Alaskan Excursions

[wdwfan]

My husband and I are booked for a DCL Alaskan cruise next summer. We're starting to research some of the DCL excursions and wonder if anyone has done the following excursions: Ketchican-Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour; Juneau-Best of Juneau; and Skagway-Best of Skagway with the White Pass RR.

If you've done these excursions or have knowledge of them, could you please give me your feedback on them? Thank you!

 

[jenpink]

We did Best of Juneau three weeks ago It was nice, but not our favorite excursion. The boat for the whale watch almost seemed empty, there were so few people on board. It had a lower enclosed area with a small snackbar/souvenir stand. There were free doughnut holes, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and later they passed around salmon on crackers. They had some crafts for kids below. There was also an upper deck, half enclosed and heated and half open for better viewing. There were binoculars in every seat. Within 5 minutes from leaving the dock we found a large group of orcas , 》20. We were pretty close and they were all around us. We then saw some humpbacks including s mother and calf. We saw eagles and sea lions as well.
The Orca Point Lodge was ok. Nice new looking place. The food was decent. We got our fill. It was raining pretty hard so we didn't get to explore the grounds.
Mendenhall Glacier was beautiful. The view from the visitors center was great. I think we were there about an hour. If you want to walk to the falls then you should go a different way with more time. You aren't allowed to bring food near Mendenhall because of bears, so it was nice to be able to leave it on the bus.. Ocerall, it was a nice day.

 

[jenpink]

By the way, our favorite excursion was a non disney excursion in Skagway. Chilkoot Charters, Yukon rail and bus with added dog cart ride. It was fantastic and I highly recommend it

 

[wdwfan]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the Best of Juneau tour. Did you love your Alaskan cruise? What hotel did you stay at pre and post cruise? And if you don't mind...did you fly into Vancouver and if so, which airline? I'm at the very beginning stage of our planning.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

The Alaska cruise is one of our very favorites. It was wonderful!

My DH did the Bering Sea Crab boat and loved it. They owners were great showing different sea creatures and explaining crab fishing. The ship was on the early seasons of Deadliest Catch. Anyway, at one point they will go out and feed eagles. The eagles literally swarm the water for the fish. It was fascinating. DH highly recommends it.

We did all but one of our tours privately through third parties and not through Disney. It's very easy to do in Alaska and can save you some money.

We stayed Pre and Post Cruise at the Pan Pacific and flew directly in to Vancouver because we could get non-stop from Phoenix.

 

[wdwfan]

Thanks so much for the info on the Bering Sea Crab boat! We're both looking forward to that since we're fans of the show. I just read your trip report from your Alaska cruise and it was wonderful!! Great pics and lots of helpful info! I'm also hoping to stay at the Pan Pacific and will book it as the booking window opens. I'm having so much fun researching! Thanks for your info.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Thanks! Looks like you're on the cruise right after ours next year on August 2nd! Have a great time!

 

[xavier2001]

We did not do those tours but wanted to let you know that when we went last week we stayed at the Hampton Inn on Robson Street. Its not right at the port but it was about $150 CAD cheaper than the Fairmont and Pan Pacific, included a free breakfast (which saved us another $50 CAD) and a free shuttle to the port on embarkation morning (another $20 savings). Was very quiet and nice rooms, we got upgraded to a suite which was a bonus. Be prepared for a lot of traffic and a long wait to get through Vancouver customs, I recommend going at least a day before, a few days if you want to explore the city.

 

[wdwfan]

Thanks for the tips, xavier2001! The room at the Hampton Inn sounds like a great deal! I'll have to look into that option as well.

 

[wdwfan]

disneyfaninaz, we're actually on the Aug. 7 sailing. I think my ticker might be off a little.

 

[Pooh93]

My husband and I are booked for a DCL Alaskan cruise next summer. We're starting to research some of the DCL excursions and wonder if anyone has done the following excursions: Ketchican-Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour; Juneau-Best of Juneau; and Skagway-Best of Skagway with the White Pass RR.

If you've done these excursions or have knowledge of them, could you please give me your feedback on them? Thank you!

In Skagway, my husband and I did the Yukon Expedition through Disney. We took the bus ride into Canada, stopped and had lunch, then bussed back to catch the train back into Skagway. The White Pass RR is a must do in Skagway. Skagway is a small town -population around 900.

In Juneau we book a private whale watching tour through Harv and Marv's. Great excursion. We were a family of 4 and the only ones on the boat. Captain Steve was great. We had a blast. Saw a lot of wildlife from harbor seals, to eagles to Humpback whales.

In Ketchikan we booked a float plane tour through Island Wings. Fabulous!!

I did talk to some people who did the Bering Sea Crab tour and said it was wonderful. If we went back to Alaska, I would do it.

We stayed at the Fairmont Hotel right across the street from Port.

Alaska was a trip of a lifetime. The Wonder was beautiful and the crew exceptional as always. You are in for a real treat!! If I can answer any more questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[wdwfan]

Thank you so much, Pooh93, for you reply. You gave me some good info and I'm sure I'll have some questions for you as I continue to research and plan.

 

[jenpink]

Did you love your Alaskan cruise? What hotel did you stay at pre and post cruise? And if you don't mind...did you fly into Vancouver and if so, which airline? I'm at the very beginning stage of our planning.[/QUOTE]

We absolutely loved our Alaskan cruise. Maybe we will do it again in a couple years We stayed at Pan Pacific pre cruise and got a fantastic rate by combining deals at Travelocity. The hotel was fantastic because of views and location and room service was delicious. The one complaint was that we arrived before 12 noon and our room wasn't ready until 4pm as advertised. Not their fault, just inconvenient. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency post cruise and were able to check in and get our room at 9am. Very nice.
We flew into Vancouver on AirCanada. It was nice, but you have to pay extra to pick your seats ahead of time.

 

[sharksfinatic17]

In Skagway, my husband and I did the Yukon Expedition through Disney. We took the bus ride into Canada, stopped and had lunch, then bussed back to catch the train back into Skagway. The White Pass RR is a must do in Skagway. Skagway is a small town -population around 900.

In Juneau we book a private whale watching tour through Harv and Marv's. Great excursion. We were a family of 4 and the only ones on the boat. Captain Steve was great. We had a blast. Saw a lot of wildlife from harbor seals, to eagles to Humpback whales.

In Ketchikan we booked a float plane tour through Island Wings. Fabulous!!

I did talk to some people who did the Bering Sea Crab tour and said it was wonderful. If we went back to Alaska, I would do it.

We stayed at the Fairmont Hotel right across the street from Port.

Alaska was a trip of a lifetime. The Wonder was beautiful and the crew exceptional as always. You are in for a real treat!! If I can answer any more questions, feel free to PM me.

This is almost exactly what we did except we did private with Chilkoot train up/ bus down in Skagway. The other two excursions with Harv and Marvs and Island Wings. We stayed at the Harbourfront in Vancouver. 10 minute walk to the port.

We started in Seattle so nothing to report regarding flying into Vancouver. But coming home, we booked a day room at the Fairmont and flew home using Alaska Airlines.