Is there one excursion you shouldn't miss

[striveforhealth]

On 9/5/2019 at 10:25 AM, quack2 said:

I would second the small boat visit to Tracy Arm.  Just spectacular.  I did a round trip out of Juneau, but some itineraries will have the cruise ship drop you on the way into Tracy Arm, and then you take the small boat back to Juneau.   Small boats have a MUCH better chance of getting close to the glaciers.  The cruise ships rarely get close to the glaciers due to ice floes.

I know there are no guarantees...but how were the seas?  i'm traveling with someone with motion issues and we're leery of smaller boats, but this sounds amazing.  And yes...she'll have patches, etc.  :-)

[island lady]

12 hours ago, striveforhealth said:

I know there are no guarantees...but how were the seas?  i'm traveling with someone with motion issues and we're leery of smaller boats, but this sounds amazing.  And yes...she'll have patches, etc.  🙂

 

That is one of the reasons we only book the one way trips, doing the inland waterway.  Not only more to see and more ports...much calmer water.   The round trip Seattle that went out in the Pacific was "urrble.  🤢"  too rough with high waves at sea.  

[LadyMac72]

On 8/30/2019 at 6:19 PM, Mrscanadianbacon said:

Scored a deal on HAL yvr return for my husband's 39th bday. We are travelling with our almost 5 yr old. We stop in Juneau, Skagway (birthday) and Ketchikan. Is there a must do excursion in any of these ports that would be a shame to miss? He's bummed we can't see Denali, so I want to make this trip the best I can

Leave Vancouver Sept 21st

 

Sorry for the novel

 

 

Just booked a cruise with a similar itinerary in mid September 2020.  What excursions did you decide on?  How was the weather?

[Mrscanadianbacon]

3 minutes ago, LadyMac72 said:

Just booked a cruise with a similar itinerary in mid September 2020.  What excursions did you decide on?  How was the weather?

We lucked out with amazing weather! We ended up doing the train ride and bus tour to the Yukon (highly recommend the train ride, I'd skip the bus tour) And in Skagway we did the Mendenhall glacier with the tram. We saw bears! 

Ketchikan, we just walked around

 

The bonus to end of season cruise was all of the sales 😂 we scored 

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, Mrscanadianbacon said:

We ended up doing the train ride and bus tour to the Yukon (highly recommend the train ride, I'd skip the bus tour) And in Skagway we did the Mendenhall glacier with the tram.

 

The Mendenhall  Glacier is at Juneau.  I did the train and bus combination to Carcross in the Yukon and would recommend it.  One travels through different climates, thus scenery changes.  

[Mrscanadianbacon]

2 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

The Mendenhall  Glacier is at Juneau.  I did the train and bus combination to Carcross in the Yukon and would recommend it.  One travels through different climates, thus scenery changes.  

My memory is horrible. Just my two cents that the bus ride wasn't as enjoyable for us as the train (hubby, wife and almost 5 year old) 

[rkacruiser]

3 minutes ago, Mrscanadianbacon said:

My memory is horrible. Just my two cents that the bus ride wasn't as enjoyable for us as the train (hubby, wife and almost 5 year old) 

 

My HAL shore excursion was a morning bus ride to Carcross with stops along the way.  Lunch at Carcross and then a ride by Emerald Lake.  (OK, the lake is green, but what's the big deal about that, I thought.)  The bus took us to Fraser--if I remember correctly--and we boarded the train back to Skagway.  The scenery North and South interested me.  Such a difference in what I saw was something that I had not expected.  Upon arrival in Skagway, our bus driver picked us up and delivered within a somewhat longer than expected walking distance to get to the pier.  

 

Why the tour buses are allowed on the pier to pick-up guests but not allowed to return their guests is illogical in my opinion.

[LadyMac72]

Is a whale watching excursion better out of Juneau or ISP?

 

I'm thinking I want to do both a helicopter/plane onto a glacier SOMEWHERE but haven't done sufficient research on that yet.  Time frame is mid September 2020.

[nomadguy]

On 9/8/2019 at 6:43 PM, striveforhealth said:

I know there are no guarantees...but how were the seas?  i'm traveling with someone with motion issues and we're leery of smaller boats, but this sounds amazing.  And yes...she'll have patches, etc.  🙂

I did Tracy arm Fjord from my Celebrity ship a few years ago. It was smooth sailing from there to Juneau. All protected waters. I was worried sick bc I am prone to chumming! 😖. I take all precautions with me. Have found Motion Eaze oil to be remarkable- and I've tried them all - OTC, Rx, cookies, pretzels, ginger, bands, you name it! My winning combo - Motion Eaze behind ears, Rx Relief Band watch (now on Amazon), Rx meclizine,  and taking a nap if a headache starts as that's my first sign! Me at Tracy Arm 2017.

 

[nomadguy]

I can imagine a 5 year old would love the dog sledding and mushers camp experience.  This kid was 15 and in heaven!  The dry sled reminded me of Fred Flintstone car! 

[striveforhealth]

12 hours ago, nomadguy said:

I did Tracy arm Fjord from my Celebrity ship a few years ago. It was smooth sailing from there to Juneau. All protected waters. I was worried sick bc I am prone to chumming! 😖. I take all precautions with me. Have found Motion Eaze oil to be remarkable- and I've tried them all - OTC, Rx, cookies, pretzels, ginger, bands, you name it! My winning combo - Motion Eaze behind ears, Rx Relief Band watch (now on Amazon), Rx meclizine,  and taking a nap if a headache starts as that's my first sign! Me at Tracy Arm 2017.

