Best Ketchikan Excursion with a 1 year old?

[abugs]

We originally wanted to do the Misty Fjords Wildlife Quest through NCL for our time in Ketchikan, but we had trouble booking and by the time I got it all straightenend out, the excursion was full. We will be cruising for the first time with our 1 year old son, so we are trying to pick excursions that he can come along on and (hopefully!) he will enjoy as well. Does anyone have any recommendations for another excursion we can do? I would love to see whales or any kind of wildlife. The only other excursions we're doing are Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau and the White Pass Railway in Skagway, so we hoping to do something different in Ketchikan. Thanks!!

[Budget Queen]

Perhaps the Lumberjack show??? Frankly - I wouldn't commit to any tour longer than an hour. A one year old is just too unpredictable and usually there is no way out. At the Lumberjack show you can just leave if he becomes disruptive. I would definately take a stroller and consider a walking tour perhaps? Or short bus tours?? Unfortunately I can't recommend any wildlife tours.

[flagger]

This coming September, we are taking our 15.5 month old with us on a 2 hour floatplane tour in Ketchikan with Michelle at Island Wings. http://www.islandwings.com

[Coral]

I would also suggest the LumberJack show - here are some pics of the show:

 

Lumberjack show

 

There were plenty of toddlers at our show. I don't remember any as young as yours but plenty of 2-4 year olds and they seemed to enjoy it. How the show is presented - young kids definitley would enjoy it.

[Happy ks]

Thanks for posting them. We're taking our older kids, 12 and 15 to the show. It looks a bit touristy, but is one of the small concessions I am making to the kids for the week. I love the frames and pushpins!

[Coral]

Kathy - thanks :)

 

I have to admit - the lumberjack show is touristy. The host gets up there and is pretty cheesey but it is a good show, especially for kids. They get the kids involved in the audience by booing and cheering their team and the kids get to keep track of who is winning by holding wood chips, etc. .

 

Ketchikan is my least favorite port of the trip and this was my 4th time there - so I was grasping for something different to do this time. I have yet to do the float plane but sort of chickened out on this trip. Maybe next time.

 

Just an FYI - the price on the ship (Princess) was the same price as purchasing the ticket at the show ($29/adult). If you purchase it directly through the lumberjack place - they charge you tax - so it would have been a few dollars cheaper to purchase directly through the cruise line. I was sort of noncommittal because I didn't know how the weather would be. The lumberjack show would be an excellent thing to do if it is rainy or cold since the seating is covered and there are heat lamps above (which we didn't use because it was warm).

[Thoth]

In Ketchikan one could fair quit well by merely just doing a walking tour on Creek Street and around town. If the baby gets restless, then you are usually close to your ship . The Lumberjack Show is very popular and right next to the ship berths.

[Boo's Mom]

Abugs...... I really thought the Lumberjack show was way overpriced. It was fun and silly......and worth maybe $10.00 per adult/ $5.00 per child.

 

It is the one thing we did on our trip...a few weeks ago....that my husband and I both agree was not worth our precious time in port.

 

How about a little fishing adventure with your child?

[colorado_cruiser]

My family will be leaving for the Radiance in less than 2 weeks. We too have a year old son who'll be on the cruise with us.

 

Juneau - hiring a babysitter while the rest of the family goes on the helicopter/dogsled tour. Afterwards, we'll go back to get him and then go visit the Mendenhall Glacier.

 

Skagway - renting a car to drive to Emerald Lake and back. I'm going to look and see if there's a short horseback activity we can go on.

 

Ketchikan - my sister-in-law and I will be going on the Misty Fjords flightseeing while my husband, son, and other members in our group goes on the Crab Feed. The rest are still unsure what to do but there's talk of fishing.

 

The only time we'll hire a babysitter is during the helicopter/dogsled tour. The rest of the time we'll have our baby with us.

 

Hope this helps.

[bbcruiser]

I just picked up a book called Inside Passage Walking Tours from the library. It was recommended on another website I found that discussed cruising Alaska with kids. I haven't read through it yet, but I'm sure it will have some info on things you can do that don't have a time constraint.

