I've only ever been on one cruise and it was a long time ago, but my parents have been wanting to do an Alaskan cruise for a while now and offered to pay for the rest of our family to go with them. We never took a vacation growing up because of the farm/ranch so I think my Dad's wants at least one shot to do it before they get too much older.

Any recommendations for things to do up there along the Alaskan seaboard. We're stopping in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan + a day sailing around Glacier Bay.

I've only been up to Denali NP and don't know much else about the rest of the state.

Lumberjack show was more fun than I thought it would be. Whale tour was cool, saw lots of otters too. Seeing how large bald eagles and their nests are was really cool. The salmon tasted better up there. If you don't have kids to chase around spend a lot of time out on deck just enjoying the scenery.

We were in Glacier Bay about 9 am and a waiter brought out a bucket of beers so we said sure we will take those!

There are a number of Alaskan cruise threads in this forum, with a ton of info you'll find useful.

We just returned from one a few weeks ago. I recommend a private whale tour with Harv and Marvs in Juneau. We took a cab to mendenhall glacier and then the cab driver picked us up and took us to the whale cruise. Once our excursion was done they shuttled us bank to the cruise. I believe the excursion accommodates 6-8 people and it was amazing! We did the train in Skagway and enjoyed it. If I did it again though I would have done the bus one way and the train another. I heard the bus stops for pictures and is just a longer excursion. The round trip train went by too fast. You can also just rent a car in Skagway and do it on your own.

In Juneau you have some really good options. Tracy Arm Fjord is amazing and you get to see tidewater glaciers. Whale watching around Juneau is almost always incredible. If you want to spend a bunch of money, the helicopter trips up onto the Mendenhall Glacier is a great option too. Would not recommend fishing here. You have better options for that at some of the other ports.

I'm flying to YVR on Friday to pick up a Holland America cruise on Saturday. Below are some ideas I've gathered.

In Juneau, I'm doing the Tracy Arm Explorer. We'll leave the ship outside of Tracy Arm and take a small boat to the glaciers. Afterward, we'll catch up to the ship in Juneau. After that, we have nothing planned in Juneau other than walking around town. I've done whale watching (Whale Watching and Wildlife Quest) in Juneau before. It's awesome. I'd do that one on as small a boat as possible. I did it on the larger 100 person boat and it's nothing but Asians running from one side of the boat to the other pressing their cell phones up against the window while blocking your view. Mendenhall Glacier is cool to visit too. I've done the excursion where you're dropped off at the visitor's center and then you can walk down to the water's edge. Make sure to make a lot of noise to let the bears know you're near.

In Skagway, we're doing a motor coach/train excursion that's about 9 hours long. It's motor coach up and train back to Skagway. I've done the train up and back and it's about 3 hours. I'd definitely recommend doing the train in some form. The views and descriptions of the history are impressive.

I don't have any excursions scheduled in Ketchikan. I've done the Deadliest Catch crab boat excursion there. It was interesting but I'm not sure worth the money. The Misty Fjords Explorer would be one I'd pay for. The pub crawl in Ketchikan seems to be popular.

Juneau

Deckhand Dave's (Fish tacos/fish & chips)
https://goo.gl/maps/uDA6kBfrkjtjVmQNA

Red Dog Saloon
https://goo.gl/maps/gnyrH8kBiS96zE4JA

Tracy's King Crab Shack
https://goo.gl/maps/8NsSpQPu1HDVp3PT8

Sandpiper Cafe (all day breakfast)
https://goo.gl/maps/L7G9jS4eg6WPXf3o6

Alaska Brewing Public House
https://goo.gl/maps/PJAk6kU4tNefbbpd6

Alaska State Museum
https://goo.gl/maps/vGdQL3RWZmz8xu5g6

Hangar On The Wharf (fish & chips)
https://www.hangaronthewharf.com/

Skagway

#1 excursion White Pass Railway (multiple options available that include roundtrip train or train/bus)

Skagway Brewing (Fish & chips, Spruce Tip Ale)
https://goo.gl/maps/PJAk6kU4tNefbbpd6

Bonanza Bar & Grill (Seafood chowder)
https://goo.gl/maps/oSpFQX7TvdfEcqHs7

Klondike Doughboy (cinnamon pastry), closes 6pm
https://goo.gl/maps/ozJ6nH1suY6sTqQ77

Dewey Lake & Yakutania Point hiking (free)
https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/v1/clients/skagwayak/Skagway_Trail_Map_0e2f1c2b-292e-4f0c-a37f-94a92d994ed1.pdf

Ketchikan

Alaska Fish House (Fish & chips, bread pudding)
https://exclusivealaska.com/fish-house
https://goo.gl/maps/yWonjDhA3mM6wW278

Creek Street (walking area with shops, etc)
https://www.experienceketchikan.com/creek-street-ketchikan.html

Whale watching was amazing.

Really the entire cruise was amazing.

Make sure to pack good binocs for scouring the shoreline for moose, bear, bald eagles, and the water for whales. I'd also recommend a comfortable rain jacket.

Based on my parents feedback, if you book with NCL, go into it knowing NCL has built its own ports and will buss you into some towns/cities. This can be inconvenient and lessens the already limited time you have in port.

Also, check out what time the boat arrives and will stay. My folks pulled into Victoria at 8pm and basically had two hours to walk around a shuttered town on a
Sunday. Not even worth getting off the boat.

Weather can make the captain scratch a visit to a glacier with no warning.

Bring Poo-Pourri