Advice / suggestions wanted for Girl Scout Alaskan Cruise

Hi all,

Well it's official - my girl scout troop is going on an Alaskan Cruise. We are booked on the Carnival Legend for the July 7th sailing. There are a total of 19 people in our group including adults. The majority of the girls are sophomores in high school with a couple a few years younger.

I would love any tips on how to make this the best possible trip for them as they've worked their tails off raising the money to make it happen.

To give you a sense of what they are thinking of as far as shore excursions go they are looking at the following:

Skagway: a kayaking trip in Haines

Juneau: a combo whale watching / Mendenhall Glacier / Salmon Bake

Ketchikan: not totally sure

Victoria: a tastings tour

In addition to general cruise advice (especially for a large group) I'm looking for suggestions for what else to do in port as they don't want to spend hours on end shopping and how to use the time in Skagway well since we have 14 hours there and even with a 6+ hour shore excursion that leaves a ton of time to do something cool.

They've traveled as a troop many times visiting Cape Cod, a dude ranch in New York State, weekends in Boston and numerous day trips to NYC and around NJ and Pennsylvania so they are used to behaving well in public and are willing to try almost anything.

Thanks so much in advance for any advice - can't wait for July:D

The kayaking in Haines is probably on Chilkoot Lake? Not real exciting. I would also look at rafting on the chilkoot River. Or the raft trip on the Taiya River out of Skagway is very very scenic, add a stop so you can add a little trekking on the Chilkoot trail.

Ketchikan- has excellent walking tours, and immense totem history and availability. Ketchikan Discovery Center- part of the Public Lands is very good.

How about gold panning? It is totally fake but it is fun and they can have their gold put into a pendant or necklace.

DON

Budget Queen's response reminded me of the Chilkoot Hike and Float Excursion in Skagway, It would be very educational to drive past Dyea, to hike a section of the Chilkoot trail and float back to Skagway in a raft. There is so much to learn about the gold rush in Skagway. It is a national park which has an amazing exhibit showing how much the miners were required to transport to the Yukon Territory. There is a very nice museum and period houses. There are also a number of nice hikes of varying difficulty. The visitor's bureau has a trail map with degrees of difficulty.

As a former teacher and a traveler who has been to Skagway several times I would spend my time in Skagway and skip Haines.

Have the girls gone online to the visitor's bureau in each port of call? Each of the towns will be happy to mail you tourist information.....as well as the state of Alaska. Creek Street in Ketchikan is interesting as well as the Hatchery and Eagle Center and Totem Heritage Center, all an easy walk from the ship.

Thanks for the replies - Budget Queen - I'm wondering what about the Chilkoot Lake kayaking you didn't like? I know it's definitely not high adventure (we are considering kayaking at Mendenhall but have to see if that's too high adventure). We have looked at the Chilkoot Hike & Float trip but the girls are partial to kayaking although they could definitely be swayed into trying something new. The problem is they don't want tourist trappy and all the tour books they've picked up imply that staying in the ports is exactly that. And Don, while I agree the gold rush would be cute it is exactly what they don't want to do. They're a little embarrassed that they are going on a cruise as a girl scout trip but doing it because it's the only practical way to see Alaska on a budget that I'm comfortable taking a group of kids on so they want to make up for it by doing really cool (read "non-girly") stuff on their trip.

And oaktreeb, I did see the maps you are discussing for trail hikes in Skagway but I'm concerned that the cool ones are risky on our own and the safe ones are a little on the boring side for teenagers. Are there any specific hikes you would recommend that don't risk us not making it back to the boat because we get lost?:eek:

Thanks again and keep the comments coming - they're all much appreciated.

Make contact with the local scout troop - they may be able to assist or even sponsor you group for the day.

Make contact with the local scout troop - they may be able to assist or even sponsor you group for the day.

The troops could get in touch with each other via social media even before the cruise.

Then the girls may want to keep in touch with their new friends even after the cruise is over, maybe even hosting the Alaska troop for a reciprocal visit at some date in the future.

How about gold panning? It is totally fake but it is fun and they can have their gold put into a pendant or necklace.

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Thanks for the replies - Budget Queen - I'm wondering what about the Chilkoot Lake kayaking you didn't like? I know it's definitely not high adventure (we are considering kayaking at Mendenhall but have to see if that's too high adventure). We have looked at the Chilkoot Hike & Float trip but the girls are partial to kayaking although they could definitely be swayed into trying something new. The problem is they don't want tourist trappy and all the tour books they've picked up imply that staying in the ports is exactly that. And Don, while I agree the gold rush would be cute it is exactly what they don't want to do. They're a little embarrassed that they are going on a cruise as a girl scout trip but doing it because it's the only practical way to see Alaska on a budget that I'm comfortable taking a group of kids on so they want to make up for it by doing really cool (read "non-girly") stuff on their trip.

