By my count the mid-June GFMPH Alaska cruise is around ten to twelve people right now. That's enough to start talking about
shore excursions. For those who have signed on, what excursions are you thinking about
doing? If you can't come but have cruised Alaska before, what did you do and enjoy? What would you recommend?
For those of you who have never been on a cruise before the boat will visit a number of ports where you can get off and explore the local attractions. The cheapest thing is just to go into town, see the local tourist traps, carefully not buying any more than the absolute minimum mementos and tourist rubbish, and eating all your meals on the boat (where they are free). For the more adventurous, or those wising a more structured experience, you can book various tours and activities where you are picked up at the dock and taken off to see and/or do stuff. Often, if you choose activities that don't take a lot of time you can do more than one in a day.
The time in each port is limited. Usually the boat will dock early in the morning and you can book excursions during a six-to-ten hour period before you have to be back to the boat. The more popular ports have more to do but give you less time to do it. Juneau, in particular gives cruise ships half-day slots -- a ship that docks at dawn will have to be out noonish so another ship can let its passengers go ashore.
The tours can be booked through the cruise line or you can book directly. Booking directly is a bit cheaper but booking through the cruise line is a bit more convenient. If you book through the cruise line they will protect you against various getting-back-late problems (if your morning whale-watching expedition runs late and makes you miss the afternoon bordello tour the cruise line will give you your money back and, of course, the cruise line will make sure you don't miss the boat.)
The excursions fill up months before the cruise date sometimes but there is a brisk business of waiting lists and cancellations on the boat and a sold-out tour can sometimes be obtained by checking at the excursions desk a couple of times a day.+
I've been to Alaska twice and can comment on a number of the more popular excursions. So I'll prime the pump.
Coastal Helicopters Icefield Excursion out of Juneau is wonderful if the weather allows. I booked them direct and saved a bit of money. I am sure the helicopter excursions offered through the cruise lines are similar (and also recommended).
Misty Fjords & Wildlife Explorer out of Ketchikan offers a nice combination of scenery, wildlife and activities. It involves a boat ride in a really-fast catamaran during which you will definitely see seals and bald eagles and probably a whale or two, then a beach landing, a bus ride through a glacial delta area, a guided tour of a glacier face in a thirty-man canoe (you will be given paddles but most of the work is done by the outboard motor). It's lots to do in four hours and lots to see.
The White Pass Scenic Railroad is a twenty-mile narrow-gauge train ride up into the mountains from Skagway (and a 20 mile return trip). It follows the White Pass trail which was used during the gold rush by thousands of prospectors heading into the Klondike. It's one of the easier excursions, one of the less expensive, and is more or less obligatory for tourists going to Skagway.
I also did some sort of whale watching boat thing. Don't remember which one. That was good but I'll bet it's better now. The humpack whale population has really rebounded in the last ten years. This should be a really good year for whalewatching.
So, what have you guys done in Alaska that you would recommend?
There is still room on the boat. If you are interested let me know. We're gonna have a blast.