Our Alaskan cruise was round-trip from Seattle, so we added a day before our cruise and a couple of days after to not only give wiggle room with flights, but to also do some adventuring around Seattle while we were out there. The kids had never been to Seattle, so we wanted to do some activities that we had done previously that we knew they would enjoy. One of those was a visit to Snoqualmie Falls!
This post will share our review and photos of our visit to Snoqualmie Falls after our Alaskan Cruise.
Before our cruise, we didn’t have a car, so we did activities within Seattle that we could monorail or walk to, like the Seattle Aquarium. After our cruise, we rented a car so we could venture a bit further out. On one day, we went to the Fish Ladder, Gas Works Park and Snoqualmie Falls, with Snoqualmie taking up the largest portion of the day.
What is Snoqualmie Falls?
Snoqualmie Falls is a 268-foot waterfall and is the second most visited natural landmark in Washington after Mount Rainier. It is more than twice as high as Niagara Falls! There are two observation decks, a hiking trail, restaurant, shop, and lodge/hotel. It is also known for its appearance in the television series Twin Peaks.
Where is Snoqualmie Falls?
Snoqualmie Falls is approximately 33 miles from the Seattle Cruise Terminal, which at the time of me looking this up, says it would take about 44 minutes to drive. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Seattle, in the heart of Downtown Seattle, and that is about 29 miles and a 32 minute drive to Snoqualmie Falls.
Does it cost money?
Admission to the Snoqualmie Falls is free. If you have a car, there is a parking lot at both the top and bottom of the falls. Per their official site, it says parking is free in the upper lot, but the lower parking lot has a fee of $7. However, I recall it being the opposite…we had to pay up top and the bottom was free. I remember this because we had a time limit and we made it just in time. So just be prepared to potentially pay if you have to park…and if you don’t, then yay!
Our Experience
After our cruise, we returned to the Hyatt Regency, which has a car rental agency on the lower floor. We rented a car and parked in the hotel garage for a nightly fee. When we were ready, we hit the road…the drive didn’t seem long because there was always interesting scenery…including the Space Needle as we left the city…
…and Mount Rainier peeking out from a distance the entire ride.
We decided to begin at the top of the falls and parked in the upper parking lot. It was quite busy and the lot isn’t huge, so we were fortunate to get a spot fairly quickly.
It’s just a short walk to the lookout area.
There is a safe, extensive wooden platform to view the falls from, so you’re not walking on a scary dirt path over a cliff.
There is a hiking path that runs from the top next to the lookout and all the way down to the base of the falls. If you want to view the falls from both angles, you can either hike down/up, or you can go get the car and drive to the other parking park. We chose to hike down the path.
The Snoqualmie Falls hiking path was really unique, with lots of cool trees with spots to take photos with stumps and branches.
The Hiking Trail is an actual cleared dirt path. There are lots of switchbacks and the path can be pretty steep at times, so keep that in mind when you are trying to decide whether you want to walk back up the trail or not.
Once you get near the bottom, there is another wooden bridge/walkway that leads you over the Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Plant pipes and closer to the falls.
When we were here in 2009, there wasn’t a built walkway and you could walk on the rocks all the way up to the falls. We even had to climb over the pipes back then too! Now, the walkway is the only path and stops quite a bit before reaching the falls. We were kind of bummed about this.
If you’re willing able to venture off the path and carefully walk over some rocks, there is a way to reach the water going the opposite way of the falls. If you walked down the wooden walkway to the falls, you would walk back and across from the trail is a little path to the water.
We watched an artist paint the scene…so cool!
We enjoyed walking barefoot in the water for a bit and then walked back up the way we came in.
At this point, we were ready to go back to the car and realized we had quite the long steep walk back up the hiking trail and we were running out of time to get the car, so I ran up the trail while the rest of the family waited down by the lower parking lot for me. What a workout!
Overall, a visit to Snoqualmie Falls is a fun, inexpensive idea if you have some time available and a car. We live in Florida and don’t have waterfalls like this near us, so this gave the kids the opportunity to see a waterfall of this size up close. They thought it was amazing and loved the trail and river at the bottom. I liked having an active, outdoor excursion…it was such a beautiful day! We really did get super lucky in the weather we experienced while in Seattle and Alaska. For reference, we went mid June and we would definitely pick June again if we were to do another Alaskan Cruise.
Since it didn’t take up all day, we also had time to visit the Ballard Locks Fish Ladder and Gas Works Park. Being able to zip around to various attractions made having a car so beneficial!
If you’re looking for a way to make a waterfalls day trip out of your adventure, there are lots of other waterfalls, lookout areas and places of interest in the area. Just look at the nearby area on the map and explore!
Looking for a fun and adventurous excursion in St. Kitts? We took a St. Kitts Dune Buggy tour that our family thought was so fun! This post will be a review with our experience and photos of our Dune Buggy cruise excursion in Basseterre St. Kitts.
When looking for a fun family-friendly excursion in St. Kitts during our Royal Caribbean cruise, we found Sunny Blue Rentals. We had already had a water excursion planned during this cruise with our Catamaran tour in St. Thomas, so we wanted something a little different that our kids, 9 and 7 at the time, could participate in as well. Sunny Blue Rentals had Dune Buggies that could accommodate either 2 or 4 people, so we chose them so our family could fit into one dune buggy…and so I wouldn’t have to drive! All of their ATVS are street legal and fully automatic.
We booked through their website and received an email confirmation. It was stated on their website and they reiterated in the confirmation that each driver had to bring their drivers license and $25 cash in order to obtain a temporary St. Kitts drivers license.
We were told to wait at a particular spot for our transportation to the tour location when we arrived at the cruise port in Basseterre St. Kitts. We waited a little long for the tour guide to show up and when we were finally all together, one of the “drivers” in our group had forgotten his drivers license and we had to wait for him to go all the way back onto the ship and come back. Nice.
When we arrived at the tour start location, it was a small building and each driver had to fill out their paperwork for the temporary license. Our dune buggies were lined up and ready for us, so we were directed to go to ours.
We were handed large goggles, which we quickly took for the kids, but us adults already had sunglasses, so we initially declined. He quickly replied that although they aren’t required, he highly recommends them. So we took them to have on hand just in case. Wow, he was not lying…trust me, YOU WANT THE GOGGLES! Pictures further down this post will show you why.
This was a guided tour, but only in the sense that we had a tour guide in an atv in the front of the pack leading the way and a tour guide in the back of the pack so that no one gets left behind. Otherwise, it was like we were driving on our own adventure.
We started out driving on roads away from the building, along the water, where we could see our cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas.
Then, we went offroad and into dirt, farmland, and trees. Time to hold on!
