Excursions through ship or on your own Alaska

[Marlena]

I’m going to start by saying that I have excursion anxiety after a member of our travel party made us nearly miss the ship years ago. So many times I book through the ship because this circumstance really shook me up.

However as we are sailing to Alaska this year I’m feeling like if there is anywhere to trust a 3rd party it’s Alaska.  No language barriers, easy to contact them etc. Would you agree with this? I’m ready to book outside RC and my husband is still worried.

also if anyone has amazing suggestions for Juneau or Skagway I’m all ears! 2 adults and our 7 year old.

[Geminison53]

I am also cruising to Alaska via Seattle on the Ovation of the Seas and not wanting to spend outrageous ship prices

[Funeegal]

I am sailing this summer to Alaska on a B2B.  I looked at ship excursions as well as private ones.  I have done private excursions in the Caribbean as well as in Europe.  I have also done ship excursions in both places.

I have found that for Alaska, the prices do not differ much between the two.  I think as long as you use a reputable company (no matter where the excursion is), that is key.  I think you should choose based on what the excursion offers and if it is something you really want to do.  I know our cruise in July has many sold out excursions so you may need to privately anyway if the experience is sold out.

We do like private so we can tailor an experience to our needs.  We also like ship excursions when the price is right and the experience is something we want.

Hope this helps!

[ChanaC]

I've never been but just booked an Alaska cruise. We're doing one excursion through the ship (White Pass Railroad in Skagway) and one on our own (Juneau Whale Watch and Mendenhall Glacier though Juneau Whale Watch Tours).

It looks like you could book the White Pass directly though the company, but I heard they make it convenient to board the train from your dock through the ship, plus I didn't like the times they were offering on the company's website. I also thought, in the case of an extreme issue with the trains where you are stuck miles away up a mountain, at least the ship will help you get back. Doubt any disasters will happen, but it's nice not to worry about it. 

I did a ton of research on whale watches and this company seems great. They specifically mention that they track the cruises so if your ship comes into port late they will wait for you. I also liked that with their tours you do the whale watch first, then go to the glacier, and from there they have company buses that depart every half an hour so you can pick how long you stay there. You can stay for 30 minutes or two hours, depending on when you get there and when your ship leaves. This is great if you want to walk around and explore a bit more without worrying about catching the one bus back. They had great reviews too! Also, most importantly, I don't see just a whale watch and glacier trip on the RC website! They are all luxury tours or include a salmon bake. We're unfortunately only in the port from 2pm - 8pm, and we want to do the whale watch and the glacier, so we wouldn't really have time to do a RC excursion and then go out on our own.

Two things that also keep me from being too worried about booking Juneau on my own are one, unlike some place in the Caribbean, I'm sure all the vehicles are up to code and everyone has licenses. And two, Juneau literally has no roads outside of Juneau. It's only air or boat transportation to get out of the city. And while it's fairly spread out, I guess it's nice to know that you really can't get too far away from the port! Looks like the furthest away you could get from the cruise port is Mendenhall Glacier, and it's only 12 miles away.

[Ken Edgar]

We also booked a combination of RC an private excursions on our upcoming Alaska cruise in May.   The prices are not so different but there were some different options and times that worked better for us with private.  I know the company we used (Alaska Shore Excursions) guarantees on time return or they comp your room meals, transportation to the next port ect.  and says they have never missed it so pretty confident there.   We are still waiting to book Skagway.   We want to book a trip into Yukon but so far they are waiting on Canada Covid crossing protocol.  

[Marlena]

On 3/10/2022 at 8:12 PM, ChanaC said:

I've never been but just booked an Alaska cruise. We're doing one excursion through the ship (White Pass Railroad in Skagway) and one on our own (Juneau Whale Watch and Mendenhall Glacier though Juneau Whale Watch Tours).

It looks like you could book the White Pass directly though the company, but I heard they make it convenient to board the train from your dock through the ship, plus I didn't like the times they were offering on the company's website. I also thought, in the case of an extreme issue with the trains where you are stuck miles away up a mountain, at least the ship will help you get back. Doubt any disasters will happen, but it's nice not to worry about it. 

