Alaska Excursions--post your reviews here!

Does this private company have a max number of people they will allow in one group? Are the people in your group the only ones allowed in your train car?

I'm trying to determine how to have the same experience of a less crowded train car. TIA :)

I can't say for sure, but it seemed like they controlled which group went to which car pretty tightly. They definitely emphasized that you were not supposed to walk between cars during the ride. I don't know if they have a max group size, since we were only 3, but I can say for sure that only the people that were on our ride up were in our train car down. Definitely recommend them!
 
We were on the 6/8 cruise and had a great time.

In Skagway we did the Takshanuk Mountain Trail 4x4. This was a great tour. We started out taking a short bus ride to the dock to catch the Skagway-Haines Fast Ferry. The ferry ride was about 40 minutes long and was narrated. There were bathrooms onboard as well as complimentary coffee/tea. Once we arrived in Haines we got on another bus that took us to the trail. Once at the trail we all boarded our Kawasaki Mules for our trip up the mountain. About half way up we stopped at the lodge for warm cookies, coffee and lemonade.

View from the lodge


After cookies we got back in our mules to continue up the mountain


View from the top


We headed back down and stopped at the lodge again for lunch. We had fresh fried halibut and chicken and they were both amazing.

After our lunch we went back down and hopped on the bus to take us back to the ferry. Our driver gave us a little tour of Haines on the way back.

In Juneau we did the Alpine Zipline and Glacier Adventure
Started out going to Mendenhall Glacier where we had about 50 minutes to explore the area and visitor center


We then headed to the ski resort for our ziplining. Our bus had 16 people on it so they split us into 2 groups. We were given jackets to put on so that we would not get sap on our clothing. We then traveled by van to the top of the course. They geared us up and then we were off. Our guides David and Cassidy were great.





After the course we got to try out hand at axe throwing and enjoyed a smore before heading back to the ship.

Both excursions were great!
 
We were on the June 22nd sailing and booked all of our excursions on our own.

Skagway:
Temsco for the helicopter/dog sledding excursion. It was awesome. The only downside to booking direct is that they won't pick you up at the ship. But it was only a 15 minute walk and they did provide a shuttle back to the ship.

Frontier Excursions for the White Pass train with gold panning added on for a group of 10 people. We were on the train that had issues and it took an extra hour. But our driver for the trip down and to the gold panning was great and worked with us to make sure we stopped for enough pictures and still had enough time to do gold panning and get back to the ship on time.

Juneau:
Whale watching with Advenures in Alaska (Captain Jack and Captain Alan). We picked them over Harv and Marv because we had a 7 yr old and 3 yr old. I had read that Harv and Marv have an age restriction. It was so awesome. There were 4 of us and a total of 8 on the boat, plus Capt Alan and Naomi. It was the best. My 7 yr old LOVED it! So many whales!

And they also let me add on a drop off at Mendenhall Glacier.

Ketchikan:
Duck tour! We booked direct because we had a group of 12+ people. Very good tour. Nice way to catch the highlights.
 
I was on the 6/29 sailing with my DGrD11 and DNiece 14

Skagway we took Chilkoot Charters Bus up/ Train back excursion. We added the BBQ lunch and dog sledding/ puppy holding. Our guide was Stanley and she was very informative and really kept my girls' attention. We had a black bear cub sighting by the side the road and made several stops for pictures and sight seeing. It was a dismal day so the vista views were limited but still beautiful what we could see. The BBQ chicken lunch was good and then the highlight for my girls was the dog mushing run and of course holding the 3 week old puppies and playing with the older pups and dogs. I had to drag them out of there. Lol The dog mush run was very well run in our opinion by Iditarod mushers Michelle Phillips and Ed Hopkins. I thought it was a brilliant way for them to support and train their teams and for us to experience a tiny taste of the thrill of mushing.
We then drove to the small town of Carcross and Stanley gave us a little tour of the town and pointed out the historic cabins. We stopped at the local general store and to stamp our passports for Carcross (unofficially).
Then we drove back down to the train. We had our own car but it was the first car not the last. Still very uncrowded. It was so foggy there was very little to see in the distance but it was still a great and interesting ride. Stanley met us at the station and made a stop in town for those who wanted to see it and walk the little bit back to the boat. We got off at the tee shirt shop. Interesting little town and great day for us!
Oh I forgot that on the way up Stanley stopped by a waterfall where we could get close enough to drink the glacial water. I loved that.
 


