Ketchikan Lumberjack show with NCL

[bomabound]

Does anyone know why this show is SO much more expensive through the cruise line than directly?  Directly it is $37 but NCL wants about $78.  They also show that the tour is 2.5 hours when the show is 1 hr and a five minute walk from the dock.  I’ve checked the other lines and they are charging a reasonable markup (less than or equal to $50) and showing a duration of 1.25-1.5 hours.

 

I called the shore excursion desk to ask whether perhaps more was included such as a shuttle that drives through town with a short city tour, but she said it looked like it was just the show.  She couldn’t explain why it says 2.5 hrs. Has anyone done this through NCL that can confirm whether this truly is just the show?  In the meantime I just cancelled because it seemed crazy to end up paying more even with the $50 shore excursion credit.

 

Thanks!

[Aquahound]

Because, well.....NCL.  They are notorious for their upcharges.  

[Ashland]

If you "must" see this show (good if you have small kids with you...otherwise) book directly. Absolutely NO reason to book with your cruiseline.

You might also consider instead of checking out the Bering Se Fisherman Tour instead if you have any interest. Check out pricing directly on their website...you can check on your cruiseline also...pricing can vary.

 

Sorry to offer a suggestion you may have not been looking for. But do enjoy whatever works best for you.

[bomabound]

2 hours ago, Aquahound said:

Because, well.....NCL.  They are notorious for their upcharges.  

I haven’t particularly noticed that….maybe a bit but this one is quite an outlier.  I was hoping there was an explanation, but perhaps not.  

[bomabound]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

If you "must" see this show (good if you have small kids with you...otherwise) book directly. Absolutely NO reason to book with your cruiseline.

You might also consider instead of checking out the Bering Se Fisherman Tour instead if you have any interest. Check out pricing directly on their website...you can check on your cruiseline also...pricing can vary.

 

Sorry to offer a suggestion you may have not been looking for. But do enjoy whatever works best for you.

Thanks, I’ll check that out.  This will be our fourth time to Alaska and we’ve never seen this show and have done most of the “big must-see type tours”, so we were thinking we should see it.  Last time we were there we walked by after some hiking thinking we’d catch the show but it was totally sold out.  Perhaps the money might be better spent on some crab legs, haha.

Edited May 13, 2023 by bomabound

[wolfie11]

5 hours ago, bomabound said:

Does anyone know why this show is SO much more expensive through the cruise line than directly?  Directly it is $37 but NCL wants about $78.  They also show that the tour is 2.5 hours when the show is 1 hr and a five minute walk from the dock.  I’ve checked the other lines and they are charging a reasonable markup (less than or equal to $50) and showing a duration of 1.25-1.5 hours.

 

I called the shore excursion desk to ask whether perhaps more was included such as a shuttle that drives through town with a short city tour, but she said it looked like it was just the show.  She couldn’t explain why it says 2.5 hrs. Has anyone done this through NCL that can confirm whether this truly is just the show?  In the meantime I just cancelled because it seemed crazy to end up paying more even with the $50 shore excursion credit.

 

Thanks!

Probably because you have to get to town from Ward Cove.

[disneyochem]

Agree with wolfie—-I think NCL has factored in a transportation cost.  NCL ports at Ward Cove in Ketchikan which is 7 miles north of downtown.

 

Depending on timing,I would buy the tickets independently, take NCL’s free shuttle to downtown, and then walk to see the show (if that’s what you want to do). Just be sure to allow time to get off the ship—folks with paid NCL excursions will have priority in boarding the shuttle.

[bomabound]

13 hours ago, disneyochem said:

Agree with wolfie—-I think NCL has factored in a transportation cost.  NCL ports at Ward Cove in Ketchikan which is 7 miles north of downtown.

 

Depending on timing,I would buy the tickets independently, take NCL’s free shuttle to downtown, and then walk to see the show (if that’s what you want to do). Just be sure to allow time to get off the ship—folks with paid NCL excursions will have priority in boarding the shuttle.

Ahhhhh, thanks, that makes sense!  I didn’t realize we’d be docked away from town.  Each time we’ve been we’ve been docked right in town and just walked to everything.  Thanks for the info!

[MILLERVILE]

On 5/13/2023 at 12:26 PM, bomabound said:

Does anyone know why this show is SO much more expensive through the cruise line than directly?  Directly it is $37 but NCL wants about $78.  They also show that the tour is 2.5 hours when the show is 1 hr and a five minute walk from the dock.  I’ve checked the other lines and they are charging a reasonable markup (less than or equal to $50) and showing a duration of 1.25-1.5 hours.

