Alaska Cruise Shore Excursions?

Question

So my family finally booked our Alaska cruise July 28-Aug 4th. As first time cruisers, we're extremely excited. Ages of the group: 20, 21, 23, 28, 53, and 55. Everyone in normal athletic shape (so if the hiking is light, it should be an option).

Anyway, given our stops, what would be definite must do for port excursions? and what is the best way to reserve them? via cruise line, third party excursion company itself, or just go out to the port and hit up an excursion day of without reservation? is it bad to do more than one excursion in one day?

~G

Answer 1

You may want to ask who ever you booked the trip threw for an excursions brouchure. That way you can see all of your choices in each port and how long each lasts, what is included and cost. I would suggest you wait till you get to each port to see how the weather is & how everyone is feeling. Plus, with this brouhure you will beable to see if you have time to do more than 1 excursion. They sell them on the ship, on the peir. Enjoy.

Answer 2

Ahhhh Alaska!  We loved it.  Book your excursions now.  You take a huge risk waiting until you are onboard or wait until your port-of-call.  You should be able to book them shortly on-line.  Depending on how long each excursion runs, will determine if you can do more than 1 in a day.  Not sure where your ports are and how long you will be there, but you can certainly spend time browsing the town such as Juneau, Skagway, etc.  We did that on top of taking time to shop in those ports.  There are so many excursions to choose from too, so it is difficult to narrow it down to just one.  We also stopped in Victoria, BC, and spent part of the day visiting the Butchart Gardens (absolutely stunning!) and then Craigdarroch Castle.  Whatever you select will be absolutely breathtaking and worth every dime.  Enjoy your cruise!

Answer 3

I am older than any of your group, but I enjoyed the white water rafting the most of all. Saw several bald eagles along the way.  For more information about tours and the ports you are going to see, go to cruisecritic.com.  Select destinations and then pick ports.  You can also go to the roll call section and speak with others on your sailing.  Alaska is not a place where I would wait until I got to the port to book a tour.  Take a small pair of binoculars with you.  You will be glad you did.  The dogsled ride is short for the amount of time it takes to do that tour, so I would skip it unless you really want that experience.  There are other tours that will let you see the dogs for the iditirod race.  Also, if you happen to be on Princess, the only woman to win the iditirod will be on board one day as a guest speaker.  I wouldn't plan on doing more than 1 excursion a day.

Sally B

Answer 4

Some good excursions are Jeneau - Mendenhall River Rafting, Jeneau - Helicopter Glacier Adventure, Jeneau - Alaskan Whale Watch, Gold Creek Salmon Bake, Gold Panning Adventure, Helicopter & Dogsled Adventure, Ketchikan Undersea Tour, and many others if you go to the site below. Have fun!

Answer 5

I'm from SE Alaska which is most likely were you are going. The crew ships are good about having things at different ports that you can sign up for on the ship.  I used to work for Alaska travel adventures and they have fun stuff to do all over.  You should check out there web site to look at all the different things.  Another thing to remember is that it's OK for your family to split into different groups when you guys are in port. That way everyone will have an awesome trip and you guys will still get plenty of time together as a family.  My favorites are white water rafting (some are not that ruff), kayaking, and helicopter tours.  Also when you're in Juneau (state capital) especially for dinner.  Take the tram up the mountain.  There are wonderful trails and views and a very good restraint!!  Hope this helps!

Answer 6

If your cruise stops there, take the White Pass & Yukon Railroad through the mountains. Its an international engineering landmark, a beautiful trip, historically significant, and fun for all!