Alaska Sun - Dog Sledding Exscursion

Hi everyone

I am on the Sun to Alaska this Sunday and fly out to Vancouver tomorrow. Can't Wait. :)

I have booked the Helicopter Glacier & Dog Sledding excursion through NCL in Juneau.

However I noticed on the Alaska Port of call forum that a member had been told by their TA that Dog sledding had finished for the season (I didn't know it had a season). I would have thought that NCL would not have it available on this trip if it was out of season although I accept that if snow conditions are not suitable there is no choice.

Can anyone shed any light on this as I was really looking forward to the experience.

If this is cancelled due to conditions will the helicopter trip still take place at a reduced price or will it be substituted for something else.

Any help appreciated.

Mayandude

Hi Mayandude,

I called two tour operators about dog sledding in early September. I was told that the excursions depend on the weather and that although there is a possibility that they can operate as late as the first week in September they rarely do. Last year the final run was in the first week in August. I've decided to wait to book my excursions to see what the weather is like when we get there. My husband and I will be ctruising on the Spirit on September 3rd.

Hope this helps.

Mayandude,

I did the dog sled excursion in June. During the course of the season, the camp is moved a few times as the snow melts. It is possible that the season will be over now.

Not to make you feel bad but it was a lot of fun. A few years ago, I did a glacier hike and that was a lot of fun too. Look into that if the dog sled is not available. It's not as hard as it sounds......... even with bad knees I was able to do it. I had found one that had only a 1 hour hike and with the helicopter tour, lasted a total of 3 hours. The beauty and size of the glaciers is appreciated more when you can see them from a helicopter and then to have an opportunity to walk on them makes it even better.

I hope one of these excursions is still available for you to do.

The dog sledding is done on glaciers. As the summer progresses the heat opens more cravasses and other dangeous conditions on the glaciers making it difficult to safely operate. It has been another warmer than normal summer and most camps packed up two to three weeks ago.

We took a cruise to Alaska 2 years ago & had booked a helicopter & dogsledding trip, too. I believe our cruise was the 2nd week in August & our excursion was to be in Skagway. It turned out that weather conditions were such that our trip was cancelled & we were very disappointed. But we got lucky & at the last minute were able to go on a dogsledding trip where they use wheeled sleds, so no ice was involved. I have to say this was my absolute favorite excursion! My DH & I had so much fun with the dogs (especially the 2-week-old puppies which we got to cuddle). You might want to see if something like this trip is offered to you. We cruised on Princess, but this trip (which they called Alaska Dog Sled Adventure) was not in the excursion booklet. We got a flyer in our cabin that told us about the trip - it only cost $99 which made it a lot cheaper than our original dogsledding excursion.

Just a thought. Good luck in getting to see the sled dogs!

Janet

Guess you didn't have a chance to get over to the Roll Call I had going for the 8/28 Sun.

My DW and I are flying out of Philly tomorrow morning as well to Vancouver.

My picture is on my profile. If you see me on the ship, stop me and introduce yourself...:)

JR

Having just arrived back in the UK (stayed on in Vancouver) I thought I would add a closing note as I started this thread.

I can report that my Helicopter Glacier & Dog Sledding excursion in Juneau did in fact take place despite being late in the season and it was fantastic, one of the many highlights of the trip.

Speaking to our musher he told us that they were the last camp still operating but they intended to go on to the end of the season even if it meant moving further up the Glacier. He also told us that they were a new camp that was operating for the first time this year.

Hope to post a review of the whole trip in the near future but I have to say that I would have to look very hard to find any negatives from what was a truly wonderful vacation.

Mayandude