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Hmm. It isn't hard to walk TO the falls, but definitely tough actually in the water. It also depends on where you approach? We went from higher up, and there were lots of stairs but it was fairly easy to negotiate, but I don't know how hard they would be for folks. But in the water itself, they definitely would struggle!

Right? It seems like it would be impossible! Thank you all for the suggestions, the MDR sounds perfect. I was hoping something like that would be open!

Hey all! First time on NCL and so thankful for all the great info I have picked up here! We're heading to Alaska on the Jewel with a multi-generational family group of 10, and I'm trying to figure out our best plan for lunch on embarkation day. I'm thinking a buffet or something like that isn't such a great option, as it tends to be hard to find a large enough table and the kids need help getting their food, etc. Any suggestions on what would be a good spot for us? Is one of the MDRs open for lunch on embarkation?

We just did a Panama Canal trip in November, and it stated in our pre-cruise documents that passports were absolutely required for the stops in Colombia and Panama. Plus I think with this not being a closed-loop cruise, you need one anyway? 🤷‍♀️

Hi @LB_NJ! Hopefully I can help! To buy our tickets to the fort, we just used our debit cards. We were in the same boat, hoping to not have to get local currency in every port. We were able to use debit or Apple pay for everything we needed, even snacks! I feel like other countries are so far ahead of the US on this issue. We used Uber just because I hate negotiating a taxi, and again, were trying to avoid getting cash in local currency. I'd much rather just know what it is going to cost and pay the going rate. Also, because we were kind of off on our own a bit and in some less touristy areas, it was nice to be able to call them to come pick us up right where we were. I'm sure you could use a taxi and have a great experience! We spent about an hour at the fort, which was plenty for us. It was literally us and one other family while we were there, so that made it easy to see what we wanted to and get photos, etc. I'd imagine you'd need a bit more time if you went later in the day when it was super busy. Hope you have a fantastic time!

Hi all! Visiting Alaska for the first time on Norwegian Jewel and need a little help in Ketchican. We are a large family group of 10, so we are mostly doing things on our own because we have varying ages and want folks to be able to head back to the ship if they want to. We are really interested in visiting Totem Bight park, but I wasn't sure how far outside of town that is? It sounds like we are docking at Ward Cove, which as I am understanding it, is a bit outside of town. It looks like it's not too far away, but I wasn't sure if there are shuttles, Uber, etc. that could get us there? We've got reservations for the lumberjack show that afternoon, which I'm assuming is more in Downtown Ketchican? I wondered if we might be better off going to Saxman Native Village instead with that in mind. But it sounds like that is a little more involved? Anyway, I'd love opinions on which is better, and how to get to either one. Thank you so much! This forum has been so helpful!

Thanks @njhorseman! I agree, the fort is not great for someone who has a lot of issues walking. It is pretty steep and made of awkward stones that require more sure footing. We walked A LOT, but we don't mind it. I think you could still get around pretty easily using Uber to get to the places you want to go, but the one walking might have a tough time at anything in the old city. I wonder if your person could use a scooter or wheelchair? They wouldn't be able to go in everywhere on the fort, but might be able to see more than just looking from the outside? Sorry, I wish I could be more helpful!

I believe they all dock in the same area, so you should walk through the sanctuary on your way out to the city! It was really cool, I hope you enjoy it! And if it seems busy, it will probably be less crowded on your way back to the ship. A walking tour also sounds cool! I probably would have done something like that if I didn't have the kids - I just wanted to have the option to bail if needed! But they really enjoyed it and were engaged with everything (though they did complain about the heat and humidity - we're from the Rockies so it is dry here!)

Thank you all so much! I would definitely prefer to do this on my own, but my mom is taking the whole extended family (10 of us), and so since she is paying, she decided the itinerary! But I am helping with shore excursions and such. I appreciate all the help!

