Alaskan cruisers: how much did you spend per person on excursions?

[HiMagicFan]

I will let you know! I hope to do a trip report about our cruise when we get back.

I appreciate it.
You probably are already getting ready to get on the ship!

Making me excited!

 

[lbgraves]

Alaska was very much like the Caribbean ports where there are booths set up booking excursions at a cut rate right off the dock. We did the White Pass train in Skagway on our own since the kids (10 & 12) would have been charged an adult fare with DCL. The station was a 5 minute walk from the ship and the train connected with the DCL cars. In Juneau we bought shuttle tickets to go to Mendenhall Glacier RT $16 pp. We spent a few hours there since we hiked to the base of Nugget Falls and got much closer to the glacier. In Ketchikan both kids wanted to stay on the ship so DH and I simply hiked around the town. We walked to the hatchery and totem park then caught the free city bus back to the port. DH walked up to the top of the mountain and got a great picture of the Wonder in port. In Vancouver we went to Grouse Mountain (around $110 for the 4 of us) and spent over 6 hours there enjoying the view, the lumberjack show (which many have said is the same as in Ketchikan) and of course watching the bears playing. The day we got off the ship we rented bikes ($14 pp) and went back to Stanley Park for a few hours to see what we had not walked through before the cruise. The best part of the cruise IMO was the beautiful scenery [we have flat land on the coast in NC] and watching the whales from deck 4, along with many dolphins and porpoises. Even though we have bald eagles nesting in our neighborhood, it was nice to watch them flying by as well.

 

[HiMagicFan]

Alaska was very much like the Caribbean ports where there are booths set up booking excursions at a cut rate right off the dock. We did the White Pass train in Skagway on our own since the kids (10 & 12) would have been charged an adult fare with DCL. The station was a 5 minute walk from the ship and the train connected with the DCL cars. In Juneau we bought shuttle tickets to go to Mendenhall Glacier RT $16 pp. We spent a few hours there since we hiked to the base of Nugget Falls and got much closer to the glacier. In Ketchikan both kids wanted to stay on the ship so DH and I simply hiked around the town. We walked to the hatchery and totem park then caught the free city bus back to the port. DH walked up to the top of the mountain and got a great picture of the Wonder in port. In Vancouver we went to Grouse Mountain (around $110 for the 4 of us) and spent over 6 hours there enjoying the view, the lumberjack show (which many have said is the same as in Ketchikan) and of course watching the bears playing. The day we got off the ship we rented bikes ($14 pp) and went back to Stanley Park for a few hours to see what we had not walked through before the cruise. The best part of the cruise IMO was the beautiful scenery [we have flat land on the coast in NC] and watching the whales from deck 4, along with many dolphins and porpoises. Even though we have bald eagles nesting in our neighborhood, it was nice to watch them flying by as well.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Alaska was very much like the Caribbean ports where there are booths set up booking excursions at a cut rate right off the dock. We did the White Pass train in Skagway on our own since the kids (10 & 12) would have been charged an adult fare with DCL. The station was a 5 minute walk from the ship and the train connected with the DCL cars. In Juneau we bought shuttle tickets to go to Mendenhall Glacier RT $16 pp. We spent a few hours there since we hiked to the base of Nugget Falls and got much closer to the glacier. In Ketchikan both kids wanted to stay on the ship so DH and I simply hiked around the town. We walked to the hatchery and totem park then caught the free city bus back to the port. DH walked up to the top of the mountain and got a great picture of the Wonder in port. In Vancouver we went to Grouse Mountain (around $110 for the 4 of us) and spent over 6 hours there enjoying the view, the lumberjack show (which many have said is the same as in Ketchikan) and of course watching the bears playing. The day we got off the ship we rented bikes ($14 pp) and went back to Stanley Park for a few hours to see what we had not walked through before the cruise. The best part of the cruise IMO was the beautiful scenery [we have flat land on the coast in NC] and watching the whales from deck 4, along with many dolphins and porpoises. Even though we have bald eagles nesting in our neighborhood, it was nice to watch them flying by as well.

Lisa, I realize this has been a while but do you recall how much they charged to do the White Pass train on your own?
Thanks!

 

[bceagle76]

Spend about $400 a person
But well woth it
Book the Deadilest catch boat on my own
Did the others thru Disney

 

[Yokelridesagain]

For 2 adults and 2 kids under five we did:

Skagway: White Pass Railroad and gold panning (through Disney): ~300 total
Juneau: Orca Enterprises whale watching and Mendenhall tour: ~420 total
Ketchikan: Float plane to Misty Fjords: ~550 total

For adults we probably spent ~440 per person.

I would definitely recommend staying away from Disney excursions (particularly for big ticket items like whale watching and aerial expeditions); their partners charge a big premium and book with companies that pack people in. The Disney whale boat we saw when we were out on the water with Orca looked packed to the gills. The only trouble is (unless you happen to be on one of the Vancouver itineraries) is that the times in Juneau and Ketchikan have been curtailed from what they were last summer. I think you could still go on these excursions (with the possible exception of the glacier tour in Juneau), but the schedule is tighter.

 

[jlwhitney]

A good tip:

Book everything on your own and not through Disney, it will save you alot!

We booked everything on our own:
Helicopter Dog Sled in Juneau
Train in skagway to the Yukon
Crab bearing Sea tour in Ketchikan

It is so easy to book on your in Alasaka and most companies have guarentees you wont miss the ship and if you do they will pay you to where you need to get