Alaska Excursions

[Kricketnp]

Just booked an Alaskan cruise for this September, and am overwhelmed by the excursions available. Would love recommendations!

 

[pixiedustedme]

Just booked an Alaskan cruise for this September, and am overwhelmed by the excursions available. Would love recommendations!

What kind of experiences are you interested in (seeing animals, nature, fun)? What are the ages & physical ability levels of your group? That will help people give suggestions.

 

[KashasMom]

In Ketchikan we've done seaplanes with Island Wings 3x (twice to - successfully - see bears at Anan Creek and Traitor's Cove - and once Misty Fjord Sightseeing).
In Juneau we went whale-watching twice and did a Pilot's Choice double glacier landing with Temsco Helicopters. We've also gone up the Tramway which provides great views over the town and beyond.

In Skagway we did the dog-sledding/glacier excursion with Temsco Helicopters and twice we rented a car and using Murray's Guide to the South Klondike Highway drove to Emerald Lake. Gorgeous scenery! (Google for the guide which lists things to see/do by mile marker. Some of the places we stopped at along the way - Tutshi to see the Sled Dogs(puppies), Yukon Suspension Bridge, and the Welcome to Alaska highway sign.)

We always had an amazing time and had time to walk through the town (Ketchikan has totem poles and Creek Street, Juneau has the tram for great views and Red Dog Saloon just because, etc.) - and there's plenty of shopping although most stores in each port and from port to port are very similar.

We booked everything on our own - nothing through the cruise line. BTW, if you choose the dog sledding with Temsco check with them which is better. I've heard that the one out of Juneau gets canceled more frequently due to weather. Whatever you do, you'll have a blast!

 

[Kricketnp]

What kind of experiences are you interested in (seeing animals, nature, fun)? What are the ages & physical ability levels of your group? That will help people give suggestions.

Thanks! Interested in all of the above - animals, nature, and fun! The cruise party is just me and my husband, ages 34 and 36.

 

[minniebeth]

This may help!

https://www.disboards.com/threads/a...ur-reviews-here.2723087/page-75#post-60583054

 

[pixiedustedme]

Thanks! Interested in all of the above - animals, nature, and fun! The cruise party is just me and my husband, ages 34 and 36.

We didn't do any DCL excursions in Alaska proper. We did things on our own and it was perfect.

In Juneau we took the free, quick transfer bus to the town hub, then paid for round trip bus transfers to Mendenhall Glacier. There are of vendors hawking these in Juneau- it's easy to do this on the spot, and this way you can choose how long to spend at Mendenhall, instead of being constrained by an excursion. When finished at Mendenhall, we just went back to the bus stop & waited a short while for the next bus to take us back to the town hub. Once back, we took the tram up to the top of Mount Roberts. Once at the top, we hiked on the mountain and took in the beautiful views. After Mount Roberts, we had lunch at Tracy's King Crab Shack, which is a must-do imo.

In Skagway, we took the $2-3 per person hop-on hop-off bus through town to get to our excursion at Jewell Gardens, which we booked on our own (to save 50% off DCL's price). We had a tasty lunch there, explored the small gardens, then did the excursion, which was the creation of our own hand-blown glass ornament. Jewell Gardens mailed our self-made ornaments to our home for us, so there were no issues with packing it to take home. After Jewell Gardens, we felt like walking through the small town back to the ship instead of taking the bus. On the way, we stopped at the Gold Rush graveyard and Lower Reid Falls.

In Ketchikan, we independently booked a floatplane excursion over the Misty Fjords via Island Wings. It was a loud plane (vintage prop), but headphones were provided & it was a smooth ride with a very safe pilot, who also owns the company.

While onboard, we booked DCL's post-cruise excursion through Vancouver. This was great, as we all disembarked together, the bus carried our luggage & the tour ended at the airport. We went to Stanley Park and a few other sights, then to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, and had time to explore there on our own. Loved it.

 

[GPaLarry]

Don't know if you have kids or not to consider. We grandparents went with two of our kids and their kids (gkids), total of 11 and split up at each port. Wife and I went with daughter and her husband and three kids (7, 10 & 12) to Liarsville/gold panning in Skagway. The show was a bit corny, but did give everyone an overview of that town's gold history. (hint, look in the stream as you cross the bridge to the panning area). In Juneau we took one g/kid (7) with us on a science adventure to a stream near the Mendenhall Glacier then on a boat to observe whales, seals and contents of a lobster/crab trap. Ketchikan we went with son and his crew on the aquaduck tour of the city by land and sea (short way into the bay) then walked around the harbor. We had a great time with each adventure.
Hope you do not have a stateroom with verandah forward on the Wonder on the port side. We did and during the glacier day, when you are dead in the water, smokers gathered over the rail above our verandah and smoke and ashes came down and covered our furniture...yuck! Guest services moved them back a bit but the smoke was still there. When we were moving there was no problem. Switch to the starboard side or farther back on the ship if this is your situation. Overall, of the nine DCL cruises we have taken, we put this one in the top two...would go again.

 

[jdb in AZ]

In Juneau we go to Tracy's King Crab Shack near the base of the Mt. Roberts Tram.

It's pricy like a shore excursion but so good!

