Juneau Mendenhall glacier shuttle... prebook or book at the kiosks?

[kkmcan]

I was wondering if there is any advantage to pre-booking our glacier shuttle transfers now directly online (not thru cruiseline) or wait til we arrive and book at one of the kiosks. Is there any savings? Also I've seen the blue school buses or the white buses.... any recommendations on either of those.

Thanks so much!

[Cbtours]

1 hour ago, kkmcan said:

I was wondering if there is any advantage to pre-booking our glacier shuttle transfers now directly online (not thru cruiseline) or wait til we arrive and book at one of the kiosks. Is there any savings? Also I've seen the blue school buses or the white buses.... any recommendations on either of those.

Thanks so much!

We booked through the ship and had a fantastic driver who was both knowledgeable and very funny! We were dropped right at the visitor centre whereas I believe the blue and white regular transport drop you quite a way from the centre.

 

the walk to nugget falls is about 1.5km each way from the centre. It’s an absolute must do.

the visitor centre is also a must. 
so allowing as much time as possible for those boys the glacier we felt it best to go right there. 
absolutely loved our time there.

[sfaaa]

The advantage of booking at the dock on arrival is you can gauge the weather and decide if you want to spend the money on the excursion. The price is pretty much the same. I would not enjoy going to the glacier in pouring rain or on a cold windy day.

[latebuyer]

This is a good tip. I recall last time i came to juneau it was raining and i chose to go to the alaska state museum instead.

[eclue]

Just take the Blue bus when you get to Juneau - if you decide to go to the glacier and the Falls.

 

[dreams_of_travel]

20 hours ago, Cbtours said:

We booked through the ship and had a fantastic driver who was both knowledgeable and very funny! We were dropped right at the visitor centre whereas I believe the blue and white regular transport drop you quite a way from the centre.

That is not quite correct. I used the blue bus at the port May 2022, and they drop off/pick up from a parking lot/loop about two blocks/500-800ft from the visitor center. It's a flat walk from the lot to the base of the visitor center.  Also ship excursions don't always allow you to spend as much time at the park to be able to hike to the falls.  I've done both and will never take the ship offering again due to the time constraint.  YMMV

[bookmomoftwins]

How much time should you allow to go from the visitor center to the glacier, explore and go back?  Trying to figure out if we can squeeze in doing this on our own after a whale watching tour.

[dreams_of_travel]

10 minutes ago, bookmomoftwins said:

How much time should you allow to go from the visitor center to the glacier, explore and go back?  Trying to figure out if we can squeeze in doing this on our own after a whale watching tour.

The falls are about 1.5 miles roundtrip from the visitor center.  A few hiking sites recommend at least 45mins for the hike depending on your pace.  I did it on a very fast, about an hour, (do not recommend) walk last year due to my own scheduling fubar. LOL!  To fully enjoy the center, and the hike reading the signage, and taking pics maybe you could do it in 2 hrs?  Not many people seem to leave the visitor center area, so the hiking trail to the falls is rarely busy, in my experience.  Of course that depends on the cruise ship schedule of tours and going before or after the big rush. 

[Cbtours]

3 hours ago, dreams_of_travel said:

That is not quite correct. I used the blue bus at the port May 2022, and they drop off/pick up from a parking lot/loop about two blocks/500-800ft from the visitor center. It's a flat walk from the lot to the base of the visitor center.  Also ship excursions don't always allow you to spend as much time at the park to be able to hike to the falls.  I've done both and will never take the ship offering again due to the time constraint.  YMMV

That’s great to hear then. I had read the opposite in researching prior to our trip as far as I’m aware.

we definitely had plenty of time to hike to the falls then come back to the visitor centre with a good look around plus watch the short very interesting movie.

we had two hours there.

[dreams_of_travel]

2 hours ago, Cbtours said:

That’s great to hear then. I had read the opposite in researching prior to our trip as far as I’m aware.

we definitely had plenty of time to hike to the falls then come back to the visitor centre with a good look around plus watch the short very interesting movie.

we had two hours there.

 

That's fair.  It does depend on the cruise line, port timings, and their excursions.  The one I took ages ago allowed for about 1.5hrs, which by the time we figured out about the falls, after the visitor center, and the closer viewing trails, it was too late.  Perhaps cruise lines have changed their approach, and now allows much longer. 

[loveandpeas]

Can anybody tell me the cost for Blue Bus or other (non-ship excursion) busses going from the port to the Mendenhall Glacier?