 

And oaktreeb, I did see the maps you are discussing for trail hikes in Skagway but I'm concerned that the cool ones are risky on our own and the safe ones are a little on the boring side for teenagers. Are there any specific hikes you would recommend that don't risk us not making it back to the boat because we get lost?:eek:

 

Thanks again and keep the comments coming - they're all much appreciated.

I didn't mention it prior, because it appeared your Juneau plans were in place, but FAR FAR superior is kayaking on Mendenhall Lake. It also is simple and no more difficult than kayaking Chilkoot Lake.

With a group, I would suggest seeing if you can privately arrange this with cobooking. You may be able to get your own whale watch boat with Orca Enterprises, who also should be able you to coordinate a Mendenhall Lake kayak trip.

Then in Skagway, I would suggest splitting up the group. As I already mentioned the float trip there is excellent, at the Park Service visitor Center at the least the movie is short and informative. I'm not sure if they would allow you a private walking tour? But perhaps call them in advance. Another group could do the Lower Dewey Lake Hike.

IF you have to all stay together- then the flat walk back to the Gold Rush Cemetery, would give the group the opportunity to see the whole town, walk back on Alaska, and get the view of the airport and school, big difference from home. Doing some research in advance could give you some history on the houses as you walk by. Big benefit- it's all free to "free" up money for your other selections. Even if the park service can't accommodate a private group, with getting there when they open in the morning- you should be able to get a time slot for all of you on their scheduled walking tours as they take 25 people, and run several tours. http://www.nps.gov/klgo

In Ketchlkian, have you looked into totem bright park or the totem museum off of Creek Street? They would be pretty interesting and inexpensive to get to.

As former Boy Scout Leader I can appreciate your situation. Finding activities that all can agree on is hard. If you have enough adult leaders you can split into groups - we always had to have two adults with any group of boys.

Every time we did something above and beyond things like summer camp we always looked for chances to earn merit badges. I am not that familiar with the Girl Scouts program so I can't really comment on what activities would count.

I do like the idea of getting in touch with local troops - it is always good to meet other fellow scouts - and adults. They also know the local area and can provide tour ideas that are unique.

As always I suggest you take a look at www.cruiseportinsider.com the information they have on the ports is great - esp the on your own tab.

In Ketchikan for only a dollar, or 50 cents for students and seniors, they could take the public bus out to Potlatch Park and Totem Bight.

It could be a problem trying to fit so many people on one bus though, unless they split up the group.

BudgetQueen - thank you so much for the info on kayaking Mendenhall not being any more risky than Chilkoot. I think we will definitely go that way. I emailed orca tours for pricing and information on a combo-tour that included the whale watching so that will be perfect. The link for nps is also great - we will definitely try to fit in either the walking tour and/or the informational movie I am curious why splitting the group up would help? It's not undoable but not ideal either so would depend on how important it is.

Bonvoyagie - thanks so much for the cruiseportinsider link. I'm not sure how I didn't find it before but it has a ton of great information and I will be reading forever I think. And it's an interesting point about merit badges - my sons are both in boy scouts and I'm used to that also but I don't always think about it with the girls as the program isn't as badge focused. I will have to take a look at them though as it would be nice to earn a few.

New2cruise1483 - thanks ! We are thinking about visiting Totem Bright but I didn't know about the bus. I will definitely look into that. Thanks again!!

BudgetQueen - thank you so much for the info on kayaking Mendenhall not being any more risky than Chilkoot. I think we will definitely go that way. I emailed orca tours for pricing and information on a combo-tour that included the whale watching so that will be perfect. The link for nps is also great - we will definitely try to fit in either the walking tour and/or the informational movie I am curious why splitting the group up would help? It's not undoable but not ideal either so would depend on how important it is.

 

Bonvoyagie - thanks so much for the cruiseportinsider link. I'm not sure how I didn't find it before but it has a ton of great information and I will be reading forever I think. And it's an interesting point about merit badges - my sons are both in boy scouts and I'm used to that also but I don't always think about it with the girls as the program isn't as badge focused. I will have to take a look at them though as it would be nice to earn a few.

 

New2cruise1483 - thanks ! We are thinking about visiting Totem Bright but I didn't know about the bus. I will definitely look into that. Thanks again!!

