Alaska Excursions--post your reviews here!

[Deb in IA]

This is great!!

I am just begining to plan for next year, and there is a lot of information here!

I wonder how the itinerary changes for next summer will affect the availablity of some of these excursions?

 

[poohj80]

A few more Skagway photos taken during White Pass Railway and Yukon Suspension Bridge Excursion...

 

[eandesmom]

We were on the 8/23 cruise. We booked everything through DCL. The price differences for what we were looking at on our own wasn't significant enough for me to give up the security of knowing that should something get cancelled we'd get our money back if it was through DCL or if the excursion ran late, they'd hold the boat.


Skagway - Adventure Park Ziplines

We chose this as the kids were dying to zipline and this one had a lower weight restriction which would mean my very skinny kids would be able to go. It was less expensive than the Ketchikan one, which we looked at as well. For us, it was perfect. 6 zip lines plus the adventure park and just the right length and level of adventure. The weather was good enough (drizzle) and our van even dropped us off at the Skagway Brewing Co (huge thumbs up) on the way back, per our request for a fabulous late afternoon snack. I'm not sure this really showed Skagway per-se but it was a great excursion and outing and we all absolutely loved it. We were able to walk around town before the excursion so felt at least we "saw" some of the town. We'd originally wanted to do White Pass RR but the kids vastly preferred the idea of ziplining and for the money, we went with what they wanted to do. Given the limited visibility that day I do think we made the right choice, though the train would have been cool too. Really great guides who clearly loved their job, they were a lot of fun!

Juneau - Enchanted Taku Lodge Glacier Flight and Feast

I cannot say enough great things about this excursion. Yes it was pricey but it was worth it. The flight was amazing, the views of the glaciers, narration, everything. My DH got to fly copilot on the way out, DS12 on the way back. The feast was incredible and the Taku Lodge just charming. this was truly a trip highlight. We debated between this and the Ketchikan Misty Fjords and again, given the weather in Ketchikan the day we were there, compared to Juneau confirmed it was the right choice. Though more money, you did get a longer excursion plus and incredible meal so on a per hour basis, a better deal. We had plenty of time to poke around Juneau in the morning before our excursion. Great guides all around as well.

Ketchikan - on own

Didn't do an excursion here. Looked hard at the rainforest canoe but decided we'd spent enough on the other two so just poked around town. We'd hoped to do the Deer Mountain Hike but it was pretty rainy in the am and poor visibility so decided not to. It's a cute town to poke around in but not enough to fill a whole day IMO. Kids weren't into the idea of the lumberjack show but I kind of wish we'd done it.

 

[gkrykewy]

We're getting excited about booking excursions for our May 28 cruise next month. Still not sure whether the excursions listed on the DCL site are for the 2011 itineraries out of Vancouver or our 2012 out of Seattle. There are so many attractive choices that it's sort of overwhelming. Definitely interested in the Taku Lodge flight for Juneau.

 

[mellers]

Skagway:

White Pass Railroad: We saved $50 for the family ($10 each) because we booked it on our own, and we had the option to take an earlier train if we wanted. We were told that if we took the noon train, I would have to be separated from all but one member of my family (I am in a wheelchair), because the wheelchair car had limited seating. However, nobody had booked the wheelchair car for the morning, so not only were we not separated, we had the WHOLE CAR to ourselves! It was wonderful. A little narration and some incredible views.

Juneau:

We walked (or, in my case, rolled in the mobility scooter) to the Alaska State Museum. Excellent! We really had a good time, and it was raining and windy, so it was a good thing to do on that day. So often, these museums devote a lot of time to the hunters, this museum also spent a lot of time detailing the women's role in day-to-day survival--how they made waterproof parkas, and things of that nature--it was really interesting. We had a good time.

Ketchikan:

We did the Ride The Ducks tour--it was a lot of fun. Somebody had caught a huge salmon, and showed it off to the boat from the fishing area.

I did an "on your own" vs "Disney" comparison of shore excursions for my cruise group last year--here are the posts:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39823570&postcount=195
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39774325&postcount=187
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39738570&postcount=180

 

[rillsung]

We're getting excited about booking excursions for our May 28 cruise next month. Still not sure whether the excursions listed on the DCL site are for the 2011 itineraries out of Vancouver or our 2012 out of Seattle. There are so many attractive choices that it's sort of overwhelming. Definitely interested in the Taku Lodge flight for Juneau.

It looks to me that the excursions are good for 2012 as well. We did find one that said "This excursion will not run in 2012". That was the steam train.

 

[gkrykewy]

It looks to me that the excursions are good for 2012 as well. We did find one that said "This excursion will not run in 2012". That was the steam train.

Good catch; didn't see that. Thanks.

 

[Panfan86]

We're getting excited about booking excursions for our May 28 cruise next month. Still not sure whether the excursions listed on the DCL site are for the 2011 itineraries out of Vancouver or our 2012 out of Seattle. There are so many attractive choices that it's sort of overwhelming. Definitely interested in the Taku Lodge flight for Juneau.

