I'm having a hard time picking excursions in Alaska.

[scrapperkimmydee]

First, we don't want to spend a lot extra. Looking at $100/person. We don't want to do any that involve food for various reasons. We've done gold panning and fish hatcheries several times, so not interested in those.

The one thing I KNOW we'll do is Butchart Gardens. Not sure yet if we should do it through Disney, or on our own.

We can just explore the towns where we'll stop, right? I imagine there will be enough to see.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

First, we don't want to spend a lot extra. Looking at $100/person. We don't want to do any that involve food for various reasons. We've done gold panning and fish hatcheries several times, so not interested in those.

The one thing I KNOW we'll do is Butchart Gardens. Not sure yet if we should do it through Disney, or on our own.

We can just explore the towns where we'll stop, right? I imagine there will be enough to see.

You certainly don't HAVE to do ship's excursions. Or, indeed, any excursions at all. The ports/towns have plenty you can do on your own.

 

[Aby]

Skagway has some quite a few walking trails to do on your own, some short and some quite long. Here is a good breakdown: http://skagway.com/skagwaytrailmap.pdf. The town is quite small, but you could probably spend a few hours wandering around the shops and buildings. In one corner near the train tracks there is a small creek where you can watch the salmon if they are running.

In Juneau the Mendenhall glacier is quite popular - you can go on your own or through Disney. Some of the excursions are combined with others, but there is one that just does the glacier and it's not very expensive. The Mount Roberts Tramway is also quite popular and you can just buy tickets that day in case the weather isn't great. The town is a good size too, so you can certainly spend quite a bit of the day wandering around on your own.

I'm not as familiar with Ketchikan as the times I've been I did full day excursions.

Hope this helps!

Aby

 

[saxmangeoff]

First, we don't want to spend a lot extra. Looking at $100/person. We don't want to do any that involve food for various reasons. We've done gold panning and fish hatcheries several times, so not interested in those.

The one thing I KNOW we'll do is Butchart Gardens. Not sure yet if we should do it through Disney, or on our own.

We can just explore the towns where we'll stop, right? I imagine there will be enough to see.

You've already gotten some good suggestions, but one correction: You won't visit Butchart Gardens on a Disney cruise to Alaska. DCL doesn't stop in Victoria.

There's plenty of good walking to be done in Ketchikan. You can pick up walking tour maps at the visitor center. Totally free!

Skagway is also very walkable.

Juneau, not as much. I'd probably go with a Mendenhall or Tram trip.

 

[Agent 86]

We were also on a budget. We did the following:

- Skagway - We did the Disney Port Adventure for the White Pass Railway (standard train, not the more expensive steam train and both ways - down and back). There was a cheaper "bus one way, train the other way" option which would be fine as well. After the train, we independently did a short hike and explored the town.

- Juneau - We did the hike to the glacier and waterfall as a Disney Port Adventure. Then we independently did the tram. That pretty much filled up the day.

- Ketchikan - We independently visited some totem poles and explored the town. We didn't do the lumberjack show as we planned to see the one at Grouse Mountain.

Out tablemates did some absolutely amazing Port Adventures (i.e. helicopter to the tops of glaciers and then crevasse climbing, etc), but those were well beyond our budget, especially with the unfavourable exchange rate. We were very happy with what we did.

 

[Mrs Green]

You've already gotten some good suggestions, but one correction: You won't visit Butchart Gardens on a Disney cruise to Alaska. DCL doesn't stop in Victoria.

.

This was my thought too. Sorry since that was the one thing you felt sure about!

My trip is about a month away but we are planning to do our own thing in Skagway, partially just to keep costs down. We collect the national park cancellation stamps so we are going to the klondike gold rush nhp and then to do some hiking on our own. I read about smugglers cove and yakutania point. Good luck making your choice!

 

[Flight]

Juneau - You can find some very inexpensive ride operators to get to and from the Mendenhall Glacier. Once there, you do not need to spend any more money. You can walk the trails for free.

Skagway - Ride the Whitepass railroad. Gorgeous views and a great history. Don't need to add any other expense there.

 

[buddyjo143]

My DH and I did a walking tour of Skagway with the park ranger - free.

In Ketchikan we took the local bus to Totem Bight State Park to see the totem poles, flowers, and wildlife - appx. $2/pp.

Juneau was 4th of July so we watched the local parade the walked up to the governor's mansion and saw the state capitol - free.

 

[xlxo]

Thoughts....

• Butchart will be pre/post-cruise. If you like flowers... it's worthy for a day trip. A cheaper and easier version is Vandusen Gardens in Vancouver.
• if you can't decide.... look for combo tours. These tours save you port time where you visit multiple destinations with one excursion.
• check out the "Best of .... " at each port for ideas
• flight and marine excursions.... if you avoid these tours.... you'll find savings.
• still can't decide.... go to the cruise desk the night before ask what is "near sellout". There must be a reason why people are signing up for that tour.

check out these NCL vids for ideas...

