Your best HAL Alaskan cruise excursion

[pspercy]

I think the "Bering Sea" excursion in Ketchikan was the best we did, interesting and fun, they put on an enthusiastic show.

 

One I did after a business trip was the 26 Glacier boat ride out of Whittier, http://www.phillipscruises.com/ HAL offers this on their 14nt cruises as an excursion from Anchorage.

[RuthC]

Really surprised at all the good comments about the Crab Fishing out of Ketchikan as this is one that would not catch our fancy by the description.

There was a time I would not have considered this tour, either. But I heard such glowing reports, including from a couple of posters that I highly respect, that I decided to do it myself last year.

 

It was awesome! Not too long, for those who have stamina concerns. I was able to drive my scooter to the dock, and then right on board the boat; they stored it for me.

Interesting, engaging crew, with some real hair-raising stories to tell. Lots of fresh air and nature.

[Assateague Island Princes]

Be careful what you wish for! I have SO many favorite Alaska cruise excursions - each varied and interesting and fun and exciting. But I'll give you a few off the top of my head, all done independently, not ship tours. Grab a beverage and maybe a snack, this is gonna be a LONG list;). Here goes:

 

Ketchikan:

- Misty Fiords flightseeing w/Michele of Island Wings - stunning scenery.

 

-"Romantic Alaska" w/Ketchikan Outdoors - just DH and I dropped off on an island off the coast w/a roaring campfire, a small tent, a picnic lunch of smoked salmon, fresh fruit, thermos of coffee/tea/hot chocolate, and even Alaska Amber Ale for DH, three hours of secluded bliss to beachcomb, hike the island, and even see whales right off the coast. So unique!

 

Juneau:

- Harv and Marv whale watching (www.harvandmarv.com) - small 6 pack boat, excellent personalized service from captains who know and love "their whales" - getting up close and personal w/those behomoths is just awe inspiring!

 

- Mendenhall Lake sea kayaking thru Above and Beyond Alaska. How often to you get to paddle amongst icebergs and right up to the face of the glacier?

 

- Car rental - drove out to the fish hatchery and enjoyed watching the sea lion at the bottom of the fish ladder having himself a 'smorgasboard', drove out the road to Eagle Beach where the salmon were swimming thick right against the shore - eagles, eagles everywhere! A stop at the brewery for some samples and a tour. A stop at Mendenhall Glacier for the shore to glacier perspective after our sea kayaking. Wonderful, very inexpensive 'excursion' giving us the ability to spend as much or as little time at the stops as we chose.

 

- Lunch at Tracy's Crab Shack. The humungous crablegs - as thick around as a grown man's wrist - are mouthwatering and oh, so delicious! Pricey, but worth every cent!

 

Sitka:

- a private boat tour with Capt. Davey of the Ester G (www.puffinsandwhales.com) - just an awesome experience! Not only did we see puffins, sea otters and humpbacks, I saw my first Gray whale! What a thrill! (PS - Davey's wife's homemade chocolate chip cookies didn't suck either!;))

 

- Numerous visits to the Raptor Center followed by a walk thru the forest down to the Totem Park, and then along the waterfront back to town. Be sure to visit the aqaurium along the waterfront (it just got upgraded and expended last year - its quite large now) to see the salmon spawning pools, the touch tanks for the kids, and the views from the property itself. Lovely...

 

Homer:

- First time there we rented motorized bikes and had a ball zipping up and down the Spit, going over to town, watching the sea otters floating right off the beach at Lands End, enjoyed THE best Halibut and Chips at Capt. Patties, visiting the lovely Pratt Museum in town, along w/the Islands and Oceans Center, purchased lots of handcrafted jewelry and pottery along the Spit, searching for the crab boats from the "Deadliest Catch" tv show in the large boat harbor. HUGE thrill for this Deadliest Catch fan - even got my picture taken with Eddie from the Time Bandit - woo-hoo:p!

