Alaska port excursions-2 in a port?

[Lesley Wake]

I was starting to plan ahead for my family’s Alaska cruise next year and looking at various port excursions. In some ports we have a lot of time (over 13 hrs in one), and several excursions are 2-3 hrs. Are all these excursions at the same approximate time, or are some morning, some afternoon, so you can sign up for 2? I know we could also explore the city some, but just want to be prepared for when my family asks questions!

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

I was starting to plan ahead for my family’s Alaska cruise next year and looking at various port excursions. In some ports we have a lot of time (over 13 hrs in one), and several excursions are 2-3 hrs. Are all these excursions at the same approximate time, or are some morning, some afternoon, so you can sign up for 2? I know we could also explore the city some, but just want to be prepared for when my family asks questions!

The system will definitely let you do it, but it does build in a mandatory buffer time to account for possibly late tours, I think it's about 1.5 to 2 hours between tours.

 

[mylael]

Yes, you can book 2. Some excursions start quite early. (7-9am.) Some start later in the morning. The latest ones (that I know of) seem to start around 2-3pm.

Keep in mind, if you're doing something like kayaking, hiking, canoeing, biking, etc., those can be tiring and it's probably better not to schedule more than one active excursion per port. (Just my opinion.) And if it rains, consider that you may get muddy, cold, or wet on an active excursion and have to go back to the ship for an outfit change.

Definitely consider walking around the towns, though. Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan all great port towns to traverse on foot.

Molly

 

[ScooterScott44]

We were on a different line in May but same thing, 11-13 hours in almost every port. A few we did our own thing for part of the day and an official tour. We did book two at one stop with no issues. We even had almost 2 hours still left over after two tours to explore. Since many of the ports/towns are pretty small you should have time to explore unless you are doing an excursion that takes you far from the port itself.

 

[Mich123]

We didn't book two in one port, but we did book a combined excursion: Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Watch. This worked out really well, we spent about an hour and a half at the Glacier, long enough to walk the trail to the glacier and back, saw a bear on the driveway to the parking area, and then headed out to the whale watch. We booked this through Disney, the price was about the same as independent operators.

 

[Sailorsgirl]

we only did one in Skagway (Bus trip up and train down with Chilkoot Charters) but it was almost an all day excursion. In Juneau the only thing I wanted to do was helicopter/dog sledding and play with puppies and we were able to do it! We had awesome weather at all three ports. In Ketchikan we walked around, shopped and did the Disney Lumberjack show. We were on the Sept. 2 sailing. I am still trying to get back into the swing of things. you are going to have a great time.

 

[NotTooGoofy]

In Ketchikan we did a Ride-the-Duck tour in the morning and the lumberjack show in the afternoon. These were both under 90 minutes and easy to fit within the day in port.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Ok, thanks guys! I think my personal preference would just to do a longer excursion that visits multiple places, but who knows if my family will agree!

 

[Soccer Princess]

We did multiple things in both Skagway and Juneau. We did a private whale watching tour with Jayleen's Alaska and then we did Mendenhall Glacier on our own. In Skagway, we did the White Pass train/bus combo through Chilkoot Charter, had lunch and shopped in town, then we did the Glacier Discovery Helicopter tour through Temsco in Skagway. We went back for more shopping after the helicopter ride.

 

[darwinsrule]

The reality is you will not get to do everything you are going to want to do. 12-13 hours in port may seem like a long time, it will fly by quickly and before you know it you will be back (sadly) on the ship. And chances are you will start mentally planning the next trip before debarkation.