Tendering in Sitka

[ikesyd]

Where can I find out if our ship (WESTERDAM) will be tendering when we are in Sitka on 11June? Will be on the 2025 28-Day Alaska Arctic Circle Solstice cruise. Our itinerary doesn’t show it is a tender port, however the 2024 cruise did have to tender. It appears that there will be 3 cruise ships in port that day.

[wolfie11]

Three ships in Sitka?  That’s 10,000 people in that little dock area, which is insane.  You have to take a shuttle bus from the dock seven miles into Sitka and the lines for the buses will be crazy long.  Don’t worry about tendering. Book an excursion that leaves from the dock area so you don’t have to go to town.

[SightCRR]

Our 28 day in 2024 on Westerdam listed only one tender (Nome). Turns out there were five. Sitka, Valdez, Nome, Kodiak and Homer. Homer not on yours so forget about that one. Sitka had two ships out at dock so we tendered near downtown with quick ride into downtown and didn't have to worry about the long lines for bus. Here is where we learned about tenders but it is to early for info. We had been to Sitka before so we just walked around after trying to figure out how the tender lines worked without being 4-5 star and CO. Our plan was to get to Ocean Bar 45min to 1 hour before first tender ticket time ready to go to get on first tender. That worked on the other 4 ports after being later to ticket line in Sitka.  Cruise Ship Schedule Calendar Combined Ports (claalaska.com)

Edited August 14 by SightCRR

[zqvol]

17 hours ago, ikesyd said:

Where can I find out if our ship (WESTERDAM) will be tendering when we are in Sitka on 11June? Will be on the 2025 28-Day Alaska Arctic Circle Solstice cruise. Our itinerary doesn’t show it is a tender port, however the 2024 cruise did have to tender. It appears that there will be 3 cruise ships in port that day.

Hope that you tender. You will go right to downtown and everything is an easy walk from there.