Favorite Alaskan Ports

[DreamOf]

We are planning on taking our first Alaskan cruise next summer.   I'm thinking I'll pick the ship, based on the ports it stops at.  What are your favorite ports?   For some reason, I've wanted to see Sitka, but definitely the glaciers.   We are somewhat limited in physical activities, so sightseeing is about our limits.

Edited May 25, 2019 by DreamOf

[1025cruise]

For the most part, all ships go to the same ports (Ketchikan, Skagway, and Juneau). Some ships might go to Sitka or Icy Straight Point.

 

But you're right, pick based on your desired itinerary. Look for one that goes to Glacier Bay.

[rkacruiser]

Ketchikan, Juneau, Icy Straight Point, Seward, and Anchorage are my favorites.  I have yet to visit Skagway, but will do so this Summer and anticipate that it will join my favorites as well.

 

Glacier Bay is interesting sightseeing.  Hubbard Glacier is even better, in my opinion.  If the Glacier is in a "calving" mood, it's the best!

[Radbooks]

I enjoy Hubbard glacier the most of all the 'glacier day' places you can go to.  My favorite ports are the less crowded ones of Sitka, Kodiak, and Homer which you can usually only go to on a longer cruise. But worth it.

[SempreMare]

 

2 hours ago, Radbooks said:

I enjoy Hubbard glacier the most of all the 'glacier day' places you can go to.  My favorite ports are the less crowded ones of Sitka, Kodiak, and Homer which you can usually only go to on a longer cruise. But worth it.

 

 Are crowds the only factor are or are there other things about those three towns which you like a lot? 

 

Ex: Activities available, the feel of the town, etc.

[MarilynR26]

It's true that most Alaskan cruises do go to the same places (Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan) - of those three, my personal favorite was Skagway...it's just a charming and quirky little place and the White Pass Yukon Route train is there, which is truly a cool experience. You can do some amazing sightseeing on that train ride and it doesn't require more than just sitting back and taking it all in 🙂

 

Also, some of the cruises go into Tracy Arm Fjord which is absolutely GORGEOUS. You can see the Sawyer glacier there which is large and quite impressive (there is more than one glacier in that area, actually) If you go when it's a bit warmer (like July etc) the ships can get relatively close so you can get some great pictures. 

[Radbooks]

20 minutes ago, SempreMare said:

 

 

 Are crowds the only factor are or are there other things about those three towns which you like a lot? 

 

Ex: Activities available, the feel of the town, etc.

Those towns are just more authentically 'Alaska' than Juneau and Ketchikan where a couple of ships can more than double the size of the town for the day. Those towns can remind you of a Caribbean island with the Diamond stores, etc.  Sitka is a very walkable town and there are a couple of good museums and a raptor center that you can walk or take a shuttle to. There is a bear rescue place there too, but I haven't been to it yet.  Homer has two main areas - the Spit and the main town area.  It is surrounded by beautiful mountains and the bay on a sunny day is gorgeous. There are lots of activities there, but we've done it several times now and mostly just walk around the spit area.  Kodiak has a very cool museum and a Russian church that is interesting. There is also a cool fort from WWII that you can go to and see the museum in a bunker. 

 

Honestly, we've done 7 day and 14 day cruises many times and we're going on a 21 day one this summer and it's mostly for the beauty of the area. That trumps all the towns you'll see. They all have pluses and some drawbacks, but it's the beauty that keeps us coming back.

[luvteaching]

Our favorite ports are Sitka, Homer and Kodiak - all smaller towns that aren't there because of the tourists but have another reason to exist. Some of the towns, such as Juneau, Ketchikan, and to some extent Skagway, are there more for the tourists at least in the cruise ship area. You see the jewelry stores that are common in the Caribbean and the town empties out quite a bit when the cruise ship season ends. If you are doing a 7-day cruise Sitka has so much to offer. Radbooks has shared many of the highlights. Where else would the main road detour around the Russian Church? The Ben Franklin store is a good place for souvenirs as is the Russian store and there is a great quilting shop. Can you tell we like it there? 

