Harbor Duck Tour Ketchikan

[claudia814]

It seems like every excursion in Ketchikan requires a lot of walking to get to the event. What about the Duck tour? Does that meet you at the ship?Thanks for your expertise.

[wheezedr]

Depends on which dock you are at as to how far, but duck is parked right next to the docks. Easy access.

[claudia814]

Depends on which dock you are at as to how far, but duck is parked right next to the docks. Easy access.

Perfect, that’s exactly what I needed to know, much appreciated for your quick response. Thanks.

[fishywood]

Is your concern the length of the walk from the ship to initially board the coach (or other transportation), or the walk upon arrival at the destination? The latter is unavoidable but doesn't appear to be an issue with the Duck Tour which according to the description in my personalizer is a 90 minute tour with no intermediate breaks off the Duck, and ends by dropping off directly at the cruise ship. Boarding the Duck should be the same as any other tour; my fuzzy memories of Ketchikan (I will be there in May for the first time since 2000) are of the center of town only a very short walk from the cruise pier; boarding the tours should be even closer.

[DougH]

The two docks Princess tends to use are the farthest from town, but really only about a 10 minute walk. (or short shuttle ride) The other docks are pretty much right where the Duck tours leave from

[Sacto Rick]

We got on the Duck Tour right at the dock where the Grand Princess was tied up and it dropped us off in the same place. You won't be getting on and off the tour so no need to worry about that.

Keep in mind, that was where we docked and it was right in town. I'm not sure where you will be.

You will have to climb about 3 steps on a special step ladder to get on the Duck Boat.

[Thrak]

I'm shocked. I checked the web site for the Duck Boat tour and then checked the Princess excursion and found out they were the same price. I usually expect a Princess excursion to be at least half again as much but, in this case, they are showing at the same price. Of course I'm using the generic Princess listing as I don't have a cruise to Alaska scheduled at the moment but it's still shocking.

[moki'smommy]

I'm shocked. I checked the web site for the Duck Boat tour and then checked the Princess excursion and found out they were the same price. I usually expect a Princess excursion to be at least half again as much but, in this case, they are showing at the same price. Of course I'm using the generic Princess listing as I don't have a cruise to Alaska scheduled at the moment but it's still shocking.

Part of the reason might be that it seems as if there is no transportation involved in this excursion and no need for a paid "tour guide" as a Princess crew member could be assigned to escort guests to the Duck Boat. Likely, Princess received a substantial volume discount from the duck boat operator--they may even have purchased all available "cruises" for that day.

 

We did an excursion that included an island tour in a private vehicle with several stops, one of which included an admission fee. We later discovered that the price we'd paid the private operator for the excursion was identical to the admission price to the venue had we purchased it individually with "complimentary transportation" from the cruise port. So it seems that everything else we did and saw was essentially a freebie in the way we booked. In this case, we did it thru a private operator as the cruise line price was about 50% higher. My point is that I'm sure the tour operator did not pay the admission price quoted on line; he couldn't have earned anything if he did.

[AF-1]

When I was in Ketchikan last July our ship (Emerald) was docked furthest away from any boat tours. We had to walk about ten minutes from our dock to the other dock where we picked up our boat tour. Just in case you wanted to know how much walking you may have. Plus we had drizzle and low to mid 50 degree weather all day

[moki'smommy]

Is there any way to know where a particular ship will dock on a given day?

[TheCruisingAccountant]

Is there any way to know where a particular ship will dock on a given day?

 

I find that if you search online for your desired port + cruise ship schedule, you should find what you are looking for fairly quickly

 

That will generally lead you to a port specific website and schedule that lists ships and berths for the coming season. You will probably have to look over a page or two of what is more or less a spreadsheet, depending on port size. Usually sorted along port, date, cruise line and berth.

[SadieN]

Duck tour picks up near the Tongass Trading Post. The 10 step stairway into the Duck is more like a ladder. We enjoyed the tour.

[Near PDX]

I'm shocked. I checked the web site for the Duck Boat tour and then checked the Princess excursion and found out they were the same price. I usually expect a Princess excursion to be at least half again as much but, in this case, they are showing at the same price. Of course I'm using the generic Princess listing as I don't have a cruise to Alaska scheduled at the moment but it's still shocking.

 

Princess has a best price guarantee on their excursions and if you can find the exact same itinerary for less Princess will give you 110% of the difference as OBC.

[tanyaewa]

We loved this tour. Really really enjoyed it.

[jlp20]

There is a single slip cruise ships can use about 3000 feet to the North. Being a customer is a customer, one would think ANY EXCURSION would stop at the North dock if need be, pick up pax then take 5 minutes to relocate to the Southern slips.