Alaska Excursions--post your reviews here!

[Mackie Mouse]

My travel party and I did the White Pass Railway and Yukon Suspension Bridge in Skagway, the Disney Exclusive Dog Musher for a Day in Juneau and the Misty Fjords Flightseeing in Ketchikan. Would be happy to answer any questions about those excursions if you drop me a line.

Tell me all about the WPRR and Suspension bridge, and the Misty Fjords! Those are definitely towards the to of my list right now. Did you book both through Disney? How crowded were the excursions? Would you have had time to check out Liarsville and/or the Red Onion saloon after the Skagway excursion?

 

[wilderness_gal]

Tell me all about the WPRR and Suspension bridge, and the Misty Fjords! Those are definitely towards the to of my list right now. Did you book both through Disney? How crowded were the excursions? Would you have had time to check out Liarsville and/or the Red Onion saloon after the Skagway excursion?

Yes, we booked all our excursions through Disney. We had about 20 people for the White Pass railway and Yukon Suspension Bridge and the driver said we were really lucky as only 40 people on the entire ship got to see the bridge and it is a sight to behold, just as impressive if not more so than the Capilano suspension bridge in Vancouver. After taking the train up, you got on a bus and then had 1 hour at the suspension bridge and visitor's center with gift shop, refreshment stand and exhibits. Then you went back into the US by bus after taking your picture by the iconic Welcome to Alaska sign. The route back is where we saw two bears. I felt the excursion was the perfect balance of transportation and sights.

We had about 9 people for the misty fjords excursion, and they put 4 of us on one plane and 5 on the other. I believe the morning excursion was busier but we wanted to give ourselves time to shop as well as to let some of the fog clear so we did a 1 p.m slot. It was a nice long ride in the air followed by a water landing and ability to get out and take some awesome shots before you start back. When you get back to the office, they have a certificate with your name on it and a picture free of charge as a momento! I bought a book from a local photographer of the sights, which is referred to as the Yosemite of Alaska, as I felt my pictures would not do it justice. For those of you like me with motion sickness, you do feel more in a floatplane than in a helicopter but not enough to keep me away a second time. Our table mates seemed very impressed by the misty fjords scenery, many of them just went shopping all day, but I recommend trying to squeeze in both. Especially if you are lucky like us and arrive in port early. We had time to explore the immediate downtown area, shop and get back on the ship and have lunch before the excursion. And when we got back, we had 45 minutes left in port for us to make a final decision on items we were debating.

I will try to post some pictures this week while I recuperate from surgery.

 

[mellers]

Tell me all about the WPRR and Suspension bridge, and the Misty Fjords!

We didn't do the suspension bridge, but we did the WPRR. We booked it through the railway--saved about $50 on the 5 on the us. We booked a later train, in case the ship was late, but if you book through the White Pass, they let you change to an earlier train for no additional charge if seats are available.

It turned out, the noon wheelchair car was full-up, but there was nobody in the wheelchair car for the first train--and, after we changed our tickets, nobody in the wheelchair car but myself and my family We had our own private car.

 

[rillsung]

We just got off the boat in Seattle on May 28. We did the WPRR and really enjoyed it! We did the one with the bus that stopped at Liarsville on the way back. The kids loved gold panning...

In Juneau we did the Juneau City and Mendenhall Glacier tour. Our one big disappointment was the hatchery. There really is nothing to see there until the Salmon come back in mid-to late July.

 

[pixarmom]

We just got off the boat in Seattle on May 28. We did the WPRR and really enjoyed it! We did the one with the bus that stopped at Liarsville on the way back. The kids loved gold panning...

In Juneau we did the Juneau City and Mendenhall Glacier tour. Our one big disappointment was the hatchery. There really is nothing to see there until the Salmon come back in mid-to late July.

Thanks for the report! Funny you mention the hatchery. We just changed our Juneau excursion from the Juneau City and Mendenhall Glacier tour to the Sled Dog Discovery and Musher Camp. Our kids were lobbying for the sled dogs and we didn't want to give up Takshanuk 4x4 in Skagway or Rainforest Canoe in Ketchikan. Even though the salmon will be back in August, I think our boys will enjoy the sled dogs more!

