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Ketchikan once was a major player in the timber industry and has a sordid past steeped in bootlegging and brothels. Skagway was a jumping-off point for the Klondike Gold Rush beyond Chilkoot Pass and has an old railroad to prove it. Taking a deep dive into Alaska’s coastal regions Book a small ship cruise between Sitka, Ketchikan, and Juneau for a week or longer in the nooks and crannies of southeast Alaska. You’ll hike where there are no trails, paddle without another human in sight, and get to know the traditional lands of Alaska’s Coastal Native tribes. We like Alaskan Dream Cruises, UnCruise Adventures and Lindblad Expeditions for smaller, more sustainable cruises. Ride the rails through Alaska backcountry aboard the McKinley Explorer® domed luxury train.
Celebrity Cruises: Wilderness Exploration and Crab Feasts
Best of all, there are dozens of options to combine the train tour with another activity. History buffs can add a visit to Liarsville, a re-created gold rush camp complete with Vaudeville entertainment and a salmon bake. The Saxman Village tour offers a deep look at the culture overall, and particularly their totem poles. In fact, Saxman Totem park is one of the world’s largest collections of totem poles, and your guide will help explain the stories and symbolism behind them. The Lumberjack show is an entertaining look at the world of logging and the skills needed to survive in this dangerous industry. Lumberjacks compete in a dozen events including sawing, chopping, axe throwing, and log rolling.
Haines Shore Excursions & Tours
In Juneau, food tours have become popular; think King crab bisque and Alaska salmon. You should at least walk its main street (Broadway), with its wooden-board sidewalks. If you're a craft beer fan, like me, you also might want to sample a Spruce Tip Blonde Ale at the Skagway Brewing Company. As noted above, my biggest message to anyone planning an Alaska cruise is to get out of the towns. Sign up for something — a hike, a rafting trip, a train ride, a fishing outing — that gets you out into Alaska's spectacular outdoor settings. The best souvenir advice I've received is to buy a cozy throw or blanket at your first port stop.
Should you book a ship-sponsored or independent shore excursion on a cruise? - The Points Guy
Should you book a ship-sponsored or independent shore excursion on a cruise?.
Posted: Wed, 20 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Ultimate Wildlife Adventure cruisetour
Long hours of daylight, excursions and glacier viewings that start early and even your own fear of missing out can have you out of bed early and staying up later than you might on any other cruise. You will encounter slippery slopes and rocky roads — and that's just walking through Alaska port towns. You might be participating in more daring activities than normal, such as flying in helicopters, hiking across glaciers, kayaking icy waters or zip lining through forests. While cruises to the Last Frontier are not polar-cruise-level adventures, they require more careful planning than for a Mexico or Caribbean sailing.
8 great vacations that combine a cruise and a train trip - The Points Guy
8 great vacations that combine a cruise and a train trip.
Posted: Thu, 28 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
According to Goldring, both Seabourn Quest and Seabourn Odyssey offer similar Alaska itineraries in 2024; however, it will be the latter’s final sailing since it was sold. It is a good idea to choose an excursion that is booked through your cruise line. They will, in good faith, wait for you if there is a delay in your returning to the ship. If the ship cannot wait, they may make accommodations to get you to the next port of call.
Sitka
Below, I've listed six of my all-time favorite Alaska shore excursions. These all are tours that you'll find in the tour lineups at every major cruise line that operates in Alaska. That said, different lines sometimes have different names for these tours — and sometimes different pricing.
Explore Denali National Park on an Alaska land and sea package
An Alaska cruise on Princess Cruises offers the perfect blend of natural beauty, adventure, and family-friendly activities. The 5 cruise ports and terminals above are the ones you’re most likely going to visit during your Alaska cruise – almost all cruise companies visit almost all of them on almost all of their itineraries. Before launching into the list of the best cruise excursions in each Alaska port, I want to recap how I compare and choose excursions. Alaska might not be the first place that comes to mind for snorkeling, but it offers an unexpectedly mesmerizing underwater experience. Donning a specially designed 3mm suit, you'll find the icy waters surprisingly comfortable. This adventure allows you to explore the vibrant marine life beneath Alaska's surface, offering a glimpse into a world few get to see.
