(LONG) Help Us Build The Best Possible Alaska Excursion Itinerary For Us (Active 40 y.o. X Cruisers 1st Time On Princess)

Cruising Divers · December 31, 2021

Hello, Happy New Year's and Thank You In Advance for your help! We love CC and have been helped greatly here before by some outstanding people that we would have never met in our daily lives otherwise. I've also posted this in the Alaska subforum but thought it would be ok to post it here too. May all of your cruises actually set sail and go by slowly! 🌟🚢🌟

Background: We are an extremely active and physically fit 40 year old couple with no children. We have taken 6 previous cruises on RCL, HAL and X and have preferred them in that order. We enjoy activities (and excursions) geared more towards our age group and fitness level; we also much prefer small groups (6 or 8 or less) vs. 30-40+ people when applicable. We are "doing it now" because we are hyper-aware of tick tock tick tock and the limitations age will bring. We have both been vaccinated but not boosted but will do so if it becomes a hard-requirement for travel.

Almost every vacation or trip we have taken in the past 5 years has been for scuba diving. We have been to and dove in 13 different countries and islands and all but 2 of them more than once/one trip. This cruise is our first non-diving trip since 2014-15 as well as our first time to Alaska. We will very likely not return to Alaska for another 10 years minimum after this trip, probably closer to 15 years (next is Europe and of course back to more diving!) so we are looking to squeeze all of the "strenuous activity" fun that we can now from our itinerary because the option may never be available to us again.

The Facts (and other things to note): We are booked on the Princess Discovery RT from Seattle departing on May 15, 2022. We booked this particular cruise mainly because it lined up with our very hard to come by and non-negotiable/non-flexible time off from work. We are flying in the day before and staying in downtown Seattle and will probably go to the Space Needle (or something better?) and maybe a nice dinner before our cruise begins. We wouldn't be opposed to doing more in Seattle as well but we are scheduled to land at 2:30 pm (on the 14th) so that may not be realistic. Also, as a sidenote, we love us some souvenir shopping! We have pretty much seen it all though by now so only the finest of junque will suffice ha!

We have always wanted to try PCL, always wanted to be on a brand new ship and always wanted to go to Alaska. This along with lining up with our time off is why we chose this particular cruise. We are far from wealthy but know that money must be spent for quality and that that also includes quality excursions. We are also well aware that Glacier Bay National Park is not on our itinerary and we are already heavily bummed out about that. Canceling and rebooking another cruise is not an option though so we are hoping that the optional excursion for "Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier" (or another helpful tip from you fine people!) will help make up for this.

The Itinerary:


Day	Ports of Call	Arrival	Departure
day1	Seattle, Washington	---Not Applicable	4:00 PM
day2	At Sea	---Not Applicable	---Not Applicable
day3	Ketchikan, Alaska	6:30 AM	3:00 PM
day4	Cruise Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier	5:00 AM	9:00 AM
day4	Juneau, Alaska	12:30 PM	9:00 PM
day5	Skagway, Alaska	6:00 AM	5:00 PM
day6	At Sea	---Not Applicable	---Not Applicable
day7	Victoria, British Columbia	7:00 PM	11:59 PM
day8	Seattle, Washington	7:00 AM	---

Current Excursion Thoughts: We *ALWAYS* book our own excursions ourselves/not with the cruise ship even in the most worrisome/dangerous/etc countries and ports so we are not opposed to doing it in Alaska too. We are however ignorant of many of the options available so here is what we like of we have seen so far and please, no fishing or Halibut hunting suggestions as we much prefer to swim with them vs. fishing for them.

In Ketchikan we like:

The Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer Cruise (but the few reviews are low...)
Backcountry Jeep & Canoe Safari
Wildlife Safari Cruise & Beach Bonfire (Seems like this may be geared towards/be more enjoyable for younger audiences than us...)
Backcountry Zodiac Expedition
Snorkel Alaska (We would much prefer to dive, not snorkel, but we are not dry suit divers, any way around needing a dry suit?) Tripadvisor | Snorkel Alaska provided by Snorkel Alaska | Ketchikan

Then there is the (Day 4) Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier Scenic Cruising excursion which we hoped would make up for/be a solid substitute for missing Glacier Bay N.P.:

Endicott Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer (Nearly $300.00pp to do it though, is it really that much better than watching from the ship deck?)

