Ketchikan Crab Feast No Longer All-You-Can Eat

[Crew News]

The Ketchikan George Inlet Lodge crab feast excursion has changed all-you-can-eat crab feast to "two portions" of crab.  From Holland America Line,

"Due to the extraordinary increase in the cost of crab, in an effort to keep the price of the excursion reasonable, the amount of crab included in the meal has changed from all-you-can-eat to two servings. This is the average amount historically requested by guests. Additional servings are available to purchase during the meal."  No price for additional portions was provided. 

 

My crab feast definition for the past 12 years in Ketchikan has been six portions.  Now no longer a feast, this is just a crab lunch that can be had cheaper in downtown Ketchikan.

[JT1962]

Not too surprising with the prices of most things rising. Maybe they could offer a higher priced option for All-U-Can-Eat for those that are interested, but then they would have to monitor those that always try to circumvent the rules. It’s easier to maintain prices and manage how much to prepare by limiting the potions allowed.

[rkacruiser]

Not surprising because of the increase in prices of fish and seafood that I have observed in my grocery store.  

[Northern Aurora]

This change doesn't surprise me either.  When we dined at the George Inlet Lodge the servers kept bring out mounds and mounds of fresh crab.  It was absolutely wonderful.

[J0Y0US]

Seems like a fairly significant downgrade. 

 

Additonally the cost? Don't they catch the lobster themselves? So it's more like they simply want to profit more which is fine. 

[Crew News]

17 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

This change doesn't surprise me either.  When we dined at the George Inlet Lodge the servers kept bring out mounds and mounds of fresh crab.  It was absolutely wonderful.

And the average servings were two per person????

[Glaciers]

2 minutes ago, Crew News said:

And the average servings were two per person????

I'm interested in this too. How many servings does a person usually eat there? And, isn't it about the experience as well as the crab?

[PJB3]

I'm booked through Celebrity and it still says all you can eat.  Wonder if this will change as the crab feast is the part of the excursion we were really looking forward to.

[Northern Aurora]

21 hours ago, Crew News said:

And the average servings were two per person????

 

 

I don't know what the average servings would have been.  Both my husband and I had the initial portion and then when the servers circled the room with the second large tubs of crab we had some more.  That was enough for us.  But the servers circled more times.  I have no idea if they have any limits as to how much crab they can serve to someone.

 

I also saw no evidence that the lodge employees actually catch the crab they serve.

[Free2bMeForever]

I booked the tour through Alaska Shore Excursions and the description is “Included: All-you-can-eat crab feast”.  If that has changed and they do not directly notify people, I suspect they will be dealing with angry customers. 

[J0Y0US]

6 hours ago, Free2bMeForever said:

I booked the tour through Alaska Shore Excursions and the description is “Included: All-you-can-eat crab feast”.  If that has changed and they do not directly notify people, I suspect they will be dealing with angry customers. 

 

I had looked over the weekend and again today. The official site has no mention of it being limited they simply dropped any mention of unlimited. 

 

Honestly fairly suspect imo when probably 75% of reviews specifically mention a mountain or unlimited amount of crab.

 

I think it's a 1-2 month gotcha that backfires as word spreads.

 

In business though I am about transparency and giving the customer the transparency of information that they can make an informed decision. 

[wolfie11]

On 4/16/2022 at 1:50 PM, Crew News said:

The Ketchikan George Inlet Lodge crab feast excursion has changed all-you-can-eat crab feast to "two portions" of crab.  From Holland America Line,

"Due to the extraordinary increase in the cost of crab, in an effort to keep the price of the excursion reasonable, the amount of crab included in the meal has changed from all-you-can-eat to two servings. This is the average amount historically requested by guests. Additional servings are available to purchase during the meal."  No price for additional portions was provided. 

 

My crab feast definition for the past 12 years in Ketchikan has been six portions.  Now no longer a feast, this is just a crab lunch that can be had cheaper in downtown Ketchikan.

As an experienced and enthusiastic Alaskan crab catcher and eater, I am very disappointed to hear this.  I always tried to get here once or twice a year.  I guess I can cross this off my list.  I never eat at Tracy's in Juneau anymore.  The closer they move their operation to the cruise docks, the more they charge and the less you get.  
 

