7SeasLover Posted October 30, 2006 #1 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Sailing on the NCL Pearl on May 13th for our 35th wedding anniversary. It will be my third cruise to Alaska, but my husband's first. (He never wanted to go so I went with my mom or girlfriends!) Anyway, I am just not all that excited with the excurisions (or prices) offered by the ship. Having just returned from a cruise on the Jewel to Europe, I was thrilled at the private tours I booked based on recommendations from Cruise Critic members in this forum. Can anyone recommend private guides in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchican? (Oh... I saved over $1000 by booking private tours in Europe, had more time, and saw more - that was cool.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyIL Posted October 30, 2006 #2 Share Posted October 30, 2006 There is Lois in Ketchikan: http://www.classictours.com/ Other than that, I haven't heard of people hiring private guides in Alaskan ports. There are plenty of independent vendors who do similar excursions as the cruiseline, except with smaller groups of people and a more personalized tour - also usually a little less expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrmende63 Posted October 30, 2006 #3 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Sailing on the NCL Pearl on May 13th for our 35th wedding anniversary. It will be my third cruise to Alaska, but my husband's first. (He never wanted to go so I went with my mom or girlfriends!) Anyway, I am just not all that excited with the excurisions (or prices) offered by the ship. Having just returned from a cruise on the Jewel to Europe, I was thrilled at the private tours I booked based on recommendations from Cruise Critic members in this forum. Can anyone recommend private guides in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchican? (Oh... I saved over $1000 by booking private tours in Europe, had more time, and saw more - that was cool.) In Ketchikan We went with Sourdough Tours and saw Totem Bight State Park and Saxman Village. It was pretty Cheap priced but really nice tours. We also got tickets for Dolly's house included . If you do a search for Ak sourdough tours, you should find the website. I would not hesitate to use Sourdough again. In the other ports, I guess it depends on what you want to do. Go to the ports websites and have a look. Have fun! Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7SeasLover Posted October 31, 2006 Author #4 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Thank you! I have contacted them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea_u_onboard Posted October 31, 2006 #5 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Do a search on the ports. There are so many things to do in each port. It is really going to depend on what you have in mind. Not real sure about Ketchikan because we have chartered a boat and will be on it for most of our port time. In Juneau we are going Whale Watching through Orca Enterprises, although there are other very reputable vendors that do this same tour. You have Mendenhall, Mt. Roberts Tram, the Alaska Brewery, the Gardens, LOTS of stuff. We are renting a car from Rent A Wreck after our Whale Watching as it was cheaper with 4 of us to get around. If there are just 2 of us then you would probably be better to take the shuttles. In Skagway we are again renting a car and driving to Carcross and Emerald Lake. Again - lots of things to do. It's just going to be dependent on your mobility and interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisevacationsrock Posted October 31, 2006 #6 Share Posted October 31, 2006 We are doing whale watching in Juneau with Harv and Marv, http://www.harvandmarvs.com/, and in Ketchikan we are doing a floatplane tour with Island Wings, http://www.islandwings.com/. I spoke with both operators who were very helpful and answered any questions I had. Not sure what to do in Skagway, but Southeast Tours has some great tours, http://southeasttours.com/. I know we want to do dogsledding in Skagway, but DH would rather book this with the cruiseline, so we are arguing about that, but I'm sure I'll win.:D C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suvgal Posted October 31, 2006 #7 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Just remember, if you book thru the cruise ship the ship will wait for you to get back. Each tour we took, the tour agent called someone on the ship to tell them we were back. However, if you book privately remember to be back before the ship leaves as they won't wait for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea_u_onboard Posted November 1, 2006 #8 Share Posted November 1, 2006 There has been MANY discussions on this board about people being left behind. While this seems to be a common problem in the warmer climates that doesn't seem to have that problem on the Alaska cruises. I'm sure some of the MORE EXPERIENCED Alaska cruisers will be able to give you more comfort in this area. Many of the BIG vendors have been