Once we got onto the dirt roads, we quickly put on our goggles. The dune buggies are pretty open and dirt was flying in from all around.
Every inch of our bodies and clothing was covered in dirt. We didn’t mind because we were having fun and we couldn’t stop laughing at how ridiculous we looked. But we had to be careful with laughing because if we opened our mouth, dirt would fly in! 😀
After driving for a bit, we arrived at a scenic spot to take photos and check out banana trees and other vegetation.
Our tour guide shared some history of St. Kitts and Nevis with us, as well as local life and traditions.
We then got back on the road and drove to another scenic lookout near the water.
At this location, there was a food/drink stand that we all got a Caribbean beer from and the kids got some chips. There were some locals hanging out as well and everyone was super friendly. There were also restrooms to wash our faces.
The courtyard had various little shops with locals selling goods. They weren’t pushy but if you’d rather not talk or look, you could walk down the middle of the courtyard towards the water.
After hanging out for a bit, we got back in our dune buggies and drove back to the tour building. We were then taken back to the cruise port.
This was a really fun tour. I particularly enjoyed that it was adventurous without being strenuous and that our whole family could be together in one dune buggy.
My sister and brother in law were able to get a 2-person dune buggy, so they spent less and they didn’t have to share with strangers. I know we all fam on a cruise, but sometimes you want the experience with just your party and not have to rock-paper-scissors which person gets to drive.
If you want to drive, you must be 18 years or older with a valid driver’s license present on the date of rental in order to operate the ATV/Dune Buggy or Scooter.
I did not rock-paper-scissors my husband…we all knew well ahead he would be driving because I am the passenger princess. It was also quite the off-roading experience that he was well-practiced in…it was like us passengers were on a thrill ride! We would not have had as much fun if I was the one driving.
I also liked how there was a sense of independence on the tour and that the guides trusted us to keep up. I am not against “being a tourist” as touristy things can be amazing, but I don’t like looking like I’m being herded like fragile old cattle. Our tour guide was like “Keep up and let’s go!” Love it!
One thing to note is that we did not go to Timothy Hill Overlook. That is the main picturesque lookout spot in St. Kitts & Nevis that offers a 360-degree view of the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the island of Nevis and the hilly peninsula. If Timothy Hill Lookout is something you must do, I think they offer several tour options or simply ask the tour guide if that is somewhere you will be going or perhaps even ask via email when booking. Otherwise, you will have to go there some other way.
We would definitely recommend this tour and would even do it again…maybe my son will want to do it in a few years when he has his drivers license. I will still remain as the passenger princess but will maybe be holding on a little tighter.
The Kennedy Space Center is a great excursion option for cruises that either depart Port Canaveral or have a port day at Port Canaveral. This post will be a review with our experience and photos from our visit to the Kennedy Space Center.
Kennedy Space Center Location
The Kennedy Space Center is located at Cape Canaveral. More specifically, the Visitor Complex is located on Merritt Island. Cruise ships dock at several terminals in Port Canaveral. Just how far is Port Canaveral to Kennedy Space Center? It is about 15.4 miles away, or a 20 minute drive.
Orlando International Airport to Kennedy Space Center is about 44 miles, a 45 minute drive….totally dependent on traffic.
You can actually see beyond the Visitor Complex to the very large Vehicle Assembly Building from the cruise ship! The building is so big that it can be seen for miles all around. Many people think that is “Kennedy Space Center” but KSC is actually a little south of it, but you can drive by it on an optional free tour…more on that later.
During our May 2011 cruise, we were fortunate to see Space Shuttle Endeavor on the launchpad. We departed on May 15 and Endeavor launched May 16. This was the final mission for Endeavor before retiring and the 2nd to last mission of the entire Shuttle program.
Kennedy Space Center Tickets
They offer a variety of ticket options and add-on enhancements. They offer 1-day and 2-day tickets, with discounts for Seniors and Military, as well as an Annual Pass and Family Annual Pass.
Additionally, they offer special discounts throughout the year. I looked while writing this post and they have 2 special offers…a 1-day meal bundle discount and a discount for Brevard County Residents.
When we visited, we planned it during their Mercury Offer, which offered an amazing discount for residents of Orange, Volusia, Seminole, and Osceola County. $19 for adults and $14 for children 3-11. Score!
I say all of that basically as a tip for you to check their website for current prices and special offers when planning your visit. They may have a deal that is better than what the cruise ship is offering, but just be sure to factor in transportation to and from your location.
They also offer enhancement experiences for an additional cost, such as Lunch with an Astronaut and Astronaut Training Activities.
Kennedy Space Center Hotels
While there is no hotel right at the Kennedy Space Center (how cool would that be, though?!) they do partner with several local hotels to offer discounted hotel rates.
Kennedy Space Center Experience
Now that we’ve talked about where it is and how to get in, let’s talk about what to do at Kennedy Space Center! First, I’ll admit that we did not visit in relation to a cruise. We live about 50 minutes away, so we took advantage of a special offer during a day the kids were not in school. We did not spend the entire day, hence why this is often offered as a shore excursion, but you could make a full day out of it if your time allows.
Entering Kennedy Space Center is like entering a theme park! You have the turnstiles for you to present your ticket and then Guest Services to the side. To get our special offer, we had to go through Guest Services so that we could present our drivers license as proof of residency. But after that, we were in!
We started at the Rocket Garden, where you can walk among actual rockets of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs.
It is amazing to stand next to them and even climb inside a capsule.
There are several shows to watch, including an IMAX. Be sure to check the park information for that day to see showtimes and plan accordingly.
Next, our timing lined up to take the free bus out to the Apollo/Saturn V Center. KSC offers free shuttle busses every 15-20 minutes and travel time is 20 minutes. Be sure to check when the last shuttle departs the Visitor Complex and when the last shuttle leaves the Center to return, as it can be well before park closing to allow ample time. We didn’t want to miss out on this, so we made sure to do it early in our visit.
During the bus ride, you pass by the Vehicle Assembly Building. We see this building all the time when going on cruises or even taking day trips to the coast…it’s huge!
The bus also drove around the area surrounding the building and the narrator talked about operations in the area, including showing us the crawler that transports the rockets to their launch pad.
Once you enter the Apollo/Saturn V Center, you are met with the ginormous Saturn V Rocket. According to the KSC website: Every human who stepped foot on the Moon launched from Kennedy Space Center atop a Saturn V rocket.
During our visit, we were so lucky to see Artemis I on the launchpad! Artemis I was the first uncrewed mission of the Artemis program, intended to establish human presence on the moon for the first time since 1972! It was a historic launch and we got to see it beforehand.
The Apollo/Saturn V Center contains several demos, shows and walk-through exhibits. There is also a cafe with food & drinks for purchase.
