Thread: Links/Leads for Group of 15 Independent Tours

I'm a long range planner and in 2010 we will be a family group of 15 on an Alaskan round trip Vancouver cruise. I don't think we'll be able to book until this time next year.

There will be 7 children ranging from 4 to 12. And 8 Adults.

Given costs of cruise tours, have you any suggestions how we might arrange some tours on our own.

Because we haven't yet chosen a cruise line, we're open to any suggestions and links any more experienced Alaskan cruisers might be willing to share.

Hi Ruth,

There is plenty of planning that you can do in advance of 2010. Even though the 2010 schedules aren't all out, you can get an idea of itineraries from different cruise sites and brochures. The Alaska itineraries are fairly consistent.

Here are some of my suggestions for planning your shore excursions:
This is what I would do:

• First you need to know which itinerary you will be sailing and it is possible that you might choose a certain itinerary based on the shore excursions that you are interested in doing.
• After you have thought of some possible itineraries, I would contact the tourist information centers of each of those ports and see what type of offerings there are. Since I am going to Juneau, I spoke with the tourism person and she told me that there were 42, I think, shore excurions offered there. So, say you wanted to go whale watching, you could look and see which companies offer that. Sometimes, the tourism people have to promote their members equally, so they often won't tell you that Company A is excellent and Company C is so-so.
• Once you find a list of companies who offer the activity that you are interested in, start looking for reviews on the web. I always take those with a grain of salt because some people seem to complain about the most meaningless things. Ask if they can give you a list of past customers. Some may have customer comments on their websites.
• Read the different cruise boards to see which tour operators others recommend.
• If after looking at their website, if you have any questions, take note of them while you are on the website. Email if you need more in-depth info.
• When you have narrowed it down start asking specific questions - Is there a minimum age or height restriction? Any other restrictions? Will they pick you up and drop you off at the dock? Is lunch included? How long do you spend doing the activity.
• Ask for a group rate.
• There are places like Shoretrips.com that also organize independent trips.But, there are also others like Dolly Varden Tours in Alaska. And of course, there are the individual tour operators in each port.
• Be sure that every group member is in agreement with the excursions chosen. I know that you are paying, so you have the ultimate control, but if you are the only one interested in a certain excursion, consider doing it on your own or dividing up the group.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions.

Ma Cruise

What a wealth of general advice you offered Ma Cruise. I've cut and pasted this to my Alaska Word file.

I'm sure others will benefit from this advice too.

Ruth

Hey Ruth!

When you decide which cruise you are booking, do come on back for detailed information on your itinerary!

Char,

Since posting my original note, I've called the various lines about release dates for 2010 and realize that will be next spring at best. We'll book early as we'll need interconnecting rooms and I gather they're not too plentiful.

We want round trip from Vancouver and are leaning towards HAL, though it certainly doesn't have the best children's programme. However, since this is to be a grand family holiday, we wouldn't want to farm out the kids too often anyway.

Since posting we've learned there's to be another wondergrandchild so our grand total is up to 16.

You really must scan all posts carefully to keep things alive.

Thanks