Private tour operators, or just ship excursions?

[allisons]

We've never cruised Alaska before. We've done several Caribbean cruises. We always rent a jeep, hire a driver, or book with a private tour operator, but we try to never take ship excursions. Are there private tour operators in Alaska (Icy Straight Point, Skagway, and Juneau), or just ship excursions? Thank you in advance for your help!

[NancyIL]

There are plenty of independent tour operators in Alaska. Do a search of the ports to see what is available.

[allisons]

NancyIL,

 

Thank you so much for the quick response! That is just the information I needed!

 

Thanks,

Allison

[jhannah]

There are advantages each way. As you know, private operators will often have a smaller group ... depending on the tour and arrangements. And they often go places the ship tours don't go. Ship tours are more seamless. You choose online without having to make calls or send e-mails, and the cost is added to your shipboard account (so you don't need as much cash on your trip.)

 

Whichever way you go, have a great cruise and enjoy all the beauty that Alaska has to offer.

[allisons]

jhannah,

 

Thank you! Yes, we know the pros and cons! I don't mind doing the work! We just prefer the lower cost, smaller group, longer tour, increased flexibility, etc. of using a private tour operator (as opposed to the higher cost, larger group, shorter tour, rigid itinerary, etc. of taking a ship excursion)!

 

Thanks,

Allison

[KAWS]

I had the same dilemma and finally wound up with a mix of cruise excursions and private.

 

First I took a look at the cruise excursions to see what was being offered. If I saw something I liked I tried to find it independently. If I couldn't then I booked it through the cruise line.

 

Here's what we finally came up with:

 

Juneau – Whale Watching, Mendenhall Glacier & Salmon Bake (all independent)

Skagway – Glacial Point Wilderness Safari (Princess Tours)

Ketchikan – Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour (independent)

Victoria – Butchart Gardens (Princess Tours)

I'm pleased with the final outcome of our excursions.

[allisons]

KAWS,

 

Thank you so much for sharing that information! That's exactly what I was looking for! Would you be willing to share the name of the company or individual that you booked in Juneau? I'm looking for all the recommendations that I can get!

 

Thanks,

Allison

[KAWS]

KAWS,

 

Thank you so much for sharing that information! That's exactly what I was looking for! Would you be willing to share the name of the company or individual that you booked in Juneau? I'm looking for all the recommendations that I can get!

 

Thanks,

Allison

 

Absolutely. For whale watching we're using Scania (Adventures in Alaska). Google Scania and you'll find them but their email is scaniaww@aol.com They will pick us up at the pier and then take us whale watching and drop us off at Mendenhall Glacier where we'll do our thing for an hour and then they will drop us at Salmon Bake where we can buy our tickets directly from them.

 

Pricing works out to about the same as the "Best of Juneau" excursion on Princess that includes all of these excursions but we'll be getting a more personal touch. Scania is really good about emails and phoning you and giving you answers to any and all questions you may have.

[allisons]

KAWS,

 

Thanks again! That is great information! That sounds perfect! That sounds exactly like what we want to do! Can you take a helicopter on top of that glacier?

 

Thanks,

Allison

[NancyIL]

Can you take a helicopter on top of that glacier?

 

 

Coastal is an independent company in Juneau that many here have used: http://www.coastalhelicopters.com/

[knorrisb07]

Orca enterprise, Harv and Marv are both independent whale watching tour companies in Juneau. They got a lot of good reviews and feedbacks on this board.

[allisons]

Coastal is an independent company in Juneau that many here have used: http://www.coastalhelicopters.com/

 

NancyIL,

 

Thanks! That's perfect! We really want to do this! But the cruiseline charges a fortune!

 

Thanks,

Allison

[allisons]

Orca enterprise, Harv and Marv are both independent whale watching tour companies in Juneau. They got a lot of good reviews and feedbacks on this board.

 

knorrisb07,

 

Thank you! This is just the kind of information I need! We really want to do whale watching! In fact, my husband is mad that we're doing the Mexican Riviera in June instead of January because he won't be able to do whale watching, so he insists on doing it in Alaska!

 

Thanks,

Allison

[tetleytea]

We did a private rafting tour in Haines, and boy am I glad we went private. Since we were only one raft, we were able to change our plans. Turns out there was an eaglet in one of the eagles' nests we floated by, and he was about to fly away. I understand that once they fly out of their nest, that's it. We didn't quite catch that, but we caught him trying to. One of the ship-sponsored tours was in front of us, and they had 5 rafts. They couldn't stop.

[allisons]

I think we've narrowed down what we want to do in each port. Now I'd love some recommendations of private tour operators for each excursion.

 

Icy Straight Point:

- whale watching cruise

- brown bear search

 

Juneau:

- Mendenhall Glacier via helicopter

- salmon bake

 

Skagway:

- Klondike Summit

- White Pass Railway

 

Does anyone have any suggestions of private tour operators for these excursions? Thank you so much for any help that you can give me!

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I think we've narrowed down what we want to do in each port. Now I'd love some recommendations of private tour operators for each excursion.

 

 

Juneau:

- Mendenhall Glacier via helicopter We did a ship's excursion on Holland America via Temsco Helicopters, but you can also book with them directly. They operate out of several different Alaskan ports.

