Gold panning excursion in Alaska

[slg]

We're doing the one with the salmon bake. Wondering if anyone has any reviews for this one.

We're travelling with 3 boys, 12, 13, 14 and 4 adults. The younger boys really want to do it, but I'm worried that it will be disappointing. I haven't found any reviews for it, so I'm hoping that folks can give me some advice.

Thanks!

 

[summerblue]

My husband and I done a gold panning 10 years ago on another cruise line. You get a sack of "pay dirt" to pan out, it's neat learning to do it but you just get little flakes no nuggets, we did buy extra bags of pay dirt to give to my young cousins and they loved it. We are doing panning again when we take DCL cruise coming up this July ( leave in two weeks from tomorrow-woohoo) but we will have our DD-8 and niece 7 with us, we have several places nearby where you can slough for gemstones and they never get tired of it, so for kids who have never done it, it is worth it, but not something I would pay to do again if it were just me and DH. Now we done a salmon bake as part of a whale watch, and the salmon bakes in Alaska are amazing, such good food, and usually the people running them are very entertaining and interesting to visit with. The gold panning excursions on DCL surprisingly are much cheaper than they were through the CCL we took 10 years ago, so I would say if it is something the kids have never done, go for it, but be aware you get a few flakes of gold and will typically have to pay extra if you want them to put it in a nifty little vial, but its something cool your kids will be able to say they have done. Have fun on your trip, we have been dying to go back to Alaska and are excited to be able to go this summer with our girls.

 

[lady9]

We did gold panning in Alaska through DCL two years ago. We did it through the White Pass Rail/Liarsville excursion. Like the PP said, they give you a pan of dirt, show you how to use water to separate the flakes of gold. Our DS, then 15 had no patience with it at all. Our DD then 10 loved it! One of the characters from Liarsville was especially entertaining and helped DD. He even got her a few extra pans (did not charge us extra) to sift through. She found several nice flakes which they put into a little plastic bag. It was a fun time.

 

[slg]

Thanks for the reviews so far. We're doing:


Historic Gold Panning Adventure and Gold Creek Salmon Bake


We actually did gold panning in Barkersville with the kids, but it was when they were 2 and 4, so they probably don't remember much. My nephew is the one who is very keen to do it. I'd read a bad eview here so I was hoping that I could get some good feedback so that I would feel good about taking this one.

 

[wiigirl]

I have never done it....but always wanted to. Keep hearing great things.

 

[EeyoreIsMyName]

We did not opt to do the Salmon Bake & Gold Panning because one member of our party does not care for salmon. We did the White Pass Railroad & Gold Dredge on DCL in 2011. We enjoyed the railroad and panning for gold. They teach you a little bit about gold panning with a historical talk-the children in our group LOVED it because the individual dressed up as a "character" from the time period and he was funny and educational (I don't think they realized they were learning while laughing!). After the show, we were escorted down to the panning area. They give each person a pan with pre-sorted sand (with some gold flakes in it). It was fun to figure out how to get the gold separated from the sand and end up with your flakes or small chunks of gold. They weighed it inside their gift shop and told you the value on today's gold market.