Cardinal2013 Posted July 11 #1 Share Posted July 11 Our ship is in Ketchikan from 9am to 4pm. I am looking at an independent company called Shore Excursions Group for a tour that's 3 hours starting at 9:30am...Private 3 hour Ketchikan Exploration. Curious if anyone knows of the company and if you agree that's plenty of time to get back to the ship? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkster Posted July 11 #2 Share Posted July 11 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Cardinal2013 said: Our ship is in Ketchikan from 9am to 4pm. I am looking at an independent company called Shore Excursions Group for a tour that's 3 hours starting at 9:30am...Private 3 hour Ketchikan Exploration. Curious if anyone knows of the company and if you agree that's plenty of time to get back to the ship? Thanks! Up until a few years ago, a big box travel agency that shall not be named here partnered with Shore Excursions Group. Think $1.50 hot dog and soda combo . . . Edited July 11 by pkster 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinburgher Posted July 11 #3 Share Posted July 11 4 hours ago, pkster said: Curious if anyone knows of the company I could be wrong and others will correct me if so, but I don't think this is an actual tour operator, more of a "middleman or broker" which books you onto a tour run by others. If correct, it means you won't know which company your actual tour is with unless you can track it down online. by looking for the same tour offered by a local company. It also means that the actual operator has to pay a commission to Shore Excursions Group for giving them your business, which reduces their income and in smaller towns and seasonal ones especially, it is quite important to support local business. And as third party vendors quite often have Tcs and Cs which are difficult for cruise passengers and the actual tour company may have better, they need to be carefully read. And all communication must go through the third party which isn't always easy especially if something goes wrong. Many many past threads about using third party companies. Are they offering you something you cannot do independently? Or have you visited Ketchikan a number of times previously, because if not, Ketchikan is a very easy DIY port of call and offers a number of varied sights and attractions, more than enough for a one day port call. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted July 11 #4 Share Posted July 11 Shore Excursion Group is widely discussed on Cruise Critic. As @edinburgher says, they are a broker, not a tour provider. That comes with pluses and minuses. Best to deal direct with actual tour providers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sambamama Posted July 11 #5 Share Posted July 11 IMHO, Ketchican doesn't need a tour. It is a very easy do it yourself port. It rains about 330 days a year. the day I was there, the rain varied from very steady to misty throughout the day. The town is very easy to walk around on your own, and you can go see the museum and the shops on your own. It's easy to hike on your own as well. I never saw any tours that were remotely interesting at all, and it was a great place to save money for the other places that had exciting tours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted July 12 #6 Share Posted July 12 2 hours ago, sambamama said: IMHO, Ketchican doesn't need a tour. It is a very easy do it yourself port. It rains about 330 days a year. the day I was there, the rain varied from very steady to misty throughout the day. The town is very easy to walk around on your own, and you can go see the museum and the shops on your own. It's easy to hike on your own as well. I never saw any tours that were remotely interesting at all, and it was a great place to save money for the other places that had exciting tours. Agree with this, we have even rented fishing equipment near Dolly’s House and fished off the bridge in town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royal3 Posted July 12 #7 Share Posted July 12 We have used Shore Excursion Group many times in Alaska, especially in Skagway, and they are our preferred provider. Like mentioned in the other posts, they do not run the tours, but just market them. They do offer a Guaranteed Return to Ship. Luckily, we have never had file a claim on their guarantee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherryf Posted July 13 #8 Share Posted July 13 On 7/11/2024 at 2:39 PM, sambamama said: IMHO, Ketchican doesn't need a tour. It is a very easy do it yourself port. It rains about 330 days a year. the day I was there, the rain varied from very steady to misty throughout the day. The town is very easy to walk around on your own, and you can go see the museum and the shops on your own. It's easy to hike on your own as well. I never saw any tours that were remotely interesting at all, and it was a great place to save money for the other places that had exciting tours. The best things in Ketchikan are OUTSIDE of the main downtown shopping area, and tours can take you there. I've done a couple of amazing kayaking tours from Ketchikan. You can also get out to other areas by taking taxis or the local bus system. If you just walk around the shops, you are missing out on so much of what Ketchikan has to offer! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQrobin Posted July 14 #9 Share Posted July 14 On 7/10/2024 at 9:52 PM, Cardinal2013 said: Our ship is in Ketchikan from 9am to 4pm. I am looking at an independent company called Shore Excursions Group for a tour that's 3 hours starting at 9:30am...Private 3 hour Ketchikan Exploration. Curious if anyone knows of the company and if you agree that's plenty of time to get back to the ship? Thanks! What month are you going? Ketchikan has some amazing places to visit that you might want to consider, but vary month to month. The salmon are running mid-July to late Aug so that makes a difference depending on what you want to see. As far as town... it is a small quaint town that is totally walkable. Lots of things to see and do there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted July 14 #10 Share Posted July 14 4 hours ago, ABQrobin said: What month are you going? Ketchikan has some amazing places to visit that you might want to consider, but vary month to month. The salmon are running mid-July to late Aug so that makes a difference depending on what you want to see. As far as town... it is a small quaint town that is totally walkable. Lots of things to see and do there! Unless you just want to stay near Creek Street and the docks and you like steep hills it is not at all walkable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQrobin Posted July 15 #11 Share Posted July 15 18 hours ago, zqvol said: Unless you just want to stay near Creek Street and the docks and you like steep hills it is not at all walkable. Most of town is completely flat. Only when you get to residential area does it start getting hilly. I was referring to the town area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted July 15 #12 Share Posted July 15 37 minutes ago, ABQrobin said: Most of town is completely flat. Only when you get to residential area does it start getting hilly. I was referring to the town area. That’s what I said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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