Taking an Alaska NCL cruise end of June to Alaska and looking for excurison suggestions that are under $150.?

Question

Definitely want to do whale watching,either Juneau or Prince Rupert port?

Answer 1

Have you looked in your book regarding shore excursions? This is usually the best source of info, since each cruise is a little different for what they offer.

If you plan to do excursions, be sure to book them in advance. By the time you take the cruise they may be sold out, or they may sell out by the time you get to the desk to book them.

I'm not sure of all the ports you are going to, Alaska has a lot of great choices. I especially like the train tours and the helicopter tours, they are my favorite.

If you go to the link at NCLs website (I've put it in the sources) you can look up the shore excursions and it will give you all the info you need, include price, what the shore excursion is, limitations, etc.


I've done a lot of excursions in Alaska and I've never taken one I didn't enjoy, I don't think you can make a bad choice.

Have an awesome time!

Answer 2

Whale watching is great. Only 1 catch. Make sure you take the one that is guarenteed. It runs $125. 00 each and if you do not see a single whale they refund you $100.00 each. Usually a group of 12 per boat. Also some of the train rides are good. Ask for the Excurison booklet it will give you full details plus lenght of tour, price and what is included. Been 19 times and booked for 3 this year. Never used an agent. Everything threw cruise line. No problem. Wait till you get there to book incase of weather.
Enjoy.

Answer 3

For the most part, Alaska cruises start in Seattle and Vancouver. On occasion you will find one from San Francisco. Most cruises from So Cal are to Mexico, with the occasional one to Hawaii or thru the Panama Canal to Florida. I'm not sure what you mean by "later this year", but Alaska cruises are only offered from May to September. You can't get both "bang for buck" and a small ship cruise. These are mutually exclusive. Small ship cruises are quite expensive. However, the mass-market cruise lines do not send their megaships to Alaska, so the ships will be the smaller ones in their fleet. These will have the rock climbing wall, but not the flowrider for surfing. We had a balcony for our Alaska cruise. It was especially great on the day the ship went down a fjord to the base of a glacier. It was quite cold up on the public deck, so we retreated back to our balcony and ducked in and out of the cabin when we got cold. Some cruise lines permit cigarette smoking on the balconies, others do not. If you toke on the ship, you will get caught, and you will be handed over to the authorities at the next port. Generally, you arrive at a port around 8 am and leave around 5 pm, but these hours vary based on the port you're in. There is no additional cost to be in the port. You can walk around as you please. Planned excursions, however, are another story. Dog sledding and helicopter rides are VERY expensive.

Answer 4

First, you need to go to the NCL web site: http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/home.html . Then click on SHORE EXCURSIONS. Select the port stops and look at what's offered.

OK, now that you know where to find what's offered here's my opinion based on the stuff we did. In Juneau we did the Mendenhall Glacier and City tour. It was just OK, you see one Glacier, you seen them all. If your cruise will go to College Fjord or another Glacier stop, skip Mendenhall and go whale watching or do a salmon bake. In Ketchkan we did the tour to the totum poles. That was ok too, but mainly cheap. If I went again I would do the lumberjack show. In Skagway we did the Yukon Territory scenic drive. that was as the name suggest, scenic. We went the same route that the train goes so you see basically the same stuff as the train ride. After that we did our own walking around town.

After our cruise wee got a bus to Anchorage and then boarded the Princess cruise line's tarin to Fairbanks, with a stop in Denali. But your ship does not have the tour part, I don't think. If I were going again I would do the dog sled ride for sure.

Answer 5

I've been there twice and the last time I used a tour company instead of the over priced and over crowded cruise line tours.

The tours are sold by a few different companies. I used "Shoretrips" and found them very nice and the tours were awesome. Plus we got going in about 1/3 of the time that the large cruise line tours do. Check them out at: http://www.shoretrips.com/

When there are 30-40 people on your cruise line tour there is always at least one slow- pokey *** that holds up everyone else. Sometimes it's unavoidable - but the odds get higher for delays as the no. of folks in the tour increase.

Another tour co. in Alaska to check is: www.portcompass.com. They have some nice looking trips but I haven't heard anything about them from past clients.

You'll enjoy any trips you take that get you out of the town areas and into remote areas. Take a camera with at least a 6x zoom for best flexibility.

I use a Panasonic F20 with a built in 12X Zoom that does great for me at a very reasonable price.
I think they have a newer model out now, I love mine and everyone I know with one that travels much really likes having the big zoom without all the fuss of separate lenses. Get at least a 1GB memory card, I recommend taking at least 2 cards on vacation just in case one of the cards fail.

Answer 6

Your travel agent should be assisting you with this. He/she should be sending you a list of all excursions available and within your price range.

Which ports are you going to? Are you looking for only excursions or pre and post cruise experience as well? Also are you only looking to do one excursion for the entire trip? Also do you or any one in your party have a physical disability or limitations? This can be a factor on what is available to you.

Answer 7

ask any of the staff members on your cruise, they are generally very knowledgable regarding things to do cheaper than the excursions the cruise line or travel agency can set up for you. Have a wonderful time!