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Juneau On your own...


vanelli56

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Ok RCB peeps.... looking for your advice again. 
This will be our first time going to Alaska and we immensely looking forward to it. Our group of 4 consists of my wife, my mother, a family friend, and myself. We are sailing Ovation OTS out of Seattle on May 22nd and have just under 90 days. With that.... I wanted to get peoples thoughts on doing Juneau on our own. We mainly want to go to Mendenhall glacier and the Gold Creek Salmon bake. We see all the excursion deals from RCI or other vendors; but from different reviews it seems that you are fairly rushed, despite having a decent amount of port time. Plus I think we would like the freedom to come and go as we please; hence us wanting to do it outside of a tour group. So we are weighing the options of Taxi, Uber/Lyft, or a car rental for the day. 

If anyone has experience with each along with ball park pricing, that would be greatly appreciated. Or if you have any other thoughts or tips you feel like sharing... that would be greatly appreciated!

Best Regards....

Gene-o

"Same Ship, Different Day"

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You can read about my day doing Juneau on my own starting here:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9160-not-so-live-blog-radiance-of-the-seas-alaska-southbound-83118/&do=findComment&comment=83699

Uber/Lyft is still relatively new in Juneau so the risk is not many cars when you need them most so have a plan B especially for getting back from the glacier.  For a group of 4 a rental car is an option to consider.  The network of roads is relatively small but paying for shuttles per person with 4 will add up quickly.  

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36 minutes ago, Fairlynew said:

If the day is clear and you have extra time, you may also enjoy the Mount Roberts Tramway.  I would not pre-book, but it was a fun "add on" to our day in Juneau.  

Clear is a relative term in Juneau. The tramway provides excellent views even if it is what many of us would consider "mostly cloudy."

Locals in Juneau refer to any day that is mostly sunny as a "cloud failure" day.

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Thanks for the insights. 

We went ahead and booked a rental with the rental company that rhymes with Mavis, to go out on our own while in Juneau. While I was reservation happy, also booked a rental in skagway with them as well. In Skagway, there was a substantial savings over the other company that promotes jeep style rentals on your own.

But by all means... please feel free to leave any tips and tricks you may have for Juneau... or Skagway for that matter. 

Thanks,

Gene-o

"Same Ship, Different Day" 

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This past July (2019) DH and DS did the Fly-out Fly Fishing excursion. While they did that, I bought the tramway pass on the CP, saved roughly $4. Once to the top, I hiked all the trails in the morning. Loved it. Saw eagles and a porcupine. After coming back down, I went to Tracy's for crab at 11:30AM. Walked right up to the counter to place my order. 15 minutes later, the line was at least 50 ft long outside the door. Going back in 2021 and the three of us, plus a friend of my son, will be doing the exact same thing. Fly-out Fly Fishing for them and tram, hiking, and Tracy's for me. Can't wait!

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I've done this excursion (Mendenhall Glacier and Salmon bake) with Princess Cruise Line a few years ago. It was fun. We had plenty extra time to visit the town (Skagway?) after that. 

In Juneau we did a whale excursion. The weather was poor and we didn't venture much in town.

Enjoy your stay in Alaska.

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