Deadliest Catch Tour

[ccndfw]

Has anyone done this tour recently?  Is this tour something that a group of adults would enjoy or is it more suitable for kids?  The price seems high, is it worth it?

[rkacruiser]

I did it in 2016 and it is a great tour suitable for children and adults.  There will be lots of wildlife that will be seen and brought aboard the Aleutian Ballard.  There were two large aquariums with a variety of marine life.  Crab pots that had previously been set will be brought aboard and the contents dumped on the deck.  An opportunity was offered to hold some of the creatures.  A stop is made where there are eagles roosting, fish are thrown overboard, and the eagles come swooping out of the trees trying to get the fish.  The narration is interesting and some of it is supplied by the men who actually worked on the boat.  The tour is worth the price!

[ccndfw]

Thank you for the information... sounds like something we should do then 😀

[Magellan321]

We've done the tour twice. ...lots of fun.

[Shel71]

My family (kids are teens) did it in 2014 and we all loved it. I bought the excursion for my parents (in their 60's) as a Xmas gift for their Alaskan cruise in 2016 and they also loved it. I really think it well enjoyed by people of all ages.

[aloanldy]

I did it in 2017, was my favorite excursion.  I may do it again when I go in August.

 

[NEWLKAT]

It is a fun excursion, very informative.  Like others have said there are great photo ops for eagles when they stop to feed some. The chance to hold or touch crabs.  We are doing this tour for a 2nd time this summer. Oh and if raining there is covering with little heaters for those that may get chilly. Here are a few pics we took last time.

[Guindalf]

We're booked on this tour in August and thoroughly looking forward to it! We're both fans of the show (which name has been dropped, I assume, for legal reasons!).

 

Watch your shore excursions page for discounts. We're sailing with Celebrity and just for one day, I caught the price dropped to $151.20 each. Of course I jumped on it 🙂

[peety3]

We did it in 2017 and were thoroughly impressed. My wife and I are both into photography, and I tend to be "the obvious guy" with several large lenses, while my wife prefers gear that's more on the lighter side. We did our usual "split up and cover two different angles", and the deck boss walked over to her and said "I think that guy has you beat", to which she repiled, "That's how my husband likes to cruise". 🙂

 

They do feed the wildlife, so if that's a huge sticking point for you, perhaps it's not the tour for you. I knew this going in, so I was ready for eagle photos as soon as they appeared. I hadn't mentioned this to my wife, and it meant she was a little caught off-guard for eagle photos. I'm anxious to do the trip again and change up my photo strategy, particularly for the eagles.

 

You're free to move around the seating area at least part of the time (can't remember specifics). Don't be afraid to find a different vantage point if that suits your fancy. I had studied the layout before our cruise, and I went for upper deck, forward (bow), starboard side; I loved the vantage point except I was somewhat blind to what we were coming up on. My wife stayed lower deck, aft (stern), starboard side and I think she liked her spot. I'd add photos but Flickr is down for maintenance - I'll add some Flickr links later today.

[Crew News]

IMHO the best photo spot is just above the lifepreserver on the second deck:

 

 

 

Lots of eagles will be swooping down to grab the fish at the same time so there will be numerous photo opportunities during the 20-minute stop:

 

Edited May 23, 2019 by Crew News

[TwinMamainMN]

We did this excursion last August. Mix of adults and kids (6 people total) and we all really enjoyed it. It was interesting to see how they fish different ways for different fish/crab. We also saw sea urchin, spot prawns, an octopus, fish and crab. Watching the eagles feed on the fish scraps was amazing! Our 10 year old daughter uses a wheelchair and someone on the crew came up to us and told us where to stand before they told everyone else about it, so she got to be right next to the rail and we were behind her so we could all have an unobstructed view. It was worth the cost, and in line with other Alaska excursion prices IMO.

[peety3]

Crew news, your pictures are from (at least) two different spots.

 

Our photos are on Flickr - head here and arrow-right to flip through the images:

 

2017 Seattle RT with Glacier Bay, starting at Ketchikan / Deadliest Catch tour

 

Images 16002-16081 are from the tour, though technically 16082-16085 are taken from the tour boat as well.

[niborHS]

I just booked it today, the only excursion we actually booked. We are ones that usually go with the flow and find something when we get off the ship. However, with this tour, not only did I read a lot of great reviews on here, our friends who went a few years ago said the only excursion everyone raved about was the Deadliest Catch tour. I had a $300 shipboard credit, so only paid $88 for it. Sorry I didn't book when they had the sale. 

[geoblond]

22 hours ago, peety3 said:

Crew news, your pictures are from (at least) two different spots.

