Bearing Sea Crab Fishermans Tour

[alpal1993]

lol

Thanks but I wasnt expecting it to be exactly the same ..:)

I would love to visit Dutch Harbour though

 

We would love to visit Brisbane and the rest of Austraila.May be one day!

[WAVTAM]

Just did this tour 3 days ago. All the above posts are correct. Great tour even considering the price. Any specific questions just post. WAVTAM

[LaurieHoffman]

Just did this tour 3 days ago. All the above posts are correct. Great tour even considering the price. Any specific questions just post. WAVTAM

 

 

I have a question.. and advice on the best spot to sit on the boat? How about rough water.... is it rough out there? We know we will love the excursion as we love the show... Just looking for somthing different and know our kids will love it too

[gatewaygirl]

Our family has gone on this tour a few times and we all love it. Listening to all the stories of these fisherman when they fished in the berring sea is the best part of it to me. They do an awesome job- very personalized. Our children loved it also.:)

[gatewaygirl]

I forgot to answer your question about rough water- It's really protected with all the islands around us, versus being out in the open ocean,so its pretty calm. If it were to be too rough, I'm sure they would cancel the trip, but I think that would be pretty rare.

 

They also provide large raincoats that are fleece lined and they have heat on the boat also...

[natvtxn]

I have a question.. and advice on the best spot to sit on the boat? How about rough water.... is it rough out there? We know we will love the excursion as we love the show... Just looking for somthing different and know our kids will love it too

 

You will be able to move around. There is theatre style seating, if you will, on the lower deck and a larger area up top.

[ElginEve]

Diverearl,

 

Thanks so much for the info re Homer & the TimeBandit shop!

 

I love DC and can't wait for the AB tour - now I know where our first stop will be while in Homer :D

 

Thanks Again,

Eve

[Traveller20074]

I have a question.. and advice on the best spot to sit on the boat? How about rough water.... is it rough out there? We know we will love the excursion as we love the show... Just looking for somthing different and know our kids will love it too

 

It wasn't rocky at all. I started out on top, but quickly moved all over the boat as we were moving. The main person talks down on the bottom of the boat though, so I moved down there when they started pulling up crab pots, etc. The galley is down there as well. Hot cocoa and stuff to buy :)

[Traveller20074]

As a fan of the Deadliest Catch, I was contemplating this tour also, until I looked into the negatives. First off, It would cost my family of 4, half a grand. I saw that they are just pulling up the same pots with the same crabs/octopus over and over again each time and they put the them back in the pot for the next group of tourists. Not exactly sure why it's called the Bearing Sea Tour,when they're no where near the Bearing Sea. And hasn't everyone done a touch tank at an aquarium? It gets great reviews though. I hope the town is nice, because we're really not interested in totem poles and lumberjacks either.

 

If that's true, that's disturbing.

[alpal1993]

If that's true, that's disturbing.

 

There are so many other options to choose from,so if OP is not interested then they shouldn't go.Of course they will be using the same crabs,We are in Ketchikan in Summer not the Bering Sea in the dead of winter.The tour is for the imagination experience of what occurs on the Crab boats and to listen to the stories and meet the people who experienced it first hand

[LRene]

We're not novice cruisers and this wasn't our first time in Alaska but I can say without hesitation this is a great tour. We've done the floatplanes to Misty Fjord (also a great trip), helicopters up to walk on glaciers, private glacier tours, train rides, private land tours - as much as possible in that beautiful land.

 

When we booked this, I really didn't know what to expect and wasn't terribly excited about it but figured so many rave reviews had to mean something. I'm a girly girl, not real interested in fishing or touching fish but I do like to watch Deadliest Catch from time to time.

 

The Aleutian Ballad has a rich and interesting history which you'll learn about on this tour. The crew is top notch, mingling with all the passengers and their stories of what really happens out there is very interesting.

 

Yes, the traps are filled with crab previously caught. They brought up a king crab trap, snow crabs, shrimp and octopus along with anything else that crawled in there. They are very honest about the fact that this is not the Bering Sea in the dead of winter and that the traps are baited but they also let them go and recatch. They're not out to harm the fish. The added highlight with the eagles nest is simply amazing. I'll bet we had 30 eagles flying within 20 feet of us at one time. Awesome!!!

