Excursions canceled for rain? What are the odds?

Last time we went to Alaska we had sunny weather every single day... we were so lucky. So far it is looking like we could have rain every single day. I'm just curious if we should be concerned that any of our excursions are going to be canceled?

I know rain is an everyday part of life and Alaska, I'm not complaining about the rain, that's not what I'm saying.

Just wondering if I should do some research on backup excursions so that I can jump on them quickly if mine are canceled.

Skagway,we are doing the Wildlife Reserve, and Ketchikan we are doing the adventure Kart, at Mount McKinley Lodge we are doing the glacier Float Trip, not the white water rafting one. And at Denali Lodge we are doing evening ATV Adventure.

Just to be clear I'm not complaining about the rain.

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My daughter did the wildlife preserve in Skagway in May. It was low 50's and pouring rain. I didn't even get off the ship. Excursion went as planned ( and she loved it.)

That's the one I figured would be the most likely to proceed. And possibly all of them will. I personally know that I'm not going to enjoy ATVing the pouring rain. So if it is that way I really hope they cancel it. Because I can't see that I would just cancel it myself and lose the money. But I really don't think I would enjoy it.

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On our second cruise, our Ketchikan excursion was the boat to Misty Fjords and floatplane back. After casting off, our boat tour guide told us that the weather for flying was questionable, and that the the pilots may declare the flight portion "unable". Sure enough, the pilots said "unable", and halfway (or so) to Misty Fjords, our boat turned around and returned us to the dock. Our excursion fee was refunded to our onboard account (or maybe it disappeared completely). Our only regret was that we weren't able to make a gametime decision and do something else instead, though I suspect we would have had to forfeit our fee if we wanted to punt.

Nonetheless, I do build a ranked list of what we'd like to do as an alternate, just in case. On one of our cruises, a day before our visit to Skagway, the WP&YR train had a derailment, and all service was halted for a few days to investigate. Everyone had to scramble to find alternate excursions, and in an event like that, I'd much prefer to have prioritized my choices so I could quickly file my requests and hope for the best.

On my August 18-25 Seward to Vancouver cruise on RC, my float plane trip in Ketchikan was cancelled due to rain. Also the ship turned around part way up Disenchantment Bay and we never made it to Hubbard Glacier.

No, most trips do not cancel with rain. They operate as scheduled. You aren't doing any flights, which cancel for visibility which sometimes goes with rain.

This time frame, I never book these type of outdoor tours- kayaking, since I don't want to go in rain. I've had no trouble late booking, in good weather. There are't any glaciers near the Princess McKinley Lodge- if that is where you are staying? Where is your tour?

McKinley lodge. It's called the glacier float trip. We went the same time in 2014 and it was 75 all week.

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Very few excursions are ever cancelled because of rain. Ones I can think of are not on your list.

Keith

Very few excursions are ever cancelled because of rain. Ones I can think of are not on your list.

 

Keith

That's what I have been seeing. No planes involved.

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We're currently docked in Ketchikan. It rained in on Monday but our whale watching/Mendenall Glacier cruise went on and it was wet but still awesome! Several peoole had their helicopter Tours cancelled because of the rain though.....

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Several peoole had their helicopter Tours cancelled because of the rain though.....

 

 

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Visibility ceilings, not just rain. Of course, the fog and rain can be together. I have flown multiple times in rain, that alone doesn't cancel trips usually.

We just got back and someone in our group had a float trip scheduled for Skagway which was cancelled due to rain making the water conditions unsafe.

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Since Alaska is in a temperate rain forest, rain is just taken in stride by excursions. Fog, low ceilings, and high winds definitely could cause cancellations:

Juneau 2014

I agree with all of these posts. The excursions that consistently cancel because of rain/viability issues are the flights. Most everything else goes rain or shine (and in August/September it's often rain!) Our first trip it rained nearly every day, but we still had an amazing time.

Depends on what type of excursion it is and how much wind, if any, goes along with the rain. Excursions involving VFR (Visual Flight Rule) aircraft operations will be canceled if the visibility and ceiling is below minimums. Also, strong winds will have an impact upon some shore excursions. On a two week cruise to Alaska, San Fran. to Vancouver, a few years ago, Valdez was our northern most port, we booked a kayak tour that day, unfortunately it was blowing and raining hard. We decided to cancel the kayak venture. But when I went down to do so I was told they had already terminated it. The rest of the tours that day went off as scheduled.

Visibility ceilings, not just rain. Of course, the fog and rain can be together. I have flown multiple times in rain, that alone doesn't cancel trips usually.

You are correct as usual! The people we had met who said their excursions were cancelled said it was due to rain but the ceiling was low that day.......

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We just cruised last week and our Helicopter Excursion in Juneau was cancelled due to rain and low visibility. We were bummed but did the Canoe excursion to the Glacier which was great.

We were in Ketchikan in August, and it was pouring so our kayaking excursion was cancelled. We ended walking around creek street, shopping, and having lunch so it was still a great day in the rain :) I'd say to have a few ideas of what you could in the rain just in case.