Alaska tourist-style

[ibenick]

delete

[denaliguide]

i used to live in juneau and skagway. i worked for a company that organized trips for the cruise ships. we used to call the cruise ship passengers the "newlyweds and nearly deads" most of the cruises have lists of activities to do while in port. the problem with non-commercial activities is the time factor. usually you are in port for some of the day.

skagway doesn't have any hiking very close to town. juneau does. not sure about ketchikan.

you can probably do some kayaking in juneau, ketchikan, haines, and b.c.. can't guarantee you won't see any griz. they can be anywhere.

you could do a helicopter ride up onto the mendenhall glacier in juneau. juneau also has dogsledding up on the glacier.

just google each port's visitor info page and you will get an idea of the things that each haas to offer.

[ibenick]

we used to call the cruise ship passengers the "newlyweds and nearly deads"

Thanks for the tips. Already checked out the overpriced 'excursions' from the cruise line. I'll probably just wait and see what it's like once we're about there.

[DiscGo]

[The first paragraph is the origin of my travel philosophies, and nothing pertinent to your vacation. I only share it, to explain my recommendations]

My theory on vacationing is that excursions are worth it. I come from a poor family and when growing up, we seldom did anything that cost money because we did not have much money and being poor led to my parents being very cheap. My brother honeymooned in Hawaii and as the climax of his trip he went on a helicopter ride. Coming from our family, his spending that kind of money was revolutionary back then and he told me that in 20 years he won't remember the cost but he would remember how awesome the ride was. So I understand that going on an Alaskan cruise is expensive enough, but if you can swing it, I would do the following "Expensive " recommended tours but I will also list a free alternative as well:

WARNING: One thing I forget to mention that sucks about Norwegian is that they give you less time in port usually than the other cruise lines. Often they only give you 4 hours, which is enough to do a trip and get right back on the bus and doesn't leave you time to do much else.

Seattle-
Expensive: Most people don't really have time to do a tour in the first port because of embarking and disembarkation but if you have time the (Bill Speidel) "Seattle Underground Tour"

Free- Seattle is a beautiful town. Probably my favorite "big city" in the country. Walking around and of course checking out PIke's market are a great way to take in Seattle.

Juneau-
I have spent a lot of time in Juneau. I love it deeply and what I would recommend depends on the exact time of the year (at the very least month) you will be there.

Expensive:
If you go towards the end of the cruise season (August or later) I would recommend going on a "Glacier & Wildlife Tour" where you see the Mendenhall Glacier (Alaska's most popular glacier) and go whale watching. If you go between April & July you are guaranteed to see a whale but you will only see a whale tail and if you go in August or later, you are much more likely to see whales jumping out of the water (breaching) and bubble net feeding.

Very Expensive: If you have come into some money and can afford it, I would suggest the Taku Lodge. You get there by float plane, you will see multiple glaciers, eat some salmon, and go to a pretty remote area which is very nice. This tour is consistently rated one of the best Cruise Ship Excursions in the world.

Free: There are free tours of the Federal Building & the Russian Orthodox Church. You can check those out and then geocache over to the Governor's mansion (there is a cache like 10 feet from it) and there is also a nearby park called "Cope Park" with a beautiful stream going through it and you can take a very light hike.
Skagway-

Expensive: I would recommend White Pass Train up to the summit which is a great train ride through part of the white pass (the other trail people took to the Gold Rush in the Yukon) and then come back down by bus. You'll learn most everything there is to know about the Skagway area and there are a lot of beautiful vista on that trip.

Free- There are 4 different free museums in Skagway. They are all really small (1 of them says "Museum" on the street and when you exit the museum you end up in the person's store) but do a lot to cover the history of Skagway. It is a short walk to the cemetery (if you go to the museums you should know enough about Frank Reid and Soapy Smith to care about who is buried there, and there is a beautiful waterfall just up from the cemetery)

Ketchikan-

Expensive- The Lumberjack Show and the Saxman Totem Village are the "must see attractions" of Ketchikan. Lumberjack show is kind of fun and interesting and the totem village is a great gathering of Totem Poles.

Free- Ketchikan's main street is called "Creek Street". It is beautiful. It is a bunch of boardwalks over a small river. (It used to be the "Red Light District" of Ketchikan and if you go up in July or later you will see Salmon spawning in the stream. Creek Street's slogan is "Where Men & Salmon go to spawn"). Walking around Creek Street is very enjoyable and if you like black licorice there is a place called "Ketchicandies" where they have great black licorice.

Copy and pasted from this thread:
http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthre...ruise&p=381291

[Mtnbeer]

I moved to UT from AK several years ago, but most of my work is still in Alaska, so I'm up there at least once a month. I've traveled to more places in Alaska than probably 99.9% of AK residents, let alone the tourists. So here are my recommendations.

