Skagway/Juneau/Ketchikan Upcoming Alaskan Cruise

[Tanya Avery]

I was really wanting to bring my ELs but I am afraid of getting taxed to bring them back to the states through Canada. Especially since I’m possibly going to have issues with an old DUI when I get off the boat.

That for sure could be a factor. Good luck!


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[Tanya Avery]

We did a week in Alaska then the cruise from Seward to Vancouver. A lot of people had binos and no one said they were questioned about them.

A lot of people on my cruise were unboxing binos as we got into port. I never got questioned about the pair I had with me either.

 

[Tanya Avery]

Headed to Alaska on a cruise with the family June 10-17. Have excursions booked for Skagway (train out and back) and Juneau (whale watching) but looking for ideas in Ketchikan. Also looking for any recommendations on spots to eat in all three locations, as our excursions at the first two won't last longer than the morning and will be over by Noon.

Ketchikan is tricky due to the ship leaving at 1 pm, I'd love to bottom fish, but not sure that's a wise choice given the time constraints. Appreciate any insight/advice/input.

I would look at excursions booked through the cruise line. Most guarantee to get you back to the boat on time. You don’t want to be a port runner!


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[RADunfee]

My boss is leaving this Saturday for a 7 day NCL cruise on the Norwegian Encore. Glacier bay and Sitka plus other stops. Planning a cruise for my wife and I in the next year or two, so curious of other recommendations .

 

[rookieforever33]

My boss is leaving this Saturday for a 7 day NCL cruise on the Norwegian Encore. Glacier bay and Sitka plus other stops. Planning a cruise for my wife and I in the next year or two, so curious of other recommendations .

We did a package through royal carribean that included everything but meals and drinks. Started in Fairbanks and traveled south by train to Denali, Talkeetna, then Anchorage. Did organized tours by bus but had plenty of downtime to do our own things. We then go on the cruise boat with multiple stops ending in Vancouver. The cruise was phenominal, but exploring interior Alaska by train was even better.

 

[rookieforever33]

Yes that is the train car bartender. The dining room was downstairs.

 

[2ski]

I'm typing this as I'm on the last ocean day of our 7 day cruise. Tomorrow is Victoria and late afternoon/evening fishing for me. Royal Caribbean is the cruise line. I only did this as an ends to get to a bunch of places in Alaska. I'm not a cruiser and I find the whole cruise culture annoying. Shirts that everyone in the group has that say "Alaska Cruise 2025" and whatnot. People scarfing down as much food as possible and ignoring everything around them. I will say you do meet some cool people. I just spent the last 4 hours talking to a couple(she's Irish and he's British) about alot of things. Nice way to unwind after going hard the last 3 days in 3 ports. I walked alot of miles and saw a bunch.

Sitka- I went whale watching, the bear center and the eagle center. Saw tons of whales but the eagle and bear places were eh. I could do either in Bozeman. I would focus on hiking or fishing around Sitka. Or just whale watching.

Skagway- I went on a boat to a camp where they bus you up to canoes, and then you canoe upriver after a short hike to a lake that is fed by a melting glacier. It was very cool. Highlight of the trip until that point. I also could sit and watch salmon in the creek by Skagway for a while. There are tons of dead ones in the creek and caught up in log jams. I just think that shits cool. I wish I had more time to walk around Skagway. Not for the souvenir shops, but alot of it is national park. So you can see amd read alot about the history. See the clips where prostitutes used to work out of. Stuff like that. The spruce tip blond at the brewery was solid too. And I dont care much for blonds. At least when it comes to beer...... lol. I debated on doing the train. Heard it was really cool too. You can fish out of Skagway too. Super picturesque boating in. Lots of waterfalls. The helicopter to the glacier was cool that my brother did. I would just plan on being up every morning to be on the top deck as its starts to get light. Sleep in on any ocean days as you can't see anything anyways, other than off in the distance when you pass some big Canadian island.

Juneau- highlight of the whole trip. Seaplane ride Into Taku river lodge. You fly over the Juneau ice fields. Glaciers as far as the eye can see. You can literally see the "current" of the rivers of ice. Seeing mountain goats in the mountains. Looking for moose as you're only a few hundred feed above the river. Then they land on a river. And its a two mile wide river thats gets as deep as 15 feet. Then you dock at the lodge where you walk around seeing tons of wild blueberries and cranberries all around. Eat dinner of salmon caught from in that river, smoked on wood that was cut from the islands on that river. The best baked beans youve ever had. Amazing rolls. It was so good. All while you stare at a glacier coming down into the river on the other side. Then you fly out and back to Juneau. In Juneau devils club brewing was good. Really solid beer. The signature IPA was super solid. Alaskan brewing is here too. The gin distillery makes good gin. Tracy's is supposed to be the place. Tried the crab bisque. Didn't want to pay $400+ per pound for crab which worked out since I was still full from lunch.

Wish I had a day or so to spend each place.

Again I'm not a cruiser. But Alaska was sweet. As I told the retired park ranger thats here giving nature talks, you can do the "cruise stuff" on any old cruise. A cruise to Alaska is all about seeing mountains on steroids. Definately bring your optics. On ocean days sit where you can to watch for whales and everything. I'm sitting in the 18+ area looking out the glass as I type this. First time in Alaska. I will be back. The inside passage is legit.

 

[medvedyt]

as a neighbour i will skagway is a tourist trap ... aside of the sea cruise tourist season there is an asian restaurant that worth that is about it. haines is way more great for visiting on my opinion ...

 

[MountainTracker]

I’ve been on the Taku river a few times, and it can be an amazing experience when the weather is good, with all the glaciers to see, and float up to. But most of the time it’s raining when I’ve been there. I’ve been on that river in some pretty nasty weather, one day I didn’t think it could get any worse but around every corner it did. That’s why the nice days are great.

The river can get pretty shallow, I’ve seen boats stuck on the sand bars/mud flats and they had to just wait for the tide to come back in.


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[Citrus]

Everyone should do an Alaskan Cruise once in their life.