Ketchikan - Why no glowing excursion recommendations?

[mcbain]

First timer to Alaska and these boards. My wife and I are taking the 7 day "Inside passage" Princess cruise the last week of August. It seems many forums, reviewers, and the three or four people we've talked to seem to "dismiss" Ketchikan excursions a bit more than the rest of the stops. Most are quite enthusiastic about the White Rail Pass railroad in Skagway and the glacier-by-helicopter while in Juneau. We booked those. But seemingly, I can not seem to find anyone with anything overly motivating in regards to doing an excursion on Ketchikan, outside of the float-plane tour. I found one glowing review from 2003 about the "Lighthouse, Totems, Eagles" tour so I booked that. We have been hemming-and-hawing about sticking to our guns to keep our budget for excursions to $1,000 so doing both the Floatplane tour AND helicopter are out, at least for today. So my long-winded question is "What's the deal with Ketchikan?" Is that the day we should think about just strolling or is there anything for the $200 dollars left in our excursion budget someone can highly recommend? Thank you in advance for your feedback.

[CC Help Michell]

First timer to Alaska and these boards. My wife and I are taking the 7 day "Inside passage" Princess cruise the last week of August. It seems many forums, reviewers, and the three or four people we've talked to seem to "dismiss" Ketchikan excursions a bit more than the rest of the stops. Most are quite enthusiastic about the White Rail Pass railroad in Skagway and the glacier-by-helicopter while in Juneau. We booked those. But seemingly, I can not seem to find anyone with anything overly motivating in regards to doing an excursion on Ketchikan, outside of the float-plane tour. I found one glowing review from 2003 about the "Lighthouse, Totems, Eagles" tour so I booked that. We have been hemming-and-hawing about sticking to our guns to keep our budget for excursions to $1,000 so doing both the Floatplane tour AND helicopter are out, at least for today. So my long-winded question is "What's the deal with Ketchikan?" Is that the day we should think about just strolling or is there anything for the $200 dollars left in our excursion budget someone can highly recommend? Thank you in advance for your feedback.

 

We enjoyed both our excursions in Ketchikan. The Classic Tour we took with Lois Munch in her '55 Chevy was great fun, and our Bering Sea Crab Fisherman excursion was one of our top two favorite excursions of the entire trip. The floatplane trips to Misty Fjords also consistently get good reviews here -- that just wasn't something we were comfortable doing.

[CowPrincess]

Ketchikan is a nice town for just walkin' around in, too. That may be why there's not as much discussion about excursions (just a thought, y'know?) It has a lot of native culture, and some very amazing art galleries. If you want art from Alaska, this is the town to get it.

 

You can do Creek Street on your own, walk the "Married Men's Path" (I think that's what it is called), see the hatchery, the raptor centre, the Totem Heritage Centre -- all without a tour. I think a LOT of people do that.

[ggprincess2004]

We did a flightseeing and crab feast in Ketchikan which was one of the great highlights of our b2b2b in Alaska. We also loved the lumberjack show - our 19 year olds had a great time there, and it was about an hour of good clean fun and entertainment, along with some serious lumberjack skills.

I didn't remember seeing Princess offer the flightseeing and crabfeast combination again this year - but I know the company that did the tour is still offering the trip. Also, there is another crab feast with a boat excursion, also at George Inlet, which is getting great reviews as well.

 

Have a fantastic time on your cruise!:)

[muffy6445]

We did the saxman village tour and found it very good. Its a short excursion which left us time to explore the town. I really enjoyed learning about the native culture. Would definately recommend

[kalliekae]

We enjoyed both our excursions in Ketchikan. The Classic Tour we took with Lois Munch in her '55 Chevy was great fun, and our Bering Sea Crab Fisherman excursion was one of our top two favorite excursions of the entire trip. The floatplane trips to Misty Fjords also consistently get good reviews here -- that just wasn't something we were comfortable doing.

 

 

The floatplane trip was the absolute highlight of our Alaskan cruise. We would do it again in a heartbeat! If you get the chance, do it. We never felt the least bit uncomfortable. :)

 

We are planning another Alaskan cruise and I am interested to hear about the Bering Sea crab fisherman excursion. Please tell me more. Thanks!

[mustcruisemore]

Anan Creek Bear excursions originate out of Ketchikan and there is no better excurision in Alaska in my opinion. Probably too late to try to book now as there are a limited number of permits that are issued each year. We booked with Island Wings almost a year in advance....keep in mind for the next time.

