole trip was one of the best our family has ever done!

 

[wdhinn89]

Mickey1Fan - We were only in Ketchikan from 1:30-7:30. We were about 15 minutes late getting in because the Carnival ship had not left the dock that we were supposed to be in.

wdhinn89 - We used Silversides Fishing Adventures at www.bcfishing-guide.com. I think it was about $725 for 3 people and that was a 12 hour a day. He did say there are different prices depending on the season and we were early season.

In Ketchikan they went on the Disney "Fishing Derby". It was mainly a family event and not for serious fisherman. There were fishing for whatever but people caught halibut, flounder rock fish and rat fish. My husband said next time he would charter the halibut boat.

Denise - you will have a great time. Wish we could go again! If you book the Fantasy let us know!

Thank you for the link!!!

 

[PBader]

Thanks for posting the reviews on the Taku Glcier Floatplane. We are booked on this for the Aug 30th cruise and are super excited about it




I have read a couple postings about mosquitos--I guess they will continue to get worse. I bought those Off clipons to use, has anyone used them?

 

[poohj80]

One BIG tip: There were A LOT of mosquitos.

Thank you for the tips! Both DD and I get eaten alive by mosquitos so we will both make sure we're coated!

 

[denise]

Has anyone used the OFF thing that has two batteries that hangs on your belt? Don't know the name. It has little refills with repellent. Does that work?

 

[plutojudy]

We have been using them in the yard this year and so far they seem to work. Mosquitoes love me and I haven't been bit since we started using them. We also use Citronella candles and citronella oil in torches. We also have campfire in our Weber firepalce. So not sure if one works better than others but we are using everything.

 

[TDC Nala]

Apparently, Disney has changed their policy that all excursions must be changed 2 days before you board the ship. You can change your excursion on the ship but you are charged the higher price of the excursion you booked or the excursion you cancelled.

Excursions must be cancelled no later than 2 days before boarding. You can change them onboard, but not cancel them. I know this was the case in 2007, but I don't know how long ago it might have been different.

 

[disneyochem]

Hmmm. We are doing basically the same times for this and I've been concerned about our 9 yearold and lunch. Heck I'm worried about all of us. Not sure we can pack enough food to keep everyone happy from 10-4.

I did this tour on the June 14th trip. I ordered room service on the Wonder (sandwiches and fruit), put the food in plastic baggies that I had brought and then we had lunch on the tour! I have one DD who wanted bagels so I also picked up bagels and cream cheese from the buffet.

I always travel with a variety of plastic bags!

 

[disneyochem]

On the June 14th trip we did the following:

Skagway: Used Chilkoot Tours for a Train and Dog Camp Excursion. We were met at the dock by a driver of a van that seated about 25 people (20 of whom were on the Wonder). We drove up to Caribou Crossing--stopping along the way for views, wildlife, etc. It was great. Our guide would take us to areas that didn't have lots of buses or people. Stopped by a lake to skip stones as well! We had a little bit of time so we went on to Emerald Lake (an unscheduled stop which was nice!). At Caribou Crossing, we had the BBQ Chicken lunch (which was just okay, the fresh donuts were nice though!) before our dog sled ride. My daughters loved the dog sled ride and loved the huskey puppies even more! The museum was fun to walk through as well as the ice cream cones! We got back on our van and then drove to the train depot at Frazier. The Chilkoot Tour Company had one car for all us (which was nice because we certainly didn't have a lot of people so were able to move back and forward in the train car). The train ride was fantastic; we also stopped a couple of times to pick up hikers. We still had a couple of hours to explore Skagway--went to the Red Onion and had drinks and snacks. I highly recommend Chilkoot Tours--very professional and MUCH smaller than the Disney tour. We met up with the Disney tour at the dog sled camp--the group was just finishing up and getting back on the buses. Was nice to be traveling with 23 people and a guide. And, it was about $150 cheaper than Disney. Chilkoot Tours actually thinks your 12 year old is a child and charges accordingly>

Juneau: We did the Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Tour through Disney. We met in the Walt Disney Theater onboard, received our stickers (Chip and Dale) and bus number. We were in Bus 1. Got on board the bus at the dock and drove to Auck Bay, just outside of Juneau (15 minute drive). Our driver was very informative and told us alot about living in Alaska. I was worried about the number of people on the boat (since there were many, many buses at the dock) but only two buses loaded onto the catamaran (about 75 people). The boat was great--three restrooms and a snack bar. We headed out for a three hour cruise..... Saw lots of whales, eagles and other wildlife. The company provided free coffee, hot chocolate and donut holes. The snack bar sold hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, sodas, candy, etc. They also provided free samples of salmon and kelp pickles. Lots of fun. The boat was two-decked so there was lots of room to roam around. After the whale watching, we got back on the bus and headed out to the Mendenhall Glacier. Only was able to spend about one hour at the glacier--I could have stayed longer but my girls were done! The bus driver dropped us off in Juneau so we walked/shopped our way back to the ship. Juneau had free shuttles that took you from the main drag to the boat.

Ketchikan--That was our slow day. Didn't want to overbook the kids so only had the Disney Exclusive Lumberjack Show (which I'm glad I did!). The girls did not want to do anything but hang out with friends on the ship! Hubby and I left them and went on a walking tour of Ketchikan. Enjoyed walking around (Creek Street was cute). Went back for the girls and grandma for the show. We walked to the show. Everyone (but me!) loved the lumberjack show! It was well done but just not my cup of tea! Also, I was able to get the tickets directly from the Lumberjack site and not Disney (on the website, it identified the show that was Disney exclusive). Again, Lumberjack folks had child prices and senior prices so was able save about $45. The show folks also had free shuttles back to the ship so didn't really see a need to book through Disney!

We spent a couple of days in Victoria before our cruise. One of the activities we did was go to Wildplay. What a blast for the kids! It is an outdoor park that is located in the trees! Girls and I were able to climb and zipline for a couple of hours. Loads of fun! We did so much ziplining that I was able to cancel our zipline tours--girls thought it would be fun to do something else. Cost was pretty reasonable--I'm thinking it was about $50/person. I was really impressed with the staff. In the orientation, my 12 year old unbuckled a strap. They stopped her, said it was important NEVER to unbuckle these straps and made her go back down a level (we were about 20 feet high) for retraining! Momma loved that!

Also had high tea at the Empress Hotel. That was my cup of tea!

 

[NurseNash]

Thanks for posting the reviews on the Taku Glcier Floatplane. We are booked on this for the Aug 30th cruise and are super excited about it




I have read a couple postings about mosquitos--I guess they will continue to get worse. I bought those Off clipons to use, has anyone used them?

There WERE mosquitos when we were at Taku (June 18th). The Lodge did have bug spray available for people to use (it was on a shelf on the front porch of the main lodge). I hope you have fun... Taku was a favorite part of our trip for ALL of us (me, hubby, 7yo son and 9yo son). We'd do it again... food was so good.

 

[Inkmahm]

There WERE mosquitos when we were at Taku (June 18th). The Lodge did have bug spray available for people to use (it was on a shelf on the front porch of the main lodge). I hope you have fun... Taku was a favorite part of our trip for ALL of us (me, hubby, 7yo son and 9yo son). We'd do it again... food was so good.

By end of August, bug spray won't be needed. Bug season is June/July. I've been to Alaska in August and it is bug free. Going Aug 16th with Disney and will not be taking insect spray.

 

[PBader]

Inkmahm, that is NICE to know!! I bought those Off Clipons weeks ago, so I'll still throw them in my bag, but hopefully we won't need them