help w/ alaskan shore excursions please

[sarasmile]

My husband presented me with an alaskan cruise for our anniversary. We leave sunday but have not booked ANY shore excusions. :oops:

Some people have suggested that you can book them yourself in port... etc.

Any suggestions (through HAL or otherwise)?

Our ports of call:
Hubbard Glacier
Juneau
Sitka
Ketchikan
Victoria

Oh, also, we're travelling on the westerdam. We had originally booked cabin 1089-D but when I did the advance checkin thingy it now says our cabin is 8111... I'm so new to this... is that an upgrade to a verandah? Anyone familiar enough with the boat to say if that's a keeper? :D
TIA!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Answered your questions on the other web site.

[krewzin]

Try the Alaska section of Cruise Critic:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

[Stevesan]

My husband presented me with an alaskan cruise for our anniversary. We leave sunday but have not booked ANY shore excusions. :oops:

Some people have suggested that you can book them yourself in port... etc.

Any suggestions (through HAL or otherwise)?

Our ports of call:
Hubbard Glacier
Juneau
Sitka
Ketchikan
Victoria

TIA!!

Sara, here are a few suggestions. I'm a bit lazy so I've merely exceprted from the review I wrote:


Besides the glorious scenery, the main reason for an Alaskan cruise is, of course, the ports. We scheduled shore excursions both through the ship and with independent operators. All of the ship’s tours were first rate with exceptional guides. Independent tours offer flexibility of schedule as well as a more intimate and personalized experience. They are generally less expensive, as well. Alaska ports make it very easy to book independent operators. I reserved most of ours before departure, but many can be booked right on the pier. Ketchikan, for example, has a shed on the dock with about twenty different tour desks lined up waiting for you. If you’re after a flight seeing or glacier landing type tour, you should advance book. Nearly all the tour operators have web sites. These are easy to find by going to each community’s web page where you’ll usually find links to the tours. Most of the Saxman Village, Gold Panning or Hiking type tours can wait till the last minute. Our best ship’s tours were with Allen Marine in Sitka. The Sea Otter Quest, a three-hour trip, was most notable. Although Allen Marine employs large boats, the narration and amenities are excellent. Their boats can take up to 150 passengers. Ours was not that large. I didn’t make a head count, but I’d estimate we had about ninety souls on board. The boat has a totally enclosed lower deck and a partially enclosed upper. I’d urge you to take an upper deck seat where there is a protective ‘U’ shaped wraparound glass windscreen that is open in the rear allowing air circulation throughout. Because the lower deck is totally enclosed, there is little airflow. The atmosphere inside becomes extremely close, inducing seasickness. The ride out to the viewing areas is quite rough and at high speed. It’s a lot of fun, but when the boat slowed down and became still for wildlife viewing, every below deck youngster, including ours, became ill. I took Philip upstairs and some kind folks let us sit with them until he recovered. Those who stayed below remained semi-comatose for the rest of the tour. Along the way we saw one humpback whale, and rafts of sea otters. On the return southbound leg we took the Silver Bay Cruise. This cruise is in an enclosed bay, so it was a much smoother ride. It culminates in a visit to a salmon hatchery.

Our best independent tour was a three hour Whale Watching Cruise with Orca Enterprises, aka Capt. Larry, while in Juneau. Capt Larry’s boat is custom built and seats a maximum of thirty-two passengers; however, he normally books only twenty-four, leaving extra wiggle room. The “Awesome Orca” is a forty-two foot water-jet propulsion craft with an enclosed lower deck. There is a roomy and comfortable exposed viewing deck on the aft end. The top deck is totally open for SRO viewing. Up-top limit is eight at a time, so we all periodically rotate. The trip through Auke Bay to the viewing area is at high speed, but the waters are calm throughout. The still waters in the bay combine with the smoother jet engines for a far smoother ride than our Sitka experience. We saw a number of whales, one of whom breeched directly in front of our bow. Two humpbacks were deep diving in tandem as a ballet duo, showing their flukes with each dive. Sea Lions and Dall’s Porpoises were abundant. Alas, no seals or orcas appeared today. Orca Enterprises is a truly first class operation. Capt. Larry provides the narration and finds the wildlife. His web site is: http://www.alaskawhalewatching.com/ (http://www.alaskawhalewatching.com/). You need to book this tour about one month in advance.

For the northbound leg, we had booked a helicopter/glacier landing tour in Juneau. The ship contracts with Temsco Helicopter who is the only operator licensed to land on Mendenhall Glacier. The weather was rainy, but open for flying, so we took off. Unfortunately, when we arrived over Mendenhall the weather shut down. Landings were cancelled and we had to return to base. One advantage of a back-to-back cruise is the potential to make up for lost opportunities. Since I had scheduled Orca Enterprises for the southbound leg, I stopped by their office on the pier and asked Becky to schedule Coastal Helicopter in conjunction with the boat tour. This permitted Orca to coordinate our boat tour and helicopter trip. The shuttle bus from the boat dropped us off at Coastal’s base. Coastal took us flight seeing over a few glaciers and landed on Norris Glacier. We had a beautiful sunny day, so both the boat trip and glacier landing came off great. Coastal is a much smaller operation than Temsco, but our pilot was skilled and an excellent tour guide.

