Ketchikan Ward Cove

[SeattleAl]

Hi folks! Looks like our August cruise on R/C Ovation of the Seas will be docking at the fairly new Ward Cove dock, about 8 miles out of town. Does anyone know if there is some sort of transportation from this dock into town? Thanks!

[Qextor]

Same boat.  No idea myself.  Gonna hunt around though.

[don't-use-real-name]

There is a city bus route through Ward Cove and shuttles from WC to the 4 piers in the

tourist center of Ketchikan.

 

Posted earlier:

Posted February 3

Ketchikan Silver Line Bus Schedule:

 

Silver Bus TheBus Kethickan Schedule - RideSchedules

 

Bus from Ward Cover - to Totem Park - turn around point is Clover Pass (Church)

 

Browse for more detailed information

 

As for the Cruise line shuttles NCL and your R/C check with cruise line for more info !

[karatemom2]

Yes, Ward Cove does have shuttles that, at least last year, were provided for free after the first disastrous attempt to charge people. They were plentiful and ran regularly. You do need to factor about 20-30 minutes each way into your planning for your port day. 

Edited April 7, 2022 by karatemom2

[donaldsc]

3 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

Yes, Ward Cove does have shuttles that, at least last year, were provided for free after the first disastrous attempt to charge people. They were plentiful and ran regularly. You do need to factor about 20-30 minutes each way into your planning for your port day. 

 

Since many of the Ketchikan stops are only half day stops, that is a significant piece of your port time.  If I was going to do AK on R/C, that would impact my decision as to which cruise line to use.  Add to that loss of time the fact that some cruisers feel that for some reason they have to go back to the ship for lunch and the move would make this impossible.

 

DON

Edited April 7, 2022 by donaldsc

[SeattleAl]

8 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

Since many of the Ketchikan stops are only half day stops, that is a significant piece of your port time.  If I was going to do AK on R/C, that would impact my decision as to which cruise line to use.  Add to that loss of time the fact that some cruisers feel that for some reason they have to go back to the ship for lunch and the move would make this impossible.

 

DON

We're in from 7am to 4pm, so that helps. I get you have many huge ships that want to visit in the busy summer months, so you need more space. Sucks we got the short straw.

[jerseygirl629]

I just posted this in another thread but I never received an email about this! Major bummer as I literally just booked an excursion in Ketchikan this afternoon with an 8am start time. Guess I need to cancel it. This might explain why half of the excursions became unavailable to book on their website.

Edited April 8, 2022 by jerseygirl629

[donaldsc]

11 hours ago, SeattleAl said:

We're in from 7am to 4pm, so that helps. I get you have many huge ships that want to visit in the busy summer months, so you need more space. Sucks we got the short straw.

 

Ketchikan could solve that problem by limiting the number and/or size of the ships they allow in.  They could also have the smaller ships anchor and tender in.  However we all know that these options would never occur.

 

DON

[RW20]

I am on the Ovation this summer and was diverted to Ward Cove. I did a little digging and found that there is a complementary shuttle to Ketchikan from the port (source https://wardcoveak.com/about-us) the drop off location was discussed at City Council and they debated a mix of drop off at beth 2 vs the Ketchikan Southeat Discovery Centre. Looks like it will be the latter which appears to we walking distance to many areas downtown and the lumberjack show.

[quack2]

Avoid Ward Cove cruises.  They will eat into your valuable time in Ketchikan.

[Glaciers]

Ward Cove does seem to be the booby prize for Ketchikan cruise ships, particularly with the Seattle round trips with short port times.

[SightCRR]

The Discovery Center is free if you have a National Park Pass and is nice for free. Maybe not so much if you have to pay. sightcrr. 

[jerseygirl629]

15 hours ago, jerseygirl629 said:

I just posted this in another thread but I never received an email about this! Major bummer as I literally just booked an excursion in Ketchikan this afternoon with an 8am start time. Guess I need to cancel it. This might explain why half of the excursions became unavailable to book on their website.

Just wanted to post an update… I reached out to Alaska Shore Excursions to see if my excursion would still be possible (My family booked a private Hummer tour with guide) as there is at 8am departure and they said it shouldn’t be a problem because I have a “whole hour” to get there in time. I hope they are right. 😕

[karatemom2]

9 minutes ago, jerseygirl629 said:

Just wanted to post an update… I reached out to Alaska Shore Excursions to see if my excursion would still be possible (My family booked a private Hummer tour with guide) as there is at 8am departure and they said it shouldn’t be a problem because I have a “whole hour” to get there in time. I hope they are right. 😕

 

Just be up and ready to jump off the ship as soon as all clear is called and you should be fine. There were a lot of shuttles waiting for the passengers getting off first thing based on our experience last year. As long as your ship arrives on time it should work out for you.