After we were done exploring the Apollo/Saturn V Center, we took the bus back to the main KSC Visitor Center. The kids played with Legos while waiting for the next IMAX show to start…a mini rocket!!
In the Atlantis building, there is the actual Atlantis Rocket that you can see inside of.
There are lots of interactive games and simulations.
There is a tube crawl high in the air at the second floor level…
…and a slide to come back down!
Speaking of play areas, in the IMAX building, there is a huge multi-story play zone called Planet Play. There was a short wait to enter, but once in, the kids could run around freely and there were spots for the adults to sit and relax.
Is the Kennedy Space Center for Kids?
Yes, absolutely! I think the Kennedy Space Center if for all ages. There’s play places for the youngest kids, history, games, interactive experiences, shows and just a good variety of activities to entertain the entire family.
Kennedy Space Center Tips
Be sure to use the guide, map and check the current attractions, as some of them can change for your visit.
Time out your activities…the shows only play a few times a day and are each different lengths and then the trip out to the Apollo/Saturn V Center will take up some time and is a must. Taking a few minutes at the start of your day to plan out those time-sensitive items will help you maximize the fun!
Are you interested in experiencing Ketchikan Alaska on your own? Or maybe you have some time before or after your excursion? Then keep reading! This post will share our review, experience and photos doing our own walking tour around Ketchikan!
We visited Ketchikan Alaska as a port stop on our Alaskan Cruise. Our time in port was 7:00am-4:00pm. We had our Bering Sea Crab Fisherman Tour in the afternoon, so we had time to explore on our own and even hop back on the ship for lunch before heading to the excursion.
When researching what to do in Ketchikan, I came across this Ketchikan Walking Tour map. It contains 35 points of interest, including the Welcome Arch, Fish Ladder, Totem Poles, and more, all within walking distance.
We were so happy our ship docked with the Starboard side facing Ketchikan. This allowed us to have the most amazing view of Ketchikan while enjoying breakfast on our balcony!
As you can see, the town is right there and super convenient for anyone wanting to get off and explore for a bit.
We chose to go clockwise around the town. We didn’t entirely follow the path and we didn’t visit every point of interest, but we made sure to visit the main locations and as many totem poles as possible.
Right on the dock next to the cruise ships is “The Rock” statue.
“The Rock” is a bronze sculpture that is a symbolic representation of early Alaskan pioneers and the beginnings of Ketchikan. A fisherman, a miner, a logger, a bush pilot, a frontierswoman, and a Native drummer.
Next was the Ketchikan Welcome Arch. Please be mindful of the road and cars and don’t be an oblivious tourist.
Be on the lookout for all the totem poles! Curious of how many totem poles are in Ketchikan? I read there are over 80! We did not see 80, but we saw a lot….here are a few.
The Creek Street National Historic District is very popular, with restaurants, shops and nice viewing spots of the Ketchikan Creek.
The Ketchikan Creek winds through Creek Street, with some art figures, a waterfall and salmon viewing areas.
There is a Fish Ladder, but we weren’t there during busy salmon time, so not much to see there.
There is a trail through the woods…lots of steps!
But it’s worth it to reach the lookout where you can see the cruise ships! I can see our room!
We spent some time down by the creek skipping rocks, and were greeted by two bald eagles!
Do you see it? Here, I’ll help 🙂
Of course, we were so excited to see a Bald Eagle, but we felt silly later on when we saw 20-30 of them during our Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour later that day!
We ended our walking tour with a stroll down the Waterfront Boardwalk, which gave a great view of the Harbor and the cruise ships.
Overall, we explored for a few hours, taking photos and playing along the way. If you were a little shorter on time, you could skip portions of the trail or not spend as long in certain areas. If you had even more time, you could spend time shopping or eating at a restaurant.
If you have the time, I recommend exploring Ketchikan on your own using this Ketchikan Walking Tour to guide you. Can’t beat a free excursion! 🙂
This post will share our photos and experience on a whale watching tour in Victoria, British Columbia Canada during our Alaskan Cruise.
Victoria, BC was our final port stop on our 7-day Alaskan Cruise onboard Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas. When searching for Victoria, BC shore excursions, we noticed many that were related to the Butchart Gardens or venturing through the city. While those sounded lovely, we knew our kids wouldn’t prefer them. Most other Alaskan ports have a whale-watching excursion of some kind, but since we had other types of excursion planned for each one, Victoria was our last chance for a whale-watching excursion.
We booked our excursion through the ship, as there was an option that was fairly priced. There was only one option, but I’m sure there were plenty more available through private companies.
We had done whale-watching in 2009 during our trip to Seattle. We took a sea plane from Seattle and then went on a small-ish boat in the San Juan Islands. It was amazing, especially for my photographer husband. We knew we wanted the kids to experience something similar.
But here’s the thing…we wish we would have cancelled this excursion. Why, you ask?
By this time in the trip (our last day) we had seen whales directly from the cruise ship several times. We would be lounging on the pool deck and see guests gathered on one side looking out windows, so we would venture over and whaddya know…whales in the wild.
Perhaps one of the most incredible unplanned times of our cruise was like after midnight sometime, while it was a little light out with that dim pink and blue sky (because it’s Alaska and the sun almost never fully sets during some times of the year) and we were on our balcony, it was super quiet and we saw a momma humpback whale and her baby playing, doing little breach jumps and swimming around each other. And here we were just sailing on by with no one else around. You can’t beat that.
We also saw many other types of wildlife from the ship (bring your binoculars! We used these.) so to leave a boat to get on another boat to go out in search of them and pay hundreds of dollars to do something you’ve already done throughout the week just seemed silly at this point.
We also arrived at Victoria late in the afternoon…we were in port 5-10pm, so going on the excursion meant we would miss our last Suite Lounge Happy Hour and normal dinner hours.
But we chose to go because otherwise we wouldn’t get off the ship and we wanted to bring the kids to Canada 🙂
After getting off the ship, we went through customs and then found the meeting location of the tour.
There were a lot of us. We waited for everyone to check in and then we took several busses to the pier where the whale-watching boat was. The boat was pretty large. It had two stories…both with an enclosed area. The bottom floor was fully enclosed with windows all around and seating against the windows.
The top floor also had windows all around with seating, but it also had an outside portion that full wrapped around the boat. So if you sat inside downstairs, you wouldn’t have anyone standing outside to block your view, but the outside area upstairs was completely full once we started seeing whales, so you weren’t able to see past people if you sat inside.
It took a good 30-45 minutes or more to venture out to where the whales are typically spotted. With any wildlife tour, there is no guarantee of what you will see. But the tour operators all communicate with each other when whales are spotted so they can all venture to the same spot and increase the chances of everyone having a successful tour.
