Mountain forest tram in ISP

[petuniaflower]

Has anyone done this and knows if you actually have to go at the time specified, or if like the gondola where you just go up anytime?  I am finding it hard to pick the time around our other excursion and thought we would just be able to hop on, but it is showing actual times when I look at the excursion on NCL site.

[ggTexasGal]

You might already have gotten helpful information if you had used other information than "Mountain Forest Tram in ISP" as your only clarification.

I needed to copy that info into a separate search, because I had no clue that you were actually referring to Icy Straight Point in Alaska.  Ship, date, &/or itinerary would have been helpful!

Generally speaking, 3-letter acronyms are airports abbreviations (such as LGA = LaGuardia).

 I do hope someone else has good information for you soon!

[YVRteacher]

I was just in Icy Strait Point on an NCL cruise.  There is a transporter gondola and a mountain gondola.  The cost for the mountain gondola is $49.00 for one person and your ticket is valid all day for as many trips as you would like. Tickets are not timed tickets.

I don’t think the mountain tram is actually operating.  It wasn’t when we were there.  You can save quite a bit of money by just doing the gondola on your own rather than booking the NCL mountain tram excursion.  The views atop Mount Hoonah are spectacular but the forest on top the mountain is quite sparse and there is not a lot to see.  It’s also really muddy up there so wear rubber boots if possible.

Edited June 9, 2022 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

7 hours ago, ggTexasGal said:

You might already have gotten helpful information if you had used other information than "Mountain Forest Tram in ISP" as your only clarification.

I needed to copy that info into a separate search, because I had no clue that you were actually referring to Icy Straight Point in Alaska.  Ship, date, &/or itinerary would have been helpful!

Generally speaking, 3-letter acronyms are airports abbreviations (such as LGA = LaGuardia).

 I do hope someone else has good information for you soon!

Your post is quite rude.  The OP used the phrasing as described in the NCL shore excursion.

ISP=Icy Strait Point

Edited June 9, 2022 by YVRteacher

[casofilia]

@Petunia flower

 

I was intrigued by the title as I, too, wondered about ISP.   It was only when I saw the answers that I realised what you were referring to.

 

Then I was even more interested as we hope to go there in 2024.

Edited June 9, 2022 by casofilia

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, petuniaflower said:

Has anyone done this and knows if you actually have to go at the time specified, or if like the gondola where you just go up anytime?  I am finding it hard to pick the time around our other excursion and thought we would just be able to hop on, but it is showing actual times when I look at the excursion on NCL site.

The Sky Glider gondola is operating taking folks from the NCL's Wilderness Landing dock to the mountain top. There is a free transporter gondola that take you over to main Adventure area. There is a beautiful view from the mountain top and an easy walking trail. At the moment, there is still some snow up there, so the kids enjoyed playing in the snow. 

 

 

Photo of the Bliss leaving ISP last week from the mountain top. 

 

[Uff da]

Okay, I can tell you our experience. We were there mid May. We did the Zip Rider so we did have a specific time, but our ticket was good all day. We actually went back and rode it a second time just for fun. If you do not have an excursion at the top, you can go up any time and come down any time. 
In May, it was indeed muddy on the trails at the top, however, the lookout point closest to the tram was not an issue. It's beautiful from up there and it's an interesting and fun ride to the top. 
The other gondola, the green one, took you to the tourist area. It's a great place to whale watch. We had a few sightings just hanging out on the deck there as well as other sea creatures. If you walk along the shore near the cannery (which is also a gift shop,) there are tons of starfish and sea cucumbers and even oysters in the water. It's so clear you can see tons. There was an eagle perched at the end of the pier. There is also a crab restaurant/bar there with the best Crabby Bloody Mary. Not cheap, but it may be the best Bloody Mary I've ever had. The mix is so good. They make it from scratch.
Icy Strait is pretty cool if you go into it with an open mind. It's small, but beautiful. The scenery is stunning. Wildlife is plentiful if you keep your eyes open. Enjoy your day! 

[Mrsmeliger]

I was on the 5/28 Bliss Alaska cruise.  My husband and I booked the "mountaintop forest tram" excursion in ICP in advance of our cruise.  

 

When we got to our cabin, the envelope with the excursion tickets said that tour was cancelled and our money was credited back.  

 

In ICP, there are the two gondolas.  I was confused as to why the excursion was cancelled and was told that the Gondola and the Tram are two different things, and that the tram was no longer.

 

Hope this helps clear up confusion.

