Has anyone ever mailed a package home from Ketchikan?

[seadancer]

We were wondering if there is a post office near the port so we can mail home any items we want to buy. We don't think it would fit in our bags.

 

Thank you for the information!

[pedirn]

Can't offer information about Ketchikan but we did ship a box home from Anchorage. Cost of box, packaging and mail fee was $70. It would have been cheaper to pay for extra luggage with with airline. It arrived about two weeks after we got home. A suggestion I can make is also of the merchants offer reasonable (or free depending on what you spend) shipping of your purchases. We have done that many times and our packages sometimes beat us home.

Chris

[WatchHill]

We did this a few years ago. At that time there was a postal facility as part of a gift shop where many of us from the ship shared the packing tape to secure the boxes. It wasn't cheap due to the weight of the items we sent back to the East Coast, but it did allow for more room in our luggage for further items we planned to buy in Vancouver.

When we stopped at the North Pole, Christmas Shop, the store offered to ship using their shipping company, either UPS or Fedex. The rate was a bit lower and included the insurance.

We had a trusted neighbor who kept an eye on the house and watched for packages.

 

Darcy

[1964IceCreamLady]

Just a note: through a different thread, someone did inform me that if you bring items onto the ship, THEN try and take them off again off the ship to mail, they have to clear Customs. So if you plan to mail items, do NOT get back onboard. OR, make plans to clear Customs with your items (I plan on mailing some clothing items in Ketchikan).

[Dcoy]

When we stopped at the North Pole, Christmas Shop, the store offered to ship using their shipping company, either UPS or Fedex. The rate was a bit lower and included the insurance.

We had a trusted neighbor who kept an eye on the house and watched for packages.

 

Darcy

Don't they offer free delivery on December 24th? ;p They're making stops at most locations anyway.

 

Don

[Zoedokey]

There was a thread recently of a store in Juneau mailing your items from the shop for 15.

 

 

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[Seashoregal]

3609 Tongass Ave, Ketchikan, AK 99901

 

 

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[debokill]

USPS does show at 3609 Tongass Ave but can't tell how close that is to the dock. It does show it near the harbor.

 

 

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[martincath]

^That's about 2 miles from the docks (depends which dock, but if you search based on the Tongass Trading Company location that's a pretty fair match to the average cruise dock).

 

Skagway is more convenient, with a USPS on the main drag in town that you'll undoubtedly walk past - we've mailed stuff back from there using USPS fixed-rate boxes, which are a TREMENDOUS deal for AK shipping (same price as Lower 48). Even a big box that would hold up to 70lbs is IIRC ~$19 to send, including the box itself.

 

Juneau has one near Auke Bay (whale-watching boats area) and another more downtown, but not super-close to the port so depending what you're doing and how you're getting around it may be more or less hassle than Ketchikan. Try the USPS location finder for your ports.

[VennDiagram]

We sent mail from Juneau this year. The post office was at 145 S Franklin St, I'd googled for it before we left home. It was not terribly far from where we docked.

[zqvol]

Google is a wonderful sources of information:

 

http://www.uspspostoffices.com/ak/ketchikan/ketchikan

 

The page even has a map showing the location of the post office.

[zqvol]

Just a note: through a different thread, someone did inform me that if you bring items onto the ship, THEN try and take them off again off the ship to mail, they have to clear Customs. So if you plan to mail items, do NOT get back onboard. OR, make plans to clear Customs with your items (I plan on mailing some clothing items in Ketchikan).

 

This may or may not be true, depending on whether you are on a round trip or a one way cruise.

[Dunfer]

We mailed some packages home from Ketchikan, and the Post Office was in a Mall and required a Taxi to get there and back from the cruise dock. We were told that was the closest one. We also used the flat rate boxes, and it turned out well.

[TheCalicoCat]

My husband took a box off the ship ready to mail - no problems with the box being sealed, the rate of shipping, or the distance to the post office.

 

I plan to mail our winter stuff home from Sitka on our cruise in July. :D

[Coral]

Google is a wonderful sources of information:

 

http://www.uspspostoffices.com/ak/ketchikan/ketchikan

 

The page even has a map showing the location of the post office.

 

Someone posted last year that this post office was now closed. I don't know if this is now open or not.

[kacurl]

We bought ulu knives, candy, trinkets and blankets from tsongas trading Post in Ketchikan and they shipped all for 19.95. very nice people and package made it home before us. So worth it cathy

[Robinhill]

We were wondering if there is a post office near the port so we can mail home any items we want to buy. We don't think it would fit in our bags.

 

Thank you for the information!

 

 

what i discovered if that if i waited until doing my shopping for souvenirs etc in Ketchikan and went to any or all of the four Tongass Trading stores you can take your receipts from all of the tongass stores and at the final store when you are all finished shopping give them all of your purchases with the receipts and they will ship EVERYTHING you bought regardless of size home for one flat rate of 14.95. (at least it was 14.95 3 years ago). It was great because i bought three jackets, 6 tshirts, 4 hats, some carved statues, 3 Ulu knives and 8 calendars and that was all i paid. They came in two huge boxes to my house (be advised it took about two weeks to receive them). It was easy peasy and i did not have to transport one thing home. :)