 

[Kricketnp]

While onboard, we booked DCL's post-cruise excursion through Vancouver. This was great, as we all disembarked together, the bus carried our luggage & the tour ended at the airport. We went to Stanley Park and a few other sights, then to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, and had time to explore there on our own. Loved it.

I just looked for this on the Disney site and don't see it. Can it only be booked onboard?

Thanks!

 

[pixiedustedme]

I just looked for this on the Disney site and don't see it. Can it only be booked onboard?

Thanks!

I think so. I don't remember seeing it pre-cruise. When I booked it onboard, I asked for a refund of our previously-booked DCLtransfers to the airport, and DCL granted that.

 

[anjuan]

If you're interested in whale watching in Juneau I would highly recommend booking privately through Jayleen's Alaska. They take a max of 6 people out on their boat.

The one excursion that we did through DCL was the bearing see crab fisherman's tour in Ketchican. We really enjoyed it!

 

[minniebeth]

In Juneau we go to Tracy's King Crab Shack near the base of the Mt. Roberts Tram.

It's pricy like a shore excursion but so good! View attachment 413421

OH. YUM! I still dream about how good our meal here was!

 

[mrsxsparrow]

I just looked for this on the Disney site and don't see it. Can it only be booked onboard?

Thanks!

We just did this one a week ago. It's under the "Vancouver" port on the website but it can only be booked onboard, so you won't see it when booking cruise activities. Our flight didn't leave until 5pm, and this was the perfect way to spend the day without worrying about luggage or anything -- highly recommend!

 

[ahain]

We booked the Chilkoot Charters Yukon Rail & Bus tour w/Dogcart add-on in Skagway. Highly recommend it.

In Juneau, we did the Taku Lodge feast & 5 Glacier Discovery sea-plane through Wings Airways and it was amazing http://www.wingsairways.com/taku-lodge-feast-and-five-glacier-discovery
It was pricey (was $299pp back in June, 2015), but definitely worth it as a "once-in-a -lifetime" excursion. Flew over 5 glaciers, visited Taku lodge (fascinating history - google it) which sits across a lake from a glacier - amazing scenery, ; had a wonderful grilled-salmon meal at the lodge, then returned to Juneau via plane.

We booked both excursions on our own - not through DCL

 

[mrsxsparrow]

We just got off the Wonder from Alaska last week. We ended up doing two excursions in each port and loved them all for different reasons. It was just me (30 yo) and my mom (who is way more active than I am).

In Skagway we started with the White Pass Railway and Street Car City Highlights. It started with a tour of the (SMALL) town in a "street car", then transferred to a small bus and took you up the mountain. We stopped at a couple places for pictures, including the Welcome to Alaska sign, then boarded the train and rode it down. We enjoyed the tour but honestly felt the "city" part of it wasn't super necessary. I think most of the tours that include the train are somewhat interchangeable, but I would definitely recommend one that takes the train one way and a bus the other so you can get pictures. In the afternoon we did the Adventure Park and Zip Lines. I had never zip lined before and it was fun -- but I'm afraid of heights so I was scared the whole time! It was just enough for us -- five zip lines and some sky bridges in the beginning. I had read about some others that have like ten zip lines and I'm so glad we didn't do one of those. Both of these were booked through Disney.

In Juneau we started with a whale watching tour booked independently with Juneau Tours and Whale Watching. Highly recommend them! We chose them because they had the earliest start and shortest time, as there were other things we wanted to do that day. They were also one of the least expensive options. The boat was small and not very crowded, and they had a bus that picked you up from the town and you had the option of either returning to town or heading to the glacier after. And we saw a good amount of whales. In the afternoon, we booked the Mendenhall Glacier and Guided Walk through Disney. It's operated by Temsco and you can get it cheaper through them, but we had heard a story about people getting stuck on the glacier when the weather changed and the ship leaving without them and we wanted to be sure if something happened that Disney would help us get back to the ship. BY FAR this was the most amazing experience and I only wish we were able to spend more time on the glacier. The flight was breathtaking and we got to drink glacier water and it was awesome.

In Ketchikan we booked the Rainforest Sanctuary, Totem Park, and Eagles. It was pretty good -- a guided one mile walk through the forest, a chance to see someone carving a totem pole, and some brief info about hawks and eagles. It wasn't my favorite, and I'm sure there are better things out there, but we did enjoy it. We also booked the Disney Exclusive Lumberjack show -- saved a few dollars by booking it through the show's website instead of Disney's. We also added on the ax throwing experience. The show was cute and Goofy came out in the beginning, but again, it wasn't my favorite. It's definitely a one and done -- I'm glad we went but it's not something I'll rave about forever. I would caution anyone against the ax throwing -- wasn't worth it in my opinion. You only got to try to throw the ax three times, and if it didn't stick to the target, you were done and had to wait and watch while people who COULD hit the target got to have a competition.

We also did the Vancouver excursion on disembarkation -- recommended if you have a later flight and didn't get to spend much time in Vancouver beforehand. It drives you through Vancouver with a short stop at the Totem Poles in Stanley Park for pictures. Then we had a little over an hour at the Capilano Suspension Bridge which was enough time to do their three main attractions. Then drops you off at the airport around 1:00pm.