[petuniaflower]

Wow, this is interesting! Im aware that there is a gondola as shown in pic earlier (ticketed) and also a tram option after you get to the top from the gondola (also ticketed)..wonder why they still show it for purchase on my ncl account if its no longer..too bad, we were looking forward to it!

[YVRteacher]

There was no tram option at the top when I was there in May.

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, petuniaflower said:

Im aware that there is a gondola as shown in pic earlier (ticketed) and also a tram option after you get to the top from the gondola (also ticketed).

What's the difference between a gondola and a tram?

[petuniaflower]

[YVRteacher]

24 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

What's the difference between a gondola and a tram?

In our case, one exists and the other doesn’t.

[petuniaflower]

I just booked a couple of my other excursions and while on the line asked about the tram and the rep said if its on there it still running..but Im pretty sure thats incorrect info...and we sail in 3 weeks.

[cruiserbear55]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

What's the difference between a gondola and a tram?

    A tram has two large "cars" equi-distant on a (sometimes) very long cable, which can be over a mile in length. When one car is at the top, the other is at the bottom. They only ever meet in the middle,

    Gondolas have lock/release mechanisms that allow the cars to come off the main cable for loading/unloading.

[jcscv]

6 hours ago, petuniaflower said:

 

I had this excursion booked for my trip 3 weeks ago, but it was canceled.  I was told the trail the tram (what I considered to be an open-air vehicle that took you down a trail through the forests back down to the town) still had too much snow on it.  In exchange I just bought the excursion that was just the gondola to the top (red) as many times as you wanted (I went up/down twice). It was a great view up at the top, but not much to do up there.  I did walk down to watch the zipline, but be warned, it's a pretty steep climb back up to the area where the gondola is. Once down below, I walked the trail over to the main part of town (a bit longer than I thought it would be, due to being docked at the farther dock), and took the green gondola back to the dock. 

[drumming cruisers]

Just off the 6/4 Bliss cruise. We rode the transporter tram to Icy Straight Point main area, looked around then rode it back to Gondola area. We had an all-day pass on Gondola, could go up mountain any time, as many times as we wanted. Was a fun ride, but really high and pretty straight up, got to top, took pictures, look pretty much same as the prior ones posted. We were going to walk to the zipline part, to watch people go on it. There was a man with a rifle standing by the group of zipliners. My DH asked why he had a rifle. They were on high bear alert as a woman was mauled by a bear the day before. Her face and arm. They didn't want anyone walking on the woods without a guide. We decided not to walk over there and rode gondola back down. 

[Sea saw 56]

Our last time in ISP we noticed signs near the zipline area warning people to beware of bears.  

Thought I would mention that there is a restaurant at the main part of town that serves up THE BEST deep fried halibut chunks!  It has an outdoor seating area with torchiere's to keep you warmed up.  We watched a woman set her halibut down on a table (to save her seat) and go back inside to get some disposable service items she'd forgotten.  When she went inside, a huge raven swooped down and took off with her halibut, a memory I can't forget.  

When we were there, there were several shops near the restaurant, at least one of them sold some really nice clothing.

When we were there we tendered in to this main area, so I suppose after our Whale & Mammal tour we will have to try out this new, free transporter gondola to access the main area.

[shadowmeboy]

Really glad I found this topic, as it answered the questions that I had for ISP about the Gondola up the Mountain!

[drumming cruisers]

3 hours ago, shadowmeboy said:

Really glad I found this topic, as it answered the questions that I had for ISP about the Gondola up the Mountain!

 

[drumming cruisers]

On 6/11/2022 at 6:23 PM, drumming cruisers said:

Just off the 6/4 Bliss cruise. We rode the transporter tram to Icy Straight Point main area, looked around then rode it back to Gondola area. We had an all-day pass on Gondola, could go up mountain any time, as many times as we wanted. Was a fun ride, but really high and pretty straight up, got to top, took pictures, look pretty much same as the prior ones posted. We were going to walk to the zipline part, to watch people go on it. There was a man with a rifle standing by the group of zipliners. My DH asked why he had a rifle. They were on high bear alert as a woman was mauled by a bear the day before. Her face and arm. They didn't want anyone walking on the woods without a guide. We decided not to walk over there and rode gondola back down. 

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by drumming cruisers

[furgoon]

I was there for the May 21st cruise.  The tram ride was cancelled due to the amount of ice that had to be cleared from the roadway.  The gondola was open and we rode it several times so that we felt we got our money's worth.  The excuse we got for the closure was that there was 17 foot of ice.  We enjoyed the hike around and the multiple trips.  In this case, the shore excursions through the ship were cheaper since we had a loyalty discount and the shore excursion credit.  So for two people we only paid around 45 bucks for the both of us.