Hoonah, Alaska's Icy Strait Point - A taste of the REAL Alaaqsaq (Alaska)

[Hoonah_Tlingit_Boy]

HELLO! TADAH! I send my sincerest apologies to those of you who have been eagerly awaiting my next post...hopefully this time I don't post this simultaneously as another cruiser. I literally spent an hour + typing that last post, but unfortunately this board isn't designed to deal with simultaneous posts. That's ok, I'll do my best to refresh my memory...

 

I would like to personally extend my "gunalcheesh's" (thank you's) to those of you who have expressed interest in my new thread, and to those of you who will and have had the opportunity to set foot here at Icy Strait Point in Hoonah. You are truly our honored guests, and we welcome you with open arms. One might begin to wonder, "how do the local people feel about these large ships coming into Hoonah?" I'd say that 99% of the community is excited and ecstatic about being given the opportunity to share our place in this world, and the culture and heritage that thrives within it. The 1% that wishes the cruiseships and visitors would just go away, ironically, are people who have relocated from the lower 48 states to escape the hustle and bustle of the "outside" world. So disregard that 1% because we as the Xunaa Kaawu gladly accept and embrace your eagerness to visit us in the "REAL ALAAQSAQ" - no bombardment of jewelery shops, t-shirt shops or starbucks). There is nothing here to create a fassaud of any type - masking the truth and aboriginal people of a place so vast and beautiful, undeserving of costume decor. I'm utterly amazed at how many people come to Alaska, and leave Alaska without ever knowing who really lives here, and who it's aboriginal people are. It's a shame that one could come so far, seeking the rawness and cultural base of such a place, and leave without ever truly knowing where they'd just been. It is my mission to be able to educate and share with our visitors the authenticity of a place still inhabited by it's original people. It's important for each and every one of us to identify with the bloodlines that create us, and more importantly, celebrate it.

 

Now, to continue the story from my original post..."When the very first ship rounded Icy Strait Point (known locally as cannery point), it was almost a paranormal experience. I would compare it to anybody else seeing the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) for the first time. A sea of red coats (part of the ISP uniforms) lined the docks, watching in disbelief as the massive ship filled with 3X the amount of people that live in our village, rounded the point, ushering in with it a bright and unequivocal opportunity for the Tlingit of Hoonah and the infrastructure of a prideful community. We all began jumping, clapping, nervously fixing one another's collars in anticipation for what was about to envelope us. What would happen next would be far more than any of our expectations exceeded....." We all began rehearsing our tour outlines, wondering nervously if we were properly prepared to share our stories and history with our newfound friends. Little did we know that our wealth of experience and knowledge as Hoonah people were preparation enough. There was nothing that needed any altering for we were about to offer a glimpse into what the world was seeking on their trip to Alaska...authenticity, rawness and exposure to a heritage otherwise unknown and unexplained. We watched as the large floating city lowered the first of many tenders to come, and the excitement began to frenzy on the docks. We sent out some of our people, the Xunaa Tlingit, in canoes to meet the first tenders to depart from the metropolis of the seas. As the first tender neared the dock, we began to drum and sing our traditional songs. As it inched closer and closer, the drums grew louder, and our voices stronger. The first guest to step off of the tendering dock was a man bewildered with surprise and delight in his eyes. He was bombarded with welcomes and helpfulness. Of course, he was asked " How does it feel to be the very first person at Icy Strait Point?" He fumbled on his words and had no complete answer. Understandable. Each guest thereafter would be met with the same level of enthusiasm and powerful beating of the drums and Tlingit songs to accompany it. Soon people began to depart on their excursions, and with them, guides who at one time never spoke to more than a group of ten, usually all family. A lifetime full of pent-up pride and power were ready to be unveiled to the honored guests who had stepped and would soon step into Hoonah and Icy Strait Point.

The day continued on with a buzz about the community and those of us working at Icy Strait Point could find nothing to quench our levels of sheer energy and excitement. As the last of the excursion buses and boats returned, and the final guests stepped onto the tender, again the drums were beating loudly and voices carrying for miles. We waved profusely at the last tender departing, and we soon scurried up to the service dock closest to where the ship was departing. Again, there was clapping, cheering and hugging. As the ship began to round the picnic grounds, we extended our arms out and began waving profusely at 180% angles. We whooped and hollered, and there were guests lining the balconies waving just as profusely and whooping back at us. Once the rear of the ship was no longer within view, we all began hugging and rejoicing, recollecting what just happened to us.

