Port Adventures in Alaska... are they totally necessary?

[sptfr97]

Sailing in September for DCL Alaskan cruise with my mom (70) and brother. I know there are several threads out there with reviews for Port Adventures, and they're super helpful and informative. And while I'D love to be rolling around on the ground with sled dogs or zip lining or hiking, my mother is not into that, lol. Trust me - she moves better than probably 95% of 70 year olds out there, and she's always wanted to see Alaska; however, she goes on vacation to relax, she does not want this trip to be "go-go-go", and she specifically said she doesn't want to have something booked for every single port. I did book the White Pass Scenic Railway, and obviously the spa appointments are booked on our sea days. So I guess my main question is, how walk-able and accessible are the cities? There's enough to do and we can just stroll and shop and eat, right?? I'll go back soon and do my outside/adventurous stuff, this trip is mainly about us spending time with her. She loved Norway because while we had some PAs booked, the towns were very walk-able, and we just sort of wandered around neighborhoods and looked at flowers, saw old churches and historic buildings, and we didn't have to really arrange anything for it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Pens Fan]

Yes, the towns are very walkable. There are tons of shops and restaurants. Depending on where you dock you will either step right off of the ship into the tourist area or you may need to take a shuttle. We had to shuttle in Juneau last summer, but they were free and numerous.

Normally, I would encourage you to book some type of excursions, as for me Alaska is all about getting out into the wilderness. However reading your post this time I won't. As you plan on returning on your own and this trip is about spending time with your mother, I'd just go with her wishes and keep things simple. While the towns are definitely touristy (yes, they do have Diamonds International in Alaska ), they are still cute and the scenery is simply gorgeous. There also are some great shops with local goods sandwiched in between the Made in China tourist junk. We've bought some really cool things there. We've been to Ketchikan twice and still haven't made it to Creek Street which looks really interesting. I'd definitely wander up there if I wasn't doing an excursion.

You'll still have a wonderful time just being in Alaska and spending time with your Mom. I wish mine was still around to vacation with.

 

[FSU Girl]

I went to Alaska with my family when I was 18. My parents never do cruise excursions and we saw a lot in each port. We went hiking, explored the cities. Alaska was so pretty and we had a great time. A lot of these cities are super small. I remember one that had a single traffic light.

 

[GPaLarry]

You picked the right cruise for walkable cities. Check out YouTube videos to see how close the Wonder is to shops, museums, bars, etc. With a little research on each stop you can design a walk to catch most of the attractions. The Mendenhall Glacier is about 10 miles outside of Juneau, if that is important to see. We took the Aquaduck tour of Ketchikan that involves a land tour of town then down a ramp and a floating tour in the bay. You have time to contact each city's Visitor's Bureau/Chamber of Commerce and have them send you (or read off the internet) what highlights and must-sees are in each town. Review with your mother and pick out a couple, or one, thing(s) to check out. Or, if you want to make each port a true adventure, don't plan anything and just walk around. Take your camera and rain gear...Alaska is sun, clouds, rain, repeat. We loved this cruise and would do it again.

 

[sptfr97]

@Pens Fan: Cool. Thanks for the info! I imagine we’ll book another excursion, as we already have one scheduled. And your last paragraph is exactly why I’ve made it a priority to travel with my mom: one day, she won’t be here to travel with. Plus, she watches all these travel shows and there aren’t many places she’ll say no to. I just decided I’d make sure whatever we decide to do, she’ll enjoy!

 

[sptfr97]

@GPaLarry: Yeah, that’s about how Norway was. I think it rained every day! We just threw on our rain jackets and schlepped around.

I’ll go check out the floating tour of Ketchikan - that’s perfect!

 

[GPaLarry]

@GPaLarry: Yeah, that’s about how Norway was. I think it rained every day! We just threw on our rain jackets and schlepped around.

I’ll go check out the floating tour of Ketchikan - that’s perfect!

You don't need boots, sneakers will do...the streets are paved and the bears are under control (sort of). As mentioned earlier, when considering a souvenir, turn it over and make sure is doesn't say, "made in China." Also, dress in very informal up there...a somewhat clean flannel shirt and jeans will work. And leave your pan at home, the gold has been pretty much mined out.

 

[cadien]

Sitka has a great historic downtown. They were the capital when Russia owned it and you have the onion domes. Downtown Juneau is just a small town like anywhere else in the country with nothing unique. It's well worth taking even the public bus out to the glacier instead.