 

[Dancing Shoes]

On 4/8/2022 at 11:05 AM, Glaciers said:

Ward Cove does seem to be the booby prize for Ketchikan cruise ships, particularly with the Seattle round trips with short port times.

True.  Most people wouldn't think to check where their ship docks at popular ports. 

[seagunthera]

For anyone interested in looking up the port info in Ketchikan:  https://claalaska.com/?page_id=1551

[quack2]

 

Always good to know in advance where you will be docking and how many other ships will be in port that day.

[jerseygirl629]

11 hours ago, quack2 said:

 

Always good to know in advance where you will be docking and how many other ships will be in port that day.

 

In this case, RCL was scheduled to dock in Ketchikan, it did not change until recently. If I had known it was going into Ward Cove, I would have picked another sail date and/or cruise line. Unfortunately, it is now too late to switch. 😞

[quack2]

48 minutes ago, jerseygirl629 said:

 

In this case, RCL was scheduled to dock in Ketchikan, it did not change until recently. If I had known it was going into Ward Cove, I would have picked another sail date and/or cruise line. Unfortunately, it is now too late to switch. 😞

It probably won't happen, but I think you deserve some form of compensation for this unfortunate change.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, quack2 said:

It probably won't happen, but I think you deserve some form of compensation for this unfortunate change.

 

The "fine print" gives the line the right to make changes. It's disappointing, but they can do it. It might have been Ketchikan's call, not RCL's, so we don't  know whom to blame.

 

The out-of-town docks can be a hassle, especially if you have to get into the town to pick up an independent tour. 

[Glaciers]

Interesting post from someone who lives in Ketchikan and reported issues with one of the first ships at Ward Cove this year.

 

“Just a heads up Ketchikan travelers, that Norwegian Cruise Lines has developed an exclusive new dock some 7 miles from downtown Ketchikan with an old pulp mill building acting as a visitors center after a multi-million dollar remodel. The visitors center has some shopping, some entertaining diversions and a few local shops setting up kiosks. Travelers today were outraged to find out they had to take a shuttle to town, arriving only at Berth 4, a half mile walk from downtown and Creek St., and could only stay 90 minutes as NCL wants to stagger return times. One enterprising family called a cab and found it was $40 each way to town and back. Our one Uber driver had no comment. Not a great situation for the NCL passengers. That said, if you are doing excursions only, you might find it a better option because it's closer to many drop off points and flight seeing operations.”  Posted by rainbirdreader on Trip Advisor

[kattybiz]

We were on the second NCL ship into Ward Cove and didn't have any of those problems.  Shuttle dropped us off at berth 2. Easy walk to Creek Street, and could return at any time - should be in downtown for about 4 hours.

[cwatts15]

We are thinking a booking NCL and it goes to Ward Cove. We are traveling with a couple with mobility issues and use scooters. Does anyone know is the shuttle accommodates scooters so they can see the town?

[LMKakaThing2]

3 hours ago, cwatts15 said:

We are thinking a booking NCL and it goes to Ward Cove. We are traveling with a couple with mobility issues and use scooters. Does anyone know is the shuttle accommodates scooters so they can see the town?

 Currently docked at Ward Cove. The shuttles are charter buses…think greyhound buses. They may be able to put them in the luggage compartment below.

[LMKakaThing2]

On 4/29/2022 at 8:59 AM, Glaciers said:

Interesting post from someone who lives in Ketchikan and reported issues with one of the first ships at Ward Cove this year.

 

 

“Just a heads up Ketchikan travelers, that Norwegian Cruise Lines has developed an exclusive new dock some 7 miles from downtown Ketchikan with an old pulp mill building acting as a visitors center after a multi-million dollar remodel. The visitors center has some shopping, some entertaining diversions and a few local shops setting up kiosks. Travelers today were outraged to find out they had to take a shuttle to town, arriving only at Berth 4, a half mile walk from downtown and Creek St., and could only stay 90 minutes as NCL wants to stagger return times. One enterprising family called a cab and found it was $40 each way to town and back. Our one Uber driver had no comment. Not a great situation for the NCL passengers. That said, if you are doing excursions only, you might find it a better option because it's closer to many drop off points and flight seeing operations.”  Posted by rainbirdreader on Trip Advisor

Currently docked at Ward Cove and they’ve had buses running all day. Drop off and pick up was at berth 2.