I was on the 6/29 sailing with my DGrD11 and DNiece 14

Skagway we took Chilkoot Charters Bus up/ Train back excursion. We added the BBQ lunch and dog sledding/ puppy holding. Our guide was Stanley and she was very informative and really kept my girls' attention. We had a black bear cub sighting by the side the road and made several stops for pictures and sight seeing. It was a dismal day so the vista views were limited but still beautiful what we could see. The BBQ chicken lunch was good and then the highlight for my girls was the dog mushing run and of course holding the 3 week old puppies and playing with the older pups and dogs. I had to drag them out of there. Lol The dog mush run was very well run in our opinion by Iditarod mushers Michelle Phillips and Ed Hopkins. I thought it was a brilliant way for them to support and train their teams and for us to experience a tiny taste of the thrill of mushing.
We then drove to the small town of Carcross and Stanley gave us a little tour of the town and pointed out the historic cabins. We stopped at the local general store and to stamp our passports for Carcross (unofficially).
Then we drove back down to the train. We had our own car but it was the first car not the last. Still very uncrowded. It was so foggy there was very little to see in the distance but it was still a great and interesting ride. Stanley met us at the station and made a stop in town for those who wanted to see it and walk the little bit back to the boat. We got off at the tee shirt shop. Interesting little town and great day for us!
Oh I forgot that on the way up Stanley stopped by a waterfall where we could get close enough to drink the glacial water. I loved that.
We had Stanley the week before. Loved her!
 
I can't say for sure, but it seemed like they controlled which group went to which car pretty tightly. They definitely emphasized that you were not supposed to walk between cars during the ride. I don't know if they have a max group size, since we were only 3, but I can say for sure that only the people that were on our ride up were in our train car down. Definitely recommend them!

Oh ok, thanks. :)
 


Our 2nd Excursion: June 29th sailing with DGrD11 and DNiece14: Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest booked through DCL

I specifically decided on taking the larger boat since I felt the girls would be more comfortable with plenty of room to move around on a 3 hour boat trip. For us it was a great choice - the boat seating was extremely comfortable and offered easy access between the levels with great viewing from either level on a drizzly day. At first I felt disappointed as they boarded us into 2 large buses and announced that we would do the whale quest first and then move on to Mendenhall (opposite of what was described). My sister had told me she would have chosen Mendenhall first on her trip because they were so wet and cold after the whale watch that they did not enjoy their hike out to Mendenhall as much. But it ended up not being an issue for us, the rain ended as we boarded our boat, so we were not wet or cold at Mendenhall - a little damp maybe;), but it was a foggy, misty day.

Our bus driver drove us through Juneau and pointed out the buildings and gave a good narrative about the area and what we were seeing, the roads, waterways, etc. on our way to Allen Marine. As I saw the large number of fellow DCL cruisers exiting the buses and filling the boat, I second guessed my choice, thinking this boat was going to be crowded. But again, no worries, once we were all on the boat there was plenty of room to move around between levels and find a spot from which to see and photograph the whales. I stayed outside, up on the top deck for most of the cruise - I only had 3 hours in that amazingly beautiful environment, I didn't want to miss one second of it. My girls, however, were very happy to snack on the free donut holes and enjoy hot chocolate and sit comfortably and talk, enjoying the beautiful scenery through the windows. They came out onto the deck whenever the Captain slowed the boat and pointed out the whales. The Captain did a great job pointing out what was coming up - and asked everyone to call out to him if they saw any whales spouting. Don't miss the smoked salmon on crackers that they serve - it was delicious.

We saw eagles, a few seals, and many humpbacks. We saw 2 groups of mothers and calves, one of them traveling with a 3rd escort whale. I was able to get pics of 2 whales' flukes as they dove - they had a large chart of whale fluke pics from known Juneau whales on the lower level on which you could identify what whale you saw. I never knew their tails (flukes) were so individually marked. At the very end of our cruise our Captain announced he wanted to leave an active group of whales to try and get us to something 'very special'. And he did!! A large male Orca!! By the time we got to him, he was rather elusive, but we got a good sighting of his fin pretty close, and then could see him surface at a further distance. Still thrilling to see an Orca!

Then on to Mendenhall Glacier. We were dropped off at 12:25, right at the visitors building and the beginning of the Nugget Falls Trail and told to be back at the bus by 1:30. If you can, definitely walk the trail up to the falls and glacier - it was a beautiful perspective from ground level of the height and expanse of a glacier. And the falls were gorgeous - many little side spots from which to take amazing pics with both the glacier and the falls in them. Families were gladly trading cameras and taking pics of each other. It took us about 15/20 mins to walk out to the falls, stopping for a few pics along the way. We hung there for about 15 mins and got back to the bus with just enough time to use the rest room located right by our pick up point. Loaded up onto the bus and pulled away. The bus driver offered a stop in town (right by the Mt Roberts tram) for anyone who wanted to get off and take the shuttle back to the ship later. My girls were anxious to get back on the ship and meet up with their friends for lunch, so we stayed on the bus and were back on the Wonder a little after 2. After all of our excursions we were greeted onboard by the DCL staff with cookies and hot chocolate:)

Another amazing adventure in Alaska!!!