 

More to come.......................................................

[robbinsca]

Koo Hook-

 

We thouroughly enjoyed the visit in early July on the Summit. I hope your community will leave things just the way they are.

 

The forest walk and a visit to the tidal pools were much more enjoyable than spending more hours walking by the commercialized tourist districts in the other ports.

 

We had a great lunch at the restaurant right there in the cannery area, and left a few dollars behind, but the value of your port is that we get to see Alaska in its natural state of beauty. Best of luck to all of you in keeping ISP and Hoonah as a non-touristy spot.

[JohnQ]

Does anyone know how often the tenders are running back and forth to ship during day at ISP? Especially Celebrity? Trying to see if we can do a tour, then go back to ship to eat and then go back and walk around or do another tour. We have 8 hrs there.

[JohnQ]

Koo Hook, others at Hoonah:

Did I scare you off or are you working way too hard? Still trying to get more info on bearviewing probabilities for this tour in order to decide on this vs whalewatching. Celebrity also cut our time by two hours from 8 to 6hrs, so I need info fast. Thanks.

[lrn376]

just got a letter from my travel agent that Celebrity, Summit, June 24,2005 has changed the hours we will be in ISP. We will be in ISP from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Originally we were suppose to be at ISP from 8:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m. This change is for sailings from June 6, 2004 thru Sept. 12,2005. Anyone have any ideas why this change? I'm disappointed.

[JohnQ]

same hours for our 9/3 summit cruise.

[aharris]

I just got back from the Celebrity Summit 2 days ago. The tenders ran nonstop back and forth and took about 10 minutes each way, so there was one each way about every ten minutes.

[aharris]

I went fishing in Hoonah with some locals. Halibut - Caught two 45 pounders and one salmon by mistake (3 of us on the boat, caught 6 total - our limit). Also went salmon fishing in Ketchikan, caught four 20 pounders. 5 of us on the boat, caught 20 total and saw 2 orcas while fishing. For a lady it was quite a feet to reel them in but I had a blast. We saw porpoises and humpbacks whales while fishing. I hope to go back next summer just to fish. People in my group went bear watching but apparently the bears aren't plentiful unless the salmon are running and they weren't. Did whale watching in Juneau with Capt. Larry on the purple orca it was fabulous, saw the whales bubble net feeding, we counted 12 total but can't be sure. We did a 4 day post cruise trip to denali park and saw the grand slam, 4 grizzlies, dall sheep, moose, caribou, and mt. mckinley clear as a bell.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions you may have, after 13 days I feel I know quite a bit now.

[JohnQ]

aharris

when were you in Hoonah?

[lrn376]

I have not been to Hoonah yet. I am first going in June,2005. I will be doing a land and sea. First doing the land. I am going southbound, starting out from Seward and ending in Vancouver. Besides all the fishing that u did, what other excursions did u do. I am thinking about taking Capt. Larry's whale watch in Juneau and then going to see Mendenhall glacier.

I am hoping to see some bears in ISP, but I may be too early for that. Looking forward to ISP, having read so much info on it.

All info and suggestions from this board are very much appreciated. Looking forward to "picking your brain" on your wonderful Alaska trip. Thanks again for your info thus far. Have a nice weekend. Lois

[BudNBailey]

I am trying to find a fishing charter for my husband in one of our Alaskan ports of call. Any port better for fishing than another...Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau, or Icy Strait?

 

Looks like we are stopping in Icy Strait...

 

Hoonah Tlingit Boy-are there fishing charters for Icy Strait that we could add 1 person too on Sept 8? We are arriving on RCCL Vision of the Seas.

 

Thank you for your help.

[JohnQ]

Irn376

Based on this thead and the older one, it looks like June may be too early for the salmon which may mean no bears. Haven't heard back from anyone who was just there who saw or heard about later in season. We are also looking forward to this port.

