Vent - Price of Alaska excursions

[cynt]

I need 30 seconds to vent - UUGGHHH!!! The price of these excursions are ridiculous. Why are they so expensive? They better be worth every dime. I just paid for my Chilkoot tour - $174.30 - 7 hour - YIKES!!! I booked my Photo Safari - $185 double yikes and then I'm on a waiting list to zipline $169. Man, the scenery and everything else better be worth it. Thank goodness I'm a cash only vacationer and I've saved up for this. Total $520 for my excursions and this doesn't even include the other little extra stuff I'll do at the ports on my own.

 

OK vent over. I'm going to ALASKA in two weeks!!!!

[Yukon]

We only went on one excursion in the Caribbean 2 years ago because prices were too high for what was offered, and the Alaska prices are comparable to what we paid in New Zealand a few weeks ago. Despite what they claim about short seasons and high costs, though, there are a lot of wealthy Alaska tour operators :)

[DougH]

In my experinece while more expensive I usually feel I got better value on my longer more expensive tours. Its the short $40-$50 ones that I feel I get ripped of, comparable ones can usually be found shoreside for 1/2 price. Prices in Alaska are comparable to other places, if you want sticker shock check out tour prices in Europe or South America. FYI I also spent $350 recenlt on the HAl Copper Canyon train ride, granted it was an 18 hour tour.

[vbmom87]

I need 30 seconds to vent - UUGGHHH!!! The price of these excursions are ridiculous. Why are they so expensive? They better be worth every dime. I just paid for my Chilkoot tour - $174.30 - 7 hour - YIKES!!! I booked my Photo Safari - $185 double yikes and then I'm on a waiting list to zipline $169. Man, the scenery and everything else better be worth it. Thank goodness I'm a cash only vacationer and I've saved up for this. Total $520 for my excursions and this doesn't even include the other little extra stuff I'll do at the ports on my own.

 

OK vent over. I'm going to ALASKA in two weeks!!!!

 

I know the feeling. If we just wouldn't sign up for these excursions, but the prices would do down. However, we all sign up. The market sets the prices.

[Yukon]

The market sets the prices.

 

That is precisely it - compounded by the obscene mark-up the cruiselines (and some booking agents) charge. Go 100 miles off the mass-market tourist routes and tours are much cheaper - in Alaska, the Yukon, New Zealand and a few other places we've been.

[Dream Fish]

I have to agree, prices are high here. If the state manages to limit the number of charter captains that will be able to take people halibut fishing I bet the prices will even go higher.

[NancyIL]

I think $174.30 for a 7-hour excursion to the Yukon is a lot of bang for the buck. You could've spent close to $500 for a 2-hour helicopter dogsled excursion instead!

[buttah75]

I'm doing the $500 heli/dog sled tour, and pissed as I am about the price, I can't NOT do it. It's like the wedding industry - they know they have you in their clutches and that you're (most of us anyway) thinking this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing!

[PennyAgain]

Yes prices are ridiculous. I can't afford to do them and always work out a cheap alternative, but I know my way around Alaska.

[pmc097]

I to agree that the prices are expensive but they are what they are and they probably won't get any cheeper. The best way to lessen the cost impact is to book direct and not through the ship but even then they are expensive. Decide what is important to you, do those and wing the rest.

[themerle]

In my experinece while more expensive I usually feel I got better value on my longer more expensive tours. Its the short $40-$50 ones that I feel I get ripped of, comparable ones can usually be found shoreside for 1/2 price.

I totally agree!

[RCCLismyfav1]

I need 30 seconds to vent - UUGGHHH!!! The price of these excursions are ridiculous. Why are they so expensive? They better be worth every dime. I just paid for my Chilkoot tour - $174.30 - 7 hour - YIKES!!! I booked my Photo Safari - $185 double yikes and then I'm on a waiting list to zipline $169. Man, the scenery and everything else better be worth it. Thank goodness I'm a cash only vacationer and I've saved up for this. Total $520 for my excursions and this doesn't even include the other little extra stuff I'll do at the ports on my own.

 

OK vent over. I'm going to ALASKA in two weeks!!!!

 

It's no different than anything else that has gone up. We are going on a 14 day cruise in September and have booked 5 excursions and have rented 2 cars and right now we are spending 2500.00 for two people. YEs we have gotten over the sticker shock but the way I look at it is just getting off the ship and staying in town is not seeing what AK has to offer. If you have done your homework you should feel pretty comfortable that you got the best of the best of tours. I have put in over 100 hrs of research thus far and feel like I have chosen the best excursions offered according to all the recommendations off of here. I guess time will tell....

[gazingm42]

I need 30 seconds to vent - UUGGHHH!!! The price of these excursions are ridiculous. Why are they so expensive? They better be worth every dime. I just paid for my Chilkoot tour - $174.30 - 7 hour - YIKES!!! I booked my Photo Safari - $185 double yikes and then I'm on a waiting list to zipline $169. Man, the scenery and everything else better be worth it. Thank goodness I'm a cash only vacationer and I've saved up for this. Total $520 for my excursions and this doesn't even include the other little extra stuff I'll do at the ports on my own.

 

OK vent over. I'm going to ALASKA in two weeks!!!!

