Alaska - what can I do there?

[Jschmuck2]

I've mentioned this before, but I'm going on tour with a Cruise line for a while and those are our port cities. Having never been to Alaska before, I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into what there is to do there.

I'll be able to do all of the excursions for a discounted rate (if not totally free) so that'll be fun...but I'm hoping someone can offer some expanded insight

 

[OCGuy]

Juneau is beautiful, I spent a week there last summer catching salmon and watching bear.

Downtown Juneau has a great strip of bars and good food.....

Also, the mendenhal (sp) glacier.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Originally posted by: OCguy
Juneau is beautiful, I spent a week there last summer catching salmon and watching bear.

Downtown Juneau has a great strip of bars and good food.....

Also, the mendenhal (sp) glacier.

I never would have guessed that.

In my head, it looks like a Jack London novel.

 

[skyking]

You get some good weather now and then in the South East, take a helicopter tour on a really nice day up to the glaciers.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Originally posted by: skyking
You get some good weather now and then in the South East, take a helicopter tour on a really nice day up to the glaciers.

I'll be there May-Sept - nice weather then?

 

[ProfJohn]

I am sure the people onboard will give you lots and lots of ideas.

I suspect that you will spending most of your time ashore shopping for basic needs and eating at places like subway and taco bell etc. Amazing how good a sub tastes after eating ship food for a week, even good ship food gets old.

 

[xanis]

- go sledding
- pet a polar bear
- ice skating
- fishing
- etc

 

[Leros]

That sounds like a cruise I took. Is this a Cruise West cruise?

 

[thegimp03]

I went on an Alaskan cruise a couple summers ago. Definitely do a helicopter trip up to the glaciers - I think we did ours from Skagway or Ketchikan. Another that we heard good things about but didn't do was the dog sled trip. There's a railway trip in Skagway I believe. We did it and it was real boring, unless you call being cooped up on a slow antique train for 3 hours fun. We also did a jet boat trip in one of the towns (can't remember). It wasn't all that exciting but you did get to see a ton of wildlife.

 

[Jschmuck2]

NOted

 

[Rubycon]

Here's a primer on helicopter tours Don't do it.

 

[Iron Woode]

you can also check out some Canadians in their natural habitat.

just don't feed them or you will have to take them home, eh.

 

[Patt]

I was on an Alaskan cruise this past August, and the best thing we did was go on a couple of kayaking excursions. Helped that they were perfect weather days, but still a great way to see the wildlife from a different perspective.

 

[dabuddha]

I'm guessing Princess cruise? I went on this exact trip last year and had a blast. I'll have to ask my wife what it was we did in each of those cities though. My memory sucks lol.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Originally posted by: dabuddha
I'm guessing Princess cruise? I went on this exact trip last year and had a blast. I'll have to ask my wife what it was we did in each of those cities though. My memory sucks lol.

Actually I'm performing onboard for an extended period of time, so I have to come up with SOMETHING to do

 

[dr150]

Originally posted by: Xanis
- go sledding
- pet a polar bear
- ice skating
- fishing
- etc

Correction.

Hand feed a grizzly bear with a baby shrimp during mating season.

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: Jschmuck2

Originally posted by: dabuddha
I'm guessing Princess cruise? I went on this exact trip last year and had a blast. I'll have to ask my wife what it was we did in each of those cities though. My memory sucks lol.

Actually I'm performing onboard for an extended period of time, so I have to come up with SOMETHING to do

Oh, its one of those cruises....

 

[cliftonite]

Originally posted by: Xanis
- go sledding
- pet a baby polar bear
- ice skating
- fishing
- etc

Fixed to avoid Darwin candidacy.

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: Jschmuck2
...what there is to do there.

- Drill for oil.
- Hunt Moose.
- Drill Palin.
- Stake a claim of permafrost (seriously - in Alaska, you can still get free land from the gov't)
- Fly a plane around.
- Die in a bus following a hairball scheme to live alone in the wilderness.
- Eat up way more in government funds than you contribute.
- Climb mountains.
- Drill Palin's Daughter.
- See a glacier.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Originally posted by: OCguy

Originally posted by: Jschmuck2

Originally posted by: dabuddha
I'm guessing Princess cruise? I went on this exact trip last year and had a blast. I'll have to ask my wife what it was we did in each of those cities though. My memory sucks lol.

Actually I'm performing onboard for an extended period of time, so I have to come up with SOMETHING to do

Oh, its one of those cruises....

Yes. The kind where they pay me to be funny for cash and chicken

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: ja1484

Originally posted by: Jschmuck2
...what there is to do there.

- Drill for oil.
- Hunt Moose.
- Drill Palin.
- Stake a claim of permafrost (seriously - in Alaska, you can still get free land from the gov't)
- Fly a plane around.
- Die in a bus following a hairball scheme to live alone in the wilderness.
- Eat up way more in government funds than you contribute.
- Climb mountains.
- Drill Palin's Daughter.
- See a glacier.

Drill Palin's daughter on a glacier while hunting moose.

 

[zinfamous]

What can't you do in Alaska? It's a great place.

I spent a week in Anchorage and Kenai area about 12 years ago in the summer, and it was great. Try to spend a day Salmon fishing, if you get the chance. It's ridiculously competitive.

Also went clamming for razors in Ninilchik. freaking awesome monster clams bigger than your head.

and it seems you can now see Russia from Juneau. who knew?

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: cliftonite

Originally posted by: Xanis
- go sledding
- pet a baby polar bear
- ice skating
- fishing
- etc

Fixed to avoid Darwin candidacy.

That would make it worse.

 

[rh71]

same 3 "ports" on our cruise. Juneau - kayaking on a lake with a great view of the mendenhall glacier I believe it was. Skagway was a borefest but we did the downhill bike tour. Ketchikan we explored the fjords. It was pretty interesting - just not a lot of action. Alaskan cruise as a whole was unbelievable though. So surreal.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: cliftonite

Originally posted by: Xanis
- go sledding
- pet a baby polar bear
- ice skating
- fishing
- etc

Fixed to avoid Darwin candidacy.

That would make it worse.

But they're so adorable