Excursion question: quality vs. quantity. What would you do?

[Octavias]

I currently have us booked for 3 excursions but am having second thoughts.  Perhaps I should use the money we are spending on the 3 to buy just 1 really fantastic excursion?

 

the 3 are:  white pass rail road, Endicott arm and glacier viewing (the boat that takes you closer to Dawes glacier), and Misty Fjords flight seeing.  
 

if I took the funds from those, I could afford the helicopter excursion that takes you around and on top of a glacier.  
 

what do you guys think?  What would you do? 

[cmmaxwell03]

I think you have the right idea to do 3 different types of excursions: train, boat and flight seeing.  This allows for 3 different experiences.  If you only go on the helicopter excursion, there is a chance that bad weather could cause it to be canceled and then you miss out completely.  

 

Our cruise is in September and I have done my best to select different types of excursions so that we were not repeating the same type of excursion over and over.  

[roupa]

Do all three.  You should love each one!

If the timing of the excursion is right, you’ll still have a chance to walk around and self explore during port time.  You will find ports are interesting on their own.

[AKStafford]

Those are three great options.

[Anita Latte]

One thing that stood out to me when I was researching for our AK cruise was commentary from people that was along the lines of seeing more beautiful land etc. It seemed necessary to really make each port or whatever distinct and unique so that they wouldn’t blend and mesh together in memory. Your plan with the 3 distinct modes of transport should yield 3 distinct experiences enough that you don’t suffer from memory issues later.

 

Also…the other thing I read was that helicopter excursions were the most cancelled due to poor weather…have a back up plan just in case. 
 

So I agree with all the PP, variety is a way better strategy than eggs in one basket.

[HaveWeMetYet]

The helicopter excursions involve all of 15 minutes up and 15 minutes back. I think you get about 30 minutes on the glacier to roam around and see some ice.

A ton of money for so little time. I think the prices are 600 or more per person.

[Coral]

I am going to say do 3 excursions also.

[naturelovergirl]

I say do all three you have- they will be amazing!!!

[Heidi13]

Considering your title, personally I always prefer quality over quantity.

 

However, quality is not always associated with higher price points. Of the 3 excursions you noted, I'll suggest the quality of those excursions, is every bit as good as the quality of a helo glacier tour.

 

Like others, I would retain the reservations for the 3 tours already booked and enjoy the variety.

[Coral]

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Considering your title, personally I always prefer quality over quantity.

 

I agree. There are some crappy Alaskan excursions. Thought the 3 picked out were actually good over view.

[SightCRR]

You picked some good ones. Save the helo for the next trip and I am guessing there will be a next trip. 

[Aquahound]

I prefer quality but I agree with everyone else.  Those 3 options are excellent excursions.  In this case, I'd stick with the 3.  

[Octavias]

Thanks everyone!  I realized, I had left out one very important detail.  This cruise is a bucket list trip for me because I want to visit the glaciers before I die.  So…. The excursion that takes us to a glacier is pretty important to the core purpose.  
 

we did cancel two of the three and booked the visit to Taku glacier.  I’m going to try to keep the flight seeing of the Misty Fjords if we can afford it and we will add back in the train ride too if budget allows.  

[SightCRR]

With this new info skip Misty Fjords and do the helo landing on glacier. Skagway or Juneau or both so one doesn't get cancelled. Check youtube for videos. 

[Mountaineer0313]

Do all 3. I have done the Misty Fjords flightseeing and it's fantastic. We didn't do the train because we rented a car and drove ourselves. 

[Coral]

On 7/12/2023 at 3:14 PM, Octavias said:

Thanks everyone!  I realized, I had left out one very important detail.  This cruise is a bucket list trip for me because I want to visit the glaciers before I die.  So…. The excursion that takes us to a glacier is pretty important to the core purpose.  
 

we did cancel two of the three and booked the visit to Taku glacier.  I’m going to try to keep the flight seeing of the Misty Fjords if we can afford it and we will add back in the train ride too if budget allows.  

I would do a small boat tour to Dawes glacier.

[DaveOKC]

We booked the Misty Fjords flight three times  before we finally were able to go on our fourth trip.  Fantastic excursion,