QUESTION ABOUT BOOKING EXCURSIONS (Summit Alaska)

[MontiD]

Hi All...I'm a newby. Booked on Summit (Alaska) 6/2005. I have a few questions about booking the excursions off the Celebrity website. First, how far in advance can you book? I tried to book online but was not able to. Gave me an error msg, something about the excursion was not available. When we cruised on Disney, could not book until about 60 days out. Next question: when booking, is payment due in full, or just a deposit? I want to book as early as possible to get the selections we want. One more question, when the ship docks, approx how long until we can get off? Thanks!

 

Monti:D

[mazza]

Hi

I think it's about 6 months out that you can start booking, if I am remembering correctly. We booked a few excursions this way for our Summit trip to Alaska and it worked out fine. Had to pay then and there though, via credit card.

 

The ship docked at around 7am or just before - we had a 7.55am call time, and were off the ship and on our way to the airport by 8.30am (they give you call times based on your travel arrangements). Easy.

 

Maree

[rjg41]

It is payment in full at time of reservation. There are cancellation rules for refunds. They are shown on the web site.

 

Just a word. One of the best excursions is not available from Celebrity---whale watching with Capt. Larry of Orca Enterprises. You must book directly at http://www.orcaenterprises.com. Capt. Larry and his family run the operation and their office is right in front of the pier. Book early especially if you want to be on Capt. Larry's boat.

[Kababs]

Great question, I was wondering the same thing myself, we are on the June 10, 2005 soutbound cruise on Summit. I am very interested in the whale watching tour, thanks rjg41 for the link! Never too early to plan!!

Karen

[redphoenyx]

We just came off the Summit! You will have a fantastic time!

 

We booked about 4 months in advance via the website and did not have any issues. I would keep trying. There might have been something wrong with the site when you tried to book. You have to pay with a credit card right then and there.

 

The glacier dog sledding adventure was my favorite!!!!

[philbob]

Hi, - First time cruiser - 9/12 Mercury 12 day to Alaska

 

Many questions -

 

The excursion booklet has prices listed - Is anything added to the price ie: tax, service charge, etc?

 

Will there be long lines for tickets if I don't buy on board?

 

Any possibility of getting shutout ?

 

We are thinking about below -

 

Appreciate any ideas, suggestions, do, don't do. ???

 

Skagway - 3 1/2 hour Whitepass Train.

 

Juneau - 6 hour combo whale / mendenhall / salmon bake. - Tram

 

Ketchikan - Lumberjack - Totem Poles

 

Victoria - Renting a car - going on own to Boutchard Gardens, Craigdarroch

 

Castle, Empress Hotel for Tea/Lunch

 

Sitka - ???

 

Icy Straits - ???

 

Want to take a heli to glaciers - Don't know which port or company is best.

 

Thanks, Bob

[philbob]

Repeat

 

Hi, - First time cruiser - 9/12 Mercury 12 day to Alaska

 

Many questions -

 

The excursion booklet has prices listed - Is anything added to the price ie: tax, service charge, etc?

 

Will there be long lines for tickets if I don't buy on board?

 

Any possibility of getting shutout ?

 

We are thinking about below -

 

Appreciate any ideas, suggestions, do, don't do. ???

 

Skagway - 3 1/2 hour Whitepass Train.

 

Juneau - 6 hour combo whale / mendenhall / salmon bake. - Tram

 

Ketchikan - Lumberjack - Totem Poles

 

Victoria - Renting a car - going on own to Boutchard Gardens, Craigdarroch

 

Castle, Empress Hotel for Tea/Lunch

 

Sitka - ???

 

Icy Straits - ???

 

Want to take a heli to glaciers - Don't know which port or company is best.

 

Thanks, Bob

[Mysteryreader]

We did a Summit cruisetour #10, sail date 8/13. We booked two excursions online about a month prior to the cruise. One was the Skagway White Pass Rwy. We were glad we did b/c when we checked the excursion desk onboard; the WPRwy was an excursion that was sold out. The train is on tracks right next to the pier. You can also get the WPRwy from the train station in town, but that's not as convenient. We had considered signing up for the Saxman Village tour (in Ketchikan); it was still available onboard so we booked then.