around for a long time and if they allowed there customers to be late they wouldn't be in business long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budget Queen Posted November 1, 2006 #9 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I suggest you look over a shore excursion list and narrow down your interests. Then look up independents. Do not expect big savings by booking direct, but do expect superior tours, more personal attention, longer tours etc. Go with the vender's scheduling recommendations- you won't be left behind, if you are, it's going to be your own fault. :) I am on this same Pearl sailing at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorgirlseattle Posted November 1, 2006 #10 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I HIGHLY recommend the White Pass Railroad trip in Skagway .. I would book that through the trip, because it seems each train was full. Even if you're not a train buff, the trip is amazing, and the scenery is incredible! TONS of photo ops ... I went through several rolls of film on that trip alone, and my hubby filled up a memory card on the digital. You also learn a lot of the local history through that trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alaskandude Posted November 2, 2006 #11 Share Posted November 2, 2006 What are you wanting to do in Ketchikan. There is lot to do here and every other port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7SeasLover Posted November 2, 2006 Author #12 Share Posted November 2, 2006 I'm familar with booking private tours v. cruise ship tours. We prefer private tours to the cruise tours in any port. Considerable savings (even in limos) and we see more. I'm not exactly sure what I want to do in Alaska. No interest in adventure excursions such as dogsleds, helicopters, or whale-watching. I prefer scenic drives. Did the White Pass train already. Mendenhal will be a must. I'll keep researching. Speaking of the ship leaving. I've know ships to leave even when their own excursions were late! There was a broken bus during a Caribbean cruise and the ship left. They had to be brought out to the ship by the Coast Guard or some such high speed vessel. That was their OWN excursion too! Thanks for all the input. It's been very helpful. I just need to decide excactly what to do. Thanks everyone!!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brunolvr Posted November 2, 2006 #13 Share Posted November 2, 2006 I'm familar with booking private tours v. cruise ship tours. We prefer private tours to the cruise tours in any port. Considerable savings (even in limos) and we see more. I'm not exactly sure what I want to do in Alaska. No interest in adventure excursions such as dogsleds, helicopters, or whale-watching. I prefer scenic drives. Did the White Pass train already. Mendenhal will be a must. I'll keep researching. Speaking of the ship leaving. I've know ships to leave even when their own excursions were late! There was a broken bus during a Caribbean cruise and the ship left. They had to be brought out to the ship by the Coast Guard or some such high speed vessel. That was their OWN excursion too! Thanks for all the input. It's been very helpful. I just need to decide excactly what to do. Thanks everyone!!:) 7SeasLover, have you thought about renting a car in Skagway and driving into the Yukon and to Emerald Lake? Talk about a scenic drive! That's one that can't be beat! We did the White Pass train our first time there and have done the drive twice. Just make sure you print out Murray's guide if you do decide to make the drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
island lady Posted November 3, 2006 #14 Share Posted November 3, 2006 We are going to mix it up with tours booked through the ship in Juneau and Ketchikan, doing our own walking tour thing in Victoria, and then for our longest port day in Sitka: I have a rental car reserved. I also opted for the extra 20.00 to the rental car agency to pick us up and return us to the ship. We have many times enjoyed the one day rental car thing during ports of call all over the carribean and Hawaii, finding it was the best part of the cruise. Looking forward to a coast tour on our own in Alaska, plus much cheaper than a booked quided tour. With a good map, quidebook, lunch packed....we can pretend we are explorers! Cheers! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7SeasLover Posted November 4, 2006 Author #15 Share Posted November 4, 2006 That sounds like fun. Our cruise doesn't include Sitka unfortunately. Driving in Alaska will be ok - a lot better than driving in Rome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
island lady Posted November 5, 2006 #16 Share Posted November 5, 2006 New Zeeland, the Virgin Islands, etc. with all the "leftie" drivers were the most interesting places to rent a car. We kept having to tell ourselves to "think left...think left" and of course the traffic circles will really confuse you! Cheers! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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