Sitka

[donaldsc]

On 5/12/2022 at 10:57 AM, Ashland said:

I would like to know this as well. The poster telling me their are 3 bus lines isn't helping as I was expecting a bit more detail since they'll be 4 adults and two young kids. Hopping on and off different bus's and when their running and where to catch them is a concern. 

 

I was hoping their would be a vendor offering transportation from in town and back for these two things.

 

Google Maps should always be your reference for questions on how to get from point A to point B at any port stop.

 

DON

[nlb105015]

On 5/11/2022 at 9:49 PM, Glaciers said:

Sitka is one of the best walking ports in Southeast Alaska.  Much less touristy with a lot of history.

https://visitsitka.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021-VS_AttractionsMap_FINAL.pdf

 Thanks for the map/info about Sitka, it is the only port I have not booked an excursion. This will help us a lot.

[kochleffel]

On 5/12/2022 at 12:24 PM, KenveeB said:

Trying to tell from the map -- is the Raptor center or Fortress of the Bears walkable? If not, is there a shuttle there, or how would we work that out? We're wanting to DIY our Sitka visit as well, and the Raptor center is top of the list!

 

The distance to the Raptor Center is walkable, but it's uphill on the way there and the narrow street most of the way could make the walk uncomfortable. A taxi will be about $7.

 

The Fortress of the Bears is farther out, not walkable unless you have all day. When I was in Sitka last summer, the local bus route that went closest to it had been truncated and didn't get near enough to be helpful. I don't know whether the route has been restored, and I wouldn't believe the website, which was wrong last year.

[kochleffel]

On 5/12/2022 at 3:38 PM, Northern Aurora said:

We have walked through the Sitka National Historical Park (AKA "Totem Pole Park") and on to the Raptor Center.  

 

That is the preferable way to walk to the Raptor Center if the trail is open. Sometimes it is closed because of bears.

[CRG7]

We just did Sitka on the Royal Princess and had not been aware that you have to bus into town (or walk 5 miles). RC was in Port with us and when we got off the ship, people were reporting 2-3 hour waits for the busses. We were told there are 2 or 3 taxi companies but they would probably be too busy. 

 

We ended up walking through the Sitka National Park after visiting shops downtown, which is about half a mile from the bus drop/pickup.

[mom4mom]

We just got back from our Eurodam Alaska voyage which included Sitka. We had pre-booked with Sitka Wildlife tours which included the Raptor Center, Fortress of the Bears and Totem Park. What a fantastic tour company. Great communication through 5 Covid cancellations. They have a flyer of four 10 passenger vans which you can pre-book or get on the dock if they haven’t sold out. Both morning and afternoon tours. Tell Rhonda that Joan sent you. 

[VirginiaTravelers]

We will be in Sitka in August. The bus line does seem to be limited. Some details can be found on their FB page, https://www.facebook.com/RideSitka

 

[SightCRR]

Last week in Sitka a 4000 person RCCL ship got to the piers first and people were allowed to go ashore. Then about 2:00 they stopped letting people go ashore while they moved the ship away from pier and started using the lifeboats as tenders while another ship tied up to pier. Never heard of going ashore on pier and back on tender. They said for non-tender had to be back by 1:40. Tenders were used to go to the 5 mile out pier not downtown. The RCCL page has more details w/ photos in a great review of their cruise.  Live … Ovation of the Seas …Alaska … May 13 - May 20, 2022 - Page 23 - Royal Caribbean International - Cruise Critic Community For Sitka start on page 13. 

sightcrr

Edited May 21, 2022 by SightCRR

[3rdGenCunarder]

19 minutes ago, SightCRR said:

Last week in Sitka a 4000 person RCCL ship got to the piers first and people were allowed to go ashore. Then about 2:00 they stopped letting people go ashore while they moved the ship away from pier and started using the lifeboats as tenders while another ship tied up to pier. Never heard of going ashore on pier and back on tender. They said for non-tender had to be back by 1:40. Tenders were used to go to the 5 mile out pier not downtown. The RCCL page has more details w/ photos in a great review of their cruise.  Live … Ovation of the Seas …Alaska … May 13 - May 20, 2022 - Page 23 - Royal Caribbean International - Cruise Critic Community For Sitka start on page 13. 

sightcrr

This sounds odd, but it's a good compromise given the situation. I've been thinking this could happen for my visit to Sitka. QE arrives at 8 and the huge NCL also scheduled for the dock arrives at 11. They could get people on tours off QE quickly and easily, and let the return be on a flow situation. The NCL leaves an hour after QE, so we'd be out of the way before they had to leave. 