I did a ton of research on whale watches and this company seems great. They specifically mention that they track the cruises so if your ship comes into port late they will wait for you. I also liked that with their tours you do the whale watch first, then go to the glacier, and from there they have company buses that depart every half an hour so you can pick how long you stay there. You can stay for 30 minutes or two hours, depending on when you get there and when your ship leaves. This is great if you want to walk around and explore a bit more without worrying about catching the one bus back. They had great reviews too! Also, most importantly, I don't see just a whale watch and glacier trip on the RC website! They are all luxury tours or include a salmon bake. We're unfortunately only in the port from 2pm - 8pm, and we want to do the whale watch and the glacier, so we wouldn't really have time to do a RC excursion and then go out on our own.

Two things that also keep me from being too worried about booking Juneau on my own are one, unlike some place in the Caribbean, I'm sure all the vehicles are up to code and everyone has licenses. And two, Juneau literally has no roads outside of Juneau. It's only air or boat transportation to get out of the city. And while it's fairly spread out, I guess it's nice to know that you really can't get too far away from the port! Looks like the furthest away you could get from the cruise port is Mendenhall Glacier, and it's only 12 miles away.

Your juneau excursion is exactly what I want! We want to whale watch them go to the glacier but with extra time as I want to hike to nugget falls. Do you have a direct link?

[ChanaC]

1 hour ago, Marlena said:

Your juneau excursion is exactly what I want! We want to whale watch them go to the glacier but with extra time as I want to hike to nugget falls. Do you have a direct link?

Sure, here you go: https://www.juneauwhalewatch.com/

I can't actually recommend them since I haven't used them but everything I found about them seems positive. They even responded to an email I sent them about times. On the booking page it says "Due to changing ship schedules, the last shuttle leaves the Mendenhall Glacier at 6 or 7 pm on most days and 3 or 4 PM on Friday and Saturday. Check with your driver for the schedule of the day before exiting the bus at the glacier." We're sailing in on a Friday, but not until 2pm, so we booked the 2:30 tour, but that wouldn't get us to the glacier until 5. I asked what we would do in that situation, and they responded back (in less than 24 hours!) that they would still get us 1.5 hours at the glacier and that they might not have an open ended bus schedule, but would schedule that final bus for us. I assume that maybe in the past cruises just didn't visit Juneau on Fridays or Saturdays or tended to leave earlier, but maybe they might adjust this if the ships adjust their schedules. I hope that other people from our ship happen to book this tour so it will be more popular and they might run more buses. I also just looked up a port schedule and it looks like there will be four other ships in the port the same time we are, including one with a similar schedule, so maybe the tour company will update their schedules to accommodate. We also want to hike nugget falls so I really hope we have the time to walk there and back! 

[DDD]

22 hours ago, Marlena said:

Your juneau excursion is exactly what I want! We want to whale watch them go to the glacier but with extra time as I want to hike to nugget falls. Do you have a direct link?

This is the company I went with (via Tripadvisor): https://www.juneautours.com/

 

[DDD]

Decided to chance the whole Canada thing and book the Skagway White Pass Railway along with the return bus ride. The one I chose visits Emerald Lake and the Caribou Crossing Trading Post to see sled dog pups. At this point, Canada still requires the Covid test and signing up on their registration app. I'm not sure what will happen with all that, but I'll get a refund if there are issues. There was a waiting list, and the company opened for registration last week. They also guarantee passage to your next port of call if you miss your ship. Here's hoping Canada drops those regulations!
https://chilkootcharters.com/

[Marlena]

2 hours ago, DDD said:

Decided to chance the whole Canada thing and book the Skagway White Pass Railway along with the return bus ride. The one I chose visits Emerald Lake and the Caribou Crossing Trading Post to see sled dog pups. At this point, Canada still requires the Covid test and signing up on their registration app. I'm not sure what will happen with all that, but I'll get a refund if there are issues. There was a waiting list, and the company opened for registration last week. They also guarantee passage to your next port of call if you miss your ship. Here's hoping Canada drops those regulations!
https://chilkootcharters.com/

We also want a tour going to the yukon and hoping the rules ease. We are canadian and admit our gouvernemnt is being ridiculously strict! Will be so much easier when they relax some travel rules.

[DDD]

I'd suggest checking the Tripadvisor site. There's a lot of good information in the reviews for the specific charter/excursion companies.

