Rbel4
May 22nd, 2004, 11:42 AM
We are on the July 19th Dawn Princess and are trying to decide whether to do a helicopter trip (pilot choice with 2 stops) in Juneau or Skagway. Any Advice?
irbgolfin
May 22nd, 2004, 12:32 PM
We did a pilot's choice with Temsco out of Skagway last year, and it was one of the highlights of our trip. My wife had never been in a small aircraft of any kind, and she was not sure about doing it, but agreed to give it a try. Afterwards, she said it was great!
I can't compare to Juneau, but during my research it seemed that the potential for weather problems was greater in Juneau. As it turned out, there was a low ceiling that had the possibility of trouble, but we got the trip in just fine, cloudy, overcast sort of day.
We landed on a glacier, walked around, then landed on a mountainside overlooking the confluence of two glaciers. We got Chris as a pilot, nice guy, one of the more experienced pilots, everyone liked him. Forgot which cruise ship travel channel episode it is (maybe a Royal Caribbean), but when they go to do a helicopter trip, he's the guide! What a hoot, after we returned and watched this show, here he is! And the Denali bus trip guide we had was also on the same show, Clay. The mountain was out, and we had a wonderful drink at Clay's Cafe (aka Stony Bridge, IIRC), as he said, location, location, location...
I would vote for Skagway since it worked out so good for us, but I'd say do whichever works into your schedule, do it! I would think the Juneau trip would have similar sightseeing opportunities.
irbgolfin
Taters
May 22nd, 2004, 06:50 PM
I prefer my pilots tall, dark and sober! Thanks for askin'!
Taters http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
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maxwelldr
May 22nd, 2004, 06:58 PM
We checked and there is a long trip by van I guess in Juneau to get to the copter. We were also told that the whale watch trip in Juneau was something not to be missed. We are doing the helicopter and dog sled trip in Skagway.
Enjoy your trip.