Excursion Reservation Regret?

[Budget Queen]

 

Tell me your favorite kayaking excursion. Inquiring minds and all that. [emoji6]

 

I'm glad, you thought this through and found YOUR answer. I frequently will write "cautions" against, feeling obligated to go on some "must do" tours. Some posts are so "forceful", sometimes first timers, that some people follow along. :)

 

I like Southeast Kayaks, they are a long standing well run company. I like the longer tours- since, unfortunately- I don't want to get with a group that is too "basic" and doesn't get anywhere. :)

[sammijo]

We are headed up to Alaska Aug. 16 one way. We booked the float plane and the glacier helicopter. Our reasoning is that we "probably" won't do this cruise again so we wanted to do it all! Even though we can afford it, we are also very careful with our money. But after talking to people who have done the float plane and raved about it, we decided we just had to do it. But, I am pretty certain that no matter what you do, you will have memories and plenty of photos of this spectacular cruise!!!

[laura k]

Having just returned 2 weeks ago from an Inside Passage cruise and having gone on a Float Plane trip, I will tell you to NOT cancel your excursion. Our float plane trip was THE highlight of our trip and we are so glad that we spent the money. You can buy t-shirts, magnets, and other trinkets anyplace else in the world, but no place else can you see the beauty of Alaska from up above!

[LissaSue2]

I'm glad, you thought this through and found YOUR answer. I frequently will write "cautions" against, feeling obligated to go on some "must do" tours. Some posts are so "forceful", sometimes first timers, that some people follow along. :)

 

 

 

I like Southeast Kayaks, they are a long standing well run company. I like the longer tours- since, unfortunately- I don't want to get with a group that is too "basic" and doesn't get anywhere. :)

 

 

Yes, hearing all of the "must go on a float plane to Misty Fjords!!" and, "It was the highlight of our cruise" comments are what had me looking into the flight. We had originally decided and anticipated Kayaking, but let ourselves be swayed by the Misty Fjords masses and discouraged by the "It always rains in Ketchikan" comments on various threads. But to be honest, after thinking it through, I think I'd rather play in the water in the cold rain than sit in a stuffy plane. lol Besides the Kayak companies provide you with rain gear galore. It'll be great fun...or not! lol Either way I'll make for great memories. [emoji6]

 

I believe we are going to book the Southeast Kayaks Orca Cove excursion. The Icehouse Cove kayak and hike is not available on our port day otherwise we'd probably go for that one.

[ShipsandDipper]

With the right attitude and gear, kayaking is still fun even if it's raining. We were on a multi-day trip once in Kenai Fjords and it rained one entire day, but didn't ruin the trip at all.

 

We're signed up for the Icehouse Cove trip in a few weeks and are really looking forward to it!

Edited August 5, 2015 by ShipsandDipper

[shiphead]

For $500 I would buy a sled dog puppy, have it shipped home and you'll have a decent souvenir to show your friends.

[Budget Queen]

Having just returned 2 weeks ago from an Inside Passage cruise and having gone on a Float Plane trip, I will tell you to NOT cancel your excursion. Our float plane trip was THE highlight of our trip and we are so glad that we spent the money. You can buy t-shirts, magnets, and other trinkets anyplace else in the world, but no place else can you see the beauty of Alaska from up above!

 

It's wonderful you so enjoyed your floatplane tour. I always do as well. BUT it is NOT for everyone. I've flown several times with people who were MISERABLE on Alaska flights. Usually, they were "talked" into it when they should have stood their ground when they first chose not to include it.

[LissaSue2]

Having just returned 2 weeks ago from an Inside Passage cruise and having gone on a Float Plane trip, I will tell you to NOT cancel your excursion. Our float plane trip was THE highlight of our trip and we are so glad that we spent the money. You can buy t-shirts, magnets, and other trinkets anyplace else in the world, but no place else can you see the beauty of Alaska from up above!

 

 

I live in California, where there are several impressive mountain ranges including Sequoia National Park and Yosemite. And we camp in the mountains every single year...and see wild bears up close and personal every. single. year (which is why a bear viewing excursion holds no appeal) Haha! Does California's beauty even come close to Alaska? Heck no!!! Not even remotely. But enough to sway me into feeling that a sky view of mountain scenery is really not worth $500 to ME. [emoji6]

 

I've NO DOUBT it's beautiful though!! [emoji7] And I'm sure we would've enjoyed seeing it, I mean who wouldn't. We just feel like we'd enjoy being in a kayak more so.

[LissaSue2]

For $500 I would buy a sled dog puppy, have it shipped home and you'll have a decent souvenir to show your friends.

