Juneau, Alaska
Posted on July 26, 2025 by Ching under Travel.
We didn’t get to spend a lot of time in Juneau but we got the experience of a lifetime with our helicopter and dog-sledding tour (see video above for highlights).
We started the day with a hearty breakfast from the dining room.
We did a little bit of sight-seeing off our cabin balcony before heading off the ship.
Our group actually went on a few different excursions at this port. Most of our group, including mom and dad, went on a whale-watching excursion with Jay and Becca. The Culvers went on a helicopter tour and glacier walk on Mendenhall Glacier. Brian’s parents and Brian and I went on a helicopter tour and dog-sledding adventure. We all had to wait in the same area for our tour guides, though.
Hanging out with the Culvers (Sandy and Lorin), while waiting for our respective helicopter tours… Theirs was through Temsco Helicopters and ours was through NorthStar Trekking.
You basically just look for one of these guys when you get off the ship in order to find your transport for your excursion.
We followed him to the bus and, after a short 10-minute ride, we arrived at NorthStar. Most of the tour employees/guides were practically kids. Here’s the guy who gave us the safety briefing…
Here’s our cute helicopter pilot…
They crammed 6 of us (7 if you count our pilot) into a tiny helicopter. You forget how cramped you feel while looking at the amazing views, though. I’m not even going to bother posting pictures we took from the helicopter on here because the pictures just do not do the landscapes any justice.
Here are a couple of pictures of Brian as we were getting ready to hop on the sleds.
Here’s a picture of us with Redman, our guide.
It was a great experience overall, despite our sled crashing. The sled in front of us was holding Brian’s parents and Redman and then they attached another sled with a seat, which is where I was, and then Brian standing behind me. I guess Redman couldn’t counter-balance Brian’s parents (both seated on the sled with him standing behind them) so their sled ended up toppling over. Thankfully, no one was hurt. We ended up re-configuring with me in the front sled and Brian’s dad in the back sled with Brian before continuing and it was better after that.
Brian tried to get GoPro footage of the experience but the GoPro was acting up. We didn’t get much of the excursion. But it’s all in my brain so I’ll remember it forever. What an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience!
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