In august, I am taking my 67 year old mother to Alaska for 2 weeks. We are going to be taking a cruise tour with Princess. 7 days cruise, and 5 additional days where we can go up into denali...
In the past, when we've cruised, we've tried seeing the ports of call a couple of different ways. We either book excursions.. (very rigid, and expensive) or we've just simply walked off the boat, and explored. (problem with that is often times you were very far from anything, and we didn't really know what to go see)
Since I want to make this trip extremely memorable for my mom, can anyone suggests some ways to explore our ports of call? and maybe make some suggestions on things we would want to see? here is my Itinerary:
26aug.... Ketchikan (6:30 am-2 pm) 27aug.... Juneau (8:00 am-9:00 pm) 28aug.... Skagway (7:00 am-8:30 pm) 29aug.... Glacier Bay (6:00 am-3 PM) 30aug.... College Fjord (5:30 pm-8:30 pm) 31aug... this is where we pick up our land portion which is alot of train rides, and coaches up into denali
As you can see somedays we have lots of time, other's not so much...
I'm far from an expert on Alaska, but we just returned from this same cruise, minus the land portion. Since we had been to Alaska 10 years ago, we opted not to do any excursions this time. I did purchase Fodor's "Alaska Ports of Call 2009" before we left just to give us some ideas. I think it contains the same information the cruise ship provides though.
Ketchikan - We took a taxi up to Totem Heritage Center which is a small museum about the local natives. Across the stream is a City Park and Deer Mountain Hatchery and Eagle Center. We did not go into the hatchery. From the Center we walked back to the ship via Creek Street which is a beautiful, easy walk.
Juneau - We took a bus tour up to Mendenhall Glacier and Visitor Center, $14 round trip. The driver provided commentary on the ride out.
Skagway - There isn't much to do in this small town. There were a couple of places I would have liked to see, but my Hubby didn't seem eager. It's a long day in a town with nothing to do except shop unless you're taking the train ride.
Glacier Bay - You don't leave the ship here, just cruise around the bay, very beautiful!
College Fjord - Again, you don't leave the ship, just cruise. We weren't able to get very close to the glaciers due to the icebergs, but things will be different in August than mid-May. We saw lots of Otters in this area.
We had a wonderful time and enjoyed just kicking back and relaxing, just what my husband ordered!
Have a great time and enjoy the scenery!
Denise
Posts: 346 | Location: Central California | Registered: 12 February 2006
wow.. I'm glad to find someone who took the same cruise as us!!! that's fantastic!
I had NO idea that in glacier bay, and college fjord that you don't even leave the ship... I guess I thought you could get on smaller boats to get closer to the glaciers, or something.. but that's just fine with us.. we will enjoy watching the world go by that day.
I read on another board that there is a "sled dog camp" you can visit.. I thought my mom may like to do that... so, overall.. we are looking at really only 3 ports of call?
Yes, three ports, Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. You can also do tours out of Whittier, depending on your schedule, but then again, you will be leaving for Denali. We went straight to the airport in Anchorage for our flight home.
There is a tour to a sled dog camp but I don't remember which location it's from. Take a look at your Princess web page and you'll find a list of the excursions that are available. You can even sign up in advance.
Posts: 346 | Location: Central California | Registered: 12 February 2006
We did an Alaskan Cruise last week on Holland America. We opted not to do any excursions just hung around town. Wrap up warm in Glacier Bay and spend as much time as possible outside, it's simply amazing!! Marjorie and Johns Hopkins Glaciers are simply spectacular!!
Originally posted by Tracey Traveller: We did an Alaskan Cruise last week on Holland America. We opted not to do any excursions just hung around town. Wrap up warm in Glacier Bay and spend as much time as possible outside, it's simply amazing!! Marjorie and Johns Hopkins Glaciers are simply spectacular!!
In Ketchikan, head for Creek Street. That time of the year the Salmon should be spawning, you couldn't drop a dime in the water without hitting one, it's like salmon stew
Like the other poster, I'm far from an expert on Alaska but we did the same cruise as you from Vancouver last June. We also added the days afterward to Denali and McKinley lodges, flying home from Anchorage. Here's what we did, and if you're interested in more information on any of the excursions, let me know and I'll supply contact info. None of our shore excursions were booked through the ship.
Ketchikan: We walked around Creek Street. Easy walk from the dock.
Juneau: We took a whale-watching trip for about 3 hours and afterward, a helicopter glacier landing. This was, by far, the most exciting shore excursion we did. It was also the most expensive, but it was worth every dime. We also stopped by the Red Onion Saloon for some summer ale and I did a little shopping along the waterfront. Easy walk back to ship.
Skagway: We rode the White Pass Railroad/Yukon train to the top and took a shuttle back to Skagway. The "tour" we took was booked from the railroad website and included lunch in the Yukon (Caribou Crossing, there is also a sled dog area there), and several stops along the way down for picture-taking, etc. We also enjoyed more ale at the saloon in Skagway, bought more native pottery in town, and walked back to the ship. Easy walk.
Denali: The Tundra Wilderness Tour was included in our "package" and it's not to be missed. We saw lots of wildlife! That evening, we were met at the lodge by Jeff King's shuttle and went to the "Husky Homestead" to see his Iditarod dogs and meet his family. This, too, was one of the highlights of the trip.
McKinley/Talkeetna: The lodge here is about an hour's shuttle ride from the train station, so make your time count. The next morning, we took the 10 a.m. shuttle back to Talkeetna to sight-see around this funky little town before heading to Anchorage.
I know this is a brief, thumbnail sketch, but I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. Email: jdblakesle@aol.com
ooo thanks, Jennifer! and everyone else.. I actually leave on Saturday, and I wanted everyone to know that I did come up with things to do... in Ketchikan we are going to just enjoy this scenic little town by wandering around.. in Juneau, we actually booked a cruise excurion which gets us whale watching, a salmon bake and the mendenhall glacier.. that day should be exhausting... when in Skagway, we decided to take a trip to the eagle preserve in haines... so, it will be mostly a slow river cruise...
I'm so glad Jennifer said that her time at the Husky kennel in denali was a highlight.. we are very much looking forward to doing that, as well as our tour of denali park...
I'll try to report back when I get home in a couple of weeks... I am really hoping for a nice quiet trip.. with gorgeous scnenery..
I just want to add to the best wishes for a wonderful trip. We took an Alaskan cruise in mid-June and were lucky to have really good weather; the cruise experience and the beauty of SE Alaska more than met our expectations, we thought it all pretty amazing. I think you have booked some nice excursions and should have a great time. We did not do the Denali part due to time constraints (decided rather last minute to cruise Alaska).