[Hoonah_Tlingit_Boy]

Hi everyone! Yes, it is true that we are all extremely busy lately. There have also been a few losses within our community, and many of us have been taking time for remembrances and strenghtening within our family units. So, again, I apologize....

 

Robbinsca - Gunalcheesh for the kind words, and I will be heavily assisting in the valiant efforts by the people to keep our corner of Alaaqsaq designed for just that, the people within it's parameters. Again, in the effort to provide a true glimpse into the Alaska so many of our guests miss in your average "run-of-the-mill" cruise, but more importantly in the effort to avoid compromise of our culture for financial gain and the compromise of our community to remain just that, have spurred many of us to recognize the dangers of commercialization and "visitor-driven fassauds" from taking a stronghold on the place we love so dear. So thank you for your concerns, and as long as I'm here, Hoonah and Icy Strait Point will be for our people, with the desire to share it as is with our honored guests.

 

JohnQ - I apologize to you personally for taking such dramatic lengths of time to answer your questions. Again the possibilities abound here...and on any tour where wildlife is involved, we all must remember that in no way shape or form are these animals controlled, baited, or triggered to show themselves upon demand of the guests. These beautiful wanderers of our lands far outnumber us, and truly come and go as they please. For those of you that don't remember in my earlier posts, there are times when the schools will have to call the parents to pick up their children because of the brown bears wandering throughout the village. We do have 1.6 brown bears per square mile on the Island of Chichagof, labeling us the brown bear capital of the world. We have had the bears enter the site at Icy Strait Point, but none of us were ever surprised, having grown up here and knowing the immense population of the bears and their supremacy to the people who live here. Now I'm sure everybody's heard differing reports on the Wildlife and Bear Search here at Icy Strait Point....and those DIFFERING reports are telltale of any wildlife search....some might not see any, and most recently groups have been returning from Spasski River Valley with 6-8 brown bear sightings within the valley. There were actually two close encounters on the trail last week, triggering our personal "brown bear" security officer (who is also a local police officer within the community) to deter the bears and discourage them from approach. He was successful, and good at what he does. So YES, there are plenty bears to be seen here....and hopefully you will be blessed with the awesome reality and honored presence of the Xoot (brown bear). As far as the whalewatching here at Icy Strait Point, I am actually the naturalist aboard the ship who tells of this area and talks of our spiritual connection to the land,sea and air and discusses MUCH about the whales of this particular area. The point of destination is a place well-known for having some of the largest congregations of humpback whales in Alaska. I can honestly say that there hasn't been one instance when I didn't see a whale while on my boat.....that's the truth. Again, these magnificant animals are also wild, creating their own charted traveling paths. I hope this information will help JohnQ, but I think no matter the opportunity or what it is you decide to do, you'll get a good grasp of what it is that is driving you to explore in the first place......we'll see you soon.

 

Irn376 - We all wondered the same thing about the short duration in which some of the ships are here, and were surprised to find out what I think is an "absent-minded" reason for departing so early. Apparently, when the ship departs early from Hoonah and Icy Strait Point, it's to get to Ketchikan earlier so that they can get a place at the dock. Now I see how one might sympathize with the crew and such from the ship itself, for they won't have to prepare or put as much effort into getting the guests to shore, but I don't think that the "cruises of lifetimes" are designed to accomodate the crew. Unfortunately, that mentality is cutting short, what I think may very well be one of the best opportunities to visit the Alaska you thought of when you bought your cruisetickets. I hope to see that duration time change in the future, because the experience is truly for you, our guests in this great, vast and beautiful place.....

 

BudNBailey - I would recommend searching through the cruiseline itself to begin with, because they do book chartered vessels through Icy Strait Point, which has all local guides. However, if you miss that opportunity, I would recommend sending your husband in on the first tender to arrive, and having him search past the security stand for local charters eagerly awaiting guests. It is usually a first-come first-serve basis. If you wish to seek more information, google "Tok River Outfitters, G-Wind Charters, and Royal Charters" all great and safe bets for Hoonah charters.