With a whopping 51 choices 😱 Juneau seems to be the best whale watching opportunity port on our itinerary as well as the best place for us to take a helicopter tour and walk on a glacier... The in-port time is less than desirable though, 12:30PM-9:00PM, will that be a factor? On this trip we REAALLYYY want to fly in helicopters and/or floatplanes, walk/climb on glaciers and see whales. There are too many options to list them all here, this post is already too long and the only real info we've been able to gather is that maybe Mendenhall Glacier is not the best glacier opportunity on our itinerary? Please help!!

Skagway is almost as perplexing! 44 options from the ship exist here but we think this is our best chance to either see and walk on a glacier by helicopter or to ride a train. We love historic and luxury trains and if we were wealthy we would absolutely do an AK dome train segment but alas... Should we do Heli's here or in Juneau and instead do a "White Pass" train ride here? Which one??? So many options!

Finally, there is Victoria, CA. We almost didn't book this trip because of the extremely short port-time (normally a deal-breaker for us) but didn't. We've also never been to Canada before so 🤷‍♂️. There is one more excursion available here for Orca watching (Ocean Wildlife & Orca Exploration Cruise) but hope that that checkmark has already been made earlier in the week and that we could do something different by time we reach Victoria. We can obviously walk around town/port by ourselves so a walking tour/etc. doesn't seem to be the right answer but maybe it is? Maybe high tea at the Pendray Mansion instead? Something else altogether?

What excursions/how exactly would you plan this trip if you and your S.O. were 40, active/in peak shape, wanted to see whales, fly in heli's/floatplanes, walk on and see the best glaciers possible, ride in scenic trains and were married to this ship and itinerary with plans to basically never return to Alaska?

🎉 🥂 THANK YOU!!! 🥂 🎉

Rick&Jeannie · December 31, 2021

I cannot comment on your main questions about trip planning...as involved as this appears to be I would think that you would be well served by a travel agent.

Regarding being "bummed out" about missing Glacier Bay...I've done both now. You will most certainly enjoy Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier. It is different from the GB but you will find it to be one of the most serene and peaceful spots on earth!

Buckeye10640 · January 1, 2022

I can reply to a few of your questions based on our experience. In Ketchikan we have taken a Princess excursion to Misty Fjords which included a float plane followed by the cruise you mention. We would do the float plane again, expensive but very cool. The Wilderness Explorer cruise, not so much. I see on our May 2022 cruise Princess no longer offers this with the float plane so you might check some independent companies that offer this if it interests you.

Juneau is the place for whale watching. We are booked with Juneau Whale Watch for May which also takes you to Mendenhall Glacier. Skagaway, we have used Chilkoot Tours for White Pass Rail Excursion into Canada, van up and train back to Skagaway. If you are looking for 'active' though, this is not it! Beautiful scenery though.

Finally, in Victoria we visited Butchart Gardens, which was quite nice but an expensive cab ride from port. Much depends on the time you are in port there. We asked to be dropped off downtown after leaving Butchart Gardens, had dinner at a pub, and walked back to the ship.

No experience with helicoptor tours or landing on/walking on a glacier.

Enjoy your cruise and the new Discovery Princess! We are just off Enchanted which is the same class, and she was beautiful.

Edited January 1, 2022 by Buckeye10640

skynight · January 1, 2022

Wow. You have lots of homework to do.

Discovery is a nice ship and you should enjoy it. Try Gigi's (Alfredo's), open 11am through the evening. Waiter served. Search Princess dining options for more. We find service on Princess to be very good.

Active? There will be many in your age group on an Alaska cruise. Don't underestimate the activity levels of those 20 years older. There are very active people in their 60s & 70s.

Join or start the roll call to put together private tours.

Mary loves to travel · January 1, 2022

In Skagway we did the helicopter to walk on the glaciers through Princess. I looked at booking directly with Temsco, but the price was similar either way & the Princess excursion included transportation to/from the heliport. We did this first thing in the morning and we’re blessed with perfect weather. (Late August).
We had lunch ( was it at Skagway Fish? a big red building right on the water).

After lunch we did Hike and Float the Chilkoot Trail; excellent! Booked directly with Skagway Float Tours.

Juneau might be your best bet for whale watching- take a look at Harv & Marv.
We’ve not done whale watching but they’ve gotten great reviews including from close friends.

Ketchikan we did a nature hike with Wild Wolf Tours; she dropped us afterwards for lunch in front of Alaska Fish House where we’d made advance reservations.
After lunch we walked on our own along the fish ladders and around town. You can find a map for this walk online.