 

[disneyholic family]

regarding mendenhall - i would do it on my own as ship tours rarely give you much 'on your own time' there..
you can do the hikes on your own and if memory serves, there's a ranger walk there as well...

we took one of the shuttle buses....can't remember which one...got up there....went through the visitor center and the movie and then walked around on the trails for a while....we had gorgeous weather, so it was wonderful and since our whale watching tour wasn't until the late afternoon, we had plenty of time...

on the way back, the bus let us off in front of a nice restaurant on the water, then we walked the rest of the way back to the ship (for the whale watching that we did do with the ship)

 

[MMR]

I think it was Skagway that had a National Parks Visitor Center that we didn't go in but sounded interesting. There may be other Park Service activities in the other ports too.

 

[cruisehopeful]

You can find lots of reasonable excursions by going directly to their websites instead of booking via DCL. Here's what I did this year:
Skagway - 3 hour train, was on the same train with those who booked and paid more through DCL http://www.alaskatours.com/skagway/white_pass_yukon_railroad.htm
Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier and Mount Roberts Tramway - walked up and paid directly, about $30pp for each.
Ketchikan - 3 hour totem and rain forest hike, $79pp http://www.wildwolftours.com/3-hour-rainforest-walk-totem-park/

It's easy to find cheaper excursions by just googling the city and activities.
My first Disney cruise went to Victoria, but the last one I was on did not. I did book Butchardt Gardens through DCL when it stopped there because the ship was only there from 6pm - 11pm and I wanted to make sure my timing was right.

 

[Pooh2]

We did the Mendenhall Glacier walk in Juneau (about $50/person) and the duck tour in Ketchikan ($44/person). In Skagway, we did a bus tour with gold panning/bbq/drive up the highway (food was not great). We booked through Disney.
We were glad we did excursions to get away from the touristy downtown but would consider booking right from the docks next time to save money.

 

[annacali]

We did a private tour in Skagway thru Beyond Skagway tours. There were 6 of us and it was around $800 for the day. Went up into the Yukon to Emerald lake with several stops along the way. Totally enjoyed it. In Juneau the Juneau Whale Watch whale watching/Mendenhall glacier combo tour was $120 each. We were on a small boat with about 14 people total. Got great close up views of humpbacks and even some sea lions. In Victoria (we were on RCCL and did stop there for a day) we just caught a bus to Butchart gardens when we got off the ship (can do this in front of the Empress--around $260 US for the 6 of us and that included admission to the gardens) and spent the morning up there.

 

[steves100]

First, we don't want to spend a lot extra. Looking at $100/person. We don't want to do any that involve food for various reasons. We've done gold panning and fish hatcheries several times, so not interested in those.

The one thing I KNOW we'll do is Butchart Gardens. Not sure yet if we should do it through Disney, or on our own.

We can just explore the towns where we'll stop, right? I imagine there will be enough to see.

If you are definitely doing the gardens, I STRONGLY encourage you to do it through Disney.

We were on a July cruise from Seattle and our last stop was Vancouver Island. I think the ship was supposed to leave at 7:00pm (forget) we didn't get back to 9:30. Had to order room service we were starving. There were a lot of pissed off cruisers that couldn't understand why the ship didn't leave.


: )

 

[xlxo]

cruisers that couldn't understand why the ship didn't leave.

Why did the ship not leave?

The OP is going to Butchart pre-/post-cruise.

 

[steves100]

Why did the ship not leave?

The OP is going to Butchart pre-/post-cruise.

They didn't say that originally, they asked if the should do it with Disney. We DID book through Disney so the ship didn't leave....

 

[scrapperkimmydee]

I though I could book Butchart as a pre or post cruise thing. It is listed as an option when I look up Alaskan cruise excursions. If not, I'm sure it's cheaper to go on our own.


I think I'd be happy just wandering and exploring around the towns on our own.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I though I could book Butchart as a pre or post cruise thing. It is listed as an option when I look up Alaskan cruise excursions. If not, I'm sure it's cheaper to go on our own.


I think I'd be happy just wandering and exploring around the towns on our own.

I believe the Butchart Gardens excursion is only available on those cruises that stop at Victoria. In the past DCL has stopped there. This season, I don't think any of the Alaska cruises stop there.

Usually, once an excursion has been done on DCL it kinda remains on the website, even if there are no cruises that stop there.

Of course, if you're staying in Vancouver for a little time before/after the cruise, you can always take the ferry to Victoria for a trip to the Gardens.

 

[bcwife76]

I though I could book Butchart as a pre or post cruise thing. It is listed as an option when I look up Alaskan cruise excursions. If not, I'm sure it's cheaper to go on our own.


I think I'd be happy just wandering and exploring around the towns on our own.

The gardens excursion is still listed because the Vancouver to San Diego cruise at the end of the Alaska season stops in Victoria. Alaskan cruises themselves do not stop in Victoria with DCL.