Icy Strait Point - Worth it?

I am looking at two 7-day cruises to Alaska:

Trip A includes a full day at Juneau and a full day at Tracy Arm.

Trip B has a half day at Juneau and half-day at Tracy Arm, and adds a full day in port at Icy Strait Point.

This will be my first time to Alaska and I've heard that Icy Strait is just a small fishing village. Is it worth cutting Tracy Arm and/or Juneau to half days to see Icy Strait? We will also have our 6 year old with us at the time as well, so that is a consideration.

Thank you!

We enjoyed Icy Strait Point (Hoonah). We did a whale watching excursion with Glacier Winds that was great, then walked the trails near the pier and toured the restored cannery. The town is very small and less commercial than most of the other ports. We found this refreshing.

Tracy Arm is also amazing. Many times the ships don’t make it all the way to the glaciers though. Some ships offer a small boat excursion in Tracy Arm that will have a better chance getting close to the glaciers. We loved the full-day small boat excursion to Tracy Arm with Adventure Bound, although that may be too long of a day with a 6 year old.

If you’re itinerary is not going to Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier, you may want to see Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau.

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Icy Strait Point had the best whale watching, 14 separate bubble-feeding events, that I have experienced in 15 visits to Alaska. Whales are even spotted from the pier at ISP.

Agree with others. We also did Glacier Wind Charters whale watch and it was one of our favorite days in Alaska. Nobody is going to spend a lot of time in Hoonah, but doing the whale watch with locals and driving through Hoonah was interesting. It's a different kind of life.

We were in Icy Strait the following week after Crew News and while we did see whales on our whale watch we saw no bubblenet feeding and didn’t see whales from the port. There are many factors involved in how successful wildlife viewing will be but I have read that Icy Strait is among the best for whale watching excursions.

Especially since you have a 6 year old you should look at activities in each port (look online or send for a brochure for visitor’s information). Tracy Arm (cruising only) probably won’t be that interesting especially if you have Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier on your itinerary. Juneau gets really crowded with so many ships in port. Icy Strait is really a created port with the cannery and a nice hikiing loop near the dock. You can walk into Hoonah but it’s just a small Alaska town with a school, homes, some local stores and the harbor. We prefer the walk to the bus...you can stop along the way.

I love Icy Strait Point. This time I did a whale watching tour with Glacier Winds, also. I saw humpbacks and orcas. I also saw a seal and a bunch of sea lions. To me Icy Strait is so relaxing. They do have a bunch of different excursions you can do. You can also just walk around. You can walk to the town of Hoonah. It's only a mile and a half way. They have a rocky beach you can walk on. This could be a nice place for a 6 yr. old to play. My first time at Icy Strait I saw whales in the distance from the beach.

I agree. Icy Strait Point became my favorite Alaska port after our first visit there in May. We were not even on any excursions and saw the most whales and bald eagles just walking to town.

I am looking at two 7-day cruises to Alaska:

 

Trip A includes a full day at Juneau and a full day at Tracy Arm.

Trip B has a half day at Juneau and half-day at Tracy Arm, and adds a full day in port at Icy Strait Point.

 

This will be my first time to Alaska and I've heard that Icy Strait is just a small fishing village. Is it worth cutting Tracy Arm and/or Juneau to half days to see Icy Strait? We will also have our 6 year old with us at the time as well, so that is a consideration.

 

Thank you!

This is my least favorite port but i always go whale watching here and it is alwaysAMAZING! Just came back from our June 22 sailing and there was a 6 year old grandson with us who loved, loved, loved it! Enjoy

ISP is by far the least commercialized of the ports. Not sure a 6 year old’s attention is going to be held for a full day anywhere, so I would opt for the half day option.

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IF possible do both, this offers a fantastic comprehensive visit. :) if referring to 2 one ways on NCL?

