Alaska Excursions--post your reviews here!

[pudinhd]

Hi, we did the Bear Country and Wildlife Expedition. My DH and I both LOVED this excursion. The first part of the hike into the rain forest was on trails. Then the suspension bridges and Platforms. I did not think that they are extremely high. It does put you above the creek where the bears are feeding, but still close enough to be right above the bears. We saw 20+ bears including quite a few cubs)The platforms are large and your group is very small. I think it was 8 people total which included our guide, Matt, who was a really fun guide. Since this is offered only late in the season, we did have rain (we were after all in a rainforest ) so bring a rain jacket. You really wont need much else except your camera and $$ if you shop at the gift shop at the end of the tour. You also get to see a totom pole carver, feed the reindeer visit the Eagle and Owl, and tour the old lumber mill. I really really recommend this tour. We did the one offered at the latest time.
Oh....And do not bring food with you. they will make you throw it out before you start your hike.

Thank you, thank you!! Regarding the suspension bridges... How much did they move? Did they feel really shaky or more secure?

 

[jilljill]

jilljill-I was actually thinking about the dog sledding on the glacier, it sounds so fun. I did have 1 question/concern about it....do they whip the dogs to make them run? I am assuming not but just wanted to make sure!

Has anyone here done the bear creek zipline adventure or the Alaska Coastal Expedition in Ketchikan. I am trying to decide between the 2 and am just stuck! Thanks so much!

Absolutely NOT! The dogs are ready to run at the drop of a hat. I would have been horrified had that happened since we owned a husky that was rescued from a dog sled camp in Maine - she had been beaten, thus the reason she was rescued.

 

[alaska8]

no they dont whip the dogs, in fact these dogs love to run. You will see them jumping and pulling trying to take off with that sled. They need no encouragement! Dog sledding is a wonderful experience

 

[Ltl Mermaid]

Thanks, I figured that was the case but I wanted to double check! Thanks for the quick responses!

 

[Stinasmom]

Has anyone here done the bear creek zipline adventure or the Alaska Coastal Expedition in Ketchikan. I am trying to decide... Thanks so much!

Me too!

Any reviews of the zip lining in Ketchikan?

TIA!

 

[tink1963]

Thank you, thank you!! Regarding the suspension bridges... How much did they move? Did they feel really shaky or more secure?

the bridges do move of course, but they did not feel unsecure, and we really didnt stay on the bridges for viewing, just for crossing mainly. If I recall the guide told us that the bridges and platforms had been redone recently. Or they just looked new to me. My husband did remind me that one bridge and platform is higher then the rest. Its kinda like each bridge takes you up higher and then starts working back down to ground level. I have looked through some of my pictures and dont find where I took any of the bridges/platforms. Seems all we took were of the bear.
I will look tonight and see if I have any other pictures.

 

[tink1963]

Thank you, thank you!! Regarding the suspension bridges... How much did they move? Did they feel really shaky or more secure?

http://www.taquanair.com/Tours/Wildlife-Expedition.html

On the right side of the page is a pic of a bear. click for slide show. this will give you an idea of the tour. Pictures 7,8,14,17 are of the bridges and picture 20 shows one of the platforms.

 

[pudinhd]

http://www.taquanair.com/Tours/Wildlife-Expedition.html

On the right side of the page is a pic of a bear. click for slide show. this will give you an idea of the tour. Pictures 7,8,14,17 are of the bridges and picture 20 shows one of the platforms.

Oh, my gosh! Thank you so much! That was very helpful!!!

 

[poohj80]

Just as a heads up to those of you trying to plan ahead, some of the excursions offered are seasonal. We were on the last Alaskan cruise of 2011 and none of the bear excursions were still being offered. Also, many of the Disney exclusive excursions with kids were not offered (my guess is since it was after most schools had started, there weren't enough kids on board to make it worthwhile).

 

[AquaDame]

Is there anyway to see which are not offered EARLY in the season? We are currently booked for 6/3/2013 but I would definately move the date if it meant we could not do a bush pilot flight and dog sled excursions!

 

[poohj80]

Is there anyway to see which are not offered EARLY in the season? We are currently booked for 6/3/2013 but I would definately move the date if it meant we could not do a bush pilot flight and dog sled excursions!

