Category: Juneau (Alaska)

MENDENHALL GLACIER EXPLORER

View a true natural wonder on this approximately three-hour excursion, which transports you to the mighty Mendenhall Glacier for independent exploration. Beforehand there’s a scenic drive through Juneau, plus a stop at the glacier visitor centre afterwards.

Excursion Details

On this excursion of around three hours, you’ll get a glimpse into the deep past, as you gaze at an Alaskan landmark. Begin with a transfer drive of around 30 minutes, travelling through downtown Juneau. Located approximately 13 miles from Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau is Alaska’s capital and can only be reached by boat or plane, as there are no external road links out of the city. You’ll learn more about Juneau from your guide’s onboard narration as you pass through and take in its scenic waterfront.

You’ll arrive at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, where your guide will give tips on how best to view the glacier during your free time at the site, lasting approximately two hours. There are numerous viewpoints and trails at different spots around the glacier – including opportunities for close-up viewing – helping you see and understand as much of it as possible during your time there.

A part of the vast Juneau Icefield, the glacier was first formed thousands of years ago before reaching its largest form during the Little Ice Age, which is generally agreed to have taken place between the 14th century and 19th century. The glacier has been retreating since then, for around 300-400 years.

Your free time also includes a chance to stop by the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, a renowned educational venue where you can learn more about the glacier and the wider area through exhibitions, photos, films and more. The venue also houses some prime observation spots for viewing the glacier and Mendenhall Lake. Following this, the drive back to the port takes around 30 minutes, concluding the excursion.

Important Information: it is recommended that guests dress in layers and wear comfortable walking shoes

MENDENHALL GLACIER, HATCHERY, AND SALMON BAKE

Lasting around four hours, this excursion combines regional flavours with natural wonders. After visiting Mendenhall Glacier, you’ll stop at a salmon hatchery to learn about it’s role in keeping the area salmon population at sustainable levels, before moving to a nearby venue for a meal of Alaskan salmon, cooked over a fire.

Excursion details

Witness Alaska’s natural beauty and take part in one of its famous salmon bakes during this excursion of around four hours. Sit back and enjoy a 30-minute, scenic narrated drive along the Gastineau Channel as you make your way to Mendenhall Glacier, the only glacier in southeast Alaska accessible by road.

You’ll have approximately one hour at the glacier, which flows from the vast Juneau Icefield and measures around 1.5 miles wide and more than 30 metres tall. Surrounded by forest and waterfalls, its crevassed ice makes for a striking landscape, so keep your camera handy. During your visit, you’ll be able to explore various viewing points and nearby trails, as well as the visitor centre, where you can find out why Mendenhall has been receding for hundreds of years.

Learn about a different side to Alaska, as you head to the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery on a short 15-minute drive. Exhibits here offer insights into the life cycle of salmon, their marine habitat and how a hatchery operates. Over your 45-minute visit, your guide will explain how the hatchery operates and the value of ocean ranching to Juneau’s commercial and sport fishing industries.

It’s then a 5-minute journey to nearby Gold Creek Salmon Bake located in a peaceful forest setting. In the covered, open-air restaurant, you’ll have around one hour and 25 minutes to enjoy Alaskan salmon that’s been grilled over an alder wood fire, accompanied by a selection of sides. Once satisfied, you can return to the ship at your leisure via the free shuttles offered by the Salmon Bake.

Important information: the order of sights visited may vary. It is recommended that guests dress in layers and wear comfortable walking shoes. The tour will end at Gold Creek Salmon Bake and guests can take the free shuttle directly back to the ship or get dropped off in downtown for more free time. Shuttle transfer time is approximately 10 minutes back to downtown and the piers.

MENDENHALL GLACIER and GUIDED WALK BY HELICOPTER

This approximately two-hour excursion combines a helicopter “flightseeing” tour with a guided walk on the Mendenhall Glacier, one of Southeast Alaska’s most accessible glaciers. Trained guides will lead this special hike as you observe glacier terrain and learn about ice formations.

Excursion details

Lasting about two hours, this Alaskan adventure takes place both in the skies and on foot. Start with a transfer of about 15 minutes, including check-in and travelling from the port to the heli-base. You’ll then be fitted with glacier boots and receive a safety briefing, followed by aircraft assignment and boarding the helicopter. This preparation stage takes around 25 minutes.

Enjoy narration from the pilot during the approximately 15-minute helicopter flight to the landing site on the vast Mendenhall Glacier. The route passes over forests and glacial valleys, allowing for elevated views across parts of the Juneau Icefield, one of the largest icefields in North America outside the polar regions. Depending on conditions, surface features such as crevasses and ice formations may also be visible from the air.