First we saw a small pod of whales, I want to say humpback, but they were pretty far in the distance and we didn’t stay with them for long.
We then traveled some more and arrived at an orca pod. We stood outside and the boat followed them from multiple angles, allowing everyone a good view.
We followed this pod for the rest of the tour. So the excitement eventually wore off and the kids asked to go sit inside. There was a small snack stand there, so the kids bought chips and soda from Canada. Not sure how they’re different, probably healthier haha.
We then went downstairs to find a spot we could relax by the window and see outside, since we couldn’t see out much from inside upstairs with all the people standing outside.
We got bored 🙁 I know that sounds awful, but it was just too much of the same thing for too long. I would have preferred a shorter trip for less money. It probably also didn’t help that the kids were a little cranky from being bored and I wished I had brought electronics of some sort. I was trying to be the good mom but didn’t realize just how much downtime there would be.
Do we recommend this shore excursion?
We would recommend A whale excursion depending on your circumstances. If you are in an area as part of a land vacation, sure, and maybe even look at other Alaskan cities as options, as Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, etc. all also offer whale-watching tours. As part of a cruise where you may have already seen whales from the ship? Perhaps not. However, if we hadn’t already seen whales from the ship during the week, this was a guarantee that we would see them during the trip. So perhaps be flexible and book somewhere that allows cancellations/refunds.
I would have also preferred a smaller boat with less people that could travel a little faster and maybe not take so long.
If you are into nature photography, then this will definitely get you closer to the whales for better photos.
Last but not least, there is a cute shop right on the cruise pier where you can get Canada souvenirs before returning to the ship, but that was pretty much the only shop right there. Any more than that will require you to venture towards the city more.
Looking for more Alaska Shore Excursion reviews? Check out these posts!
This shore excursion is one of my favorite experiences! If you’re looking for what to do in St. Thomas, especially with a family, then keep reading, as this post will share photos and our experience on the Anchors Away USVI Catamaran Charter.
When searching for St. Thomas excursion options, I was looking for something different and away from the crowds. Many excursions offered through the ship were for large groups of people and we didn’t want to do that this time. St. Thomas has tons of private tour operators, so I spent some time searching for our best options. We wanted something priced competitively that could accommodate 6 people, including 2 children. We also had some individual requests from family members, like needing a boat with shade coverage and possibly food/drink offerings.
I stumbled upon Anchors Away USVI St Thomas Catamaran Excursion and they met all the requirements:
A Catamaran with plenty of room and shade
Time options that fit our port schedule
Food/drink included
Able to accommodate 6 people and allowed kids
Great price!
Booking our Catamaran Excursion
I was able to view their availability right on their website, so making sure they had an opening on our port day was the first step. Next, I had some questions…this was our first cruise after the shutdown, so I was nervous about the potential of plans changing and wanted to ask about their cancellation policy. I used their contact form and got a quick reply from the owner. He was extremely helpful and responsive. Their cancellation policy put me at ease and he even let me modify their “Half Day Charter” to add an additional hour and snack for a small additional charge, since they didn’t have anyone booked for the evening. This allowed us to have more time on the excursion and not waste any time while in port. We are so glad we did this because the time flew by so fast because were were having so much fun.
Arriving in St. Thomas, we knew we were going to have a great day…it was absolutely gorgeous!
Arriving at our Catamaran Excursion
The dock that we had to meet at is not where our cruise ship docked. It was about a 20-25 minute drive to Compass Point Marina from the Cruise Ship Dock.
We considered booking a private car to make sure our timing would be good, and the owner provided a contact for one if we wanted, but also said there are plenty of taxis at the cruise pier and that would be okay too. The funny thing is that when we arrived to the taxi line, we told them where we needed to go and they looked kinda shocked and had to scramble around a little to find someone to drive there that could fit 6 people. There wasn’t an issue, it just took a bit for them to decide and get situated amongst themselves.
We arrived at the marina on time and were greeted by our Captain that walked us to the catamaran. We were introduced to his wife, who took care of all our food and drinks. Both were extremely personable, attentive and nice. He shared the tour of the catamaran and safety considerations and then told us what plans we had for the day as far as food, drinks and locations we would visit. This was based off of what I shared with the owner in emails prior to the tour, but the Captain also asked if we wanted to change anything or if we were good with the plan…they basically wanted to accommodate whatever we wanted to do the best they could and bring us to the best places to do those things.
Based on this, the plan was to go to two locations…the first was a great large area to snorkel to see lots of different fish and the second was a sunken ship to snorkel at that always has turtles and was close to the pizza delivery boat that we requested for lunch (more on that later).
What I loved about this catamaran was that there were so many options to relax. You could relax in the front, either in the padded bench nook…
…or on the nets over the water.
You could climb up to the padded roof for a great view.
Or you could sit in the shaded dining area…
…or the dining area inside.
The food was all fresh and handmade in the kitchen right on the catamaran. For our first snack when we arrived, we had large trays of fruit, veggies, cheese, hummus and crackers.
Once we arrived at the first location, all of our activity options were shown to us – all provided and included in the tour. We could use snorkel gear (we brought our own full face snorkel masks, but used their flippers and life-vests), paddleboards, floating mats attached to the catamaran to relax or the motorized water scooter (so fun!). We were told about how long we would be in this location and then we all scattered off to adventure.
As we were adventuring, they were preparing snacks for our return – tortilla chips and a bowls of freshly-made salsa and guacamole. Sorry, didn’t get a good before photos of those…we dug in and devoured them so fast, especially this snack monster!
Drinks were also included: Local & Seasonal Beer, Rum Punch, Sodas, Water, Fresh Brewed Coffee, and a Nespresso™ Bar. They also offered upgraded drinks, but we were all more than happy with the beer and rum punch, which was kept full for us to pour ourselves as often as we wanted.
We then ventured to our next location and were free to adventure as we pleased. And as promised, we saw the turtles! The kids loved looking at the fish guide to see if they saw any of those fish while snorkeling.
Shortly after we arrived to this location, our pizza arrived by boat! When looking up options in St. Thomas, I found two really cool options for getting food while out on the boat. One option was Lime Out, a floating taco restaurant only accessible by boat, and the other was Pizza Pi, a floating pizza restaurant that could deliver. We chose Pizza Pi since it was closest to where we were and it could be brought to us. We did have to make this decision at the beginning of our excursion, as they said orders need to be placed well ahead of time. Here comes our pizza…how cool is this!?
I was grateful for the opportunity to try paddleboarding for the first time. Can I confess…it looks much easier than it turned out to be!
I was so wobbly and by the time I made it up and balanced, I turned around and was yards away from the catamaran! Oh my gosh, I’m about to be Cast Away!
