My husband and I are going on an Alaskan cruise this Sept. Our ports are Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. If anyone has taken a similar cruise, can you tell me what excursions or sights we must see? We are in these ports for many hours so I would like to get in as much as possible. We are open to doing our own thing instead of using the ship's excursions if it is easy to get around.

Any and all tips are greatly appreciated.

Go visit the Alaska board (under "Ports of Call") at cruisecritic.com. More answers than you can stand.

Yes, plenty of times. But you need to do more homework. There are more tours that are worthwhile than you can go on in 10 trips. Look over a shore excursion list and narrow down your interests. Budget fully and skimp elsewhere. The tours are Alaska and you get only half a trip without them.

Isn't there a board here devoted to cruises?

White Pass train in Skagway is a must see. Mendenhall glacier and city tour of Juneau is an easy bus trip you can book when you get off the ship for about $20.

Here's a shortcut to my Alaskan cruise review on Cruise Critic. You can email from the site if you have any questions.
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberre...m?EntryID=1639

Are you talking about the Diamond Princess? We did the whatewatching in Juneau, and the nature-wildlife excursions in each city. In Skagway we took a wildlife tour to Haines, about 20 mins from Skagway, where we again saw whales and Haines is such a beautiful part of Alaska, worth looking into.

Thanks for the responses. Our cruise is Norweigan. I love the idea of whale watching. Thanks for the advice on checking out other sites.

My wife and I took a cruise to Alaska on the last week of May 2004. Stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. We did the walking tour of Ketchikan and visited 2 museums. This was a very inexpensive, enjoyable way to see the city. The dockside visitor center has free maps and info. Walmart has a free shuttle so you can go there to get inexpensive souvenirs (shirts, hats, keychains, etc.) There are also taxis available when you disembark. They will take you to Totem Bight State Park for a flat fee, and will carry up to 5 passengers at no extra cost. In juneau we rented a car and split the cost with another couple. It cost approximately $40 for the daily rental. You can't really get lost since the roads all end a few miles out of town. Rent a Wreck brought the car to the dock and gave us a good map of the area. Their phone number is 907-789-4111. You can also pick up a map and other info at the visitors center as you leave the dock area. Mendenhall glacier is a must see. The salmon hatchery is interesting. Downtown Juneau has nice shops and eating places as well as a museum. Be sure to visit the Red Dog Saloon. The Mount Roberts tramway was nice but I thought is was a little pricey. Whale watching tours are available but we saw more whales on the cruise ship than people saw on these tours. In Skagway we took the train ride over the White Pass into Canada. I recommend it very highly. The tour is narrated and the scenery is spectacular. Shops are nice and the Red Onion Saloon is an excellent place to relax.

Whale watching tours are available but we saw more whales on the cruise ship than people saw on these tours.



This usually is not case. There is no comparism to viewing whales via a tour and a cruise ship. Sightings are chance, brief and distant from a cruise ship- if they stop it's only for a few minutes. Whale watching tours offer far more extended close up viewing, if of interest.

Hi Suder! My husband and I just got back from the same itinerary. Some excursions we booked through the ship but most we planned on our own. In Juneau we went whale watching with Orca Enterprises. They were fantastic! We watched a mother and calf play for 45 minutes. The other boat captains were radioing ours to find out where the whales were. Also saw tons of bald eagles and sea lions. We did a helicopter glacier tour. I would have liked to have had more time on the glacier but it still was very awe inspiring.

White Pass RR in Skagway was very enjoyable. We went to the mushers camp. The ride on the cart wasn't too exciting but it was fun. The dogs were hilarious. They love their work and they have such great dispositions.

In Ketchikan we took a floatplane to Misty Fjords through Island Wings. They actually let you get out on shore for a while after you land on the lake. Very cool! We also took the horse drawn trolley tour of Ketchikan. If you do that sit up front with the driver if you can, the view is much better and you get insights from the driver that you don't get in the back. Plus you get to pet the Husky for the whole trip.

All of these excursions either picked you up at the dock or were only a short walk from the dock. Even with all these excursions we still had time to walk around all of Skagway and a lot of Ketchikan. Just book your excursions as soon as you know which ones you want. Some who waited until they got on the ship were disappointed.

Have a great time and don't forget your binoculars and bug spray!

In Ketchikan, be sure to walk up Creek Street and have some halibut and chips at one of the waterside outdoor foodstands. Delicious! We really enjoyed seeing the Totem Heritage Center. It was really interesting and there were native Eskimos carving totems outside where you could watch and listen to their interesting stories. The Deer Mountain Hatchery and Eagle Center was also a good choice. It got my husband all psyched up for his salmon fishing expedition!
In Juneau, try to take a cruise up the Tracy Arm Fjord. We went with Adventure Bound Alaska a few years ago and it was the highlight of our trip. We were in a small boat (25 feet or so) and a humpback was right next to the boat at one time. Great pictures! The Sawyer glacier was splitting off icebergs the size of skyscrapers every few minutes. Even saw a HUGE shooter pop up to the surface. The boat would just rock back and forth from the splashes. Since the fjord is narrow and shallow, the large cruise ships can't get up in there so you're not trying to jockey for position the whole time and are a lot closer to everything. Got to touch icebergs and see baby seals sunning themselves, harbor dolphins cavorting, eagles flying, mountain goats foraging and even saw two good size bears on the shore. I took 6 rolls of film in about 30 minutes at the glacier. Phenomenal!! A local told me about Tracy Arm when I asked her what was fun, interesting and non-touristy to do while in town. Glacier Bay is much more well-known but is very crowded with tourists. The Alaska State Museum there in Juneau was really interesting also. Lots of great information on the state and very colorful stories narrated.