Alaska shore excursions---yay or nay

[blueweimer]

We have booked on HAL Westerdam for June 18th Alaskan cruise. Any feedback on shore excursions would be very much appreciated, either good or bad. Also, if you did some shore excursions on your own (not booked through HAL) would love to hear about them.

Thanks so much in advance!:D

[chinita415]

We have booked on HAL Westerdam for June 18th Alaskan cruise. Any feedback on shore excursions would be very much appreciated, either good or bad. Also, if you did some shore excursions on your own (not booked through HAL) would love to hear about them.

Thanks so much in advance!:D

You should post and read the Alaska port forum as well. I just got off the Zaandam and booked my excursions independently. If I read correctly from your previously posts, you are probably my age in your 30's. If you are in good shape and are stopping in Juneau, I highly recommend the Glacier Hike with Above and Beyond. My sister and I booked at the last min. and it was easily one of the highlights.

[PerhamMN]

We did Harv and Marv's whale watching in Juneau, booked independently of the cruise line. They have much smaller boats so you are only out there with a handful of other people. In Ketchikan, we did the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour (another independent one), and it was a blast, especially if you are a Deadliest Catch fan.

I've never been to Sitka or Victoria though (yet!)

[PerhamMN]

You should post and read the Alaska port forum as well. I just got off the Zaandam and booked my excursions independently. If I read correctly from your previously posts, you are probably my age in your 30's. If you are in good shape and are stopping in Juneau, I highly recommend the Glacier Hike with Above and Beyond. My sister and I booked at the last min. and it was easily one of the highlights.

That looks like so much fun! Do you get an hour on the actual glacier?

[Assateague Island Princes]

Head over to the "Ports of Call - Alaska" boards for a ton of information about excursions.

....but since you asked;) - here are some of my favs:

1) Whale Watching with Harv and Marv in Juneau (www.harvandmarvs.com (http://www.harvandmarvs.com)). Spectacular! or rent a car from Rent-A-Wreck and drive yourself "out the road" to Mendenhal Glacier and to Auke Bay and all points in between, take the tram up to the top of Mt. Roberts if the weather is good for fantastic views, have lunch at Tracy's Crab Shack on the pier (next to the libary/parking garage) - best (and enormous!:D) crab legs you'll ever eat!

2) Sitka - HAL's Rhino 4X4 or HAL's kayaking - both were so much fun; or my absolute favorite - a marine wildlife search w/ Capt. Davy on the Esther Sea (www.puffinsandwhales.com (http://www.puffinsandwhales.com)). Spend some time walking thru the Totem Park, take advantage of the small non-profit aquarium along the way, go to the Raptor Center and see those majestic eagles up close and personal; have a reindeer sausage from the food cart on the corner, walk around town taking in the beautiful views - Sitka Harbor is just gorgeous!

3) Skagway - rent a car, order Murray's Guide (google it) for $5, and drive up into the Yukon with the ability to stop when and where you want, traveling up to the stunning Emerald Lake views. Have lunch at Spirit Lake Lodge - best darn blueberry pie we've ever had!

4) Ketchikan - Flightseeing with Michelle of Island Wings (www.islandwings.com (http://www.islandwings.com)); or the Romance Package with Ketchikan Outdoors (google it). Both were wonderful! Walk the Married Man's Trail and Creek Street, go on the Bering Sea Fisherman's excursion if you're a fan of "The Deadliest Catch".

Whatever you choose to do - have a great time. You're just gonna love Alaska!:p

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to cruise critic

in Juneau we have done whale watching through Orca Enterprises on our own -- also in juneau you can get the Blue Bus for $7 per person each way (may go up this year) and go out to Mendenhall Glacier on your own. Also can book Mt Robert's tramway on your own

In sitka depending on where we anchor -- we either took a taxi or walked out to the Raptur Center

[Willsot]

We spent two nights in Seattle prior to sailing and really enjoyed the Argosy Locks sunset cruise there. In Juneau, we took the whale watching excursion, in Sitka, the Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest (have done that one twice), and the Bering Sea Fisherman excursion in Ketchikan. We thought all were excellent.

[trophy_23]

We did Harv and Marv's whale watching in Juneau, booked independently of the cruise line. They have much smaller boats so you are only out there with a handful of other people. In Ketchikan, we did the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour (another independent one), and it was a blast, especially if you are a Deadliest Catch fan.

I've never been to Sitka or Victoria though (yet!)

We did both Of these tours also and in Sitka we went out on a private tour with capt Davey (Esther G Sea Taxi) it was wonderful! Victoria you could just explore town, it is beautiful in the inner harbour at that time of year, or you could go out to the gardens if your into that.

[Jemima]

We just returned from the Westerdam. We did HAL excursions in Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan. All were excellent and worth the price. We did the whale watch in Juneau, the combo Sea Otter & Wildlife Watch with Raptor Center in Sitka, and the Ketchikan cultural tour (forget exact name). The naturalists on both the whale watch and the sea otter watch were excellent and we also saw lots. Both boats were very nice and excellent for viewing. The guide at the raptor center was very good and we had an excellent guide in Ketchikan.

[Sandi3667]

We just returned from the 7-day Alaska cruise on the Oosterdam. Did the Whale Watching Quest in Juneau. The Sea Otter/Raptor Center tour in Sitka. Enjoyed both, but we saw pretty much the same animals on them (aside from the birds at the Raptor Center). We found pricing the same for the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour in Ketchikan, if we booked independently or through HAL.

In Victoria, for the evening port calls, the city is beautiful. I'd skip the Butterfly Gardens. We did the Butchart & Butterfly tour, since I'd been to both, and we had one in our party who really wanted to see them. If we were booking today, I'd do just Butchart only. Gives you a little more time to see the gardens, since the butterflies were all asleep at 10:15 at night. The gardens do get dark, which makes photography more challenging, but they are well lit, so it's still a beautiful stop. The gardens are about a 30-40 minute drive from the harbor, however.

[MsSteinrunner]

Off topic, but as I am owned by a gray weim, I must say that I like your screen name!

[brewersfan]

Sandi3667: Did you do the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour in Ketchikan? I was waiting to hear from you how you liked it. Thank you.

[Sandi3667]

Sandi3667: Did you do the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour in Ketchikan? I was waiting to hear from you how you liked it. Thank you.

Absolutely fantastic. We were met at the gangway a few minutes after getting off the ship by Capt. Derrick Ray. They had people stationed from our pier down to the Aleutian Ballad. We were welcomed onboard. Had a great trip. Weather was overcast, and it started raining partway through, but the seating area is covered & heated, so you don't really notice the weather.

I'm just now coming down off of the cruise-high, so I haven't had time to write any reviews yet. Haven't even had a chance to start weeding through the 3,000 photos I took. :D

[catl331]

If you like salmon, the salmon roasts in Juneau and the Mendenhall glacier are always good. We had a bad experience with Dolly varden tours which we booked online. We did this in Ketchikan. We were supposed to go to the totem poles and see a demo of someone carving etc. Instead he drove us to a spot where his buddies were fishing and talked about their catches and spent quite a bit of time telling us about his trials and tribulations and love life. By the time we got to the totem place the carvers had left and the gift shop was closing. Yuk!

[Syran]

+1 for Captain Davey and the Ester G Sea Taxi in Sitka. Quite possibly our favorite excursion when we went to Alaska. Chartered the whole boat, and found 4 people on our M&G to join us, went very well.

Had some fun with the ORCA watch in Juneau, but it was a bit confusing at their offices, way too much going on.