For glaciers - Hubbard is 1st on the list and Glacier Bay is second. Tracy Arm is a wonderful sight but you often can't get up to Sawyer glacier due to ice. 

Karen

[DougK]

It's hard to choose between Sitka and Skagway. All the comments above about Sitka are right on--I particularly love the raptor center there. But Skagway also has a lot going for it--including the railroad and lovely hiking in the area. I also agree with the comments about Juneau as far as the city itself goes. But it's a great place to do a whale watching trip, there's easy access to the Mendenhall Glacier, and even hiking on Mount Roberts isn't bad. What I could do without is the stop in Ketchikan, but I'm pretty sure every cruise stops there because of its location.

 

As for Glacier Bay vs. Hubbard, it's a tough call, but I come down on the side of Glacier Bay. The Hubbard Glacier itself is more impressive, and I've seen some amazing calving there. But you just lose so much scenery getting to it compared to Glacier Bay--you have to spend a fair amount of time out at sea. In Glacier Bay, the Marjorie Glacier itself isn't as great as Hubbard. But there's so much more opportunity to see other scenery and wildlife--on my most recent trip a couple of weeks ago, we saw a bear, otters, sea lions, mountain goats, and I believe porpoises and a whale. The entire day is wonderful, even when you exit Glacier Bay proper, as compared to only a couple of hours of good viewing at Hubbard Glacier.

[Melinda Brasher]

Sitka is cool, but you'll be a lot more limited because fewer ships go there.  Skagway is one of my favorites, but partly because of its magnificent hiking, which won't be a factor for you.  The history is fascinating in Skagway, though.  I pretty much love every port I've been to, and I've been to all the common mainstream ones.  As for glaciers, Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, and Tracy Arm (or Endicott Arm) will not disappoint, but they're all very different experiences.  If it's your first time, you'll love anything.  And you'll probably want to go back to see what you missed.  🙂  

 

Here are some of my pics and comments to compare Glacier Bay and Hubbard, if it helps:

Glacier Bay:  https://www.melindabrasher.com/2014/09/glacier-bay-alaska.html

Hubbard Glacier:  https://www.melindabrasher.com/2011/07/hubbard-glacier-alaska.html

 

 

 

 

[tetleytea]

I think I like Seward the best.   Has the most things to do, plus it's about the furthest from the lower 48.

 

 

I vote Glacier Bay over Hubbard as well.  It's all the otters that do it for me.

[xlxo]

In order of fav's....

1. Vancouver
2. Glacier Bay
3. Skagway

[donaldsc]

Funny story about the cruise oriented towns including Juneau and Ketchikan.  A few years back we did an extended land trip in AK.  One arrived in Ketchikan on a Sunday for the first of a several day stay..  Of course there were several ships in town and the town was paved with cruise ship passengers.  Rather than fight the crowds, we decided to have lunch and hit a few shops after the ships departed.  When we left our lunch, the ships had departed and so had all the shopkeepers.  Every downtown shop was closed and shuttered.   This was several years ago when the AK towns were not as overrun with tourists as they are now.  

 

The best way to really see AK is to do it by Alaska Marine Highway.  You may be stranded in a small town for several days as the ferries do not run every day but there is nothing wrong w that.  You also get to meet some really neat people on ferries.

 

DON

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, donaldsc said:

You may be stranded in a small town for several days as the ferries do not run every day but there is nothing wrong w that.  You also get to meet some really neat people on ferries.

 

Alaskans are very welcoming and friendly people.

[VennDiagram]

On 5/25/2019 at 11:57 AM, DreamOf said:

We are planning on taking our first Alaskan cruise next summer.   I'm thinking I'll pick the ship, based on the ports it stops at.  What are your favorite ports?   For some reason, I've wanted to see Sitka, but definitely the glaciers.   We are somewhat limited in physical activities, so sightseeing is about our limits.