 

 

Hahaha! Love it! [emoji173]️

[Budget Queen]

Yes, hearing all of the "must go on a float plane to Misty Fjords!!" and, "It was the highlight of our cruise" comments are what had me looking into the flight. We had originally decided and anticipated Kayaking, but let ourselves be swayed by the Misty Fjords masses and discouraged by the "It always rains in Ketchikan" comments on various threads. But to be honest, after thinking it through, I think I'd rather play in the water in the cold rain than sit in a stuffy plane. lol Besides the Kayak companies provide you with rain gear galore. It'll be great fun...or not! lol Either way I'll make for great memories. [emoji6]

 

I believe we are going to book the Southeast Kayaks Orca Cove excursion. The Icehouse Cove kayak and hike is not available on our port day otherwise we'd probably go for that one.

 

I try to be careful and offer several suggestions with tour selections. There are so many GREAT options. :) Add to the mix, my email full of "what would you do" requests with Alaska touring. I never will post- do this or do that. There is never just one option. :) Enjoy your kayaking- it's fantastic, even after several trips. :) OK don't forget about one of my alternative suggestions- it's also easy with spectacular views- just renting kayaks for Mendenhall Lake. :)

[lynncarol]

I think you will really like Alaska. Having been on cruises all over the world, Alaska was the one cruise I really didn't want to do as I hate crowded ports and don't like being wet and cold. My husband and I only agreed to Alaska after his cousin and her husband insisted we accompany them (it was their first cruise). Sure enough, it was raining and cold when we went. But guess what? The place is gorgeous! And yes, the ports are crowded but once out of town, we had plenty of room to roam. The four of us even rented a car for a week after the cruise and saw even more of this beautiful place. Our splurge for the Ketchikan (sp?) bear watching air-flight was worth every penny (and we are one of those couples watching our pennies). We loved Alaska! I hope you do too.

Edited August 5, 2015 by lynncarol
typo

[morsecode]

Yes, it is a challenge to pick excursions with a view of cost vs benefit. We had no trouble ignoring the 3-day excursion to the huge falls in Argentina in Jan 2016 on the NCL cruise. I think the cost for 2 was about $5000. Ouch. Anyway, I have trouble with a budget because there are so many surprise costs. After we booked the NCL cruise from Buenos Aires to Santiago including a flight to Easter Island, we discovered by accident the revenge fee just to enter Argentina. $320 for both of us. WOW. I am thankful, however, that I discovered the fee. Had we arrived at the airport in Buenos Aires without the paid receipt, they would have sent us out of Argentina at our expense. I think I would go crazy trying to anticipate all the extra costs. Yet it is all worth it. I think I will compare the cruise cost vs our actual cost for the 3 cruises in the last 3 years. Might be a good index for financial planning for future cruises.

[iceleven]

This poster missed a load of options. Sorry but I disagree. Many people don't find this port "boring" because they are prepared and know what sights could be of interest for them.

 

They only mention "junk shops", so it sounds like they merely walked up Mission, looped over Creek St. and walked out.

 

I highly recommend Totem Bight, Public Lands Discovery Center, taking the Fox Lodge Funicular - a look at the totems out back, walking down the historic Married Man's trail, Totem Heritage Museum, Ketchikan Museum, Deer Mt Trail, walking along the marina, at low tide with sea life viewing, salmon ladder if running. PLUS a whole lot more. ALL of this list- with the exception of Totem Bight is WALKABLE in port.

 

www.visit-ketchikan.com

 

I've been to Ketchikan four times and it STILL is my least-liked port stop. I've done all of the above and still found it to be ho-hum. They've made it all too commercialized and I'm not just talking about Creek Street.

 

Our most favorite experience for Ketchikan was the zip line tour that took us very much out of town and was a breath-taking experiences flying through the trees from one platform to another while watching bears below. And no, this was not a tour only for the young. We were well into our late 50's and there were others older than ourselves. I never hear people talking about the zipline excursion on these boards.

 

We took a helipcoter ride in Juneau and sat down on a glacier. Certainly not cheap but a check off the bucket list. We biked 17 miles, with stops and all downhill, from Canada to Skagway. Kayaked a bay, watched bubble net feeding whales in Juneau, hiked trails, rented cars to get out of town to watch bears feeding and hundreds of bald eagles, etc. There are so many things to do that are not as expensive as the float trips that are still quite memorable and worth getting out and away from the port towns. We're going back up for a 14 day R/T next year and will be stopping at three ports we've not been to before. We love Alaska.

[LissaSue2]

OK don't forget about one of my alternative suggestions- it's also easy with spectacular views- just renting kayaks for Mendenhall Lake. :)

 

 

I haven't forgotten! :) I was actually unaware that one could rent a kayak at the lake until you mentioned it.

