Juneau Excursion Help

[Ajg601]

I am working on booking excursions for our September Alaskan cruise and am looking for opinions. We will be whale watching in Icy Strait and doing dog sledding in Seward. We are not really interested in doing a helicopter or small plane. We are thinking just to do the visit to Mendenhall Glacier/Nugget Falls. I like the idea of doing it as an excursions booked with the ship because then I know it’s just taken care of and we do not have to worry about find a way there and back. But the ship excursion only allows 2 hours there, is this enough?  Or we can include Glacier Gardens (is it worth going to?) but then we only get 90 minutes at Mendenhall.  Recommendations -  Mendenhall for 2 hours? Mendenhall for 90 minutes with Glacier Gardens? Something else entirely?

[CCJack]

Will you be seeing a glacier elsewhere on your cruise?   If so, consider skipping Mendenhall.  

 

If not, probably worth seeing, but I think 90 min or 2 hours would be enough.

 

We took the tram up to Mt. Roberts and then did hiking at the top of the mountain, a really inexpensive excursion with great views....  

[wolfie11]

The biggest attraction for me is the hike out to Nugget Falls.

[Jnsplace1]

 From what I hear, it's pretty easy to get out to the park where you can do as big of a walk or small, depending on what you'd like.   

I find the shuttles from the cruise ships, tend to be a tad short.  In Mexico, we were able to take a different bus back (assuming there were different times available), but had to ask.

 

You could take a peek at the link, this is from the National Park system, it gives you some ideas of how to get out there, and once out there, what all you can do.

 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tongass/about-forest/offices/?cid=fseprd495443

 

[sharon_pei]

On 3/20/2024 at 7:17 AM, CCJack said:

Will you be seeing a glacier elsewhere on your cruise?   If so, consider skipping Mendenhall.  

 

If not, probably worth seeing, but I think 90 min or 2 hours would be enough.

 

We took the tram up to Mt. Roberts and then did hiking at the top of the mountain, a really inexpensive excursion with great views....  

I do believe there will be other opportunities of seeing glaciers, like in glacier bay. so i plan to skip Mendenhall.

 

Now, the question arises: what activities should we pursue in this port? Based on our research, the popular options are as follows:

1. Tram ride: We're thinking about it, but it depends on the weather and might not take up the whole day.

2. Strolling around town: Not really our thing, to be honest.

3. Whale watching: We've done this so many times before, it's not high on our list this time.

4. Helicopter glacier landing: Sounds cool, but it's a bit out of our budget since we're already splurging on the Skagway train/bus tour and Matanuska trek.

5. Salmon bake or gold panning: not really our cup of tea.

6. Renting a car to explore outside of downtown: This seems like our best bet, but we're not sure if it's more suited for people who've been to Juneau a bunch of times and have seen it all.

 

[Donwoods123]

The tram is a good option if it is a clear day.  The views are pretty amazing.  If it is not clear, I would skip it.  

On 3/22/2024 at 2:12 PM, sharon_pei said:

I do believe there will be other opportunities of seeing glaciers, like in glacier bay. so i plan to skip Mendenhall.

 

Now, the question arises: what activities should we pursue in this port? Based on our research, the popular options are as follows:

1. Tram ride: We're thinking about it, but it depends on the weather and might not take up the whole day.

2. Strolling around town: Not really our thing, to be honest.

3. Whale watching: We've done this so many times before, it's not high on our list this time.

4. Helicopter glacier landing: Sounds cool, but it's a bit out of our budget since we're already splurging on the Skagway train/bus tour and Matanuska trek.

5. Salmon bake or gold panning: not really our cup of tea.

6. Renting a car to explore outside of downtown: This seems like our best bet, but we're not sure if it's more suited for people who've been to Juneau a bunch of times and have seen it all.

 

[SightCRR]

Here is my favorite Juneau and ISP web cam that will show you what tram is like. TheSnowCloud Juneau area Webcams

Look up the Whale Project, AK museum and the fish hatchery. I would think that in Sept it would have tons of salmon along with many eagles. Keep eyes open for black bears in Sept towards salmon streams.  Depending on your pier whale project and museum are within walking distance. Cab to hatchery. 

[Gsel]

The museum at the State Capital is excellent. Within walking distance.