Shore excursion recommendations - Alaska July 2018

My first time to cruise Alaska. Can you recommend any shore excursion that you loved? I know I want to white water raft, but open on anything else. My husband would love to fish. Which port?

Check out the forum for Alaska. Lots of good info there.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=365&f=55

We did all of our excursions in Alaska privately and saved significantly. In addition, we had far smaller groups than the cruise lines provide.

Whale watching in Juneau (which was combined with a trip to Mendenhall Glacier) was a big hit. I've been informed that we need to do that again. In Ketchikan, we did Totem Bight State Park on our own. They have volunteer guides as well as a guide sheet that you can do on your own. Transportation on the city bus was $2 per person...so an almost free excursion. I really thought the family considered it sort of a "dud" till we started talking about doing Alaska again. Suddenly I was hearing that we HAD TO go there again. We also spent a little time in the town of Ketchikan and visited Walmart for a couple of items that a teen can't live without and had been forgotten.

In Skagway we did the railway one direction and the bus back--it was great for waterfalls and scenery, but not the hit of the trip.

Check out the forum for Alaska. Lots of good info there.

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=365&f=55

Thanks for the tip. New to this site too!

We did all of our excursions in Alaska privately and saved significantly. In addition' date=' we had far smaller groups than the cruise lines provide.

 

Whale watching in Juneau (which was combined with a trip to Mendenhall Glacier) was a big hit. I've been informed that we need to do that again. In Ketchikan, we did Totem Bight State Park on our own. They have volunteer guides as well as a guide sheet that you can do on your own. Transportation on the city bus was $2 per person...so an almost free excursion. I really thought the family considered it sort of a "dud" till we started talking about doing Alaska again. Suddenly I was hearing that we HAD TO go there again. We also spent a little time in the town of Ketchikan and visited Walmart for a couple of items that a teen can't live without and had been forgotten.

 

In Skagway we did the railway one direction and the bus back--it was great for waterfalls and scenery, but not the hit of the trip.[/quote']

 

 

Great info! I had hoped to save a little money by booking on my own or privately, but didn't even know what to look for to book privately or just wait until we got off the ship in port. Any more info you want to share would be appreciated.

Great info! I had hoped to save a little money by booking on my own or privately, but didn't even know what to look for to book privately or just wait until we got off the ship in port. Any more info you want to share would be appreciated.

We used Shoretrips.com which was recommended by our TA. Their prices in Alaska were very good. I priced them in Europe and Japan and found them to be very expensive in those ports. They use private vendors, in the same way that the cruise lines do...but the charges in Alaska were lower than the cruise lines. They met us at the port for each excursion, and sent vouchers and detailed directions by e-mail prior to the cruise.

Princess has a price match policy (find the same excursion for less and they will match the price + 10% more), but you still get the big groups.

Animals were everywhere--along the road in Ketchikan (bears), eagles in the trees in Skagway, MANY species at Mendenhall, etc. Daughter had a list of what she wanted to see, and by the end of the trip was missing only one. There are many ways to get to Mendenhall Glacier. We booked it as an excursion combined with the whale watching. If you are able bodied and can walk a little, there is a city bus that it very low cost. It will not enter the park area, but will drop you at the entrance. If you do this, you'll either need a National Parks pass or will pay to get into the visitor's center. The tour buses take you a bit farther in to their parking area, which costs significantly more but will save some walking. OK, why do you worry about saving steps if you will be hiking around the area? Again...if able bodied, not a big issue. If you are wearing braces, etc. it might well be worth taking the bus in as far as possible.

My wife and I went panning for gold at The Last Chance Basin. We had a great time and actually found a little gold. The tour was offered by Princess.

Tony

Mount Roberts Tramway - the tram is a nice ride and there are hiking trails up top with gorgeous views. Just don't forget a jacket and water bottle.

http://mountrobertstramway.com/

We did all of our excursions in Alaska privately and saved significantly. In addition' date=' we had far smaller groups than the cruise lines provide.

 

Whale watching in Juneau (which was combined with a trip to Mendenhall Glacier) was a big hit. I've been informed that we need to do that again. In Ketchikan, we did Totem Bight State Park on our own. They have volunteer guides as well as a guide sheet that you can do on your own. Transportation on the city bus was $2 per person...so an almost free excursion. I really thought the family considered it sort of a "dud" till we started talking about doing Alaska again. Suddenly I was hearing that we HAD TO go there again. We also spent a little time in the town of Ketchikan and visited Walmart for a couple of items that a teen can't live without and had been forgotten.

 

In Skagway we did the railway one direction and the bus back--it was great for waterfalls and scenery, but not the hit of the trip.[/quote']

 

 

What company did you use for the Whale watching trip in juneau? Would you recommend them?

What’s the cheapest way to get from Anchorage to Whittier?

What’s the cheapest way to get from Anchorage to Whittier?

We were planning on taking the railroad, but went to make reservations for 4 pax yesterday and there was only room for 3.:(:( So I researched other ways, and at least for our date, this was cheapest:

https://www.whittierbus.com/schedules/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5qrXBRC3ARIsAJq3bwoblP0KRltiWzwl6Vyd2-z173FXWX-TldUq3ixnb7ZoHJ_CC5zOSb0aAtR1EALw_wcB

Since we live here, we don't want a tour, just transport. Morning was booked, so had to take afternoon. Shouldn't have taken so long to book--that's what we get for not making up our minds.

You might want to look into salmon berry tours from anchorage to Whittier. It's a scenic drive and they stop at the wildlife conservation center. We are taking train to Whittier and then going on 26 glacier cruise before boarding the ship.

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