Alaska Port Adventures are up!

[mardonna]

We are traveling as a party of 6.....2 adults and 4 kids ages 10, 6 1/2, 6 1/2, and 3 1/2 at time of cruising.....worried about what excursions would be good for them and also our pocket book.....we did the Baltic Cruise and found for our party size it was more cost effective to do outside tours or on our own....any one else doing this?

My husband and I have been on a Princess Alaskan cruise and have done the helicopter to the glacier, we did the highlights of Juneau with totem poles, and the the boat wildlife viewing....we enjoyed all of these but don't think they would be appropriate for the kids.....the kids are very scared and prone to motion sickness on small planes and helicopters, ad the other things may bore them.....any thoughts?

We are also taking the journey home to Los Angeles via Amtrak.....thought it would be a fun adventure for the kids so not sure if doing a railway excursion in alaska would be over kill...

Love some insight......

Thanks

 

[mouseclick1]

No, there wouldn't have been time. My husband and I were originally booked to do the excursion with our son, but once we discovered that going on the excursion would mean that we wouldn't get to see the town, we cancelled ours and let him go with the father of our traveling partners. He's not 18 yet, so he wouldn't have been allowed to go alone.

We were VERY happy that we canceled and got to discover the town. We had a map of the town, but we walked it from the "end to the beginning"...in the opposite direction that most everyone else was going...in other words, we went to the Salmon Ladder first, and then down into the town. It was beautiful. There's a lodge on the hill above the town and for a small fee, you can ride the mini-tram up there....more like an elevator than a tram....the views from there were spectacular.

We could have walked up to the Lumberjack show & gotten tickets at the door, but we were having more fun just wandering. We stopped at a little café for hot chocolate.....just a really nice day.

IF we go back again, I might do the Crab Fisherman's tour....or maybe I'd just walk around again. I'm really not sure. It was such a nice day, even though it rained off and on.

Our son really did have a good time, though. They saw a lot of eagles (but we'd been seeing them all along) and some whales (which we'd seen in Juneau) and the tour itself looked and sounded fun....he has some great pictures of HUGE crabs and other sea life.....but even with all that, I still am glad we made a different choice.

Thanks, that was very helpful!

 

[smeecanada]

We are traveling as a party of 6.....2 adults and 4 kids ages 10, 6 1/2, 6 1/2, and 3 1/2 at time of cruising...........any thoughts?

Love some insight......

Thanks

When we went to Juneau last year - we did an excursion on our own. We took the shuttle from the Port into town. From there we purchased tickets on the "Blue Bus" (I think). They are old city buses - inexpensive for a family of four out to Mendenhall Glacier. It was about a 20-30 minute bus ride with the driver commentating along the way. Once there - there was a wooden trail system you could walk along - with the possibility of seeing bears - although we seem to always miss them. Quite safe - there were Park Rangers monitoring everthing. They had a display set up with a chunk of glacier ice and a Park Ranger there comparing it to regular ice (refridgerator type). You could walk out to the edge of the water with the Glacier in full view. There was also a beautiful Nature House with a small fee - they had multiple interactive displays, a movie and a small store. There is washroom facilities, but no restaurant that I can recall. There was a vending machine - that we got water at I think. The bus driver would drop us off in two different locations in town once back. We chose the first one and walked through the town a bit and then back to the ship. Next time - once finished in town - we will get the shuttle back to the ship - as it's a fair walk uphill in some portions back to the last dock spot. We didn't pay too much attention when coming into town as to the terrain or length for walking back. We had read about doing this on cruisecritic. If was fairly easy and straight forward to do and we liked being on our own time schedule other than having to be aware of the Blue Bus schedule pick up times.

 

[smb6]

We are traveling as a party of 6.....2 adults and 4 kids ages 10, 6 1/2, 6 1/2, and 3 1/2 at time of cruising.....worried about what excursions would be good for them and also our pocket book.....we did the Baltic Cruise and found for our party size it was more cost effective to do outside tours or on our own....any one else doing this?

My husband and I have been on a Princess Alaskan cruise and have done the helicopter to the glacier, we did the highlights of Juneau with totem poles, and the the boat wildlife viewing....we enjoyed all of these but don't think they would be appropriate for the kids.....the kids are very scared and prone to motion sickness on small planes and helicopters, ad the other things may bore them.....any thoughts?

We are also taking the journey home to Los Angeles via Amtrak.....thought it would be a fun adventure for the kids so not sure if doing a railway excursion in alaska would be over kill...

Love some insight......

