Icy Strait expensive excursions, on your won worth it?

[roquejo]

This will be my 2nd time in Alaska so visited already the 3 common ports but first time in Icy Strait this coming late June.. it will be quite lazy as we will be the only ship at port during that time.

 

Spent quite some time researching even the independent tour operators outside the ship because they are all very expensive and limited in choices.

 

A short whale watching, or bear watching, ATV, or zip line is almost equivalent in price vs a whole day PWS cruise at Whittier with lunch.. or a whole day Tracy Arm from Juneau, or equivalent whole day combo tours at Juneau, Skagway and Kechikan.

 

Everybody is recommending whale watching at ISP since there not much to do there unlike in Juneau.. but if I have already taken it in Juneau, and saw a considerable amount of whales there.. is there much difference in quality of whale watching in ISP vs Juneau for me to take it again?

 

So another option for me is not to book anything and just walk around ISP to Hoonah, since it is not crowded at that day as we are the only ship in port.

 

I've read that there is a scenic nature trail there that is accessible from the ship that you can do for free? How long does it take to walk around?

 

And can anyone share if they enjoyed ISP without booking anything?

 

Even the restaurants there are expensive, perhaps because ISP is a new privately owned ship stop and not a major port, so there are not much competition among the providers to bring the price down.

Edited January 24, 2014 by roquejo

[Chenega]

Icy Strait struck me as a very controlled environment centered around a refurnished cannery with several activities. Both times I have visited I skipped the "excursions" and walked into Hoonah (not really much to see and the town does run a shuttle). Having one of the longest zip lines really doesn't do much for me :).

 

Whale watching from Icy Strait would probably be my preferred activity although if you do Juneau, they're pretty much the same.

 

You mention a boat trip into Prince William Sound from Whittier. That's one of the best excursions in the Anchorage area along with a boat trip to Kenai Fjords National Park from Seward. Great opportunity to see glaciers and lots of marine and bird life.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Chenega

[Ashland]

We have been to ISP twice and have never done any excursion...we don't feel the need to..first trip we just toured the cannery and sat by the bonfire on the beach...second time we took the (roundtrip $5.00pp) shuttle into Hoonah..walked around but nothing really to see or do...and visited the bonfire again...We've been lucky and on both our May visits have seen whales as we tendered in...ISP has always been just a relaxing port for us...not always necessary to feel the need to "do" something....Just enjoy the scenery and being there...Will be there again May 2014 and again nothing planned ;)

[SadieN]

We liked the small museum in the cannery and found that the souviners were priced less than in the other ports.

 

We went on a bear walk. DH and DD also did the zipline.

 

I'm not too sure that ISP is a ship-owned port. We went there on HAL in 2007 and now other lines are cruising there. The community found a way to reinvent themsleves after the cannery went belly up.

[roquejo]

Thanks, probably I won't book anything at Icy Strait as well since already did the whale watching in Juneau before.

 

I can get better rates elsewhere since it is a 14 day cruise.

 

Yes, the PWS cruise is highly worth it.

 

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[deladypilot]

I too have been wondering what we are going to do in ICP. We have already done 2 Alaskan cruises. There just does not seem to be a lot of interesting things offered there, that we havent already done somewhere else.

 

I will keep an eye on this board and see if someone pops in with something I had not seen or thought of

[NanaJPB]

Our problem is just the opposite. Zip lining is on my bucket list. Trying to figure out if we can also do the bear hunt.

 

 

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[AmberCascades]

The zipline at ISP is more like a ride than actual ziplining from place to place in a forest. It was fun but it was very expensive. We did that and then we walked into Hoonah and took pictures of the whale that was playing in the harbour. We started chatting to a local that we passed on the street and that was interesting. We didn't have time to go to the Office Bar, but would have liked to. It's a local watering hole. We also didn't have too much time to look around the museum in depth but we took a quick look and popped into a couple of stores. They aren't owned by the ships as far as I know. They seemed to just be locally made things. We bought a small bag of salmon jerky. We didn't try it till we got home and it was so good I wished we had bought a huge bag. Next time.

[roquejo]

Zip lining is the most expensive shore excursion if you count the price vs time. Had the chance to do it at Labadee but passed.

 

Instead, did it at Allure of the Seas. A short one but at least it is free and you can do it as much as you want.

 

I think it is worthwhile if the zip line is a current record holder of being the longest in the world. Watching the youtube videos, it is much worthwhile to do it near Sun City in South Africa.. used to be the longest and it is not straight forward. I think it has 2 lines connected to each other...

 

Almost did it but they closed early for some reason on that day we attempted.

[Lady Anna & Sir Troy]

I am in the same quandry as you are about ICP, although not too concerned since my parents have shown me beautiful pictures of their forest hike their with really cool mushrooms. We're really looking forward to having a relaxing day and hiking in the forest.

 

L.A.S.T.

[katrina915]

Where's this forest hike?

 

I am trying to figure out what to do in ISP also.

[mbisson]

We haven't done excursions in ISP. Did do the forest walk, starts right behind the cannery and makes a big look thru the woods and along the beach and back to the cannery. Quit scenic and a nice leisurely stroll. Much of the cannery is redone as a museum. I'm pretty mellow much of the time and really enjoyed ISP

[roquejo]

With the guided activities in ISP being over priced, might do the leisure walk as well..