 

Things are still a tad "up in the air" concerning Juneau. We thought we'd just play it by ear there, perhaps grab a bus to Mendenhall Glacier and stay as long as we'd like (maybe kayak) take the tram up the mountain, etc.

 

In re-looking at excursions there through NCL I see they offer a Mendehall Glacier and evening whale quest. We are at port 2pm-10pm so this sounds like a great way to fill our evening. I'm not sure what "evening" in Alaska on Sept 8 looks like though. [emoji15] The excursion is 4 3/4 hours and begins at 4:30 pm beginning with the glacier and then off to go whale hunting. Where I come from it's pretty dark here by 8:30. I couldn't imagine seeing anything that late?? When does it actually get dark in Alaska???

[LissaSue2]

Our most favorite experience for Ketchikan was the zip line tour that took us very much out of town and was a breath-taking experiences flying through the trees from one platform to another while watching bears below. And no, this was not a tour only for the young. We were well into our late 50's and there were others older than ourselves. I never hear people talking about the zipline excursion on these boards.

 

 

I would love to hear about your zipline excursion! That, too, was on our short list but upon watching videos we were somewhat underwhelmed by what we saw so we crossed it off. I know there are several companies who run ziplines in Alaska so perhaps some are better than others?

[Mary loves to travel]

Alaska excursions can be funny things. Our first (and only so far) trip was 8 years ago. We looked at excursions in every port, and also factored in what we like to do. Even though we had the budget to spend, and did pre-book an independent helicopter glacier tour with landing & walking on the glaciers for Juneau, here's how the ports actually turned out -- and we loved our 3 port days!

 

Sitka: did some pre-cruise research, hiked to the Alaska Raptor Center, spent over an hour there without the crowds (the tour went through in 10 minutes), taxi back into town. Amazing halibut fish & chips at a stand. Walked through town, explored the church, etc. Cost was very little for the day.

 

Skagway: morning self-guided hike to Lower Dewey Lake, lunch in town at the Red Onion, train up and back in the afternoon. Lovely, lovely day.

 

Juneau: helicoptor tour was cancelled due to weather, so we went with our fallback plan, bus (?) to Mendenhall, take our time in the Visitor Center, walk the trail to Nugget Falls. Bus back. Great seafood lunch, then took the Mt Roberts Tram to the top, and spent about an hour up there, hiking around. Beautiful!

 

overall spent less than we'd planned (and very little total on "excursions") and had a fantastic time.

 

We had good waterproof hiking shoes, GoreTex parkas with fleece jackets, gloves, and some decent rain pants. That made all the difference -- we were all set regardless of the weather. Also brought along binoculars.

All in all a fantastic trip!

 

now planning different excursions for the trip next year :-)

 

Mary

[Crispyfish]

Have you looked at Alaskacruising websites! Just returned from an Alaska trip and booked all our shore excursions on one site - a good deal les expensive than the ship's excursion I found

[Barwick Cruiser]

Alaska excursions can be funny things. Our first (and only so far) trip was 8 years ago. We looked at excursions in every port, and also factored in what we like to do. Even though we had the budget to spend, and did pre-book an independent helicopter glacier tour with landing & walking on the glaciers for Juneau, here's how the ports actually turned out -- and we loved our 3 port days!

 

Sitka: did some pre-cruise research, hiked to the Alaska Raptor Center, spent over an hour there without the crowds (the tour went through in 10 minutes), taxi back into town. Amazing halibut fish & chips at a stand. Walked through town, explored the church, etc. Cost was very little for the day.

 

Skagway: morning self-guided hike to Lower Dewey Lake, lunch in town at the Red Onion, train up and back in the afternoon. Lovely, lovely day.

 

Juneau: helicoptor tour was cancelled due to weather, so we went with our fallback plan, bus (?) to Mendenhall, take our time in the Visitor Center, walk the trail to Nugget Falls. Bus back. Great seafood lunch, then took the Mt Roberts Tram to the top, and spent about an hour up there, hiking around. Beautiful!

 

overall spent less than we'd planned (and very little total on "excursions") and had a fantastic time.

 

We had good waterproof hiking shoes, GoreTex parkas with fleece jackets, gloves, and some decent rain pants. That made all the difference -- we were all set regardless of the weather. Also brought along binoculars.

All in all a fantastic trip!

 

now planning different excursions for the trip next year :-)

 

Mary

 

Your day in Juneau is exactly what we're planning to do! Do you remember where you had your seafood lunch and would you recommend it?

Thanks, Cathy

[Mary loves to travel]

Your day in Juneau is exactly what we're planning to do! Do you remember where you had your seafood lunch and would you recommend it?

Thanks, Cathy

 

It was such a great day!

Restaurant was Twisted Fish Company, and food was outstanding.

you can find them on TripAdvisor or on the web.