[Johnstewarth]

Looking forward to our Quantum cruise in June. Only problem is that we just had the second of three excursions we booked through the cruise planner cancelled on us. First, our Juneau excursion was cancelled, and today our Skagway White Pass Railway excursion was cancelled.

We're going to do our own thing In Juneau now and have tickets for the shuttle to the glacier and tickets for the tram. We're trying to decide what to do in Skagway. Really bummed about not getting to go on the train and see the sled dog puppies (my daughter will be especially sad). We're looking at Shore Excursions Group and Shoreexcursioneer and are basically considering a bus tour through Skagway and to the White Pass Summit and Tortured Valley. There are six of us.

Has anyone done an excursion through either of these operators? Any recommendations for us? Thanks!!

[KJones]

@Johnstewarthwhich Skagway/ White Pass Railway excursion was cancelled?

[ChanaC]

Not the OP, but I heard the ones that cross into Canada have been cancelled. I'm booked on the 2hr, 45m "A White Pass Scenic Railway" aka the most basic train ride RC sells. As of now, that one is still on, but that one only gets to the very edge of the Yukon border and turns back around, so it wasn't affected by any of the border crossing rules. Hopefully ours isn't cancelled for some other reason!

Edit: And while on this topic, we've since booked the Endicott Arm glacier boat tour. That one I believe can only be booked through RC, since you go from the ship right into a smaller boat and back on. I think you can find tour operators in Juneau who will take you to the glaciers, but this tour is an alternative to sitting on the ship and viewing the glacier.

[Johnstewarth]

15 hours ago, KJones said:

@Johnstewarthwhich Skagway/ White Pass Railway excursion was cancelled?

I can't remember the exact title, but it was the one that did cross into the Yukon and included a visit with sled dog puppies.

[nova_gal]

15 hours ago, KJones said:

@Johnstewarthwhich Skagway/ White Pass Railway excursion was cancelled?

I also had the White Pass Railway and Skagway Highlights excursion. Received the following email yesterday from RC. It will now be a round trip within U.S. I have never been on this train (never been to Alaska)... For those who have been, is it worth keeping it even though it never leaves U.S.? Shall I keep it?

Dear Guest,

Due to operational challenges that would cause significant delays at the US/Canadian border, the White Pass Railway tour operator has advised they're temporarily suspending any train services into Canadian territory for the 2022 season. Unfortunately, this impacts several of the shore excursions operating out of Skagway, Alaska.

As a result, we've modified this tour so that guests will now take a roundtrip train that remains within the U.S. We know how much time and effort go into planning your vacation, and we're sorry for the inconvenience. If you would like to cancel your reservation for this excursion and receive a full refund, please visit Cruise Planner and select cancel. A full refund will then be issued to your original form of payment, which you should see within 14 business days.

[KJones]

Thank you @Johnstewarthand @nova_gal. I got that same email last night about our White Pass Railway & Motor Coach Tour excursion. Disappointing, but I guess we'll just rebook the train-only option. Hopefully that one also doesn't get altered.

[Carotthat]

On 3/13/2022 at 7:35 PM, DDD said:

Decided to chance the whole Canada thing and book the Skagway White Pass Railway along with the return bus ride. The one I chose visits Emerald Lake and the Caribou Crossing Trading Post to see sled dog pups. At this point, Canada still requires the Covid test and signing up on their registration app. I'm not sure what will happen with all that, but I'll get a refund if there are issues. There was a waiting list, and the company opened for registration last week. They also guarantee passage to your next port of call if you miss your ship. Here's hoping Canada drops those regulations!
https://chilkootcharters.com/

Did you do this tour then?

[DFW mom]

June cruise. Looking at dog sledding and helicopter combination. On the RC website pricing is over $800, go directly to the alaska shore excursions its about $250 less. Huge price difference. Reading there FAQ they are take 100% responsibility if you do not make it back to ship on time. We have always booked directly with RC, worried about not making it back to the ship prior to departure. 

[stevendom57]

In 2019 I went to Juneau. Rather than booking a glacier helicopter tour through RC I booked directly with Coastal Helicopters. I saved about 50% off the RC cost. I am pretty sure that it was exactly the same tour that  RC offered.

I booked it so that the tour started about 1 hr after docking. We got back to Juneau with about 4 hr to spare before departure. Plenty of time to walk around the town and no anxiety about being a "pier runner".