After landing on the glacier, prepare for a memorable hike as your guides lead an approximately 25-minute walk across the ice. During this time, your guides will explain how glaciers form and move, while pointing out visible features on the ice surface. You will then soar through the skies for one final view of Alaska’s landscapes on your 15 minute return flight. As you leave the glacier behind, you’ll carry with you memories that will last a lifetime.

Following the guided walk, you’ll have around 20 minutes to remove your gear and equipment, as well as enjoying a complimentary coffee or tea and browsing the gift shop. The excursion then concludes with an approximately 15-minute drive back to the ship.

Important information: All participating guests must be able to walk 100 yards on uneven surfaces, ice, and pavement. Guests must be able to climb two 18-inch step in and out of the helicopter unassisted.

Bags are not permitted on this tour and can be locked in a locker prior to boarding the helicopter. It is recommended that guests bring gloves, hats, sunglasses, and cameras, and wear comfortable shoes and warm clothing. Selfie-sticks, or any other extendable items, iPads, or any other type of tablets, drones, food or beverages including water bottles and smoking are not permitted on this tour. Due to weight and balance restrictions, as well as for passenger safety and comfort, guests weighing 250lbs (113kg) or more fully clothed will incur a weight surcharge of $150 that will be added to your onboard account. This tour is not available for guests with limited mobility.

Infants up to 23 months may participate in this tour and must be seated on their parent/guardians’ lap throughout the tour. Children 2 years of age and older are required to have their own seat and are required to have a full price ticket purchased for them. There is a set price per person on this tour. Child rates are not applicable. Per TEMSCO Helicopters’Passenger Mobility Policy, service animals shall not be permitted on Temsco Airbus Astar, Hughes 500 and Airbus H 130 aircraft used by Temsco for flightseeing and tours. Passenger seats in these aircraft are emergency exit accessible; the exit doors represent the only emergency exits. This policy is consistent with the Air Carrier Access Act that prohibits service animals from being located in an exit aisle

DOG SLEDDING ON THE MENDENHALL GLACIER BY HELICOPTER

Dash across the ice on a dog sled over Mendenhall Glacier on this Alaskan adventure. A helicopter ride adds to the excitement during an excursion lasting approximately two hours and 45 minutes.

Excursion details

Tick off several bucket list experiences in one go during this excursion of around two hours and 45 minutes, which takes place in the sky and on the surface of one of Alaska’s most famous glaciers.

The day starts with a transfer of about 15 minutes to a helicopter base, where you’ll be fitted with glacier boots and watch a safety video over 25 minutes or so. Then take off for your approximately 15-minute “flightseeing” journey over Southeast Alaska’s striking scenery, arriving at the frozen landscapes of the Juneau Icefield and the Mendenhall Glacier. Throughout the flight, your pilot will provide live narration about the region.

The helicopter lands at a dog sled camp on the Mendenhall Glacier, where you’ll be greeted by professional dog mushers and their lively canine companions. Next, set off on a dog sledding trip across the snow-covered surface of the immense glacier, lasting around twenty minutes. Alongside your musher navigating the sled smoothly over the glacier – led by the skilled dogs – there’s also an opportunity for you to try directing the dogs yourself. Following the ride, you’ll get a chance to thank these fantastic dogs for their work by cuddling with them.

It’s around 15 minutes by helicopter back to the base, where there’s another 15 minutes or so to warm up with tea and coffee and browse the gift shop for souvenirs. A drive of about 15 minutes then returns to the port.

Important information: All participating guests must be able to walk 100 yards on uneven surfaces, snow, and pavement. Guests must be able to climb two 18-inch steps in and out of the helicopter unassisted. Bags are not permitted on this tour and can be locked in a locker prior to boarding the helicopter. It is recommended that guests bring gloves, hats, sunglasses, and cameras, and wear comfortable shoes and warm clothing. Selfie-sticks, or any other extendable items, iPads, or any other type of tablets, drones, food or beverages including water bottles and smoking are not permitted on this tour.

Due to weight and balance restrictions, as well as for passenger safety and comfort, guests weighing 250lbs (113kg) or more fully clothed will incur a weight surcharge of $150 that will be added to your onboard account. This tour is not available for guests with limited mobility. Infants up to 23 months may participate in this tour and must be seated on their parent/guardians’ lap throughout the tour. Children 2 years of age and older are required to have their own seat and are required to have a full price ticket purchased for them.

There is a set price per person on this tour. Child rates are not applicable. Per TEMSCO Helicopters’Passenger Mobility Policy, service animals shall not be permitted on Temsco Airbus Astar, Hughes 500 and Airbus H 130 aircraft used by Temsco for flightseeing and tours. Passenger seats in these aircraft are emergency exit accessible; the exit doors represent the only emergency exits. This policy is consistent with the Air Carrier Access Act that prohibits service animals from being located in an exit aisle

JUNEAU HIGHLIGHTS: GLACIER GARDENS AND WHALE PARK

Discover Alaska’s nature-rich capital, Juneau, on this approximately two-and-a-half-hour excursion, featuring a visit to Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure, where you can admire old-growth forest and unusual floral towers. You’ll also go to Overstreet Park for a guided walk with views of the Gastineau Channel.

