Alaska Ports on your Own

How far is the downtown stop from the pier? We will have one elderly person in our group so not sure how far she will want to walk.

Thanks!

I am not 100 percent sure, but I would take an educated guess and assume they are right at the port in downtown Juneau.

Also for those coming in July/August can expect to see salmon running in the local streams around Juneau. I went to a place called Sheep Creek just a few minutes from Downtown last August late in the salmon run. It was pretty cool, didn't cost anything. And something we will always remember, see thousands of salmon all at once, as well as gulls and sea birds.
 
Very cool site. Thanks for sharing!

How far is the downtown stop from the pier? We will have one elderly person in our group so not sure how far she will want to walk.

Thanks!

So I don't know which dock the Disney ships will be docked at. If you look at this google maps shot of the cruise ship docks, there is only one ship in at the Princess dock the dock that is to the north or that is the Franklin dock and three ships can dock there and those are the most "down town" docking spots. Almost all the buses and vans for shore exertions pick up in the parking lot that is next to the Tramway. If you look to the south of the princess ship there is one more dock known as the AJ dock it is the furthest dock but still walkable, also ships that dock at AJ often run transport to the parking lot of the tram way. When ships tender they get brought into the Franklin dock.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&c...404249&spn=0.007747,0.027466&t=h&z=16&iwloc=A

Hope that helps

ps the "ship" that is docked at the top of the map by Cruise West isn't a ship its a privet yacht one of the worlds largest I can't remember who owns it.
 
We booked through Disney for The White Pass & Yukon Railway, simply because of the convience of them picking you up fright outside of the ship. We have a 1 and 2 year old. We booked the Duck tour in Ketchican on our own. We have nothing booked yet for Juneau, any suggestions with a 1 & 2 year old?
 
So I don't know which dock the Disney ships will be docked at. If you look at this google maps shot of the cruise ship docks, there is only one ship in at the Princess dock the dock that is to the north or that is the Franklin dock and three ships can dock there and those are the most "down town" docking spots. Almost all the buses and vans for shore exertions pick up in the parking lot that is next to the Tramway. If you look to the south of the princess ship there is one more dock known as the AJ dock it is the furthest dock but still walkable, also ships that dock at AJ often run transport to the parking lot of the tram way. When ships tender they get brought into the Franklin dock.

According to Cruise Line Agency of Alaska the Disney Wonder's Berth will be at the AJ Dock. You can find a downloadable PDF file located here.

The street view of the AJ Dock in Juneau shows coach buses lined up ready to take cruise passengers into downtown Juneau. I "Wonder" what Disney has planned for this as it is a mile waking distance to Franklin St. Here is an arial view on Google - you can see the dock.

As for walking from the AJ Dock into downtown, it is quite the walk. Looking on Google Street View, the walk into Downtown doesn't look like a good place to walk. Check out the street view of the walk along Franklin Street HERE. I wonder what Disney will be doing. We have a 7:45 Whale Watching Excursion planned that day, I wonder what they have planned to get us to certain places.

Summary of where Wonder will be docked:

Thursday Tracy Arm, AK
No Docking [Tracy Arm Schedule PDF]
Time: 12:00 - 18:00

Friday: Skagway, AK [Skagway Map]
RRA - Railroad Dock Aft [Port Schedule PDF]
Dock Time: 07:00 - 20:00

Saturday Juneau, AK [Jeanau Map]
AJD - AJ Dock [Port Schedule PDF]
Dock Time: 07:30 17:00

Sunday Ketchikan, AK [Ketchikan Map]
Dock 4 [Port Schedule PDF]
Dock Time: 12:00 - 20:00

Hope this helps! :thumbsup2
 

Four years ago we cruised to AL on HAL. We booked all excursions on board. However, we found that it would have been possible to book on shore at each port. The chance you take is availability once you arrive.
 
Four years ago we cruised to AL on HAL. We booked all excursions on board. However, we found that it would have been possible to book on shore at each port. The chance you take is availability once you arrive.

We booked our excursion through the DCL website.
Whale Watching in Juneau, AK! :)
 
According to Cruise Line Agency of Alaska the Disney Wonder's Berth will be at the AJ Dock. You can find a downloadable PDF file located here.

The street view of the AJ Dock in Juneau shows coach buses lined up ready to take cruise passengers into downtown Juneau. I "Wonder" what Disney has planned for this as it is a mile waking distance to Franklin St. Here is an arial view on Google - you can see the dock.

