Besides, the $100 per person we paid for the "bear search" was modest compared to the $300-$1,600 pricetags for fly-in tours to remote areas like Pack Creek on Admiralty Island or the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary. Bears reliably congregate in these places and others, like Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, to feed on the salmon runs in the summer.

Keith Courtepatt, his wife Diana and daughter Alexa cruised Alaska last summer on Royal Caribbean and saw bears twice during shore excursions. "My advice would be, particularly on a trip like a cruise to Alaska, choose your day trips carefully," he said. "And once you choose them, don't worry about the money as it is a once-in-a-lifetime deal."

Among the steps you can take to improve your chances of viewing wildlife: Bring binoculars, be quiet on trails, and remember that early morning and dusk are the best times to see many types of animals. Yes, sign up for the 7 a.m. bear tour, not the 11 a.m., and drag yourself out of bed early on your vacation. The bears are up catching salmon for breakfast first thing, and you don't want to miss it.

Know the right season. According to the Alaska Public Lands Information Center, bears can be seen in Denali from May to September, but July through late August is the best time to see them at the Anan Wildlife Observatory in the Tongass National Forest.

And you'll probably see some eagles if you take the lazy float trip on the river through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near the Haines Highway. But to see the thousands of eagles that the preserve is famous for, you'll want to visit in October.

Recognize the role that serendipity plays. "The strange thing is that I've seen more wildlife just driving or walking around than on tours," Elvejord said . "I tend to do the active things so wildlife is secondary but I've seen moose and bear in towns, goats on the side of roads, wolves by rivers and eagles will always hang out by the rivers to catch the salmon."

One of Blythman's favorite trips is a fly-in to the Taku Glacier Lodge, where you're treated to a salmon bake. But he said there's also "a good chance that you'll see bears because they live close by. I've actually been there when the bear came up to the grill."

Opt for longer tours if you have time. You'll go deeper into Denali on the six-to-eight hour Tundra Wilderness Tour than on the three-to-four hour Natural History Tour. (A third Denali bus tour, the Kantishna Experience, is even longer at 12 hours.)

The Tundra tour buses also come equipped with high-powered telescopes hooked up to video screens throughout the bus so you can get close-up images of animals that are far away. You can even purchase a DVD afterward with footage from your trip.