Excursion details

Your roughly two-and-a-half-hour exploration of Juneau begins with an approximately 15-minute trip to Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure. You’ll have 90 minutes to enjoy this family-run site spread across 50 acres that combines manicured gardens, old-growth forest and sweeping mountain views.

In addition to seeing the impressive gardens and striking flower towers – sculptures created from storm-felled tree trunks – this tour takes you deep into the Tongass National Forest, the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, aboard covered golf carts. Highlights include panoramic views of the Mendenhall Valley and the distant mountains of the Chilkat Range.

Your tour continues with a short 10-minute transfer to Overstreet Park, located at the base of the Juneau-Douglas Bridge and known for its leaping whale sculpture, Tahku. On a guided stroll along the Seawalk, you’ll enjoy views of the Gastineau Channel and learn about the park’s totem poles, a collection of towering sculptures that tell the stories of Alaska’s Indigenous people. The tour concludes with a short 10-minute drive back to your ship.

Important information: the order of sights visited may vary. It is recommended that guests dress in layers and wear comfortable walking shoes. This tour involves walking on uneven terrain

WHALE WATCHING and WILDLIFE QUEST

On this roughly four-hour excursion, you’ll embark on a whale-watching cruise in the waters around Juneau, known as a feeding ground for humpback whales. As you sail, look out for other wildlife while learning about Alaska’s marine ecosystem and enjoying the sea views.

Excursion details

Your marine exploration journey of approximately four hours begins with a roughly 30- minute transfer from the ship’s dock to the whale watching departure point. There, you’ll board a tour vessel and set out on an approximately three-hour boat trip through the waterways around Juneau, searching for whales and other wonders of the sea.

Humpback whales are known to frequent the waters of the northern Inside Passage, and orcas – also called killer whales – are occasionally spotted as well. Though smaller than humpbacks, orcas are powerful predators known to hunt seals and other marine animals.

As you sail and immerse yourself in the Alaskan seascape, you’ll learn more about the region’s ecosystem and wildlife, including sea lions, seals, porpoises and bald eagles. Keep an eye out for these fantastic creatures as well as trying to spot whales, but please note that, while common, wildlife sightings of any kind can never be guaranteed. The excursion concludes with a roughly 30-minute transfer back to the ship.

Important information: Additional snacks, beer, and wine are available for purchase. US dollars and credit cards are accepted. It is recommended that guests dress in layers. This tour is wheelchair accessible, therefore, guests should inform the Shore Excursions Desk at least 24 hours prior to tour commencement to ensure proper arrangements. The combined weight of the guest and the mobility device cannot exceed 500 lbs. Mobility devices must have a maximum length of 48 inches, maximum width of 32 inches, and minimum ground clearance of 3.5 inches. The vessel is not electric scooter accessible. Although common, spotting of wildlife is not guaranteed

SELF-GUIDED JEEP TOUR 4-DOOR

Lasting around four and a half hours, this excursion lets you explore sights in and around Alaska’s capital at your leisure in a Jeep Wrangler that you’ll be driving. Visit the Mendenhall Glacier, Eagle Beach, Douglas Island and the National Shrine of St Thérèse, led by a digital guide in your vehicle.

Excursion details

Turn your Alaskan sightseeing into a self-drive adventure on this excursion of around four and a half hours, which allows you to take the wheel and navigate between key areas around Juneau, the state capital. What’s more, you can take things at your own pace, as you’ll be using the digital guiding system your Jeep is equipped with. The total time you’ll spend driving in this excursion – between your four stops, as well as travelling to the cruise port and back – is estimated to be around two hours.

After climbing into your five-person Jeep Wrangler, drive to the Mendenhall Glacier, around 13 miles from Juneau. Measuring over 30 metres tall at its highest point and almost 1.5 miles wide, the glacier makes for an impressive sight, although it has also been retreating for around 300-400 years.

A little under 16 miles away, you can drive to the National Shrine of St Thérèse sits near the shoreline northwest of Juneau. Set among verdant gardens with flowers and a rosary trail walking path, the site is dedicated to St Thérèse of Lisieux, the patron saint of Alaska, and dates back to the 1930s.

Spend some time admiring the church and grounds, before driving around six miles north to Eagle Beach, a popular destination for spotting various wildlife.

Afterwards, it’s a drive of about 38 miles to the final stop on the digital guide, Douglas Island, located a short way over the Gastineau Channel from downtown Juneau. Explore this small, scenic and nature-rich tidal island.

