7 best Alaska cruise excursions to do in 2024 that are so worth it! Alaska cruise tips

Hi there!

I’ve had repeat visits to Alaska cruise ports, and I’ll let you know below the best (most epic!) excursions that I’ve done during an Alaska cruise! This will include the most common ports of Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway.

I’ve done excursions booked independently, and I’ve also booked through the cruise line.

I’ve mostly been on Princess cruise ships, but for Princess cruise excursions I mention below, you can also look for the same tour if you’re on another cruise line like Holland America, Norwegian (NCL), Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Celebrity, or Disney.

The Princess cruise excursion listings also have reviews, so I recommend you read those even if you are on another cruise line!

If available, I’ve also included where you can go to read Viator reviews. I’m a Viator partner.

 

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1. Mendenhall Glacier canoe tour (Juneau)

The tours you need to consider so you can get closer to the Mendenhall Glacier than most people do! (Most people only see it from across the lake around the visitor center.)

• Mendenhall Glacier Ice Adventure Tour (with shore landing for a short hike to glacier lookout)
• Mendenhall Glacier Lake Canoe Tour (no landing)

 

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I did the ice adventure tour through Liquid Alaska.

It was a team effort in a group canoe to paddle across the lake to get closer to the glacier. Once we got to shore, the guide secured the canoe to land, and then off we went to get closer to the glacier! To get back, it was a group effort to push the canoe into the water!

Read the Liquid Alaska reviews on viator.

See more about the Mendenhall Glacier on your own.

 

 

2. 5-glacier seaplane tour (Juneau)

The tour you need to consider so you can see a part of the massive Juneau Icefield from above!

• Five Glacier Seaplane Discovery

 

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I did the 5-glacier seaplane tour as a combo tour (next!) through Wings Airways booked through the cruise line. You can look for the shore excursion called Five Glacier Seaplane Exploration.

This is your chance to see one of the largest icefields in North America!

Read the Wings Airways reviews on google maps.

See my 5-glacier seaplane tour pictures.

 

 

3. Taku Lodge Feast excursion

The tour you need to consider to do the most epic salmon bake there is to do during an Alaska cruise!

• Taku Lodge Feast & 5-Glacier Seaplane Discovery

 

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I did the Taku Lodge excursion through Wings Airways booked through the cruise line. You can look for the shore excursion called Taku Lodge Feast & Five-Glacier Seaplane – Discovery Exclusive.

You can do the 5-glacier seaplane tour as a standalone thing, but flightseeing tours are made even more memorable when you include a landing!

The Taku Lodge is in the remote wilderness of Tongass National Forest, and just flying out to it gives you a feeling that you’re in wild and remote Alaska! (Flying out to it will be the 5-glacier seaplane exploration part!)

And, you’ll get a classic Alaska salmon bake! While you wait for the salmon to be ready, you can go for a short hike in the forest!

I did a small loop hiking through the forest before the meal.

Read the Taku Lodge reviews on google maps.

See my Taku Lodge excursion pictures.

 

 

4. Misty Fjords seaplane tour (Ketchikan)

The tour you need to consider to see the largest national forest in America from above, and to land in the remote wilderness of Misty Fjords National Monument!

• Misty Fjords Seaplane Tour

 

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I did the Misty Fjords seaplane tour through Island Wings.

You’ll be flying across wild and remote Alaska, and it came with a wilderness landing in remote Alaska! The exact location you’ll land will depend on the pilot and conditions. My seaplane tour landed at a tiny island!

Another Tongass National Forest seaplane tour with Island Wings that’s on my bucket list is the Traitor’s Cove Bear Viewing Tour. This is available only when there’s a higher chance of bears at Traitor’s Cove, which is July (very end), August, September, and even the very beginning of October.

Read the Island Wings reviews on viator.

 

 

5. Helicopter tour with glacier walk (Skagway)

The tour you need to consider so you can see the mountains of Alaska from above, and to walk across a remote glacier and maybe see blue ice!

• Glacier Discovery by Helicopter

 

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I did my glacier walk helicopter tour in Skagway through Temsco booked through the cruise line. You can look for the shore excursion called Glacier Discovery by Helicopter.

One of the epic things you can do during your Alaska cruise is a walk across a glacier!

You’ll be flying to get to the glacier so it comes with an epic flightseeing tour where you’ll see glaciers too!

The only problem was I wish there was more time on the glacier!

Read the Temsco reviews on google maps.

See my helicopter tour video on youtube.

 

🤓 Skagway or Juneau for the helicopter tour?

Along with Skagway, Juneau is another one of the best cruise ports for a helicopter tour during your Alaska cruise.

But there is so much more to do in Juneau, and I think you’ll find something else very worthy to spend your time in Juneau (like a whale watching tour!), which makes it better to save the helicopter tour for Skagway!

Not only that, but in terms of the weather risk factor (helicopter tours can get canceled at the last minute due to weather – this is something to be mentally prepared for!), it seems like Skagway can be the better choice.

Last September, I was in Skagway and Juneau 3 times each. It rained every time I went to Juneau (I had some very rainy days), and during those same cruises (so just days apart), I don’t think it rained at all in Skagway!

Of course, weather can vary. But personally, if I was looking at weather risk as a factor, I would choose Skagway!

Well, I chose Skagway anyway because there were other things I wanted to do in Juneau and you can have an epic helicopter flightseeing tour in Skagway!

Although, it was a bit overcast on the day I did the helicopter tour!

Since it was my first time doing a helicopter tour in Alaska, I was still wowed by it since I had nothing to compare it to. But the next time I did a helicopter tour in Skagway (next on the list!), the mountains did look even more amazing because it was sunny out!