 

Bottom line is this....these people love what they do every day. Their enthusiasm rubs off on you and this tour is for everyone from the very young to the very old and from the healthy to the handicapped. I saw them take some of the sea creatures to handicapped people who couldn't get down to see them in the traps. Don't worry about where you sit because everyone gets up and moves around the ship most of the time you're out. They cater to every person on the boat. By the time you get off the boat, you feel like you have met a new bunch of friends.

 

My advice if you are interested in this - DO NOT book this through your ship. The Aleutian Ballad is parked right there at the cruise ship dock and if you book through the ship, you'll be directed to take the same short walk over to the boat as you do when you book privately. Why give the cruise lines a cut on this one? It's just too easy to do on your own. It is, however, the same price in either place. We enjoyed being able to pay for it ahead of time and in fact, has most everything for this last trip pre-paid in the months before we left home.

 

I have some video I hope to splice together and put on You Tube and when/if I do, I'll post a link.

 

The boat will hold something like 120 people. There were 55 the morning we went. They said their perfect number is 80. We had great weather so the heaters were only on for a little while and the ponchos not really needed much at all. They'll do what they can to make everyone comfortable and keep you entertained the whole 3 hours.

[LaurieHoffman]

We did this tour on Father's Day. It was by far the best excursion of our cruise.... Everything in the previous review is correct. I don't care that they pull up the same pots every time. The key to this tour is they spend so much time discussing what they do, answering questions, allowing us to touch and feel close up and often hold, take photos and more. They are out to make a buck as is everyone but on this tour I truly felt they had their heart and sole into the trip and making sure everyone got what they paid for. We felt we saw everything we wanted to on this tour and would highly recommed it to anyone who loves the show or is intereted in crab fishing...

[lilacbirman]

 

My advice if you are interested in this - DO NOT book this through your ship. The Aleutian Ballad is parked right there at the cruise ship dock and if you book through the ship, you'll be directed to take the same short walk over to the boat as you do when you book privately. Why give the cruise lines a cut on this one? It's just too easy to do on your own. It is, however, the same price in either place. We enjoyed being able to pay for it ahead of time and in fact, has most everything for this last trip pre-paid in the months before we left home.

 

quote]

 

I just checked Princess' website and they charge $179, but if you book directly with 56degreesnorth it's $159, a $20 savings. Not the same price.

[alpal1993]

 

My advice if you are interested in this - DO NOT book this through your ship. The Aleutian Ballad is parked right there at the cruise ship dock and if you book through the ship, you'll be directed to take the same short walk over to the boat as you do when you book privately. Why give the cruise lines a cut on this one? It's just too easy to do on your own. It is, however, the same price in either place. We enjoyed being able to pay for it ahead of time and in fact, has most everything for this last trip pre-paid in the months before we left home.

 

quote]

 

I just checked Princess' website and they charge $179, but if you book directly with 56degreesnorth it's $159, a $20 savings. Not the same price.

 

I was very impressed with HAL's Shore excusions They charged the 159 and we got ship credit.It was a fabulous tour.The Crew were so warm and told really great stories.We loved the wild too

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

 

I am not going to be able to go this year (to Alaska) but I saw a video on youtube. I think I would jump off the ship if I saw eagles flying around like that. If I ever go I bring my 70-200 lens. To be that close to the eagles would make my whole cruise not to mention the photo's/ I was in Alaska in the 80's I had two camera's

and about 70 rolls of film. the first two photo's came out the rest did not. My camera's were in perfect condition. I do not know what happened to the film and they were purchased in different stores. I been trying to get back since then. I will probaby get a video camera as I love eagles and to watch them diving for the food. Oh my RIP Phil you are missed

[mustangbonnie]

OMG if you watch the Dealiest Catch you are going to love this tour. I can not say enough good things about the crew and the boat. I just came back from a cruise June 26 to July 3 and this was one tour I wanted to do. They have re-fitted the boat and it has seating and heaters so you will not be cold. The crew have all fished the Bering Sea and are most helpful and very informative. I was sorry to see the tour end. You will love it. :) Big Thumbs Up.

[fedexretiree]

OMG if you watch the Dealiest Catch you are going to love this tour. I can not say enough good things about the crew and the boat. I just came back from a cruise June 26 to July 3 and this was one tour I wanted to do. They have re-fitted the boat and it has seating and heaters so you will not be cold. The crew have all fished the Bering Sea and are most helpful and very informative. I was sorry to see the tour end. You will love it. :) Big Thumbs Up.

We did this tour May23, 2010 and it was wonderful. We got the best views of the eagles of any tour out there and I would bet on it. By all means, don't miss this tour especially if you are a fan of the show. You can save 10.00 each by booking it yourself at their website. It's only a block or so from where the ship docks.