I started this site to share my travel stories and inspiration to help you complete bucket list trips. In this post, I promote travel to a destination that is the Lingít Aaní of the Áak’w Ḵwáan (Tlingit) people. With respect, I make a formal land acknowledgment, extending my appreciation and respect to the past and present people of these lands. To learn more about the peoples who call these lands home, I invite you to explore Native Land.
Best Value Alaska Cruise: Royal Caribbean, Radiance Of The Seas
Seabourn Odyssey sails both one-way itineraries between Vancouver and Juneau and round-trip itineraries from Vancouver. It visits popular Alaska ports like Ketchikan and Sitka, as well as less-touristed destinations like Wrangell, Prince Rupert (a port city in Canada) and Rudyerd Bay. Note that the ship is departing the cruise line after its Alaska season, so this is your last chance to sail on the elegant cruise ship. This luxury cruise line offers classic and expedition-style cruising, the latter of which takes aboard the 274-passenger Silver Wind.
This bus tour will allow you to get a taste of the city as you uncover its captivating history during your short time at port. The landscape is constantly changing due to climate change and other factors, so it truly is a remarkable experience to view the glaciers before they retreat even more. Cruise ship regulations are also put in place, and Princess Cruises just so happens to be one of the only cruise lines that has a concession contract to visit Glacier Bay. Eating fresh croissants while silently gliding through the glassy waters of the bay in the early morning hours will go down as one of my top 5 most memorable travel experiences of all time.
Experts onboard these sailings include naturalists, biologists and other scientists who are members of the expedition team. They lead the outdoor activities and provide passengers with a deeper insight into Alaska. Once guests finish communing with nature, they can indulge in gourmet cuisine in multiple restaurants, enjoy a complimentary cocktail or relax in an upscale spa.
You'll want to book at the peak of the salmon fishing season, from mid-June to mid-August. Ketchikan is the salmon capital of the world, and while most cruises stop there, a few don't, so make sure it's on the itinerary if you wish to fish. Early and late-season cruises might be unable to access the glaciers on their itineraries due to ice floes. Travel back in time and pan for gold like a prospector during the Gold Rush. Snuggle sled dog puppies in the ship's Piazza, or see the Northern Lights in the planetarium.
For these itineraries, you'll need to fly into or out of Anchorage and take a train or bus to/from the cruise departure ports, which can take an hour or two. You can book the transportation on your own or through your cruise line. Popular Inside Passage ports of call include Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Haines and Skagway.
Unlike Prince William Sound in Whittier, note that those with motion sickness should take precautions since the Resurrection Bay waters can be a bit choppy. Aspiring chefs can spend one-and-a-half hours learning about Alaskan seafood, local fishing and cooking techniques on this interactive foodie outing. A local fisherwoman/"wilderness chef" will lead a demo on fish fileting, then bring you outside where you can learn to grill the day's catch over a large wood grill. While you listen and cook, nibble on salmon and halibut dishes, as well as local veggies.
Only an hour and a half from the cruise port of Whittier lies the largest city in Alaska – Anchorage. Visit the Chugach National Forest, the second largest national forest in the United States. Or visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and see brown bears, moose and bison living in a protected habitat that perfectly emulates the wild.
The panorama includes the seven hanging glaciers and the snow-capped peaks of the Chugach Mountains, the forested Chugach valley and out to the sparkling waters of the Turnagain Arm waterway. Be sure to look down, too, and you may see wildlife ambling across the mountain's slope. Floatplane trips include views walls of granite, lush forests, and more. Along the way, you’ll see cascading waterfalls, majestic fjords, and abundant wildlife.
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