Only way is to call and ask or wait until online reservations open.

 

[sarahgirl]

Is there anyway to see which are not offered EARLY in the season? We are currently booked for 6/3/2013 but I would definately move the date if it meant we could not do a bush pilot flight and dog sled excursions!

What excursion are you looking at? I am gold and going on the cruise right before yours. I can look it up and see if it is offerred on my cruise.

 

[pixie08]

Is there anyway to see which are not offered EARLY in the season? We are currently booked for 6/3/2013 but I would definately move the date if it meant we could not do a bush pilot flight and dog sled excursions!

We are on the 6/11 and I know all of the dog sled ones are being offered. It is just the bear excursions not available because it is seasonal so if that is important I would move the cruise to July. Also I guess the kids activities could be an issue that early? Not sure.

You can go to the DCL website under Port Adventures and check the excursion you are interested in. It will say wether or not it is seasonal and when it is offered.

 

[scrapbookingpro]

We are booked on the May 28th cruise and this thread has been incredibly helpful so far!!!

I have a Skagway question for anyone who took a bus (or shuttle) back down the mountain from Fraser. I have this terrible fear (stupid, I know but can't help it) of taking cliff-like corners at fast speeds. Just thinking about it gives me an ulcer.
How bad is the drive down the mountain? Are there lots of times when you are driving next to a cliff or drop-off? Do the drivers tend to drive slowly?

Thanks for any help!!

 

[mkladypink]

We are going on the 5/28 cruise and are totally indecisive about which excursions to do. We are interested in ALL of the following (though we know we won't be able to do it all): whale watching (Orcas specifically), zip lining, non intense glacier walk, float/rapids trip, dog sledding, and white pass rail.

We cannot decide because so many of the excursions seem awesome! I will say I am not into bugs (last time I went to Skagway I got eaten alive by "no-see-ums"...as they were called by our guide...during our horseback ride and still have a scar near my eye. It was miserable and I would prefer to avoid areas like that lol.

Any and all suggestions based on the above interests would be greatly appreciated!

Your comment about the horseback ride has made me nervous! My daughter and I are booked for that same excurstion in late may...what time of year did you get "no-see-umed"? would bug spray have helped. If it were not for the bugs was the horseback riding fun?

 

[jilljill]

Bumping this up to help out this year's AK cruisers.

 

[queenbee99]

I searched this thread but have not got to read all 39 pages. Is there a review for the Liarsville Trail with Disney characters and the White Pass with youth activities? Did anyone do this? I am looking for experiences with both. Thank you!

 

[queenbee99]

See we want to do dog sledding but I am not real crazy about the helicopter ride. I am a scaredy cat and I think dd would be too. The only other thing I have found where you don't have to do the helicopter ride isn't dogs in the snow.

If it's in the budget and you are looking at dog sledding on the glacier I say go for that one. That was the highlight of our cruise. The helicopter ride was undescribable and mushing was so much fun.

We also did the White Pass Rail and that was pretty interesting.

 

[queenbee99]

THANK YOU! i am debating this one as well. Is Donald the only one there? Is he in that same outfit on the boat? I am looking for something to do with my dd who is 8. Could you do this one AND the White Pass railroad thing? What other excursions did you do?

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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[jilljill]

See we want to do dog sledding but I am not real crazy about the helicopter ride. I am a scaredy cat and I think dd would be too. The only other thing I have found where you don't have to do the helicopter ride isn't dogs in the snow.

My DD(17) was afraid to go on the helicopter and had been on one before and she loved it. We also had another adult in our group that was deathly afraid of the helicopter ride and when the adventure was over he said that was the best experience of his life and would do it all over again. Even when he got to the terminal he said he wasn't going on the helicopter and decided to just suck it up and get suited up and get on the helicopter, he even took pictures when up in the air. I had never been in a helicopter and wasn't afraid of going up and really enjoyed the ride to the dog camp on the glacier. The pilot talked to us the entire time telling us about what we were seeing and put everyone at ease on the flight.

We all had to put on our glacier boots and a lifejacket before boarding. You are not allowed to take any bags with you. Whatever you want to take must fit in your coat pocket.

Hope this helps a bit.