 

I called the shore excursion desk to ask whether perhaps more was included such as a shuttle that drives through town with a short city tour, but she said it looked like it was just the show.  She couldn’t explain why it says 2.5 hrs. Has anyone done this through NCL that can confirm whether this truly is just the show?  In the meantime I just cancelled because it seemed crazy to end up paying more even with the $50 shore excursion credit.

 

Thanks!

 

Edited May 14, 2023 by MILLERVILE

[MILLERVILE]

I bought the ticket from the ship but it is the same tour we walked no ride.

[eileeshb]

Remember there’s also that $50 excursion credit from the Free at Sea promo to reduce the NCL price for the first person in the cabin. 
I booked the show specifically due to the whole ward cove thing, the last shuttle from town to ward cove is apparently quite early so I figured the later lumberjack show time would probably have a later shuttle possibly after the free shuttle. 
I’m not sailing until October so I’ve plenty of time to cancel it if I see any reviews that make my theory void, but I don’t cancel before embarkation it will be my first question to the shore excursion staff on the ship. 

[smarterman64]

NCL shuttles will drop you off at berth 4 from ward cove. Lumberjack transportation will take you to the door (or across the street at the discovery center). Your choice as if you want to use the transportation back (they will give you a ticket) or the shuttle (in which case you do have to make it back to berth 4 for the pickup). 

The show is an hour or so, but the roundtrip transportation. The shuttle line looked long the day we were there, two ships though. 

[dave_k58]

On 5/13/2023 at 12:07 PM, Aquahound said:

Because, well.....NCL.  They are notorious for their upcharges.  

Amen - I wouldn't buy a cruise from NCL

[psalm104]

I was wondering this same thing, and I found some helpful answers about this from people who just did this excursion both directly from NCL for higher price and directly from the lumberjack show on this thread (see posts #559, 562, 567 on page 23):

To sum up, they say the excursion bought directly from NCL includes transportation to and from the lumberjack theatre, and the tickets bought directly from the show require you to get there yourself, which would mean taking the free shuttle from Ward Cove to berth 4 and then an approx 15 minute walk to the lumberjack show (or finding other transportation yourself between berth 4 and the theatre).

 

I ,too, found that the NCL agents on the phone could not answer this question as to why the NCL excursion was so much higher priced, nor could they say that it included any direct transportation. Thank you to everyone on this thread (and on the thread I linked) for sharing your recent experiences!

[psalm104]

On 5/27/2023 at 7:17 PM, smarterman64 said:

NCL shuttles will drop you off at berth 4 from ward cove. Lumberjack transportation will take you to the door (or across the street at the discovery center). Your choice as if you want to use the transportation back (they will give you a ticket) or the shuttle (in which case you do have to make it back to berth 4 for the pickup). 

The show is an hour or so, but the roundtrip transportation. The shuttle line looked long the day we were there, two ships though. 

Thank you for all these details. So helpful!

[traceytd]

On 5/13/2023 at 1:26 PM, bomabound said:

Does anyone know why this show is SO much more expensive through the cruise line than directly?  Directly it is $37 but NCL wants about $78.  They also show that the tour is 2.5 hours when the show is 1 hr and a five minute walk from the dock.  I’ve checked the other lines and they are charging a reasonable markup (less than or equal to $50) and showing a duration of 1.25-1.5 hours.

 

I called the shore excursion desk to ask whether perhaps more was included such as a shuttle that drives through town with a short city tour, but she said it looked like it was just the show.  She couldn’t explain why it says 2.5 hrs. Has anyone done this through NCL that can confirm whether this truly is just the show?  In the meantime I just cancelled because it seemed crazy to end up paying more even with the $50 shore excursion credit.

 

Thanks!

I will be going in June and I purchased my tickets directly with the company. I am selling with Princess and they are only charging two dollars more than the company itself. I went last year and did the same purchased directly at the counter where the show is. And it’s definitely just an hour show.

 

[Boo's Mom]

On 5/13/2023 at 11:26 AM, bomabound said:

Does anyone know why this show is SO much more expensive through the cruise line than directly?  Directly it is $37 but NCL wants about $78.  They also show that the tour is 2.5 hours when the show is 1 hr and a five minute walk from the dock.  I’ve checked the other lines and they are charging a reasonable markup (less than or equal to $50) and showing a duration of 1.25-1.5 hours.

 

I called the shore excursion desk to ask whether perhaps more was included such as a shuttle that drives through town with a short city tour, but she said it looked like it was just the show.  She couldn’t explain why it says 2.5 hrs. Has anyone done this through NCL that can confirm whether this truly is just the show?  In the meantime I just cancelled because it seemed crazy to end up paying more even with the $50 shore excursion credit.