[kmerlin14]

On 5/11/2022 at 9:39 PM, Traveller20074 said:

is there a walkable area to see the area?  not really wanting an excursion, was just wondering how the town is to walk around from the cruiseship (NCL Bliss)

I'm posting a link to my entry about Sitka when we visited in 2019 back when life was normal. We docked outside of town and took the free shuttle in and explored the museum and picked up a map before we set off to walk around the town. It was actually one of my favourite ports even though we didn't do an excursion. Our dinner companions were able to get a tour to the Fortress of the Bear from the visitors centre and they really enjoyed it. Our other companions just walked around town like we did and it was fun to run into someone you knew. HOpefully I can copy and paste the link to the post and not the entire thread. Okay first attempt didn't work it was my wordle score for my daughter. I will try again. Looks like it worked this time so here you go.

 

[Habubabu]

On 5/12/2022 at 4:47 PM, Ashland said:

Any idea approx how much from vendors offering this ?

In 2019, I paid either $30 or $35 which included admission to both the Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center as well as roundtrip transportion from the Harrigan Centennial Center.  Looking forward to doing this excursion again later this year.

[Ashland]

12 hours ago, Habubabu said:

In 2019, I paid either $30 or $35 which included admission to both the Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center as well as roundtrip transportion from the Harrigan Centennial Center.  Looking forward to doing this excursion again later this year.

Was this pre-arranged or just a vendor near the Harrigan Center ?

[Habubabu]

On 5/23/2022 at 11:36 AM, Ashland said:

Was this pre-arranged or just a vendor near the Harrigan Center ?

Apologies for the delay in replying.  Just a vendor in front of the Harrigan Ctr.  I had seen him there in 2018 and was delighted he was there in 2019.  I'm hoping he will be there this time.

Edited June 2, 2022 by Habubabu

[Traveller20074]

Sitka was boring since our excursion through Viator was cancelled 😞  

 

well, not boring, but wasn't enough time to figure out what else to do.  I can't walk far so was a little disapointed in the cancellation

 

Edited June 3, 2022 by Traveller20074

[kmdress]

We used this company and had a great day. Cost is $10 pp for just the transportation, but the driver was entertaining. They bring you to Fortress of the Bear for about an hour( plenty of time), then on to the Raptor Center for an hour. We took the free pier shuttle to the downtown area and got our passes there. You pay your own admission to both bears and raptors. We returned with plenty of time for some sightseeing and shopping, then took the shuttle back to the ship.

[Ashland]

36 minutes ago, kmdress said:

We used this company and had a great day. Cost is $10 pp for just the transportation, but the driver was entertaining. They bring you to Fortress of the Bear for about an hour( plenty of time), then on to the Raptor Center for an hour. We took the free pier shuttle to the downtown area and got our passes there. You pay your own admission to both bears and raptors. We returned with plenty of time for some sightseeing and shopping, then took the shuttle back to the ship.

How long ago was this ? We'll be there in September.

[Buckimion]

Any updates on the dock damage?

 

[kmdress]

16 hours ago, Ashland said:

How long ago was this ? We'll be there in September.

We were on Ovation of The Seas 5/13-5/20/2022. 

[rj59]

There's a nice walk along the water to Totem Pole Park. When I was there they had signs out warning of bear sightings, and if you go far enough into the park you'll come across a river that when I was there in September was full of rotting salmon carcasses. So depending on when you go there, you could see spawning salmon as well. There are other interesting historical sites around town if you get a map from the visitor's center, including a defense tower from the Russians and a cemetery with old Russian graves. It gets the least cruise ship traffic and seems to have the least-dependent economy on tourism, so I found it the brightest and most encouraging one on my post-shutdown cruise last September, whereas Skagway and Juneau seems quite depressing with closed businesses.