 

I certainly hope that I was able to answer everybody's questions adequately, and am looking forward to your arrivals. I will be the naturalist on the whalewatch, and in all likelihood, you just might catch me drumming and singing Tlingit on the docks or the beach......who knows.....keep those inquisitive minds responding......GUNALCHEESH HAAT YEEY.AADI! (Thank you for coming.)

 

Koo Hook

[churee]

Dear Koo Hook,

My husband and I were privileged to visit Icy Strait on July 27 on the Summit. I am having a hard time using the right words to convey the spiritual connection I felt to Icy Strait.We did not do the whale watch with you (I regret not having met you personally), but did walk along the shore and took the forest walk. I met several of the people of your community, and felt much warmth and sincerity. Please don't change anything that you folks are doing. All the planning that you have done is evident. I am sorry that the captain of our ship shortened the time spent on your island, just to get a better spot in Ketchikan. For me, it was not quantity, but quality. I take back many memories of Alaska with me, but Icy Strait has a special place in my heart and soul.

 

Joyce

[JohnQ]

Koo Hook, Thank you for the reply. I knew you were probably very busy and was hoping someone else who had just been there could give us an update on the whalewatch, and bear tour, after reading the earlier negative reviews of the bear tour. We were trying to decide when and where to take a bear tour and dependent on your response would book accordingly. We decided to book a day in Hallo Bay from Homer to spend time in bear country. Still undecided on ISP as to whalewatch, bear tour or just walk to town and enjoy with less rushing around as you always say. I hope you and the others in Hoonah will still be eagar to see us on Sept 7th and not "Oh no, here comes another ship!!"

[piper1]

Hi there

 

I am recently back from Celebrity's Summit and a wonderful visit to ISP. I believe we took an excursion with your father Dennis as our guide on a Bear Watch Expedition. He is a wonderful ambassador for your island. We saw bears, eagles and enjoyed the beautiful serenity of the place. I was amazed how well prepared everyone is and the thoughtful gestures extended to all the cruise ship passengers. You have something very special there and I hope the tourists don't cause it to change too much.

 

Good luck,

Tricia

[Hoonah_Tlingit_Boy]

First off, I wanted to extend my apologies to those of you eager enough to pick apart my last post for it's grammatical and tense inconsistencies....it must have been late=) Tomorrow will be the 19th ship to port at Icy Strait Point...to think just a few short months ago, I was constantly talking about May 11th and making history (the first ship turned out to be on May 23rd) and preparing my people for the awakening and opportunities rapidly coming with the tides. The salmon are gathering in the streams, the daylight hours are growing shorter, and long gone are the days of record-breaking temperatures. Signs of fall are filling the air, and HAA AANI (our land) again begins to change in dramatic fashion as always. Those who were here yesterday, would not know the same place now. Those who are to come, will see what was not here yesterday. What a great, great place to be to witness the dramatic, beautiful beginnings and endings to the lives of all the magnificent creatures that make Alaska home. Spiritual foundations are strengthened, and new spirits create a more beautiful land, sea, and air - ever so slightly. What a time. The life here is truly something, and with the transitions between seasons, despite lack or gain of daylight, temperature fluctations and boom and bust of wildlife, it's still comforting and a spiritually-healing gift to become part of those changes, and move and react as the rest of the living earth around us. I'm growing excited for winter, and the healing processes that take place during that season. I saw my first northern lights since summer just two weeks ago, and that was fall's first hello.

 

Joyce - I'm sorry we didn't get to meet in person either. I am however happy with the choices you made while you were here. It sometimes takes the simple things, such as touching the water, feeling the rocks on the beach, or walking through the forest to regain a true sense of who you really are. There are few things as gratifying as having that opportunity to grasp that sense of self, and liking what you sensed. Again, there is nothing here we wish to alter JUST to accomodate those we are sharing with. We love our home, our people, and the lives we've all created through traditional values, integrity, and respect. It is our wish to keep it that way, and send the younger generations that very same message. We clamor at the opportunity to share, and through sharing, we are granted the ability to excercise what it is that is important to us as a people. If that tool is utilized properly and with respect, our cultural threads and cohesiveness as a community shall never be in danger of commercialization, or become wrought with falsehoods catering to the misconceptions of the people. So have no worries Joyce, we will never change, not if I have anything to do with it....