Unfortunately, it's difficult to find cheap things to do during the cruising season. Everything doubles in price compared to the off-season. Also, the weather starts getting crappy in July (read rainy) so be prepared to get wet. I wouldn't do the Juneau helicopter tours. It's expensive, not that unique, and crowded (the helicopters travel in groups up to the glacier). If you want to stay close to downtown Juneau, you can take the Mt. Roberts trail up the side of the mountain and ride the tram back down. The trail starts at the top of 6th Street downtown. The top provides a great view of Douglas Island and Gastineau Channel. I wouldn't recommend the tram going up, as it is a little pricey. The other option is to catch a ride out to the Mendenhall Valley and do some hiking or kayaking at Mendenhall Lake. This one wouldn't be free like Mt. Roberts (I think there's a pay shuttle that will take you to the visitor center from downtown. Otherwise, a taxi ride is about 65-70 bucks round-trip.) There are some great hikes above the lake though and the kayaking on the lake is supposed to be fun (I don't know the prices to kayak, but you can do a quick google search and call around for reservations).

In Skagway, I like to hike AB Mountain. The trail starts off Dyea Road (pretty close to town) and goes up. Also has some great views. Another hike is to do the Dewey Lake trail system. It's also close to town and you can hike all the way to upper Dewey Lake or the Devil's Punchbowl. Otherwise, the Klondike Gold Rush NHP is pretty cool. If you can, I'd recommend going to the Seattle unit of the park while you are in Seattle and then go do a ranger lead tour of the park in Skagway.

Ketchikan, if you are going to splurge, this is the place to do it. I'd recommend a flightseeing tour of Misty Fjords National Monument. They fly you over some of the most remote areas of the US (I spent some time on the ground in the Monument and it is very remote, yet beautiful). Imagine 4000 foot mountains going straight up with glaciers on top of each one. In warm weather, some of the most spectacular waterfalls occur from the glacial runoff. Go with Carlin Air. We used him regularly for transport and resupplying. Jeff is a really good pilot and he babies his DH Beaver (clean and well-maintained). It'll probably cost over $200 per person though, but well worth it!

[ibenick]

Thanks DiscGo and Mtnbeer for the great information. Very much appreciated!

We're cruising on Princess the last week of July. It looks like the stops in Juneau and Skagway are pretty long, 10-12 hours each and then only 5 hours in Ketchikan and Victoria. I'm thinking now I'll go ahead and splurge on some excursions on the long stops and do some of the free/cheap stuff on the other two. I guess I really shouldn't complain about a $400 float plane excursion if the cruise is costing me nothing! Anyway, thanks again!

[denaliguide]

you will love the floatplane trip. by air is the best way to see alaska, imho. you can't really get the scale from the ground. misty fjords will be fantastic.

[Cirrus2000]

Well, in Victoria, with such a short stop, it doesn't give you much tourist time. However, if you enjoy flowers & plants & such, then take the excursion to Butchart Gardens (http://www.butchartgardens.com) - it's gorgeous, and you can wander the 55 acre grounds a while. I'm sure that it's a fair bit of money (entrance is $30 per person, plus the coach ride there, so I'm sure they will hose you) just to walk around and look at flowers & trees, but it may be right up your alley.

Otherwise, just hanging out in the Inner Harbour area is a great way to while away a few hours - if the weather is good, in particular. There are vendors and entertainers along the causeway around the harbour, plus you can wander over to the Empress Hotel, and the legislature buildings. It's also nice to hop on board the Harbour Ferry (http://www.victoriaharbourferry.com/) for a tour around the harbour. Depending upon your timing, lunch or dinner at Milestones right on the harbour is nice, or go crazy with fresh seafood at Pescatore's (http://www.pescatores.com).

Photo below taken from Milestones restaurant:

[ibenick]

denaliguide and mtnbeer, you've both lived in Skagway, I'm wondering if you can give me a bit of info about it. I was looking into hiking up to Upper Dewey Lake and the Devil's Punch Bowl while I'm there and was wondering if you know anything about fishing in those lakes. I found a trail map that shows the fishing icon next to them but other than that I can't find anything. Do you think I could I bring my own pack rod and spinners? They're small enough I wouldn't mind throwing them in. What about picking up an Alaska fishing license, I tried searching Skagway for a fishing shop and all I've found are chartered services. Also, do you think it's worth picking up a can of bear spray for an 8 hour hike in those mountains? Thanks!

[denaliguide]

probably not worth the bear spray. just make some noise as you hike and you should be fine. a small packrod isn't a bad idea. alaska non resident day license is $10, i think. probably some grayling in the dewey lakes, but it's been 25 years since i was there. it is a long hill up to the upper lake. probably close to 3 hours up the hill.

[ibenick]

Thanks! I'm stoked to know I'll definitely be doing something while I'm there to beat the crowds!