If we don't do shore excursions

[LisaT]

I am so psyched, my sister, our husbands & parents just booked our first cruise (as gift for christmas & parent's 40th anniversary)!! We're doing a Princess Cruise tour to Alaska in August. I've been lurking around here for weeks & already got a lot of advice.

If we don't schedule shore excursions for each port, are there things to do on our own?? People mentioned hiking trails & shopping ---- is that something we could find ourself within walking distance??

And about meals.......not to sound too cheap....but can we go back to the ship for meals since that is already included in the price?

Thanks

LisaT =)

 

[dusty]

hi lisa

my sister and her husband did the same thing last summer. they went to the visitors center at the ports and got free maps for hiking trails and things withing walking distance to do. they had a wonderful time taking hikes and seeing all the nature, wildlife and beauty of the ports without paying for tours. they did take the tram ride in juneau and found some great trails up there that kept them busy for a long time while they were in port. just keep the town or some point of reference in view and you will have no problem. and you can get back on the ship as many times as you like to take in lunch if you like. have a wonderful time.

 

[halfdome86]

All the towns you'll stop in are quite small. Tons of shopping right at the docks. It's very easy to do your own walking tours if you're physically able.

In Juneau the Mt. Roberts tram is right next to the dock. So you wouldn't have to book that in advance if that's of interest to you. For $10 round trip to can take a bus to the Mendenhall glacier. I would suggest that too. The visitor center at the glacier has a small charge to visit. But there are many easy walks down to the water which are quite nice. Juneau is quite hilly but the as mentioned above you can get a map at the dock and walk to the museums and Russian church by using the map.
If you want to go whale watching or do an air tour than I would suggest booking in advance. You can do that directly and don't need to use the ship sources.

Ketchikan is also an easy walking town. 10 minutes to Creek street. Go up the funicular and walk down the married mans trail. All the shopping and the Lumberjack show arena are right there and an easy walk away. There is also a visitor center at the dock where you can book flight-seeing tours and the tours to the totem parks. There are totems in town and at the top of the funicular (in front of the hotel there). The salmon ladder is right by Creek street too.

Skagway is also right at the docks and walking distance from the ships. It'll depend on which dock the ship uses as to how much walking to get to town. I think Princess docks by the grafitti wall and that might require a tram or cab to easily get to town but it is walkable. White Pass Rail backs up to each dock there. You can book that in advance as well directly. Again there are visitor kiosks at the ships so you can book city tours etc. You can also get maps of the town.

In August the salmon will be running and you'll be able to see them in Ketchikan and Juneau. I can't recall seeing any in Skagway for some reason.

The only possible "problem" with going back to the ship for eating is if you have to tender. On our 3 cruises to Alaska we never saw a Princess ship tendering however. That takes some time to go back and forth to the ship however after the initial rush of people leaving the ships even the tenders aren't too much trouble.

You can't get lost walking around these towns. The ships are always in sight.

You're going to love it there........it's awsome up there!

 

[BSeabob]

Juneau's public bus will take you all over the place and even to with walking distace of the Glacier if you would like to do that.

 

[GloBug]

You can absolutely go back to the ship for lunch durng the day, but do you really want to spend all that time going back and forth? We found on our first cruise that we were having so much fun in port that once in a while we just grabbed fast food and continue on with our sightseeing! Except in Mexico, we had to settle down and enjoy a great seafood fest! Lobster, since we didn't get any on the Monarch!

 

[skagwaypilot]

Skagway has some great walking tours and presentations conducted by the National Park Service and they are FREE!!