Fiarly urgent question on Ketchikan Port time and excursion

[Prose]

Help! We are sailing the Wonder on the June 7 trip to Alaska. As I understand, our port time into Ketchikan is 1:30pm. That means that the only available time to take the Bering Sea Crab tour is 4:30....that will not get us back to the ship until 7:30, which is also listed as our departure time. Is this possible? what will our 'all aboard' time be? We talked to ShoreTrips.com about booking this as part of a 3-port package, and they are already booking this excursion time for other Disney passengers.

Are we cutting it too close? Thanks!

 

[trimix]

Help! We are sailing the Wonder on the June 7 trip to Alaska. As I understand, our port time into Ketchikan is 1:30pm. That means that the only available time to take the Bering Sea Crab tour is 4:30....that will not get us back to the ship until 7:30, which is also listed as our departure time. Is this possible? what will our 'all aboard' time be? We talked to ShoreTrips.com about booking this as part of a 3-port package, and they are already booking this excursion time for other Disney passengers.

Are we cutting it too close? Thanks!

Is this a Disney sponsored excursion? If so, the ship will wait for you. If you are doing the excursion on your own, I wouldn't - If I recall correctly, you are supposed to be onboard half an hour before departure time. And I try to be at least a full hour early.

 

[justmestace]

You will definitely be back to the ship on time, if you book the tour with Disney.
And at least you will have time to look around Ketchikan beforehand....I loved it there, and was glad I got to check out the town.

I looked on the website for the tour, and most days they do have earlier times available to book through them (and not the cruiseline) but on the day that you will be there, the earlier tours are all booked up.

Our son did this tour while we toured the town. We were all supposed to do the tour, but we had way less time in port than what you'll have and we were torn. So we sent him on the tour and we walked around.

He had the best time on that tour!!! His pictures are amazing, and he would have loved to have gone again and again.

 

[Prose]

Originally, we had planned to book this through Shore Trips, NOT Disney, because they had a very appealing package put together for all three ports. DH just talked to DCL, though, and found out that 7:30 is our all aboard time and 8:00 departure time...that is just cutting it too close for us, so we'll shoot for booking this one through Disney.

 

[smb6]

These companies in the Alaskan ports are use to accomodating cruise passengers and using companies that are recommended and have good reputations is something I feel safe doing. We are doing a tour in Ketchikan that gives us a return time of 6:30pm. I was slightly concerned, but did book it because the company has a good reputation and I was assured we would make it back to the boat in time.

With that said, even I would be hesitant to book with a return time of 7:30pm for anything other than an excursion directly with DCL. For 7pm, I may consider it- but that is about as late as I would go personally....

Hope you can figure it all out!

 

[jdb in AZ]

Yes, the ships are "required" to wait for a returning Disney shore excursion. Which is reassuring in case a bus breaks down on the way back to the ship.

When we were in Cabo, our whale watching tour was scheduled to return 45 mins after the all aboard. huh? We double checked with guest services and found out that since the passengers were on tenders (ferried ashore) the other guests were required to be back early so the returning Disney shore excursion people would have enough room on the tenders.

I would LOVE to do the crab shore excursion. Have never seen that offered on the three other cruise lines we've sailed on to Alaska. Actually, the last time we were in Alaska the ship didn't even serve crab. whazzup with that?

 

[sayhello]

Yes, the ships are "required" to wait for a returning Disney shore excursion. Which is reassuring in case a bus breaks down on the way back to the ship.

Well, "required" is all relative. Depends on how late you're going to be, and if another ship is waiting for the dock that the DCL ship is sitting at. It almost never happens, but if the ship had to leave without folks who are on a DCL excursion, DCL will take all the responsibility for getting you back to the ship as soon as possible. If you're not on a DCL excursion, then you're on your own.

Sayhello

 

[Weedy]

Here is a list of the Disney excursion times in Ketchikan if you scroll down you can see that the Rain Forest Canoe Adventure and Nature Trail does at get back until 6:45 the Misty Fjords Boat and Floatplane Adventure until 7:30 you might be OK. But if your not back on time they will leave you.



KETCHIKAN

Adventure Kart Expedition (KE15 ADVKART)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
11:45 AM - 3:15 PM
12:45 PM - 4:15 PM

Alaska Coastal Expedition (KE30 AKCOAEXP)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
1:45 PM - 6:15 PM

Alaska Hummer Adventure (KE21 HUMMER)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:45 PM - 4:45 PM

Alaskan Fish Camp Derby (KE35 FISHDERB)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
11:55 AM - 5:55 PM

Back Country Jeep and Canoe Adventure (KE10 JEEPCANOE)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
2:45 PM - 7:15 PM

Bear Creek Zipline Adventures (KE14 BEARZIP)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:15 PM - 3:45 PM
12:45 PM - 4:15 PM

Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour (KE28 BERSEA)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:15 PM - 4:15 PM

Best of Ketchikan by Land and Sea (KE20 BESTKET)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:30 PM - 4:30 PM

City Highlights, Totems and Creek Street by Trolley (KE06 CITOTROL)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:45 PM - 2:45 PM
2:45 PM - 4:45 PM
4:45 PM - 6:45 PM