 

Thanks to CC I knew there was no rush to sign up for a Mendenhall Glacier tour through Celebrity. We took a Mendenhall Glacier/Juneau city tour we got at vendor at the dock. If we had to do it over, we'd just go with the $5 one way trip to Mendenhall Glacier b/c the 40 min. we had available at the glacier wasn't long enough. The tour around Juneau was slightly interesting but was spoiled by a dozen or more tourists from Hong Kong who talked non-stop and all at once making it very difficult to hear the driver's narration. (No, it wasn't a language thing. They spoke fluent English.) We decided against the tram b/c it was pretty pricey for just going up a mtn and looking at the view although you can get a price break by hiking to the top and taking the tram back down. :-)

 

In Icy Straits we didn't sign up for an excursion but took the shuttle into Hoonah operated by a local. He welcomed us as "visitor boundaries' escapees." Hoonah is very economically depressed--quite a switch from the seemingly endless array of jewelry shops in the other ports. A 10-yr-old girl has set up a lemonade stand. If you get there, buy some lemonade--support Hoonah's economy! :-) If we go there again, we're going to do some of the walking paths that start at the visitors' center. There are a few native arts shops at the IS dock. The only jewelry I bought in AK came from one of those shops--it's a sterling silver necklace with a pendant of forget-me-nots (the AK state flower) by an Alaskan artist.

 

There are monitors at the excursions desk onboard that notify you as to any sold-out excursions. The longest line we ever saw at the desk was only three so signing up didn't take long. We were debating between two different excursions in Ketchikan, and the agent was very helpful in our decision.

 

The other excursion we signed up for was a Nenana rafting float trip in Denali. They cancelled on us without notification, lied about it, and resisted agreeing to a refund for close to 1/2 hr. Definitely a bad experience. If you're interested in a raft trip on the Nenana R., I can give you the name of another company who was very helpful and gave us a great trip. You pay a slight premium for booking through Celebrity, and this was one time we felt it was no advantage at all to have booked online.

 

M/R

[philbob]

M/R - Thanks for the info. Looks like some good advice.

 

Can't wait for our first cruise.

 

Bob

[ginza]

Hi -- this will be our first cruise (May 20, Alaska, Summit)...we purchased the air through Celebrity...when I went online to purchase the train from Seward to Anchorage I was not able to do this -- Celebrity says because I have purchased air through them that my transfer by motorcoach is included...I said I was willing to pay the upgrade for the train but they insisted I can not do this...we really want to take the train...does anyone have any suggestions around this besides booking our own airfare?

 

Also, my travel agent tried to tell me the motorcoach ride from Seward to Anchorage is just as good as the train, however the books we have been looking at say otherwise....has anyone any input on this?

 

Thanks so much....

[Bruin Steve]

Ginza,

I would go ahead and just take the motorcoach...The scenery is pretty much the same...and you will save a lot of stress on logistics...Celebrity will get you--and your luggage--directly from the ship to the airport...If you take the train, you will have to get from the ship to the RR station in Seward and from RR Station to Airport in Anchorage...

 

The train will cost you $59 each for "standard service" and much more for the "domed" cars (remember, most of the domed RR cars are individually owned by the cruise lines and they use them for their "Cruisetours"...You won't be able to ride on these...The Alaska RR has the "Alaska Railroad GoldStar dome service"...and their website says it costs "an additional $80 most runs"...

 

We did a 13-night Cruisetour this past July and our tour had the Domed RR cars from Fairbanks to Denali to Talkeetna, but "motorcoaches" from Talkeetna South to Seward...They were just fine...

 

One of the nice things about doing everything through Celebrity was that they took care of all the logistics...

 

For those still looking at excursions for this trip, here's my two cents:

 

We are the sorts who usually do our excursions through the ship UNLESS There are major differences. For Alaska, after much research, we only did one excursion through the ship--Whale Watching at Icy Strait Point...There are not a lot of "private" excursions to be had in ISP...and the whale watching there is great...mostly due to the incredible number of whales to be seen...We opted against doing the whale thing in Juneau (even though smaller boats are available there through both Capt. Larry or through the ship--and BOTH options appeared roughly the same and at similar prices) because it seemed like this was one of the few things to do in ISP while Juneau offered so many different and better options...In Juneau, we opted for a Glacier helicopter landing with Coastal Helicopters...We saved considerably off the prices the ship offered ($180 per person rather than the $216 for the ship's tour...For the four of us, that's a savings of $144) and, as it turned out, the Coastal tour was a better tour, ranging far beyond where the ship's tour took it's people...

 

http://www.coastalhelicopters.com/t_icefield.htm

 

(Note: I see on the website they've gone up to $185...but I see on the Celebrity shorex site, they've gone up to $223...So, it's now a $38 per person difference)

[ginza]

Hi all -- TA just called and we can add on the train from Seward to Anchorage and a hotel stay (1 night) in Anchorage for $508 for the two of us....don't know if it is really worth it to spend that to take the train...we are on a budget and could use that $500 for some nice shore excursion...any input would be appreciated...this is our first cruise and our first trip to Alaska...thanks, Ginny

[Bruin Steve]

Ginny,

Again, if the $508 is a lot of money to you, then I'd save it and go with the bus...

