Tracy's Crab House Question, looking for King Crab legs

[larrybritt]

We will be in Juneau in July this year We arrive at 1pm but taking a tour from 2-6:30 and the ship leaves at 9pm, based on that anyone think it is possible to get King crab legs at Tracy's? We hear that is the place to get them on a cruise to Alaska. Unless anyone knows of another place, please let us know. We will be at the usual stops, Ketchikan, Skagway and Sitka, Juneau and Vancouver. We want to try some and know there was no season this year, So seems like limited options. 

[KKB]

6 minutes ago, larrybritt said:

We will be in Juneau in July this year We arrive at 1pm but taking a tour from 2-6:30 and the ship leaves at 9pm, based on that anyone think it is possible to get King crab legs at Tracy's? We hear that is the place to get them on a cruise to Alaska. Unless anyone knows of another place, please let us know. We will be at the usual stops, Ketchikan, Skagway and Sitka, Juneau and Vancouver. We want to try some and know there was no season this year, So seems like limited options. 

This should be asked under Alaska (Ports of Call) thread, not under Princess.

Edited April 30, 2023 by KKB

[larrybritt]

LOL that funny. I’m just trying to get an answer to a question. And figured I would ask the entire Princess group. I get Alaska is specific but the Princess group as a whole is awesome. You didn’t even take the time to offer anything to the question. Anyway, anyone who can offer any insight is appreciated. Thank you.

[Lady Arwen]

Most importantly you must be back onboard by, at the latest, 8:30 for a 9:00 sailaway.  Your excursion is back at 6:30, so that gives you two hours to eat.  I think that would work if you could make a prior reservation so that you’re not standing in a long line to get in.  Tracey’s is the best place but since we ate there in the afternoon I’m not sure how busy it is at dinner.

There are similar restaurants at your other ports and probably you could get lots of info from the folks on your roll call.  Hopefully, another member can help you out better than I.  And, yes the king crab legs are delicious!

[Rick&Jeannie]

Be prepared to shell out some serious "clams"!  Last time we were there (fall 2022) I remember thinking how expensive they were...but then I'm not prone to doing crab legs.  As far as the location...I don't think you could do any better.  Stellar reputation!

[Kamloops50]

28 minutes ago, larrybritt said:

LOL that funny. I’m just trying to get an answer to a question. And figured I would ask the entire Princess group. I get Alaska is specific but the Princess group as a whole is awesome. You didn’t even take the time to offer anything to the question. Anyway, anyone who can offer any insight is appreciated. Thank you.

You might find King Crab to be very expensive this year. They closed closed the season in the Bering Sea to harvest King Crab.

[WAvoyager]

You might consider The Smokehouse in Skagway.  Haven’t been to either yet - Tracy’s was packed and Smokehouse was closed when we went last year, but reviews are very good.  We’ll be trying at least one of the two on our next trip in August.

[cr8tiv1]

I was shocked at the prices a couple of seasons ago.  I can imagine it is way up there now.  But yes, best crab legs I've ever had.  Not dripping wet and not too salty.

 

I heard too, that the season is winter..(watching the Deadliest Catch).  So the crab is really frozen, not fresh.

 

https://kingcrabshack.com/pages/menu

[wolfie11]

You’re paying $75 a pound for frozen king crab, possibly from South America or Russia, as the Alaska king crab areas are closed.  Much better to eat fresh, local Dungeness crab that tastes better anyway.

[wreckem2013]

3 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I was shocked at the prices a couple of seasons ago.  I can imagine it is way up there now.  But yes, best crab legs I've ever had.  Not dripping wet and not too salty.

 

I heard too, that the season is winter..(watching the Deadliest Catch).  So the crab is really frozen, not fresh.

 

https://kingcrabshack.com/pages/menu

Hard shell crab is almost always cooked and frozen often times right on the harvesting ship or right when they get back to port. Soft shell blue crab can be purchased live on the east coast. King and snow crab is almost always cooked and flash frozen.

Edited May 1, 2023 by wreckem2013

[quack2]

The poor man asks a question about the timing of eating at Tracy's and getting back to his ship on time.  One response addresses his question.  I'm not an expert but it may depend on where you're docked.  Unless it "around the corner" as the furthest pier.  I think you should be okay.  But don't dilly-dally (technical term).

[donaldsc]

Since your king crabs are all frozen, it really does not matter where you buy them.  You can get them in a crab place anywhere in AK or in the lower 48 and assuming that they are prepared properly you will get the same stuff.  Why not order something that is freshly caught and in season and that probably came off the boat yesterday or today.

 

When you think about it the AK king crab schtick is a bit of a scam.  I do have do admit that the scenery in AK outside of your restaurant is better than the scenery outside of your restaurant in Chicago.