I had to fight the current to get back nearby the catamaran.
I’m sure it gets quicker and easier with practice, but me and my sister-in-law were quite entertained at our struggles and experience, but once we got up, we were quite proud of ourselves! We then determined kneeling and paddling was much more efficient on our way back.
My son made sure to let us old ladies know how easy it was for him to stand up on it…
Before we knew it, it was time to gather back on the catamaran for our trip back to the marina. For our trip back, we were spoiled with my absolute favorite, freshly-baked, warm chocolate chip cookies. Cookies, rum punch, kids entertained….I was a happy gal!
Pricing
The price for a half-day charter was $1000, not including gratuities. This included the fresh fruit/veggies snack. We added an extra hour for $250 and they added chips/guacamole/salsa and the chocolate cookies. This made the per person cost $1250/6 = $208 + gratuities. That price is phenomenal and comparable or even better than other cruise excursions AND this was our own private, personal excursion on an incredible catamaran with amazing service, food and unlimited drinks! They could accommodate up to 12 guests, so the more people in your group, the better the per person cost. They also offer full day, sunset and overnight options.
Do we recommend this excursion?
Heck yes! We felt like we hit the jackpot with this excursion. I know some people get nervous about booking excursions from private companies (i.e. not through the cruise ship) but I highly recommend seeking out all options, as most private operators offer a return guarantee and will do everything in their power to make sure you are back on that ship. There are some real hidden gem excursions out there.
I will share that when writing this post and going to their website to grab links and info, I am not sure Anchors Away USVI still operating. Their last social post was from over a year ago and their booking page wouldn’t work for me, but everything else was still as I remember it, with charter options, menus, etc. still shown. If you are seeing this and are interested in booking with them, you could try contacting them. Otherwise, and the reason I still continued to share this post, I suggest you check out any one of the private charter tours/excursions. There are lots of options for you to explore if you’re looking for something different/more private than the ship excursions.
This post will share our photos and review of the White Pass Railway Train Excursion in Skagway, Alaska!
About the White Pass Railway
Technically, it is called the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway, but we’re gonna shorten it a bit for this post. I’ve also seen it referred to as the “Skagway Train Ride” No matter what you call it, it is an amazing Skagway excursion idea. The railway was a product of the Klondike Gold Rush. Men were taking the treacherous journey on foot and the railway provided a safer and faster journey. Construction started in 1898 and it began operations in 1900. It closed in 1982, but then reopened as a tourist attraction in 1988. You can read more history on their website.
White Pass Summit Excursion
The company actually offers several tour options. They offer longer one way trips and shorter round-trips. What to choose depends on a few factors, such as time availability and transportation options.
The one we chose was the White Pass Summit Excursion, which is a 40 mile roundtrip to White Pass Summit, just on the Alaska/Canada border. The tour is approximately 2.5-2.75 hours. There were a couple of time slots available given the length of stay in port, so you would have time to explore the town or do other things in addition to this excursion.
Skagway Landslides
Our Alaskan Cruise was in June 2023. Skagway had been experiencing landslides and falling rocks by the cruise port prior to that, so they had some modifications on how to travel once arriving. First, they have these open trailers that we had to walk through to protect us as we walked down the length of the pier.
Second, we had to take a shuttle the rest of the way down the pier. They ran continuously so no one was waiting around in an unsafe area. It was a very short ride, but I understand that it is safety first and I was appreciative of the extra precautions.
This photo shows some other safety precautions they’ve taken, such as barriers by the rocks and closer to the pier walkway.
The train is just at the end of the pier, so it is a super convenient excursion if you are there from a cruise. We waited a short bit for our time and man it was so hot! I know it sounds crazy, but Alaska was experiencing much higher than normal temperatures while we were there. I share this because you never know what will happen with weather in Alaska and to always bring layers!!
I had done some research prior to the excursion and knew we wanted to sit in the furthest back train car. When they let us in and told us to “pick a car” we turned right and walked to the back train car. The reason we wanted this is because you are allowed to stand outside of the train cars on the outside platforms (pardon my lack of train technical-term knowledge) and this would allow you an unobstructed full view from the very back of the train, but be prepared to compete with “view hogs” – more on that in a bit.
Below, you can see a cruise ship in the window behind us, showing just how close the train is to the pier.
Our excursion does a loop, so for those that choose to sit, this means that it doesn’t matter which side of the train you pick to sit, you are going to get a great view either going up or coming back. You can see below that both sides have large windows, so you can see out of both sides no matter where you are.
Before we started moving, our attendant came by with an intro speech, passed out brochures and pointed us to the cooler with free bottled water. Once the train started moving, we were free to get up. Our train had two other families that got up IMMEDIATELY…one took over the back platform and one took over the other platform at the front of the car.
The family in the back basically stayed there the entire trip up, then only a few of them sat down on the way back. I got tired of waiting and went and stood on the platform in the front of the car and the family saw us and scooched over to let us see and then eventually left. The back also opened up a few spots eventually. So here are my few tips there:
If you want to be the first outside, pick your seat accordingly and get up quick and go when given the all clear. When we arrived, both the front and back sets of seats were taken by those two families, so we sat in the middle. We didn’t have a chance against them haha
Be patient. This is a long train ride and folks will get tired of standing and go sit back down eventually. Or they will say they’ve “seen it on the way up, no need to see it on the way back” and go sit down.
Be friendly. Go stand outside and either squeeze in or wait. The view is still great and maybe someone will see you and give you some room.
Knowing the trick and heading towards the back…worth it! Look at that wide open view!
I particularly enjoyed the fresh air flow of being outside, so even if I was standing back a bit, it was still better than being inside.
The main event of this excursion? The view!
We were so fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day that provided such a spectacular view.
Some other fun parts of the trip:
You go through some caves that are pitch-black and you may even get a little wet if you are standing outside. The kids loved this and said it was like being on Big Thunder Mountain in Disney.
Throughout the trip, you can see broken down tracks and bridges. Sometimes it looked like that was what you were headed towards! We tried to scare the kids with a “Oh no! We’re gonna fall off!” but they weren’t buying it.
There are some crazy ledge spots, where I advise you to not look down if you are afraid of heights!
On the contrary, there were times when we would be so close to the mountains.
We had a lot of fun taking photos on the way back. Can you tell I was excited to be in ALASKA?!
How did we book this excursion?
We booked through the cruise line since the price was lower due to a sale. You can also book directly through their website at wpyr.com, through alaskashoreexcursions.com or various 3rd party tour sites.
Do we recommend this shore excursion?
Absolutely! This is an amazing way to take in the Alaskan scenery. If you enjoy photography, this excursion is a must.
