Suggestions for cruise excursions in Alaska
 

Would like suggestions on reputable companies to contact for Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan excursions.

Please recommend any excursions or activities which is a MUST DO in Alaska. Thank you.

We just got back today for a 7 day inside passage cruise with HAL. In Juneau, we hired a taxi driver for $55/hr who took us to the Mendenahall Glacier. We enjoyed the scenery and did the walk to the waterfall. He also gave us a tour of the town and had some great stories....some perhaps tall....Other members of the party did the Mendenahll River Float trip and loved it. We met folks who did the dog sledding and said that was the highlight.

In Skagway, we did the White Rail pass train ride, return. That was neat, but you may want to look at doing the railway one way and the bus the other way. The town of Skagway can be seen in 10 minutes.

Ketchakin is interesting. We did the boat and float plane excursion. Scrap the boat part and do the float plane. The boat ride is long and tedious.

I would avoid any of the salmon bake things...you`ll get lots of salmon of board. Do the things that you`d never do - float plane, dog sledding....it`s all good. Enjoy

We just got back from an Island Princess cruise with stops in all three ports. Zip-lining in Ketchican, whale watching, bear hunting, and small plane flight over the Mendenhall glacier, and the White Pass and Yukon railroad/bike ride down (arrangements made with Sockeye Cycle Co....not ship) were all wonderful and highlights of our trip. Have fun!

Excuse me, the whale watching, bear hunting, and plane flight were in Juneau arranged through Princess (all three for one price).
The railroad/bike trip was in Skagway.

The MUST do list is way too long ... it all depends on interest and budget.

Float plane to Misty Fjord would be one that you can't do anywhere else. Whitepass Yukon Railway / Klondike Trail is unique. Glacier hikes / tour would be good. Bald Egale would be great too. Bear watching / whale watching can be done elsewhere.

Once in a lifetime excursion for us was helicopter ride over mountains and glaciers to mushing camp, and then being dog sled mushers. We booked it through Carnival, but I'm sure Princess also offers that excursion. It's expensive, way more than we normally pay for an excursion, but once in a lifetime thrill was worth it for me. This was out of Skagway.

The best part of our trip was the helicopter ride and the walk on the glacier. Just amazing. Hubby is afraid of heights and gets air sick-not this time. He loved the trip.

We also panned for gold. Corny but fun.