 

We'll be travelling with our 20 month old son and haven't planned any excursions. He will get very fussy if he gets tired or hungry and a long excursion would not be very pleasant if that happens.

 

You can take the blue bus to Mendenhall Glacier. We are bringing our hiking backpack since we've read that you can hike to a waterfall at the Glacier.

 

Hope you have a great time.

[two cruisers 723]

We took a Horse Drawn Trolley Tour on 6/27/04. We just walked up and purchased a ticket from their booth inside the Visitor's Center 1 block from the ship. It only lasted 45 minutes. But it was informative and took you through the town including residential neighborhoods and past Creek Street. Each Trolley had a 5 month old Alaskan Huskey puppy from the same litter riding along. Ours was named "Zoe" and walked around visiting everyone on board. It was $25 per person and we used our Sea Pass card from the ship to pay for it. I'm not sure how much it was for kids. Here's their website: http://www.horsetrolleytours.com/index.html They also had a "Ride the Ducks" tour. This is an amphibious vehicle that takes you on a tour around the town and then drives right down into the water and turns into a boat. It's $34 for an adult and children under 2 are free. We didn't do this one. I think it lasts quite a bit longer than the Trolley. I've done this tour in Branson, MO before and enjoyed it. Here's their website: http://www.akduck.com/?source=www.SplashTours.com Enjoy whatever you decide to do. Alaska is wonderful!

[Dave & Julie]

Abugs.....sorry to hear that your Misty Fjord trip got messed up by NCL. I'm cruising NCL Star on 7-18, just booked the trip about 10 days ago, and I don't have enough lead time to book my own shore excursions through them. I'm calling companies direct and I was successful yesterday with booking the Misty Fjord Wildlife Quest direct through Allen Marine. The boat holds 150 passengers and they still had about 30 seats left. Their phone is 907-225-8100. Give them a try, and good luck!

[Dave & Julie]

Maybe someone can help me out here. I'm thinking the Skagway train might get boring after awhile and I would like to see the Yukon. I'm considering one of two options: either the Yukon Wilderness Canoe & Horseback trip through southeastern tours, or, just renting a car in Skagway and driving up to Emerald Lake. Any thoughts from those who have done it?? I wouldn't mind a short hike, maybe 3-5 miles, but I don't want to eat up too much time out of town because Skagway looks pretty interesting.

[abugs]

Thank you, everyone, for your responses. Lots of good ideas that we didn't originally even consider. So many of them sound good that we're having a hard time deciding. :) I think we're going to see what we feel like once we get on the ship. We leave on Friday for Seattle!!!

[ute_fan]

We did the Totem Bight and Saxman Village tour in Ketchikan. While it might not be terribly exciting for a one year old, the walking around was easy. If he's walking yet, he might enjoy being able to just wander around outside a little bit.

[two cruisers 723]

Dave & Jule, I too thought the train ride may be a bit boring. That's why we booked the extravaganza that included the train ride up, bus ride down, stop at trail camp for a salmon bake and tour of the Red Onion Saloon. The train ride up was incredible. It was the best part of our combo tour. We stood outside between the two cars the entire time. I've never seen such incredible scenery in my life and would do it again in a heartbeat. I know there are several different combo tours. One where the train goes up to the top (it's gorgeous at the top too, different colored lakes, etc.) and you get off and kayak in a lake. There are also bike rides at the top. I'm not sure if they go down or not. Don't rule this out. You may not get to see scenery like this again any time soon.

[mommiemudd]

Was your excursion through NCL, The Best of Skagway? We have booked this tour. There are 5 of us including a 3 year old. Was it worth the price? Any other info you can share with me? Thanks!!

[MNYTRPS2GO2]

We did the Duck Tour and it would probably not be a problem with the baby unless he is very active and wants to move around.

We booked it at the dock with no problem.

Another thing you may want to consider is the weather that day. We were extremely lucky and had a warm sunny day, so being on the water portion was not a problem. I'm not sure how it would be under "normal" Alaska weather conditions.

We really enjoyed the tour and we were escorted by a local young man. He was very proud of his town and it showed. He was informative and had a nice sense of humor.The whole experience was very enjoyable.

We also saw quite a few bald eagles from the water.