Salmon, Bears, Whales

We are taking a Princess cruise next July and would like to see bears, whales and salmon. We will stop in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchican. My husband is adamant that we not do any excursion involving flying and I have been looking at Princess excursions and it seems like we would need to take a plane if we wanted to see bears. I would appreciate advice/input about this. Thank you!

We did a phenomenal floatplane trip from Ketchikan to Traitors Cove with Island Wings on August 3rd. It was one of the highlights of our trip. Three hours of great bear watching above and beyond the travel time. The floatplane ride was fun and Island Wings has a spotless safety record.

That said, if you won't consider flying, Princess had a boat trip to Neets Bay from Ketchikan. But I believe any bear sightings would be from the boat and somewhat hit or miss.

We saw one bear from our cruise ship along the shore in Glacier Bay, but that's it. No luck at Steep Creek near Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau or during an all-day drive into the Yukon from Skagway.

Juneau is incredible for whale watching. We used Harv and Marv's out of Auke Bay and saw many whales, including several breaches.

Alaska exceeded all of our expectations.

The only place we have seen bears on the coast without flying is at Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier, once in a tree. It was a cub. Gastineau Guiding has an excursion that has the potential for both bears and whales. I think it's called Alaska's Whales and Mendenhall Glacier Trail. As for salmon, both Mendenhall Glacier streams and Katchikan's Creek Street can have salmon. Good luck.

The only place we have seen bears on the coast without flying is at Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier, once in a tree. It was a cub. Gastineau Guiding has an excursion that has the potential for both bears and whales. I think it's called Alaska's Whales and Mendenhall Glacier Trail. As for salmon, both Mendenhall Glacier streams and Katchikan's Creek Street can have salmon. Good luck.

Gastineau Guiding combo- trip, is a flying combo to Hoonah.

They have several combo trips that do not involve flying, one a photo safari, one a scientist trip where you sample the water and the trip mentioned.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. :)

Your other post- noted a cruisetour?

Exactly WHAT, have you booked? And what date are you going?

I'll be blunt- a cruise tour is a BIG mistake with a family, in my opinion. First- it's the most costly option seeing the least. Far superior to be on your own and not stuck with fixed point to point schedules.

A bigger problem if you only have one night at the Denali Princess and on the Natural History tour. :(

This is your jackpot opportunity for bears- BUT, I recommend getting to at least Eielson, which the cruise tours don't.

For whales- book a whale watch out of Juneau, you can see some from a cruise ship- but- it requires a large investment of time- with a good pair of wide angle binoculars. Finally- the acceptance of 2 mintues of view- with being out for hours.

Salmon- end of July through August should have a run, in at least one of your ports.

They have several combo trips that do not involve flying, one a photo safari, one a scientist trip where you sample the water and the trip mentioned.

I'm talking bears. They fly to Hoonah- where it is more likely to see bears- with them also being the more desired browns. There is no bear area that is worth much- low sighting stats- without a fly in, out of Juneau. And certainly on a scheduled tour- a poor choice- if it's even offered.

I agree wholeheartedly that a cruise line land tour is not the best or most flexible way to see the interior of Alaska. That's what We were originally thinking about, and I was so glad I did the research on these boards and elsewhere. It helped me to see how little time is spent doing activities and how much time is spent on buses and trains. A cruisetour may be preferable for those with mobility issues or who can't easily manage their own luggage, but I think you miss a lot. Nice as the cruise line lodgings are, they seem to provide a very "corporate" experience, and part of the fun for us was trying different local lodgings and restaurants and meeting real Alaskans. DIY is incredibly easy in Alaska.

I also agree that Denali National Park is a great opportunity to see wildlife, but we were not so lucky the day we were there on the Eielson shuttle. We only spotted one bear the entire day, and no moose. We did see lots of caribou. We had a bad weather day and the bus windows were often covered in mud. In addition, we had the worst driver ever and he was no help at all in alerting us to wildlife. Better luck next time.

You can reliably check off all three without even going to Alaska!

Whale-watching is available from Metro Vancouver as well as sites on Vancouver Island (NB: it's also well-worth doing a whalewatch out of Juneau as you're guaranteed to spot humpbacks, while down here the odds favour Orcas throughout the season) and between lower pricing and our weak dollar, it's really good value now. Beluga whales are also found in the Vancouver Aquarium.

Grouse Mountain has a couple of grizzlies in a habitat, even downtown Vancouver has had the occasional Black Bear, and there are tons of the b*ggers all around Whistler (which has bear tours that do not involve any flying!) a couple of hours north of Vancouver.

As to Salmon - they don't respect borders, so we have all the same species here as in Alaska. If you're really keen to have a unique experience you can go snorkeling with salmon on Vancouver Island, and almost every restaurant that isn't 100% vegetarian will have salmon for you to taste;-)

If you are planning a cruise-tour you will definitely be starting or ending in Vancouver anyway, so perhaps you'll find some of the above useful.

There is a fish ladder at the salmon hatchery in Juneau that will probably be teeming with salmon in mid- to late-July. It's not out of your way if you're driving out to Mendenhall. We also saw a bear roadside in this vicinity.

Yes we are doing a cruise tour. We will be in Denali 2 nights and will either do the Tundra Wilderness Tour or the Kantishna Experience. Don't know which one, but for sure not interested in the shortest one.

Yes we are doing a cruise tour. We will be in Denali 2 nights and will either do the Tundra Wilderness Tour or the Kantishna Experience. Don't know which one, but for sure not interested in the shortest one.

When in July will you be in Ketchikan? I have gone 2x early in July and missed the salmon running. Hopefully you will be there later in July.

Yes we are doing a cruise tour. We will be in Denali 2 nights and will either do the Tundra Wilderness Tour or the Kantishna Experience. Don't know which one, but for sure not interested in the shortest one.

What tour do you have included? You do know about the shuttle buses? Princess is the only cruise line who, refunds these tours (if they continue what they have always done). Does require some independent ability, but another option- that is one of the best bargains in Alaska. :)

Not sure, with your OP, if you want the salmon and bears together?

The land part begins on July 24 and the cruise on the 30th. I am just now researching the excursions but I cannot book anything now because it is too early. I am interested in the Denali park shuttle buses. Would love to hear opinions.

The land part begins on July 24 and the cruise on the 30th. I am just now researching the excursions but I cannot book anything now because it is too early. I am interested in the Denali park shuttle buses. Would love to hear opinions.

I recommend at least the Eielson Shuttle bus. Simple to go on your own, BUT you do have a few extra steps- cancel and get a refund from Princess, THEN book yourself on the shuttle bus you want. http://www.reservedenali.com You DO have to take ALL your own food and drink with you, AND you HAVE to get yourself to the Wilderness Access Center- where you get the shuttle bus. Princess runs a lodge shuttle bus there, that starts at 7am, if taking that lodge shuttle then don't reserve the park shuttle bus before 8am. You can book next year. Bring your cruise tour paper work with you, so you can get a refund of the Park Fee. You do have to pay it to book the shuttle buses, online.

I asked above about your OP with the salmon and bear mention. Those are ok with you, to see separately?

Yes, separately is good.