Did the kids enjoy this shore excursion?
Yes! They enjoyed the freedom being outside and being able to go in and sit if they wanted. My daughter (who was 8 at the time) was the first to call it and went back in and sat, but she still enjoyed the view from inside, she just got to play on the phone a bit in between. So if you have younger children, you may want to make sure you bring something for them to entertain themselves, whether it be a book or electronics – I don’t judge – but you know your children and don’t be naive and think they will want to stand or stare outside for 3 hours straight if that’s not something they’ve ever done before. Best to have a backup plan 🙂
Looking for other Alaska excursion ideas? Check out this post!
This post will share photos and our experience visiting the Seattle Aquarium before our Alaskan Cruise!
We visited Seattle in 2009 before we had kids. We were only there for a few days, but had so many fun adventures. Knowing our Alaskan cruise departed from Seattle and that this was our kids’ first time on an airplane, we wanted to maximize our time out there and do some of the same fun activities, but with them! We didn’t visit the Seattle Aquarium in 2009, so this was new for all of us!
Seattle Shore Excursion Idea
The Seattle Aquarium may be an option for a Seattle Shore Excursion if Seattle is a port on your itinerary. It could also be a pre-cruise or post-cruise activity to do if you have time.
We arrived in Seattle in the evening two days before our cruise departure. I highly recommend giving yourself wiggle room and never arrive the same day if taking a flight. We had one full day before our cruise to explore within the city. We planned on renting a car for the few days back in Seattle after our cruise, so we chose activities that we could walk or monorail to.
Our day started with a visit to Pike Place Market for some coffee, breakfast and shopping. We then walked to the Seattle Aquarium. It was a short 6 minute walk from Pike Place Market, perhaps a minute or two longer due to some construction blockage, but super quick and convenient.
Although you can pre-purchase tickets, we were kinda winging it this day (crazy, I know!), so we were able to walk in and just purchase tickets at the front counter.
Seattle Aquarium Exhibits
One of the first exhibits in the Seattle Aquarium was actually the kids’ favorite…the touch tanks!
There were several open tanks full of various sea creatures for you to reach in and gently touch. Be sure to roll up your sleeves!
I liked how there were volunteers throughout the room willing to share cool facts and fun tips about the creatures. I don’t remember the exact creature, but one of the volunteers showed us how the creature reacts differently when you touch it in different spots (same, sea creature, same).
Moving along, there were larger tanks of other fish, creatures and jellyfish.
You might catch a scuba diver in the tanks!
Continuing outside, there are larger open, outdoor exhibits for birds, otters, and seals!
There were various times for shows and demonstrations, like sea otter feedings, but we didn’t stick around long enough for any of them – we had an entire city to explore!
This area provides a great photo spot with some of the city in the background.
Inside, there are a few large cutouts for photos available.
Be sure to take a photo with the Seattle Great Wheel while you’re outside after exiting! Or go visit it! We didn’t visit it this trip, but it’s another option for your Seattle activity list.
Below are some questions you might ask:
Where is the Seattle Aquarium Located?
The Seattle Aquarium is located on Pier 59 on the Elliott Bay waterfront, next to the Seattle Great Wheel.
What are the Seattle Aquarium Hours of Operation?
The Seattle Aquarium is open 9:30am–6pm (with the last entry at 5pm). It is open 365 days a year, including holidays (holiday hours may vary).
How much does the Seattle Aquarium Cost?
At the time of this post (2024), an Adult ticket is approximately $40.95 and a Youth ticket is approximately $24.70. The price fluctuates depending on the day and they do only sell a certain amount of tickets each day, which can be seen on their website. Children 3 and under are free.
The Seattle Aquarium is included in the Seattle CityPASS® so that is another option to save if you plan on visiting multiple Seattle attractions.
Is the Seattle Aquarium Worth It?
In terms of our goal of “let’s do something that we didn’t get to do the last time we were in Seattle” yes, we did accomplish that. The kids loved the touch tanks and it was nice to have the weather outside warm up a little while we were there during the morning hours. We were only there about a couple of hours at most, so compared to other aquariums we’ve been to and the little amount of time we spent here, the price just didn’t seem in alignment.
We are glad to say we’ve experienced it, but are also ok with only going once. However, if you spent more time and stayed for the demonstrations, then you may get more value out of your ticket. They have also added a new virtual reality experience and puppet show, so check their website for their list of current exhibits and activities to determine if a visit is right for you and your family and is it fits into your schedule.
This post will share our photos and review of the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour in Ketchikan, Alaska!
Ketchikan, Alaska was one of our ports during our Alaskan cruise onboard Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas. This Alaska shore excursion stood out to us because we used to watch the Deadliest Catch and even met Sig Hansen in EPCOT several years ago. It is labeled as kid-friendly, offers several time options and doesn’t consume the entire time in port, which left time for us to explore a bit on our own. I was worried it would be a little too “touristy” but we ultimately decided to book based on the many overwhelmingly positive reviews and recommendations for it online. We really enjoyed it and the kids had a blast!
Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour Background
The boat you take the tour on is the Aleutian Ballad, which is a crab boat that was featured on season 2 of the Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. It is most known for an episode where a 5-story tall rogue wave almost capsized the crab boat. You can watch that portion of the episode in this video.
Fast forward and the Aleutian Ballad has been converted to a tour boat! It now has an amphitheater-style sheltered lower deck and a panoramic open-air upper deck, with lots of seats to view the the speakers and creatures.
How to get to the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour
The tour boat is located at the same pier the cruise ship docks at and is just a short walk to the meeting location and then specifically to Berth 3 – Tender Float. There is no need for additional transportation if you are coming from a cruise ship for this shore excursion.
We arrived about 30 minutes prior to the tour, which is what was recommended. There were folks already there sitting all along the front row that had purchased a VIP option, but reviews I read prior to the tour said that 2nd row was actually best as it allows a better view beyond the boat, so we chose 2nd row center and it was a great spot.
As we waited for others to arrive and settle in, there is a tank with various live creatures for everyone to look at.
Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour Schedule
The tour is approximately 3 hours and begins by venturing to the fishing ground locations. But don’t worry! This isn’t the “fishing grounds” you might be thinking of from the Deadliest Catch! The tour stays within the calm waters of the Inside Passage.
As we made our way to the first location, the tour guides shared the history of the Aleutian Ballad and facts about crab-fishing, crabs, and other Alaskan wildlife and history. They also allowed some free roam where you can take photos. Do I look like a crab fisherman now?
The crew demonstrated pulling up real crab pots.
One of the crab pots contained several types of crabs, which we were allowed to come down and hold.
Aubrey was so funny…she wasn’t scared at all and would just reach in the pot and grab a crab next to the tour guide.
