Affordable Shore Excursions for an Alaskan Cruise
Last Updated: August 12, 2023
Anyone familiar with cruises knows that shore excursions can be highlights of the experience, but shore excursions can also be expensive. This is especially true on an Alaskan cruise. Maybe you’ve looked into taking an Alaskan cruise but you were put off by the high price tag on the shore excursions. But did you know that you can book your own independent shore excursions for a lower price? Here I give you my complete guide to my cruise hacks to find affordable shore excursions on an Alaskan cruise.
Affordable Shore Excursions on an Alaskan Cruise
Royal Caribbean offers a 7-day Alaskan Cruise aboard Ovation of the Seas, (a quantum class cruise ship). Having been on 2 other Royal Caribbean adventures, I knew I’d have a good time on this Alaskan Cruise. The ports of call included Vancouver, British Columbia, Sitka, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan Alaska, Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier, and our final port Seattle, Washington. This itinerary also included two days “at sea.”
How to View Your Shore Excursion Options with Royal Caribbean
Once you purchase your cruise, you’ll have the opportunity to log in online to manage your cruise. Different cruise lines may have slightly different portals, but you should always be able to browse available shore excursions and learn the costs and types of activity.
The shore excursions for the Alaskan experience were more expensive than past excursions I have purchased for other cruises in the Bahamas and other parts of the Caribbean. Most Alaskan excursions ranged from $200-600. Given the high price tag, we opted to search for independent shore excursions separate from Royal Caribbean.
I’ll walk you through some of our favorite more affordable shore excursions…
Best Shore Excursion in Vancouver, B.C
What’s included in a Vancouver Sightseeing Tour?
- We were picked up at our hotel at 9:30am in a shuttle bus that took us to see Stanley Park where you’ll see the Vancouver skyline, Totem poles, and bikers and local families enjoying their days.
- Next, the tour stopped at Granville Island where you’ll find a plethora of restaurants and artisanal shops if you’re looking for a unique gift to bring back. I recommend the Granville Island Public Market, an indoor market with freshly baked goods, and local sellers. Admittedly, we decided to get a cup of coffee at ‘My Island Cafe’. They had both indoor and outdoor seating, and had outlets if you needed to charge your phone in preparation for Capilano.
- If you’re into panoramic city views, you’ll love the Harbour Centre. It’s one of the tallest buildings in the city and sits at 553 feet. Your tour guide will take care of the tickets and just drop you off at the elevator to ascend. The elevator will make you feel Charlie in the Chocolate Factory.
- Lastly, the tour stops at the Capilano Suspension Bridge. You may be afraid of heights, but the bridge is strong enough to hold the weight of a fully loaded 747 airliner. And if you can’t picture that, it’s the equivalent of 200,000 pounds, which is equivalent to about 97 elephants. So if you weigh somewhere in that range, you’ll be alright!
- By 5pm we were back at our hotel and getting ready for dinner!
Best Shore Excursion in Juneau, Alaska
You can’t go to Alaska without visiting the Glaciers. The most popular glacier to see in Juneau is called the Mendenhall Glacier and it’s located in the Tongass National Forest. We had no idea, but apparently the Tongass National forest is the largest forest (it’s a RAIN FOREST) in the country!
Anyway, once you get there, the glacier will be impossible to miss. But that’s not all the National Park has to offer. Most people complete 1 of the 2 most popular trail walks after viewing the glacier. You’ll have the option of walking along Photo Point Trail, or Nugget Falls Trail.
Photo Point Trail is mostly flat and a quick 5-10 minute walk. This is where you’ll want to stop to take the most perfect photos of the glacier itself, as well as the melting icebergs in the water.
The Nugget Falls Trail was my favorite, even though it was much longer. But at the end, you’ll get to see & hear the massive waterfall! That’s when the whole ‘rainforest’ concept really sinks in. But be ready to walk one mile to the falls, and another mile back to return to the visitor center. Admittedly, we cut it close and had to run back the last mile because we had to meet up with our tour guide who would be taking us next to see Juneau’s ‘The Whale Project’.
Best Shore Excursion in Skagway, Alaska
We often think of California when we think of the “Gold Rush”, but visiting Skagway really opened my mind to the cultural movement that was the Klondike Gold Rush and the big role that Skagway played in it. I’d recommend starting your day off exploring the small town of Skagway before your tour. Don’t miss the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Visitor Center because they have showings of the short movie, Gold Fever: Race to the Klondike, which will inform you on all the wonderful things you’re about to see in this small town of less than 2,000 residents. Did you know over 100,000 hopeful miners sprinted toward Skagway in hopes of becoming rich?
Anyway our tour didn’t start until 11:30 am, so we took the time to enjoy Broadway Ave, buying Kettle Corn, chocolates, and postcards. Then conveniently right on Broadway Ave, we met our tour guide who picked us up in a shuttle. In the shuttle, they drove us to all of the scenic views, including waterfalls, overlooks, the famous, ‘Welcome to Alaska’ sign, and even a quick stop on the Canadian side. We found this was the best transportation to the most awe-inspiring views. Remember, Skagway is tiny, so don’t expect taxis and Ubers to be around!
Best Shore Excursion in Seattle, Washington
The first thing to know is that the Seattle cruise terminal and the Sea-Tac Airport are not within walking distance of the top attractions such as Pike Place, the Gum Wall, or the Space Needle. So you’ll have to take an Uber or Taxi.
Need to store your bags in Seattle? My recommendation would be to take an Uber straight to the Purple Store near Pike Place because they offer luggage storage. They do have an hourly rate, but the most that you’ll pay is $10 per bag per day. We had two carry ons and a backpack, so we ended up paying $30 when we checked out.
Once you’re free of your bags you can start exploring! If it’s early in the morning, I recommend you get a head start on the original Starbucks line at 1912 Pike Place. It took about 40-45 minutes to wait in line and walk out with our exclusive beverages.
If you’re hungry for more, Pike Place hosts some of the best restaurants in the city! Did you know the Pike Place Market is one of the oldest continually running markets in the country? If you’re hungry for lunch, we recommend the Pike Place Chowder, but like Starbucks, the line will be very very long. That being said, we opted for their second location at the mall six blocks away (6th Avenue). Same food, no line.
If you choose to stay in the Pike Place vicinity, the Gum Wall and the Seattle Great Wheel are all within walking distance. (10-15 minutes away)
If you’re ready to explore overlooks, I recommend Kerry Park for gorgeous views of the city, and a peak at the Olympic Mountains. Lastly, the best overlook of the city would be the famous Seattle Space Needle. We chose to go at night so we could see thousands of tiny lights shining off in the distance.
In terms of transportation in Seattle, most of our day was done via walking or calling an Uber. However, if you want transportation to other locations as well as the most popular ones included, I’d recommend taking the Half-Day Guided Tour of Seattle City and Snoqualmie Falls.
Consider More Affordable, Independent Shore Excursions on Your Alaskan Cruise
Overall, we were really glad we decided to go for independent shore excursions on our Alaskan cruise. We were able to see amazing top sites in Alaska and save money.