Thread: Need some activity advice for our Alaskan port stopsovers...

First, thanks to everyone who have helped with all the advice thus far. After researching for-EV-er we finally booked with HAL on the Oosterdam leaving out of Seattle this July 18, and my Mom and Grandma are so excited! For us this is truly going to be the trip of a lifetime!

Right now I'm looking for things to do with my family at our various ports of call. Grandma has Parkinson's and some mobility issues, although she can stand and walk for a little bit. Steps for her would be iffy, although we could probably manage if it meant getting to something really good, like a good train ride.

Here's where we'll be...

Juneau.....7a-8p....Wed Jul 21
Sitka........8a-5p....Thu Jul 22 (tendered)
Ketchikan..7a-1p.....Fri Jul 23 (helicopter ride?)
Victoria....6p-11p...Sat Jul 24
Seattle....11a-11p..Sun Jul 25 (dinner at Space Needle?)

Keeping Grandma in mind can anyone suggest good things for us to do at these ports? Originally we thought we might be in Skagway for the train ride but unfortunately we won't be stopping there. So, if there are any good train rides in any of these cities we'll probably try to go for it. If possible money and time wise I'll probably try to take Mom on a helicopter ride in Ketchikan.

So, I'm all ears for your suggestions! Thanks so much for your time and your advice! I'm sure I'll be back here to let everybody know how it all goes!

I have read some wonderful reviews about a plane tour in Ketchikan called "Island Wings." One such tour that they offer is 2 hours and lands for photo-ops, it is $239 per person(one child under 5 years flies free with 2 adults). They have always gotten back to me promptly when writing them with questions and seem very friendly. People write glowing reviews about the operators/owners.

One traveller wrote this about Island Wings (from another site):

"A float plane trip is truly the ONLY way to really see the fjords in Ketchikan. The views are breath taking and Michelle narrated the sites during our flight over the planes headsets, which make for a quiet pleasant flight accompanied by music and her description. Before we know it we circled down to a beautiful lake in the mountains that looked like a mirror. We were able to go onto shore and take in the beautiful scenery, lots of photo opportunities, and relax and enjoy the incredible views. The take offs and landings on water were as smooth as silk as was the flight itself. The return flight takes you right into the harbor for a fantastic view of the city and your cruise ship. Every seat in the plane offers excellent views and I got to ride co-pilot on the return flight, it was awesome. Michelle is a professional with many years of experience flying in Alaska. We highly recommend that any stop in Ketchikan include a flight with Michelle on Island Wings. Check their website for information. We spoke with fellow cruise members who took a float plane booked thru the ship, they paid signficantly more, did not get to go onto shore, and their flights were shorter."

Here is the link:
Ketchikan Alaska Flight Seeing ToursMisty Fjords Flightseeing Tours, Flights - Misty Fiords Sightseeing

I have read varied reports about another plane tour in Ketchikan called 'Taquan.' Taquan offers 2 for 1 coupons in a guide called 'Toursaver.' However, they only use a set number of appointments each day for persons using these coupons. I have read that persons booking even 8 months out have had trouble getting an appointment using the coupon. One traveller reported that when using the coupon, that they were only offered a 7 am time slot, and their ship didn't even arrive till 7 am.

Here is the link to Toursaver ($99/book):

Alaska Travel Deals | Alaska Vacations | Alaska TourSaver

The site lists all of the places that have coupons and the coupons' worth. As previously identified, I would call any Tours and inquire about the ability to book excursions using the coupons and the time slots that they have available for using coupons. I would definitely do this before investing a hundred bucks in a tour guide, to make sure I'd be even able to use the coupons inside.

Good luck and Safe travels!

There is a thread here in the Alaska forum that you should check out...link -> Tour Suggestions - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real (Tour Suggestions)

In fact go to page 2 here and see what folks have to say.

Here is a link that will give you some ideas.
link--> Alaska Cruise Ports: Top Excursions - YourAlaskaCruise.com

more 2 cents (though Char's suggestion will offer more various views on this subject):

By Boat:
In Juneau, I have read great reports about a whale watching tour called "Harv and Marv." They are reportedly the most popular whale watching tour. They do have penalties if you cancel the booking, 20% fee if cancelled within 30 days and 50% if you cancel the day before.

Here is the link (read the frequently asked questions there, it has a lot of useful info):

Harv and Marv's Alaska Whale Watching

Cost is $149 pp, or $140 pp if you have a group of 6 going. One thing I found funny was that they offer a 5% discount if you are a member of AA. (That's right, not a typo, I meant AA, NOT AAA)

Pay attn to the fees, I found this:

*It cost us up to 4% each time we charge a credit card, so if you pay with a check
and we refund you with a check, 100% refund. If you pay with a credit card and want the refund
credited back to your credit card, there will be a 8% fee. If you paid with a credit card and want the
refund in the form of a check, there will be a 4% fee.
BTW, I went to the HAL website to see if your tour included Glacier Bay (which it does) and I noticed that the HAL site says that your cruise leaves on July 17, not July 18. Hope you booked the right flight!
In Juneau, I think a lot of people would say that a trip there would not be complete without a trip to Mendenhall. I mentioned Harv and Marv because not only is it popular, but thought with your Grandma, it might be the easiest for you.
By tourbus:
The cheapest route to Mendenhall that I have found is MGT's "BLUE GLACIER EXPRESS." It is $14 per person roundtrip. The website says "This is our no frills experience offering direct transportation 14 miles from downtown to the Mendenhall Glacier. Transportation run every 30 minutes beginning at 9:00am till 6:00pm on most days. Let our Bright Blue Bus take you out to the "Blue Ice Cube."
Once you get there, there are trails, so don't know if that would be good for Grandma. However, one person reported:
"The easiest being the Photo Point Trail that takes 20 minutes, is .3 miles long and has a 10 foot elevation change. Or the challenging West Glacier Trail that takes 5 hours, is 6.8 miles long and has a 1,300 foot elevation change. Plus there are 4 other trails of varying lenghth." (from another site)
"From the visitor center, you can walk directly to the small lake in front of the glacier. It is a stunning and beautiful sight, and probably the closest you will ever get to a glacier." (again, another site)
Other travellers have reported that there is no advantage to booking the bus in advance, because you might want to see what the weather is like before going on this particular tour. It says that the glacier is only 13 miles outside town(reportedly 30 minutes), so you should have plenty of time.

By Helicopter:
Hubby and I are looking into taking a Helicopter tour to the Glacier, done by Temsco. They are in the toursaver guide this year, but as previously stated, they have limited "coupon availability," so I will be checking with them far in advance to see if they will be taking any coupons for our timeframe.

+1 on Harv and Marv's for Juneau; we went and it was a great trip. We have them booked for our Alaska cruise in 2011. Grandma will have to be able to board the boat with assistance, but there is inside seating once you are on board. This picture is dark, but if you can make it out, the seating is pretty comfortable:



All of the whale watching excursions have to obey the same environmental rules, and that includes how close they can come to any of the animals. One advantage of a smaller boat is that if they cut power, and the animals come up to the boat on their own, you get a closer view than you would on a larger boat. This is a pic of sea lions that came up to the stern of the boat:

Fshagan, that is an amazing picture! *changes desktop pic* Thanks for sharing it.

Do you know if Harv and Marv is equivalent to or maybe even better than taking a helicopter ride in Juneau?