Due to the increasing numbers of families and active passengers on Alaska cruises, cruise lines are increasingly offering more adventuresome shore excursions. Norwegian Cruise Lines has announced a roster of 2008 exclusive shore excursions ranging from touring by chauffer-driveen Hummer to sightseeing by small boat for a closer look at Mother Nature.
In Juneau, passengers can take an expedition-style catamaran to explore ice-hewn fjords and the rugged coast or go off the beaten path aboard a Hummer. In Ketchikan, NCL offers touring by skiff, SUV and floatplane. The “Alaskan Chef’s Table” excursion is a five-course tasting menu of local seafood prepared by a local chef. In Ketchikan, passengers may join a commercial fishing boat in the Bering Sea or visit Clover Pass and Naha Bay by high speed, enclosed jet boat. My favorite tour is grizzley bear viewing in Prince Rupert, British Columbia which has a high concentration of the mamouth animals.
Do these tours tempt you to visit Alaska?
14 April
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ShipCritic Blog is a labor of love by Anne Campbell, a journalist who has been covering the cruise industry since 1993. Why a blog? This newfangled technology is the best way of interacting with cruisers, both first timers and veterans, who also share a passion for seeing the world by ship.
2 Comments NCL Offers New Alaska Adventure Excursions
hrteacher
August 8th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
1I took the Alaska Cruise with Norwegian in July. Cannot deny it is focused on families – but ignors adults. The ship was virtually empty in the disco and anywhere but the Casino at 10:30 at night. Just nothing to do.
The cabins were very small. The one I had was about half the size of a comparable accommodation on Princess or Royal Carribean was about 160 sq ft. The cabin I had on NCL was about 80 sq ft. I was quite honestly clostrophobic. I tried to upgrade but was told that there were no other accommodations.
The stops at Ketchekan andJuno were only 4 hours each — hardly enough time to see much. We did get to the Glacier in Skagway and took the streetcar around the city in Juno — but that was all we could do in so short a time. In Skagway, we had a whole day — in a town of about 7500 people. The excursion that was the best– the railway cost $139.00US – so for three people that stop would have cost me almost $500.00.
None of the services offered were without upsells…you got a facial they wanted you to buy $500 worth of creams and cosmetics. You got a teeth whitening and you had to buy $50.00 worth of “maintenance” products.
Even worse, when I ordered my “favorite” wine for dinner, some snotty waiter insisted that I should get a wine I absolutely did not like merely because it was more expensive. I did not take the “recommended wine” – primarily because the one I chose was the one I liked and wanted.
Overall, my experience with NCL was negative — not worth what I paid and not pleasant. I have travelled on 5 other lines including Princess, Cuinard, Holland American, Royal Carribean and Carnival and would recommend any of them over NCL.
On the positive side — the food was good (not great) and it was pleasant to have free-style. On the converse, if you wanted lobster or crab which are standard fare in the dining room of every other cruise line, it was mandatory to get a reservation at one of the specialty restraunts and pay a surcharge of $15.00 -$25.00 or more.
The reality — NCL is the bottom of the cruise line selections and I would never again travel with them.
load of bollox
October 16th, 2010 at 6:00 pm
2mmm….. the blog above has been written by NCL . and the following coments have been written by a competitor!!!
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