Alaskan Which port has the best ziplining...Skagway, Juneau or Ketchikan?

We are a family of four. Our two daughters are 14 and 16 and really want to do the zipline. Our Princess Cruise offers it on all 3 ports and I cannot decide which port or zipline company offers the most thrill for your buck. Can anyone help me out? We sail July 31st out of San Francisco. I have checked the Princess Boards and see nothing in reference to anyone zipling??:o Also, any good tips for shore excursion are MORE than welcomed!

Great question

I want to Zip line also

Our July 1st cruise isn't going to Skagway:(

(If it did, I would be on train tour).

The best zipline is at Icy Strait Point, the shortest is at Skagway. Juneau and Ketchikan get about equal reviews.

IMHO as "thrilling" as ziplining is there probably isn't anything special about doing it an Alaskan port versus the Carribean or the many other forrest/tree resort areas in the world, they all seem to be offering it. I'd say take a look at the more unique excursion that are more "alaskan" whale watching, glacier trekking, wildlife tours, salmon fishing, float plane to lakes/fjords. I know all very expensive maybe less exciting/adventurous than zipling but few others places can you find some of the other offerings. 20 years from now you can still go ziplining but who knows where the glacier and wildlife situation will be :confused:

Happy planning!

We are a family of four. Our two daughters are 14 and 16 and really want to do the zipline. Our Princess Cruise offers it on all 3 ports and I cannot decide which port or zipline company offers the most thrill for your buck. Can anyone help me out? We sail July 31st out of San Francisco. I have checked the Princess Boards and see nothing in reference to anyone zipling??:o Also, any good tips for shore excursion are MORE than welcomed!

Thank-you Yukon for the tip. I think after reading on the boards further we may opt for zipping in Ketchikan.

@Chipmaster, I do agree with you comment about getting a more "Alaskan" excursion however our girls are counting the days to do that and then to see some eagles, sled dogs, glaciers, the different trains and ???? Thank-you for your suggestion!:D

IMHO as "thrilling" as ziplining is there probably isn't anything special about doing it an Alaskan port versus the Carribean or the many other forrest/tree resort areas in the world, they all seem to be offering it. I'd say take a look at the more unique excursion that are more "alaskan" whale watching, glacier trekking, wildlife tours, salmon fishing, float plane to lakes/fjords. I know all very expensive maybe less exciting/adventurous than zipling but few others places can you find some of the other offerings. 20 years from now you can still go ziplining but who knows where the glacier and wildlife situation will be :confused:

 

Happy planning!

So ziplining in the Carribean you might see eagles and bears as you actually zipline? (Alaskan humour intended) Ive ziplined in Alaska and one time when ziplining I had a great time seeing some bears off in the distance. This Alaskans heart skipped a beat as I was I was glad they where not that close. I live in bear country as it is where I live. Ok most of Alaska is bear country hello but I live in a place where the bears are out in our drive way and in the lake hanging out.

Anyway just pointing that even ziplining in Alaska can provide a unique oppurtuinity to see unique wildlife.

Oh and here is a tip those bolted down containers that seem kind of wierd and ugly those are bear proof garbage cans for trash.

Another tip for people traveling in Alaska dont wear a lot of perfume it can attract the wrong kind of attention from some animals. Its the same with really smelly snacks like say sardines, salmon and other fish type items.

Anyway if the kids want to zipline in Alaska awesome I hope they have a blast and why not?

Im an Alaskan and I even have a Tshirt that says "This Alaskan ziplines in Alaska". Yea yea what can I say its Alaskan humour.

Oh and dont forget the Mosqueto repellent and sunscreen folks :)

Adri :)

Adri,

As they say lmao!! You are funny. Thanks for all the heads up about perfume (I'm not a fan of the stuff). :D

I did the zip lining in Juneau, Belize and Ketchikan. I thought the Juneau trip was wonderful in that it included a boat ride to Douglas Island (where we saw many seals), a jeep ride, and a swing through the trees were we saw eagles. Your teenagers will love it and I would highly recommend it. It is fun for the whole family but I found that my teens really got a thrill out of this excursion. Whale watching is nice but to a teenager, sitting on a boat bobbing up and down for a couple of hours to see a few dorsal fins 300 yards away vs. swinging through the trees at a relatively fast pace, is up a teenager's alley.

