Ward Cove Ketchikan

[hwatsonnia]

17 minutes ago, Topdog52 said:

I agree 100%. I loved just watching the people on the streets.

It is worse than a no port day because you waste a lot of time instead of staying on board. A total money grab by NCL. 

[hwatsonnia]

21 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

see you on board for a drink? 😄 

It will also cost you hours waiting in line for the few buses that take 30 mins to turn around. I hope that’s clear. 

[aubreyc1988]

Just now, hwatsonnia said:

It will also cost you hours waiting in line for the few buses that take 30 mins to turn around. I hope that’s clear. 

idk, I have a cruiseline excursion booked so I probably won't be taking the 8.00 bus, but however long it takes, it takes...ready to get on a cruise, put me in any line and I'll wait in it! 

[The Traveling Man]

29 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

 

I'm not saying the situation is exactly the same, but 7 miles isn't the end of the world. Also, can you blame NCL for wanting to make money and try to drive people to use their shore excursions?  Yes it's a money grab, but news flash: that is what companies do, try to make money, increase revenue where they can, etc. Like when you go to a baseball game, you can't bring your own food/drinks in, it sucks but it makes good business sense that they want you to buy overpriced popcorn and drinks. Same with cruiselines. Yes, it's inconvenient and a time suck for those who do not take the cruiseline excursion, but whenever I was looking at excursions at Ketchikan, the independent tours and prices were exactly the same as the prices on NCL.  And as for long wait times for the bus, it's a new port, there are going to be some hiccups, and it's still being built up. I was on one of the few sailings that stopped in Trujillo Honduras, and believe me, there was LOADS of hiccups with that and talk about a port that was not ready! I just choose to look at this as such a minor inconvenience and more of a glass half full.  Having multiple docking points at Ketchikan will also bring more ships and more money to the port town. 

Aubrey, as one business owner from Dallas to another, I can't really argue with the thrust of what you are saying.  My primary point, though, is that NCL is not the only game in town.  There are many of us who really enjoy just getting off the ship and exploring a port town on our own.  Ketchikan is one of the ports that's ripe for such an adventure.  Holland America and other lines still offer that possibility.  NCL chose to curtail it.  There is more than one way to skin this cat, and the next time I go to Alaska I definitely will give other cruise lines a serious look instead of going with NCL.

 

BTW, if you have been to Deep Ellum recently, you should be able to recognize my CC avatar.

[The Traveling Man]

31 minutes ago, wacruiselover said:

From years of observation I would put people into four categories. When they see a partially full glass, some will say:

 

·        - "The glass is half full" – others will say,

 

·         - "The glass is half empty" – still others,

 

·        -   "I ordered a cheeseburger!" And I like to be the one who says,

 

·         -  "There are refreshments? Cool!"

 

Looking forward to that drink onboard! 😀

 

There is another option:  "You chose the wrong size glass."

[aubreyc1988]

8 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

Aubrey, as one business owner from Dallas to another, I can't really argue with the thrust of what you are saying.  My primary point, though, is that NCL is not the only game in town.  There are many of us who really enjoy just getting off the ship and exploring a port town on our own.  Ketchikan is one of the ports that's ripe for such an adventure.  Holland America and other lines still offer that possibility.  NCL chose to curtail it.  There is more than one way to skin this cat, and the next time I go to Alaska I definitely will give other cruise lines a serious look instead of going with NCL.

 

BTW, if you have been to Deep Ellum recently, you should be able to recognize my CC avatar.

As one business owner to another, the best way to invoke change is to not support the change so people who hate this can absolutely choose to do so, especially if it's super important to them. 👍  (altho I can't really forsee NCL abandoning Ward Cove) For me, the other pros of NCL far outweigh this minor inconvenience and since I plan to be using NCL excursions for the foreseeable future due to covid and all other sorts of uncertainties, it really doesn't affect me like it does other people. But like you said, HAL and other cruiselines is docking there and there are other options 🙂

 

And no, unfortunately I have not been to Deep Ellum recently. I live about 20 minutes from there, but I did love going there in the past (-2019) I used to go to concerts all the time there 😞 I was hoping to stop by this fall! 

[The Traveling Man]

4 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

And no, unfortunately I have not been to Deep Ellum recently. I live about 20 minutes from there, but I did love going there in the past (-2019) I used to go to concerts all the time there 😞 I was hoping to stop by this fall! 