We’ve got crabs!
They also pulled up an octopus pot and showed everyone the octopus that was inside. The octopus was just to see and not for us to hold. With each creature, they would share facts about them, what they like to eat, how they are caught, etc.
They don’t pull up any real Alaskan King Crab in pots, but they do highlight them in two ways…
They show one for everyone to see that they have in the tank up front. These guys are crazy big!
They pull up a crab pot with fake red crabs but with tags tied to the pot. This is a fundraiser they operate where you can donate and have a note tied to the pot. At the end of the season, they collect them all.
There were a few other types of creatures pulled up as well.
Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour Eagle Experience
While the tour’s focus is crabs, one highlight was the bald eagle experience! The boat ventures to the protected waters of Annette Island. Guests are welcome to leave their seats and stand by the edge of the boat to witness the crew throwing food to the bald eagles.
You can never guarantee what you will see when it comes to wildlife, but we were so fortunate that there were so many bald eagles this day! They fly all around you, it was incredible!
The funny thing is, when we were walking around Ketchikan on our own earlier that day, we spotted a bald eagle and were so elated to have seen it. Little did we know we would have 20-30+ bald eagles putting on a show for us just a few hours later!
This would be a good time to also go upstairs and view from up there, as you get a more 360 degree view and perhaps even some close-ups as the eagles fly by and swoop in.
Eating Alaskan King Crab on a Crab Boat!
On the way back to the pier, they offer some free-roam around the boat, suggesting you check out their gift shop, where you can watch the featured Deadliest Catch episode on repeat on video screens on the wall. They also offer chilled, halved King Crab to eat.
We debated on if that was how we wanted to enjoy crab, but ultimately decided we HAD to do it. How many people can say they ate Alaskan King Crab on a Deadliest Catch Crab Boat in Alaska!? We can now!
Bonus points for the fact that it was actually really good and easy to eat in the way they prepared and served it. You don’t have to worry about doing any kind of cracking. With it being halved, you just use your fork to pull it out, dip it in the butter and enjoy!
They also offer to take photos with you. The tour guides were incredibly entertaining, knowledgeable and friendly.
Are we glad we did this shore excursion?
Absolutely! This was our very first shore excursion on our Alaska cruise and it was a great way to kick off the fun and adventure. I appreciated the variety…times where we could sit and take in the show and knowledge, and other times we could venture around, take photos and interact with the wildlife. The kids were entertained and never bored.
A coworker recently went on an Alaskan cruise (her first cruise ever!) and when she was planning, she asked me for tips on what to do. I recommended this tour to her and she booked it! She sent me photos of her holding a jumbo shrimp, as well as photos of them doing some of the same activities we did. She was super pleased with the recommendation.
Is the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour Good for Kids?
The answer is yes. Just check out all the photos in this post…my kids loved it! If your kids are interested in sea creatures like this, this excursion is perfect! Just the right amount of time, time to explore, time to sit and enjoy the show, and a truly hands-on experience.
Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour Tips
Being out on the water in Alaska can get cold! They do offer large stadium jackets, coffee and hot cocoa if you need it! We were fortunate to have a beautiful, sunny day for our tour, but we still got quite cold. Not enough to need their extra jackets, but don’t let a “beautiful, sunny day” make you think you will be ok out on the water…always bring layers in Alaska no matter what you are doing! We were also shielded by the wind being on the bottom floor. When we ventured upstairs for a portion of the tour, it was much colder up there! Keep that in mind when picking your seat.
Be silly and adventurous! Explore around the boat, take the photos, hold the creatures…have fun!
Take in the view, you’re in Alaska!!
Grab a cool photo on your way to/from the tour in front of your cruise ship.
Looking for other Alaska shore excursion reviews? Check out this one!
This post shares our experience from our Juneau Dog Sledding & Glacier Helicopter Tour during our Alaskan Cruise!
We live in Florida and have cruised the Bahamas, Caribbean and Mexico many times. We have always wanted to do a cruise to Alaska. However, you often hear the advice “Save the Alaska cruise for when you’re older” or “Kids don’t want to go on an Alaskan cruise.” As middle-aged parents with two young kids, we considered both of those when deciding whether or not to stray away from our usual Caribbean cruises and do something different. Let me shout it from the rooftops – DO NOT LISTEN TO EITHER PIECE OF ADVICE!
An Alaskan cruise can be for anyone at any time in their lives. Our Alaskan Cruise was one of our all-time favorite vacations and the kids had a blast. But, we didn’t just stare at the beautiful scenery. We MADE it the most epic trip by choosing the ship we wanted with lots of onboard activities and packed our port days with shore excursions. I will share all about our Alaskan Cruise, including our ship and all the shore excursions, in separate posts.
What to do in Juneau, Alaska
Many ports on an Alaskan Cruise have similar options and will include glaciers, nature, whale-watching, etc. so we had to ask ourselves what to do while in Juneau. We compared options across all of our ports to arrive at what the best option was at each stop. The Juneau Icefield in Alaska is home to at least 40 large glaciers and many small ones. Given what we chose at other stops, this was a perfect location to take a helicopter tour and go on a dog-sledding adventure on a glacier!
I’ll be honest, before we even chose any shore excursion, this was a must-do for me. I’m not like a crazy dog person or anything, so it wasn’t that. This is one of the top activities you think of when you think Alaska. Dog sledding is a one-of-a-kind adventure that you won’t find in many other destinations. Taking a helicopter to the glacier location was icing on the cake.
To book through the ship or not, that is the question
With every single shore excursion purchase, we compared the cost and benefits of booking through the ship versus booking with an independent vendor. Cost is obviously a huge factor, especially given the typically elevated costs of Alaskan shore excursions. I will definitely pay more for the security of knowing the ship will not leave the port without us if we happen to be delayed while on a ship-sponsored excursion (at least that’s what they say). So, for us, the cost savings need to be substantial in order to book independently. We booked all our Alaskan cruise shore excursions through the ship, except this one.
We booked our Juneau Dog Sledding & Glacier Helicopter Tour through Alaska Shore Excursions, which we chose for several reasons:
Price: The price was significantly cheaper than the ship’s version of the tour
Options: Alaska Shore Excursions offered several options that the ship didn’t offer, including varying lengths of time, different glaciers, etc. When scheduling your tour, the website has the dates/ships/times as options so you know whether the option works with your itinerary.
Guarantee: They offer an on time ship return guarantee. You won’t see me running down a pier to catch the ship! I want to be back in plenty of time to be enjoying a drink on my balcony watching the other pier runners.
Cancellation: They offer free cancellations, whether it be due to weather or personal reasons.
*As with anything you read on the internet, be sure to review the company’s current policies when booking, as they may be updated at any time after this blog post was written.
