Ketchikan

[BelleReve]

Would appreciate any recommendations of tours, or your overall impression and experience while visiting there.

[Budget Queen]

Would appreciate any recommendations of tours, or your overall impression and experience while visiting there.

 

 

Better would be for you to look over a shore excursion list and narrow down your interests. I've done plenty of Ketchikan tours none I wouldn't repeat. :) Top choice for me is Misty Fjords float planes. But post your top 5 or so choices for more specific information.

[Giantfan13]

Ketchikan was our first port in Alaska, so, naturally, we were thrilled to get going. We had heard about all the rain, but the sun was shining and no mattter what you do, you will have a ball. Try the Kyacking, or just wonder around Xreek Street. There are so many things to do, depending on your budget.

[elmtree]

We were in Ketchikan last week and we took the Best of Ketchikan tour from the Princess ship Diamond,,,and what a disapointment! I would not recommend it to anyone..It went to the Discovery place and then drove to the Saxton village and to a salmon hatchery and to Creek street..save your money if you have this tour booked and just walk around the city by yourself and enjoy it..I sure wish we had!

[Host Caroline]

Kayaking is excellent in Ketchikan and you can also pick up tours on the dock every time I have been there with no problem if you want to wait and see what weather is like -- not a factor for us but it it is for some. Especially if you are theh first ship in or in very early it is never, never a problem .. only downside is you may have to kill some time in town prior to the tour. Ketchikan Ducks is getting good "reviews"..

[cuddlepie]

Just back from Inside Passage Cruise aboard the Volendam. Ketchican wasnt my favourite place! After doing the dog sledding in Juneau & the Valley of the Glaciers in Skagway, the Misty Fjords Floatplane trip was a bit average. Sorry but I am being totally honest. Creek Street was ok........I guess I had high expectations and the whole place just looked dowdy, the misty rain didnt help either. Way too many jewellry shops ( so people really buy this stuff??????) :rolleyes:

 

3 shops and 3 rude shop assistants sent me searching for something to do without having to talk to anyone.....so read on!:mad:

 

The best hour I had was in the Southeast Alaska Discovery Centre (one block from the cruise ship dock) Cost me $5.00 and was so interesting. Exhibits about the ecosystem, fishing, wildlife, etc. Maybe I'm weird but I went to Alaska to learn as much as I could about the country and its people. Oh I did buy some fridge magnets and some bookmarks!!

[Coral]

Ketchikan is my least favorite port in Alaska. Just recently, I did the float plane to Misty Fiords and I wasn't impressed. This is the most expensive excursion I have ever done and I don't rate the trip very high.

[gg3]

:) Well, you have already heard from 2 of the best Alaskan resources, Budget Queen, and Caroline, but I will tell you that we did Misty Fjords floatplane in 2003 in Ketchikan and found it to be one of those "words cannot describe the beauty" type experience. In my travel experiences, this, Capt. Larry's Whalewatching, and just being in Alaska rank right up at the tip top. Have a magical time. gg

[Casey12]

We also did the float plane and would NOT recommend it to anyone for Ketchikan. It was too $$$ and IMO, not worth the cost. We were underwhelmed with the tour. We did our tour through Island Wings.

[lmcd]

Don't know what some were expecting and then were disappointed. We did the floatplane to Misty Fjords with Island Wings and found the scenery to be wonderful and then to land on the lake and walk around on the land was so serene. Certainly was not the most expensive tour we have done. The bear watching, dogsledding, Mt. McKinley Summitt flight were all more expensive. The first 2 were almost twice the cost of the Misty Fjords flight.

 

Larry

[Host Caroline]

IMHO only you get a better "feel" for Misty Fjords cruising the area than flying there.. it's a very mystical place but spectacular.. and so quiet

and Ketchikan is also my least favorite port... Sitka is first, then Kodiak followed by Juneau...

[Coral]

IMHO only you get a better "feel" for Misty Fjords cruising the area than flying there.. it's a very mystical place but spectacular.. and so quiet

 

Caroline - I did the combination cruise/flight into Misty Fiords through Princess. We flew into Misty Fiords and landed and then boarded a boat (Goldenbelt) that took us back to Ketchikan. I did enjoy the boat ride better then the flight.

[BlessedAgain]

Caroline,

 

We had reservations for Orca Cove Kayaking at 8 a.m. Yesterday I received an email saying that they had to change it to 10:00 with a return to the boat at 2p.m. Our boat leaves at 2:30. I think this is cutting it too close........I sure wouldn't want to miss the boat. Please advise

[Kinderfitz]

We went on the duck boat tour in Ketchikan last week and found it totally delightful. Our guide was a native Alaskan who had many stories about culture to share with us. We saw the town and then went into the water. We saw eagles and a sea lion and she gave us a wealth of information about the town and the area. It was an early morning tour and warm blankets were waiting for us on each seat. After the tour, we shopped around and then went to the logging show that was also a lot of fun! We had time for an Alaskan beer and then got back on the ship by 1:00 for lunch! We loved the stop!

