Alaska Shore Excursions - need advice
 

Taking a Cruisetour in Alaska, culminating in a 7 day southbound tour aboard the Mercury. This is my first ever cruise. Will be stopping at Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Sitka, and would love to hear from those experienced travelers which shore excursions they loved, which to avoid, etc. Would I be better off (financially) to book the excursions directly on ship, or take my chances at the visitor centers in the towns? What has your experience been. Thanks in advance for your help.

I would highly recommend the White Pass and Yukon train ride in Skagway. The scenery is breathtaking. In Juneau I went to the Salmon bake and the food was delicious. I would do the salmon bake, again. Both booked from the ship. In Ketchikan I just walked around, even walked the 2 miles out to Totem Park - easy walk. I haven't been to Sitka, yet, so can't help you there. You'll love Alaska! And cruising. Let us know how you enjoyed it all.

I agree. I did not do the salmon bake but highly recommend the WP&Y RR. In Sitka, we were supposed to take a fishing charter but changed our plans due to an illness of a member of our group. Instead, we took the historical tour of the town and the visit to the Raptor Recovery Center. Both were worth the cost. <BR> <BR>We also did the walking tour of Ketchikan but didn't find much else of interest. With the weather we had two weeks ago, it was a great day to lounge onboard the ship. <BR> <BR>We sailed on the Mercury. The ship is great and the crew is very professional. Have a great time.

We didn't book any shore excursions on the ship. We went to Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan. <BR>Sitka & Ketchikan are both quite small and easy to walk. We really enjoyed the Raptor Recovery Center in Sitka and visiting the Russian Orthodox church. <BR> <BR>We went flightseeing in Juneau and that was one of the highlights of the trip! We didn't book it onboard and were rather glad as it was foggy in the morning (but cleared up beautifully at lunchtime) and the planes weren't flying.

Re Sitka: we took a "wildlife" cruise booked on the ship and mostly saw sea lions and sea otters but it was really nice and we'd do it again. Yes for the Salmon Bake in Juneau (have done it twice) and the White Pass railway is great too!

Just returned late Sunday night from Alaska Inside Passage. We enjoyed most of our excursions except one. In Skagway, we did the White Pass Railtour in the morning, shopping in afternoon. Beautiful scenery, however, the view is on the left side of train going up and switch seats on the return ride. The return ride (if not on the left) is a little monotonous. Also, when the train stops at the station to let passengers off who want to stay downtown, get off then even if you're going back to the ship. The train takes forever to ditch the engine to get you 1/4 mile back to the ship!! In Haines, we took the Jet Boat Tour of the Bald Eagle Preserve. It started out fantastic with the drives throwing fish in the canal for bald eagles to dive for. Great picture opportunities and fascinating, however, after the first ten minutes, we spent over an hour in the cold in the jet boats searching for other wildlife that we never found. Due to the shallow depth of the canals, our jet boat had problems with stalling several times. In Juneau we took the Wildlife Cruise (the one that guarantees a refund if you don't see wildlife). En route to the cruise by bus, we saw the Mendenhall Glacier, and we saw harbor seals, sea lions, bald eagles, killer whales and humpback whales. They said they only get to see the killer whales about every three weeks and this was a treat for them. Took that cruise in the morning and shopped in the afternoon. In Ketchikan, took the Misty Fjords Seaplane Adventure. Very nice scenic trip with the high point being about a dozen killer whales in one of the canals and the pilot decided to do our water landing there. We got to get out on the pontoons of the seaplane and watch the killer whales swim the canal. Exciting!! Misty Fjords by plane is beautiful, but also a wonderful trip when the ship cruises it. We shopped in the afternoon in Ketchikan also. If you like chocolate, visit the Alaskan Fudge Co. in Juneau. Luscious!! Have a great cruise, hope my info has helped.

Thanks to all who have responded. We definitely plan to do the white pass railroad in Skagway, and I am most especially grateful to Lynn for the suggestion we sit on the left side and then switch coming back. (Hope not everyone knows that and we can get a left side seat). Many thanks, kind people.