Anyway, I suggest you look, at what YOU want to see and do in Juneau and find out all about touring Hoonah. Whale watching is 100% sightings of humpbacks in each. Every trip is different and some will report of one being superior over the other, and frankly - pure chance what you see. I've gone YEARS with no bubble netting- spending at least 4 weeks cruising Alaska= every year. Last year happened to be the jackpot, with bubble netting seen on all 4 of my tours. 3 out of Hoonah, and 1 out of Juneau. Again pure chance. :)

Hoonah- also is an excellent port for brown bear viewing by road access. I only recommend independent, as the ship tour, is point to point to a platform. You have far more success being on the move.

So, determine your tour selections, that may make your choice for you?

We did the bear search with Hoonah Travel Adventures followed by a whale watch with Hoonah Whale Tours (they are fairly new and only take out 6 travelers, however they did hot have any other takers so it was only me, my sister and daughter so had a private tour). We saw both bears and whales. We actually had multiple breaches and a whale actually came right towards us and dove right under our boat that was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I think Captain Joardan had visions of Moby Dick in his head watching that huge whale coming. I highly recommend both companies.

I have been to Alaska only 5 times. I loved Icy Strait Point, although I was only there for 1/2 day I think with a 6 year old this would be the best choice. Besides the tours already described we went on an open tram through the forest, stopping to explain the flora and fauna, i.e. exotic, fairy looking mushrooms right next to the tram. We had a few minutes on a beach to pick up shells, rocks, and look out to the ocean to see whales spouting. We attending a show put on in an actual Alaskan Native Meeting House, by the local men, women, and children and they asked audience members to join them towards the end.

Here's what I wonder...what is the consideration with the 6-year old?

If I were to think about my son at 6-years old...I would be thinking about his stamina. We did a trip to WDW at that age and if you string along too many long days, you get a cranky kid. If you string along too many days around too many people, you get a cranky kid. My kiddo anyway...

He would do much better touring half days than full days.

My son would have loved ISP at age 6. From the viewpoint of a 6-year old...the port itself is like going to a huge park. There aren't cars to worry about. The nature trail is RIGHT THERE. The water is easily accessible. I don't know the other ports but ISP is where you can walk along the shoreline for quite a while and get a taste of the rainforest.

For free.

Only one big ship can dock there at a time. Usually there is only one ship's worth of passengers there. There may be a smaller ship that tenders (300 passengers max) so it's not as crowded as other ports...not teeming with tourists all over the place.

I'd think of ISP as a low stress day. We had a great time whale watching there. The water was a bit rough...we were told that high tide and wind going against the tide made the worst condition. We had an afternoon trip so I would recommend going earlier or learning more about that possibility as that condition made it harder to spot the whales.

In the end...you really are the one to know what the value of ISP is versus the other potentials.

I have been to Alaska only 5 times. I loved Icy Strait Point, although I was only there for 1/2 day I think with a 6 year old this would be the best choice. Besides the tours already described we went on an open tram through the forest, stopping to explain the flora and fauna, i.e. exotic, fairy looking mushrooms right next to the tram. We had a few minutes on a beach to pick up shells, rocks, and look out to the ocean to see whales spouting. We attending a show put on in an actual Alaskan Native Meeting House, by the local men, women, and children and they asked audience members to join them towards the end.

This is the same tour that I did in July, 2017 and I thought it was well worth the money, scenic, and informational about the community's culture. As the tram went along the water, we saw salmon jumping as they were swimming upstream. A great travel experience.

Actually get into town by bus or walking. There’s a Totem Pole Building. Last year we saw a half completed Totem Pole telling the story of the area.

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ISP is a 'refreshing,' laid back, little port full of history, with native artisans, bear and whale watching trips, a long zip line, an old cannery full of displays of the history, and more. Walking the shoreline at our own pace was so peaceful.

One of our favorite stops.

One trip there on the Celebrity Millennium, we had two orcas following the ship to the dock and swam around the ship for a good thirty minutes before departing!