Please help with Ketchikan
Jun 2nd, 2012, 02:32 PM
#21
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Thank you kmw421 for all the GREAT info!!!
My mother-in-law is treating her family to an Alaskan cruise on Holland America this August to celebrate her 80th birthday! This is so generous and so wonderful, but she left it up to my sister-in-law and I to plan the excursions.
There are so many choices and everything sounds great, so this has been perplexing, to say the least!! We only have a half day in Ketchikan, so we went for the floatplane trips to hopefully, see some bears and other wildlife and also get some beautiful views from the plane.
We couldn't get all of us on the same excursion, so we are split up. I'm not sure where their trip goes exactly, but my family is booked on the Neets Bay one. It sounds like from your comment, that it was a wonderful trip (just too expensive ... and believe me if my mother-in-law were not treating us, I would be renting a couple of cars and following your advice!!!)
My mother-in-law is treating her family to an Alaskan cruise on Holland America this August to celebrate her 80th birthday! This is so generous and so wonderful, but she left it up to my sister-in-law and I to plan the excursions.
There are so many choices and everything sounds great, so this has been perplexing, to say the least!! We only have a half day in Ketchikan, so we went for the floatplane trips to hopefully, see some bears and other wildlife and also get some beautiful views from the plane.
We couldn't get all of us on the same excursion, so we are split up. I'm not sure where their trip goes exactly, but my family is booked on the Neets Bay one. It sounds like from your comment, that it was a wonderful trip (just too expensive ... and believe me if my mother-in-law were not treating us, I would be renting a couple of cars and following your advice!!!)
Jun 7th, 2012, 04:46 PM
#22
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kmw421 - THANK YOU for digging up this old post and adding fantastic info! And great timing for us, as we are cruising on HAL next week on a last minute booking. We've been struggling with picking between an excursion or just winging it in town. Your tips make it an easy choice. I'm going to copy your comments, look the locations up on a map and plan a personal driving tour for us.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
Jun 8th, 2012, 03:56 PM
#23
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We did a combination when we visited Ketchikan. I had prebooked a Misty Fjords floatplane tour before we arrived for 6 of us. We absolutely loved loved loved it, no other way to see the fjords. We landed on the lake and a brown bear was coming out of the woods. We were so excited to see a bear; however, he got spooked by the sound of the plane and went back into the woods.
We then went into town and walked around all the stores, bought some souvenirs, and headed back to the ship. We had a wonderful day in Ketchikan. I would highly recommend doing the floatplane trip, it is an awesome experience. BTW, all 6 of us are in the senior category and while we were a bit nervous getting into such a small plane, the experience was totally worth it! It is expensive but you will never forget Ketchikan and that experience. We would do it again in a heartbeat!
We then went into town and walked around all the stores, bought some souvenirs, and headed back to the ship. We had a wonderful day in Ketchikan. I would highly recommend doing the floatplane trip, it is an awesome experience. BTW, all 6 of us are in the senior category and while we were a bit nervous getting into such a small plane, the experience was totally worth it! It is expensive but you will never forget Ketchikan and that experience. We would do it again in a heartbeat!
Jun 14th, 2013, 02:02 PM
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kmw421 and AK_gal. Well, here I am in 2013 and am so glad to have come across this. I'm definitely going to rent a car. Why didn't I think of that? I've been searching and searching for what to do while in town (Holland America). I've been to AK twice on cruises already. A car rental it is!! Thanks. Wonder what romandub ended up doing. 