Space Needle is a great thing to do in Seattle; you may spend more time on the viewing platform than you think - there’s just so much to see.

Mary.

skynight · January 1, 2022

Juneau. It stays light late. If you want an air tour reserve early. They fill. Pay careful attention to the cancelation policy. It's different for air tours.

You may see some whales right from the ship. FYI. If you really want to see whales in the future go to Maui in January & February.

Rick&Jeannie · January 1, 2022

36 minutes ago, skynight said:

If you really want to see whales in the future go to Maui in January & February.

Except that right now, Princess has *no* whale watching tours listed for Maui. The only way right now (for pax booked on the Grand this month) is to try and book a third party tour! Shame on you Princess.

kitkat343 · January 1, 2022

I sailed 12 years ago, so these recommendations may be a bit out of date.

We took a Temsco helicopter to Dog Sled camp in Skagway (please note that Temsco is the subcontractor for the helicopter tours for the cruise ships, and you can save 10% by booking directly through their company. Also, if you choose to visit a dog sled camp, the Temsco agent I called in Juneau recommended that you book the helicopter to dogsled excursion in Skagway, not Juneau, since the weather is a bit more stable in Skagway. Also, please try to book your helicopter tour in the morning, since helicopter tours are often cancelled due to inclement weather. If your helicopter is scheduled for the morning, you will have a better chance of it being rescheduled for the afternoon, instead of the tour being cancelled outright. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that you will be able to participate in this amazing activity due to the unpredictable Alaskan weather). Temsco did an excellent job, and this excursion was amazing.

We did the helicopter tour in the morning and the White Pass railroad in the afternoon. Don't sit in the first or last car (they turn the engine around and attach it to the last car to get back to the station). I was 3 months pregnant on this trip, and was totally fine for everything else in Alaska - including the helicopter, but this is a diesel train and the fumes were overwhelming and this was the only excursion I felt sick on. I did think this was overpriced and not worth it, but took the domed car to denali so if you don't do both this might be fine. Most people love this railroad though. You can easily combine both this and the helicopter to dogsled in Skagway.

In Juneau, Harv and Marv have small, comfortable boats and are highly qualified whale watching guides. You are correct that Mendenhall Glacier is not the best glacier, but it is a nice place to visit after whale watching so if you can't find anything else you'd love to do after whale watching its nice for a brief visit/walk around as long as you don't have high expectations for the glacier itself. (11 years ago Harv and Marv dropped us off there to walk around after the whale watching tour)

In Ketchikan, the Bering Sea crab fisherman's tour was really interesting, and is a 3 hour tour. You can book directly with them at http://alaskacrabtour.com/About_The_Tour.aspx . I'd give some thought as to combining this with something more athletic you are considering during your port stay.

XBGuy · January 1, 2022

CDs, we have cruised Alaska six times, and I can guarantee that you will have a great time. I am the one person who does not agree that an Alaska cruise must include Glacier Bay. If I were to rank our AK cruises, there would be a six-way tie for first place.

I think a nice dinner in Seattle would be a great way to start your cruise. Seattle has a terrific restaurant scene, but it has been too many years since I have been there. Sadly, Dahlia Lounge closed a few years ago. Perhaps when you arrive at your hotel somebody there can provide an informed opinion. If you are staying at a Kimpton hotel, the concierge will be very helpful. As you have already indicated the 2:30 arrival of your plane arrives will severely restrict your ability to enjoy Seattle. Depending on the location of hotel. taking the monorail over to the Seattle Center (Space Needle) might be convenient and fun.

On our very first AK cruise in 1992 we took the helicopter excursion to Mendenhall Glacier, and I thought that was very cool.

On that first cruise I learned of the signficance that the de Havilland Beaver had on the history and the economic development of Alaska. When I decided that I wanted to take a float plane excursion, it had to be on a de Havalind Beaver. In 2018 we booked a flight-seeing excursion on a Beaver in Ketchikan, but on the day we arrived fog and rain cancelled all float plane excursions. Ketchikan is in a rainforest. Not to be thwarted we booked again in 2019. My coffee shop buddy who is a VERY BIG cruiser gave me a ration of something asking, "Are you really going to fly in an airplane that was designed and built based on technology from the 1940s?" Well, the joke was on him. It turned out that the plane we flew had 21st Century upgrades.

