Alaska - ship excursions vs. independent

[Surgie2]

Planning to take a multi-generational Alaskan cruise (6 adults, 5 kids ages 3-9 at time of trip) in 2022 so obviously no itineraries out yet. But hoping to take one that includes Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. We've been on several cruises and nearly always book independent tours for a better value and smaller group experience. I know the downside of potentially missing the ship but (knock on wood) that has never happened and we always choose companies with stellar reputations and reviews.

That said, is there any reason that a ship's excursion would be better (more convenient) than an independent? I read on the White Pass train website (Skagway) that cruise ship passengers should book through their cruise excursions in order to be able to walk right off the ship and on to the train. Not sure why not to book directly with the train company? This will be our second Disney cruise so we are down the line in being able to book things through the cruise line.

I know it's really early planning but this trip will be expensive so trying to form a loose budget in advance. Thanks for info.

 

[jenmiller114]

We almost always book private tours because they usually cost less than the cruise line and with a family of 5 it's nice to go at our own pace. We did Alaska in June and took a tour with Beyond Skagway tours and it was one of the best we have ever done. We were multi-generational with 2 grandparents, our 3 teen boys, DH and myself for a total of 7. I don't recall their max capacity but I know they have different size vans to accommodate different size groups. Our guide was terrific and very knowledgeable. Picked us up at the port, drove us up to Emerald Lake with lots of stops on the way for beautiful photos at the Alaska Sign, Yukon Sign, several lakes and waterfalls. We also stopped to see bears and other wildlife. They let us customize the tour so we added a stop at the dogsled summer camp where they train the Iditarod dogs. So many cute puppies... we didn't want to leave! We also added on a quick stop for panning for gold which was fun. I think that was $14/person and you only pay for the people who participate. It's pretty much just cost of the gold. Then he took us to the White Pass Railroad station. We purchased our tickets through the tour company so he got us checked in, took us to our car, got us situated and took some photos for us. Then he met us at the bottom of the mountain and drove us back to our ship. We enjoyed the tour so much, we probably would have been fine to ride back down with him rather than the train but the train was pretty cool, though very pricey. The tour cost almost exactly the same as the similar excursion though Disney but we had a private van and tour guide rather than sharing it with 70 other people. I want to say $1700 total for our group? They have pricing listed on their website and it shows you the different add on options so you can customize it to do what you want. It would have been less if we didn't do the train or the dog camp. But they were definitely worthwhile experiences.

All of the tours in Alaska are super expensive compared to anywhere else we have been but they know people with pay and it was worth it. It's definitely a good idea to start planning now so you aren't shocked when you start booking/paying for excursions. Most everything had to be paid upon booking or paid with deposit upon booking and paid in full 30 days before departure.

FWIW we also did the Lumberjack show in Ketchikan which was entertaining (and saved us some money). We did the glacier tour with Coastal Helicopters in Juneau. AMAZING! But super expensive for 45 minutes. And the Glacier Tour from the ship on Dawe's Glacier day. If it was between the helicopter and doing the Glacier Tour from the ship, I would highly recommend the Glacier Tour. It was pricey but less than the helicopter and we really enjoyed it.

 

[clten]

For your group, I would definitely look at independent tours. With DCL excursions you'll end up paying more and won't have the option to customize. I might choose DCL if the group want to break up with one or two doing something different or even doing a helicopter tour.

As far as Whitepass Railroad, what they are saying is if you book through the cruiseline, you get on the train right outside the ship (they have tracks to run right along the pier). If you book independently, you have to board the train down in their depot which is in town. It really isn't that far a distance - maybe about a 10 minute walk depending on which pier you are docked at. So don't let that force you into a higher price tour for your group - it's exactly the same train.

 

[Chemist]

We are going next summer. Probably only doing excursions on our own.
Two summers ago we decided our independent excursions were SO much better than doing it through the cruise line.

I think we've decided that we are only doing cruise line excursions if we have no choice (i.e. its not offered by an outside guide), or if we are leaving the kids behind in the club.
(Don't flame me, we've got a caboose child AND a child with severe motion sickness.)

 

[Kanga&TwoRoos]

We had a group of 13 (8 adults, 5 kids 3-6 years old) and we only did private tours. Saved a bunch of money and had great experiences. We also did Beyond Skagway. Emily was our guide and it was great. Very engaging and personalized. In Juneau we did a private whale watching tour with Harv and Marv. It was fantastic. In Ketchikan most of us just walked around town and did some shopping. The guys did a fly out fishing trip through Family Air that was incredible. All of these companies make their living catering to cruise passengers so they make sure to get you back in time. Good luck with planning!