As for walking from the AJ Dock into downtown, it is quite the walk. Looking on Google Street View, the walk into Downtown doesn't look like a good place to walk. Check out the street view of the walk along Franklin Street HERE. I wonder what Disney will be doing. We have a 7:45 Whale Watching Excursion planned that day, I wonder what they have planned to get us to certain places.

Summary of where Wonder will be docked:

Thursday Tracy Arm, AK
No Docking [Tracy Arm Schedule PDF]
Time: 12:00 - 18:00

Friday: Skagway, AK [Skagway Map]
RRA - Railroad Dock Aft [Port Schedule PDF]
Dock Time: 07:00 - 20:00

Saturday Juneau, AK [Jeanau Map]
AJD - AJ Dock [Port Schedule PDF]
Dock Time: 07:30 17:00

Sunday Ketchikan, AK [Ketchikan Map]
Dock 4 [Port Schedule PDF]
Dock Time: 12:00 - 20:00

Hope this helps! :thumbsup2


Thanks! Great info! :thumbsup2
 
We booked our excursion through the DCL website.
Whale Watching in Juneau, AK! :)

We booked a private charter to whale watch in Juneau so we wouldn't be fighting with 35-100 other people to get a good spot for pix and it was less than DCL's excursion for the 5 of us.
 
Also for those coming in July/August can expect to see salmon running in the local streams around Juneau. I went to a place called Sheep Creek just a few minutes from Downtown last August late in the salmon run. It was pretty cool, didn't cost anything. And something we will always remember, see thousands of salmon all at once, as well as gulls and sea birds.

There is a creek (Thunder Mtn Steep Creek) between where the blue bus drops you off and the Mendenhall Glacier and you should be able to see salmon from the walkway. There is even a sign that the US Forest Service has posted explaining why that creek is an optimal place for salmon.

If I could figure out the photobucket thing, I would post pictures of it.
 
Whale watching is great. Unfortunately nature can be cruel. We saw several killer whales separate a young whale from its pack to feed on it.
 
Skagway

Booked Chilkoot Charters and Tours rail, bus, and dog sled. Guide met us off the ship promptly at 7am. Went into the Yukon pass up to Emerald Lake. No more than 15 people on tour bus. It was a pleasant, easy touring day watching scenery with plenty of stops for photos. Guide was very nice and polite. Could be a bit boring and long for small children.

Juneau

Cabbed to Mendenhall and hiked to Nugget Falls. About 1 hour easy hike round trip with time to take pictures and get close to glacier. Booked Harv and Marv for whale watching. They picked us up on time from the glacier and drove us to Auke Bay.

After talking to guests that day on the larger whale watching tours, they were disappointed with the number of whales and the size of their tour. We had 6 people (us and the family we travelled with) on the boat. It was awesome and the best part of the trip.

Ketchikan

Booked Disney for Bear Creek Zipline. Disney was very organized getting us to our transportation. Zipline guides were very professional and friendly. Highly recommend them. The Bear Creek zips are good for beginners like us and has us now hooked on ziplining.

This was our second cruise to Alaska and first on Disney. I think the private, smaller tours really contributed to making this trip so much better than the first. Plus, 14 years ago, the internet was not there to give you the info to plan like it is now.

Chuck
 
Skagway
We did the Takshanuk Mountain 4x4 through Disney. I think you could do this on your own, but it would be a bit tricker, because you have to get a ferry to the town of Haines. But I highly recommend it; we had a great time. The ferry ride is beautiful and pleasant and they give narration about the wildlife. The take you on busses to the Takshanuk property where they situate you in the 4x4 mule vehicles. It is an incredible ride up the mountain. You stop twice (on the way up and on the way down) at a lodge. The food was FANTASTIC - among the best we had all cruise. It was a homecooked meal, like being invited to someone's home. The scenery is spectacular and the guides are 100% committed to ensuring you have a good time. A bus ride back to the ferry terminal includes a tour of the town.

Juneau -
Whale watching with Harv & Marv. It was just us on the boat (family of 4) with another couple from a Carnival ship. Very personal. We saw whales, eagles, sea lions. Very comfortable boat ride and very informative guide. The van stopped at the Mendenhall Glacier center on the ride back. We stayed about 15 minutes, but if we had wanted, we could have stayed longer and taken the shuttle bus back. 15 minutes was long enough for us, but it is not long enough if you want to do extended hiking. The fare for the visitor's center is not included, so you have to pay if you want to go in the little museum area.