Thanks

I will also be cruising with younger kids- they will be (newly)5,9,10,12,and 13. We are still planning to do the flight seeing, but not take the kids- just adults. Plan to leave the little ones in kids clubs and my 13 yr old will be a few weeks shy of 14 and so that makes me a little more comfortable doing so.... I do plan to take them all on the White Pass RR and Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier. One adult will probably take the older kids dog sledding. And I'm considering the Rain Forest Boating excursion for Ketchikan- I was initially thinking we would all do that one, but then I started thinking about the fact that you go on about an hour walk and I'm worried my 5 and maybe even the 9 yr old will get whiney, so now I'm thinking if we do that one that I will not take all the kids.
With you having a 3 year old; I'm sure you noticed that several excursions are for ages 5 and older. I really took notice because my 4 year old will be turning 5 just before we cruise...... I think the train and whale watching would be great for your whole family but if you want to do some of the "nicer" excursions you may consider just the adults going......

 

[catislander]

Mardonna,
We are also going to be taking Amtrak from LA to Seattle before our cruise. It's 36 hours plus on the train, so that, combined with the fact that my husband hates heights, has us leaning toward renting a car in Skagway rather than the train. There's a drive into the Yukon that sounds amazing, with plenty of interesting places to stop and explore on our own.
I haven't really decided on Juneau yet. We see whales frequently where we live, so I'm leaning toward taking the bus to Mendenhall Glacier and then exploring the city.
In Ketchikan we'll be kayaking and then walking around a bit on our own.
Which sailing are you on? We're on the May 31. My daughter will also be six and half on our trip.
Sherri

 

[SanDiegoSteph]

Also- I was looking to do the round trip White Pass RR excursion and Disney is not offering it- only ones that are coupled with other stuff and having you do one side via train and coming back motorcoach. I wanted the one that is train all the way coupled with nothing else!

hmmmmm..... I'm off to look some more!

If you just want to do the train ride and nothing else, you can book directly with the railroad online. The depot is just a 5 minute walk from the pier: White Pass Summit trip is 40 miles R/T (3-3.5 hrs) and costs: $112 adult/$56 child departing at 8:15am and 12:45pm. If you want to do the Fraser trip it is a bit longer - 54 miles R/T (4 hrs) and costs: $155 adult/$77.50 child departing at 8am and 12:30pm. We're supposed to dock at 7:15am in Skagway so you should have plenty of time to make the early train. www [dot] wpyr [dot] com/summitexcursion [dot] html

 

[mardonna]

Mardonna,
We are also going to be taking Amtrak from LA to Seattle before our cruise. It's 36 hours plus on the train, so that, combined with the fact that my husband hates heights, has us leaning toward renting a car in Skagway rather than the train. There's a drive into the Yukon that sounds amazing, with plenty of interesting places to stop and explore on our own.
I haven't really decided on Juneau yet. We see whales frequently where we live, so I'm leaning toward taking the bus to Mendenhall Glacier and then exploring the city.
In Ketchikan we'll be kayaking and then walking around a bit on our own.
Which sailing are you on? We're on the May 31. My daughter will also be six and half on our trip.
Sherri

We are flying to Vancouver on June 21st......staying in Vancouver for 3 nights...taking Amtrak to Seattle then staying there through the 5th of July and then heading back on train to LA? We have not booked the train yet....have you? We need 2 sleepers because of our large group.....whats the best deal? AAA?

 

[mellers]

We are traveling as a party of 6.....2 adults and 4 kids ages 10, 6 1/2, 6 1/2, and 3 1/2 at time of cruising.....worried about what excursions would be good for them and also our pocket book.....we did the Baltic Cruise and found for our party size it was more cost effective to do outside tours or on our own....any one else doing this?

My husband and I have been on a Princess Alaskan cruise and have done the helicopter to the glacier, we did the highlights of Juneau with totem poles, and the the boat wildlife viewing....we enjoyed all of these but don't think they would be appropriate for the kids.....the kids are very scared and prone to motion sickness on small planes and helicopters, ad the other things may bore them.....any thoughts?

We are also taking the journey home to Los Angeles via Amtrak.....thought it would be a fun adventure for the kids so not sure if doing a railway excursion in alaska would be over kill...

Love some insight......

Thanks

We're doing our own--not only is it more cost-effective, I am in a mobility scooter, and a lot of the shore excursions were not accessible.

We're planning to take the round-trip excursion to the summit on the White Pass railroad in Skagway:

http://www.wpyr.com/summitexcursion.html

(Adults, $112, Kids $56) It has wheelchair lifts, and the station is only about 1/4 mile from the dock.

and in Ketchikan, we plan to take the Ketchikan Duck Tour (have to be able to board, but they will store wheelchairs):

http://www.akduck.com

(Adults, $38, Kids (3-12) $24, Kids under 3 are free)

In Juneau, we plan to take a bus:

http://www.juneau.org/capitaltransit/index.php ($1.50 for adults, $1.00 for kids 6-18, free for under 6) Busses are wheelchair accessible.

to the Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure (have to be able to board the tram, but accessibility seems to be a priority):

http://www.glaciergardens.com/

(Adults $24.95, Kids 6-12 $15.95, Kids under 6 are free)

if the weather's nice. If it's not, we plan to walk over to the Alaska State Museum: http://www.museums.state.ak.us/asm/asmhome.html (Adults $5, Kids under 18 are free)

 

[lenzs4]

OK - family wants: walk on blue ice, zipline...

thinking:
Juneau -
Glacier Adventure by Helicopter - mentions "river of ice" - I assume that is blue ice??

or

Mendenhall Glacier by Helicopter w guided hike - anyone know if we will see/walk on blue ice?

