surgie

Thanks for the information. Am I understanding correctly that if we can get ourselves to the Visitor Center by taxi, there will likely be passes there? (July 14, 2024). The cruise line offers various tours that include Mendenhall but they are paired with things we are not interested in like a salmon bake.

We'll be in port from 1:00-10:00 on July 14. Family members will do different afternoon activities before meeting in town for dinner at 6:00 or so. After dinner some will take the tram and maybe do a short hike. In 2015 my husband and I ate at Tracy's Crab Shack and it was crazy with commotion besides expensive, even then. Looking for a different experience with 6 adults and 5 kids ages 5-11. We don't all have to sit together. Any suggestions that would be convenient to our plans?

We have hired transportation to Bears, Raptors, Park (since there are 11 of us). Considering calling it a day for organized activities and doing the rest DIY. Or...considering a hike with Tongass Treks with some/all of us. Which means we need to grab lunch between. Excursions are generally expensive (a lot more than in 2015!). But I also don't want to miss some key things and sometimes that means a paid excursion.

Thanks for the clarification. No, we are not interested in the city bus.

Thank you for the information. I had thought I had read elsewhere that you needed to walk 1.5 miles from the bus and not everyone in our group can do that. But this sounds easy. When I go to the Blue Bus website it says it is not taking bookings. I realize the seasons over but I have booked many excursions for 2024 and many offered through our ship are sold out already. Maybe Blue Bus doesn't take advance bookings?

I am trying to get our excursions set for our July 2024 cruise on RCCL. In Juneau we (family of 11 people) would like to visit the Mendenhall visitor's center. I know we can take a city bus and walk 1.5 miles but that doesn't work for the make-up of our group. I want to get something booked since I had read about ticket shortages this summer. But our cruise line pairs the glacier with helicopter outings (not interested) or salmon bakes etc. We just want to go to the visitor center and back. How do we accomplish this? And...in 2015 I seem to remember we walked out on the glacier. Could this have been possible then but no longer due to receding of the glacier?

We are traveling with 11 in July 2024 (6 adults and 5 kids ages 5-11). The parents made the decision not to do the train and I think for us it's a good call. We need some activity!! My husband and I previously rented an SUV from Avis in Skagway but it was just the two of us. For next summer though, we booked Midnight Sun Excursions - a private van tour that will fit all of us. It has great reviews for anyone looking for a private tour rather than driving yourselves. We are doing the 7-hr. Yukon tour which parallels the train. But we'll be able to stop at Carcross for lunch and on to Emerald Lake with stops for panning for gold, the suspension bridge and a dogsled camp. We're excited about this excursion!

We are going for our second cruise in July 2024 and are doing northbound from Vancouver to Seward (which we did in 2015 - this time will be with kids and grandkids). We prefer one way to allow time do something on the land afterwards (we are doing our own plan - not a land tour). I also like that the cruises leaving from Vancouver (or Seward) use smaller ships so can get to more ports. Plus we didn't want time at sea that the Seattle routes must do. We are "balcony" people so doing that again. There are many places on the ship for views but I love morning coffee on the balcony - under a blanket though! We took Celebrity first time and RCCL this time - both go to Hubbard Glacier (which was stunning) rather than Glacier Bay. If you definitely want Glacier Bay which many do, look at Princess or HAL - there may be others. We chose based on fewest days at sea - we want to see ports - and also based on time in port so look at those carefully.

We have two tours booked in Sitka in July 2024 - the first one ends at the Visitor's Center and that's where the second one will pick us up. We'd like to get a quick lunch or lunch-to-go between tours. What are the options within walking distance of the Visitor's Center?

I'll be following your topic since we are taking a multi-generation AK cruise next June...6 adults and five grandkids who will be 5-11. We think it will be great, especially for the oldest 4 of the group. We have some fun excursions booked so I don't think they will be bored. There is only one day at sea on our itinerary. We will be taking the Radiance which I am really looking forward to. This class of ships seems made for Alaska with their abundance of glass and smaller size allowing them to get to more ports. I don't know anything about the Ovation but we didn't consider leaving from Seattle because we wanted to get to the inside passage as quickly as possible and not have time at sea getting there. We are not interested in British Columbia for this trip. Also we wanted to end in Seward and make our way to Anchorage to see more of the state....which I know is just a sliver of what is there. Advice given to me was to look carefully at the ports and the times in port no matter which you choose. Princess and HAL have their fans for sure so you might look at those but for various reasons we wanted RCCL.

I am looking for hiking options (or our own, not guided is possible) in Tongass National Forest. The government website brings up too many links to sort through. https://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/tongass/recreation/hiking/?recid=78613&actid=50 We plan to walk there from the cruise port and there are varying hiking abilities in our group - those who would like a 1 mile hike and those who would like a 4-5 mile hike (but can do less based on time). We are taking a 2-hr. tour around 9:00 (Fortress of the Bear, Raptor Center and Totem park). So we'd have the afternoon available for lunch in Sitka and a short hike in Tongass. Cruise departs at 4:00 pm. Any suggestions for a hike that is not too far into the park - maybe we could all start together and some would go further? I've reached out to Tongass Treks but their hikes max at 7n people (we have 11). And if we could DIY that might be better. Thanks.