Since you want to be active, I can advise that there are some enjoyable hiking trails in AK. In Juneau you can take the Mt. Roberts tram up the mountain and hike down. I've never done that one, but there have been correspondents here on Cruise Critic that have reported that it is great. In Skagway, there are several trails, (Google Skagway Hiking Trails.) I've done a couple of them. If you take that half-day train excursion, you can take a short hike the other half of the day. If you take the Upper/Lower Dewey Lakes trail, you will get a nice panoramic view of your ship below.

The Lower Dewey Lake Trail is rated as "Moderate," but, let me tell you, this septuagenarian was huffing and puffing pretty hard. 🥴 The other very cool thing about Skagway hikes is the cost--zero.

I can pretty much guarantee that you will see whales. Seeing them from the ship is sometimes a matter of luck, but we have seen whales from the ship on every one of our cruises.

Bon Voyage. You will have a terrific time.

kitkat343 · January 2, 2022

1 hour ago, XBGuy said:

In Juneau you can take the Mt. Roberts tram up the mountain and hike down.

We didn't hike all the way down, but just walking around the top was really great. Also, I forgot to mention that we were in our early 30s on this trip, and there are lots of people that age and families with young children, especially on princess.

skynight · January 2, 2022

On 1/1/2022 at 2:55 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

Except that right now, Princess has *no* whale watching tours listed for Maui. The only way right now (for pax booked on the Grand this month) is to try and book a third party tour! Shame on you Princess.

Just some information for the poster's future use. The whales will be there in 23, 24 & onward.

Cruising Divers · January 2, 2022

Thank you VERY MUCH to everyone who took the time to reply, you are all appreciated! We have learned much from all of you and have the following thoughts:

On 12/31/2021 at 5:58 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

I cannot comment on your main questions about trip planning...as involved as this appears to be I would think that you would be well served by a travel agent.

Regarding being "bummed out" about missing Glacier Bay...I've done both now. You will most certainly enjoy Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier. It is different from the GB but you will find it to be one of the most serene and peaceful spots on earth!

We think you are spot on and plan to do the optional EA/DG excursion! Thank you for taking the time to help 👍

On 1/1/2022 at 6:08 AM, Buckeye10640 said:

I can reply to a few of your questions based on our experience. In Ketchikan we have taken a Princess excursion to Misty Fjords which included a float plane followed by the cruise you mention. We would do the float plane again, expensive but very cool. The Wilderness Explorer cruise, not so much. I see on our May 2022 cruise Princess no longer offers this with the float plane so you might check some independent companies that offer this if it interests you.

Juneau is the place for whale watching. We are booked with Juneau Whale Watch for May which also takes you to Mendenhall Glacier. Skagaway, we have used Chilkoot Tours for White Pass Rail Excursion into Canada, van up and train back to Skagaway. If you are looking for 'active' though, this is not it! Beautiful scenery though.

Finally, in Victoria we visited Butchart Gardens, which was quite nice but an expensive cab ride from port. Much depends on the time you are in port there. We asked to be dropped off downtown after leaving Butchart Gardens, had dinner at a pub, and walked back to the ship.

No experience with helicoptor tours or landing on/walking on a glacier.

Enjoy your cruise and the new Discovery Princess! We are just off Enchanted which is the same class, and she was beautiful.

Thank you! We will definitely look into some private float plane tours for Ketchikan (and a "drive your own Zodiac Boat" excursion also recommended to us) and stick with Juneau for any WW. Sounds like the White Pass Rail has alot of potential too! Very cool.

On 1/1/2022 at 12:34 PM, skynight said:

Wow. You have lots of homework to do.

Discovery is a nice ship and you should enjoy it. Try Gigi's (Alfredo's), open 11am through the evening. Waiter served. Search Princess dining options for more. We find service on Princess to be very good.

Active? There will be many in your age group on an Alaska cruise. Don't underestimate the activity levels of those 20 years older. There are very active people in their 60s & 70s.

Join or start the roll call to put together private tours.

Thank you! We are semi-foodies (as much as we can be within our workout/diet regiments) and will indeed lookout for Gigi's. And thank you very much for the heads-up on the air tour cancelation policies - that's excellent information and the perfect example of "needing to know what we don't know".

We also never underestimate anyone based on age - in fact we have just returned from doing 24 shore dives in 6 days in Bonaire and one of our travel companions is 57 and none of us could keep up with him! He did it all with little effort as well, extremely intelligent too. We have seen this repeated multiple times on various dive boats and we also have a near-60 year old friend who trains and competes in Triathlons and he is a monster! Never give up!

