Ketchikan dilemma

[pablo312]

My wife and I will be on the SB Coral Princess next June. The ship will be in Ketchikan from 10 AM to 6 PM. We are debating whether to do the Island Air Glacier and Fjords air tour or the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's tour. We are huge fans of Deadliest Catch, but have seen great trip reports about the beauty of Misty Fjords NP. We were thinking about trying to do both.

 

Has anyone that has been in Juneau from 10 to 6 been able to do both a Misty Fjords tour and Fisherman's tour? If so, if you had to do it again, would you?

 

If we do have to make a choice, which one did you chose and were you happy with your choice?

[PennyAgain]

Here's my opinion. Worth what you are paying for it.

 

I would telephone Island Air office and ask the question you posted here.

 

That office will give you the best possible idea of how to handle this.

[emmilu]

Misty Fjords- hands down-I could do this excursion over and over and never get enough.

[Budget Queen]

My wife and I will be on the SB Coral Princess next June. The ship will be in Ketchikan from 10 AM to 6 PM. We are debating whether to do the Island Air Glacier and Fjords air tour or the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's tour. We are huge fans of Deadliest Catch, but have seen great trip reports about the beauty of Misty Fjords NP. We were thinking about trying to do both.

 

Has anyone that has been in Juneau from 10 to 6 been able to do both a Misty Fjords tour and Fisherman's tour? If so, if you had to do it again, would you?

 

If we do have to make a choice, which one did you chose and were you happy with your choice?

 

You have Juneau mentioned??

 

IF you want to do both, then do so, pretty simple to verify and choose the times that fit. However- with the "glacier" flight you are considering, you need to find out when that is scheduled, first, since it will be a special extended run. For clairfication it is Island Wings.

[ChitterChatter]

I was on the same exact cruise last week and did BOTH of the tours you mentioned with no problems! I was a little nervous about making the Bering Sea Crab Tour on time, but it worked out fine and I was glad I did both. They were both well worth it!!

 

I disembarked the ship at 10:00am and Taquan Air's van picked me up at the dock at 10:30am for a quick drive to their airport. We were in the air by 11:00am and their shuttle bus drove us back to the Bering Sea Crab Tour by 1:15pm for a 1:30pm tour.

 

Since you're planning early, you should be able to book the first flight out and have plenty of time to get to the Bering Sea Tour with whichever flight company you choose.

[Budget Queen]

I was on the same exact cruise last week and did BOTH of the tours you mentioned with no problems! I was a little nervous about making the Bering Sea Crab Tour on time, but it worked out fine and I was glad I did both. They were both well worth it!!

 

I disembarked the ship at 10:00am and Taquan Air's van picked me up at the dock at 10:30am for a quick drive to their airport. We were in the air by 11:00am and their shuttle bus drove us back to the Bering Sea Crab Tour by 1:15pm for a 1:30pm tour.

 

Since you're planning early, you should be able to book the first flight out and have plenty of time to get to the Bering Sea Tour with whichever flight company you choose.

 

Did you do the Misty Fiord AND glacier flight?? This is a special extended flight, that is longer than the regular Misty Fiords flights.

[ChitterChatter]

Sorry, I only did the Misty Fjords Flight Tour in Ketchikan, not the extended tour with the glacier flight.

 

I did the glacier landing in Juneau which might be an option for the OP.

[CruisingGoddess]

My husband is a fan of "Deadliest Catch" also but we didn't take the Crab Boat Tour because we heard some iffy reviews about it. It's very low thrills and people have said the "catches" made during the tour are VERY stages. LOL!

 

I would definitely go for Misty Fjords. It seems a lot more exciting! We were hoping to go to Misty during our trip (after visiting Anan Creek for bear viewing) but that portion was cancelled due to fog.

 

Read the detailed review with photos of my Alaska cruise, packing list, and shopping tips:

http://moonprincess.com/travel/category/cruises/alaska-2010/

[pablo312]

I want to thank all who responded. Your advice was very helpful. Good to know it's possible to do the Misty Fjords (without glacier) flight and the DC tour in the same day, but it will be a very tight schedule. I tend to be a clockwatcher when I have events that are close together, so I'll need to determine whether I'll be too focused on making the DC tour while on the Misty Fjords tour. As suggest, I'll call Island Wings and, if needed, the other flight operators, to get their opinions on being able to do both. At this point, if we have to chose, we'll probably go with the Misty Fjords-Glacier flight.

 

Even if I don't go on the DC tour, I may still get a sort of DC experience. I will be in Homer next June 11th and 12th, so maybe I'll get a chance to see the Time Bandit.

 

CruisingGoddess, you're trip report site is awesome. I've used your site in planning my Alaska trip. We are currently using your packing list to determine our clothing needs.

[CruisingGoddess]

CruisingGoddess, you're trip report site is awesome. I've used your site in planning my Alaska trip. We are currently using your packing list to determine our clothing needs.

 

You are very welcome! Glad you find it helpful!

