I am taking a wilderness inside passage small boat cruise w/ Cruise West in August. Our only ports will be Juneau, Sitka, and tiny Elfin Cove so I'm trying to coordinate my itinerary to see some other sites before returning to the east coast. I'm worried I'm trying to squeeze in too many places w/ my limited time and will end up seeing little but airports and ferries. I know I could slow down and concentrate on Juneau, Haines, and Skagway, but I was trying to add Ketchikan in on the last day instead of spreading out time in the other three ports. I hope to return to Alaska w/ my children to visit Denali and some of the other places 1 day, but they have already seen this part of Alaska so now I'm taking the opportunity. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Here is a tentative schedule:
Thurs - Arrive Juneau ~ 1 PM Stop by Visitor's Center, Alaska Museum, stay in Juneau B&B.
Fri - 8 AM highspeed ferry to Haines arriving 10:15. Drop luggage at B&B and take 11:00 AM ferry to Skagway arriving 11:30-visit historic district, Skagway museum & archives, Klondike gold dredge tour until boarding 6 PM ferry back to Haines. 1st night in Haines B&B
Sat. - Visit Ft. Seward, Chilkat Bald Eagle, and Tsirko Canning Co. 2nd night at Haines B&B
Sun - 10:45 AM fast ferry to Juneau arrive 1 PM. Rent car to go to Mendelhall glacier, St. Teresa shrine, Macauley Salmon Hatchery. Ck into hotel.
Mon - Shopping & kayaking & ? until sailing late afternoon
Mon + 1 wk - Disembark Juneau and Air Alaska flight 10 AM to Ketchikan, arrive 12:19 PM. Tour totem pole parks, etc., B&B for 1 night.
Tues - Fly back to east coast

What do you think?

Help anyone? Thanks!

I can only vouch for Skagway. Except for not having time for the railroad trip, I think you have enough time there. Skagway is very small. The ferry rides are going to be part of your adventure. If you don't mind the hectic pace, I would pack in as much as you can. I guess the real question is whether Ketchikan is worth the additional expense and time not spent in maybe Juneau. Maybe someone will help with this.

Are you doing any glacier sailings??? If not I would include one.

But I disagree, you do not have enough time in Skagway which has way more to do than Haines. I would overnight there one night. Request visitor guides from each city and determine your touring priorities.

The cruise goes to Tracy Arm, Frederick Sound, Glacier Bay NP, and Icy Strait. I'll go to Mendelhall glacier while in Juneau. Should I schedule a flight to 1 of the glacier areas? I'll see about spending the night in Skagway and maybe I can include the RR tour this way. I was going to spend 2 nights in Haines, but I haven't made the reservation yet. I did request tour info from all these cities, but have only received Haines, Ketchikan, and Juneau. I'll ask for Skagway's a 2nd time. Thanks so much for your imput!

Do I need to schedule a flight to a glacier w/ this itinerary? If so, should it be a heliocopter or fixed wing? Thanks!