 

[Mackie Mouse]

We didn't do the suspension bridge, but we did the WPRR. We booked it through the railway--saved about $50 on the 5 on the us. We booked a later train, in case the ship was late, but if you book through the White Pass, they let you change to an earlier train for no additional charge if seats are available.

It turned out, the noon wheelchair car was full-up, but there was nobody in the wheelchair car for the first train--and, after we changed our tickets, nobody in the wheelchair car but myself and my family We had our own private car.

Good to know! After chatting with some close friends this weekend who have cruised Alaska twice - once with DCL last summer, I think we're decided pretty well on excursions for next year:

Juneau: Whale Watching/Mendenhall Glacier/Salmon bake (adult-only departure)

Ketchikan: Misty Fjords Floatplane (still debating on booking this directly through Disney or saving money by booking ourselves, likely with Island Wings...please weigh in!)

Skagway: Probably booking WPRR on our own - if we can book the late train and switch the the early one should the ship arrive on time - and taking time to walk about town and check out the Red Onion saloon and perhaps Liarsville on our own.

Would loooove to book a couple's villa treatment on our Tracy Arm Day.

Let us know if this sounds good or if there's anything we need to rethink!

 

[GrumpyBelle]

When we whale watched in Juneau, we booked outside DCL (the only excursion we booked outside DCL) and were so glad we did! We had a much smaller boat which allowed us to get closer to the whales than the larger excursion boats. It was also nice to duck inside when it was misting instead of feeling like we had to stake a claim on rail space for good pix. We researched providers and went with Rum Runner Charters (see our review on Trip Advisor). Captain Chris will also either take you to Mendenhall Glacier afterward (after a morning whale watching) or pick you up there (for an afternoon excursion) so you only have to pay for the blue bus one way.

We also booked our whale watching outside of DCL. We used Harv and Marv. We had a small boat (capacity of 12--for only 6 of us) to ourselves. We were able to get closer to the whales and captains only had to tend to us so were great at explaining various things, answering questions, and going out of their way to be sure we had a great experience. They do offer a quick courtesy stop at Mendenhall Glacier, but it was only long enough to take a few quick pics. The kids picked this as their favorite excursion--well worth the price.

 

[GrumpyBelle]

We just booked our excursions last night (at midnight EST, thanks to DISboards advice!) After reading through this entire thread over many months, we booked the following for our family of five (three boys ages 5, 11 and 12):

Skagway: Takshanuk Mountain Trail 4x4
Juneau: Juneau City Tour and Mendenhall Glacier
Ketchikan: Rainforest Canoe Adventure and Nature Trail

I'd love to hear additional reviews and advice regarding any of these!

We also did the Takshanuk Mountain Trail 4x4 last August. We all had a great time--everyone from my DD who was 10 through my DM. The ride was fun, the sites were beautiful and the cookies on the way up and lunch on the way back were fabulous. The guides were great. I would highly recommend this to anyone.

 

[RedSox68]

There will be four kids in our group, 3 yr old, 4 yr old, 6 yr old and 8 yr old. We are thinking of doing the Yukon Suspension Bridge, City and White Pass Rail in Skaway. For Juneau, my husband is thinking of doing the whale watching. Will the water be rough? He says it won't, but all I can remember is whale watching many years ago in Boston and I was sick as a dog.....I am usually fine on cruise ships, but nervous about going on a smaller boat.....
Any other suggestions on excursions? We will probably skip excursions in Ketchikan and Victoria given the very short port times.
Thanks!
Twinstars

We all took Bonine (even though we don't normally get seasick) as a precaution. It was a huge boat -- in fact much larger than we had expected. I think they said it can hold 400 or so. There are two levels. We were very comfortable and there are lots of windows to look out. You find yourself not staying seated much We were extraordinarily lucky to come across two pods of Orcas because the captain said they don't migrate that far usually until late June (we were there last month). And we saw lots of humpback, seals and sea lions and come very cute sea otters. And at Skull Island it was full of eagles -- I've never seen that many eagles in one place.

We booked through the ship (HAL) and the Orca Lodge lunch was terrific. We were out on the boat at least six hours because the captain stopped for every sighting and was wonderfully generous with the time. The boat we were on was well equipped with bathrooms and included a snack bar.

I do have some reviews of the Kenai Fjords excursion if anyone is interested. That one is much rougher as it does cross out into the ocean. But we had a blast!