[Ferry_Watcher]

9 hours ago, loveandpeas said:

Can anybody tell me the cost for Blue Bus or other (non-ship excursion) busses going from the port to the Mendenhall Glacier?

 

We went in May '23 and the cost was $45 each. 

If you have a National Parks Pass let the person at the kiosk know, as we both saved $5, so our actual cost was $40 each.

Keep your receipt for the return trip to town.

[kitkat343]

On 6/7/2023 at 1:44 PM, bookmomoftwins said:

How much time should you allow to go from the visitor center to the glacier, explore and go back?  Trying to figure out if we can squeeze in doing this on our own after a whale watching tour.

Our private whale watching tour dropped us off at Mendenhall Glacier at the end of our tour.  Maybe contact your provider to get a sense of whether that is possible and if it would work out with the timing of your ship.

[Hottubmomma]

We have an excursion ending at around 11:45, so I quick lunch and back on the bus to the glacier around 1....ship leaves at 5. Does that give us enough time to see the Glacier and the falls? I am worried about the return trip

[latebuyer]

Do you tip the bus driver?

[new_cruiser]

On 6/6/2023 at 1:16 PM, Cbtours said:

We booked through the ship and had a fantastic driver who was both knowledgeable and very funny! We were dropped right at the visitor centre whereas I believe the blue and white regular transport drop you quite a way from the centre.

 

the walk to nugget falls is about 1.5km each way from the centre. It’s an absolute must do.

the visitor centre is also a must. 
so allowing as much time as possible for those boys the glacier we felt it best to go right there. 
absolutely loved our time there.

The blue bus and other shuttles all drop quite close to the visitor center. The various bus stops are spread over a couple of hundred feet. Also, you probably want to take a look at Steep Creek which is across that area from the visitor center. When the salmon are running, you have a chance of safely seeing bears there.

 

I like that with the shuttles you can spend as much time as you want at Mendenhall. One time I did the Trail of Time which gives a different picture of the glacier and it's past extent. 

 

You may be confusing comments about taking the city bus to the glacier with the shuttle busses. The city bus costs much less (maybe a few bucks) but the bus stop for that is quite a ways from the visitor center (something on the order of a kilometer is what I remember).

Edited June 23, 2023 by new_cruiser

[new_cruiser]

On 6/19/2023 at 5:55 AM, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

We went in May '23 and the cost was $45 each. 

If you have a National Parks Pass let the person at the kiosk know, as we both saved $5, so our actual cost was $40 each.

Keep your receipt for the return trip to town.

When I asked about that at the blue bus kiosk in June 2023, they said they aren't doing that anymore.

[Cbtours]

27 minutes ago, new_cruiser said:

The blue bus and other shuttles all drop quite close to the visitor center. The various bus stops are spread over a couple of hundred feet. Also, you probably want to take a look at Steep Creek which is across that area from the visitor center. When the salmon are running, you have a chance of safely seeing bears there.

 

I like that with the shuttles you can spend as much time as you want at Mendenhall. One time I did the Trail of Time which gives a different picture of the glacier and it's past extent. 

 

You may be confusing comments about taking the city bus to the glacier with the shuttle busses. The city bus costs much less (maybe a few bucks) but the bus stop for that is quite a ways from the visitor center (something on the order of a kilometer is what I remember).

It true it could be a different bus, I’ve not had experience with them, just comments on here. 

[latebuyer]

Does the blue bus only take cash? I don’t think i got enough american money!

[new_cruiser]

4 hours ago, latebuyer said:

Does the blue bus only take cash? I don’t think i got enough american money!

Credit cards are fine.

[CLM0928]

I just received this email from the Blue Bus - I would not hold out hope for a ticket -- 

 

We are very sorry but your Tour with M&M Tours MUST be cancelled at this
time.
We cannot honor your booking due to the fact that we are out of GLACIER
PERMITS!

It saddens us to say but we have no Glacier Permits available. We have
tried to hold on as long as
possible hoping to receive more Glacier Permits. As far as we have been
told, there will be no more
Glacier Permits forthcoming.

We are not taking any new bookings for our Blue Bus or Juneau Highlights
Tours
at this time. Please check our website for NEW tours that do NOT go to the
Mendenhall Glacier. mmtoursofjuneau.com

Please check with our dock booths (M&M Tours of Juneau) the day you are in
our beautiful little city of Juneau.
They may have something available for you.

Thank you,
Tammy