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Hiya,I just came off the Sapphire 2 weeks ago so I can help somewhat. For whale watching we took a local tour in Juneau, Orca Enterprises with Captain Larry. The boat is MUCH smaller than the ship's boats and we only had 11 people on the tour (compared to the ship tours which took something like 80). We took the last trip of the day and it was wonderful. We had to laugh at the bigger boats that the cruise ship used because as the whales were swimming directly under our boat, the other boats were about 200 yards away trying to get a good position. Captain Larry was able to predict exactly what the whales were going to do next giving us some really great, close-up pictures. If you're willing to use a company not ship sponsored I can't recommend this tour enough, plus it was cheaper.In Skagway I highly recommend the Wilderness Safari. It's a 30 minute catamaran ride during which we saw sea lions, whales, and bald eagles, followed by a 5 minute hike (very easy hike) down to a river where we took canoes (light paddling..canoes are equipped with motors) right to the base of Davidson glacier. This was my favorite part of the entire cruise. One bit of advice, if you choose this tour go early in the morning. The winds pick up throughout the day and the later tours have to be done in full rain gear and believe me, the water is cold! This tour is also listed as the captain's favorite. The best place to ship salmon is also in Skagway but I can't remember the name of the store. It's very small and run by a local which I really liked because the cruiseline got enough of my money. If you ask any of the locals in Skagway they can tell you right away who it is that ships the salmon. I didn't go on the musher tour but we were on a helicopter ride (Valley of the Glaciers) in Skagway and the people on the helicopter went on it and raved about it and got some really nice pictures.I hope I helped and hope you have a great trip.
Hiya,
I just came off the Sapphire 2 weeks ago so I can help somewhat. For whale watching we took a local tour in Juneau, Orca Enterprises with Captain Larry. The boat is MUCH smaller than the ship's boats and we only had 11 people on the tour (compared to the ship tours which took something like 80). We took the last trip of the day and it was wonderful. We had to laugh at the bigger boats that the cruise ship used because as the whales were swimming directly under our boat, the other boats were about 200 yards away trying to get a good position. Captain Larry was able to predict exactly what the whales were going to do next giving us some really great, close-up pictures. If you're willing to use a company not ship sponsored I can't recommend this tour enough, plus it was cheaper.
In Skagway I highly recommend the Wilderness Safari. It's a 30 minute catamaran ride during which we saw sea lions, whales, and bald eagles, followed by a 5 minute hike (very easy hike) down to a river where we took canoes (light paddling..canoes are equipped with motors) right to the base of Davidson glacier. This was my favorite part of the entire cruise. One bit of advice, if you choose this tour go early in the morning. The winds pick up throughout the day and the later tours have to be done in full rain gear and believe me, the water is cold! This tour is also listed as the captain's favorite. The best place to ship salmon is also in Skagway but I can't remember the name of the store. It's very small and run by a local which I really liked because the cruiseline got enough of my money. If you ask any of the locals in Skagway they can tell you right away who it is that ships the salmon.
I didn't go on the musher tour but we were on a helicopter ride (Valley of the Glaciers) in Skagway and the people on the helicopter went on it and raved about it and got some really nice pictures.
I hope I helped and hope you have a great trip.