Recently back from a Panama Canal cruise and wanted to share my thoughts on the excursions we did, since I found these forums so helpful in planning. In Cartagena, we couldn't find an excursion that went to see everything we wanted, so we decided to venture out on our own. It was amazing! We had a great experience and I would highly recommend doing the same. We had plenty of time to see everything we wanted and got everywhere easily using Uber. Here's a little more detail: Our ship (Ruby Princess) got into port fairly early, and since we knew the day would be warm, we tried to make it off as soon as we docked. The port has a really cool bird sanctuary/nature walk that you pass through on the way out, which was awesome. My kids (two girls, 10 and 15) could have just stayed there all day! It is a bit of a walk, especially if you don't take the shuttle from the ship, but it wasn't bad at all, especially in the cool morning. We called an Uber to head to the fort of San Felipe de Barajas, and managed to get there while it was EMPTY. It was probably a 15 minute ride, and cost about $5 US for all of us. Totally the way to go, IMHO. Admission to the fort was about $20 for the whole family. We spent some time exploring the fort and had a great experience clambering through passageways and such before the crowds showed up. We timed it perfectly and were just making our way out when the giant tour groups showed up! So that was perfect. We called another Uber, and made our way over to the Palace of Inquisition. This time the ride was about $4. We paid our admission and went to look around the museum. I can't remember for sure, but I want to say admission here was slightly less, around $15 for the four of us. I think my kids were expecting to see lots of torture devices and such (they're a little macabre, probably because I listened to too many murder documentaries or something while pregnant). Instead the museum is mostly focused on tolerance and how we can avoid having events like the Inquisition pop up again, and how we need to avoid "othering" folks who differ from us. It was a simple museum, but a really cool message, and I enjoyed it more than expected. The day was getting hot and we'd been up early, so we decided to do some shopping and head back to the ship. We decided to check out Las Bovedas, and realized it was less than a mile away and would give us a chance to walk through the old city, so we headed out to do that. We stopped at a little cafe and got some delicious meat or cheese filled pastries (I have no idea what they were, but they were kind of like an empanada filling, but in a square of puff pastry?) and some drinks. We got about 6 pastries to share and sample, and a cold soda or iced coffee for everyone for about $12. We then continued our walk through the neighborhood until we reached the old city wall. Each building we passed was cuter than the next! Once up on the wall, my 10 year old decided it was super cool walking up there, so we took that all the remainder of the way to Las Bovedas, stopping for some photos along the way. At Las Bovedas, we did some shopping and checked out the cool crafts on display. I really liked that some of the shops didn't carry the same old stuff you saw everywhere. You had to poke your head in and check it out a bit, but it was worth it. There were some vendors who were a little more pushy, but a simple "no gracias" was enough to dissuade them. We spent way more time here than I had planned, because we kept finding cool things. By this time it was heading into the afternoon and we were HOT, so we called an Uber to head back to the ship. That one was about $5 again. Once there, we went back through the aviary and hung out there for a while, getting to see a ton of different tropical birds, along with two species of monkeys. It was delightful, and we could have stayed longer but we were getting so hot that I started to worry about getting dehydrated (we'd brought water with us, but had long since drunk it all!) We got back on and hopped in the pool for a swim. Overall, it was an awesome day! We all loved the historic charm and cool old colonial buildings. The food we ate was great, and the attractions were uncrowded. And we spent less for all four of us than we would have for one person to take a shore excursion, that didn't go as many places! We all felt absolutely safe the entire time, and were completely charmed by the city. We all hope to go back and explore more!

We used Uber to to to the Fort and Palace of Inquisition, and each ride was about $5 for the 4 of us. Everywhere we went either took cards or US dollars, so it was super easy!

This was our experience as well. No big deal, and a simple "No gracias" was all we needed. We certainly had plenty of people offering things, but no one was particularly pushy. And I had my two kids, 10 and 15, with us, and felt absolutely safe the entire time. Cartagena was actually our favorite port on our Panama Canal cruise, we absolutely loved it and thought it was so interesting! And we didn't do a tour, we just used Uber and got around on our own.

Hey Katie! We did wear water shoes, and some of us had better luck than others. I wore my Birkenstock EVAs and kept losing them! The rest of my family was fine with a more sneaker/sandal type shoe. So something like a Keen, etc. would be great. We had a great experience at Scotchie's, but I do know there are two locations. The other thing I noticed is that many of the folks around us who were with a large group got kind of a "boxed lunch" type of meal - one meat and one side, and they would come out in giant piles on trays and get passed around. So I don't know if that has impacted the reviews, and their lunches had been sitting around for a while? We asked Oneil what he suggested ordering, and we got a chicken and some pork. The chicken came right off the grill and was so hot we had to wait to eat it for a few minutes! My pickier eater really liked the chicken. It wasn't spicy, just kind of a different take on a rotisserie chicken if you didn't put the sauce on it. My kids both really liked the rice (which had a few kidney beans in it as well) and these things called "festivals" that are sort of like a hush puppy? Both my kids wished we had ordered more of them, they were REALLY delicious. They also liked getting to try the local soda, and said the pineapple flavor was fantastic. Oneil was wonderful though and I'm sure he'd be willing to take you somewhere else if you prefer! He was so accommodating and kind!

Hi all! First time on NCL here, and also our first time doing a cruisetour. We're sailing on the Jewel on the Denali by Rail Explorer 12 day this June. We're all set for when we are in port, but I'm having a hard time telling how much of our day will be occupied during the land portion. Do we need to plan some excursions, or are the included activities taking up most of the day? We'd love to do some things like white water rafting in Talkeetna, etc. but from the brochure they sent us, it doesn't seem like we'll have a ton of down time? Apparently we won't get the detailed itinerary for that portion of the trip until about 30 days out, according to the Norwegian rep I chatted with. So just wondering if anyone has been on this previously and can give some insights? Thank you so much!

Realizing I forgot to share their website! https://oneiljamaicaexcursions.com/