Skagway -
Mammoth Waterfalls & Ultra Zip Adv.

or

Adv. Park & zipline

Ketichan -

walk around creek street (although I would like the Bering Sea Crab - my family says no)

Please let me know if you have info that might sway my decsion one way or another.

Also, I suppose I could zip in Juneau and glacier in Skagway - especially if anyone knows for sure that we will walk on blue ice!

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or info!

 

[justmestace]

We walked around Ketchikan and loved it.

 

[smb6]

OK - family wants: walk on blue ice, zipline...

thinking:
Juneau -
Glacier Adventure by Helicopter - mentions "river of ice" - I assume that is blue ice??

or

Mendenhall Glacier by Helicopter w guided hike - anyone know if we will see/walk on blue ice?

Skagway -
Mammoth Waterfalls & Ultra Zip Adv.

or

Adv. Park & zipline

Ketichan -

walk around creek street (although I would like the Bering Sea Crab - my family says no)

Please let me know if you have info that might sway my decsion one way or another.

Also, I suppose I could zip in Juneau and glacier in Skagway - especially if anyone knows for sure that we will walk on blue ice!

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or info!

Sounds great!! My kids would also like to zipline, but we have several excursions we are hoping to do and it really doesn't look like we will be able to fit it in...... I'll be curious to hear from others on the "blue ice" as I had not even thought of that...

 

[LKFan]

We kayaked in Ketchikan if anyone needs info about that.

 

[sherjoy]

My dd 7 really wants to go and see the husky puppies at the dog sled camp. I know she would not put one foot on the helicopter to go out on the glacier (hates speed and loud noises). So it will just be mommy and daughter at the summer dog sled camp. Has anyone done this type of excursion before?

 

[sayhello]

My dd 7 really wants to go and see the husky puppies at the dog sled camp. I know she would not put one foot on the helicopter to go out on the glacier (hates speed and loud noises). So it will just be mommy and daughter at the summer dog sled camp. Has anyone done this type of excursion before?

I did this excursion out of Skagway, and totally LOVED it! They explain the Iditarod race to you, do some demos, take you out on their summer training cart (which the dogs pull) and then introduce you to the puppies. The area, well outside of town, was GORGEOUS! It was really a fun time. As long as you know what to expect (you're not actually dog sledding -- you need snow & ice for that) it's a great excursion. People really loved it.

This is the cart they pull you in:

Puppies!

Sayhello

 

[sherjoy]

I did this excursion out of Juneau, and totally LOVED it! They explain the Iditarod race to you, do some demos, take you out on their summer training cart (which the dogs pull) and then introduce you to the puppies. The area, well outside of town, was GORGEOUS! It was really a fun time. As long as you know what to expect (you're not actually dog sledding -- you need snow & ice for that) it's a great excursion. People really loved it.

Thank you! This really does look like it will be a "just right" excursion for us.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

OK so maybe I didn't read everything on this post... But I'm a little confused...I understand for the summer camps for dog sledding you ride in the carts...For actual Dog Sledding (snow and sleds) do you really get to ride on the sled??? It sounds like you do...but I want to check! TIA!

 

[sayhello]

OK so maybe I didn't read everything on this post... But I'm a little confused...I understand for the summer camps for dog sledding you ride in the carts...For actual Dog Sledding (snow and sleds) do you really get to ride on the sled??? It sounds like you do...but I want to check! TIA!

I'd check the description of each excursion carefully, because not all excursions are created equal. But, in general, yes, the excursions where you helicopter up to the ice & snow for Dog Sledding include riding in an actual dog sled.

Sayhello

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I'd check the description of each excursion carefully, because not all excursions are created equal. But, in general, yes, the excursions where you helicopter up to the ice & snow for Dog Sledding include riding in an actual dog sled.

Sayhello

Awesome thanks!

 

[SanDiegoSteph]

How can you tell whether you have the 12:10pm or 1:40pm dock time in Ketchikan? Is there a list by cruise somewhere? We are on the August 2-9 cruise.

 

[SanDiegoSteph]

My DS will be turning 5 on August 14 and we are sailing August 2-9 - will there be any chance of us getting to go on port adventures that require a minimum age of 5?