Questions about Alaska Cruise

Star Princess on June 2nd and looking for good ideas for excursions. I saw a few groupon excursions in Juneau and Ketchikan but not sure if its better to take the excursions through the ship. We are also flying into Anchorage on May 29th, renting a car, and planning on driving to Denali for 2 nights. Than driving back on June 1st and take a bus tour over to Whittier on June 2nd to get the ship. By Denali we are staying at White Moose Lodge in Healy because it was very reasonable. In Anchorage we are staying first night at LongHouse Alaska Hotel on May 29th and Puffin Hotel on June 1st before getting over to the ship on June 2nd. Does this sound like a good plan? Has anyone ever stay at any of the these hotels? The hotels close to Denali National Park were pretty expensive. On June 9th we are staying overnight at Moda Hotel in Vancouver Than fly back on June 10th. Any other suggestions? In Juneau we saw a city tour and tour to take you over to Mendenhall Glacier. Is that a good one? Wanted to fly over glacier and land but very expensive and not sure thats worth it. Any other suggestions?? Thanks

Janice

In Juneau we did whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier--a marvelous day. We did it privately which allowed a smaller boat and fewer people. Great sightings of both orca and humpback whales. At the glacier park we saw a mother bear with cubs, tons of salmon, etc. I'd certainly do this again.

mendenhall gardens

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mendenhall-gardens

we did this with a local bus...was really easy and cheap..was our second time at this port so had seen the glacier before

there are tours that do this to..both from the gardens and other

I've read about the local bus before. How close does it get you to the entrance?

We booked all our Alaska excursions through Princess. We did a boat tour to a island in Ketchikan, in Juneau we did helicopter tour of Mendenhall Glacier with dog sledding on Glacier,

I've read about the local bus before. How close does it get you to the entrance?

there is a stop about 100 feet or so just past the entrance..sign for the Garden facing the road is fairly small..we asked the driver when we got on and she made sure she stopped for us

our original plan was to take a tour..but it departed about an hour after we could get there on our own. had figured out the local bus as plan B .

return bus stop is just on the other side of the road

For Juneau, I'd definitely go local if you want to go to Mendenhall. You can pre-book, or there are several kiosks when you get off the ship, near the entrance to the tramway. You can get a ticket for the bus to Juneau and back. It's definitely cheaper and the busses are hourly, I think, so you can spend as much or as little time as you would like there. One year we combined it with whale watching, which was nice too.

In Juneau we did whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier--a marvelous day. We did it privately which allowed a smaller boat and fewer people. Great sightings of both orca and humpback whales. At the glacier park we saw a mother bear with cubs' date=' tons of salmon, etc. I'd certainly do this again.[/quote']

 

what company did you do your whale watching and Mendenhall glacier tour with? We will be there beginning of June. Did you do it privately and book it ahead of time? They also have the tour through Princess cruises

 

Janice

We booked all our Alaska excursions through Princess. We did a boat tour to a island in Ketchikan, in Juneau we did helicopter tour of Mendenhall Glacier with dog sledding on Glacier,

Which company did you take in Juneau for your flight over Mendenhall Glacier and dog sledding? Did you get off and walk on the glacier? Thinking about doing helicopter or plane tour that lands on the glacier so you can walk on the glacier. Its very expensive so not sure it is worth the money

Janice

We booked all our Alaska excursions through Princess. We did a boat tour to a island in Ketchikan, in Juneau we did helicopter tour of Mendenhall Glacier with dog sledding on Glacier,

Was the helicopter tour of Mendenhall worth the money? Did you get to walk on the glacier?

Janice

Was the helicopter tour of Mendenhall worth the money? Did you get to walk on the glacier?

 

 

 

Janice

The tour was expensive but worth the money. We flew over the glacier then landed. Once on the glacier we went dog sledding for about an hour. I will post some pics for you to see

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what company did you do your whale watching and Mendenhall glacier tour with? We will be there beginning of June. Did you do it privately and book it ahead of time? They also have the tour through Princess cruises

 

Janice

Dolphin Jet Boat took over a lot of Orca Enterprises business. Been out with the two companies four times. Last trip had only one pod of humpback but a superpod (over 50) orca.

We did do whale watching in California and saw some pretty amazing stuff. I think I'm really interested in the glaciers in Alaska this time. And wildlife too!

Janice

Was the helicopter tour of Mendenhall worth the money? Did you get to walk on the glacier?

 

Janice

We did the helicopter tour that landed on the Mendenhall glacier, and we got out and walked around with the special boots the tour company provided. It was an amazing experience. We do a lot of things on our own, but that is one that I would do through the cruise line, due to the unpredictable weather.

I booked Coastal Helicopters (Not through Princess) for the "Glacier/Dog Sledding" tour in Juneau. Then, in Skagway I booked the all day dog musher camp tor (again, not through Princess)

Oh - I DID book the Mount Roberts Tramway through Princess $34 each. But the other tours saved a decent amount of cash from the princess tours (Enough for the DW to go crazy in Ketchikan) buying trinkets and Christmas Ornaments for the kids... :)

helicoptors on the glacier in Juneau

The above pictures show why In my opinion the Helo ride and dogsledding was worth the money. The last picture of my granddaughter will be remembered for many years. Enjoy

Great pictures of the kids and puppies.

Wonderful memories for you.

Thanks for posting.

I've used Chilkoot tours in Skagway twice and have really enjoyed both trips

first time did bus first then the train

second time train first.

I did the trip to emerald lake both times. It stops at same place as princess for lunch but the group size is much smaller - we had 4 people my first trip and 8 last year.

the group size is so nice.

after the trip they drive through skagway and will let you off in town if you want or take you back to ship

I would highly recommend them

Looks like we have got some Young people who are animal lovers.....

Great photos....

what company did you do your whale watching and Mendenhall glacier tour with? We will be there beginning of June. Did you do it privately and book it ahead of time? They also have the tour through Princess cruises

 

Janice

We booked all of our Alaska excursions thru Shoretrips.com. Our groups were always smaller than those offered by the cruise line, cost was less, and the service was great. We priced them for Europe and found their prices were much higher than thru the cruise line, so didn't use them there.

returning to Alaska after a 20 year break......;)

Was delighted when I saw there was Snorkeling in Ketchikan

http://snorkelalaska.com/

So have booked that....

Also doing...seaplane viewing 5 glaciers and salmon at Taku lodge.

Booked with princess as pricing was roughly the same as booking direct and it is just easier to make changes with the cruise line.

Last time....we did Heli/ glacier and a sea plane to see bears. I preferred the seaplane. Heli is so noisy. Walking on the glacier did not do much for me.....but our weather was bad...we were the only heli to land on the glacier that day, as after our return all flights were grounded do to white out conditions.

We did whales and glacier in Juneau with Harv and Marv - $600 for the 4 of us and we had the boat to ourselves. We were able to scoot over to where one boat was feeding bald eagles (:eek:) and while I didn't approve, I got some great shots watching them.

One of the best things we have ever done is rent a car in Ketchican and drive to Emerald Lake with multiple stops. Incredible.

helicoptors on the glacier in Juneau

 

The above pictures show why In my opinion the Helo ride and dogsledding was worth the money. The last picture of my granddaughter will be remembered for many years. Enjoy

Look at those fierce dogs!! I have never seen shepherd mixes used as Mushing dogs. Great pics! Definitely pics that will be treasured forever.

Cool pictures! Thanks!