 

Thanks for this info!!!

[ABQrobin]

On 9/8/2019 at 7:43 PM, striveforhealth said:

I know there are no guarantees...but how were the seas?  i'm traveling with someone with motion issues and we're leery of smaller boats, but this sounds amazing.  And yes...she'll have patches, etc.  🙂

 

The small boat in the fjords....zero waves, and its a fast boat so you are moving fast over the surface about half the time.  When they slow down, up next to the shorelines, etc, it is very calm.  

The only time we felt the motion was the first day at sea from Seattle going north.  It was a little rocky that day only.  Rest of the cruise was very calm in that inside passage.  I am sure on a windy day it might have some waves, but our trip there were zero.

[nomadguy]

On 9/8/2019 at 6:43 PM, striveforhealth said:

I know there are no guarantees...but how were the seas?  i'm traveling with someone with motion issues and we're leery of smaller boats, but this sounds amazing.  And yes...she'll have patches, etc.  🙂

 

The seas from Seattle that first sail-away day and the last day sailing back to  Seattle on a 7-day round trip voyage were a little motion prone both times. Enough so that it gave me a headache (hint - seasickness coming on if I don't lay down). The teen had a headache and wasn't feeling fabulous on the outbound portion either. Not awful but just noticeable enough to warrant treatment. (Didn't notice it when sailing out of Vancouver; we will do that round trip again in summer 2020.)

 

 

[RedE2Go64]

On 11/10/2019 at 3:54 PM, Mrscanadianbacon said:

We lucked out with amazing weather! We ended up doing the train ride and bus tour to the Yukon (highly recommend the train ride, I'd skip the bus tour) And in Skagway we did the Mendenhall glacier with the tram. We saw bears! 

Ketchikan, we just walked around

 

The bonus to end of season cruise was all of the sales 😂 we scored 

 

I'm trying to decide if we want to do the train/bus combo. What was it about the bus portion that you didn't enjoy as much? I've heard that the bus will stop for some photo ops, but other than that, I don't know the advantage of a bus vs a train. They see basically the same thing as the train, correct?

 

For those that loved the bus ride...what was it that stood out to you as reasons?

 

We are considering the train/bus combo with Chilkoot Charters.

[AlanF65]

21 minutes ago, RedE2Go64 said:

 

I'm trying to decide if we want to do the train/bus combo. What was it about the bus portion that you didn't enjoy as much? I've heard that the bus will stop for some photo ops, but other than that, I don't know the advantage of a bus vs a train. They see basically the same thing as the train, correct?

 

For those that loved the bus ride...what was it that stood out to you as reasons?

 

We are considering the train/bus combo with Chilkoot Charters.

There are a variety of Bus and train tours, most the trains go to the border and turn around, some go further.

The better small bus tours go up the other side of the canyon, along to Carcross, emerald lake and back with a stop at a musher camp / iditirod dog training. I have done the train to the border and back, and a bus into emerald lake. The combination get the best of both. You see more on the bus tours that go to Emerald lake.

Tutshi lake

 

 

 

 

Carcross

 

 

 

 

Emerald Lake

 

Musher camp

 

Edited February 14, 2020 by AlanF65

[Snowerin999]

We just booked for May-June 2020. I was wondering if anyone knows if there are any seaplane tours that land on the glaciers? I'm only seeing helicopter tours through HAL and I am not getting on one of those 🙂 I'd love to walk on the glacier though. 

[RedE2Go64]

On 2/14/2020 at 3:37 PM, AlanF65 said:

I have done the train to the border and back, and a bus into emerald lake. The combination get the best of both. You see more on the bus tours that go to Emerald lake

 

Thank you ! Your pictures are beautiful! I think the combination tour sounds like a good fit for us. Long day, but I doubt that we will ever be back to Alaska. Thank you for your help.

[DENNAS]

4 hours ago, RedE2Go64 said:

 

Thank you ! Your pictures are beautiful! I think the combination tour sounds like a good fit for us. Long day, but I doubt that we will ever be back to Alaska. Thank you for your help.

 
I booked this combo. Train\bus with Chilkoot in July. The 7.5 hour trip. Goes to Emerald Lake. Looking forward to it. 

[RedE2Go64]

58 minutes ago, DENNAS said:

 
I booked this combo. Train\bus with Chilkoot in July. The 7.5 hour trip. Goes to Emerald Lake. Looking forward to it. 

 

I was thinking of using Chilkoot too. Is that the one that stops for lunch in Carcross? Are you doing the train first? 

[AlanF65]

8 hours ago, RedE2Go64 said:

 

Thank you ! Your pictures are beautiful! I think the combination tour sounds like a good fit for us. Long day, but I doubt that we will ever be back to Alaska. Thank you for your help.

We had a perfect day with no wind so all the water was like glass, on the way back the wind came up and there were clouds in the mountains. Someone in our roll call organized  a private round trip van with http://tntours98.com/index.html

You do need a passport on these tours that cross the border.

 

 

 

Edited February 17, 2020 by AlanF65