Feedback/Suggestions for our Alaska Cruise itinerary

[jacksmom1975]

We (myself, husband, and 14 yo son) will be on the Royal Princess Alaska cruise from Seattle on August 12. Seattle was chosen as we have family there so we are staying extra days pre- and post-cruise to visit. I also chose this cruise on Princess as it includes the scenic cruising of Glacier Bay which we are looking forward to.

 

That being said, I'd like to make the most of the times that we do have in port. We're interested in being outside and seeing as much of the Alaskan natural beauty as we can. 

 

Juneau port time 12:00 - 9:00. I've booked Mendenhall Glacier Guide's Choice Trail Hike from 12:30 - 5:00 through Princess. This is listed as a half hour drive each way with about 3.5 hours of hiking time. I'm thinking this will help to satisfy our "get out in nature" desire. Has anyone done this excursion? Any thoughts on what we may want to do once we are back at the pier around 5:00? Would the tram be worth it? We'll probably stroll around Juneau a bit.

 

Skagway port time 6:30 am - 8:30 pm (water shuttle required). I've booked Skagway Hike & Float through an outside company. This starts at 9:45 am and is 4 hours in length. Similar questions to above - any feedback on this excursion and what is a must visit in town when we return? 

 

For Glacier Bay Scenic Cruising on the ship - any suggestions as to where may be the best spots for viewing? I don't really have a plan for this yet...

 

Ketchikan port time 7:00 am - 1:15 pm. Since we are such a short time in this port, I've booked the Lumberjack show for us at 9:15. It's a 1 hour show. I am thinking we will walk Creek Street after. We don't have time for much else. But I can cancel the lumberjack show if there is something better that we could do?

 

Victoria port time 9:00 pm - midnight. Is it worth getting off the ship at all here?

 

Appreciate all input! Looking forward to our trip!

 

 

[coolrider71]

Hi, I've done a couple of those excursions. We did the guides choice trail hike in Juneau in 2019. It was cold and a little drizzly but thats Juneau. Great hike! It was a group of about 20 people. Some folks in less shape and in better shape then me. Moderate hike, amazing scenery! Would definitely book that excursion again.                                                                                                                                           We have also done  the Hike and float excursion in Skagway. The hike was great and beautiful. Couple of things to say about that excursion though. The guide showed up as if he had just rolled out of bed. He wore flip flops and carried his mug of coffee. The very first part of the trail is extremely steep then flattens out a bit. For the very steep part he seemed annoyed that we were not moving as quickly as he would like. Then further on the trail he just cruised onward without ever looking back. My husband and I decided to enjoy the trail and the gorgeous scenery and they were just going to have to wait. When in reality we should have stayed as a group for safety issues. Anyway after the hike is the float. We have been white-water rafting a few times and thought the float was super Boring. Thats just us. Others may like it.                                                                                                                                  Btw we were also on the Royal Princess for this particular cruise. Loved the ship! Everything was perfect!

[harryfat1]

We were on the Majestic Princess last year on a different itinerary but I can provide some info on your questions on Glacier Bay and Ketchikan.

 

For Glacier Bay, it’s an all-day event.  The US National Park Rangers board the ship early in the morning and they stay all day and do all the talking via the PA system.

 

I will provide a few sample pictures here but if you want a more detailed account of what we did for the day, you can check out my trip report under my signature below.  Start with post #317 for Glacier Bay:

 

Most people camp out near the railings early for possible wild animal sightings.  Highly recommend to be at outside in the public deck area even if you have your own private balcony at the beginning of GB.  That's where the chances of spotting wild animals will be the highest and they could be on either side of the ship.  If you are outside, you can rush over to the other side.  Can't do that from your own balcony.  Go back to your cabin when you get to the glacier part.

 

People lined up on the lower deck:

 

 

As well as the upper deck:

 

 

While others prefer to be indoors:

 

 

Park Rangers setting up shop with detailed info on what to expect the entire day:

 

 

 

Few pictures of the Margerie Glacier:

 

 

 

 

 

We did the self-guided walking tour in Ketchikan.  Same cruise report link but start with post #517.  You can just pick up the free map and do the walk to see the town.

 

Have a great cruise and be happy to answer any follow-up questions.

[catinhat]

We did the Mendenhall Glacier at Juneau, but avoided an excursion.  We just hopped on the city bus (small fee), stayed as long as we wanted and came back.  Beautiful and we got to see a baby cub in the tree.   We have also done the tram on our own.  Loved both.  We also browsed the shops and found some cute souviniers.   

 

In Ketchikan, we did the crabbing excursion through the ship (not quite what we expected as we already crab, but we enjoyed seeing all the bald eagles).  Last trip there it was GORGEOUS and sunny so we hopped on a float plane spur of the moment and flew over the Fjords and landed on a small lake.  AMAZING!!!!!   We had time before our flight, so we purchased tickets on site for the logger show.  Cute.  

 

In Skagway we took the train ride,  gold panning and a lunch.  I can't remember if we booked on site or went through the cruise ship.   It was a rainy day, but we enjoyed the trip.     

 

Not sure about Victoria if you just have a few hours after 9:00 p.m.   

 

Glacier Bay is all day so you will have plenty of time to walk all over the ship and see different views.  

 

My husband LOVES boats, planes and trains, so this was an amazing trip!