 

JohnQ - Don't worry bud, we'll still be excited to see everyone in September, because we'll know that our time is coming to again, throw the blankets over the community. We'll be well aware that these days will be our last opportunities to educate, celebrate with, and share with our guests the Alaska that brought them here. This healing season will be different than any others I've ever experienced. We will be reflecting on a historical occasion, that took the Hoonah Tlingit people to a national level of recognition and helped our culture flourish, igniting a resurgence in the embracement of who we truly were, the Xunaa Tlingit; not a tribe, not a clan, but a people. So John, there will still be much to celebrate, and reasons to rejoice upon your arrival in September. Gunalcheesh.

 

Tricia - Gunalcheesh for the compliments to my father. You know, we've had our differences, for I was always a stubborn, difficult child who claimed he "got his rights" at the age of 8. I'm growing a greater love and respect for my parents as I continue to mature and grow, and am now realizing the things that were once worldly at the time, are simply and were simply stunted reactions based on WANTS WANTS WANTS. Ahhhh....the joy of growing. I'll be sure and tell my father about your kind words, and will continue to relish the joys of working with my dad, and learning new things of his life everyday. GUNALCHEESH.

 

Soon everyone's time will come to visit, and even sooner will come the time to make another great friend.........

[EGCruisers]

We were in Hoonah with the Summit in early July. We had Tok River Outfitters take us out whale watching. They took us out for six hours and we had a great time. We saw whales breaching, blowing, and slapping their tails. We found the mother and baby, too. There were five of us and we were the only passengers on the boat. It cost about the same as the ship's shore excursion. They also do fishing excursions. The boat is owned and operated by a father and son. I would highly recommend them! The only downside was not having much time to poke around Hoonah or the cannery, but I would make the same choice if I were to do it again.

[JohnQ]

How long does it take to get from Hoonah to the prime whalewatching spots that the cruise tour boat goes? I heard 17 miles but don't know how much time that means in transient and how much in prime area enjoying the whales. Koo Hook, thats your area of expertise again, right? See, the questions never end.

[phdiva]

<Thought you'd want to see what the Washington Post had to say about Hoonah>

 

Tourists Buoy Economy Of Tiny Alaskan Village

 

By Blaine Harden

 

HOONAH, Alaska -- The encircling rain forest has been all but chopped down, and logging jobs are nearly gone. Income from salmon fishing has plummeted, a casualty of global salmon farming.

 

Yet this tiny native village on an island in southeastern Alaska is suddenly swimming in cash.

 

If Marge Peterson, a village trinket-maker, does not make $400 after six hours of selling earrings made of fish-head bones, she thinks something is amiss. Sealskin moccasins, at $360 a pair, are disappearing as fast as village women can stitch them together. Bear tours ($90) are packed. So are humpback whale cruises ($79) and charter fishing excursions for salmon and halibut ($179).

 

Hoonah is feeling the financial rapture -- and fretting the cultural dislocation -- of being discovered by one of Alaska's fastest-growing industries: cruise-ship tourism.

 

Pale interlopers from the lower 48, smelling of sunscreen , wearing khakis with complicated pockets and videotaping everything in sight, are disembarking here this summer for the first time. With wonder in their eyes and cash in their wallets, they come off big white ships in herds of 2,400 to 4,000. They seem to find this village of rusted tin roofs, potholed roads and 860 Alaskans, most of them members of the Tlingit tribe, to be the Far North experience they had been dreaming about.

 

"This is more remote, more wild, more like you are out in the elements," said Don Albin, owner of Don's Furniture City in Three Rivers, Mich. His cruise was a gift from his wife, Louise, in honor of his 80th birthday.

 

"It couldn't be better," said Louise Albin, enumerating the joys of Hoonah and its surroundings on Chichagof Island, where people are outnumbered by brown bears (the big, often surly beasts that are called grizzlies in the lower 48). In a two-hour tram tour, she said they saw a brown bear, a bald eagle, several sea lions and a whole lot of spawning salmon.

 

Large cruise ships are not new in Alaska. For decades, the number of ships and passengers has been swelling along the state's southeast panhandle -- as the logging industry shrinks.