Given all that, we felt comfortable booking with Alaska Shore Excursions. 🙂
Juneau Dog Sledding & Glacier Helicopter Tour Review
Now for the fun part, our experience on the tour!
During our entire Alaskan Cruise, we experienced unusually high temperatures. I’m talking almost Florida temps! While I am grateful that we had zero rain, this temperature anomaly made for some interesting packing and dressing. This day was no different and Juneau was incredibly warm. Layers are your friend when you start at the port, then venture all the way to the top of a glacier.
When we booked, we received directions to meet our driver right outside the Mt. Roberts Tramway building. We arrived a little early and did not see anyone holding a sign, so we patiently waited. After some time, we started to worry if we were not in the correct location because no one with a tour sign showed up and we couldn’t tell if anyone else was there waiting with us for the same tour. It was hot and the kids were getting antsy.
Eventually, a tour van appeared but it was for the next time slot after ours. The driver contacted our driver and apparently there was major traffic holding him up, which we could clearly see all the traffic in that area…it was busy! Our driver arrived after a few minutes, we loaded up and were on our way to the helicopter facility.
Helicopter Over Glaciers Portion of the Tour
When we arrived at the helicopter facility, we checked in and they weighed us to divide folks up among the helicopters. We then put any belongings that we can’t take on the tour in a large locked box for free. This includes backpacks, purses, tablets, selfie sticks and anything that can’t comfortably be on your body. Sunglasses, phones and cameras are allowed on the tour. Some people were even leaving their jackets in there due to the temperature, my son being one of them. He made sure to tell me that I made him wear too much clothing.
They then provided us with boot covers that you wear on top of your current footwear and go several inches up your leg, so you do not need to concern yourself with special snow boots or water-protective sprays for your sneakers.
We lined up to board our helicopters and sat in our assigned seats to make sure the weight was evenly distributed. We put on our headwear and we were off!
The helicopter tour was amazing! Our tour was to the Herbert Glacier. We meandered through the valleys and icefields, getting so close to the mountains and taking in the beautiful scenery.
After about 15 minutes, we arrived at the dog camp!
Juneau Dog Sledding Portion of the Tour
After landing, a camp operator became our guide and gave us a short talk on safety and what we would be doing. We had a family of 4, so we got a dog sled to ourselves plus our guide. Smaller groups were put together and larger groups got split up. Our guide then gathered our troop of dogs and connected them to their positions on the sled. We talked to him quite a bit about how they operate. There are hundreds of dogs and they like to rotate them so they all get opportunities throughout the day to be active. Dog-sledding dog breeds want to run, and you can tell they were so excited when it was their turn.
Now, what I’m going to share next may be a bit much, but I’m going to do it anyway because it’s reality. You are at a camp with hundreds of dogs. It smells like you are near hundreds of dogs. Dogs poop. Guess what? You will get whiffs of it. However, I did not think any of it was overwhelming. Perhaps because we were out in such a wide open space; it was only when we were right next to all the dogs did we get the lovely aroma. This did not stop our enjoyment, but it’s not something I’ve seen any other reviews share, so I’m gonna share it!
Our lead dog was Galaga and she was the goodest girl!
Once our dogs were all ready to go, we chose our seats. Everyone gets a seat, except one person can stand at the back, so my son chose to do that.
The guide stands behind the first set of seats and controls the speed and direction, we did not have to do anything other than lean if he asked us to.
The dogs led us around several loops on the glacier. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and it was so incredible knowing we were doing this ON A GLACIER IN ALASKA!
You ever think to yourself “This is a core memory. We are doing something we may not ever do again. My kids get to say they did this and remember it their entire lives (hopefully).” That was running through my head and made me appreciate the moment so much more. Was it worth the money? 100% yes. I’ll let my smile in this photo tell you how happy I was.
About halfway through, we stopped to take some pictures. We were in the middle of the glacial valley and had mountains all around and the sun shining. Speaking of the sun shining, because of the high temperatures, the camp operators were wearing shorts and shirts with no sleeves! Some even had sunburns! It was hilarious and they knew it.
Oh, remember when I mentioned dogs poop? Well, these dogs are special and are apparently really good at pooping while running and pulling the sled. Only a couple of dogs did it, so don’t let me sharing this make it seem like they were doing it the entire time. My kids thought it was hilarious, whaddya gonna do?! When ya gotta go, ya gotta go!
We gave each one of our doggies lots of love.
We were on the dog sled for about 35 minutes. When we arrived back to the camp, we got to interact with our doggy crew before they were brought back to their little houses. The operator said the dogs aren’t used to the high temps and were rolling around in the snow and laying down flat in the snow to cool down.
While we waited for the next batch of helicopters to arrive, we got to play with some of the puppies and the kids played with the snow.
Our helicopter tour followed the same path back to the facility. We took off our boot covers, grabbed our belongings, then were taken back to the pier in a van with plenty of time to spare before getting back on the ship.
Do we recommend this shore excursion?
Absolutely! This felt like two excursions wrapped up in one experience: the helicopter tour over the glaciers and the dog sledding. We get to say we went dog sledding in Alaska!
Would we do this shore excursion again?
If money was no object, absolutely! However, this excursion was not cheap, especially when we had to pay for four people. If we found ourselves in Juneau, Alaska again, we would choose another excursion to experience something different that the area has to offer. If you only get to go once and you are interested in an excursion like this, do it.
Did the kids enjoy this shore excursion?
Yes! This was the third excursion on our cruise and they told me I was “3 for 3” so far. That’s like winning mommy of the year, right?
Random Tips & Thoughts
Bring your sunglasses! Whether it’s sunny or cloudy, you are surrounded by white snow, which can be just as blinding as sun. For the kids, we bought smaller sunglasses and with straps like these. For us adults with glasses we already like, we bought just the straps since we didn’t know how jostled the activities would get and we didn’t want to drop them.
Bring cash for tips. This Alaska Shore Excursion has several folks guiding you throughout the tour, such as the van driver, helicopter operator, and dog-sledding guide. We gave each a tip relative to their portion of the tour.
Consider your tolerance of helicopter rides. Have you been on a helicopter before? My first experience on a helicopter had an operator that liked doing tricks and it was like my least favorite part of a rollercoaster over and over. Thankfully, this operator kept it pretty steady and there were no trick moves here, so I didn’t feel nauseous at all. You can try taking Dramamine or if you’re already wearing some sort of motion-sickness prevention item for the cruise, you should be good.
Your Thoughts
Have you done this excursion? What did you think? What was your favorite part?
Questions?
Have any questions for us? Post a comment below!
Want to know what we’re up to? Check out the Our Cruises page!
