ALASKA SHORE EXCURSIONS
NO DOUBT YOU’VE READ ABOUT ALL THE WONDERFUL HELICOPTER TOURS OR FLOAT PLANE ADVENTURES YOU CAN EXPERIENCE ON ONE OF THE MANY SHORE EXCURSIONS DURING YOUR ALASKAN CRUISE. YOU MAY ALSO HAVE NOTED THE PRICE OF SOME OF THESE EXCURSIONS. A WIDER VARIETY OF SHORE EXCURSIONS CAN BE BOOKED DIRECTLY THROUGH YOUR TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL. TRAVEL PROFESSIONALS WORK DIRECTLY WITH MANY SHORE EXCURSION PROVIDERS TO OFFER YOU SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS WHEN COMPARED TO BOOKING WITH THE CRUISE LINE.
JUNEAU
Want a fun, easy adventure that will make your heart beat just a little faster? Take the Mount Roberts Tramway, a 6-minute ride to the 1,800-foot level of Mount Roberts. The great thing about this excursion is that the tramway is located where the cruise ships dock, so you can just walk to the tramway at your leisure.
If you want to get out and see Alaska’s beauty as well as take a hike, then the tramway is perfect for you. There are trails on Mount Roberts for all levels of ability, from nature walks to strenuous climbs, including a trail that is handicapaccessible. If you have time, take the tram to the 1,800-foot peak and hike down.
Another must-see Juneau shore excursion is a visit to the Mendenhall Glacier. Your travel professional can assist you with booking a package tour to the Glacier, whether it’s an inexpensive bus/walking tour or an adventure tour where you can kayak, canoe or ride in a float plane.
SKAGWAY
If you find yourself in Skagway, consider a float tour, which combines sightseeing and rafting. Skagway Float Tours offers a tour lasting 2 ½ to 3 hours which includes a 10-mile drive along the coast to the Dyea Valley, with a gentle 45-minute float down the Taiya River. This excursion is suitable for all skill levels.
If rafting isn’t your activity of choice, but riding a bike is, consider a bicycle tour of the Alaskan rainforest. This bike tour is suitable for all skill levels and follows a flat path through rainforest, historic ruins and coastal tidal flats.
The passengers crowded the decks for a better view of the glaciers as the ship slowly moved closer. We were far into the waters of Glacier Bay National Park as we could sail less than a quarter of a mile from the fronts of two glaciers. An arm of the Gulf of Alaska, Glacier Bay is a fjord – one that is deep enough for sea-going ships like ours to sail through.
To our right was the Grand Pacific Glacier, covered with pieces of rock and other ground-up earth debris it has acquired while passing through the upper valley. Patches of white ice were visible from underneath its brown and black cover. To the left of it was Margerie Glacier, appearing clean and bright in spite of the overcast sky. We could see sections of blue ice visible on its mostly white front where it met the waters of the bay. It looked like the perfect textbook example of how a glacier should appear.
The ship’s engines were very quiet as it slowly maneuvered closer. People on deck spoke softly and listened for the occasional rifle shot noise as pieces of the glacier’s front broke off and floated away. Glaciers reaching the sea “calve” in this fashion. What had been a piece of the glacier’s front one minute was now a free-floating iceberg, which would eventually melt.
The park ranger who had joined the ship some 65 miles back south explained that the ice face we were looking at was about 200 feet above sea level. The bottom of the glacier was about 400 feet below the water surface. Occasionally a calved iceberg from the submerged portion bobbed and splashed to the surface.
We were observing two valley glaciers that had started out as accumulated snow pack in the nearby Saint Elias Mountains of the Fairweather Range. In situations where the summers are not warm enough to melt the previous winter’s snow, the depth and weight increases year after year and the snow at the bottom eventually becomes ice. Under high pressure the ice behaves like cold molasses and begins to flow in response to gravity.
For those who enjoy watching nature up close, Glacier Bay’s deep waters also provide a feeding ground for three species of whales: minke, humpback and orcas. These creatures swim in from the open sea in pursuit of food and may be seen from the deck of a cruise ship if the watcher is patient and lucky.
The whales share Glacier Bay with numerous other observable creatures like porpoises, sea lions, sea otters and seals. Beneath the surface are salmon and halibut which park visitors may catch. Visitors may also observe a number of land animals including brown and black bear, moose, wolves, mountain goats, bald eagles and more than 200 other species of birds.
For lovers of the outdoors there is much to see and do at Glacier Bay National Park – and a cruise experience paired with a shore excursion provides an experience unlike any other!