 

[MomOTwins]

The towns in Alaska are not like in Europe. The Alaska towns exist primarily for tourists (and in some case, the towns are really only inhabited by temporary workers in the summer for cruise business). They are fine for shopping for souvenirs (nothing wrong with that, though not my cup of tea personally), but don't expect to see the same kind of history, architecture, and public gardens as in Europe.

One excursion I think might be nice for you is a whale watching boat trip. There will be seating on the boat for your mom so it is not very tiring, and the whales are really amazing to see. You can also take the bus to Mendenhall Glacier and just walk around there and take in the views - that is pretty low key as well.

 

[cadien]

(and in some case, the towns are really only inhabited by temporary workers in the summer for cruise business).

Which ones?

 

[clten]

I was going to also recommend a whale watching tour. There is a company that does smaller size boats in Juneau - Gastineau Guiding (they work with DCL and so don't know if they have an "exclusive" with DCL on days they are in port or if you can book separately). We did the rainforest hike/whale watching (they do other tours) and the whale watching portion was FABULOUS. Their boats are designed for photography tours. Talking to the crew, they say they get many on their photography tours that aren't photographers. They did give great advice on how to capture great pictures of the whales on regular point and shoot cameras. I would do another of their tours in a heartbeat.

Ketchikan would be a port that I would slate to just walk around. (We've done the duck tour there and while it was fun, didn't really see anything you couldn't see from walking around town and at the harbor.) Skagway has a lot of shopping and restaurants in downtown to do before/after your train ride. So I think you could do the train and whale watching and feel you've seen Alaska and not feel over scheduled and still get to spend quality time with your mom walking around Ketchikan and Skagway.

 

[adSimba]

We just got back, we did the first Alaska cruise of the season, in Skagway we went to jewel gardens where our friends did a glass blowing excursion (your party would absolutely be up to that plus awesome souvenir). We just watched and looked around the gardens then walked the city. We were back on the boat around 4 and had time for a quick rest before our early dinner.

In Juneau, we just walked around and tried many of the amazing specialty foods in port it was beautiful.

In Ketchikan we did the duck tour and loved all of the information, we drove around the non touresty places and learned a lot of neat things about the people who live there (there is no way we could have covered that much ground on foot, especially after 2 days of walking around the other ports)

 

[lklgoodman]

We did an Alaska cruise in 2014. We did book port excursions with Disney. In Juneau we did a tour that went to several places. One of the places we went to was Glacier Gardens Rainforest. It was very nice. You could look into going there on your own. We were given a tour while riding in a large golf cart, the guide told stories about how the family who owns the place made it what it is. It was beautiful, plants and flowers everywhere. Afterwards we were served refreshments of a drink(hot chocolate, tea, coffee, etc) and cookies, cake, and other pastries. We were there for about 2 hours, so plenty of time to see other stuff while in Juneau afterwards. Their website is glaciergardens.com

 

[sptfr97]

The towns in Alaska are not like in Europe. The Alaska towns exist primarily for tourists (and in some case, the towns are really only inhabited by temporary workers in the summer for cruise business). They are fine for shopping for souvenirs (nothing wrong with that, though not my cup of tea personally), but don't expect to see the same kind of history, architecture, and public gardens as in Europe.

Didn’t expect that at all, if I wanted to see Europe, I’d head there. Just needed to know if they were as easily walkable.

@GPaLarry Good tip on the boots... because I am not a boot girl, hahaha.

@clten Thank you!! Good to know.
We’ll plan to just explore Ketchikan on our own.

 

[BruinEd03]

Check out Scott's Blog on his 9 day Alaska Trip. For some of the ports he didn't book an excursion. He mentions a book to purchase that can tell you some interesting things to do in town (including some fun museums and art shops): http://disneycruiselineblog.com/201...night-alaskan-cruise-disney-wonder-vancouver/

 

[Shanti]

Sailing in September for DCL Alaskan cruise with my mom (70) and brother. I know there are several threads out there with reviews for Port Adventures, and they're super helpful and informative. And while I'D love to be rolling around on the ground with sled dogs or zip lining or hiking, my mother is not into that, lol. Trust me - she moves better than probably 95% of 70 year olds out there, and she's always wanted to see Alaska; however, she goes on vacation to relax, she does not want this trip to be "go-go-go", and she specifically said she doesn't want to have something booked for every single port. I did book the White Pass Scenic Railway, and obviously the spa appointments are booked on our sea days. So I guess my main question is, how walk-able and accessible are the cities? There's enough to do and we can just stroll and shop and eat, right?? I'll go back soon and do my outside/adventurous stuff, this trip is mainly about us spending time with her. She loved Norway because while we had some PAs booked, the towns were very walk-able, and we just sort of wandered around neighborhoods and looked at flowers, saw old churches and historic buildings, and we didn't have to really arrange anything for it.