 

174.30 for a 7 hour tour is pretty good in my opinion. However there is several

things to do in Alaska which you be glad you did for the $$. We don't like to

do a high ticket tour in every port. We select one or 2 for the entire trip and

do free or cheap tours. We still have a great time and not sorry we did not

doing anything.

 

We will be on a 7 day cruise, 3 car rentals, 10 days on our own after

cruise and have a detailed spreadsheet for the 4 of us just at 2000.00.

If you book every excursion it can send you to the poor house quickly.

[Sue L]

We did it with four of us last year, 1400$ for one helicopter tour, which freaked me out but watching my kids running around a glacier.....priceless

 

 

[buttah75]

strangely, the 3 or 4 excursions we're looking at... they're the same price if we book independently, or within a few dollars. So I'm probably sticking with the cruise offerings for the 24-hour cancellation option.

[sparky-elpaso]

I think that considering that most of the tours use some kind of transportation that uses gas whether it be train, plane or boat the prices could be a lot worse. By the time the operator pays for fuel, safety equipment and probably liability insurance they may not necessarily make a huge profit. And if they have to cancel because of weather they don't make anything after refunding your money. And I'm looking at our trip as a once in a lifetime and I don't want to miss anything. We're sticking to just 1 excursion in each of our 3 major ports - whale watching with Harv & Marv in Juneau, White Pass & Yukon RR in Skagway, and SeaWind Aviation Misty Fjords flightseeing in Ketchikan. Harv & Marv and SeaWind are both independent operators that have gotten lots of good reviews and I'm really looking forward to their tours.

[scarcrow 2159]

I think that is a great deal. Keep in mind that the bulk of their income must be made from mid-May through mid-September. Supply & demand. Compare the price of NFL tickets versus MLB tickets. The more games played the lower the cost of tickets. Our upcoming excursions total nearly $5,000 for three of us for land and port tours.

[Budget Queen]

The tour prices are well worth it to me. In my opinion, I wouldn't consider a "photo safari" plenty to photograph on your own, with picking a specific area of interest. Frankly, if you are complaining about these prices, then maybe you will have such excessive expectations setting yourself up for disappointment. Choose prices and tours that you can live with.

[Voyagr]

Are typical Alaskan excursions similar to Caribbean area excursions where everybody and their brother/sister/mother/father/etc. leading the excursion have their hand out expecting a tip?

 

 

Tom

[Budget Queen]

Are typical Alaskan excursions similar to Caribbean area excursions where everybody and their brother/sister/mother/father/etc. leading the excursion have their hand out expecting a tip?

 

 

Tom

 

There is no comparism to the two very different area tour operators. However, I do feel tipping is certainly deserved and always a given for me.

[grangermom]

We did it with four of us last year, 1400$ for one helicopter tour, which freaked me out but watching my kids running around a glacier.....priceless

 

 

This picture literally made my jaw drop. Wow! We leave on the Pearl a week from tomorrow. We are a family of 4, so those excursions just weren't even an option for us. We are renting a car in Skagway for $97 and taking Murray's Guide with us. Then we're also renting a car in Juneau to go exploring. In Ketchikan, we're doing a personalized taxi tour for $74/hour. I'm thrilled with our itinerary. Will we get pictures like yours? Absolutely not, but that's the kind of stuff we'll do when we are retired and our kids are out of college.

[bay44b]

Are typical Alaskan excursions similar to Caribbean area excursions where everybody and their brother/sister/mother/father/etc. leading the excursion have their hand out expecting a tip?

 

 

Tom

 

I followed BQ's recommendations on tipping, and I also noticed that many on the excursions didn't tip. If your guide goes the extra mile and really adds to your experience and enjoyment, why not tip, even if they are the owner/operator? I never saw any Tour Guide with their hand out (like in Jamaica). JMHO

 

Barry

[Yukon]

Will we get pictures like yours? Absolutely not....

 

You just might be surprised at what's available through the White Pass right now with a few minutes hiking off to the side. Such as http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/images/boundary_falls-4733-890.jpg at Boundary Falls.

[mdeane]

Yes, excursions are expensive but it is also expensive for the tour ops. There will be 4 of us (two grandkids) so we are doing glacier dog mushing at $500 each, float plane to see bears at $500 each, whale watching, etc. so I think it is what you decide you want to do. I do not begrudge them the money and I really want to do the tours. However, it really does add up. IMHO it is much better to book independently as you get so much more for your $$$. I just hope the kids enjoy it as much as I will.

[Micki Dee]

We did it with four of us last year, 1400$ for one helicopter tour, which freaked me out but watching my kids running around a glacier.....priceless

 

 

 

It was this picture that convinced me weeks ago, that no matter the cost, I had to do a Glacier Landing. The Alaska trip that my DH and I are taking might be our last big cruise for a while since our DD is planning on getting married in 2010, so we want to make sure we see everything and more while we can. We're also planning on spending the $500pp and crossing the Artic Circle and flying to Barrow. I'd love to be able to dip my toe into the Artic Ocean!

 

The excursions are expensive, but we knew that going into booking this trip. We budgeted at least $10,000 for the cruise/air and excursions portion so we wouldn't have as much "sticker shock". You only live once...so go big or go home!