Tours not to be missed in Alaska ......

[tolter]

We are on the Millennium for the July 4th sailing out of Seward. Any recommendations??

[pattyj 1204]

My first cruise was to Alaska and it was the best vacation I was ever on. We took the ship tours in all the cities but Juneau. We went on an Orca tour with the Orca Whale Watch. It was easily done and the tour was worth every penny. We took the Scenic rail and Trail Ride in Skagway. It was amazing what the old timers constructed with the equipment that they had at the time. I was impressed with the totem poles at the Totem Bight State Park, there again, it is amazing at what they were able to do with the tools they had and how well preserved they were. You will have an awesome trip. Enjoy yourself.

[CaptainG]

If your doing a land tour before boarding, I suggest the McKinley Flier tour out of Talkeetna. We originally booked the flight and glacier landing, but the landing portion is discontinued later in the summer as the ice gets too soft for landing. In spite of that, the flight through the Alaska range was incredible.

[Coco Creek]

I cannot imagine Alaska without a helicopter ride to the Juneau icefields with or without the visit to the dog sledding camp.

[Bruin Steve]

Absolute #1 in my book was a Helicopter Glacier Landing out of Juneau...We did ours with Coastal Helicopter:

 

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

 

Better tours at a better price than through the cruise line...

 

Have fun...

[pattyj 1204]

Have had time to think a little and I should have advised you to go on the Alaska board, they talk about the tours and sights to be seen in Alaska, I learned a lot there.

[DC2OC]

I cannot imagine Alaska without a helicopter ride to the Juneau icefields with or without the visit to the dog sledding camp.

 

 

We did the Coastal Helicopter tour without the dog sled and saved over the Celebrity tour.Had a great time.

[cpgrneyes]

Tolter, we're sailing on the same cruise! Come join our rollcall at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=706346&page=1 .

 

The two excursions I've heard are not to be missed are the helicopter glacier landing (all 7 of us are doing that) and the Misty Fjords floatplane (just me on that one).

 

Hope to meet you!

[MKKruiser]

My highlight was the helicopter, landing on the glacier and doing the dogsled.

[Putterdude]

The historic, narrow guage, WP&YRR trip to the summit is always my favourite.

[CaptainG]

Did the float plane boat trip in Septemter. The float plane part of it was good. About 30 to 45 minutes. The boat ride back was looooong and boring. 2-1/2 hours most of which wasn't all that scenic.

[anon60]

We took both Harv and Marv Juneau whale watch and Floyd Peterson's F.I.S.H.E.S. whale watch out of Hoonah. We lucked out with Floyd much more, but enjoyed Harv's lovely personality and interesting stories as well. Definitely spend more and go on a smaller vessel for whale watching.

Also enjoyed Neet Bay Bear watch an awful lot. I and DH took Juneau pilot's choice helicopter flight, but I think DH enjoyed more the flight he took out of Skagway with DS - no landing. Enjoy! Alaska is beautiful.

[Cracker Ken]

If your cruise stops at Icy Straits Point, do the whale watching excursion. We did that when we were there and saw so many hump backs that we lost track. That area is ripe for whale watching. We took the ship excursion.

 

Ken

[Drew B]

If you're visiting Skagway, my favorite was the Celebrity-sponsored Eagle Preserve Float out of Haines (across the Fjord from Skagway).

[rjg41]

Consider doing the glacier helicopter trip from Skagway and then you can do whale watching in Juneau with Orca Enterprises (Capt. Larry) or Harv and Marv's. Don't miss the Red Dog Salon in Juneau(free except what you eat or drink). You'll get to sing "Why did you leave me Lucielle, you..........you.........you..........! and a lot more fun. White Pass rail in Skagway is also good. Several options for that. Totem's in Ketchican. Not exciting but interesting.

[FunForUs]

If you're visiting Skagway, my favorite was the Celebrity-sponsored Eagle Preserve Float out of Haines (across the Fjord from Skagway).

We are looking at doing this tour if it is the one where you are on the rafts. Never having been on a raft before, I was somewhat concerned as to whether they are difficult to sit on without falling off and also if they are very uncomfortable if the weather is rainy. Thanks, Shirley

[CruzCouple]

My wife still talks about the best excursion she was ever on - the helicopter ride to the glacier on her Alaska cruise a couple of years ago. I have a tendancy to pass on the more expensive excursions like this. But I'm learning to lighten up and live a little, it just takes a little prodding now and then. Go for it!

[lovetocruise99]

We took both Harv and Marv Juneau whale watch and Floyd Peterson's F.I.S.H.E.S. whale watch out of Hoonah. We lucked out with Floyd much more, but enjoyed Harv's lovely personality and interesting stories as well. Definitely spend more and go on a smaller vessel for whale watching.

Also enjoyed Neet Bay Bear watch an awful lot. I and DH took Juneau pilot's choice helicopter flight, but I think DH enjoyed more the flight he took out of Skagway with DS - no landing. Enjoy! Alaska is beautiful.

 

I have both of these whale watch tours booked in June. Is it too much to do them both?

[Drew B]

We are looking at doing this tour if it is the one where you are on the rafts. Never having been on a raft before, I was somewhat concerned as to whether they are difficult to sit on without falling off and also if they are very uncomfortable if the weather is rainy. Thanks, Shirley

 

 

The weather when I did it was gorgeous, crisp, clear and sunny, so I can't answer your question about the rain. It is not difficult at all to sit on the rafts without falling off. We had a variety of people across a range of age and physical fitness, and nobody expressed any difficulty...