A don’t miss is the Raptor Center in Sitka. You don’t need to book a tour. The Center provides frequent guided tours through their site. Each tour finishes with a video and a talk by one of the Naturalists. A Metro shuttle bus stops at the dock, runs through town out to The Raptor Center and circles back every half hour. The shuttle fare is $7.00, good all day. The Raptor center’s web site is at: http://www.alaskaraptor.org/ (http://www.alaskaraptor.org/). There are great photo ops here.

While on the subject of eagles, you’ll be pleased to know that they are no longer on the endangered species list, and they are absolutely everywhere. Our first stop on land, in Ketchikan, we stopped in a wooded area. There were eagles in the trees just above who proceeded to fly out and return in dive-bomber fashion. It was a marvelous display. Our tour guide said that they are well paid! Eagles cover the harbor islands and rocks in Sitka. Their favorite food is McDonald’s French fries.

Another first rate independent operator is Ketchikan City Tours who offer a Sea Kayak tour. We were provided with excellent guides and safe, well maintained and easy to operate kayaks. This is another tour you can book dockside. They’re at desk #11 and their web site is: http://citytours.alaskamade.com/ (http://citytours.alaskamade.com/).

[FoxyTerrier]

Oh, also, we're travelling on the westerdam. We had originally booked cabin 1089-D but when I did the advance checkin thingy it now says our cabin is 8111... I'm so new to this... is that an upgrade to a verandah? Anyone familiar enough with the boat to say if that's a keeper? :D
TIA!!

Yes - that's a Verandah Keeper. Have a great trip!!!

[jamespebbles]

My husband presented me with an alaskan cruise for our anniversary. We leave sunday but have not booked ANY shore excusions. :oops:

Some people have suggested that you can book them yourself in port... etc.

Any suggestions (through HAL or otherwise)?

Our ports of call:
Hubbard Glacier
Juneau
Sitka
Ketchikan
Victoria

Oh, also, we're travelling on the westerdam. We had originally booked cabin 1089-D but when I did the advance checkin thingy it now says our cabin is 8111... I'm so new to this... is that an upgrade to a verandah? Anyone familiar enough with the boat to say if that's a keeper? :D
TIA!!
We`re just back from the Westerdam cruise to Alaska. You`ll love it. Whatever you do, try to go whale watching with Capt. Larry in Juneau. It was the highlight of my trip. You can also buy a ticket for them to drop you off at Mendenhall Glacier on the way back ($6.00 each way.) It`s beautiful! We also did the sea otter and wildlife quest in Sitka, but after Capt. Larry`s whale watching, I found the Sitka one boring. We booked the rest of the tours after we were on board: Saxman Village and Lumberjack show were pretty good in Ketchikan. The Ale and Pub tour is loads of fun in Victoria. Have a great trip.

[tickleddpink]

We also just got back last Saturday - one of our major highlights was flightseeing the Misty Fjords Monument with Michelle of Island Charters. I second Capt. Larry's whale watching and we also had a fishing charter in Sitka and caught a king salmon and 2 halibut each. And to think our boat's captain told another boat "I've got a couple of women, we'll probablyl be doing a lot of sightseeing..." He hadn't met my cousin who was determined to catch a king. I was along for the ride and of course caught the first one! A total haul of 2 kings and 8 halibut (20 pounders, perfect for eating) with 4 fishing licenses.

My biggest regret was not having more time in Ketchikan!

Since there will be several ships in each port, make sure you book your excursions either before you go through Capt. Larry and/or Island Charters, if you choose, or on board the ship right away. We did independent tours the whole way and it was great.

[richcrow]

We`re just back from the Westerdam cruise to Alaska. You`ll love it. Whatever you do, try to go whale watching with Capt. Larry in Juneau. It was the highlight of my trip. You can also buy a ticket for them to drop you off at Mendenhall Glacier on the way back ($6.00 each way.) It`s beautiful! We also did the sea otter and wildlife quest in Sitka, but after Capt. Larry`s whale watching, I found the Sitka one boring. We booked the rest of the tours after we were on board: Saxman Village and Lumberjack show were pretty good in Ketchikan. The Ale and Pub tour is loads of fun in Victoria. Have a great trip.

DW and I have booked the ALe and Pub Tour in Victoria. I'm glad to here that you enjoyed it. What all did you get to do on the tour and how many pubs did you you end up going to?

Thanks,
Richard