When in August are you going? I'm doing the Vancouver to Seward route on HAL, departing on 8/26. I spent about $400 on HAL-sponsored excursions (helicopter ride, train ride, etc.). There are a few walking tours we'd like to take, but which we'll probably just deal with on the fly, since presumably they'll be close to where the ship's docked, and won't last more than a couple of hours at most. I can't see myself spending $45 to pre-book a city walking tour, when you can probably pay $15 or $20 "paying at the door."