Rob C.

Juneau, the capital of Alaska, was the next port call. This city was much bigger than Skagway. They had a free tram from the cruise port to the downtown/shopping area that ran every few minutes. Shopping here was much the same as in Skagway. My wife took the Whale Quest, Mendenhall Glacier & Salmon Bake tour for $160.00 per person. First of all, this tour guarantees you will see whales or you will receive most of your money back. She was not disappointed. Her group went out in a specially designed, environmentally friendly jet boat. Basically many animals were getting injured by the propellers of boats so this vessel is propelled by "jets". The engines can be stopped instantly so as not to disturb the wildlife. There was a naturalist onboard describing whales and their lives/patterns. She said it was fascinating. They did indeed see many whales including young whales (mostly humpback). Next it was on to Mendenhall Glacier for a walk around of the lakes and forest areas near the glacier. Although not as impressive as Hubbard glacier, she nevertheless enjoyed the scenery. Lastly was a salmon bake. They went to another camp area for a buffet of baked salmon with all the trimmings. She said it was not as good as having a salmon filet. Basically you had to pick around the skin and bones to get to the meat. This was a 6 1/2 tour with time for shopping at the end.

TIP: Unless you really want to eat salmon, save yourself the money and just go on the whale/wildlife quest and then catch a taxi or shuttle to the Mendenhall Glacier visitors center. You'll save money that way

I was reserved for a helicopter tour with a glacier landing and walk around. Unfortunately, it was quite foggy and all the helicopters that morning were grounded. The afternoon weather improved greatly, but those rides were already sold out.

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