Shore Excursions

On our upcoming cruise to Alaska on the Regal Princess we would like to do several things .Money is a issue for us but we don't mind spending a little, who knows what tomorrow will bring and if we will ever get back.

We would like to Helicopter ride to a Glacier, Fish for Salmon, and go Whale watching.

I chose Fishing in Ketchikan, Helicopter in Juneau and whale watching in Icy straight. This is the only way the schedule works out to do all 3. We have cruise the Caribbean 16 times and have not done a shore excursion in years do to the fact we know ways around them. Being a first timer to Alaska we thought a excursion would be better. Any thought from you experienced cruises about doing our own and how easy is it to do or just stick with our lineup.

Thanks so much for your time

We would like to Helicopter ride to a Glacier, Fish for Salmon, and go Whale watching.

I chose Fishing in Ketchikan, Helicopter in Juneau and whale watching in Icy straight. Thanks so much for your time

We did the heli-walk ride this May. It was the least expensive of all of them (heli rides) and we booked it ourselves. Our cruise line did not offer the heli/15 minute walk. It was awesome! See pictures. Temsco is across the street from the dock.

We also did the whale watching 2 years ago in Icy Straight. We saw tons of whales (no pun intended). We wanted to do the bear watch but decided we would save our money and do the whale watch there. We booked it the last minute. Our only regret was that the boat was packed. This was in August and it was a pretty cold day. It was still unbelievable. We saw so many whales we were tired of them. I don't think you can be tired of them but you get the idea.

This board highly recommends Captain Larry but I don't know if he goes in Icy Straight. Regardless, the whale watching there was the best.

You didn't mention the RR but you can save money if you book it yourself. They have a website. IN fact, when we went, there were 2 trains going at the same time. One with all the cruise ship people & the other one was for whoever. I think in our car there were 10 people!! We passed the cruise ship train and it was packed. The train is the same train but you get it at the depot down the road. You even get the guide commentary & free water but I believe it was $15 cheaper.

Have fun on your trip. The scenery is out of this world. Make sure you have plenty of memory stick/film.

Claudia

You have made top choices. But independent is superior on a Hoonah whale watch and for the best I suggest FISHES, http://www.visithoonah.com/fishes/

The biggest factor with an independent is they go out for twice as long. The ship tours, essentially only run 2 hours, just back and forth with a little time for the whales.

http://www.coastalhelicopters.com offers the cheapest glacier helicopter landings, very nice personal attention. And Northern Lights fishing out of Ketchikan is highly recommended, my family has gone out with him several times. consistantly excellent fishing trips. http://www.ketchikanfishing.net

You didn't mention the RR but you can save money if you book it yourself. They have a website. IN fact, when we went, there were 2 trains going at the same time. One with all the cruise ship people & the other one was for whoever. I think in our car there were 10 people!! We passed the cruise ship train and it was packed. The train is the same train but you get it at the depot down the road. You even get the guide commentary & free water but I believe it was $15 cheaper.

This is the second time I've read this today. It's making me wonder if I shouldn't cancel my cruise-booked White Pass and just buy tickets that day. If I have to walk to the depot but can save money AND get a less-crowded car, it sounds like a much better deal!

Are the cars definitely the same (the ones used by Princess vs. the ones used by the railroad)? Do you get anything else if you book through the cruiseline (e.g. food, water, a guide) that would make it worthwhile to spend the extra money to book through the ship and sit in the more crowded car?

JD

We sail the carib alot and doing thing ourself has turned out to be cheaper and better most of the time. Since I first wrote this I have booked all my stuff myself. They all pick up at the ship and leave plenty of time to get back. They do this for a living and don't have to pay kickbacks to the ship.

The best one we have ever done was in the Grand Cayman with the stingrays. the ship tour was $119 and we passed, but our friends paid the price. We got to the dock and there was a man selling stingray tours for $35 so we did it. The funny thing about it when we got to the stingrays we were right next to our friends.

The saving I have found in Alaska have been smaller total but the times on the trip are longer!

This is the second time I've read this today. It's making me wonder if I shouldn't cancel my cruise-booked White Pass and just buy tickets that day. If I have to walk to the depot but can save money AND get a less-crowded car, it sounds like a much better deal!

 

Are the cars definitely the same (the ones used by Princess vs. the ones used by the railroad)? Do you get anything else if you book through the cruiseline (e.g. food, water, a guide) that would make it worthwhile to spend the extra money to book through the ship and sit in the more crowded car?

I decided to book with the cruise ship just in case the ship arrival got delayed.... but now I read about how crowded the cruise ship cars can get... I'm having second thoughts.

Is there a penalty to cancel excursions booked thru Celebrity?

I went back and forth about booking the WPRR through the ship or doing it ourselves at the depot...I read that it can be hard to get a ticket if you aren't with a ship (somewhere on here I read that the tickets are almost 100% reserved for the cruise ships in port). *shrug* It's the only excursion we're doing - everything else will be "figure it out when we get there" - so I figured I'd pay the extra to ensure we have seats. Also, we're doing the 8:15am trip...I'm hoping that'll be too early for a lot of people. :)

I went back and forth about booking the WPRR through the ship or doing it ourselves at the depot...I read that it can be hard to get a ticket if you aren't with a ship (somewhere on here I read that the tickets are almost 100% reserved for the cruise ships in port). *shrug* It's the only excursion we're doing - everything else will be "figure it out when we get there" - so I figured I'd pay the extra to ensure we have seats. Also, we're doing the 8:15am trip...I'm hoping that'll be too early for a lot of people. :)

I went on the railroad website. You could actually reserve the tickets in advance. Their departure times are the same as the cruise ship. I already made reservation with Celebrity but after reading how crowded the cruise ship cars can be...I'm having second thoughts.