 

Our photos are on Flickr - head here and arrow-right to flip through the images:

 

2017 Seattle RT with Glacier Bay, starting at Ketchikan / Deadliest Catch tour

 

Images 16002-16081 are from the tour, though technically 16082-16085 are taken from the tour boat as well.

 

Wow-these are great pictures!  Thanks,

[tetleytea]

The only issue I have with this tour is that Deadliest Catch is starting to go out of style.  It was a big deal when I did it, because I was watching all the seasons of Deadliest Catch.  And there's the Aleutian Ballad, right there.  But now I've got people in my party who don't fish and have never watched it. 

[Suzanne123]

We’re on the tour now.  Having a great time in gorgeous weather.

[liptastic]

We took this tour 18th May. It was excellent. We had a lovely dry day initially overcast and we met them at the pier 0930.

The numbers on the tour was very small about 20 people. We had a great time.

You can move about the deck from top deck to lower deck when they allow you for safety reasons.

Great show and interesting. We had the highlight at the bald eagle reserve sanctuary. They throw over some fresh fish and there must have been about 40 to 50 eagles flew in and out feeding.

Definately worth the money for this tour.  Jean.

[NEWLKAT]

13 hours ago, tetleytea said:

The only issue I have with this tour is that Deadliest Catch is starting to go out of style.  It was a big deal when I did it, because I was watching all the seasons of Deadliest Catch.  And there's the Aleutian Ballad, right there.  But now I've got people in my party who don't fish and have never watched it. 

I had never seen the show, but enjoyed the tour we are going again this coming summer.

[twangster]

I did it last year after meeting captain Dave and his wife Denene who cruised with us on the Millennium in 2017.  During that cruise Captain Dave gave several talks about his life as a crab fisherman, becoming owners of the Aleutian Ballad and the process of converting the boat to carry passengers.  On one occasion a Q&A session with him and his wife was very interesting, hearing his wife's perspective married to a fisherman was very telling. 

 

I couldn't make it work in 2017 but I vowed if I ever went back to Ketchikan I would do it so in 2018 when a last minute deal popped up and I found myself heading to Ketchikan I booked it.  

 

Denene was on the boat during the excursion in 2018, working in the small gift shop on board. 

 

I documented that visit to Ketchikan and this excursion here

 

My advice, do it.  

[Italy52]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

I did it last year after meeting captain Dave and his wife Denene who cruised with us on the Millennium in 2017.  During that cruise Captain Dave gave several talks about his life as a crab fisherman, becoming owners of the Aleutian Ballad and the process of converting the boat to carry passengers.  On one occasion a Q&A session with him and his wife was very interesting, hearing his wife's perspective married to a fisherman was very telling. 

 

I couldn't make it work in 2017 but I vowed if I ever went back to Ketchikan I would do it so in 2018 when a last minute deal popped up and I found myself heading to Ketchikan I booked it.  

 

Denene was on the boat during the excursion in 2018, working in the small gift shop on board. 

 

I documented that visit to Ketchikan and this excursion here

 

My advice, do it.  

 

Love your pictures.  How do you protect your camera from the rain --- use anything special?

[twangster]

50 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

 

Love your pictures.  How do you protect your camera from the rain --- use anything special?

 

I used an iPhone in a waterproof case.  Should have brought my good camera, missed some great photo opportunities.  

[Italy52]

3 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

I used an iPhone in a waterproof case.  Should have brought my good camera, missed some great photo opportunities.  

 

 

Wow!  I never would have thought you used an iPhone.  When you bring your good camera, do you use anything special to protect the camera?

 

[twangster]

3 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

 

 

Wow!  I never would have thought you used an iPhone.  When you bring your good camera, do you use anything special to protect the camera?

 

 

My rain coat has an inside pocket where I can slip it into.  It's not the most comfortable way to walk around and while taking pictures it isn't protected.  With lens it's a significant amount of money so I tend to be overly cautious with it.  

 

I have a waterproof backpack that I'll bring for it next time I repeat this excursion.  

[Italy52]

51 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

My rain coat has an inside pocket where I can slip it into.  It's not the most comfortable way to walk around and while taking pictures it isn't protected.  With lens it's a significant amount of money so I tend to be overly cautious with it.  

 

I have a waterproof backpack that I'll bring for it next time I repeat this excursion.  

We have a waterproof backpack as well.  The camera sleeves are so bulky (at least for me) so I have gone to putting the camera/lens under a pancho so always looking for ways to protect the equipment.  Thanks for your comment.

[Pushka]

We did this excursion a couple of days ago. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 1, 2019 by Pushka