 

It is an eco-driven phenomenon that cuts against the resource-extraction grain of Alaska's political leaders, who continue to grumble about a 24-year-old congressional decision to create 104 million acres of parks and refuges across the nation's largest state. As former governor Walter J. Hickel once complained, "We can't just let nature run wild."

 

Yet wildness -- at least, wildness as perceived from the deck of a luxury cruise costing several thousand dollars -- will lure about 800,000 people to the Alaskan coast this year, injecting more than $700 million into the state's economy.

 

When the big boats are thick in the ports, the invasion transforms such smallish ports as Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka into crowded, kitschy tourist traps, where T-shirt hawkers and fast-food odors imbue the 49th state with the ticky-tacky feel of the Jersey shore. That ambiance has become a word-of-mouth downer for cruise-ship marketing.

 

Ergo, Hoonah -- the newest, rawest and, by far, smallest port of call for cruise ships plying the Inside Passage of southeast Alaska. It is a collaborative invention of a Juneau guide company and the local native corporation, Huna Totem.

 

Part of the reason this town needs tourism is that Huna Totem, in a rush to cash in on logging, hired contractors to make massive, environmentally damaging clear-cuts of forests on native-owned land on Chichagof Island.

 

Timber companies have since chopped down nearly all the marketable trees -- and laid off nearly all the Tlingits who had been working in the woods. Cruise ships drop anchor in Hoonah's harbor beside a steep and eroding clear-cut hill.

 

To prepare for the crowds -- which roll in at a rate of one ship a week and could increase in coming years to five a week -- a derelict cannery was refurbished as a museum-mall.

 

"We never could have pulled it off without the cooperation of all the people in the village," said Johan Dybdahl, who grew up in a cabin beside Hoonah's salmon cannery and is now president of the company that runs the destination.

 

Old machines once used to lop the heads off salmon have been painted, polished and bedizened with headless salmon and severed salmon heads (made of real-looking, odorless plastic.) There's a theater for Tlingit cultural performances. Nearby, you can use a credit card to attend a salmon bake or buy necklaces made of fishing hook swivels.

 

To the delight of people in this village -- where unemployment has been running at about 60 percent, the school has been hemorrhaging students and the municipal budget has been mired in red ink -- sales have been phenomenally brisk.

 

"There are very few places where you actually have a captive audience that wants to buy what you have for sale," Dybdahl said. "But here it is pretty much guaranteed that, when a ship is in port, 800 to 1,000 people will walk into your shop."

 

The town expects sales tax revenue to triple this year and to rise even more steeply as more ships arrive in coming years, said Jerry Medina, the town administrator. He said Hoonah will use the money to pay long-overdue bills, pave roads, extend water and sewer lines and buy a new firetruck.

 

The money has made a believer out of Kathy Mills Marvin, 45, a Tlingit craftswoman who lives in the village and whose first reaction when she heard about the coming of the cruise ships was disgust.

 

"I didn't want anything to do with it," she said. "I had seen all the tourists in Juneau, and I was worried that they would overrun us."

 

To mitigate this concern, a decision was made to impose a limit on cruise ships: no more than one a day (excluding weekends) during an 18-week season.

 

Marvin said she and most people in town now "feel pretty protected" from the influx, even as they make more money off it than they had thought possible. She said she cannot make baby bootie moccasins ($75) fast enough to keep up with demand.

 

In this village that has seen little in recent years but a rise in unemployment, there was widespread cynicism -- even as the cannery was refurbished as a cruise-ship destination -- that tourists would come.

 

"They didn't believe it until May 23, when the first ship came," Dybdahl said.

 

Now they believe. To avoid running out of baby bootie moccasins and deerskin gloves, as they have this summer, villagers say they will have to work all winter.

[Karen and Mark]

Hello again,

 

I have been planning to come and whale watch at ISP for over a year. I had contacted a local provider over 6 months ago. I wrestled with my decision to chose ISP over the much proclamined Capt. Larry in Juneau. But when Koo Hook first came to Cruise Critics board and described his home. I knew this would be okay.

