Icy Strait or Haines?

[RickEk]

We are considering taking a 10-day Alaskan cruise this summer on the Sea Princess roundtrip from San Francisco. The two dates that work for us have different itineraries. The only difference is one stops in Icy Strait and the other in Haines. Can anyone give me some advice about what to do in either port? Thanks in advance!

[jer_l]

We are considering taking a 10-day Alaskan cruise this summer on the Sea Princess roundtrip from San Francisco. The two dates that work for us have different itineraries. The only difference is one stops in Icy Strait and the other in Haines. Can anyone give me some advice about what to do in either port? Thanks in advance!

Both are good ports that have not been filled with Caribbean Jewelry stores. Icy Strait is fairly new port for cruise ships and offers some great excursions. It is a tender port. The scenery is amazing. On the other hand, Haines has great historical significance. You should be at the dock in Haines. I don't think you can go wrong with either choice, but I would probably choose Ice Strait.

[SEPyle]

I loved our day in Haines last summer; however I love Icy Strait so much we decided to start our trip this last summer with 3 nights in Hoonah! If you have any desire for whale watching; Hoonah is offers trips to Point Adolphus, which in my opinion consistantly delivers in incredible whales breaching/flipping/flopping and in the Hoonah Harbor we were fortunate enough to witness bubble net feeding!

 

Yesterday I offered my opinion on what to do in Haines and as I said; we loved our time there. But overall; I would pick Icy Strait!

[RickEk]

Thanks for the replies... I appreciate it! :)

[gottagoacruzn]

We are considering taking a 10-day Alaskan cruise this summer on the Sea Princess roundtrip from San Francisco. The two dates that work for us have different itineraries. The only difference is one stops in Icy Strait and the other in Haines. Can anyone give me some advice about what to do in either port? Thanks in advance!

 

If you go to icy strait, be sure to take the whale watching tour, offered by the cruise line, also eat lunch at the The Office, they have king crab leg on the menu, its so good, then take a walk around the village there.

[mii]

While I have not been to Haines(would love too) I have been to Icy Strait and I would go back there in a heartbeat. No upteen jewelry stores such as in ketchikan, Juneau and skagway. It is exdtremely beautiful setting; from the dock where the tender lets you off there are a number of old warehouse that now are part museum, part small shops and a couple of restaurants. You can then walk to the town of Hoonah(about 1 mile) or take a shuttle. The town is about 800 or less, absolutuly nothing fancy but there were eagles everywhere by the marina. You will not regret Icy Strait.

 

Marilyn

[tonkadq]

Our perfect port.... museum & shopping in one place!

[GranMona]

I'll ad my vote for ISP. We loved it so much on our cruise stop that we went back and spent 8 days in Hoonah. We spent a few days fishing/ whale watching and a couple more days touring the countryside looking for bear and other wildlife with TECKK Outfitters. We had a wonderful time and brought back lots of halibut to enjoy.

[tetleytea]

You can do the Eagle Float Trip in Haines, whereas you can't in ISP. If you're docked long enough, you should be able to ferry boat it to Skagway (for a price).

 

ISP you can rent bikes and ride around. There are wild berries on the side of the road which are perfectly edible (taste really good, too).

 

All-in-all, I'd still choose ISP over Haines as well, but I would choose the float trip over the whale watching. Maybe it's just me, but IMHO whale watching gets old after the first couple of times you do it. It doesn't really matter where you are if you're spending the whole time on shore excursion anyway.

[coolrider]

:o:oI have been to ISP several times and as for eagles they were everywere. You can stand down town by Ninas and the locals somtimes throw out scraps and the eagles swoop down right in front of you. The fish cannery is right in the middle of town which brings in alot of marine life and birds. I hear from keith (TECKK) thet he has some locals that are going to be running boats out of Ninas for whale watching and fishing.

[RickEk]

Thanks again for all the replies. :)