Thanks in advance.

We're in Alaska on the Wonder now. It's so gorgeous that you don't have to go out of your way to be awed by the scenery. I like pretty scenery, & enjoy walks, but am not a big outdoorsy-activity type beyond that. And our cruise has been amazing.

Yesterday at Skagway we did a self-purchased excursion at Jewell Gardens, to make our own glassblown ornaments (then they mail them to your home, so you don't have to carry them back). That was memorable and would be easy for your mother to do. It cost only half as much to book it independently as via DCL. We took the Smart shuttle bus to Jewell Gardens, then chose to walk back, taking a detour to the Gold Rush cemetery and Reid waterfall, which was impressive. Just walking there & back to the ship, with the snow-capped mountains all around us, was amazing, and we did it all on our own, rather than being herded in a big group.

Today we're going to bus over to Mendenhall Glacier visitor center & hike to the glacier. Tomorrow in Ketchikan we're going to do a floatplane tour we booked independently via Island Wings, but I'm only doing that because my son wants to be a pilot & loves to fly. I don't think an air adventure is a required part of the Alaska experience.

So yes, you can have a great cruise without going nuts on excursions. I prefer a relaxed pace myself: we're on vacation.

 

[deanimal]

On my first Alaskan cruise I didn't do a single excursion and I had a great time. The towns were easy to walk around and the scenery was lovely. I spent a few hours exploring each port and enjoyed relaxing and not having to be anywhere or do anything at a certain time. If I went again I'd probably want to explore a bit further in a few spots, but on my first trip I didn't feel the need to be on the go all the time.

 

[cruiser21]

Sailing in September for DCL Alaskan cruise with my mom (70) and brother. I know there are several threads out there with reviews for Port Adventures, and they're super helpful and informative. And while I'D love to be rolling around on the ground with sled dogs or zip lining or hiking, my mother is not into that, lol. Trust me - she moves better than probably 95% of 70 year olds out there, and she's always wanted to see Alaska; however, she goes on vacation to relax, she does not want this trip to be "go-go-go", and she specifically said she doesn't want to have something booked for every single port. I did book the White Pass Scenic Railway, and obviously the spa appointments are booked on our sea days. So I guess my main question is, how walk-able and accessible are the cities? There's enough to do and we can just stroll and shop and eat, right?? I'll go back soon and do my outside/adventurous stuff, this trip is mainly about us spending time with her. She loved Norway because while we had some PAs booked, the towns were very walk-able, and we just sort of wandered around neighborhoods and looked at flowers, saw old churches and historic buildings, and we didn't have to really arrange anything for it.

Thanks in advance.

Ketchikan is a nice port to walk around. She might like the lumber jack show which a 5 minute walk from the port. There were also many tour vendors at the Ketchikan port if you want to wait and book something last minute if she feels like doing something. Skagway is the only port where there is really nothing to see, but your doing the train so your good.

 

[gotomu212]

The only port that I didn’t feel had enough local flavor to just walk around was Skagway. That town is a little more of a temporary summer town- fun fact full time residents can’t even have their babies there since there aren’t sufficient facilities. They have to go into Canada and get a special pass due to citizenship and birth issues (we learned lots of fun facts from our Chilokt driver who is one of the few guides that really did grow up there and live full time). The White Pass is a great excursion though and you get to see some amazing views!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

@GPaLarry: Yeah, that’s about how Norway was. I think it rained every day! We just threw on our rain jackets and schlepped around.

I’ll go check out the floating tour of Ketchikan - that’s perfect!

Hey, we're on this cruise also !!! This is our second time to Alaska. Icy Straights Point is a "Disney" port operating only during the cruise season. It's the first port for our cruise. Everyone has been giving you great ideas for the stops. We don't do anything wild or crazy and usually go for the historical excursions or the "Bake Salmon" trips. Juneau is the only port that really thrives on the whale watching, flights, etc. Juneau is a government town so tourism is a second (maybe last) priority. When we last sailed into and out of the port, they didn't allow the ship to play the horn.