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Message
Alaskan Cruise
Posted on 6/4/26 at 9:12 am
Posted on 6/4/26 at 9:12 am
I am going on an Alaskan cruise in the near future. The stops are as follows:
Ketchikan, Juneau, Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, Icy Strait Point, Sitka, and Wrangell.
Are there any must do tours or excursions I should look into for any of these places?
Thanks,
Ketchikan, Juneau, Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, Icy Strait Point, Sitka, and Wrangell.
Are there any must do tours or excursions I should look into for any of these places?
Thanks,
10
Posted on 6/4/26 at 10:31 am to chryso
Getting on our cruise in a couple of hours. I can’t remember what all we are doing except my one request of a guided, river fishing trip with shore lunch.
Posted on 6/4/26 at 11:04 am to chryso
Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay are incredible but you just stand on the ship and admire the scenery.
In Juneau-
That was the best whale watching tour we went on. We took the boat that circles Shelter Island.
Also Mendenhall Glacier which may be the most beautiful glacier around that you can drive to. I saw it twice, about 10 years apart. It had melted and receded quite a bit in the interim. See it while you can.
Sitka
There is a lot to do to occupy yourself for a day. Walk the Totem Pole Trail. Go to the raptor center and eagle hospital. Go to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Read James Michener’ s “Alaska “ before you go. Great book and one of the more interesting chapters is the one about the war between the Russians and the Indians in Sitka. You can see exactly where the battle took place.
In Ketchikan we just hung around town.
Great cruise.
In Juneau-
That was the best whale watching tour we went on. We took the boat that circles Shelter Island.
Also Mendenhall Glacier which may be the most beautiful glacier around that you can drive to. I saw it twice, about 10 years apart. It had melted and receded quite a bit in the interim. See it while you can.
Sitka
There is a lot to do to occupy yourself for a day. Walk the Totem Pole Trail. Go to the raptor center and eagle hospital. Go to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Read James Michener’ s “Alaska “ before you go. Great book and one of the more interesting chapters is the one about the war between the Russians and the Indians in Sitka. You can see exactly where the battle took place.
In Ketchikan we just hung around town.
Great cruise.
Posted on 6/5/26 at 12:02 am to geauxpurple
I did the helicopter tour at Juneau and we went to a different glacier not as busy. It was awesome!
I wish we would have done Ketchikan instead of Icy Strait Point.
I wish we would have done Ketchikan instead of Icy Strait Point.
This post was edited on 6/5/26 at 12:04 am
Posted on 6/5/26 at 1:15 am to chryso
Juneau- Harv and Marv small boat whale watching tour. You'll be on a boat with 6 people vs 80 people to see the same whales.
Ketchikan- avoid the Bear Encounter Land and Sea. It was a complete waste of time and money.
Ketchikan- avoid the Bear Encounter Land and Sea. It was a complete waste of time and money.
This post was edited on 6/5/26 at 1:18 am
Posted on 6/8/26 at 10:01 pm to chryso
quote:
Ketchikan
We did a fishing trip with a shore lunch. We bottom fished and caught a ton of rock fish. Had them filleted and cooked camp style on a beach. Was an amazing trip and got a slow mo video of a bald eagle snagging one of our fish that’s incredible.
quote:
Juneau
We did a combo of Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching. I didn’t get everything I would have liked from the glacier, but the whale watching was off the charts. Saw orcas, humpbacks, sea lions, and porpoises. Even the boat captain was taking pics. Incredible day.
quote:
Sitka
Going here tomorrow. No excursion planned, but I will be putting in about 10 miles around the town on a morning run. Will take some pics.
Posted on 6/9/26 at 5:12 pm to chryso
We just got off the Disney Wonder
**Glacier Day** was spectacular—definitely spend as much time on deck as possible.
**Skagway:** We did the Musher Camp excursion and would absolutely recommend it. The scenery was beautiful, and getting to interact with the dogs was a highlight for both adults and kids.
**Juneau:** We got off the ship as soon as we could and went straight to Mendenhall Glacier. There was hardly anyone there, and it ended up being one of those memories we'll never forget. In the afternoon, we did a private whale watching tour with Marv & Harv's and saw around 30 whales. Incredible experience.
**Ketchikan:** We booked a private wildlife tour and saw a bear, probably 40 eagles, waterfalls, and some amazing scenery. Our guide said that in a few weeks, when the salmon are running, you'd have a chance to see significantly more bears.
The only thing I wish we had done differently was book a fishing trip. Everything else exceeded expectations.
Posted on 6/10/26 at 1:24 am to chryso
No need to find the wildlife in Sitka, it finds you.
Saw more eagles today than anywhere. Seems they are vultures here and are everywhere around the harbor with all the fishing. We had a herd of whale follow us out. Not hundreds, but dozens for sure all around our ship.
I ran the Sitka Cross Trail for about 10 miles. Good time. Well maintained trail. Recommend the Bayview for beers and halibut fish n chips.
Saw more eagles today than anywhere. Seems they are vultures here and are everywhere around the harbor with all the fishing. We had a herd of whale follow us out. Not hundreds, but dozens for sure all around our ship.
I ran the Sitka Cross Trail for about 10 miles. Good time. Well maintained trail. Recommend the Bayview for beers and halibut fish n chips.
Posted on 6/10/26 at 9:00 am to armytiger96
We are doing Harv & Mary’s for 6 people in a few days.
Can you give any insight on your experience and what we should expect?
Thanks
Can you give any insight on your experience and what we should expect?