 

[MomOTwins]

I am not really comfortable with the risk of private excursions, period, but I would be especially wary in Alaska because I have heard so many accounts of sudden severe weather causing excursions to miss the boat, and because the transportation options are so limited and expensive for catching up to the ship at the next port. I also note that Disney does have some character experiences on Alaska for excursions that are unique to Disney, if that is something you are interested in.

(Don't flame me, we've got a caboose child AND a child with severe motion sickness.)

Lol, if you had said "don't flame me

for leaving my kids where I can't timely get to them if they need me​

: my kids are in their teens are very responsible and independent and it's highly unlikely they would need me for anything" that might make sense. But saying "don't flame me for leaving my kids where I can't timely get to them if they need me, one of my kids is really young and the other one might be feeling poorly from cruising with severe motion sickness"? That just makes no sense.

 

[ChrisM]

Not trying to take over this great thread, but since some experienced folks are responding: if you chose to book independent excursions for Alaska, how far ahead should you be looking to book them?

 

[Networth]

Not trying to take over this great thread, but since some experienced folks are responding: if you chose to book independent excursions for Alaska, how far ahead should you be looking to book them?

We booked ours 3-6 months out from our sail date. Also booked on our own, I won’t ever pay the cruise ship mark up. Everything went smooth and was one of the most amazing vacations we have ever taken hands down.

 

[LizGirl]

We just went to Alaska this summer but on Royal. We booked everything ourselves to save a little money and had a fabulous time. The only thing I'd book through the ship are the things you have to - some excursions I researched were not available to book directly. I would assume the excursion that takes you from the cruise directly onto a smaller boat and close to a glacier would have to be booked through the ship. We were on Ovation which is too big for this option.

 

[Surgie2]

We had a group of 13 (8 adults, 5 kids 3-6 years old) and we only did private tours. Saved a bunch of money and had great experiences. We also did Beyond Skagway. Emily was our guide and it was great. Very engaging and personalized. In Juneau we did a private whale watching tour with Harv and Marv. It was fantastic. In Ketchikan most of us just walked around town and did some shopping. The guys did a fly out fishing trip through Family Air that was incredible. All of these companies make their living catering to cruise passengers so they make sure to get you back in time. Good luck with planning!

Thanks for all the suggestions! When husband and I went on an Alaskan cruise 4 years ago we used Harv and Marv - great experience.We rented a car for the day in one port - might have been Ketchikan. I need to find those notes but some of what we did would not be the same in a large group of mixed ages. Wondered how you and others handle the car seat situation in private van tours? The older ones will have those portable booster seats by then ( Bumble Bums) but the youngest will still need a regular car seat. Can't see lugging one on the boat but not sure tour operators have them - and we won't go without. Hmmm - will need to sort this out.

 

[Jay Kat]

we did more or less the same stuff Disney offered at much less the price. For example, when we were taking the Skagway train in Alaska, they were in one car and we were in another. Same sites, same train, much less expensive. Look around....great experiences but will save you money for fun souvenirs.

 

[Networth]

We just went to Alaska this summer but on Royal. We booked everything ourselves to save a little money and had a fabulous time. The only thing I'd book through the ship are the things you have to - some excursions I researched were not available to book directly. I would assume the excursion that takes you from the cruise directly onto a smaller boat and close to a glacier would have to be booked through the ship. We were on Ovation which is too big for this option.

We were on Ovation this summer to Alaska. What dates did you go? We were on the August 9th departure.

 

[gotomu212]

I am not really comfortable with the risk of private excursions, period, but I would be especially wary in Alaska because I have heard so many accounts of sudden severe weather causing excursions to miss the boat, and because the transportation options are so limited and expensive for catching up to the ship at the next port. I also note that Disney does have some character experiences on Alaska for excursions that are unique to Disney, if that is something you are interested in.


Lol, if you had said "don't flame me
for leaving my kids where I can't timely get to them if they need me
: my kids are in their teens are very responsible and independent and it's highly unlikely they would need me for anything" that might make sense. But saying "don't flame me for leaving my kids where I can't timely get to them if they need me, one of my kids is really young and the other one might be feeling poorly from cruising with severe motion sickness"? That just makes no sense.

Most Alaska private tour companies in the ports also guarantee that you’ll make the ship and if there’s any reason you miss it they pay to get you to the next port- and there are regular flights between the ports visited by Disney (it’s the same risk you have taking a DCL excursion).

And for some of us that do leave our kids with reliable child care while we go on dates with our spouse, to work, work travel, or just run errands have accepted that there is always a risk we won’t be able to get to our children timely, but have judged that a small enough risk. On the plus side different parenting styles don’t have to make sense to others.