[dolfndreams]

I did the floatplane excursion with Michelle from Island Wings this July 25 and it was extraordinary. She was great and we landed on a platform and watched seals and walked around a bit. I understand she also lets passengers off on land if the weather permits. There was some wind that day that she was being careful of.

 

I have some extraordinary pictures of Misty Fords as we flew since we ended up with one of the rare clear days. Extraordinary scenery and Michelle very friendly and welcoming. I couldn't believe the shots could be that good out of windows but gorgeous.

 

Definitely a excursion I will schedule next time or maybe the Bear watching...:) anyway definitely will go with Island Wings.

 

Now if I could just figure out how to upload my pictures I'd let you see them. Still working on that. Have fun. I loved Ketchikan both the flight and creek street shopping.

 

Nan

[sunsetbeachgal]

We did the Orcas Cove Kayaking trip with Southeast Seas Kayacks in Ketchikan...it was wonderful. Saw eagles, seals, orcas and humpback whales. May be a bit over the budget you quoted, but if you are kayakers it is a wonderful excursion. Ketchikan is a great town to walk around in too! Have fun!

[DougH]

Ketchican is my least favorite port, mainly because it has been totally overrun by large chain tourist stores. The downtown area lost all its charm to me when all of the "Mom & Pop" owned stores left.

 

That said the best excursion by far here is the flight to Misty Fjords with Island Wings IMHO.

[Coral]

I have been to Ketchikan about 6x and I have to admit - it is my least favorite port. I seriously can not strongly recommend any shore excursion that I have been on. I have gone to Saxman Village, I have taken a float plane to Misty Fiords, I have done the Lighthouse boat trip, I have gone to lumber jack show, did the duck tour and the boat ride into Misty fiords. I am probably missing a few things but nothing strikes me as great like some of the excursions I have done in Juneau or Ketchikan.

[pipedreams62]

In my opinion get out of town,float plane go fishing.etc. The town we found dirty and not much other than shops with $3 hats and $5 tee shirts-

 

If I was the Mayor of this town,I'd clean it up.

[noobiecruiser]

I really enjoyed Kechikan ... we had excellent weather, which was unusual according to the locals. I did the Eagles and Lighthouses tour (which I really liked -- lots of wildlife) and then walked the town on my own. It is a really cute town with lots of good shopping and quaint areas to stop and people watch. My husband did a fishing tour and had a fantastic time.

[mochaloca]

If the Island Wings sea plane tours are something that interest you, I would give them a call. We're cruising the week of 8/22 and I just booked the Misty Fjords flight last week. They even had 2 seats on an earlier flight that day that combined Misty Fjords and bears (not Anan, the other place.) Anyway, you don't know until you call!

[triciaminkc]

We went on the bear creek zip lining tour and it was GREAT!

[mommyof2]

We too did the zipline tour (Bear Creek--because of young kids) and had a great time! Alaskan Canopy Adventures did a fabulous job!! I can't wait to go again sometime!!!

[kenish]

We went kayaking with SE Sea Kayaks. They were great! Then we did the Totem Heritage Center, walked down Creek Street, and visited the SE Interpretive Center. Although we did very little shopping in any of the ports, Tongass Trading had some of the lowest we encountered on the trip.

 

In my opinion, Ketchikan rates a solid 7...it's just that some of the sights in other ports rate even higher. Also, time in port is short for many of the ships.

[Suzanne123]

Another vote for the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen tour -- Going back again next May.

 

http://www.56degreesnorth.com/?gclid=CK6ui6i-gJUCFQkcHgodOC1irA

[Lois R]

Looks like your post got you lots of good replies:) :D

The first time I went to Ketchikan I took the

"Duck Tour" and it was alot of fun:D. It was 90 minutes and so

it gave me time to walk around on my own as well.

 

This time I am trying a Culinary excursion which seems

to be something new. A few folks gave it a big thumbs up

on their reviews and I am really looking forward to it!

I leave 5 weeks from TODAY...wooohoooooo:D

[Budget Queen]

Ketchikan has plenty to see and do, from essentially free walking tours to the most costly Anan Bear fly ins. Misty Fjords flightseeing IS a very popular excursion and for good reason. :) Especially if you have no experience in a floatplane.