 

- Rented a car and drove to the Homer Brewery (get yourself some of their Chai tea to take home as a souvenier - delicious!), then drove out East End Road to Dr. Linda Chamberlain's mushing kennel (www.howlinghuskies.com) for a wonderful tour of the homestead and kennels, learn about the recreational aspect of dog mushing, even got to harness the dogs and see her husband make honey! Afterwards, we stopped at a little general store/post office that Linda had recommended, Fritz Creek General Store, for the most amazing homemade pizza in a surreal setting overlooking Kachemak Bay sitting on the deck w/locals who were stopping in to pickup their mail.

 

- Went flightseeing with Stellar Air to Dick Proenecke's cabin (Google it - what a pioneer, he is our Alaskan hero!) on Twin Lakes. Flying over active volcanoes and the beautiful Kachemak Bay and then descending onto the carribbean blue waters of the Twin Lakes and taxiing up to the beach to be met with the incredible cabin that Mr. Proenecke had built was probably the most memorable thing we have ever done. Priceless!

 

Kodiak:

- Driving tour of the island with Dake from Memorymakers - an eccentric, interesting guy who married his bride just last year - with both of them and all of their wedding party outfitted in hipwaders while in the middle of a salmon stream! Fun guy! We drove up to the wind towers for stunning views of your ship docked in port, drove out to the river to look for bears (lots of footprints, but sadly, no bears:(), a stop for a hike at Ft. Abercrombie - feasting on salmon berries all along the trail, a tour of the harbor (again looking for Deadliest Catch boats - jackpot!). Going to Cy's Sporting Goods and Mack's Sporting Goods for the best Alaskan souveniers ever, and finishing up our tour with a stop at the Kodiak Brewing Company before walking back to the ship.

 

Skagway:

- Rented a car for a drive up to Emerald Lake in the Yukon, purchasing "Murray's Guide" (google it) which provides a mile-by-mile interpretation of what you will see. We stopped at Carcross, had lunch at Spirit Lake cafe with the best blueberry pie you'd ever want to have, visited the littlest desert, took a ton of photos of several bears we saw feasting on dandelion right next to the road, and just soaked up the gold rush history and the spectacular scenery along the way.

 

Anchorage:

- Twice we've rented a car and drove to Independence Mine and Hatcher Pass (saw our first moose on the drive up to the Pass!), then drove to Martin Buser's Happy Trails Kennel in Big Lake, after a stop in Wasilla to visit the Iditarod Headquarters. Martin is a four time Iditarod winner - just a sweet, intersting guy who adores his dogs. Hearing his stories of life on the trail, cuddling his puppies, and having a personal conversation with this amazing man was well worth the drive. Each time we had an amazing day exploring the area north of Anchorage in the Matsu valley, so much to see and do. Stopped at the Eagle River recreational area for a long hike, even visited a fellow CC'er who lives near Big Lake where she gave us a tour of her family's poppy farm and sent freshly baked salmon berry pies with me to the ship for our fellow Roll Call members!

 

- Have gone to the weekend market, which is chockfull of authentic Alaskan crafts, food, and people! Also went to the Aurora Show at the theater downtown twice seeing a film of the Northern Lights set to music - fantastic!

 

Icy Stait Point:

- Whale watching with Capt. Dan of Misty Bay Lodge - WOW!!! Again, a small, 6 pack boat with a covered aft, a confortable interior with a bathroom and small kitchen, and a flying bridge on top for excellent viewing if the weather is good and the seas are fair. Our first time we were lucky enough to see numerous instances of bubblenet feeding, spy hopping and lunging - wow! Just Wow! there are no words!

 

I've also gone on a bear search w/Misty Bay Lodge - and again, we were lucky enough to see two brown bears - one a young male working his way up a salmon stream to pass just beneath the bridge we were standing on, and the other, an old boar eating his way thru a berry patch right next to our van along an old logging trail. Breathtaking!

 

Be sure to stop in at Misty Bay Lodge after your tour to enjoy some of their delicious halibut pizza, homemade seafood chowder, fresh blueberry or salmonberry homemade ice cream, or any of their yummy sandwiches.