Following your time on the island, conclude the excursion by driving back to the port at Juneau, around 12.5 miles away.

Important information: This is a self-drive tour; the time at each stop and route may vary. The price of this tour is per vehicle, not per person. Only one person needs to book, with the vehicle charged to one account. The name of the companions accompanying the payee will need to be registered with the Shore Excursion desk once onboard. The jeeps can accommodate up to 5 guests. Entrance fees and meals are not included in the price of this tour. Car seats and booster seats are available on advance request. The minimum age to drive the jeep is 25 years old. Drivers must present a valid driver’s license; photocopies will not be accepted. All jeeps have an automatic transmission. Fuel is provided and jeeps do not need to be refuelled upon return. Spotting of wildlife is not guaranteed

DISCOVER ALASKA’S WHALES

Seek out Alaska’s beloved humpback whales in this excursion lasting around three hours and 45 minutes. You’ll set sail on a boat equipped with a custom-built wildlife viewing area and learn more about this incredible species from an expert guide.

Excursion details

Nature-lovers will appreciate this excursion of around three hours and 45 minutes, which takes you on a small-group boat trip through the wildlife-rich waters of Stephens Passage in search of humpback whales and other marine wonders. Begin by meeting your naturalist guide near the ship, before a transfer drive of about 30 minutes through Juneau. Your guide will point out interesting local sights and supply information along the way, as well as explaining what to expect during your boat tour.

Once arrived at Statter Harbour, there’s a short comfort break and get ready for the trip. Then board your vessel and settle in for a whale-watching cruise lasting approximately two and a half hours, sailing through the waters of Stephens Passage. Parts of this approximately 100-mile channel running past Juneau are a hotspot for humpback whales and other marine wildlife, so there’s a good chance of success, but please note that while common, wildlife sightings are not guaranteed. If you are lucky enough to spot something, a specially designed viewing area on your boat will help maximise the experience.

While you sail, your guide will tell you about scientific research that’s helping increase our knowledge of humpback whales, including identification and species monitoring. Binoculars are available to help with spotting.

At the end of the boat trip you’ll sail back to the harbour and disembark for the transfer back to the pier, lasting about 30 minutes. As a reminder of this special experience, you’ll also receive access to a free digital publication about Alaska’s whales and information on entering the Capture Juneau Photo Contest, which offers cash prizes for the best wildlife and nature photos taken during certain tours.

Important information: Guests must be able to independently navigate 3 steps to board the bus and two large steps down into the vessel. Guests also must independently navigate a ramp at the harbor which changes steepness depending on the tide. Although common, the spotting of wildlife is not guaranteed

BIKE and BREW MENDENHALL GLACIER TOUR

Enjoy bike riding followed by beer tasting on this excursion of four hours. As you cycle, enjoy views of the Mendenhall Glacier and the wider Mendenhall Valley, and stop in at the glacier’s visitor centre. You’ll then sample Alaskan beers back in Juneau.

Excursion details

Lasting four hours, this excursion lets you see Alaska’s natural wonders using pedal power, before trying some local brews. You’ll be setting off on a two-wheeled tour covering approximately eight miles.

After being picked up from your ship, your tour guide will drive you 20 minutes to your starting destination, providing an educational van ride, sharing history of the environment, culture, and region. The fun begins on​​ the eastern side of the Mendenhall Glacier, where you will be outfitted with bikes, helmets, and rain gear. You’ll begin your tour with a four-mile cycle to view the western face of the Mendenhall Glacier, biking past a beaver dam, over the Mendenhall River, and through a beautiful rainforest trail. Pause on the beach at West Glacier, admiring views of the Mendenhall Lake, the Mendenhall Glacier, and the mountains surrounding.

After around a 15-minute viewing on the beach, cycle on to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, a four-mile ride featuring another stunning rainforest trail, where the cycling section of your tour ends. Spend 45 minutes exploring this informative and educational venue, as you learn about the history and formation of an Alaskan landmark. The venue also has some great spots for glacier viewing.

It’s then time to head over to your final stop for a change of pace. Your tour guide will drive you 20 minutes to Merchants Wharf, a dining, shopping and entertainment complex in downtown Juneau, housed in a historic building that used to be a seaplane hangar for Alaska Coastal Airlines. ​​​​Here, you’ll sit back, relax and sip a selection of Alaskan brews during a beer-tasting session. After the sampling, head back to the port to conclude the excursion.

Important Information:Closed-toe shoes are required. Guests must be at least 10 years old to participate. Guests should be in moderate to good physical condition to participate and be at least 4’8″tall. Guests will ride bikes approximately 8 miles. The minimum age to participate in the beer tastings is 21 years old, and guests must present a valid photo ID