 

Cheers,

Mary

[Barwick Cruiser]

It was such a great day!

Restaurant was Twisted Fish Company, and food was outstanding.

you can find them on TripAdvisor or on the web.

 

Cheers,

Mary

 

wow, just checked the menu...looks delicious!! Thanks for the recommendation!! We're on the Solstice next month and can't wait!

Cathy

[1stime88]

Our situation is a little different, but I sure do feel your pain. We cancelled our "BIG" 20th Anniversary trip to Europe with a Med cruise because we simply weren't comfortable once the costs ticked into 5 figures. We made a very poor, knee-jerk decision to book Alaska because the deposit we'd already paid on the "good" trip more than covered the cruise fare and flights for our upcoming Alaska Southbound. What we failed to realize was how ridiculously costly the excursions were going to be, made even more gut-wrenching by the woeful state of our CDN currency.

 

We could easily be spending $1,000/day on the better excursions, which would quickly negate any savings on this trip compared to the one we really wanted to take. :( Coupled with the fact that we already live in an environment relatively similar to Alaska and much of it holds no great allure, we're really having to keep our wits about us while booking excursions. We've practically eliminated flight-seeing as an option in any port unless we can find something that strikes us as a very good value on offer at the pier. We're not counting on it.

 

This may end up being our CTN, during which we may spend a LOT of time on-board; buy a drink package, get spa treatments and take quite a few naps. We'll enjoy our time together and celebrate our anniversary regardless but as cruises go, this one is likely to be very different for us. I wish you well and hope you have a great trip, whatever you decide!

 

 

Hello, my husband and I also wanted to go to Europe, but decided on a cruise to Alaska because of finances. The trip to Alaska is going to cost more than expected but less than Europe! I just wanted to share that with you. I hope you love your trip to Alaska and also get to to go to Europe soon!

Edited August 6, 2015 by 1stime88

[LissaSue2]

When (If, I hope) you try snorkeling again...just wear the fins (so you can go faster), the lifejacket, so you can stay on top of the water, and the goggles. Because I am claustrophobic, I can't put the mouthpiece in my mouth and go underwater either:) So I just swim on top of the water, hold my breath and look at the fish for a few seconds at a time. We love the beautiful clear blue Caribbean sea, so I figured out a way to snorkel "my way!" Have fun trying!

 

 

This made me smile. Thanks for sharing in my oddity...it makes me fell a bit more normal. lol Our hope is to one day go on a Caribbean vacay, so I will for sure keep your trick in mind. [emoji6]

[bunnyrab]

Not sure if this of any help to you, BUT there are plenty of things you can do that don't cost a fortune, that can still get you away from the dock and let you see Alaska (not the Diamonds International version of Alaska....) Thanks to Budget Queen, I discovered the Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan, which is a $5 entry fee, and now one of my favorite places to spend time. There is not enough money in Alaska to get me onto a flightseeing excursion :D but there are plenty of other things to do.

 

I live in a resort area in the Canadian Rockies, towering mountains, emerald green and turquoise blue water everywhere you look. I still attempt an annual cruise to Alaska. It is not the same as where we live.

 

I hope you are able to overcome your disappointment and find joy in Alaska :)

 

We were in Alaska in May. Also visited & enjoyed the Totem Heritage center with the free bus ride there.

Have to say the drive from Calgary towards Banff with the view of the mountains is still the most beautiful in the world to us. We are all very fortunate to live here.

[LuvtheBeach10]

We booked a Misty fjord float plane excursion and am now having second thoughts. Our budget is fairly tight and already I am worrying about whether we will have enough "fun money" for the various ports, not to mention any extras we might want to purchase on the cruise ship. I'm seriously debating canceling the excursion because, quite frankly, $500 would make for a lot of fun money. I can't decide if we'd get more enjoyment on the 2 hr tour, or the spending of the $500 on various things. Thoughts or advice anyone?

 

We did the float plane a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it! It ended up that our helicopter excursion was cancelled due to weather and the floatplane was the only way we got to see Alaska from the air. Alaska is very expensive compared to the other destinations we have been to but it has such different, once in a lifetime things you get to do while there, go for the stuff you can't do at home and think about how long you would keep trinkets until it's time for a garage sale. It's the memories that last a lifetime!

[xlxo]

To clarify.... what makes Alaskan excursions more expensive?

• Is it a stronger desire for flight and marine trips? Would staying to land excursions offer savings?
  
• Is it because of the glaciers and you are forced to use helicopters to get on top of them?
  
• Is it because of the remoteness of the ports?
  

On my first trip, I stuck to "Best of .... " itineries and I thought the prices were fair. However there was no flights.

Edited August 7, 2015 by xlxo