 

Late last night, I received an email from the whale watch provider that they were not able to take me whale watching and referred me to another provider. This provider says "it costs $400 to take the boat out for 3 hours" I call my third person in our party of three to inform him of the change. He has changed his mind and wants to remain with his wife who also doesn't want to go. Now my "party" is 2.

 

I have written all this to ask: Celebrity offers a whale watch excursion at ISP for $118. HOW MANY PEOPLE are on the boat? Are there enough seats outside to watch the whales? I walk with a cane. I can not stand for any length of time. Are there many "times" offered like "Capt. Larry's"? If so, when is the preferred time to depart? Would it be possible to bring a wheelchair onboard for me to sit in?

 

I am frustrated. I am one of those people who "plans" everything and last minute changes get me flustered. Please advise and help me.

 

Thanks,

Karen

[Karen and Mark]

Hello again,

 

I have been planning to come and whale watch at ISP for over a year. I had contacted a local provider over 6 months ago. I wrestled with my decision to chose ISP over the much proclamined Capt. Larry in Juneau. But when Koo HOOk first came to Cruise Critics board and described his home. I knew this would be okay.

 

Late last night, I received an email from the whale watch provider that they were not able to take me whale watching and referred me to another provider. This provider says "it costs $400 to take the boat out for 3 hours" I call my third person in our party of three to inform him of the change. He has changed his mind and wants to remain with his wife who also doesn't want to go. Now my "party" is 2.

 

I have written all this to ask: Celebrity offers a whale watch excursion at ISP for $118. HOW MANY PEOPLE are on the boat? Are there enough seats outside to watch the whales? I walk with a cane. I can not stand for any length of time. Are there many "times" offered like "Capt. Larry's"? If so, when is the preferred time to depart? Would it be possible to bring a wheelchair onboard for me to sit in?

 

I am frustrated. I am one of those people who "plans" everything and last minute changes get me flustered. Please advise and help me.

 

Thanks,

Karen

[JohnQ]

Hi Karen

I just checked the Celebrity site and it says there are two whalewatching tours at 9am and 12:15 and they are 3 hrs long. However with our change in port times, I would assume these times will be moved up? I may try to call them for clarification on this. The boat holds 250 people and has numerous sitting areas, the only question I have heard is about the amount of outside rail space to view the whales without getting squashed or not being able to move around. What time is your substitute provider proposing to go out?

[Karen and Mark]

The provider was open to what ever time I wanted.The provider said he would meet me at the chain-linked gate. He said we could give him a phone call since his computer is down.

 

My DH and myself would be the only one on the 35' Tolleycraft at $200 each. But 250 people are so many to deal with when I can't move as I would like. If only I could find 2 others to come with us, then it would be $100 each. That would be bliss. $88 per person more and 248 people less...

I believe that Capt. Larry's boats hold 22 passengers. I just don't know what to do.

 

Karen

[Chookenshaa]

Haven't been on here in a while, I lost the main thread and Lone Star John pointed me in the right direction via e-mail..Thanks John.

I hope everyone that has been to Icy Strait enjoyed themselves, I know I met a few of them, Lonestar, Ann, and Boten and his wife. I didn't get to talk very much with Boten as I had a medical emergency to take care of.

To everyone soon to be here, are you excited??? I still am, with each and every vessel that pulls into our port I eagerly look forward to meeting people from around the world and sharing our island paradise, our culture, our way of life. This is one job that I get up excited every morning and can't wait for the day to begin.

To answer a few questions I have seen about the shops, there are a few at Icy Strait under a dozen, but they are not connected with the cruise line. All the shops at Icy Stait point are Alaska family owned and most have familial ties to our village.

In answer to the excursions, bear sightings have been very good, the salmon are going upstream and the feeding is good for Old Brownie. Salmon fishing on the boats has been doing very well, they have been getting all five species of salmon and halibut also. The whale watching has been superb for quite some time now.

We are also in the process of setting up an ATV trail that you our guests can take to the Outer Point, what fantastic views that entails. Hopefully it will be up and running this week.

I hope this answers some of your burning questions until Koo Hook, (Howard) arrives to give additional updates.

 

Chookenshaa--Lisa