Cruising Confusion
 

We are taking a cruise to Alaska in August. We are active, in our mid 50's. We spend 2 days in Vancouver, stop in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, ending in Whittier. We are staying an extra day in Anchorage before flying home. Questions: Where to stay in Vancouver, we won't have a car? What are the best excursions at each stop in Alaska? We like to hike, see nature and not kill ourselves. Should we go to Danali for a few days too? So many choices!!!

Cruisecritic board has specific forums about various cruise port cities - that might be a good place to start as the options are many for your cruise stops. Plan your budget well - as at the ports there is little to be seen within walking distance of the port except t-shirt and jewelry shops. Anything interesting requires additional transportation - bus, train, helicopter, plane - and cost of this can be considerable - as much as half again the cost of the cruise. In Skagway my 50+ year old husband and adult son stopped at a ranger station, got a map, did a hike - but that was the exception.

Juneau one of the main attractions is the Mendenhahl Glacier - and options range from taking a bus to the Visitor's Center on the edge of the glacier to taking a helicopter, landing and walking around on it (that is what we did)

I don't think Glacier Bay is a "stop" where one gets off the cruise ship - the ship rides around, stops, you look at glaciers.

If you are only staying one extra day in Anchorage, you do not have time to see Denali or much else. Depending on timing you could drive to Seward and see a bit of Kenai Peninsula. We took a little more than a week on land and split it between Denali and Seward, with drive time and some of Anchorage between.

You will get many opinions here if you have to choose between Kenai Peninsula and Denali. Do a search on that issue and see where your interests fall.

Have a great trip.

Thanks so much for taking the time. It helps me to get a clearer picture, maybe I should plan more time at the end. I will explore Cruisecritic as well.

We have stayed at two hotels in Vancouver which I can recommend: The PanPacific and the Renaissance. Both are near the harbor, which we enjoyed.

thanks, were they walking to distance/cab rides to areas of interest and what would you if you only had a day and a half there?

Vancouver is compact. Since you are active, you shouldn't have any trouble at all if you stay downtown (we've stayed at Hyatt, Sheraton Wall, Pacific Palisades, among others). You can walk most places and there is abundant public transportation. We usually use Priceline, choose a downtown 4-star, and end up in just the right area.

Vancouver: rent bikes and ride around Stanley Park, enjoy Granville Island, China Town (Sun Yat Sen garden) and Gas Town

Anchorage: again rent bikes (with motor assist!!!) and drive the coast line to the state park. (We had 3 moose encounters along the way.)

Juneau: Take the $15 shuttle to Mandenhall Glacier. There are several hiking trails in the visitor center area. (We went on one of the hikes above the glacier with a guide, but you could do it on our own.) Others in our group had signed up for the helicopter/dog sled trip, but because of weather the sled part was cancelled.

A heads up about the land excursions. They go, rain or shine. In Skagway we were signed on for the jet boat to the eagle preserve. It was cold and rainy the entire day. We saw maybe one eagle, the outline of some mountains and basically peeked out at the sights through our rain gear. It was a long, expensive day.

Have a wonderful trip. We just got back and had the same itinerary as you.

This is our first to Alaska.
The excursion plans do not explain clearly where the excursion leaves from.
We will do the helicopter trip from Juno (as long as I can keep my eyes open and my bladder under control!
Does the Salmon Bake excursion leave from Juneau as well? Or will we be docked elsewhere for that?

Each stop has a listed choice of excursions. They all leave from the ship's dock. When you receive your tickets it will tell you when to meet, and you usually look for a person holding the number of your excursion. It is all very organized.
My family loved the helicopter tour of the glacier in Juneau.

You need to, first, look over a shore excursion list. You question is way too broad. There are hundreds of excellent tours to consider. Narrow down your interests.

IF you aren't doing all hiking, then that activity is far better off, being planned AFTER you have any tours booked.

As for Denali Park, absolutely, take advantage of being in Alaska, how often do you think you will go there?? At a min. I would add 5 days. Then you can include the other wildlife hot spot- Kenai Fjords.

For Denali park, you need at least 3 days, with 2 overnights, and consider at least the shuttle bus to Eielson. I never recommend any of the tour buses for independent visitors.