The Traveling Man statue has been in Deep Ellum since 2009, so "recently" is a relative term.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Traveling_Man

 

If CC blocks that link, just Wiki "The Traveling Man"

[aubreyc1988]

2 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

The Traveling Man statue has been in Deep Ellum since 2009, so "recently" is a relative term.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Traveling_Man

 

If CC blocks that link, just Wiki "The Traveling Man"

Oh wow Yeah I have been in deep ellum but idk if I ever saw this, but to be honest I'm usually there at night but I will look for them next time for sure! 

[valleyvillage]

59 minutes ago, wacruiselover said:

From years of observation I would put people into four categories. When they see a partially full glass, some will say:

 

·        - "The glass is half full" – others will say,

 

·         - "The glass is half empty" – still others,

 

·        -   "I ordered a cheeseburger!" And I like to be the one who says,

 

·         -  "There are refreshments? Cool!"

 

Looking forward to that drink onboard! 😀

 

I say "Oh! That's where I put it!"

[wacruiselover]

1 hour ago, valleyvillage said:

I say "Oh! That's where I put it!"

I can relate to that. I once found my reading glasses in the refrigerator. Now I just tell people "I can't remember the last time I forgot something!" 🤪

[apye213]

Hi! We are on the Sept. 4 Encore sailing and it will be our first trip to Alaska and our first cruise on NCL. We typically cruise Disney but are trying to branch out. I have a question about how our trip may be affected by this docking location.

 

We are booked on NCL excursions. I assume they will bus us from the pier to the excursion location. However, will they drop us off afterwards in town for exploration? and if so, will we have to pay? Thank you!

[KruzPrincess]

5 hours ago, hwatsonnia said:

Yes but the line to this bus is hours long. 

Gosh, what a fun day in Ketchikan! 

[KruzPrincess]

5 hours ago, hwatsonnia said:

It will also cost you hours waiting in line for the few buses that take 30 mins to turn around. I hope that’s clear. 

Plus you’re standing outdoors, quite possibly in poor weather, waiting for the bus to return. 

[udivegirl]

2 hours ago, apye213 said:

Hi! We are on the Sept. 4 Encore sailing and it will be our first trip to Alaska and our first cruise on NCL. We typically cruise Disney but are trying to branch out. I have a question about how our trip may be affected by this docking location.

 

We are booked on NCL excursions. I assume they will bus us from the pier to the excursion location. However, will they drop us off afterwards in town for exploration? and if so, will we have to pay? Thank you!

Based on a post from someone that just got off the Encore, no, they will not drop you off. They have in the past but not this time around.  More than likely you won't have time to go back and explore since it takes 20-30 minutes each way.

[gregmarty]

I would venture to guess that some of the kinks will be worked out by the time the Encore docks again on Thursday.  These long lines were from the first cruise of the season.  It will certainly get better.  But in reality it does stink that you can't just walk off the ship into downtown.  

[Oceansaway17]

Well with Princess, HAL, RCI and Celebrity bringing more ships to Alaska over the next few years, perhaps NCL could not get much choice in berths for some ports of call.

 

So they decided to develop their own.  I would not like standing inside that ugly building waiting for over an hour to get to town.

I gotta believe since startup in Alaska was not decided until early May -- the US President signed a special bill -- that the cove was completed with their plans.

I think next year things would be better.  NCL is an innovative company and they just got caught up in the 2021 quick start up and all the covid issues.  They built up a new dock in Icy Point giving gondola rides to town.  Now that looks like fun.

 

So this is going to be a trend for NCL to do their own think.

Still I have been to Ketchikan twice and it was lovely to dock in town.  Time will tell I guess.

[Old & Retired]

21 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

 I can't blame NCL for wanting to push their own cruiseline excursions. Like I said before, I think it's smart and it is what I would have done if I was in charge. 

From your posts, you can't seem to blame NCL for any mistakes they make.

[Old & Retired]

2 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

 They built up a new dock in Icy Point giving gondola rides to town.  Now that looks like fun.

 

The gondola does not take you to town.  It simply transports you from the new, out in the wilderness dock, to the cannery.  From there it is still a 1.5 mile walk or for-fee bus ride into town.

[aubreyc1988]

25 minutes ago, Old & Retired said:

From your posts, you can't seem to blame NCL for any mistakes they make.

I guess not, love cruising NCL 😄

[ChiefMateJRK]

13 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I guess not, love cruising NCL 😄

+1.  The only thing I'll blame for any of these things that folks are complaining about is Covid.  I'm pretty sure we can blame Covid for everything these days!