If Juneau is where you want to do the helicopter tour, then you will love the Juneau Shore Excursion: Helicopter Tour and Guided Icefield Walk.

 

 

6. Glacier dog sledding and helicopter flightseeing tour (Skagway)

The tour you need to consider for dog sledding across a remote glacier in Alaska at a musher’s sled dog camp!

• Dog Sledding and Glacier Flightseeing

 

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I did my glacier dog sledding tour in Skagway through Temsco booked through the cruise line. You can look for the shore excursion called Dog Sledding & Glacier Helicopter Flightseeing.

For the epic dog sledding in Alaska, you need to make sure it’s an excursion on snow!

During a summer Alaska cruise, this means it’s an excursion on a glacier! And that means you need to get to higher elevation… and the way to do that is by helicopter!

So your dog sledding on snow in Alaska will also come with an epic flightseeing tour of the Alaska mountains!

Read the Temsco reviews on google maps.

See my dog sledding video on youtube.

 

There are also cheaper sled dog camps in Skagway.

They are cheaper because you drive to them instead of flying to them, and that means the dogs won’t pulling you across a glacier. Lots of people like the Summer Sled Dog Remote Yukon Camp tour.

 

🤓 Skagway or Juneau for the dog sledding tour?

Similar to the helicopter tour, you can do dog sledding on a glacier in both Skagway and Juneau.

If Juneau is where you want to do your dog sledding tour, then there is the Juneau Helicopter Tour & Dogsledding Experience.

You can also add on an additional glacier landing to your dog sledding tour with the Helicopter Dogsledding Experience and Additional Glacier Landing.

Glacier dog sledding is generally offered in Alaska cruise ports (Skagway and Juneau) from mid-May to mid-August.

If you’re doing a one-way cruise and will be spending some time in Alaska on land, the glacier dog sledding season lasts a little longer in Anchorage, typically through the beginning of September with Alaska Helicopter Tours.

 

 

7. Mountain Point snorkeling tour (Ketchikan)

The tour you need to consider to go snorkeling in Alaska!!! 🤣

• Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure

 

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I did the snorkeling tour through Snorkel Alaska.

When I first read someone say they went snorkeling in Alaska, I thought it was the craziest thing! Now, it’s not so crazy! 🤣

Where else will you have the chance to go cold water swimming?!?! The water is cold, but you’ll be dressed well for it, so you won’t actually be cold when you’re in the water!

You won’t see colorful tropical fish in Alaska, but you do have a chance to see other marine life like starfish and jellyfish!

As it goes with all marine life and wildlife viewing, there’s no guarantee of what you’ll see, but it’s fun!

Read the Snorkeling Alaska reviews on viator.

See more about the Ketchikan snorkeling tour that I did.

 

Can you find an excursion offered through your cruise line cheaper by booking independently?

Maybe!

TIP! What I did to try to find the tour company that the cruise line’s excursion was through was a bit of copy and pasting! Sometimes I could find the tour operator by doing a search for the title of the excursion. Other times I would copy and paste bits of the excursion description to figure out the tour company the cruise line was using.

Then you can see if there’s availability for the tour when you will be in port and how much it costs.

Once I found the tour company, I would also do a search to look for reviews on google maps.

I would say the reviews of ALL of the most expensive excursions were nearly all 5 stars! The most expensive excursions are the most memorable ones, and a lot of times ended up being the highlight of one’s Alaska cruise!

 

Is it “safe” to book an excursion independently?

Of course it’s up to you to do your due diligence with planning, but generally speaking, tour companies in Alaska cruise ports are very experienced with cruise passengers. They have well-run operations.

If you book independently, many tour companies even ask about what cruise ship you’re on as part of the booking process. That is just how much they work with cruisers!

Personally, I find the risk to be quite low in booking independently in Alaska cruise ports. I’ve booked a number of tours in Alaska not through the cruise line. Because the tour operators deal with cruise ship passengers on a daily basis, the meet-up instructions are simple enough.

Tour companies offer a pick-up from the cruise port.

The exception to this is if your cruise ship is docking at Ward Cove in Ketchikan. Tour companies generally don’t offer pick-up from Ward Cove. This applies to you if you are on an NCL cruise.

All other major cruise lines dock in downtown Ketchikan, where you can meet your tour guide.

You can read the tour description to confirm!

 

Can you book 2 excursions in one day?

Once again, you’ll need to do your due diligence with planning. But if you have all day in port, then YES, it’s quite reasonable to do 2 excursions in one day! I’ve done an excursion in the morning, went back to the cruise ship for lunch, and then did another excursion in the afternoon!

 

The quick list of epic Alaska excursions

• Mendenhall Glacier canoe tour with shore landing (Juneau)
• 5-glacier seaplane tour (Juneau)
• Taku Lodge excursion (Juneau)
• Misty Fjords seaplane tour (Ketchikan)
• Glacier dog sledding and helicopter flightseeing tour (Skagway)
• Helicopter tour with glacier walk (Skagway)
• Mountain Point snorkeling tour (Ketchikan)

Also, if you will be going to Whittier, then I highly recommend doing a boat tour in Whittier!

I have personally experienced all of these tours… and more! These are my top picks!

I haven’t been to Seward, but a Kenai Fjords National boat tour is on my bucket list, and so is a Kenai Fjords National Park glacier ice hiking tour!

 

Should you do an excursion or make it budget-friendly in any particular port?!

See things to do in each port to help you decide!

• Juneau
• Ketchikan
• Skagway
• Icy Strait Point
• Sitka

 

HAPPY CHOOSING AN EPIC EXCURSION IN ALASKA!