There are some cruise destinations — Barcelona or Sydney, for instance — where you really don’t need to sign up for shore excursions. You can just walk off the ship and head to the major attractions on your own.
For the most part, the ports of Alaska aren’t like that.
To get the most out of an Alaska cruise, you’ll want to sign up for a tour in most, if not all, of the ports you visit. And not just any old tour. You’ll want the best Alaska shore excursions that get you out into the Alaska backcountry.
In Alaska, many of the biggest “attractions” — breathtaking mountain landscapes, glaciers, fjords, breaching whales and feeding bears, for instance — are related to the great outdoors. As a result, many of the best Alaska shore excursions for cruisers are found outside of the towns where ships stop. If you just stay in the towns and explore on your own, you’ll miss a big part of what Alaska is all about.
Picking the Best Alaska Shore Excursions
Lemon Glacier in Juneau Icefield seen through a helicopter window. WANDERLUSTER/GETTY IMAGES
Nearly three decades of writing about cruising to Alaska and other destinations for major newspapers and magazines — including co-authoring multiple editions of Frommer’s “Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call” — means spending many days exploring each of the major cruise ports in the state and trying a large number of shore excursions in places such as Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan.
The biggest takeaway: get out of the towns. Sign up for something — a hike, a rafting trip, a train ride, a fishing outing — that gets you into Alaska’s spectacular outdoor settings.
Here are a few specific, top-line pro tips when thinking about the best Alaska shore excursions:
- Get up in the air. It will be expensive — $250 or more per person — but there’s nothing quite like seeing the grandeur of Alaska from a helicopter or floatplane. The Juneau Icefield, in particular, is a sight to behold. It covers around 1,500 square miles, an enormous area. You can see it on a flightseeing tour from Juneau, with some tours including landings on the ice.
- Don’t miss the whales. Even if you’re not a big wildlife person, you’ll be mesmerized by the humpback whales of Alaska. They are huge — up to 52 feet in length, longer than a Greyhound bus — and there are boat tours that will get you up close to them. The best places to do this are out of Juneau and Icy Strait Point, if your ship stops there.
- Splurge for a trip to Misty Fjords National Monument. This glacier-carved wilderness area, not far from Ketchikan, is another can’t-miss sight. It’s everything you think of when you think of Alaska: icy blue lakes, waterfalls, snowcapped peaks, and glacial valleys. The only way to get there is on a boat or floatplane tour, and they typically start at over $200 a person.
Unfortunately, many of the most spectacular excursions in Alaskan ports are expensive. But Alaska is not a place to skimp — it’s a destination where you may want to budget almost as much per person for shore excursions as you do for your cabin.
That said, you don’t have to splurge at every port. In Juneau, for instance, you can get an outdoor experience with a relatively inexpensive trip to nearby Mendenhall Glacier. It’s just 13 miles from the cruise ship docks and reachable by shuttle bus or taxi. The shuttle buses that go there — two companies offer such service: Juneau Tours and M&M Tours — run $65 to $79 per person round-trip. If you have a few people, you’re better off with a taxi, which runs around $40 to $50 each way. For two or three people traveling together, it’s not all that pricey a trip.
Either way, you’ll find some nice hiking trails around Mendenhall Glacier and a visitor center. There’s a creek there, too, where salmon can sometimes be spotted running — and occasionally a bear. Speaking of which: a bear is something you think you want to see in Alaska until you actually see one. Then, you’re just hoping you don’t get eaten.
Views of the Mendenhall Glacier. DEBORA VANDOR/GETTY IMAGES
The towns themselves aren’t devoid of attractions, either. While getting out into the wilderness is highly encouraged, there are plenty of worthwhile things to do in each of the main port towns.
In Juneau, food tours have become popular — think king crab bisque and Alaska salmon. The Alaska State Museum is beautiful and worth a visit. Skagway is like a gold rush-themed movie set; you should at least walk its main street (Broadway), with its wooden-board sidewalks. Craft beer fans may also want to sample a Spruce Tip Blonde Ale at Skagway Brewing Company, made with Sitka spruce tips picked locally in the spring.
In Ketchikan, save a few minutes to stroll up Creek Street along Ketchikan Creek, where you might spot salmon running. It’s the ultimate Alaska selfie spot.
How to Book the Best Alaska Shore Excursions
The simplest way to book an Alaska shore excursion is through your cruise line. You check a box on an online form before sailing or while on board, and it’s all arranged. Your cruise line will send a ticket to your room, and a tour guide will be waiting for you when you walk off the ship.
Another option is to book directly with a tour operator in one of the ports. That said, many of the tour operators you’ll find in Alaskan ports are the same ones that operate the ship-sponsored excursions. Often, the tours that local operators sell are the same tours that cruise lines are selling at the same price. Shopping around isn’t necessarily going to save you money.
In some cases, cruise lines own the tour operators in Alaska ports outright, or hold a stake in them. For instance, the parent company of Princess Cruises and Holland America is a part-owner of several Alaska tour operations — meaning the ship-sponsored excursion and the “independent” option may ultimately be the same product. The best strategy is to compare prices before you sail, book early to secure your preferred tours, and prioritize the experiences that get you deepest into Alaska’s extraordinary landscape.