 

I really like Sitka ❤️

When you say "sightseeing" is your limit, does that mean a bus tour with a couple of stops to view (for example) a museum or hatchery or something?  Can you walk on reasonable flat paths?  Is there a distance limit?

[SempreMare]

6 hours ago, donaldsc said:

The best way to really see AK is to do it by Alaska Marine Highway.  

 

Interesting. Do you know of good blogs from people who have done this? 

[donaldsc]

Typing "Alaska Marine Highway Blogs" into Google will give you several hits.  Just be aware that the experiences will be completely different from a cruise ship experience.   We took our car from Haines to Prince Rupert with stops at several ports when we did our Marine Highway trip.

 

DON

Edited May 28, 2019 by donaldsc

[Idahoan58]

A few weeks ago I went on a cruise and the ports we visited were Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. My favorite day was Ketchikan, because we went halibut fishing and limited out. It was an incredible day of fishing. While fishing we saw a bald eagle grab a fish out of the water less than 10 feet from us. Couldn’t have asked for better fishing day.

 

However, my favorite port was Skagway. It was such a neat little town. It felt like you were in the early 1900s. We spent the day hiking up to Lower Dewey Lake and out to Sturgills Landing. It was beautiful and there was hardly anyone on the trails. We finished the day by having a drink at the Red Onion Saloon which was a really cool Saloon. We liked it better than Red Dog Saloon in Juneau. Juneau was cool, but was very crowded and less authentic. Kind felt like you were a Caribbean port with all the stores being the same.  

 

As far as scenic cruising days went we thought glacier bay was beautiful, but college fjord was way better in our opinion.

[DreamOf]

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Posted May 27

On 5/25/2019 at 1:57 PM, DreamOf said:

We are planning on taking our first Alaskan cruise next summer.   I'm thinking I'll pick the ship, based on the ports it stops at.  What are your favorite ports?   For some reason, I've wanted to see Sitka, but definitely the glaciers.   We are somewhat limited in physical activities, so sightseeing is about our limits.

 

I really like Sitka ❤️

When you say "sightseeing" is your limit, does that mean a bus tour with a couple of stops to view (for example) a museum or hatchery or something?  Can you walk on reasonable flat paths?  Is there a distance limit?

 

 

Yes, a bus tour, museum, etc.   Short distances.    

[DreamOf]

Thanks everyone for your input!

[TwinMamainMN]

We loved Icy Strait Point for the same reasons others love Sitka, Homer, and Kodiak. Small, beautiful, less ship traffic and people overall, and amazing whale watching. We haven't been to Sitka, Homer or Kodiak, but I bet we would love them too.

[disneylover89]

On 5/28/2019 at 11:55 AM, Idahoan58 said:

A few weeks ago I went on a cruise and the ports we visited were Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. My favorite day was Ketchikan, because we went halibut fishing and limited out. It was an incredible day of fishing. While fishing we saw a bald eagle grab a fish out of the water less than 10 feet from us. Couldn’t have asked for better fishing day.

 

However, my favorite port was Skagway. It was such a neat little town. It felt like you were in the early 1900s. We spent the day hiking up to Lower Dewey Lake and out to Sturgills Landing. It was beautiful and there was hardly anyone on the trails. We finished the day by having a drink at the Red Onion Saloon which was a really cool Saloon. We liked it better than Red Dog Saloon in Juneau. Juneau was cool, but was very crowded and less authentic. Kind felt like you were a Caribbean port with all the stores being the same.  

 

As far as scenic cruising days went we thought glacier bay was beautiful, but college fjord was way better in our opinion.

What charter company did you use to go Halibut fishing?

[VermeulT]

I loved Icy Straight because it felt the most "genuine" to me.

I thought Ketchikan had the best shopping.

Juneau has all around good options for sightseeing.

I loved Kodiak (we went bear viewing via float plane).

And as the others said Sitka was great.

Homer didn't do much for me.

I'm looking forward to Haines/ Skagway on my next trip.