I'll be sailing on the Spirit soon, as well. I'm taking the northbound cruise from June 30 until July 7. Carnival Spirit northbound leaves Vancouver, sails one day, stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, sails one day in Prince William Sound, then debarks in Whittier.
Personally, I had planned on booking all of my excursions through Carnival, but found I'd have to wait until I board the ship to do so. I called Carnival and they weren't real helpful about shore excursions, because I booked my trip through a travel agent and not them directly.
I was told that I could get left behind, if my tour was late returning to the ship, and that I would have to find a way to the next port. Well, after researching a little, I found that Carnival charges a bit more per excursion than do the private vendors. And, I have yet to find anyone or any example of someone who's tour caused them to miss the boat.
I also discovered that the cruise lines book through very reputable companies and that it's "buyer beware" to book privately. Through this website, however, I got some great tips on private vendors and saved (on a party of 5) close to $1000 by booking most of my excursions through Dolly Varden Tours.
Because Carnival doesn't have their customer relations skills as honed as do companies like Disney, I wanted to start my cruise, with the security of knowing that my excursions wouldn't be sold out, and that I wouldn't have to make a mad dash to book them upon embarkation. There are still one or two tours I'll probably take through the cruise ship, but I booked privately.
In Ketchikan, the biggie is the Misty Fjords flightseeing
In Juneau its helicopter landings on glaciers, dog-sledding, and whale watching.
In Skagway, its the White Pass, the White Pass and Yukon Railroad and gold-mining camps.
In Sitka, it's basically just shopping.
By the way, what are your sailing dates? Perhaps we'll be aboard the same ship.