On 1/1/2022 at 1:14 PM, Mary loves to travel said:

In Skagway we did the helicopter to walk on the glaciers through Princess. I looked at booking directly with Temsco, but the price was similar either way & the Princess excursion included transportation to/from the heliport. We did this first thing in the morning and we’re blessed with perfect weather. (Late August).
We had lunch ( was it at Skagway Fish? a big red building right on the water).

After lunch we did Hike and Float the Chilkoot Trail; excellent! Booked directly with Skagway Float Tours.

Juneau might be your best bet for whale watching- take a look at Harv & Marv.
We’ve not done whale watching but they’ve gotten great reviews including from close friends.

Ketchikan we did a nature hike with Wild Wolf Tours; she dropped us afterwards for lunch in front of Alaska Fish House where we’d made advance reservations.
After lunch we walked on our own along the fish ladders and around town. You can find a map for this walk online.

Space Needle is a great thing to do in Seattle; you may spend more time on the viewing platform than you think - there’s just so much to see.

Mary.

Thank you Mary! We will check out Temsco, S. Float Tours and H&M,. How did you enjoy the Heli ride and glacier walk in Skagway? Sounds like it was probably great and exactly the thing we are hoping to do there.

22 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

I sailed 12 years ago, so these recommendations may be a bit out of date.

We took a Temsco helicopter to Dog Sled camp in Skagway (please note that Temsco is the subcontractor for the helicopter tours for the cruise ships, and you can save 10% by booking directly through their company. Also, if you choose to visit a dog sled camp, the Temsco agent I called in Juneau recommended that you book the helicopter to dogsled excursion in Skagway, not Juneau, since the weather is a bit more stable in Skagway. Also, please try to book your helicopter tour in the morning, since helicopter tours are often cancelled due to inclement weather. If your helicopter is scheduled for the morning, you will have a better chance of it being rescheduled for the afternoon, instead of the tour being cancelled outright. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that you will be able to participate in this amazing activity due to the unpredictable Alaskan weather). Temsco did an excellent job, and this excursion was amazing.

We did the helicopter tour in the morning and the White Pass railroad in the afternoon. Don't sit in the first or last car (they turn the engine around and attach it to the last car to get back to the station). I was 3 months pregnant on this trip, and was totally fine for everything else in Alaska - including the helicopter, but this is a diesel train and the fumes were overwhelming and this was the only excursion I felt sick on. I did think this was overpriced and not worth it, but took the domed car to denali so if you don't do both this might be fine. Most people love this railroad though. You can easily combine both this and the helicopter to dogsled in Skagway.

In Juneau, Harv and Marv have small, comfortable boats and are highly qualified whale watching guides. You are correct that Mendenhall Glacier is not the best glacier, but it is a nice place to visit after whale watching so if you can't find anything else you'd love to do after whale watching its nice for a brief visit/walk around as long as you don't have high expectations for the glacier itself. (11 years ago Harv and Marv dropped us off there to walk around after the whale watching tour)

In Ketchikan, the Bering Sea crab fisherman's tour was really interesting, and is a 3 hour tour. You can book directly with them at http://alaskacrabtour.com/About_The_Tour.aspx . I'd give some thought as to combining this with something more athletic you are considering during your port stay.

Sounds like H&M and Temsco really are the best! We love the sound of combining a Heli and train ride on the same day (if we read that correctly) too. This trip is shaping up nicely and we appreciate all of your very helpful information!

19 hours ago, XBGuy said:

CDs, we have cruised Alaska six times, and I can guarantee that you will have a great time. I am the one person who does not agree that an Alaska cruise must include Glacier Bay. If I were to rank our AK cruises, there would be a six-way tie for first place.

I think a nice dinner in Seattle would be a great way to start your cruise. Seattle has a terrific restaurant scene, but it has been too many years since I have been there. Sadly, Dahlia Lounge closed a few years ago. Perhaps when you arrive at your hotel somebody there can provide an informed opinion. If you are staying at a Kimpton hotel, the concierge will be very helpful. As you have already indicated the 2:30 arrival of your plane arrives will severely restrict your ability to enjoy Seattle. Depending on the location of hotel. taking the monorail over to the Seattle Center (Space Needle) might be convenient and fun.

On our very first AK cruise in 1992 we took the helicopter excursion to Mendenhall Glacier, and I thought that was very cool.