FYI: On all 3 of our excursion days, we filled out and placed a room service card on our door before we went to bed. Bfast was always delivered on time - the fruit plates were beautiful and we always ordered hot tea and croissants - it was an easy way to start our early days - eating while we got ready.
 
Just have to say that that last pic you included here is AWESOME! Such a cool shot, right through the carabiner(?) like that! Also, you're family is awesomely adventurous- the best I could do was get mine to agree to the Ketchican Duck Tour last summer, LOL.

We were on the 6/8 cruise and had a great time.

In Skagway we did the Takshanuk Mountain Trail 4x4. This was a great tour. We started out taking a short bus ride to the dock to catch the Skagway-Haines Fast Ferry. The ferry ride was about 40 minutes long and was narrated. There were bathrooms onboard as well as complimentary coffee/tea. Once we arrived in Haines we got on another bus that took us to the trail. Once at the trail we all boarded our Kawasaki Mules for our trip up the mountain. About half way up we stopped at the lodge for warm cookies, coffee and lemonade.

View from the lodge


After cookies we got back in our mules to continue up the mountain


View from the top


We headed back down and stopped at the lodge again for lunch. We had fresh fried halibut and chicken and they were both amazing.

After our lunch we went back down and hopped on the bus to take us back to the ferry. Our driver gave us a little tour of Haines on the way back.

In Juneau we did the Alpine Zipline and Glacier Adventure
Started out going to Mendenhall Glacier where we had about 50 minutes to explore the area and visitor center


We then headed to the ski resort for our ziplining. Our bus had 16 people on it so they split us into 2 groups. We were given jackets to put on so that we would not get sap on our clothing. We then traveled by van to the top of the course. They geared us up and then we were off. Our guides David and Cassidy were great.





After the course we got to try out hand at axe throwing and enjoyed a smore before heading back to the ship.

Both excursions were great!
 
Juneau:
Whale watching with Advenures in Alaska (Captain Jack and Captain Alan). We picked them over Harv and Marv because we had a 7 yr old and 3 yr old. I had read that Harv and Marv have an age restriction. It was so awesome. There were 4 of us and a total of 8 on the boat, plus Capt Alan and Naomi. It was the best. My 7 yr old LOVED it! So many whales!

We are going this coming June and booked with Captain Jack as well. He seems awesome! My parents are disabled, and he seems very understanding and ready to make sure they have a safe and wonderful experience! Can't wait!!
 
Has anyone ever used M&M tours out of Skagway?
I used them. I actually didn't prebook anything. We walked up when we got off the ship and asked what tours they had open that day. We took a van/small bus tour of the Klondike. It was excellent. It was a fully narrated trip into Canada with a few stops. I think it was around 4 hours.
They had lots of other tours available.
 
Does anyone know if there is a Skagway tour that allows you to do the White pass Summit railway and the Trail Camp WITH Salmon bake? The only option I can find so far is the Disney exclusive Liarsville with Characters OR the Summit Railway with Trail Camp (no salmon bake). For those who did the Disney exclusive Liarsville tour, what time did you have to assemble in the atrium? Wondering if there is time to do a White pass rail tour independently beforehand.
 
Does anyone know if there is a Skagway tour that allows you to do the White pass Summit railway and the Trail Camp WITH Salmon bake? The only option I can find so far is the Disney exclusive Liarsville with Characters OR the Summit Railway with Trail Camp (no salmon bake). For those who did the Disney exclusive Liarsville tour, what time did you have to assemble in the atrium? Wondering if there is time to do a White pass rail tour independently beforehand.

We did the White Pass Rail tour first thing in the morning with Chilkoot Tours, which included pick up at the port to the train station, the train ride up, pick up by a shuttle at the top, a trip to Carcross and lunch. It was a good 5 hours if I remember right. We were back in time to visit the Red Onion Saloon and walk around town a bit, but there would not have been enough time to do another excursion. They do have other of bus first to the top, then train down, or vice versa -- which would only be the train ride and transportation back to the ship. I think that is 3.5 hours totals. If Disney isn't offering you the option to fit both excursions in one day, then it may not be possible on your own.
 
We did a white pass rail tour booked directly thru Chilkoot Tours with pick up at the port. We were among the earliest off the ship and booked the very first train ride up w/shuttle back. This tour omitted lunch and took about 4 hrs. We had plenty of time to walk around and grab a bite in Skagway plus head back to the ship to do a dog sledding excursion that afternoon booked thru DCL.
 
This is wonderful thank you for all you've given. There is so much here I didn't know and I'm only on page 3!
 
I'm not sure where to post this and I know it's a somewhat old thread but has anyone done the Alpine snowshoe and White Pass Rail Adventure excursion in Skagway? I'm not sure what kind of shoes/boots I need to pack for this, I don't want to pack my winter boots if we are supplied them.
 

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