Where to eat crab

[LynnSD]

My son’s one request for our cruise is fresh crab.  Any recommendations for a convenient spot in Juneau, Skagway, or Ketchikan?

 

We’ll also have a day in Vancouver so that’s another possibility.

 

Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

A quick search:

 

 

[gottagoacruzn]

In Juneau, its Tracy's crab shack, not sure of anywhere else!!!

[martincath]

I might already have written this info on one of the links Bruce suppied above, but just in case:

 

if by crab you mean e.g. Dungeoness, then anywhere you can see them live and watch them get cooked is fine (I doubt there's going to be much variance in price/lb anywhere convenient to the pier)

 

If you're expecting fresh King crab though, you won't find it in Tracy's! Like everywhere else in Alaska, it's 'steamed then frozen at sea, reheated ashore' when it comes to Kings in cruise season - cruise season does not overlap with fresh availability, so you eat the same frozen precooked crabs as literally anywhere on the planet... except Vancouver, where live Kings are shipped in and kept in tanks.

 

If you have at least half a dozen big eaters, or up to 10 regular appetites, an AKC Feast here might be just the thing for you - you do need to order a whole crab (~10lbs) but it comes served three ways, with plenty of side dishes, family style at several of our larger Chinese restos. While pricing varies a lot each season, I have one specific pricepoint this year already - a local resto offered 90mins of AYCE King Crab for CAD$198pp a few weeks back, but given that factored in still making money on folks guzzling as much crab as possible, $100pp remains plausible for a more normal 8-10 folks split one crab as part of a feast.

 

If you're happy with dungies, which despite being a lot cheaper are frankly also a better tasting crab anyway if you ask me, they're almost certainly also cheaper here than anywhere in AK thanks to USD vs CAD let alone the tourist premium in AK ports - for maximum crab, minimum frippery, I'd go with The Lobster Man on Granville Island. Pick your crab out of the tank, have it steamed or boiled for you, they'll do you a 'picnic pack' with bread, butter, lemons etc., even crackers and picks (although if you're visiting the public market anyway, it's cheaper to buy your own bread, lemons etc. over there as the Lobster Man adds a wee premium for the convenience, and dollar store tools work fine for a 'one and done' rather than something nicer you want to take home and use again in future).

[Northern Aurora]

I am mystified when other posters recommend Tracey’s Crab Shack in Juneau for king crab.  It is not fresh but freshly frozen.  We have been to Unalaska/aDutch Harbor, which is where the TV series Deadliest Catch is filmed, and even there the king crab is frozen.
 

I also like Dungeness crab.  There is a fishery for dungeness in Ketchikan. So truly fresh dungeness is available in Ketchikan.  We have dined at the George Inlet Lodge but also check Annabelles which is located right downtown.  At Annabelles it seems to be a frequent special.

[tunafish]

Vancouver is your best bet.

 

[kdakda]

So, are there other places to get Dungeness in Vancouver????   I doubt that we'll go to Granville Island, but will be staying near Canada Place for several days pre and post cruise (yes, we really enjoyed our stay in Vancouver last year, so booked another cruise for this year)

[martincath]

38 minutes ago, kdakda said:

So, are there other places to get Dungeness in Vancouver????   I doubt that we'll go to Granville Island, but will be staying near Canada Place for several days pre and post cruise (yes, we really enjoyed our stay in Vancouver last year, so booked another cruise for this year)

Loads - basically any seafoody resto, any time of the year, as we have 7 different zones in BC with differing availability so there's almost always some around. If you want a resto that's very likely to have fresh seafood in general, try Fanny Bay Oysters near the central library. They've got their own boat for true 'tide to table' cusine as they term it, a Michelin Guide 'recommended' nod, are very convenient for most downtown core hotels, and will also sell you seafood To Go as they operate a marketplace as well as resto in the same location.

[LynnSD]

Thanks for the tips, everyone!