On that first cruise I learned of the signficance that the de Havilland Beaver had on the history and the economic development of Alaska. When I decided that I wanted to take a float plane excursion, it had to be on a de Havalind Beaver. In 2018 we booked a flight-seeing excursion on a Beaver in Ketchikan, but on the day we arrived fog and rain cancelled all float plane excursions. Ketchikan is in a rainforest. Not to be thwarted we booked again in 2019. My coffee shop buddy who is a VERY BIG cruiser gave me a ration of something asking, "Are you really going to fly in an airplane that was designed and built based on technology from the 1940s?" Well, the joke was on him. It turned out that the plane we flew had 21st Century upgrades.

Since you want to be active, I can advise that there are some enjoyable hiking trails in AK. In Juneau you can take the Mt. Roberts tram up the mountain and hike down. I've never done that one, but there have been correspondents here on Cruise Critic that have reported that it is great. In Skagway, there are several trails, (Google Skagway Hiking Trails.) I've done a couple of them. If you take that half-day train excursion, you can take a short hike the other half of the day. If you take the Upper/Lower Dewey Lakes trail, you will get a nice panoramic view of your ship below.

The Lower Dewey Lake Trail is rated as "Moderate," but, let me tell you, this septuagenarian was huffing and puffing pretty hard. 🥴 The other very cool thing about Skagway hikes is the cost--zero.

I can pretty much guarantee that you will see whales. Seeing them from the ship is sometimes a matter of luck, but we have seen whales from the ship on every one of our cruises.

Bon Voyage. You will have a terrific time.

Thank you for all of that helpful information! We carry the same attitude as you and think that this trip will be stellar and now even more so thanks to you and the other fine CC'ers who took the time to help us. The Beaver flight sounds like it was totally worth the wait - we feel the same way about historic trains, so much fun. We enjoy hiking tool and will fit some in in this trip if possible but that will be a secondary item as we will be focused on planes, trains and helicopters (and maybe zodiacs too) first ha!

Thank you again to all and please feel free to keep the itinerary/tour operator suggestions coming in!!

disneyochem · January 2, 2022

As you noted, Alaskan excursions can get pricey. We’ve cruised many times to Alaska—had done those once-in-a-lifetime trips at least once. Now we tend to do more DIY for our trips. We ‘re late 50s/early 60 year olds who like to think we’re still pretty active! We love to go hiking at the ports.

But, this summer we’re taking our daughters and SOs on an Alaskan cruise (the Majestic). They are all in their twenties, fit, active and won’t be back to Alaska for a number of years. Below are what they’ve decided to do for their cruise (their priorities are glacier trekking, kayaking and hiking). Our cruise is not stopping in Victoria (northbound, Vancouver to Whittier). They’re able to spend a couple of days in Alaska post-cruise so they have a helicopter/flight seeing excursion booked out of Talkeetna.

Ketchikan—kayaking a.m., followed by a Deer Mountain Hike

Juneau—Mendenhall Glacier Trek (https://beyondak.com/) or whale watching and a Mt Roberts Hike (they haven’t decided yet) and a visit to the Red Dog Saloon.

Skagway—White Pass Train and Bike Tour (take the train to the summit, then ride bikes back to town) followed by a visit to Skagway Brewing Co.

My suggestion for your stop in Victoria (based on time/length) is to either walk into town from the port (15 minute walk) and hit some lovely pubs for drinks and apps. Or head the other way and walk to Beacon Hill Park and Clover Point Park. Not too strenuous but beautiful views.

John99 · January 2, 2022

White Pass and Yukon Railroad

Update -- A White Pass & Yukon Railway bridge went out during the last week of July due to rockslides. Since that time, Yukon Railroad service has conducted an abbreviated round trip excursion to Mile 14. A new bridge replacement project is planned at Mile 15. Without the new bridge, you cannot complete the journey to the White Pass Summit at Mile 20.4. Plus, service to Fraser, Carcross, Bennett Lake and the Yukon Territory has been postponed until the 2022 summer season. Hope the new bridge is completed by 2022. Look for updates and plan accordingly. John

michigan tim · January 2, 2022

If you are highly active 40 somethings I'm thinking something that is not a cruise. Way too much down time. Consider flying to Anchorage and renting a car and from there you can immerse yourselves in activities. My personal preference would be the west side of the Kenai to Homer. But you could also do the east side to Seward and do a Glacier hike and fjords cruise or a Prince William Sound cruise out of Whittier, both are spectacular. or head north to Denali, Fairbanks etc. If you were going to focus on Denali and North a flight to Fairbanks might make more sense. The cruise ports are fun, but very touristy and the 7 day Seattle itineraries are limited to the SE arm of Alaska. If you have already decided the hiking above Skagway, as mentioned is spectacular and you begin a few steps from the ship! IMO it is the highlight of this trip, and if you fish, take a pack rod and catch some dollys at Lower Dewey Lake, just make sure to have a license.

