What did you do in Ketchikan?

[cruisehopeful]

Looking for ideas for things to do in Ketchikan. When we were there before, the port stop was very short. I believe we only had 4 hours. Our next cruise has a much longer stay, but I am not finding anything of interest to do. I'd love to hear what others did.

Last time we were there, we just walked around the port shops. It was a bit of a strange atmosphere as many shopkeepers and tour operators approached us to buy their stuff, much like carnies at a cheap carnival. I don't know if that was only because our stop was so short or if they always act like that.

At any rate, I am looking at tours and not finding anything. We are interested in nature stuff. Since it is the rainiest city, it would be nice to do a rainforest walk/hike. There is some type of animal sanctuary, but the reviews are very mixed and we are more interested in open nature vs. captive nature. We are going early in the season. It will be very cold and wet.

 

[dclpluto]

Something with totem poles BORING
than lumberjack show. Lumberjack show was good. I don't have money coming out of my butt so have to go with the weak excursions sometimes.

 

[ludari]

On my cruise I did two tours in Ketchikan. The first was the Saxman Native Village Tour and the other was the lumberjack show.

 

[jane01jp]

We did a kayak tour that was beautiful. The drive was only about 20 minutes each way, if I am remembering correctly.

 

[anricat]

I haven't cruised yet (I know, some people hate this, but bear with me). Like you, I wanted to do something nature based, but all the tours were not appealing to me or way to spendy. (We're spending a lot of money on excursions in other ports.) We signed up with a company outside DCL for Kayaking: http://www.kayakketchikan.com They have several tour options.

So while I can't (yet) personally recommend it, perhaps it's an option (particularly based on the above recommendation).

 

[missyp]

We were supposed to do the helicopter ride n Juneau through coastal copters. It was cancelled due to rain ( only rainy day of whole cruise but apparently often the case in Juneau). We felt we had to make up for the loss of the helicopter ride and immediately went to the excursion desk booked a float plane ride for the next Day in Ketchikan. It was spectacular. So beautiful, so fun. ( I hate flying, and I loved it).

 

[poison ivy]

we went fishing for about 5 hrs. it was awesome. Something I've never done before. Caught halibut and cod (it was May so the salmon weren't in season)
Our boat picked us up right at the ship. When we got back, we spent the afternoon walking around Creek Street enjoying the beauty, history and patronizing some of the local shops there.

I love Ketchikan.

 

[MUN]

Looking for ideas for things to do in Ketchikan. When we were there before, the port stop was very short. I believe we only had 4 hours. Our next cruise has a much longer stay, but I am not finding anything of interest to do. I'd love to hear what others did.

Last time we were there, we just walked around the port shops. It was a bit of a strange atmosphere as many shopkeepers and tour operators approached us to buy their stuff, much like carnies at a cheap carnival. I don't know if that was only because our stop was so short or if they always act like that.

At any rate, I am looking at tours and not finding anything. We are interested in nature stuff. Since it is the rainiest city, it would be nice to do a rainforest walk/hike. There is some type of animal sanctuary, but the reviews are very mixed and we are more interested in open nature vs. captive nature. We are going early in the season. It will be very cold and wet.

We did a float plane trip to Misty Fjords through a private operator. It was a lot of fun. It was less expensive than a similar excursion through DCL. There are many float plane operators in Ketchikan that give these tours. We also had plenty of time to walk around the the town afterwards.

MUN

 

[disneyfaninaz]

My DD and I zip lined at Bear Creek. It was amazing and a lot of fun. DH took the Deadliest Catch crab boat tour and had a great time.

 

[over50visits]

We did a float plane trip to Misty Fjords through a private operator. It was a lot of fun. It was less expensive than a similar excursion through DCL. There are many float plane operators in Ketchikan that give these tours. We also had plenty of time to walk around the the town afterwards.

MUN

Yes - the float plane we used actually landed on a remote lake and the passengers could walk out on the floats. Cool. In town, we got away from the tourist dock area (yes there is Diamonds International sad to say, that told us right away the part of town to avoid), and hiked "uphill" on some city streets. We found a delightful cafe for a meal on the terrace that overlooked the town and the water. Spectacular view. Walk past the lumberjack show and typical port companies that have nothing to do with the local economy, you'll get into a delightful town that welcomes you.

 

[RebelHawk]

We went salmon fishing and pulled in five 10 - 15 pound salmon. Great day out on the water. We ended up having two of them processed and shipped home.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'd be most interested in kayaking or the plane tour. Although, if all else fails, the lumberjack show could be fun if it isn't too cheesy.

