If you were not doing shore excursions offered by Celebrity, what would you do in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan? Are independent tours offered upon arrival in the ports? We are not interested in boating or flying in small planes or helicopters in the area. Thanks for your input.

Yes, there are independent tour operators at each port. What are your interests? There are also good hiking areas in all three ports which is what we like to do.

Illene,<BR><BR>My husband and I have been on four Alaska cruises.<BR><BR>The first year we booked the shore excursions that we were interested in through the ship.<BR>The other three times it was fun to see the ports on foot.<BR>They aren't so big that you couldn't do that.<BR>If there are some shore excursions that interest you though, I would book them through the cruise line. Safer that way and they really don't cost that much more either for peace of mind.

Skagway was our favourite town of the three. I would just wander around and visit the shops, then walk a couple of miles out of town to the Gold Rush Cemetery. We took the White Pass & Yukon train trip but wished we had more time for touring the town. (If you are from an area completely different from Alaska, you might enjoy that trip.) They have an interesting store though - worth buying something almost just for their White Pass & Yukon Railroad bags. <BR><BR>In Juneau, take the tramway. At the top you can eat, shop in the gift store and/or walk the trails.

Do not purchase the tram tickets from the ship since the weather may be foggy. If it is a nice day just walk across the street from the ship and buy tickets at the tram.<BR><BR>Paul

Thanks for the information. Where are good places to hike in each port?

In Juneau, there are hiking trails at the top of the tram or if you're really ambitious, you can take the tram one way and hike up or down (check on trail conditions first). In Skagway, there are lots of hiking trails to the right side of the town (across the railroad tracks) - pick up a trail map at the information center. The most popular trails are to Lower and Upper Dewey lakes. In Ketchikan, we just walked up and down all the staircases around Creek street and some paved trails in this area but it's not a "wilderness" experience. I'm sure there are real hiking trails nearby if you check with the information center. Hope this helps.

Go to ALASKA.com. There is all sorts of information about Alaska. Go to SE Alaska and check Sitka, Juneau, etc. Lots of info on stores, trails,tours, history, transportation, weather, etc.