Edited January 2, 2022 by michigan tim

Cruising Divers · January 2, 2022

1 hour ago, John99 said:

White Pass and Yukon Railroad

Update -- A White Pass & Yukon Railway bridge went out during the last week of July due to rockslides. Since that time, Yukon Railroad service has conducted an abbreviated round trip excursion to Mile 14. A new bridge replacement project is planned at Mile 15. Without the new bridge, you cannot complete the journey to the White Pass Summit at Mile 20.4. Plus, service to Fraser, Carcross, Bennett Lake and the Yukon Territory has been postponed until the 2022 summer season. Hope the new bridge is completed by 2022. Look for updates and plan accordingly. John

Thank you John! We were really hoping to do either White Pass or some sort of train segment on this cruise so based on this new information do you have any specific recommendations for us? Would you still book a RR excursion hoping that A) the bridge is repaired by May 15, 2022 (seems a bit optimistic tbh) or B) that the shortened journey is still worth the effort/time not spent elsewhere? Thank you again, you are appreciated!

34 minutes ago, michigan tim said:

If you are highly active 40 somethings I'm thinking something that is not a cruise. Way too much down time. Consider flying to Anchorage and renting a car and from there you can immerse yourselves in activities. My personal preference would be the west side of the Kenai to Homer. But you could also do the east side to Seward and do a Glacier hike and fjords cruise or a Prince William Sound cruise out of Whittier, both are spectacular. or head north to Denali, Fairbanks etc. If you were going to focus on Denali and North a flight to Fairbanks might make more sense. The cruise ports are fun, but very touristy and the 7 day Seattle itineraries are limited to the SE arm of Alaska. If you have already decided the hiking above Skagway, as mentioned is spectacular and you begin a few steps from the ship! IMO it is the highlight of this trip, and if you fish, take a pack rod and catch some dollys at Lower Dewey Lake, just make sure to have a license.

Thank you Tim! 75% or so of our trips are land-based "Go! Go! Go!" trips that involve little-no rest so believe it or not this is actually our idea of "mild and relaxing". With so much time at sea/little time in port (and a beautiful brand-new large-ish balcony room) we will surely do a great amount of R&R. If we were able to take a month off and had greater means though we would definitely follow a plan such as yours - I'm sure it would be stellar! 🏆

Edited January 2, 2022 by Cruising Divers

Katwoman007 · January 3, 2022

100% Float plane in Ketchikan. Island Wings was AMAZING!!! This is a NON cruise booking. We booked outside of the boat due to the issues that had happened prior our trip with a different company. We woke up and were off the boat the minute that we could be. We walked the town, went up to the Totum area, back down ALL before our appointment for our plane ride. Pending the schedule there, they have longer tours if you would like as well. We had a perfectly clear day and landed on a private lake that was just ours. We got out and were able to explore a little before getting back in. We saw a small pod of Ocra's from the plane. AMAZING!!

Island Wings is privately owned and operated, I do not know the current situation with them. But if I could go back, I would for sure fly with them again!

geoherb · January 3, 2022

We loved snorkeling in Ketchikan on our first cruise to Alaska. We also have enjoyed our kayaking excursions. One of the best of them was catching the fast ferry to Haines from Skagway to kayak in Chilkhoot Lake on an independent excursion. It was just the two of us with a guide. Another time I booked us an independent kayaking excursion in Juneau at Mendenhall Lake. That time it was just the two of us without a guide. It would have been great except for the drizzly day.

John99 · January 3, 2022

4 hours ago, Cruising Divers said:

Thank you John! We were really hoping to do either White Pass or some sort of train segment on this cruise so based on this new information do you have any specific recommendations for us? Would you still book a RR excursion hoping that A) the bridge is repaired by May 15, 2022 (seems a bit optimistic tbh) or B) that the shortened journey is still worth the effort/time not spent elsewhere? Thank you again, you are appreciated!