Can't recommend Chilkoot tours enough in Skagway. We did the 8-hour excursion with the train and bus trip and it was so personal as there were only 20 people on our tour. And cheaper than the ship's excursion but we got all the same stuff. I put a full report of our experiences for excursions and hotels on the Vancouver thread.

 

[RedSox68]

Anyone has experiences on these excursions?

I've read some reviews that say the White pass railway is boring as well as the Bear Country and expedition is not worth the money which has me kinda concerned.

Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest
Bear Country and Wildlife Expedition
Yukon Suspension Bridge, City and White Pass Railway
Grouse Mountain & Capilano Suspension Bridge

Boring? I wouldn't say that and wouldn't choose my excursion based on those type of reviews. We were far from bored. We never stopped looking out the window or going out onto the platforms. We thought the time went by too fast.

The views are indescribable. You really don't realize how high you are going until you get to the point where the engineer points out the level way up at the top of the next mountain is where you will be going. My husband said it was one of his very favorite excursions. Plus the cars are such cool replicas of old time train travel. My daughter enjoyed it too. However, I can certainly see how easy it would be to doze off though. It's a lovely peaceful rocking motion and very relaxing

You must, of course, pick the excursions you will be most happy with. My family loves riding trains, so that may be why we liked it so much

 

[poohj80]

Boring? I wouldn't say that and wouldn't choose my excursion based on those type of reviews. We were far from bored. We never stopped looking out the window or going out onto the platforms. We thought the time went by too fast.

The views are indescribable.

I whole-heartedly agree! Here are a couple pix from our anything but boring White Pass Railway excursion...

And at the suspension bridge...

Looking back at the Wonder before we departed...

 

[RedSox68]

Tink1963 -- your pictures are fantastic. What month did you go in?

 

[tink1963]

Tink1963 -- your pictures are fantastic. What month did you go in?

Thank you. We went later part of August. Our sail date was the 23rd.

 

[Chilly]

We did 2 tours through Disney.

In Skagway the Yukon Suspension Bridge & White Pass Railway then in Juneau the Whale Watching & Mendenhall Glacier. We enjoyed both days, I only wish we'd had longer at the Glacier.

Some also asked about Grouse Mountain & Capilano Suspension Bridge we went to both of these and really enjoyed them as well.

Any questions ask away.

 

[poohj80]

Thank you. We went later part of August. Our sail date was the 23rd.

We sailed directly after you!

 

[ag73]

Has someone has done Stories and Legends Whale Watch?
Any comments or reviews about it? Thanks

 

[Deb in IA]

We did 2 tours through Disney.

In Skagway the Yukon Suspension Bridge & White Pass Railway then in Juneau the Whale Watching & Mendenhall Glacier. We enjoyed both days, I only wish we'd had longer at the Glacier.

Some also asked about Grouse Mountain & Capilano Suspension Bridge we went to both of these and really enjoyed them as well.

Any questions ask away.

We are signed up for both of those excursions.

Did you need any special hiking shoes for the glacier?

 

[poohj80]

We are signed up for both of those excursions.

Did you need any special hiking shoes for the glacier?

You don't need special shoes because they give you boots to put over your shoes, but I definitely recommend at least tennis shoes if not hiking boots. One lady on our tour wore open toe high heels which did not fit inside the pullover boots the provided very well. Someone in the shop loaned her a pair of tennis shoes.

 

[pixie08]

We just got back! Just a warning for people booking Misty Fjord float planes in early June of next year. None of the early AM ones went out on our ship and people were left with no tours because our ship was full. We had AMZING weather all cruise but of course it was raining in Ketchikan (rainiest place in North America) so you can expect it will most likely rain. If you book that I would book a departure after 9am as those seem to go out after the fog cleared a little. Just my observation as I wasn't booked on one but they were making the cancellation announcements all morning and i talked to a few people who had to do the duck tour because that was that was available

 

[Skylarr29]

Has someone has done Stories and Legends Whale Watch?
Any comments or reviews about it? Thanks

This company gets terrible reviews and from what I read on cruise critic MANY people were never picked up for their excursion/the excursion didn't run. I'm not sure if it's even legit from what I have read.

There are many other reputable vendors such as Orca Enterprises, Weather permitting, Harv and Marv's etc.