Bering Sea Crab Fishing Tour in Ketchikan

[Fire and Ice]

Has anyone done the new Bering Sea Crab Fishing Tour on the Alleutian Ballad (from The Deadliest Catch) out of Ketchikan?

[kellywhitehills]

I was soo disappointed the excursion wasnt ready when we were there...Next year we will be going!~..We did visit the Sea Star and it was definately worth the time..

[lkohawaii]

Has anyone done the new Bering Sea Crab Fishing Tour on the Alleutian Ballad (from The Deadliest Catch) out of Ketchikan?

 

I haven't done it...sounds interesting...do you have the booking or contact info?

[kellywhitehills]

I haven't done it...sounds interesting...do you have the booking or contact info?

here ya go

http://www.56degreesnorth.com/?gclid=COHI7LiTgI4CFQe1YAodC1woPA

[c-cruise]

We saw the Alleutian Ballad when we were in Ketchikan this week. It was docked right next to us at the South end of town. It sat there empty all morning and didn't appear to be actively doing tours. After watching Deadliest Catch it was kind of sad to see the modifications they made to turn her into a tourist attraction.

[Corner Exit]

The Aleutian Ballad was docked next to our ship (Golden) when we were in port on 8/9. They were not doing a tour that day and we stumbled upon the boat on our way back to the ship. We walked down to the boat and the gentleman was doing some maintenance on the boat and put the ramp out so we could come aboard.

 

He showed us around the boat, spent at least an hour with us going over the boat, the tv show "Deadliest Catch", watching the video of the rogue wave that almost sunk that boat during an episode of the show, letting us read through the guest log from the first two weeks of operation, talking about some of the challenges they had with retrofitting the boat, the benefits and pitfalls of living and working in SE Alaska, working with Alaska fish and game, and the cruise lines as they try to get the word out about their tour.

 

Being able to talk to the locals like this one-on-one is priceless. You learn so much more than when they are busy trying to perform in front of 30 tourists and such on a timeframe.

 

When we were there I believe they were only in their third week of operation. Judging from the comments in the guest book I strongly suspect this will become a very popular tour. He said they had only recently been able to catch the various cruise directors attention about the tour.

 

There is just something really cool about waiting with anticipation to see what that pot will contain as it is winched out of the murky depths of the sea. It really captures peoples interest, and then to be able view the sea-life in the live tank and learn about it is a bonus.

 

Had we known about this tour before hand we would have booked it. If we ever go back to Ketchikan we will do both the Aleutian and the Sea Star as they are two differently focused excursions. The Sea Star would be neat because the boat is still configured as a full-on crab boat, and the Aleutian actually takes you out to the crab pots.

 

 

 

[SweetpeaOne]

The Deadliest Catch is one of our favorite shows. We were on the NCL Star back in July and this boat was parked right next to our ship. It was running yet. They were still loading supplies.. I think it would of been really fun to go on though.

[kelleherdl]

I went to the website and requested booking information. We will be in Ketchikan on 14 Sept (HAL Noordam). I have not gotten an email back yet. They only show RCCL, NCL and Celebritry as on board bookers yet.

[plenox]

it seems to be very interesting

[kelleherdl]

I went to the website and requested booking information. We will be in Ketchikan on 14 Sept (HAL Noordam). I have not gotten an email back yet. They only show RCCL, NCL and Celebritry as on board bookers yet.

 

 

I did get a message back. They are going to be listed as a HAL excursion soon. I checked the HAL site this morning for our cruise. They are still not listed. We will probably book directly through Alleutian Ballad.

[JJ2sail]

Destination: Alaska

 

Port/City: Ketchikan, Alaska

 

Activity Type:

Wilderness & Wildlife Tours | Beach & Water-Related Activities

 

Approximate Duration: 4 hour(s)

 

Prices starting from:

*205.00 USD (Adult)

*135.00 USD (Child)

*0.00 USD (Infant)

Set sail with the Aleutian Ballad on a once-in-a-lifetime journey. Experience commercial fishing so real that you might find yourself holding an Alaskan Crab on the deck of a Bering Sea crab vessel that captured the imagination of the world on the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch! See for yourself what the waters surrounding Alaska shield from casual view.

 

Set out into the protected waters of Southeast Alaska in the fishing vessel Aleutian Ballad. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience commercial fishing from the deck of a seasoned vessel and is the same vessel seen on the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch program, modified for your safety and comfort. Commercial harvest can be dangerous and this is the real thing. For that reason you will be seated well back from the crew and gear. Animals brought to the surface will be placed in a live tank for your observation and careful interaction before being released back into the wild. An experience so real that you may find yourself with a live crab or another fascinating creature from the rich Alaskan water in your hands!