 

[bcwife76]

This is extremely disappointing to hear. Having done this excursion in 2019 we booked it again for this coming July. 2 per person was the average? HA! I think not. I had 3, my husband had 5 and I'd say 5 was the average at our table. Hmmmmm....will have to peruse Ketchikan excursions again I think...

[Glaciers]

Their timing on this notification is horrible. There are multiple sites that still show All You Can Eat and allow bookings.  They really opened up a can of worms. It will be interesting to see the comments once the first cruises of the season partake in this excursion.

[Free2bMeForever]

4 hours ago, Glaciers said:

Their timing on this notification is horrible. There are multiple sites that still show All You Can Eat and allow bookings.  They really opened up a can of worms. It will be interesting to see the comments once the first cruises of the season partake in this excursion.

I sent an email to the company I bought the tickets from for clarification.  This is the response I received:

Hello, 

Our local tour operator confirmed it it is unlimited crab for the time spent in the dining room.  Usually a guest will eat about a pound and a half of crab.

Let us know if you have additional questions!

Best,

[smfkbf]

I called them directly last week. I was told that HAL and Princess(?) are now limited to help keep the cost down. She said this was a cruise line choice. She did not mention any other line and stated if booked direct with them it is still unlimited. Will find out in a few weeks.

[LMKakaThing2]

2 hours ago, smfkbf said:

I called them directly last week. I was told that HAL and Princess(?) are now limited to help keep the cost down. She said this was a cruise line choice. She did not mention any other line and stated if booked direct with them it is still unlimited. Will find out in a few weeks.

Debating on doing this next Wednesday. If I do, I’ll update. 

[rkacruiser]

On 4/26/2022 at 2:30 PM, smfkbf said:

I called them directly last week. I was told that HAL and Princess(?) are now limited to help keep the cost down. She said this was a cruise line choice. She did not mention any other line and stated if booked direct with them it is still unlimited. Will find out in a few weeks.

 

That is very useful information!  Thank you for calling them and finding learning this.  

[Anne614]

On 4/26/2022 at 11:30 AM, smfkbf said:

I called them directly last week. I was told that HAL and Princess(?) are now limited to help keep the cost down. She said this was a cruise line choice. She did not mention any other line and stated if booked direct with them it is still unlimited. Will find out in a few weeks.

 

The catchcrabs.com website does not show that it is unlimited crab at the George Inlet Lodge.  It did previously.  

 

[donaldsc]

On 4/26/2022 at 11:30 AM, smfkbf said:

I called them directly last week. I was told that HAL and Princess(?) are now limited to help keep the cost down. She said this was a cruise line choice. She did not mention any other line and stated if booked direct with them it is still unlimited. Will find out in a few weeks.

 

Typical cruise line shenanigans.  You can book it directly from George Inlet for $85.  How much is the cruise line charging you w/o unlimited crab?  BTW - check out this George Inlet page - https://catchcrabs.com/tours/local-crab-feast/.

 

DON

Edited April 28, 2022 by donaldsc

[oakridger]

What do they consider a "serving"?  When I eat dungeness crab at home, I usually eat about 1/2 or a little more of a whole crab. Depends on size of the crab, of course, but I always get the largest they have at the display counter.

 

~Nancy

[Crew News]

7 hours ago, oakridger said:

What do they consider a "serving"?  When I eat dungeness crab at home, I usually eat about 1/2 or a little more of a whole crab. Depends on size of the crab, of course, but I always get the largest they have at the display counter.

 

~Nancy

One Crab Feast serving to me is:

 

[LMKakaThing2]

It’s all you can eat in a 45 minute period. Just got back to the ship from the feast. 

[Crew News]

4 hours ago, LMKakaThing2 said:

It’s all you can eat in a 45 minute period. Just got back to the ship from the feast. 

Sounds like they got the message after the bad publicity and cancellations.

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, LMKakaThing2 said:

It’s all you can eat in a 45 minute period. Just got back to the ship from the feast. 

 

How do they regulate the time period?  There's a whistle at the start of the 45 minutes and another one at the end of the 45 minutes?