[johnlcruise]

We just return 5-28-05

Was on Celebrity Mercury and had a great time.

in Ketchikan we went with South Sea Kayaks and had a super time with them.

they met us at the docks went to their office from there we boarded a boat for a 15min ride to there Kayaks..We had a 3 hour tour with an excellent guide in our kayaks and saw eagles, and other wildlife..No whales but I think it was too early in the season but still had a super time with them..They then had a nice lunch waiting for us when we returned from kayaking and then we boarded a float plane for a 2hour flight. We really enjoyed the flight and the pilot gave us lots of information about the area..We feel that this was one of the better tours we ever did and I would recomend "South Sea Kayaks" to anyone..They are very friendly and they give us super service..:)

Check them out by going to http://www.kayakketchikan.com you wont be sorry.

Kim runs the office and is a very nice person and you can call her at 800-287-1607.

As for the town it self..It just like anyother tourist town..T-shirts and other stuff to pick-up..this being our last port of call we really where glad we book our tour..It really made our day.

John

[MaryEllen1952]

I just returned from the Volendam Inside Passage. Ketchikan was my favorite place and Juneau my least favorite. I did the Southeast Kayak Orcas Cove and I was the only one on the trip (I think everyone on my ship was over 60 & spent their time shopping instead of sightseeing). The kayaking was beautiful, we saw many bald eagles and starfish. I highly recommend it especially if you are a somewhat adventurous person who doesn't spend a lot of time shopping.

[JH2Cruise]

I am so glad to hear positive comments from those of you who did the kayaking/flight tour with Southeast kayaks. (I had read some negative comments from an earlier cruiser that was beginning to make me nervous and second guess my choice.) We leave on Saturday and have also booked this tour. We are so excited and hope to see a lot of wildlife while we enjoy the beauty of Alaska.

[MaryEllen1952]

If you search for comments on Southeast Kayaks you will find by far more good recommendations than bad ones I assure you. That is why I booked through them. Many people have unrealistic expectations about a place and consequently won't have anything good to say regardless so just take reviews with a grain of salt especially if most of the reviews are good.

[muffwd]

We were in Ketchikan 3 years ago and will be returning in August 2005. It was one of my favorite ports. We got off the ship and just took off walking. We saw alot in just afew hours. Went to Dolly's House and walked all along the river. Then headed to the fish hatchery and Totem Heritage Center. It is pretty easy walking. We then went to the Lumberjack Show and still had time to shop. Ketchikan is a beautiful little town and has alot to see. This year we are going to do the "Rain Forest Wildlife Sanctuary". We are on a "waitlist" for the "Alaska Bear Adventure". If anyone has any comments about these tours, please let me know. Thanks!

[frani]

I just booked the Misty Fjords floatplane & told 2 other couples that we're going with that it is one of the best excursions based on these boards discussion - they booked also. I hope we all are not disappointed. My other choice was the helicopter glacier landing - I'm thinking now after hearing from some of these reviews to switch to the helicopter.

[dbertell]

We just got back from an Infinity May 16th trip to Alaska. My wife who is confimed to a wheelchair and I took the Misty Fjords trip with Island Wings and Michele. We had a great time and Michele is a great host for her area. Not sure what some of the people are expecting from a plane ride like this but Michele answered all of the questions asked by passengers on our flight like she had been flying here for most of her life and she has. She knows every nook and cranny, every lake and island around. Her knowledge of the area is without question and her hospitality made us feel we with a friend, not a person making money off our flight. I don't know how you could pay someone a better compliment. Keep up the great work Michele!!

 

Dan & Linda

[Bsan1221]

Caroline,

 

We had reservations for Orca Cove Kayaking at 8 a.m. Yesterday I received an email saying that they had to change it to 10:00 with a return to the boat at 2p.m. Our boat leaves at 2:30. I think this is cutting it too close........I sure wouldn't want to miss the boat. Please advise

 

I personally would not go with this people again...

[RubyLee]

John,

When you were in Ketchikan did you tender from Mercury? If so how long did it take to get to shore. We have also booked the Orcas Cove trip while cruising on Mercury and it looks like we may tender.

[BlessedAgain]

I personally would not go with this people again...

 

Could you please elaborate on your comment. It might help me make up my mind as to what I should do. :confused: Thanks in advance. Diane

[johnlcruise]

John,

When you were in Ketchikan did you tender from Mercury? If so how long did it take to get to shore. We have also booked the Orcas Cove trip while cruising on Mercury and it looks like we may tender.

 

Rubylee

Yes we did tender..and it took less then 10min..Dont worrie South Sea Kayaks will be waiting for you..The Mercury was an hour late getting into Ketchikan but South Sea Kayaks knew about the delay and bump everthing back for us by 1 hour. So we still had our 3 hour sea kakaking tour and 2 hour floatplane tour..What a great time we had. We are still talking about it:)..