Alaska cruise trip excursions

There is a shuttle (often referred to as the Blue Bus) offered by a local company in Juneau. It is incredibly expensive . Last year it was $90 per person round trip to the glacier. I strongly encourage you to consider booking a taxi. Much less expensive.

https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/alaska-shore-excursions

Thanks for the advice. Is Uber common at Juneau?

The shore excursion link looks good. If I book the shore excursion through local, where can I meet the bus and guide?

There are lots of things to see and do in Sitka that are within walking distance. The totem poles park, the raptor center, the old Russian cemetery. I want to say a fish hatchery?
I would be surprised if you couldn't find independent bus tours in either place. I have never gotten off a cruise ship and not felt bombarded by offers.

Perfect! I am glad to know there are excursions in Sitka are walking distance. Thanks for sharing.

In Ketchikan, there are public buses from the cruise dock to go North to Totem Bight park and South to Saxman totem poles. You can also take a bus up the mountain to see where the locals live. Walk to Creek St historical district & shops. In Sitka, there are public buses centered at the library area heading North and South (to the cruise dock). Downtown Sitka has shops with lovely and $$$ art works. Also some totems & Sheldon Jackson museum nearby. Juneau also has buses but the area is much more spread out & not that interesting. From the cruise dock, walk NW uphill to the Capitol Bldg and city museum - note how tall your ship is. Take a longer walk to the west to the state museum. In all 3 cities, the area near the cruise docks are heavily touristy but okay for souvenirs. No recommendations for eateries as you are aboard a pretty good floating restaurant.

Thanks all for the suggestion on the excursion. My family wants to see the whale, so whale watching is on our top bucket list. I am thinking to take a whale watching excursion at Juneau, but the price from cruise line is fairly expensive for whole family of three. Someone post a link of shore excursion. Is this run by local tour company? Are they able to bring tourist back to cruise in time? I will be on Royal Caribbean, and our Juneau stop is only 5hrs. Should I be concerned?

5 hours is a very short stop in Juneau. Ship's shore excursions get off the boat first, then independent day trippers. There are tour operators at the dock waiting to give you a whale watching tour, at about half the cost of a ship excursion. My experience was these were about 3 to 4 hours. But I think that is cutting it too close for your time ashore, as their tour boats are at least half an hour away.

I would be concerned such a short stop in Juneau to do anything other than walk around. Where the ships arrive is very touristy. About all you might have time for is the Alaskan State Museum if you have any interest in Alaskan history. Wonderful museum.

If you want to take a ship’s excursion, you will pay but they won’t leave without you.

No guarantee that you will see whales. On our two small ship cruises in Alaska (less than 75 passengers), we saw multiple whales and bubble feeding on the first one for over two hours, and on the second, we saw very few whales. Spotted at a distance and that was it. Our small ships had the ability and schedule to see them, but it just didn’t happen.

You'll often see whales from the cruise ship so you may not need to do a separate whale watching tour. Not guaranteed but hopefully you will.

Nancy is right. You might get lucky and see them from the ship.

Or you might not!
They are wild animals and travel on their own schedule.
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