 

Thanks!

The cruise line is the middle man.  They are marking up the tour price.  It's what the middleman does. 

Book direct with the lumberjack show. 

If you book direct there is also a military veteran discount and also children 2 and under are FREE. 

 

 

 

[Coral]

On 6/1/2023 at 3:17 PM, Boo's Mom said:

The cruise line is the middle man.  They are marking up the tour price.  It's what the middleman does. 

Book direct with the lumberjack show. 

If you book direct there is also a military veteran discount and also children 2 and under are FREE. 

 

 

 

The problem is that NCL docks far from downtown Ketchikan. Not knowing their time frame in port - they may need to book with NCL.

[Figg1437]

On 5/14/2023 at 4:57 PM, MILLERVILE said:

I bought the ticket from the ship but it is the same tour we walked no ride.

What cruise line? I don’t see how we can walk from Ward Cove it’s very far

[Figg1437]

Q

On 6/3/2023 at 9:38 PM, Coral said:

The problem is that NCL docks far from downtown Ketchikan. Not knowing their time frame in port - they may need to book with NCL.

We are in this same situation, we dock at Ward Cove from 7-1.  We would like to see downtown Creek Street and do the lumberjack show. Has anyone done the NCL tour? If so did they put you on the free shuttle or a dedicated bus? Did you have any time to see downtown?

 

The free shuttle back seems like it ends very early, and what if your in line but don’t make the ‘last shuttle ‘ due to space?

 

anyone had advice?

[Coral]

27 minutes ago, Figg1437 said:

Q

We are in this same situation, we dock at Ward Cove from 7-1.  We would like to see downtown Creek Street and do the lumberjack show. Has anyone done the NCL tour? If so did they put you on the free shuttle or a dedicated bus? Did you have any time to see downtown?

 

The free shuttle back seems like it ends very early, and what if your in line but don’t make the ‘last shuttle ‘ due to space?

 

anyone had advice?

Yea - this is a huge negative for NCL. Sorry - I have always docked downtown.

[coolrider71]

The last shuttle from downtown back to Ward Cove is at 11:00 a.m. So early! The last time we went we literally had 2 and half hours to walkaround downtown before having to catch one of the last shuttles. 

[vacation44]

Am I right to think that there will be later shuttles back to Ward Cove if the ship is scheduled to leave at 8:00 p.m.?   We have tickets for the show at 4:00 p.m. after arriving at Ward Cove at 1:00 p.m.   

[MaggieNY]

6 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Am I right to think that there will be later shuttles back to Ward Cove if the ship is scheduled to leave at 8:00 p.m.?   We have tickets for the show at 4:00 p.m. after arriving at Ward Cove at 1:00 p.m.   

I don't know the date of your trip, but here's the schedule for the free shuttle:

https://wardcoveak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-Ward-Cove-Port-Schedule-7.17.2023.pdf

 

It looks like they adjust the last shuttle time based on the cruise line's departure time.

 

My family just booked the lumberjack show thru NCL. Due to another scheduled excursion, we picked the 1:30 show, which ends at 2:30 and the last free shuttle is 3:00. I saw online that the lines can be long for the last shuttle. With the $50 shore excursion credit and our 10% Latitudes discount, it cost $97.00 for each couple vs $85/couple with taxes & fees directly through the lumberjack show's website. We figured we'll take the free shuttle into town earlier in the day, see the show, then take the NCL shuttle that's included with our tickets back to the port. Guaranteed seats, no waiting. For me, that was worth the extra $12. YMMV.

[vacation44]

21 minutes ago, MaggieNY said:

I don't know the date of your trip, but here's the schedule for the free shuttle:

https://wardcoveak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-Ward-Cove-Port-Schedule-7.17.2023.pdf

 

It looks like they adjust the last shuttle time based on the cruise line's departure time.

 

My family just booked the lumberjack show thru NCL. Due to another scheduled excursion, we picked the 1:30 show, which ends at 2:30 and the last free shuttle is 3:00. I saw online that the lines can be long for the last shuttle. With the $50 shore excursion credit and our 10% Latitudes discount, it cost $97.00 for each couple vs $85/couple with taxes & fees directly through the lumberjack show's website. We figured we'll take the free shuttle into town earlier in the day, see the show, then take the NCL shuttle that's included with our tickets back to the port. Guaranteed seats, no waiting. For me, that was worth the extra $12. YMMV.

Thank you so much for the schedule!  If NCL still has availability, I think I will cancel my direct tickets and book with NCL.  Your way seems like the better plan and we are also entitled to the Latitudes discount so I will call first thing tomorrow morning.