A review of Alaskan Cruise Excursions during our Holland America Koningsdam cruise. What to do in Alaskan port stops: Ketchikan, Skagway, and Juneau. Read more in our Alaska Travel Guide.
Alaskan Cruise Excursions Review – Holland America
Excursions on your Alaskan Cruise allow you to explore Alaska by land, air, and sea. It’s the chance to see wildlife and get a closer look at what Alaska has to offer. These activities are offered at an additional fee. They can get quite expensive, but are so worth it!
We booked our cruise excursions through Holland America due to the included trip insurance. This means if there is an issue with the trip, you will get a full or partial refund. Most importantly, if there is a delay or issue, they will hold the cruise ship for you. If our boat’s mechanical issue (more on that below) had delayed our return beyond when the cruise ship was supposed to leave, we would have been left behind!
Where does the Holland America 7-Day Alaskan Inside Passage Cruise Stop?
Cruise Excursions and What to Do in Juneau, Alaska
Juneau is smaller than I expected (given that I’d heard of it) and very walkable. It stretches along the coast, so we focused our time on exploring the section of town close to the cruise port. The city has many historic buildings that lend it a charming atmosphere. There were lots of bars and restaurants within a few minutes of the cruise port.
One of the highlights is the Mendenhall Glacier, which is approximately a 30-minute drive away and can be enjoyed by boat, bus, or helicopter.
We ate at Deckhand Dave’s, an outdoor food truck-style eatery. The fish tacos were amazing. We also had a beer across the street at Devil’s Brewing Company. I was pleasantly surprised to see “All are welcome here” and rainbow signs up in the brewery. They serve a spruce tip saison that is made by extracting sap or oil from spruce trees.
Whale Watching/Tracy Arm in Juneau:
This was a highlight of the trip despite mechanical issues. We booked the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer through Holland America for about $300 per person. The double-decker “high-speed catamaran” (although it did not feel particularly high-speed) is comfortable for the six-hour cruise. We saw orcas, humpback whales, otters, and seals. It was the most wildlife we saw during the trip, and we were able to get reasonably close. Our ship experienced a mechanical issue and took an extra two hours to return to port. This meant an 8-hour boat ride instead of six hours! In my opinion, it was still worth it. It was early in the season, so instead of Tracy Arm, we went down Endicott Arm, a similar Fjord nearby to Dawes Glacier, as there was less ice. The other boat got much closer to the glacier than we did because of our mechanical issue.
Note: I would pack snacks because they only give you a few bites of food for the entire trip.
Dog Sledding & Helicopter Ride in Juneau:
We booked a Temsco helicopter ride through Holland America to Mendenhall Glacier, complete with dog sledding. Unfortunately, we missed the tour due to the mechanical issue with the boat on our first excursion. This was a huge disappointment, but luckily, we were able to do a helicopter tour in Skagway with Temsco instead. Since we booked through Holland America, a refund was processed automatically. This is the advantage of booking through Holland America. Everything is insured, so if your excursion runs late, they will hold the ship for you. If you run late on a tour you booked separately, the ship will not wait, and you will be left behind. Helicopter rides are a splurge, costing $650 or more per person.
Seaplane Ride in Juneau, Alaska
Seaplane excursions in Juneau get excellent reviews, but didn’t fit into our schedule. If you go, I would book through Holland America to ensure a tour company with a vetted safety rating and to guarantee that if you can’t go due to weather, your trip will be refunded.
Visiting Skagway, Alaska Cruise Stop
Skagway, Alaska, is a charming town that truly feels like you’ve gone back in time to the Gold Rush. The buildings on the main road are so charming! There’s a famous train experience, the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway, that we decided to skip. We did see the antique train returning to town, and it was very picturesque.
Dog Sledding & Helicopter Ride in Skagway:
We were able to rebook our missed Juneau helicopter ride in Skagway. We were too early in the season for dog sledding, but our helicopter tour with Temsco in Skagway was THE BEST excursion of the cruise. The trip to Gillkey Glacier felt so special, especially because the glaciers are receding and may not be around forever. Someone who looked at our photos from the trip said it appeared significantly smaller than when they did the trip several years ago.
Eagle Preserve River Float in Haines:
I had very high hopes for wildlife spotting during the Haines Eagle Preserve Float & Wildlife Quest we booked through Holland America. Unfortunately, our mid-May date was before the salmon runs started (see below), meaning wildlife was non-existent. Once the salmon come, the bears and eagles follow, and this tour will be amazing! We saw two eagles in trees quite far away and no other wildlife. Our guide told us that later in the year, you can see 40 or more eagles in ONE TREE! Sounds magical, but this wasn’t our experience. Because you can get so close to shore, I’m sure seeing bears or eagles this way would have been incredible.
Alaska Salmon Run Schedule:
King Salmon: Runs from mid-May to early July, with a second run from early July to late July
Sockeye Salmon: Runs from late May to early July, with a second run in mid-July to mid-August
Coho Salmon: Runs from late July to late August, with a second run in early September through November
Pink Salmon: Runs primarily in even-numbered years from late July to mid-August.
Ketchikan, Alaska
This was the most charming town that we stopped at on our Alaska cruise, but because of the rainy weather, we didn’t get to explore much. Ketchikan is in the rainforest, and it poured the entire time we were in port. We didn’t have any excursions booked as we had spent quite a bit on the previous ones, so we walked around a bit. You have to visit Creek Street, which is lined with homes and businesses perched on wood pilings. It was previously a red-light district, and now it’s filled with hotels and shops. Two excursions I’ve heard mentioned are crab fishing and the lumberjack show (both apparently touristy but worth it). It’s also a great place to spot wildlife, including bears and eagles.
I hope you enjoyed this Alaskan Cruise Excursions review. Let me know if you have any questions. Please check out more of our Alaska travel information.
Share Your Thoughts