Participants must be at least 5 years old.

[kelleherdl]

I just got of the phone with Sylvian, the excursions manager for the Noordam. Indead HAL is now offering the Crab Fisherman's Tour, even though it is still not on the website. He told me he would make sure we had two tickets waiting in our cabin for our visit to Ketchikan.

[PammyHound]

I stumbled upon the info for this tour today while searching other Alaskan tours for my upcoming cruise on the Carnival Spirit (5/27). I wasn't surprised to see HAL charging $205pp when you can book it direct with the Alluetian Ballard for $169pp. Unfortunately their contracts with several cruise lines now forbid them to book a cruise ship passenger if the ship is offering the tour. Lucky for me, Carnival was not listed on their list of cruise lines they were currently using!

[JustCase]

Hey, PammyHound!

 

(Okay, let's get the inside jokes out of the way first. If everyone is done spewing milk out their noses after seeing this as my first post here, I'll continue...)

 

The Aleutian Ballad tour in KTN is a neat idea. I've admired them for years for getting to use that boat off of their regular money season. I'm seriously considering booking this one for us when I stop in Ketchikan on my SouthBound Inside Passage cruise this May. I guess I'll go back, read the thread and see if it seems worthwhile. If anyone wishes, I'll be happy to post a review of the tour either after the first or second cruise... (sorry to brag... I've got a 10-day South bound planned, and we're working on a 3-day North bound back to back... nyah nyah!) ;-)

 

Happy Alaska Travels!

-Case

[slabeaume]

I noticed the NCl website has a 45 minutes travel channel program on their site showing their ship Pearl and it's alaskan cruise. The excursion they have video of for their Ketchikan port is the crab boat excursion. It was a neat to watch the video of it. That part of the video was probably about 8-10 minutes long.

[PammyHound]

Wow..... your "first" post, that's just ...just...... wait, I got get the screen cleaner out:)

I'm likely doing this tour on May 29th, maybe you should join me! :):)

[JustCase]

Wow..... your "first" post, that's just ...just...... wait, I got get the screen cleaner out:)

I'm likely doing this tour on May 29th, maybe you should join me! :):)

 

Do you have a link to the "roll call" thread for your Spirit cruise? I KNOW there's no "roll call" for my South Bound cruise...

 

In any event, any reviews of this tour from anyone who's done it in the past will be greatly appreciated!

 

Happy Alaska Travels!

-Case

[farmerjohn]

Good reviews of this excursion on TripAdvisor.

[PammyHound]

I looked this morning and there's not a roll call that I could find for the 5/27 Northbound Spirit. I generally don't have a lot of time to read any of the online message boards anymore and haven't posted in FOREVER here but I've been really researching my Alaska cruise and google has brought me here a few times on resent searches so I've been reading and posting a little.

[Iam9a]

We will be sailing on the 5-27-09 northbound carnival spirit, join us on the roll call http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=783409. "Case" how are you traveling on your 10 day southbound? I've read some of your posts on tripadvisor, is it true you have retired? If so congratulations! Guess we were too late to book with you, lol.

[JustCase]

We will be sailing on the 5-27-09 northbound carnival spirit, join us on the roll call http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=783409. "Case" how are you traveling on your 10 day southbound? I've read some of your posts on tripadvisor, is it true you have retired? If so congratulations! Guess we were too late to book with you, lol.

 

I'll check out the roll call. The itinerary for my s/b cruise is posted here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=766053&page=6 (I think it's #116...)

 

As for the retirement, I've just formally acquired the Can Can from her previous owner, and I currently work for AT&T Mobility here in Juneau, so I don't know that I could technically call this stage of life "retirement"... but hey, if the shoe fits...!

 

-Case

[CincinnatiGal]

I'll check out the roll call. The itinerary for my s/b cruise is posted here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=766053&page=6 (I think it's #116...)

 

As for the retirement, I've just formally acquired the Can Can from her previous owner, and I currently work for AT&T Mobility here in Juneau, so I don't know that I could technically call this stage of life "retirement"... but hey, if the shoe fits...!

 

-Case

 

 

Hello Case:

Glad to find you today...my husband and I are returning to Alaska on the Radiance of the Sea June 5th sailing from Vancouver. I went to your website and found out about your retirement. So sorry to hear this news but I guess you will be okay in your new telecom venture forward. We wanted to go out with you again. I do hope you are doing well! We have a fishing charter in Icy Straits and in Seward booked. You were and "ARE" the best so far! Still use those great coffee mugs!

 

CincinnatiGal

jhomsher@fuse.net