-

Skagway:

- Klondike Summit

- White Pass Railway Chilkoot Charters Skagway

 

Does anyone have any suggestions of private tour operators for these excursions? Thank you so much for any help that you can give me!

 

Here are the links:

 

http://www.temscoair.com/

 

http://chilkootcharters.com/

[allisons]

Here are the links:

 

http://www.temscoair.com/

 

http://chilkootcharters.com/

 

middle-aged mom,

 

Thank you so much! This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for!

 

Thanks,

Allison

[allisons]

Here are the private tour operators that I have found so far on these boards. Is this all of them for these excursions? Or am I missing any? Please let me know of any others.

 

Icy Straight Point - Whale Watching Cruise:

- Glacier Wind Charters

- F.I.S.H.E.S. Floyd's Icy Straights Highliner Enterprising Services

 

Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier via Helicopter:

- TEMSCO Helicopters, Inc.

- North Star Trekking

- Coastal Helicopters

 

Skagway - White Pass Railway:

- Chilkoot Charters & Tours

 

Also, please give me any recommendations for the best place for Salmon Bake.

 

Thanks,

Allison

[allisons]

What if we want to visit Mendenhall Glacier, but not via helicopter? Does anyone have a recommendation of a private tour operator?

 

And does anyone have a suggestion for a salmon bake in Juneau?

 

Thank you!

[Old As Dirt Mom]

What if we want to visit Mendenhall Glacier, but not via helicopter? Does anyone have a recommendation of a private tour operator?

 

And does anyone have a suggestion for a salmon bake in Juneau?

 

Thank you!

 

I've never been to an Alaskan salmon bake, because we eat a lot of great salmon here in Washington State, but one that comes recommended is the Gold Creek Salmon Bake, owned by Goldbelt, Inc. an Alaska Native Corporation. Here's a link:

 

http://www.goldbelttours.com/travel/day_trips/juneau/other.html

 

 

MGT (Mighty Great Trips) runs a shuttle and tour service to Mendenhall:

 

http://www.mgttours.com/index.htm

[allisons]

I've never been to an Alaskan salmon bake, because we eat a lot of great salmon here in Washington State, but one that comes recommended is the Gold Creek Salmon Bake, owned by Goldbelt, Inc. an Alaska Native Corporation. Here's a link:

 

http://www.goldbelttours.com/travel/day_trips/juneau/other.html

 

 

MGT (Mighty Great Trips) runs a shuttle and tour service to Mendenhall:

 

http://www.mgttours.com/index.htm

 

middle-aged mom,

 

Thanks again! This is perfect information! Thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate it!

 

Thanks,

Allison

[Budget Queen]

 

Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier via Helicopter:

- TEMSCO Helicopters, Inc.

- North Star Trekking

- Coastal Helicopters

 

Skagway - White Pass Railway:

- Chilkoot Charters & Tours

 

Also, please give me any recommendations for the best place for Salmon Bake.

 

 

For clairfication the ONLY operator to have permits for Mendenhall is TEMSCO. I have flown with three Juneau helicopter operators, and do not find Mendenhall any better/worse than others of the Juneau icefield, just more known. ERA is another operator, big company with ship contracts, and uses many seasonal pilots. I found them to be the most "shuttle like" .

 

I would suggest you look at your salmon bake as a filler, get your other touring plans in place first, then fit the salmon in.

[Budget Queen]

I've never been to an Alaskan salmon bake, because we eat a lot of great salmon here in Washington State, but one that comes recommended is the Gold Creek Salmon Bake, owned by Goldbelt, Inc. an Alaska Native Corporation. Here's a link:

 

http://www.goldbelttours.com/travel/day_trips/juneau/other.html

 

 

QUOTE]

 

On the "bake" scale, Gold Creek is a big mass market production operation. In my opinion, Thane Ore House is far superior. Both of these are out of Juneau.

[allisons]

For clairfication the ONLY operator to have permits for Mendenhall is TEMSCO. I have flown with three Juneau helicopter operators, and do not find Mendenhall any better/worse than others of the Juneau icefield, just more known. ERA is another operator, big company with ship contracts, and uses many seasonal pilots. I found them to be the most "shuttle like" .

 

I would suggest you look at your salmon bake as a filler, get your other touring plans in place first, then fit the salmon in.

 

Budget Queen,

 

Thank you so much! We were wondering about Mendenhall vs. other glaciers. That's helpful information. By "shuttle like," do you mean less expensive?!

 

Thanks,

Allison

[allisons]

I've never been to an Alaskan salmon bake, because we eat a lot of great salmon here in Washington State, but one that comes recommended is the Gold Creek Salmon Bake, owned by Goldbelt, Inc. an Alaska Native Corporation. Here's a link:

 

http://www.goldbelttours.com/travel/day_trips/juneau/other.html

 

 

QUOTE]

 

On the "bake" scale, Gold Creek is a big mass market production operation. In my opinion, Thane Ore House is far superior. Both of these are out of Juneau.

 

Budget Queen,

 

Thanks again! That is good information. We LOVE fish! We want to find the right spot.

 

Thanks,

Allison