Hi @Cruising Divers Good question. According to the White Pass & Yukon website – work on a bridge replacement started in the later part of the summer. Will it be ready for 2022? Unknown at this time. You will have to check for “operation updates” on their WPY website. DW and myself plan on taking the WPY in 2022. Most likely we will book the tour with Princess because I can cancel at any time before the cruise without any problem. We taken this trip several times in the past an always enjoyed the experience to see what pioneers had to endure in search of fortune. We plan on taking the train to the summit then a bus ride back to Liarsville Gold Rush Camp for Alaskan-caught wild salmon grilling over an open alder wood fire. DW favorite place for Alaskan salmon. Of course an Alaskan ale for me. All-you-can-eat meal.

Side note: We also like Dominica.

John

Cruising Divers · January 3, 2022

13 hours ago, Katwoman007 said:

100% Float plane in Ketchikan. Island Wings was AMAZING!!! This is a NON cruise booking. We booked outside of the boat due to the issues that had happened prior our trip with a different company. We woke up and were off the boat the minute that we could be. We walked the town, went up to the Totum area, back down ALL before our appointment for our plane ride. Pending the schedule there, they have longer tours if you would like as well. We had a perfectly clear day and landed on a private lake that was just ours. We got out and were able to explore a little before getting back in. We saw a small pod of Ocra's from the plane. AMAZING!!

Island Wings is privately owned and operated, I do not know the current situation with them. But if I could go back, I would for sure fly with them again!

13 hours ago, geoherb said:

We loved snorkeling in Ketchikan on our first cruise to Alaska. We also have enjoyed our kayaking excursions. One of the best of them was catching the fast ferry to Haines from Skagway to kayak in Chilkhoot Lake on an independent excursion. It was just the two of us with a guide. Another time I booked us an independent kayaking excursion in Juneau at Mendenhall Lake. That time it was just the two of us without a guide. It would have been great except for the drizzly day.

Thank you both - those sounds like amazing days! Island Wings seems to be quite highly recommended everywhere too, seems like it is very well run and would provide a great Ketchikan experience. We also intially looked into the snorkeling excursion as we have dove all over but never in the PNW or similar; that would be very fitting for us to still go snorkeling on our 1st non-diving trip too ha! We really do love diving.

We have done a fair-to-moderate amount of canoeing so the kayak excursions (especially a well-planned out independent route) during great weather would be stellar! Thank you both again for the helpful suggestions 🥂

10 hours ago, John99 said:

Hi @Cruising Divers Good question. According to the White Pass & Yukon website – work on a bridge replacement started in the later part of the summer. Will it be ready for 2022? Unknown at this time. You will have to check for “operation updates” on their WPY website. DW and myself plan on taking the WPY in 2022. Most likely we will book the tour with Princess because I can cancel at any time before the cruise without any problem. We taken this trip several times in the past an always enjoyed the experience to see what pioneers had to endure in search of fortune. We plan on taking the train to the summit then a bus ride back to Liarsville Gold Rush Camp for Alaskan-caught wild salmon grilling over an open alder wood fire. DW favorite place for Alaskan salmon. Of course an Alaskan ale for me. All-you-can-eat meal.

Side note: We also like Dominica.

John

Thank you John! That is very helpful information. We would love to book/take the full WPY route but would probably opt for another activity if the train is unable to reach the summit/complete the journey due to the bridge; more research is definitely in order.

Your 2022 plan sounds like a perfect day! I also can appreciate being able to cancel via the cruise line in these uncertain times. One of the biggest hesitations we have currently is booking and paying for a pricey helicopter tour since many of the companies basically list "no refund/100% loss of payment for any reason regardless" and we are still 5 months away from our departure (plus it's not like we can control the weather...). We have seen 1-2 companies who do offer a reasonable cancelation policy (plus the available cruise ship options) though so I'm sure we will make something happen. Thank you again and I hope we all make it back to The (wonderful) Nature Island very soon!

John99 · January 3, 2022

On 12/31/2021 at 5:47 PM, Cruising Divers said:

Finally, there is Victoria, CA. We almost didn't book this trip because of the extremely short port-time (normally a deal-breaker for us) but didn't. We've also never been to Canada before so 🤷‍♂️. There is one more excursion available here for Orca watching (Ocean Wildlife & Orca Exploration Cruise) but hope that that checkmark has already been made earlier in the week and that we could do something different by time we reach Victoria. We can obviously walk around town/port by ourselves so a walking tour/etc. doesn't seem to be the right answer but maybe it is? Maybe high tea at the Pendray Mansion instead? Something else altogether?

Greetings @Cruising Divers Typo - Victoria, CA should be Victoria BC.

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