 

The key is to get past the shopping and stores in the immediate downtown. I've written about a walking tour, that has been enjoyed by many. In August you should have some salmon running, take a look perhaps?? Native culture is a highlight, with Saxman Village enjoyable, also Totem Bight, with the option for a cheap city bus ride being your only expense. (print out and take the guidesheet with you. Totem Heritage Museum is about the history and preservation. The Public Lands, Discovery Center, also an interesting look.

 

Request their visitor guide http://www.visit-ketchikan.com Head to your library and take out Frommer's Alaska and Fodor's Alaska, both have some detail for Ketchikan and walking tour maps.

[inkmahm]

First timer to Alaska and these boards. My wife and I are taking the 7 day "Inside passage" Princess cruise the last week of August. It seems many forums, reviewers, and the three or four people we've talked to seem to "dismiss" Ketchikan excursions a bit more than the rest of the stops. Most are quite enthusiastic about the White Rail Pass railroad in Skagway and the glacier-by-helicopter while in Juneau. We booked those. But seemingly, I can not seem to find anyone with anything overly motivating in regards to doing an excursion on Ketchikan, outside of the float-plane tour. I found one glowing review from 2003 about the "Lighthouse, Totems, Eagles" tour so I booked that. We have been hemming-and-hawing about sticking to our guns to keep our budget for excursions to $1,000 so doing both the Floatplane tour AND helicopter are out, at least for today. So my long-winded question is "What's the deal with Ketchikan?" Is that the day we should think about just strolling or is there anything for the $200 dollars left in our excursion budget someone can highly recommend? Thank you in advance for your feedback.

If you're on SB Diamond Princess leaving Whittier on Aug 23, you're on our ship. :)

 

We are doing the combo Traitor's Cove and Misty Fjords with Island Wings this time around. In 2005 we were there in May, before bear season. We did the Princess excursion that was the jet boat and LOVED it. We saw wildlife on that tour, even some bears on shore. If it were not salmon running season this time, we'd do the jet boat again. Then in the afternoon we did the lumberjack show. I'd skip that if you've ever seen a lumberjack show before as this one was pretty much like all the rest. Okay, but not necessarily worth the time.

[dorijo]

We did the Bering Sea Crab Tour on July 31 with golden princess. It was amazing. We saw alaskan golden crab,box crab,octopus, dog shark, snow crab and rock fish. All caught on lines or cage..The owners are really nice people who give you a great tour of commerical fishing in the bay. Then they take you to an island where you see more eagles than you expected live there. It is a great tour for young or old. Go to 56degreesnorth.com or Bering Sea Crab Tour on google if your ship doesn't post this tour.

Doris

[Dandylyon]

We too did the zipline tour (Bear Creek--because of young kids) and had a great time! Alaskan Canopy Adventures did a fabulous job!! I can't wait to go again sometime!!!

 

I agree about these zipline tours in Ketchikan. We just returned a few days ago from our summer Alaska cruise. It was my first time ziplining (I'm 50 yo), and I was very nervous. But, the guides were very patient, kind, and encouraging to all of us in the group. I felt very safe in their hands and with the safety equipment and zips. It was great fun! I'll definitely do it again. It was a highlight of our trip--no one at my job can believe I went ziplining.

 

I like Ketchikan. I enjoy just walking around town, while avoiding all the cruise-ship stores. It's also a good opportunity to visit an internet cafe, if that's your thing. There's a good one very close to the dock (Seaport Cyber)--you can even get on their wireless network right from the ship!

[countrygal52]

The "iffy" thing about Ketchikan is the weather - it was drizzly the day we were there last Aug. So if the weather gets too bad, any flightseeing trip may get cancelled... Ketchikan weather is NOT always bright,warm and sunny....

 

We did the Aleutian Ballad Bering Sea crab tour that day as DH and I both love the "Deadliest Catch" series on Discovery Channel. OUR tour was around $100/pp for a 3 hour trip. We got to watch as they pulled up crab pots and got to touch/hold crabs, prawns, dog sharks, and an octopus. They also showed a video in the galley, and you can buy shirts, etc.

 

It was a very interesting trip- we LOVED it! Unfortunately, we had a short port time that day, so we missed Creek St. and the totems....maybe another time:) .

[Costafox]

My DH did the Harley Davidson tour in Ketchikan with www.panhandlemotos and it was the highlight of our trip for him - he had a really wonderful time