[CCJack]

In Skagway consider the glacier point wilderness safari.  We booked through an outside vendor, but ended up with the same people who booked through the ship.   You get a ferry ride across the bay, then a hike through the woods, a canoe trip across a lake and finally you get to see Davison Glacier up close.   If you do that, I would skip Mendenhall altogether as you will see Davison Glacier plus your day at Glacier Bay.  

 

In Juneau, you could replace the Mendenhall excursion with whale watching or take the tram up Mt. Roberts and hike at the top of the tram. 

 

Your plan is certainly doable, but I was a bit underwhelmed with Mendenhall and thought Davison glacier was better and that frees up time in Juneau for something else.

 

[Coral]

I would watch some videos of the Lumberjack show and see if it is something you would enjoy. I would recommend it for someone with young children, not necessarily a family with a 14 year old. It is really corny. Some may like it. I did not.

[Ashland]

27 minutes ago, Coral said:

I would watch some videos of the Lumberjack show and see if it is something you would enjoy. I would recommend it for someone with young children, not necessarily a family with a 14 year old. It is really corny. Some may like it. I did not.

Agree...it was fine when our grandkids were toddlers. Now it's the Bering Sea tour they love.

[donaldsc]

I hope that you are aware that tour companies have sold tours to Mendenhall when they did not have permits for their tours. They have ended up having to refund monies collect for many of the Mendenhall tours.  I would verify that the Mendenhall glacier tour that you booked is still on.  Assuming that it is a cruise line tour I still would not believe them if the say "yes it is" so you should have a plan B just in case.

 

DON

[jacksmom1975]

Thanks so much for responses.

 

Can I ask if anyone has done the excursion  Mendenhall Glacier Guide's Choice Trail Hike that we have booked? This is not an excursion to the actual glacier, rather you hike a trail with overlooks of the glacier (600 to 1000 ft elevation gain). I'd love feedback as to the difficulty of it. We are all fairly fit, but we are not packing hiking boots, just our sneakers. The website shows images with some folks in jeans and sneakers on this so I figured we would be fine but am starting to overthink and worry...

 

The lumberjack show does indeed look a little "corny". We don't have much time in Ketchikan - are there other suggestions? Or just walk around?

 

Thanks again! Cruise Critic is the best!

[Lineaway]

We haven't done any of those specific tours but have done Alaskan cruises 3X in the last 8 years.  Always gone in August and have another booked the end of the month.  

 

Skagway: I liked walking around the town the best.  Typical touristy place but they mix history in with the experience.  Every shop seems to have Spruce or Birch syrup and Ulu knives.  Ulu knives are worthless so don't waste your money, I did buy one to try it though.  On NCL that time and had it in my backpack.  Walked right through security with it.  Luckily it wasn't something dangerous like a bottle of Scotch.  The different tree syrups are worth getting a small bottle for the novelty of it.  My Daughter and Son in Law did the hiking experience.  They enjoyed it.  

 

Ketchikan:  I thought this place had the most shops to walk around and explore.  Did the Totem pole excursion and thought that was boring.  Wasn't much to see. Creek street is always worth exploring.  Should be Salmon runs in the creek.  Your really limited on time here.  

 

Juneau:  Tram is worth it.  I thought pricey at 50 bucks pp, kids are less but cheaper than some other tours.  I think its an all day pass but the evening is the most scenic time to go and get pictures of the ships below the mountain.  Whale watching was good here.   Juneau is alot bigger city than what you see from the port and downtown area.  Its spread out alot.  Definitely see Mendenhall glacier as its going to go away soon.  I would take a shuttle and do my own hiking.  Then you can come back when you want. City bus is another option.  

 

Victoria:  We stayed on the ship the last time.  Most of the shops were closed.  Bars are open.  Butchart Gardens is nice at night but your 14yo won't enjoy it.  We docked out from the main part of the city.  The one time we went in we walked and that was a bad idea.  Safe but took up too much time.  

 

Glacier Bay is nice too.  You have a choice,  Get your chairs early as the decks and inside Observation areas fill up fast.  Both have advantages.  Outside is nice because the Glaciers Calf, you can hear and feel the air blast sometimes when your outside but not inside.  But its also mostly standing and the weather is usually crappy.  I've done both and prefer inside.  Kids get bored after a bit too.  

 

We live north of Seattle so August is our dry and sunny time but wet for Alaska.  Bring really good binoculars, raincoats, Umbrellas and bug spray.  On your first night leaving Seattle the scenery is amazing.  We enjoy sitting up on the top decks. Starboard side you won't have the sun in your eyes.  You'll go by Edmonds, Whidbey Island, Useless  Bay, and then you see the south end of the San Juans and after that a very distant Victoria.  Port side you will see the Olympic mountains, Kingston, Point no Point, entrance to Hood Canal and Port Townsend.  Sun will be in your eyes until you turn at Point no Point.  We stay on deck until you get to Port Angeles, roughly about 2-3 hours after leaving Seattle.  The ships usually slow and the Pilot gets out and transfers to a little boat.  Neat to see if you haven't seen that before.  After that your in the Straights and it will be getting dark.   

 

If you only get one thing out of this post it should be bring a quality pair of Binoculars.  We bought a compact pair for under 50 bucks and they were useless.  We next borrowed my Dads, 250 dollar Minoltas.  They were awesome.  You get what you pay for.      

[Joanne652]

@Lineaway 

You must live in Sequim?

[Lineaway]

Snohomish