Edited August 18, 2021 by ChiefMateJRK

[NCLherewecome]

6 hours ago, apye213 said:

Hi! We are on the Sept. 4 Encore sailing and it will be our first trip to Alaska and our first cruise on NCL. We typically cruise Disney but are trying to branch out. I have a question about how our trip may be affected by this docking location.

 

We are booked on NCL excursions. I assume they will bus us from the pier to the excursion location. However, will they drop us off afterwards in town for exploration? and if so, will we have to pay? Thank you!

We are Disney platinum cruisers and 8/7 was our first NCL and first Alaska cruise.  You are going to love it.  We had a blast!  Definitely will sail NCL again.   We loved the choice of restaurants and the Encore is a beautiful ship.  Now about Ward Cove.   We had 2 excursions planned for every port prior to Ketchikan, and planned to save that port for relaxing, shopping and supporting the local economy before the Great Lumberjack show in the afternoon.   We took the 8.00 shuttle to town to shop and I asked NCl if we had to come back to the pier to meet up with our group for the lumberjack show (I would have preferred to stay in town and meet our group at the show),  I was told no we had to come back to ward cove.   So I allowed an 1.30 minutes to get back grab lunch and meet the tour.   We didn’t have any time in town to explore many shops and no time to eat local.  We walked straight to Creek Street. Saw it walked back to shuttle, headed back to ward cove.    thankfully there were delicious sandwiches for sale in the warehouse, we gobbled those down and got in line for shuttle to lumber jack show, (which was so funny I loved it).  after the show we were mandated to get back to the buses quick, no time to shop.   I was thankful there were a few places to shop in the warehouse like the Ketchi candies (delicious) and Harley tshirts etc.    Places I wanted to visit downtown but no time to do so.  If we get to go back I’m not planning any excursions so I can spend the time exploring this wonderful quaint town. Hope this helps. 

[NCLherewecome]

Sorry to answer your question, we paid to go in to town to shop and that included the return to the ship. NCL bused us to the lumberjack show and back to the ship no charge.  

[Topdog52]

10 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I mean, this was the first sailing, I think things can only improve. 

Only if they are dock at the old pier. I loved walking off the ship and up the ramp right into down town Ketchikan. So many shops and the Lumber Jack Show was Great.

[Shellbelle28]

1 hour ago, NCLherewecome said:

We are Disney platinum cruisers and 8/7 was our first NCL and first Alaska cruise.  You are going to love it.  We had a blast!  Definitely will sail NCL again.   We loved the choice of restaurants and the Encore is a beautiful ship.  Now about Ward Cove.   We had 2 excursions planned for every port prior to Ketchikan, and planned to save that port for relaxing, shopping and supporting the local economy before the Great Lumberjack show in the afternoon.   We took the 8.00 shuttle to town to shop and I asked NCl if we had to come back to the pier to meet up with our group for the lumberjack show (I would have preferred to stay in town and meet our group at the show),  I was told no we had to come back to ward cove.   So I allowed an 1.30 minutes to get back grab lunch and meet the tour.   We didn’t have any time in town to explore many shops and no time to eat local.  We walked straight to Creek Street. Saw it walked back to shuttle, headed back to ward cove.    thankfully there were delicious sandwiches for sale in the warehouse, we gobbled those down and got in line for shuttle to lumber jack show, (which was so funny I loved it).  after the show we were mandated to get back to the buses quick, no time to shop.   I was thankful there were a few places to shop in the warehouse like the Ketchi candies (delicious) and Harley tshirts etc.    Places I wanted to visit downtown but no time to do so.  If we get to go back I’m not planning any excursions so I can spend the time exploring this wonderful quaint town. Hope this helps. 

@NCLherewecome thank you very much for this detailed and clear description of your experience. It's very helpful! I hope it improves and  evolves as time goes by, but the situation now is so different than prior experiences people are definitely going to have to adjust. 

[disneyochem]

Huh.  Have cruised the Alaskan inside passage numerous times on Disney, NCL and Princess.  We are cruising next summer on the Jewel because of FCCs but we are transitioning away from the Alaskan NCL cruises.  This is just one more justification for our decision.  Alaskan cruising is about the ports—and if you’re not spending quality time in the ports…..

 

Makes me wonder about NCL’s port stop in Sitka?   In the past, we’ve taken the free shuttle from the port to town and were able to roam around on our own as well as return anytime we wanted.  Perhaps NCL will start charging for that service as well?