Thank you Middle Aged and Happy

Juneau is where I will be zipping :D

Adri,

 

As they say lmao!! You are funny. Thanks for all the heads up about perfume (I'm not a fan of the stuff). :D

Your welcome I try to be funny but sometimes it comes out wrong lol. I hope you enjoy my beatiful state and have a great time. Be safe, have fun and have a beary good time hahaha :)

Adri

@MiddleAge and Happy AND Adri, I'm going to seal the deal! Juneau zippline it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank-you both sooo much! I'm going to find a happy face on this avatar thing now....:):):):):)

I did the zip lining in Juneau, Belize and Ketchikan. I thought the Juneau trip was wonderful in that it included a boat ride to Douglas Island (where we saw many seals), a jeep ride, and a swing through the trees were we saw eagles. Your teenagers will love it and I would highly recommend it. It is fun for the whole family but I found that my teens really got a thrill out of this excursion. Whale watching is nice but to a teenager, sitting on a boat bobbing up and down for a couple of hours to see a few dorsal fins 300 yards away vs. swinging through the trees at a relatively fast pace, is up a teenager's alley.

I agree I think ziplining on Douglas Island is much more interesting to most teens and these teens want to do it so bad so why not?

Ziplining is fun and im hooked :)

Adri

We've done ziplines quite a few times, and Alaska's was the absolute best. We did the Rainforest Canopy and Zipline Expedition in Juneau, and I'd highly recommend it, especially for teenagers. The highspeed boat ride to the island was a blast, then we boarded 4X4s to ride up to the lines. The ziplines themselves were the tallest and longest ones we've done. (And also the safest.) The ones in St. Lucia seemed like paperclips attached to dental floss compared to these. Book this one. They'll love it.

We did the zip line in Juneau and loved it.

Family of 4 - kids were 17 and 21 at the time.

It was a few hours long and an adventure! with about 10 different zip lines and a suspension bridge.

I have a fairly detailed review and pics in my trip report below.

we will be going to Alaska in June 2015 and want to zipline. Just wondering if opinions have changed since 2010 regarding which zipline is best. It will be just me and my sig other going -- over 50

thanks

Our cruise stops at Icy Strait Point as well, so if we have the option, would you recommend ziplining there over the other ports? We haven't done the Caribbean and we don't have any ziplines in Australia (that I know of...). I quite like the idea of ziplining down a mountain towards the sea near the ship (sort of), rather than through trees....

Our cruise stops at Icy Strait Point as well, so if we have the option, would you recommend ziplining there over the other ports? We haven't done the Caribbean and we don't have any ziplines in Australia (that I know of...). I quite like the idea of ziplining down a mountain towards the sea near the ship (sort of), rather than through trees....

My family has done ziplining in the rain forrest of San Juan..and the one at ISP actually is the one that they still talk about...book it through your ship..actually the only way you can and it does book up fast...you won't be disappointed :eek:

That's a great recommendation!

I checked the shore excursions through the ship (Celebrity) - and the only options they give for the zipline are 10.30, 11.15 or 12pm, but we booked Misty Bay for late morning and will only be back by 2pm. Do you know of another way we can book the zipline for the afternoon? Our cruise is only in May so I wonder if more times will open up....

If not I will need to rebook Misty Bay for the afternoon so we can do the zipline in the morning, but would prefer the other way round.

For those of you that have done Juneau and ISP Ziplines, my 67 year old mom would like to go ziplining. I am a little nervous about her being able to due to the fact that she often has to walk with a cane. What thoughts do you have on how difficult each one of those would be for her? Thanks in advance.

Great question, we are on Princess too, leaving Vancouver on 5/30/15. I booked the Rainforest Canopy and Zipline Expedition in Juneau. I booked it for the afternoon, as we will do our own Mendenhall Glacier trail/trek, first thing in the morning.

So excited!

Google the ISP Zip rider.

It's world class and world renowned as a most impressive zipline. You have to drive up a mountain road to get to it sometimes snow is still present up there because of it's height.

Icy Strait Point has a great one http://www.ziprider.com/rides/icy-strait-point/