I was just looking this up as I make Sitka plans and it looks to be just under a mile.

Thanks so much for the detailed review of your tour. I have been on the fence about a Sitka tour as this trip is our treat and wow do those excursions add up! But having kids who aren't cranky translates to adults who aren't cranky lol. So we will try to keep it all easy!

Thanks for all of the advice. If not for our group size and ages of the kids I might have been more willing to DIY. But Baranof agreed to take 11 of us on the private tour (Fortress of the Bear, Sitka National Historic Park and Raptor Center) and didn't charge for the 11th person. This will be very helpful they will provide a booster seat for the youngest and we can't count on that in a taxi.. (There is room in the van for 14 but they generally max at 10). It's only a 2-hour tour and that will give us time to split up after and explore the town on our own or do some hiking.

Traveling mid-July 2024 - Family of 11 - 6 adults and 5 kids ages 5-11. We are interested in Fortress of the Bear, Sitka National Historic Park and Raptor Center. The ship has an excursion that is nearly sold out but I prefer non-ship excursions anyway. The ones I have looked at max at 10 people except for Baranof which will take 12. It is over $1000 which is ok if that is the better way to go vs. individual travel. Appreciate advice on this port.

My husband and I took a cruise on Celebrity in 2015 and are going with RCCL next June with our multi-generation family. We thought Hubbard Glacier was stunning! We had a perfectly clear day and got fairly close to the glacier. This is the luck of the day whether you can see any particular glacier/s. But I can't compare it to GB having not been there. For us, paying for 4 cabins, RCCL had better pricing for our dates and we are happy with the ports and time in port.

It was recommended to me to reach out directly to Glacier Wind and they may accommodate your children if you are willing to do a private tour. We have 11 including two kids under 9 and the captain is willing to take the younger kids as long as we book a private boat. It is expen$$$ive but we all have to determine the value gained by the money spent:)

Windsong looks great and does have availability for the 3 rooms I need. But we won't have cars and it looks like it is somewhat out of town. I fond availability at the Breeze Inn in town and wonder if it's just for a night if that might be more convenient with the kids (ages 5-11). Plus it's more than double the cost of the Breeze Inn - as it should be based on the pictures.I haven't reached out to Windsong to see if they offer a shuttle. So not knowing Seward I'm in a bit of a quandary. Appreciate your input.

Looks nice - I just contacted them. Thanks for the recommendation.

I have not called but have emailed directly to hotels and received prompt responses. Some offered to put me on a waiting list, some require 2 nights stay, others are sold out and do not offer a waiting list. I did find 3 rooms at the Breeze Inn which will do but they are cancellable so I'll continue to look. They have full beds, not queens, so not ideal for two adults.

We did a "bear" tour in ISP in 2015. It was by far our worst excursion in Alaska. Probably because it was early June, but there was not a bear in sight anywhere (of course I didn't expect a guarantee). In between stopping to roll his window down to talk to people along the road he knew, the guide/driver excitedly pointed out bear scat and we stopped to take pictures of squirrels - maybe a novelty for some in the very cramped van but we see them daily in the Midwest. I should have researched this more carefully but by the time I planned ISP I was "researched out". So I would say choose your bear tour carefully! When we go with the family in July 2024, we are looking to make different plans which I will look into more thoroughly lol.

Thank you. Harbor 360 is sold out as well. I'm usually on top of things like reservations the minute they become available but we recently decided to spend a night in Seward instead of going on to Anchorage. I'll keep looking.

We have decided to spend the night in Seward after disembarking from our cruise on July 19. Family of 11 - need 3 hotel rooms. The first couple I checked are sold out and I realize ai should have booked at the 365-day mark. Suggestions appreciated.

I have searched the forum and read every post on whale watching I think lol! Family of 11 - 6 adults and 5 kids and we've decided on Juneau for whale watching vs. ISP (three companies I looked at in ISP have age restrictions that we won't meet with our youngest kids). We cruise in July 2024 and we want a private excursion. I reached out to Jayleen's and Harv and Marv. I also checked into some other tours recommended here but for various reasons have narrowed it to these two. H&M can do a boat that holds 18 as a private tour for a similar cost to two of Jayleen's boats that hold 6 each and can go out in tandem for our tour. One member of our group has had seasickness issues (but it was the Kauai Napali Coast sail which is unlike the inside passage!) That would make me lean towards a bigger boat but H&M's is not hugely different from Jayleen's at least by the pics. So any thoughts on pros or cons of either company are appreciated. My brain is honestly hurting from researching options at our four ports but I couldn't do it at all without this forum! Thank you!

Age restriction for under 9 and two of ours will be 5 and 7 at the time of the trip so that has to be a no for us unfortunately. I'm not running into the age issue in Juneau so that may be the deciding factor. Thanks, though.