 

DON

Edited May 1, 2023 by donaldsc

[wolfie11]

11 hours ago, larrybritt said:

We will be in Juneau in July this year We arrive at 1pm but taking a tour from 2-6:30 and the ship leaves at 9pm, based on that anyone think it is possible to get King crab legs at Tracy's? We hear that is the place to get them on a cruise to Alaska. Unless anyone knows of another place, please let us know. We will be at the usual stops, Ketchikan, Skagway and Sitka, Juneau and Vancouver. We want to try some and know there was no season this year, So seems like limited options. 

Tracy's is downtown between the first two berths,  it is probably a 10-15 minute walk to the Franklin dock and 25-30 minute walk to the AJ dock.

 

[Kathscof]

just remember its counter service/fast casual, so no reservations and there will be a line 🙂

 

and even though I know its "the same and frozen" no matter where I get it.....I don't trust myself to not ruin it, hopefully places in Alaska know how to cook it better than I HAHAAH 

[wolfie11]

[yoshi]

Hi All, not sure if it is ok to post this but I watched a You Tube video done by Josh and Rachael's Food and Travel called This is Why You Go to Alaska. It is 34 minutes long but if you don't want to watch the whole thing, go about 20 minutes into the show and they went to Tracy's on the way back to the ship.

Looked yummy!  

 

[WAvoyager]

$75 a pound at Tracy’s.  Ugh.  I haven’t gone out and looked here recently - but there are tons of locations like this in our area (greater Seattle area), so I usually don’t pay much attention to prices.  With the season shut down, we stopped buying snow crab, and it looks like we’ll wait until next year for a king crab fix.

 

I really hope the fisheries recover.  😳

 

(Pic is from google - but it is our favorite crab monger at the market)

[wreckem2013]

To answer the OP I believe Tracy’s closes before your ship leaves. As long as you are in line before they close you will get served. If you get back to 6:30pm you should be in line by 7. Is sail away at 9:00 or is that all aboard? If it’s sail away you could be cutting it close depending on how busy it is but should be okay. You just need to beeline it straight to Tracy’s and the. Straight to ship.

[wreckem2013]

5 hours ago, WAvoyager said:

$75 a pound at Tracy’s.  Ugh.  I haven’t gone out and looked here recently - but there are tons of locations like this in our area (greater Seattle area), so I usually don’t pay much attention to prices.  With the season shut down, we stopped buying snow crab, and it looks like we’ll wait until next year for a king crab fix.

 

I really hope the fisheries recover.  😳

 

(Pic is from google - but it is our favorite crab monger at the market)

I saw King crab at Costco for $20 a pound this past weekend. Routinely see it on sale at regular grocery store for $35-40. Restaurants are all $65-80.

 

 

[Northern Aurora]

I know it isn't a popular sentiment among her fans but I just find Tracy's Crab Shack to be over rated for what it is.

[wolfie11]

56 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

I know it isn't a popular sentiment among her fans but I just find Tracy's Crab Shack to be over rated for what it is.

I agree. I’ve tried it a couple of times.  The bisque is ok, but I’ve always thought the prices were on the high side.  Of course, I’m a veteran of the all you can eat crab feasts at Ester Gold Camp.  Ah, the good old days!

[luv2cruise668]

On 5/2/2023 at 2:01 PM, Northern Aurora said:

I know it isn't a popular sentiment among her fans but I just find Tracy's Crab Shack to be over rated for what it is.

I completely agree.  We went last year and I wanted to go there as I heard it was THE place to get crab.  My BF had the King Crab and it was really watery.  I had the dungeness as it is my fave.  I enjoyed it but the prices were OUTRAGEOUS.  For the two of us it was almost $200 dollars.  Not worth it in my opinion.  

[wreckem2013]

On 5/3/2023 at 5:56 PM, luv2cruise668 said:

I completely agree.  We went last year and I wanted to go there as I heard it was THE place to get crab.  My BF had the King Crab and it was really watery.  I had the dungeness as it is my fave.  I enjoyed it but the prices were OUTRAGEOUS.  For the two of us it was almost $200 dollars.  Not worth it in my opinion.  

Crab in restaurants is expensive where ever you go when compared to making it yourself at home. $75 at Tracy’s is in the market price range or $60-$80 that most restaurants sell king crab for.
 

Also keep in mind when looking at prices, King crab is about .6-.7 pounds of meat per pound. Dungeness is about .25 pounds per pound, so while you initially think  snow or dungeness is a lot cheaper, on a picked meat basis it’s only marginally cheaper than king crab. King crab is my least favorite though.

 

I’m doing a Cajun crab boil this weekend. 5lbs of snow and 5lbs of dungeness. Cost for crab at home $100. Cost of this at a restaurant about $400+tax&tip(so closer to $500). It’s just like brisket. You can smoke your own if you know what you’re doing and have 8-10lbs for $60ish or go buy it by the pound for at a restaurant for $28-32.

Edited May 5, 2023 by wreckem2013

[Guyc]

I saw a new Crab restaurant just opened in Ketchikan called "Crab n Go", its over near the Lumberjack Show. Prices and offerings looked about the same as Tracys.

[eileeshb]

Anyone know if there is a possibility of getting take out and being allowed to bring it back aboard the ship?