Which is your favorite Alaskan port?

[JimS4210]

I'm not asking for specifics because I know everyone has different tastes? I'm just curious.

 

We're on the Sun this June heading NB from Vancouver with stops in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. I'm narrowing down our excursions. Already have Harv & Marv's Whale watching booked in Juneau and a car booked through Avis in Skagway to drive the Klondike Highway up to Emerald Lake. I've been on Tripadvisor researching all of my options and every time I research a port I have the same problem. That stop becomes my potential favorite.

 

Right now, I'm figuring out what I'd like to do in Ketchikan and it's number one on my list of favorite ports. Problem is, Skagway was number one when I researched that and so was Juneau.

 

So just asking, which of those three has your favorite excursions, atmosphere, scenery, you name it.

 

Jim

[Crew News]

Right now, I'm figuring out what I'd like to do in Ketchikan and it's number one on my list of favorite ports. Problem is, Skagway was number one when I researched that and so was Juneau.

 

So just asking, which of those three has your favorite excursions, atmosphere, scenery, you name it. Jim

Crab Fishing on the Aleutian Ballad of TVs "Deadliest Catch" fame is the highest rated excursion. The ship stops at an eagle preserve where they toss fish to the eagles. There will be so many eagles that you cannot possibly photograph them all.

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/?page_id=529

 

Crew members were active fishermen during the TV seasons. They will demonstrate how to catch three different kinds of crab and let you touch the live catch before returning the creatures back to the water.

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/?page_id=1185

[Ashland]

Crab Fishing on the Aleutian Ballad of TVs "Deadliest Catch" fame is the highest rated excursion. The ship stops at an eagle preserve where they toss fish to the eagles. There will be so many eagles that you cannot possibly photograph them all.

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/?page_id=529

 

Crew members were active fishermen during the TV seasons. They will demonstrate how to catch three different kinds of crab and let you touch the live catch before returning the creatures back to the water.

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/?page_id=1185

You beat me to it....I also would have suggested this excursion...

 

OP..book it directly with the Bering Sea's website..no need to book through the cruiseline...this gave us the advantage of getting there and choosing our seats before the masses showed up ;)

[mikaula]

We did a float plane to see bears. Unfaortunately we didn't see any bears but the trip was still great. We saw tons of eagles. It's also amazing to see Alaska from the air. Expensive but....wow.

[EagleRocker]

All three ports are good and it is hard to have a favorite. I have done both of the things you have planned for Juneau and Skagway and you will enjoy both. We really enjoyed the drive to the Yukon we did in early May last year while we were docked in Skagway - the scenery changes quite a bit and there was a lot of snow, but it is a very easy drive. In Ketchikan, we took an excursion (can't recall the name but I think most cruise lines offer it under various names as long as you are in Ketchikan for enough time) that involved a bus ride to an area outside of Ketchikan, then you drive yourself in these two-person rugged ATV/mini jeep-type vehicles on narrow mountain trails, then you take a boat back to Ketchikan. It was great - the driving was a total blast (very bumpy but fun) and the boat ride back was beautiful (we saw orcas!). A really fun excursion. This year, we are going to do one of the Misty Fjords by Floatplane tripes (booked independently) - I hear only very good things about that.

[Crew News]

You beat me to it....I also would have suggested this excursion...

 

OP..book it directly with the Bering Sea's website..no need to book through the cruiseline...this gave us the advantage of getting there and choosing our seats before the masses showed up ;)

 

The Aleutian Ballad is a short walk (100 yards in our case) from the cruise ship and you turn in your ticket as you get on the boat. There should be no restriction to gong ahead of the crowd.

[JimS4210]

We did a float plane to see bears. Unfaortunately we didn't see any bears but the trip was still great. We saw tons of eagles. It's also amazing to see Alaska from the air. Expensive but....wow.

 

I'd love to do a float plane, but I don't see it happening. Don't think I'll be able to talk my wife into doing it. She's not a great flier as it is, and when I first suggested a float plane, she said no way, no how. She told me to go ahead and do it without her, but I can't see myself doing that.

I'm probably leaning towards Crab Fishing on the Aleutian Ballad or the Misty Fjords boat tour...

 

Jim

[DougH]

The best port overall is probably Juneau because it has so many different options, something for everyone. My favorite is the all day small boat trip to Tracy Arm with Adventure Bound. I've done this 4 or 5 times and never get tired of the scenery. IMHO this is by far the bluest glacier and the best chance to see calving, far far better than from the cruise ship.

 

Each port has many great things to do, thats why I keep coming back year after year.

[huskyguy]

For both my wife and I, our favorite Alaska port isn't on your list - it's Sitka. Few ships go there so it never gets crowded, and the quantity and variety or sealife of all sorts is unmatched by any other port. The Russian/Indian history is a bonus.