[ellbelle]

Even if I don't go on the DC tour, I may still get a sort of DC experience. I will be in Homer next June 11th and 12th, so maybe I'll get a chance to see the Time Bandit.

 

We were in Homer mid June last yeat and did a ship sponsored walking tour of the harbor. The guide had been a deck hand on the Time Bandit for 20 years. The TB was not in the harbor though, the guide said that it is used for other fisherman's catches during the summer months since they have the large capacity tanks. We were also told the same thing by our guide in Kodiak where the Cornelia Marie makes it's home.

 

If timing will not allow for both excursions, you might have to go back, darn it!!

[pablo312]

We were in Homer mid June last yeat and did a ship sponsored walking tour of the harbor. The guide had been a deck hand on the Time Bandit for 20 years. The TB was not in the harbor though, the guide said that it is used for other fisherman's catches during the summer months since they have the large capacity tanks. We were also told the same thing by our guide in Kodiak where the Cornelia Marie makes it's home.

 

If timing will not allow for both excursions, you might have to go back, darn it!!

 

Thanks for the info about the boats. I had a feeling it would be rare to see TB in Homer during the summer. On a recent "After the Catch", Jonathan said TB is at sea 10 months out the the year. Oh well.

 

You're right, I may have to make another trip to Southeastern Alaska. The sacrifices we must make.

[Assateague Island Princes]

We were on the May 31, 2010 sailing of the 14 day HAL itinerary - and not only did we see the Time Bandit in port in Homer, I got my picture taken with Eddie from the show - standing right in front of the TB. HUGE thrill for this DC fan!!!:D:D So there is always the possibility! Plus when we went to Kodiak, the Cornelia Marie was in port, but our cab driver told us it wasn't, so we missed out:rolleyes:.

 

Going back on the same itinerary this Aug. 5th (just 28 more days, but whose counting????) and I'm hoping I get as lucky this time!

[pablo312]

We were on the May 31, 2010 sailing of the 14 day HAL itinerary - and not only did we see the Time Bandit in port in Homer, I got my picture taken with Eddie from the show - standing right in front of the TB. HUGE thrill for this DC fan!!!:D:D So there is always the possibility! Plus when we went to Kodiak, the Cornelia Marie was in port, but our cab driver told us it wasn't, so we missed out:rolleyes:.

 

Going back on the same itinerary this Aug. 5th (just 28 more days, but whose counting????) and I'm hoping I get as lucky this time!

 

I'm envious. Hope I'm that lucky when I'm in Homer next year. Hope you get to see the CM when you're in Kodiak.

 

Did you do a bear viewing trip while in Kodiak? If so, did you see many bears. I thought about flying out of Homer to do one, but have read that the numbers of bears that I might see in mid-June would be very few, if any.

[ellbelle]

We were on the May 31, 2010 sailing of the 14 day HAL itinerary - and not only did we see the Time Bandit in port in Homer, I got my picture taken with Eddie from the show - standing right in front of the TB. HUGE thrill for this DC fan!!!:D:D So there is always the possibility! Plus when we went to Kodiak, the Cornelia Marie was in port, but our cab driver told us it wasn't, so we missed out:rolleyes:.

 

Going back on the same itinerary this Aug. 5th (just 28 more days, but whose counting????) and I'm hoping I get as lucky this time!

 

Gosh you lucked out! We were on the next sailing. Lucky you, getting to take this cruise again this summer. If HAL is still offering a 14 day in a couple years, we will take it again (without our daughter). Trying a 7 day in September without DD as a tester...

[ellbelle]

I'm envious. Hope I'm that lucky when I'm in Homer next year. Hope you get to see the CM when you're in Kodiak.

 

Did you do a bear viewing trip while in Kodiak? If so, did you see many bears. I thought about flying out of Homer to do one, but have read that the numbers of bears that I might see in mid-June would be very few, if any.

 

In Kodiak, we were with Dake from Memory Makers, small group, looking for bears all day, not one seen...Our date last year was June 14-28. Of course, it will be different from year to year, not sure if I would fly to a destination to (hopefully!) see bears. But... while you are in Homer and hear of good bear sightings on Kodiak Island, and you can get a flight, go for it!

[Assateague Island Princes]

Pablo - as Cheryl said, you just never know and the timing of your port stop would make all the difference in the world! As I said, we were on the May 31, 2010 sailing, so again, we were there in early June and the salmon were not yet running. (We DID see two bears right along the road while in Skagway last year though, and one on the beach eating sedgegrass while on our whale watch in Juneau - that was thrilling!) Last year we didn't take any bear tours for two reasons - not the best timing for bear viewing and VERY pricey for the off-chance we may have seen something.

 

That's why this year, we're heading back in August so we have a better chance to see bears in their element during the salmon runs. Even so, we haven't booked a pricey flightseeing excursion to see the bears, though I wish we could! We ARE going on a bear search in ISP ($95 pp thru Misty Bay Lodge), and have a rental car in Ketchikan, hoping to head out the road to "search" for bears on our own with some advice I had gleaned from a local. Fingers crossed!;)