Thanks
Posted on 6/10/26 at 12:06 pm to zuluboudreaux
quote:
We are doing Harv & Mary’s for 6 people in a few days. Can you give any insight on your experience and what we should expect? Thanks
They will put you on a big bus at the dock and bring you to the marina. They will likely stop at a lookout point on the way to the marina so you can see and get pictures of the Mendenhal Glacier.
At the marina you will have a chance to use the restroom before meeting your guide and getting routed to your specific boat.
The boats are similar to pipeline crew boats used in south LA. During the boat ride the guide will give great insight of whales and their behaviors.
They track individual whales daily and know their feeding patterns, where they are located, and individual personalities.
Apparently, the pattern on the whale tails is unique like a thumb print so they name the whales and revisit them yearly when they return for their annual feeding.
At anytime you can go out on the bow of the boat or the back end and enjoy the views. Watching the whales is unique for each whale sometimes you see nothing but their tails other times they would surface depending on their feeding technique. If they are "bubbling" then they will likely surface.
We went to three or four spots, its similar to fishing guides they are in conversation with each other so if a whale is actively feeding there will be several boats in the area.
The best part of Harv and Marv is the small group. There was one boat nearby that looked like it had a 100 people crammed on the roof like a bunch of sardines. I'm sure they loved it because a big whale surfaced right next to their boat, but I would hate to spend an afternoon in cramped quarters like that.
They will have snacks on board which is small bags of chips, granola bars, cheezits, small bottles of water, etc.
We also saw several sea lions and a bald eagle (I think). After the tour they put back on the big bus and bring you back to the ship. At the dock I enjoyed a crab leg feast at Tracy's if you are on a budget get the crab nachos. They were great and full of crabmeat.
Posted on 6/10/26 at 12:49 pm to armytiger96
We had 5 people so in Juneau we rented a car and did the Mendenhall glacier.
Also Tracy’s was amazing.
Also Tracy’s was amazing.
Posted on 6/10/26 at 3:52 pm to armytiger96
We had a similar experience with a different guide. There were four or five ships in Juneau same day as ours. The crab leg place was a zoo. We went to the Hangar and had the best fish n chips I’ve ever had. Bartender was smoking hot too. Alaskan Brewing’s amber ale is worth of the hype.
Posted on 6/12/26 at 12:21 pm to armytiger96
Thank you for the detailed information
Posted on 6/12/26 at 1:49 pm to armytiger96
We weren't able to do Harv and Marv, they were already booked, but luckily I found Juneauwhaletours . com. It was a smaller boat with less passengers than all the big companies, really enjoyed it. Great price too.
Posted on 6/12/26 at 1:53 pm to Penn
quote:
**Ketchikan:** We booked a private wildlife tour and saw a bear, probably 40 eagles, waterfalls, and some amazing scenery. Our guide said that in a few weeks, when the salmon are running, you'd have a chance to see significantly more bears.
Do you have some more info you can provide on this tour? Name of company? Cost?
Posted on 6/13/26 at 7:54 am to chryso
In Ketchikan we did the Wilderness Zodiac Tour. You start with nice short hike thru the rain forest to an old fish cannery that has been turned into a museum. After a quick tour they get everyone loaded on a small rigid bottom zodiac. Each group got their own. You then follow a guide out and around Saint George’s Bay. Beautiful scenery. Saw lots of eagles and a few sea lions. Guide says depending on time of year they get whales, both humpbacks and orcas in the bay. Also depending on time of day you may see bears down by the shoreline. We didn’t see those but he showed us some cool pics he took while on previous tours. When you get back to the cannery, you are treated to a selection of some local craft beers and snack. We enjoyed it.
Posted on 6/13/26 at 8:33 am to Ziggy
Alaska shore tours dot com
Reviews of the tours are very accurate
Think it was like 800 bucks
Reviews of the tours are very accurate
Think it was like 800 bucks
Posted on 6/14/26 at 12:33 pm to chryso
We went on an Alaskan cruise a little over 20 years ago. When we got into Glacier Bay, a park ranger boarded the ship and passed out pamphlets from the National Park Service that included a map of the bay showing the location of the glaciers over the years and how much they had been receding as far back as records from ships had been kept. Seems like the map lines showed as far back as the late 1700’s with pretty big changes every twenty years through the entire 250 years or so of records. She then explained how all the glaciers melting were due to man made climate change. I felt like I was the only one in the auditorium that realized how ridiculous of a statement that was based on the maps she just passed out. 
Posted on 6/14/26 at 3:49 pm to Ramblin Wreck
We head out in a few weeks for our cruise. Will be going on the royal princess .
Juneau- doing the small boat holds 20 people couldn’t get Marc booked but still small group should be good
Skagway- doing white pass train ride
Ketichan - will just be walking g around town taking in the sights.
Arrive in Seattle on Friday mid morning ship leaves Saturday. With World Cup still going on will be limited on what we do .probably take in pike place.
We are staying an extra day upon returning as well. Looking forward to this trip for sure
Juneau- doing the small boat holds 20 people couldn’t get Marc booked but still small group should be good
Skagway- doing white pass train ride
Ketichan - will just be walking g around town taking in the sights.
Arrive in Seattle on Friday mid morning ship leaves Saturday. With World Cup still going on will be limited on what we do .probably take in pike place.
We are staying an extra day upon returning as well. Looking forward to this trip for sure
Posted on 6/14/26 at 5:54 pm to baxter12
quote:
Ketichan - will just be walking g around town taking in the sights.
The brewery there was good. I thought it was an Alaskan version of Gatlinburg. We took a rock fishing trip and had a shore lunch. It was a lot of fun and shore lunch was worth it.
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