Icy Straight Point

[Tea3]

I have procrastinated and did not book any whale watching from Icy Straight Point. Now it seems that the suggested smaller boats are all booked for when the 4 us will be there. Can we still see whales from the shoreline or do something there? My sons like adventure, but my husband has physical disabilities. Thanks for any suggestions!!

[narsibvl]

I have procrastinated and did not book any whale watching from Icy Straight Point. Now it seems that the suggested smaller boats are all booked for when the 4 us will be there. Can we still see whales from the shoreline or do something there? My sons like adventure, but my husband has physical disabilities. Thanks for any suggestions!!

 

Spotting wild life is always a hit or a miss so don't count on it. If whale watching is not a option, you can do ziplining in ISP.

[vjblk]

When we were in ISP last August, there was one whale that made the bay his home. He was always popping up here and there. But that was the only whale you could see from shore. So be on the look out for him.

 

Does your cruiseline offer a whale watch? If you can, I would suggest you go with that. We saw alot of whales with Misty Bay Lodge last year. You wouldn't want to miss that even if on a bigger boat.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

If you really wanted to go on a whale watch and are not able to---I hope you make some other plans. ISP is not the kind of place you can go ashore and find lots of vendors willing to take you on an excursion. IMHO

 

The passengers that did not like ISP on our cruise were often the ones that decided they would tender to shore and just walk around. It was cold and misty and the port is farther from Hoonah than they thought it would be.

[lovely_serenity]

Don't be disappointed, but there is literally NOTHING to see at Icy Strait Point o_o . There's a crab shack, a hut of random stores (with.. random Alaskan stuff that we didn't buy) one zip line and that's it. I remember someone got stuck halfway and was booked with the cruise line, so we waited for her ^^. Unless you want to take a couple of hours to hike way up past it/take 40 min shuttle or so,ething to check out the neighbouring town that probably looks the same. ^^" Sometimes you'll see a few whales or something here or.. well not here, but I'd say your best bet would be whale watching in Juneau or Ketchikan.

 

Happy sailings! :)

[olemissreb]

We had a great experience with whale watching in Icy Strait with Glacier Wind Charters. We went out further than the cruise excursion boats and were able to catch a baby whale breaching repeatedly and slapping its tale and fin on the water. Sean & Teresa are very hospitable. You don't say what kind of physical disability your DH has, but my youngest son was on crutches and they were able to accommodate him. If DH is in a wheelchair, I'm not so sure they can accommodate that.

[trophy_23]

As mentioned there really isn't much in ISP/Hoonah. I would highly recommend Misty Bay lodge if they have any space. They have a nice comfortable boat and can accomodate people with mobility issues. There was a fellow CC member with mobility issues that was on the morning tour before us and he did very well!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Krazy Kruizers]

Icy Straight -- have been there a few times.

We chose to do the ship's whale watching excursion - it was great -- we did it a couple of times.

There is not much at the tender dock. It is a steep climb yp from where the tender drops you off.

There is a bus -- you pay for it -- that you can take into Hoonah -- not a lot there either.

[SadieN]

We went there in 2008.

 

We went on a bear walk and saw a female and twin cubs. We had armed guides with us.

 

DD and DH loved the zipline. No stations but it goes from the top of the mountain to the bottom. You ride in a seat, not the normal straps. When it was built is was said to be the longest zipline.

 

The old cannery has been transformed into a small museum and local-owned shops. The prices were cheaper there than anywhere else.

[RAYJO]

Did the cruiseline whale watching excursion. Ran into a pod?of ORCA whales about 10 minutes out of harbor. They were hunting for lunch and found a poor harbor seal. It is amazing what these whales can do. Found many humpback whales further out.

Wife and grand nephew did the zipline. I wasn't that crazy. This was last week.

[JimAOk1945]

We went on the ship sponsored Whale Watch/Bear Hunt combo tour last August on Radiance of the Seas. DW and I still talk about it because it was so exciting and rewarding. It far exceeded our expectations.

 

As others have said, there is not much to see there but it is a beautiful, unspoiled port of call. We rode the tender to shore and walked around for quite awhile before our shore excursion began. The weather that day was beautiful. We saw a whale at the pier that others have mentioned. We heard later from our tour guide that this is a "resident whale."

 

I hope you can still sign up for a ship sponsored whale excursion. It is an amazing experience!

[lrskier]

Hey, no one has mentioned the gift shop/restaurant in the little village that serves the delicious halibut pizza. Is it still there? If so and you elect to stay in the village, it is only a short walk, the pizza was great, the eagles were everywhere, the "office" restaurant/bar was closed and the zip line was fun to watch. enjoy!

[texasmomoftwo]

We went on a bear watching excursion in Hoonah. It was great!!!!

[Driftwoodgal]

Hey, no one has mentioned the gift shop/restaurant in the little village that serves the delicious halibut pizza. Is it still there? If so and you elect to stay in the village, it is only a short walk, the pizza was great, the eagles were everywhere, the "office" restaurant/bar was closed and the zip line was fun to watch. enjoy!

 

I think you are talking about Misty Bay Lodge. It was bought by a lovely couple that does Bear and whale watching tours along with a B&B. They still have the retaurant. Looking forward to some Halibut in a couple of weeks as well as my bear tour.

[Aquahound]

I think you are talking about Misty Bay Lodge. It was bought by a lovely couple that does Bear and whale watching tours along with a B&B. They still have the retaurant. Looking forward to some Halibut in a couple of weeks as well as my bear tour.

 

Yes! And they were a delight. We did the Misty Bay whale watching tour with Capt Dan and it was excellent. Of all the smaller boats out there, it was the only one with a viewing platform atop the pilot house. Before the tour, we sat in there and drank coffee with some of the locals. It was a good time and I recommend it.

[bride123105]

I went on two excursions through Princess. First I did the zip rider in the late morning, then the nature tram tour in the afternoon. The tram tour was not adventurous, but did learn some things (but repeat things from another nature tour I did at the previous port) and it stopped at the beach for a while if you want to collect some shells or whatnot.