Shopping Recommendations

This will be our first (and possibly only) Alaska sailing. We'll be on RCCL in mid-August, departing Seattle. Ports include Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria, B.C. There's always been a certain degree of shopping frenzy on our Caribbean sailings. What's it like for Alaska? Anything outstanding bargains or items not to be missed in the ports I've listed above?

I'm not a shopper at all, but I love Tongass Trading Company in Ketchikan. Lots of great stuff there.

The best options for souvenirs is in Ketchikan, but that's not part of your itinerary. Skagway has some shops that are interesting.

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The best options for souvenirs is in Ketchikan, but that's not part of your itinerary. Skagway has some shops that are interesting.

 

 

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Nuts! I completely missed it in the OP's post that they wouldn't be going to Ketchikan. Well, maybe my recommendation will help somebody else who is going there. :)

With your time constraints in port -- I would focus on excursions. Ketchikan is where I would recommend shopping but you choose an itinerary with only 2 Alaskan ports. RCCL should not run this itinerary. I am guessing it is for those who want ship over Alaska.

With your time constraints in port -- I would focus on excursions. Ketchikan is where I would recommend shopping but you choose an itinerary with only 2 Alaskan ports. RCCL should not run this itinerary. I am guessing it is for those who want ship over Alaska.

Not very helpful regarding the OP's question which was

There's always been a certain degree of shopping frenzy on our Caribbean sailings. What's it like for Alaska? Anything outstanding bargains or items not to be missed in the ports I've listed above?

OP, if you want Alaska-made items, look for the sticker with the polar bear and cub, like the one shown here:

https://www.facebook.com/Made-In-Alaska-140636832634005/

If you want Native-made-in-Alaska, look for the silver hand logo, which shows about 1/2 way down this page:

https://education.alaska.gov/aksca/native.html

My very humble opinion is that it is easier to find the shopping district in Skagway than in Juneau, in large part because Skagway is pretty small. There are many of the typical cruise-port shops but you can also find locally-owned places, if that's your preference.

The shopping experience is not as pressured as it is in the Caribbean. In Juneau, DH and I went to Alaska Knifeworks and we were extremely happy and comfortable with our buying experience and the quality of the pieces we purchased. It's a recommended shop and we went there to look around. DH and I purchased 2 knives and they shipped them home for free. Vince was friendly and actually listened to what we were saying.

There are other stores but since we had come from an excursion, we didn't have time to do more shopping and get ready in time for dinner.

Have fun!

You'll find plenty of shopping options in both ports you are going to - from mass-produced souvenirs to local items. I would agree with the earlier posters that you'll likely find more in Skagway, but that may be because it was raining heavily when we were in Juneau in May and we didn't do a lot of walking around town.

As CruzinOwl said, there is plenty of shopping in all the ports. Juneau, although crowded when we were there, still had some decent shopping. Time was better spent on excursions in Juneau instead of shopping so our time in town was limited.

We will be on land prior to our cruise. Any shopping area recommendations in Seward or Anchorage? Or should we wait for the ports on our cruise?

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