Ketchikan -
Glaicer/Fjords flightseeing with Family Air. WOW! Absolutely amazing experience in a float plane. We were picked up at the dock and driven only a few minutes away to the plane. Took off right alongside the ship and flew for a couple of hours in the fjords. It is incredible. The pilot was not sure if we would be able to get to the glacier, but he would try it. We were able to find a clear spot and were able to fly up and over two glaciers. It was astounding. After seeing the face of glaciers at Tracy Arm and Mendenhall, it is so cool to see them from the air and realize that they are moving rivers of ice! A very interesting perspective. Then we flew up over a waterfall and landed on a little lake. We taxied to the shore and pulled up by a waterfall and ice cave and got out of the plane to walk around. This was a great experience but it is a small plane (4 people max) and tight quarters. But I feel like we got a much better experience than if we had gone with the ship excursion or one of the big companies.
 
Skagway

We booked a private tour with Becky McGill. Her company's name is Beyond Skagway. http://www.beyondskagwaytours.com/index.html Becky allowed us to customize the tour to do exactly what we wanted. She was waiting for us at the end of the dock with her 7-passenger Suburban, and drove us up into the Yukon with plenty of picture stops along the way. We even came upon a bear eating dandelions at the side of the road.

She arranged for a private meeting in Carcross with a First Nations totem pole carver - DH is a woodworker and thoroughly enjoyed his time talking with Keith. We stopped at the dog sled camp and our DD's spent time with the puppies. We chose to have a picnic lunch, which Becky provided. On our way back to Skagway, we stopped and had our lunch at the edge of a lake. Along the way, Becky would borrow my camera and take candid photos of our family. She is very knowledgeable about the area history and is a delightful guide. I highly recommend her!

Back in Skagway, she took us to 2 shops that were locally owned and featured local artists with very nice merchandise. The owner of 1 spent a lot of time with us explaining the various artists and the mediums in which they worked. Unfortunately, the name of the shop escapes me.

Juneau

As PP said, the Wonder docks at the AJ dock. Disney provides free shuttle buses to take you into Juneau. When you disembark, you will see signs pointing you to the right for ship excursions and straight ahead for the shuttle buses. The buses drop you off at the Mt Roberts Tramway parking lot, which is at one end of the Juneau shopping district.

We ziplined with Alaska Zipline Adventures. http://www.alaskazip.com/index.html This was my favorite excursion of the entire trip. The reason that I picked them over other zip companies is that their mininum age is 9 and minimum weight is 70 pounds. That way our DD10 was able to go. They provide rain jackets to put on over your clothes to protect them from dirt, etc, and all the zip gear. They spend a lot of time getting everyone geared up, including helmets, and checking everything before you zip. There are a total of 7 platforms with 5 separate zips. You have 2 guides, 1 to send you off and 1 to catch you. My favorite way to launch was to jump off the platform backwards and then let go of the tether line. Wahoo!!!

We had them take us back to Juneau so that we could spend some time shopping. Others in our group went to the glacier.

Ketchikan

We took a float plane trip to the Misty Fjords with Seawind Aviation. http://www.seawindaviation.com/ This is a family business run by Steve and Leslie Kamm using a 7-passenger Beaver float plane. They are very nice people and Steve is a great pilot. The Fjords are gorgeous. Steve landed the plane on an alpine lake and we got out and walked around on a small island and took pictures. On the way back to Ketchikan, he flew us around several mountain peaks to show us the mountain goats. We also saw a bear. DH comes from a family of pilots, so on the way back to town, he sat in the co-pilots seat and he and Steve talked airplanes and flying. We were the last group of the day, so when we got back to Ketchikan, we were able to watch him drive the plane up onto the dock for the night. Leslie, her sister, and 3 DD's were there, so we spent some time talking with them. It was so nice to have that personal time, rather than being hustled back on a bus with 50 other people.

We did some shopping when we got back into town. There is a really big Christmas shop at the end of the dock right next to where the Wonder docks.
 
Thanks! We will be sure to check it out on our next cruise there. Glad to hear that Disney is joining the Alaska route.
 
This is going to be my first trip, and I have the White Pass Railroad booked, and the Duck Tour in Ketchikan. I'm planning to take a taxi to the Glacier Gardens in Juneau if the weather's good, or roll (I'm in a wheelchair) to the Alaska Museum if it's not.

I don't know if this would be helpful, but I posted a shore excursion comparison on my cruise group, and since then, other people have added some information, and I've added references--you'll find the original lists in messages 180, 187, and 195--and there are references to other posters on the thread who have added experiences:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291067&page=12

Very Nice Summary of the Ports. I copied them all onto a Word Doc so that my wife and I can go through them all. Thanks!
 

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