My split up suggestion was for the more active to perhaps consider Lower Dewey Lake hike.

IF you happen to have a very early port time in Ketchikan- like 6am, it would be no issue with your entire group taking the city bus to Totem Bight. I dragged my sister out for the 6:25a bus, last year, so I could pack her day. We were the only "tourists" on an empty bus. :) But if you have a later port time, nope, won't work, there is only 1 bus per hour, with them running full.

You may want to try calling Orca Enterprises as well. The Kayak vendor is Above and Beyond.

If you are looking for Kayaking, we had an absolutely fabulous time kayaking with Southeast sea kayaks in Ketchikan. I don't know how much time you have in Ketchikan, but we went on the Orcas Cove trip...they take you on a fast boat to their "base boat" anchored near islands near Ketchikan. As we kayaked we saw salmon jumping to release their eggs, tide pools, hieroglyphics left by native settlers, and a variety of interesting sea creatures as well as bald eagles.

Personally, we thought the hiking in Juneau either to the falls near the Mendenhall visitor center or on Mount Roberts was fantastic.

We also hiked around Skagway and enjoyed that...there are historical interpretive visits as part of skagway historical park. (We also did the railway in Skagway)

When we we

Make contact with the local scout troop - they may be able to assist or even sponsor you group for the day.

If you were there a few weeks earlier... https://www.peacearchpark.org/Hands_Across_the_Border.html

I enjoyed kayaking in Chilkoot Lake on our first cruise to Alaska. It helped that we had a personal guide instead of going with a large group. We also got to have individual kayaks instead of a tandem one. Since we had some experience with kayaking, we got to go farther and see more than the groups that were slowed down by slow people. We also enjoyed kayaking in Ketchikan on our second cruise to Alaska. We would have enjoyed kayaking at Mendenhall Lake more on our third cruise if it had been a prettier day. It was misty and cold the day we were there. Nevertheless, it was neat to kayak on the lake with small ice bergs and to get a different view of the glacier (from a safe distance).

On 3/14/2015 at 3:38 PM, bonvoyagie said:

As former Boy Scout Leader I can appreciate your situation. Finding activities that all can agree on is hard. If you have enough adult leaders you can split into groups - we always had to have two adults with any group of boys.

 

Every time we did something above and beyond things like summer camp we always looked for chances to earn merit badges. I am not that familiar with the Girl Scouts program so I can't really comment on what activities would count.

 

I do like the idea of getting in touch with local troops - it is always good to meet other fellow scouts - and adults. They also know the local area and can provide tour ideas that are unique.

 

As always I suggest you take a look at www.cruiseportinsider.com the information they have on the ports is great - esp the on your own tab.

@bonvoyagie I'd love some ideas on earning a merit badge while on our cruise!  Do you have any contacts?  Our scout has the goal of earning a merit badge in every state.  We are cruising to Alaska this summer.  We will be in Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway.

1 hour ago, PTN96 said:

@bonvoyagie I'd love some ideas on earning a merit badge while on our cruise!  Do you have any contacts?  Our scout has the goal of earning a merit badge in every state.  We are cruising to Alaska this summer.  We will be in Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway.

Just a quick suggestion.  You responded to a 4 year old post.  You would be more likely to get an answer to your question by asking it as a new post as opposed to responding to an existing post especially as your question is different from the subject of the OP's post.

DON

I have been out of touch with scouting for so many years now I don't have a clue when it comes to the new merit badges. As for contacts in the ports I suspect that only Juneau or Ketchikan would have any form of scout program All you can do is search the internet for them. If there are merit badges involving nature I am sure there would be enough of that on any excursion. Just make sure that your adults are certified on those  badges so you can get proper signoff.

2 hours ago, bonvoyagie said:

I have been out of touch with scouting for so many years now I don't have a clue when it comes to the new merit badges. As for contacts in the ports I suspect that only Juneau or Ketchikan would have any form of scout program All you can do is search the internet for them. If there are merit badges involving nature I am sure there would be enough of that on any excursion. Just make sure that your adults are certified on those  badges so you can get proper signoff.

  

Thank you so much. I’ve contacted the council/districts asking for assistance. We will keep looking. 

2 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Just a quick suggestion.  You responded to a 4 year old post.  You would be more likely to get an answer to your question by asking it as a new post as opposed to responding to an existing post especially as your question is different from the subject of the OP's post.

 

DON

Thank Don. I looked to be sure bonvoyagie was still active and wanted to actual reply to their comment on merit badges. :) they’ve  replied so it’s all good.