SHORE EXCURSIONS IN ALASKA

Yoshi · #1 (**permalink**) July 12th, 2006, 12:58 PM

PLEASE SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR EXCURSIONS FROM jUNEAU, SITKA AND KETCHIKAN SAILING WITH hAL IN LATE AUGUST. LOOKING FOR THE BEST VALUE AND THE MOST MEMORABLE EXCURSIONS.

THANKS

JeanS · #2 (**permalink**) July 13th, 2006, 04:26 PM

I'd be curious to hear also....we're planning on cruising Alaska next year...

Fern · #3 (**permalink**) July 13th, 2006, 07:56 PM

Hi Yoshi,

Welcome to Cruisemates!

Be sure to post your question on the "Alaska" board here:

http://cruisemates.com/forum/viewfor...7064c1868fb5a2

If you have any other questions, ask away. The people on CM's are always happy to help!

(Just an FYI, Yoshi; Posting in all caps is considered SHOUTING on a message board, unless you are sight impaired.)

Hi JeanS,

Hey, you've been here a while! You should know about the Alaska board

!

Hope you both have wonderful cruises! We're hoping to do Alaska "someday"

.

Yoshi · #4 (**permalink**) July 13th, 2006, 10:13 PM

Sorry Fern

didn't mean to shout!

Fern · #5 (**permalink**) July 14th, 2006, 08:14 PM

That's okay, Yoshi.

Now, if you have something to SHOUT about (like getting your cruise docs

) go right ahead!

JeanS · #6 (**permalink**) July 14th, 2006, 10:13 PM

You're right, Fern, I *do* know about the Alaska board, I just saw Yoshi's post and wanted to see what sort of responses he got, so I put a post here.

Just watched a show on the Travel Channel last night that showed Royal Caribbean's wildlife train (it was called something like that...don't recall the exact name) that goes thru certain areas of Alaska. It has glass sides & top for the best views, and it looked absolutely terrific! We'll be cruising on Celebrity when we go since we have a free cruise, so hopefully we can take advantage of that train since everyone seemed to own everyone else lately...

Happy cruising!

dusty · #7 (**permalink**) July 15th, 2006, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoshi

PLEASE SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR EXCURSIONS FROM jUNEAU, SITKA AND KETCHIKAN SAILING WITH hAL IN LATE AUGUST. LOOKING FOR THE BEST VALUE AND THE MOST MEMORABLE EXCURSIONS.

THANKS

hi yoshi, the best tour i have ever had was with capt.larry in juneau for whale watching. he is the best and you will see whales. but he books fast so if you want this tour get ahold of him now. www.orcaenterprises.com. he is great .

Mike M · #8 (**permalink**) July 15th, 2006, 01:50 PM

My most enjoyable excursions:

Flightseeing in Ketchikan: (Misty Fjords and Glaciers) (Family Air)
Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter Tour in Juneau (Temsco)
Whale Watching in Juneau (Captain Larry)

There are many others that offer these tours and are excellent providers you can do a search and find them. These are ones I have personally taken. The Flightseeing was somewhat of fluke because we had "perfect" flying weather and the fjords weren't misty so we were able to spend an extended amount of time flying the glaciers and surrounding terrain.

None of these are "cheap" and need to be budgeted but they are memorable and at least one of the glacier flying tours should be included in your cruise. You will save money by booking them on your own vs. doing them through the cruise line.

All of them will offer dockside or near dockside pickup and drop off.

Take care,
Mike

Fern · #9 (**permalink**) July 15th, 2006, 07:44 PM

Hi JeanS,

The wildlife train sounds wonderful! I'm going to be looking into Alaska for 2008.

I always miss the good shows on the Travel Channel

. Every time I look at the listings they seem to be Poker or something else I'm not at all interested in! Apparently, they show different shows in different areas. A month or so ago someone mentioned a cruising show that wasn't on here

.

Let us know when you book your Alaska cruise,

JeanS · #10 (**permalink**) July 16th, 2006, 12:58 AM

Hi Fern and all,

Yes, the train looked really wonderful! A nice long trip thru some beautiful Alaska areas, so we'll definately look for booking that one! And we don't plan on going on that cruise until next year, so it will be awhile...we took a 2 week cruise from California to Hawaii, which was pretty nice, but I personally don't think I'd do it again....too much time at sea. Our next vacation to Hawaii will probably be land-based (Heavens!!!) so we can see more of the beautiful islands.

Some of the best shows I've found on the Travel Channel just seems to be when I'm channel surfing...and poker?? MUCH better to watch shows about REAL travel, I agree with you!

G'night.....dreaming of our next cruise....maybe hubby can find a way to make the room creak so I'll think it's true....

SoCalGal · #11 (**permalink**) July 28th, 2006, 02:24 PM

We rented a car in Skagway and drove up to Carcross (Yukon territory). We found it to be more relaxing and saw lots more scenery than we did on the train the prior year (and less expensive). It's a very easy drive along a beautiful highway. In Ketchikan we took the seaplane into Misty Fjords with a return aboard a wonderful boat. We saw plenty of whales, otters and wildlife including a large grizzly bear. That was our personal favorite. We've done that twice because we enjoyed it so much. Have a wonderful trip!