We did a kayak tour that was beautiful. The drive was only about 20 minutes each way, if I am remembering correctly.

I haven't cruised yet (I know, some people hate this, but bear with me). Like you, I wanted to do something nature based, but all the tours were not appealing to me or way to spendy. (We're spending a lot of money on excursions in other ports.) We signed up with a company outside DCL for Kayaking: http://www.kayakketchikan.com They have several tour options.

I've never kayaked before. Do either of you know if it is fairly straightforward for someone who has zero experience?

We were supposed to do the helicopter ride n Juneau through coastal copters. It was cancelled due to rain ( only rainy day of whole cruise but apparently often the case in Juneau). We felt we had to make up for the loss of the helicopter ride and immediately went to the excursion desk booked a float plane ride for the next Day in Ketchikan. It was spectacular. So beautiful, so fun. ( I hate flying, and I loved it).

We did a float plane trip to Misty Fjords through a private operator. It was a lot of fun. It was less expensive than a similar excursion through DCL. There are many float plane operators in Ketchikan that give these tours. We also had plenty of time to walk around the the town afterwards.

MUN

Yes - the float plane we used actually landed on a remote lake and the passengers could walk out on the floats. Cool. In town, we got away from the tourist dock area (yes there is Diamonds International sad to say, that told us right away the part of town to avoid), and hiked "uphill" on some city streets. We found a delightful cafe for a meal on the terrace that overlooked the town and the water. Spectacular view. Walk past the lumberjack show and typical port companies that have nothing to do with the local economy, you'll get into a delightful town that welcomes you.

I have heard that float planes are really bad for motion sickness. Did any of you experience any motion sickness? I could take Bonine, but in spite of it being "non-drowsy" it will completely knock me down after about 6 hours.

 

[disfam3mi]

We did Bear Country and it was fantastic!

 

[MUN]

I have heard that float planes are really bad for motion sickness. Did any of you experience any motion sickness? I could take Bonine, but in spite of it being "non-drowsy" it will completely knock me down after about 6 hours.

My wife did, my 3 children and I did not. She was in the seat in front of me and enjoyed the first part of the flight, but after we landed on the water and took off again, she felt sick. She didn't throw up, but said that she felt like she was going to. I don't like flying in small planes, and these float planes do crash from time to time, but I loved the flight! I felt like I was a bird flying through the sky.

MUN

 

[DisSarahK]

We did the lumberjack show and it was tons of fun. We booked it ourselves to save some money and we were seated right with everyone from the ship--there is no reason to book it through Disney. We also walked over to Creek Street and looked around and then took the Funicular up the hill and looked around…then took the Funicular back down again. Great views of the ship from the Funicular!

We also tromped all over Ketchikan and found the house my mother and her siblings lived in while my grandfather was stationed in Ketchikan in the Coast Guard. That was pretty cool!

 

[anricat]

I've never kayaked before. Do either of you know if it is fairly straightforward for someone who has zero experience?

I've only been once (here where I live in Austin we have a beautiful river that runs through our city with kayaking) but it was pretty straightforward. I remember that there was some awkwardness at first, but it was sort of humorous. I might not recommend it if you're not able to laugh at yourself! According to the FAQ on their site, they say that first timers are fine. They do recommend a shorter trip (which is what we booked) for first-timers. http://www.kayakketchikan.com/faq/

They provide dry gear to cover your clothes, which was a big plus for me because when we went kayaking here in Austin we were soaked by the end. Not because we fell in or anything but because we were splashing water everywhere with our paddles!

 

[Quellman]

We did the lumberjack show last minute. The tickets at the time (2010) included a coupon to get a free beer glass with purchase of alaskan beer across the street. Still have the glasses....

The lumber jack show back then was more involved and included more events than the one at EPCOT. It still had somewhat of a script like feel to it and what we perceived to be some "stage dives" to keep it as a contest blah blah. it was enjoyable and something we had not done before. We did kayaking in Juneau and the train in Skagway so this was an easy day for us. I'm not sure I would rush back to see it again now, especially with so many cool nature things to do, but it would depend on who we were traveling with and what our other excursions prior to it could have been.

 

[quickcat]

We did the Deadliest Catch tour and it was great- definitely would recommend. We then did the Lumberjack show after and it was entertaining, the kids liked it

 

[sdjen]

We did the lumberjack show and enjoyed it. We booked online in advance.

We also prebooked a helicopter tour with Ketchikan Helicopters. It was pricey but absolutely amazing. Best excursion of our trip!

Have fun!

 

[xlxo]

After the Seattle incident.... I wonder if the Ketchikan Duck tour is operating.