 

I could go on and on, but I see that I've already typed the first half of a rival to 'War and Peace' so I'll quit now. Suffice it to say, I love Alaska and all that it has to offer. After two 7 day cruises, three 14 day cruises, and one land only trip of 17 days back in 2013, we are now anxiously firming up our plans for a September trip this year - land only - with two nights near Denali National Park so we can see the park in all its Autumn glory, and then 7 days in a rental cabin just north of Fairbanks with hopes of seeing the Northern Lights - woo-hoo! Can't come soon enough.

 

Enjoy your trip to magical Alaska! Trust me, you'll be back!

[midcanada]

I really want to do the helicopter/Mendenhall Glacier/Dog sledding excursion in Juneau. And in Ketchikan, they have a fish camp excursion where you fish and then go to the camp and the cook your fish (rated very highly by Food & Wine for the meal). These are on my "wish" list for 2016...... Anyone done either of these?

 

Tanya

 

On our June 2014 cruise my DH did the fish camp excursion and LOVED it....he still raves about the experience. Worth every penny.

[foodgirl]

Great to hear... I'm signed up for this one in August.

 

We did this as well. Very fun and informative.

[Spunky946]

Thank you for starting this thread. We are going on the 14 day cruise in June and are quite interested in all the replys. Really surprised at all the good comments about the Crab Fishing out of Ketchikan as this is one that would not catch our fancy by the description.

 

 

It's funny I felt the same way when we went last summer. We were traveling with my in laws and they had done it before and thought my kids would really enjoy it. I was not sure about it, but I am every so glad that we did it. The guys were entertaining and we learned a lot about the fishing industry. My kids were. 10 and 6 and my 6 year old wants to do it again.

 

I personally would do it again.

[donswife]

There are lots of fabulous options in Alaska, however many are weather dependent. So have fun planning and dreaming, yet please avoid getting so pumped up for your one ultimate excursion that a cancellation would ruin your trip. We had 2 shore ex cancellations but were able to book other ones and had fun anyhow.

[kiwicruiser55]

Thanks all you wonderful contributors to my question. Do think the ketchikan Alleutian Ballad trip sounds great. Skagway might hire car and drive to Emerald lake. Perhaps do the Harv & Marv whale watching trip in Juneau.

[Boytjie]

Taking a helicopter ride up to a glaicer, landing on it, and walking around on it. Awesome.

 

Yes, yes, yes!

 

Our first port was Juneau where we did one of those and on the way back to the ship my SO said to me: "we can go home now, that alone was worth the whole trip".

 

And for a fun hour-or-so nothing beats the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan. :)

Edited April 1, 2015 by Boytjie

[kiwicruiser55]

Thanks Ky Colonel, great idea about the whale watching Vancouver, before our cruise we are hiring a motorhome in early May for 7 weeks. Our first destination will be Vancouver island so have checked out the website, looks good.

[Ky Colonel]

Thanks Ky Colonel, great idea about the whale watching Vancouver, before our cruise we are hiring a motorhome in early May for 7 weeks. Our first destination will be Vancouver island so have checked out the website, looks good.

 

... you are most welcome. I hope you enjoy your visit to North America (including, of course, your time in Vancouver) and would love to hear more about it when you return home.

 

If I ever realize one of my lifelong wishes to visit New Zealand and Australia, I'll count on you for sight-seeing suggestions.

 

Regards and smooth sailing,

 

Rod

[kiwicruiser55]

Yes, KY Colonel, I would be happy to be of assistance if you every book a NZ cruise, we cruise NZ in our campervan!

I will be writing a review about my Alaska cruise on my return in July.

Happy sailing.

[WNcruiser]

Great thread, thanks for all the ideas. We have Harv and Marv booked for Juneau but nothing yet for Sitka or Ketchikan.

 

Looking forward to boarding Westerdam next month:)

[Aruba]

These are all great suggestions. I leave for an Alaska cruise on Statendam on June 1 -- can't wait.:)