We are also on that same cruise! have you signed up for our facebook group page? We have a list going for Fish Extenders and everything! Its a lot of fun! Here is the link if you are interested:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/224641297565901/

We also have a Disboard Meet thread for our cruise if you would also like to join us on there:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2697988

 

[pixie08]

In Ketchikan (our favorite port) we did the Adventure Karts excursions. This was a ton of fun, even in the rain or rather because of the rain. We were taken by bus about 20 minutes outside of town and took a turn off the main road and traveled for about another 10 minutes up with long winding road in the bus which I did not could make it! It was a one vehicle at a time road so if we encountered another vehicle coming down the road one of them would have to back up the whole way...interesting! We finally got to a small grouping of buildings and had a safety talk in a large shed. We then had to don heavy duty rain gear including pants, jackets and helmets with visors and gloves. I have to admit I was a bit leery of putting on gear that was still damp from the previous guests but the alternative was to get our clothes completely wet and muddy....remember it was raining quite heavily at this point. After getting past putting on the gear we loaded up into our carts which is what the Israeli army uses in the desert and go about 100 mph even loaded down with machine guns (but we obviously did not have the capability to go that fast or have the machine guns, LOL). There were two to a cart. We then followed in a single file the guide who led us up along an old logging trail. We spaced apart enough that you felt you were by yourself and we had a ball going over all the bumps and hitting all the mud puddles...made us feel like kids again!! We had a stop for snacks (bottled water and granola bars) and then we had another stop and walked a few yards to see a nice waterfall. You could switch driver's at this point. We went 14 miles round trip and was a tons of fun. Here is a link.

http://www.adventurekarts.com/Tours/Kart-Excursion.html



MJ

Thanks for posting this! We are probably going to try and book this in Ketchikan but I haven't read too many dis reviews about it. We wanted something fun and a little adventurous and DH had his eye on this.I am not keen on driving but DH loves to, so I think he will do the whole thing but it looks like a blast!

 

[pixie08]

Train is full of amazing views! We sat in the last car and pretty much stood out the back of the car the whole way up. I would definately reccomend it. Friends we cruised with just did the train up and back and they said they liked it but I felt like we had it better since we could get out of bus twice and take some great pix on the way back. Liarsville IMHO was not really worth it, but my kids seemed to like it ok. Get someone to help you with the gold. We never really found anything and couldn't get it in the little baggies they gave us. (my daughter just put some tiny rocks in hers ) I think there is another excursion that I heard you pan for gold. Maybe in Juneau? People seemed to like that. Up to you. I did see some older kids there.

This is what I am trying to figure out. We are just two adults, so the WPR + Liarsville thing is not for us, but getting off the train seems like a nice option?

Maybe the suspension bridge and WPR tour? Any advice or opinions between doing WPR r/t or doing the suspension bridge and WPR instead?

 

[staffieri]

We found a couple flakes.....I think everyone finds 2 or 3 in there pre-made pans. I have an 8 and 10 year old and they were not impressed at all.

 

[staffieri]

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[staffieri]

We did Liarsville booked through Disney. It was very expensive. The advantage through Disney was the characters would be there and you get to roast marshmallows. If you book this on your own with the meal I think it is a nice add on tour. If I would have booked on my own it would have only cost $29 adult and $17 kids 12 and under. This is a fare price because the Salmon lunch is so good. The place is a little silly but the kids liked it. They do a show and it has a puppet, you pan for gold, shop, and camp life to look at. And a great meal. All Disney adds is the characters and the marshmallows , which were great. You see the character so much on the boat you don't need to pay for it. This is a great tour to add on to the Dog mush camp. Why, because you can go here eat a great meal with a little fun for the kids at a good price.

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[staffieri]

Here a few more to see the place.

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[pixie08]

I didn't see it mentioned here (but I could have missed it). Has anyone tried the Mendenhall Glacier float trip? It's the white water rafting and glacier trip?

 

[pixie08]

I didn't see it mentioned here (but I could have missed it). Has anyone tried the Mendenhall Glacier float trip? It's the white water rafting and glacier trip?

I just read some reviews on trip advisor and cruise critic which bash this excursion so i think i am going to pass!

 

[mrp4352]

It looks to me that the excursions are good for 2012 as well. We did find one that said "This excursion will not run in 2012". That was the steam train.

Thanks for the info! We had planned on that one!


I may have missed this, but can you take a backpack on the float planes? I'd like to have something to carry our jackets in if we decide to take them off.

Thanks!

 

[mellers]

Thanks for the info! We had planned on that one!


I may have missed this, but can you take a backpack on the float planes? I'd like to have something to carry our jackets in if we decide to take them off.

Thanks!

Bear in mind--the steam train is different from the regular White Pass train, and you can still do that one.

 

[jel0511]

Thanks for the info! We had planned on that one!


I may have missed this, but can you take a backpack on the float planes? I'd like to have something to carry our jackets in if we decide to take them off.

Thanks!

You can not take a backpack on the floatplane. You will need to leave it in the office and will get it back upon return. Those planes are really tight and there is no where to put it.

 

[RedSox68]

Anyone do the Best of Juneau which includes the whale watching, Mendenhall Glacier and Otter Point Lodge?