[redhed120]

I just booked this excursion for July 25th (we are on the Celebrity Millennium)! The previous posts have us very excited!!!

Although the ship offered the excursion, it was "unavailable" on the ship's website, so I went directly to the Bearing Sea Crab Fishermans Tour website and booked it without a problem.

My question is this....the excursion starts about an hour after we dock in Ketchikan. Will we be able to get off the ship and over to the tour in time?? My understanding is that when you book through the ship, they make SURE that you are there on time, letting you off first before the rest of the ship, but what about the people that book on their own? This is our first cruise, by the way, so we have NO idea how this works! Thanks!

[LaurieHoffman]

My question is this....the excursion starts about an hour after we dock in Ketchikan. Will we be able to get off the ship and over to the tour in time?? My understanding is that when you book through the ship, they make SURE that you are there on time, letting you off first before the rest of the ship, but what about the people that book on their own? This is our first cruise, by the way, so we have NO idea how this works! Thanks!

 

You will LOVE this excursion... We did. And if Derrick Ray is still working on the ship know that he was the captain who took over for Phil on the Deadilest Catch this week.

 

Anyway to your question.. I can answer that and give you what you want to hear. We docked early. Made sure to get off the ship ontime and met our rep from the ship on deck. He directed us to the boat and we had to walk...... Depending on which slip you dock at it is a quick 5 minute walk or less...If you are the middle ship as we were (and I think they said Celebrity is the middle) you get off the ship, make a left turn and walk past Tongas Trading (don't miss shopping there!) and hear over to the ship. You can 't miss it... It is easy to find. Any seats are great but if you want tons of photos get to the ship early and once your walk on head straight ahead and grab a seat. We were off to the left on the side top row and still had great seats..Have fun...

[Diamond_Dave1173]

Thank you for the advice! I'm pretty sure I'll be going to this next week as a result! :D

[PennyAgain]

Hi

 

I am not going to be able to go this year (to Alaska) but I saw a video on youtube. I think I would jump off the ship if I saw eagles flying around like that. If I ever go I bring my 70-200 lens. To be that close to the eagles would make my whole cruise not to mention the photo's/ I was in Alaska in the 80's I had two camera's

and about 70 rolls of film. the first two photo's came out the rest did not. My camera's were in perfect condition. I do not know what happened to the film and they were purchased in different stores. I been trying to get back since then. I will probaby get a video camera as I love eagles and to watch them diving for the food. Oh my RIP Phil you are missed

 

Back in the old days of film, strange things used to happen to film in Alaska. But I would guess that your film processer screwed up.

 

I am glad we have digital now!

[medgirl]

This was our family's favorite excursion on our 7 day Alaska cruise. They do keep you entertained for the whole 3 hours, and seem to love what they do. It was very interesting to listen to their stories, and the eagles were amazing.

 

If you only have a point and shoot like me, make sure you set it to the setting "kids and pets" or "sports" so you can get quick shots, ahead of time (before they feed the eagles) so you're prepared!

 

The tour is very hands on so it's great for all ages.

[LMZinSC]

This was our family's favorite excursion on our 7 day Alaska cruise. They do keep you entertained for the whole 3 hours, and seem to love what they do. It was very interesting to listen to their stories, and the eagles were amazing.

 

If you only have a point and shoot like me, make sure you set it to the setting "kids and pets" or "sports" so you can get quick shots, ahead of time (before they feed the eagles) so you're prepared!

 

The tour is very hands on so it's great for all ages.

Thanks for the tip about the kids and pets setting on the camera. I know my camera has that, but often I forget to use any of those settings and just leave it on automatic. I will be sure to remember to change it before this excursion.

[lazarru]

Just back and we did this tour last week and it is great!! My wife even said afterwards that she hadn't been expecting that much from it but it was well past what she expected. You certainly don't get the "pre-planned" feel to it at all, even though you know the traps already have things in them you don't really even notice it.

 

One word of warning, as soon as the captain says I don't mean this next story to be sad - It is!!!! You do get to learn some great information but some of the stories really do make you think.

 

One other suggestion, if the boat is not that filled goto the top deck, there was almost nobody on the top deck for us and even though it was a little misty wasn't too bad and you had complete freedom to move around and get great pictures.

 

 

[jimswims]

We will be doing this tour in August. We are looking forward to the experience. Thanks for the info and the pictures.