Our cruise will stop in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria, B.C. What about excursions? We usually wing it as there have plenty of private cabs ad tour operators waiting for disembarking passengers. Will this be the case in Alaska as well or should be rely on the ships excursions?

Sounds like the Diamond or Sapphire Princess? We did the wildlife excursions in each port. Just wonderful. If you have a chance to visit Haines from Skagway I would definitely do it, among the most beautiful sightseeing and photo ops are there. And you may see some humpbacks along the way in the excursion ferry.

We always did the ship's tours for safety concerns, if something were to break down or such during your excursion the ship will wait for you. If you do sightseeing without the cruise line you are on your own.

Right you are. It is the Sapphire Princess. Thanks for the tip on Haines BTW. Cheers, Larry

We took the Sapphire Princess last July - beautiful ship. Try the Mendenhall Glacier Canoe trip in Juneau and the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari in Skagway. Both great trips -- booked through Princess.

We're also thinking of sailing Sapphire Princess this July in Alaska. Right now I'm trying to do some homework as to what excursions we want. We've been there before but that was many years ago. Usually like the above poster we wing it with a taxi tour in each port. I'm curious to know if we can do this in the various stops we'll be making. We'd like to see the Saxman Village & Lumberjack show in Ketchikan, Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, and Red Onion Saloon and Liarsville Gold Rush Trail in Skagway. Will we be able to do this on our own? Any help or info would be greatly appreciated. We'll be three people so we'd like to be able to save a little by doing it on our own if that's possible.

A lot of people also like to do the scenic railway in Skagway...lots of raves about it.

I never recommend just stepping off an Alaska cruise into ports WITHOUT, plans and reservations already in place. These are really "taxi" type towns with far more to offer. Best would be to narrow down your interests and go from there. It is extremely easy to go independent, but with most ports unloading over 10,000 passengers you need those reservations and plans. As for your specific questions- Ketchikan- you will be able to just walk to the Lumberjack show, and easy to pick up a tour for Saxman from the dock visitor center (tours are necessary for Saxman Village), Juneau- there is a $5pp each way shuttle bus to Mendenhall Glacier leaving from the dock. Just walk to the booths and purchase your ticket. Skagway- the Red Onion is right on Broadway- walk to it, Liarsville- you MAY be able to purchase a bus tour there, again from the independent's booth at the end of the dock (walking toward town).