Classic Misty Fjords Flightseeing (KE16 MISTFLY)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
2:15 PM - 4:45 PM
4:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Disney Exclusive: Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour and Dinner with the Crew (KE29 BESEADINE)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:15 PM - 5:15 PM

Disney Exclusive: The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Enhanced Show (KE41 EXLUMJCK)
Sunday, May 15, 2011
4:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Exclusive Flight Seeing and Crab Feast (KE32 FLYCRAB)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
2:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Exclusive Private Air Tour (KE18 PRIVAIR)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
2:45 PM - 5:45 PM

First City Deluxe - Totems, Salmon Hatchery and Eagle Center (KE07 1STCITY)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:15 PM - 5:15 PM

Knudson Cove Salmon Fishing (KE34 KCSALFISH)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:15 PM - 5:15 PM

Lighthouse, Totems and Eagles (KE39 LITOTEAG)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
11:15 AM - 2:45 PM
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Magnificent Misty Fjords by Floatplane (KE23 MAGMISFJO)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:15 PM - 2:45 PM
1:45 PM - 4:15 PM

Misty Fjords Boat and Floatplane Adventure (KE25 BOATPLANE)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
3:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Misty Fjords and Wilderness Explorer (KE19 FJOREXP)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:15 PM - 5:15 PM

Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure (KE22 MPSNORK)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:15 PM - 3:45 PM

Rain Forest Canoe Adventure and Nature Trail (KE08 RFCANOE)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
2:45 PM - 6:45 PM

Rain Forest Island Adventure (KE09 RFISLADV)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Rainforest Canopy and Zipline Expedition (KE13 RCANOZIP)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:15 PM - 3:45 PM
12:45 PM - 4:15 PM

Rainforest Wildlife Sanctuary, Raptor Center and Totems (KE11 RAWILTOT)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:15 PM - 3:15 PM

Saxman Native Village (KE01 SAXMAN)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
2:15 PM - 5:15 PM

Saxman Native Village and Exclusive Lumberjack Show (KE02 SAXLUMB)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
1:45 PM - 6:15 PM

Saxman Native Village and Exclusive Lumberjack Show - Adult Only Departure (KE03 ADSAXLUMB)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
1:45 PM - 6:15 PM

Silverking Seafood Boil Bonanza (KE33 SEABONAN)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
12:45 PM - 5:15 PM
1:45 PM - 6:15 PM

Tatoosh Islands Sea Kayak Adventure (KE26 TATKAY)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
11:45 AM - 4:45 PM

The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show (KE40 LUMJCK)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Totem Traditions and Potlatch Park Featuring Exclusive Youth Activity (KE04 TOTYA)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
11:45 AM - 2:45 PM

Totems, Exclusive Lumberjack Show and Potlatch Park Featuring Exclusive Youth Activity (KE05 TOTYALUM)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
1:15 PM - 5:45 PM

Town and Shoreline Bike Tour (KE27 TSBIKE)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
11:15 AM - 3:15 PM
12:15 PM - 4:15 PM

Wilderness Exploration and Crab Feast (KE31 WIEXPCRAB)
Day 6 - Ketchikan
11:15 AM - 3:45 PMe

 

[Prose]

Weedy, Thanks! That is an awesome list. Unfortunately, our cruise doesn't arrive in Ketchikan until 1:30...not sure why, I hear that some weeks are 11:30, some 1:30, and we happen to be one of the late ones. We leave Juneau the day before at 5:00...I'm dying to know what we'll be doing in between, since I don't think they're that far apart.

I think we are settled on booking the crab boat excursion through Disney....so much more peace of mind.

 

[justmestace]

Weedy, Thanks! That is an awesome list. Unfortunately, our cruise doesn't arrive in Ketchikan until 1:30...not sure why, I hear that some weeks are 11:30, some 1:30, and we happen to be one of the late ones. We leave Juneau the day before at 5:00...I'm dying to know what we'll be doing in between, since I don't think they're that far apart.

I think we are settled on booking the crab boat excursion through Disney....so much more peace of mind.

Sailing very slowly........


Actually, since you're in the Inside Passage, it's narrow and it does wind, so the ships do have to go slower than if they were out in the open ocean, and it's longer that way than it looks.
Plus....you will most likely be "idle" somewhere, waiting for one ship to leave before you can dock. There's less dock space than there are cruise ships, so they have to take turns.

 

[iloveokw]

Glad you decided to do DCL's excursion.....we have seen people running for the ship as we sailed away.

 

[foundnemo1]

I actually had the same concern, but I did some calling around and found out that the 4pm departure is the exact one Disney is chartering too (there is only one tour boat) so if the ship is waiting for the people who booked through them - they will wait for us even if we book directly through the tour company. I needed the savings on the ticket prices... I have a large family and every dollar saved helps.

 

[cozit]

Here is a list of the Disney excursion times in Ketchikan if you scroll down you can see that the Rain Forest Canoe Adventure and Nature Trail does at get back until 6:45 the Misty Fjords Boat and Floatplane Adventure until 7:30 you might be OK. But if your not back on time they will leave you.

(cut a lot there

How did you find out the tour times? We're doing the AK cruise the end of June, and are starting to get more serious about figuring out what we want to do.... and with some of the excursions being on the short side, are wondering what (if anything) we can stick together in the same port.


Thanks!
-Liz