 

We did the 13 night cruisetour because it was our first time to Alaska, and as it may be our only time, we wanted to see as much as possible...

 

But, the highlights in the interior portion of Alaska really weren't the trips between stops...The highlights were in what we did at the stops--the riverboat and the Gold Mine in Fairbanks, the 7 hour wildlife tour in Denali, the view of Mt. McKinley from our hotel in Talkeetna (and no matter how nice the views from the train, the view from the hotel was still way better) and so on...The domed train was very nice...but, it was still just transportation...okay, transportation with a nice view...But the bus had nice views as well...

 

And, the portion you'd be going through isn't the part near Mt. McKinley, not that it's not pleasant, but...

 

By the time you get to this part, you've already seen some scenery that is far more magnificent than what you'll see from the train or bus...You'll have seen Hubbard Glacier up close from the ship...You'll have taken a trip up to Mendenhall Glacier or through Misty Fjords...You'll have gone through the White Pass between Skagway and the Yukon...

 

I'd use that $508 towards a helicopter glacier landing in Juneau (For a better deal than the ship offers, contact Coastal Helicopters:

 

http://www.coastalhelicopters.com/t_icefield.htm

 

$185 per person...and the views are better than whatever you'll get on the train ride)...

 

That's $370 right there and leaves you $138 for another excursion...You want great scenery from a Train? You can take the White Pass RR when you stop in Skagway--I think the shore excursion goes for $99 a person...(We didn't take it, we did Horseback riding through Southeast Tours, so I can't give too much detail on this one)...

 

But, there you go, instead of spending $508 for transportation you can get for free (and a night in a hotel in Anchorage--which is no great shakes), you spend $568 for two incredible excursions...You get to see scenery from a train--and an historic one at that...and you get the unbelievably extraordinary experience of flying over a glaciel icefield, landing at the top of the world and walking around on a million year old river of blue ice...

 

And you'll still get to your plane home...and you'll still see the scenery between Seward and Anchorage...

 

Have fun...

[rhoeffner]

Having done the train from Seward to Anchorage, here is our take on the situation.

 

A taxi from the pier to the RR station cost us $5 total. Their aren't many taxi's for that area and they literally fight for the business - might be a slight wait for them to make the loop. From the RR station you can actually see the pier, so it's not that far, but too far to walk.

 

We booked all our transporation ourselves. Let me tell you, it was the ride of a lifetime! I would take it over a bus any day. Maybe not for an extra $500, but I would keep working on getting it done for less. The cars we rode in were the Old Timey cars where the seats were huge and way far apart from the seats in front. All the chairs had been re-upholstered and it was very nice, yet had the old feel of what riding on a passenger train might have been like. They had special domed cars where you could go up in and look out for a bit - these had to be shared so you couldn't stay for hours. Not sure about Gold service, we didn't have any options like that.

 

The scenery - yes, much like what you will have already seen, but according to DH, was a fantastic way to end an already perfect trip - I slept due to loving to sleep on a train. Lots of wildlife was seen, waterfalls, more glaciers and the conductor/car attendant gives a little info on when to watch for what. We ate in the dining car and that was quite an experience too!

 

Coming into Anchorage we passed a huge auto accident - it had traffic backed up for miles, which didn't clear for hours. Probably doesn't happen alot, but those on a bus needing to catch a flight out of Anchorage, probably missed their flight. Unfortunately it was a very bad wreck. We got to Anchorage and there are many cabs waiting - off to the airport, which was about 20 minutes and $20- a couple of hours through check-in - literally. The sun was just going down - this was around midnight or 1am. We took off at 2am and the sun was coming up....windows down so everyone could sleep!!!!

 

Never purchased air through the cruiseline, but who's to say you MUST take their transfers? So you use their airfare and when you get to Seward your on your own. Yes, it will cost you a bit - but not $500!!! If your Celebrity package includes the hotel in Anchorage, you show up when you get there to check in. If it doesn't include it and your flight is scheduled, go on to the airport and wait. Not sure if this is feasible - but I'm one to work around to get my way - I don't like not getting my way, so I usually figure it out!

 

We did 2 train rides on our Alaska trip - this one and Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver. Both were highlights of our trip......and the rental car in Skagway up to Emerald Lake for $50 for the whole day!

[ginza]

Thank you for all the valuable input...I have learned that up until March 11 I can book my own airfare and cancel the airfare with Celebrity....so I will continue to work on this....thanks again..Ginny