To the OP, in Alaska we found with younger ages private excursions had more options. The ship excursions had older minimum ages and we got the same experience for half the price.

 

[Kanga&TwoRoos]

All of our tour operators provided car seats. We just had to arrange it ahead of time.

Thanks for all the suggestions! When husband and I went on an Alaskan cruise 4 years ago we used Harv and Marv - great experience.We rented a car for the day in one port - might have been Ketchikan. I need to find those notes but some of what we did would not be the same in a large group of mixed ages. Wondered how you and others handle the car seat situation in private van tours? The older ones will have those portable booster seats by then ( Bumble Bums) but the youngest will still need a regular car seat. Can't see lugging one on the boat but not sure tour operators have them - and we won't go without. Hmmm - will need to sort this out.

 

[LizGirl]

We were on Ovation this summer to Alaska. What dates did you go? We were on the August 9th departure.

We sailed on June 21. Feels like a year ago already!

 

[MomOTwins]

Most Alaska private tour companies in the ports also guarantee that you’ll make the ship and if there’s any reason you miss it they pay to get you to the next port- and there are regular flights between the ports visited by Disney (it’s the same risk you have taking a DCL excursion).

And for some of us that do leave our kids with reliable child care while we go on dates with our spouse, to work, work travel, or just run errands have accepted that there is always a risk we won’t be able to get to our children timely, but have judged that a small enough risk. On the plus side different parenting styles don’t have to make sense to others.

To the OP, in Alaska we found with younger ages private excursions had more options. The ship excursions had older minimum ages and we got the same experience for half the price.

It's actually not the same risk at all, since the ship will wait for you if you are on a DCL excursion but not if you are on a private one. Also, DCL kids clubs are very different from child care at home. If your child is injured at a DCL club, you will need to be there right away since they cannot administer first aid. If your child asks for a parent, they will call you on your wave phone and you have to come pick up the child. If you are late to a day care or babysitter at home, the worst thing that will happen is that you are a bit late you are charged additional cost. If you don't make it back to the ship on time, your kids will be left overnight on the ship without you.

 

[Quellman]

We've done the WhitePass rail. We had no plans other than getting off the ship and looking around a bit. It was kinda gnawing at me, so we booked it at the station, ended up being the same as it was on board (this was in 2010). I will say that my experience with loading at the station vs loading at the cruise was so much better. The cruise passengers were piled into their train cars. We probably had about 17 people in ours. Why does this matter? Because once you get to the turnaround point, everyone stands up, changes the direction of their seat and then MOVES to the opposite side of the car for the return journey. This is because only one side of the train has all of the "views". Due to the low number of passengers in our car, we got to stay in our seats with sweeping vistas. I say all that with the caveat, that I don't know if they still operate that way in terms of car loading, and it also may matter on time of day and number of ships in port.

Alaska is pretty easy to book on your own. Your caveats are mainly with aircraft and helicopters and weather can change quickly. If you have landed ona glacier or a remote lake, you might be a bit more stressed trying to get back. Remember, if independent operators have you miss the boat, you can bet that their reviews on sites like trip advisor will certainly see it!

 

[bravestmerida]

Not trying to take over this great thread, but since some experienced folks are responding: if you chose to book independent excursions for Alaska, how far ahead should you be looking to book them?

We booked one excursion 9 months in advance and received a significant discount to the price it went to 6 months out. The same excursion offered by DCL was more than twice the price per person. Our other excursions didn't change much in price, but if you plan to rent a car, I'd try to get that done 6 months out to ensure availability as well as any special needs (minivan, car seats, etc.). One excursion required a permit from the Forest Service and I wasn't able to get that until a few months prior, but the related operator we used would only book when permits were secured, so that wasn't much of a concern.

 

[Mich123]

I recommend comparing private companies with Disney offered excursions. We booked the dogsled tour with Alaska Excursions and it was great. Well done and a lot less expensive than Disney. In Juneau we booked the Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Watch through Disney. It was about the same price as booking independently and since it was a longer excursion, I liked knowing that the boat would wait for us if we were late.

We also booked two seats on the excursion boats for Glacier Day "at sea". We are a family of four and I only booked two because I was expecting that my daughter might decide she didn't want to do it--she did go and she liked it, but I didn't want to be stuck paying for an unused ticket. By booking two, we would have been able to switch it up if she didn't want to go. My other daughter and I booked pedicures and sat in the spa with a great view of the glacier during our treatment. It was a nice indoor break with a front row seat to view the glacier.

 

[vegs1]

We booked our tours privately also. Harv and Marv’s was one of the best excursions. I highly recommend them! Book early.