Ketchikan Shore Excursions- Snorkling or Canoeing

[Rbel4]

We will be on the Dawn Princess next week, and we are trying to decide upon a shore excursion for Ketchikan. We are trying to decide between the Mountain Point Snorkling Adventure or the Rain Forest Canoe Adventure. Has any one been on either or these excursions and if so what are your thoughts? Also if anyone has done the snorkling, what do you see- are there various fishes?


Thank you for your input.

[Genessa]

I went snorkeling last July. It was one of my favorite Alaskan excursions. You are taken on a short bus ride to a building where you are outfitted with a full wet suit (including hood, booties, gloves) and don the suit. You get back on the bus for a very short drive to a shore area.

You actually walk into the water, not jump in off a boat.
The temp of the water when I was there was in the low '50s, but after a very brief, "oh, it's cold", you don't feel the cold.


The guides who are with you free dive down and bring up sea life for you to see, most especially some of the most gloriously colored sea stars. One I really liked looked like the sun, with many legs, in a yellow and orange color.

There were some other sea critters visible in the water and others the guides brought up.

The visibility of the water wasn't the greatest, but just the experience of snorkeling in Alaska and seeing the different fish made this my favorite snorkeling trip ever. I love wearing the tee shirt I bought from them (about $10, I think). It never fails to bring out comments.

They give you some warm water to pour into your wet suit after you get out of the water and bring you back to the building to change into your dry clothing (which you have put into a waterproof gear bag they provided and have brought onto the bus with you).

[happy2]

Genessa,
We are also thinking of doing this snorkeling trip. My son is not the greatest swimmer and doesn't quite get the hang of snorkeling. Did you stay in shallow water by the beach or swim out farther. If so, how far and how deep? Is this a bad excursion for a weak swimmer?
Thanks so much!

[whenzuc]

just got back today on the Sun Princess. We went flightseeing over Mistsy Fjords- with southeast aviation. There is a 2 for 1 coupon in the Tour saver book. Our friends went fishing and loved it- 3 couples caught 24 fish in 3 hours.

[zimmerjulie]

happy2,

my daughter is 8 and my husband had advised against me taking her snorkeling in Ketchikan, as he had quite a bit of difficulty keeping her up and her mask/snorkel cleared on a recent Caribbean snorkeling day. I decided to take her anyway, with a couple of adaptations, and it wasn't any problem. The full wetsuit adds a lot of buoyancy and staying on top of the water isn't a problem. We also got her a "dry snorkel", which has a float on the top that floats up with the water and closes the top of the snorkel if the water level rises above it. In addition, the Mountain Point area where they do the snorkeling in Ketchikan is very protected. The only "waves" we encountered were from the wakes of the passing (small) fishing boats. We did cover a bit of "ground", but I had a great time during that portion where I simply floated on the surface, without moving a muscle, looking at the underwater life. You can stay fairly near the shore and still see quite a bit. My daughter spent a lot of time playing with all the hermit crabs in the shallows.

We saw about 3 or 4 different types of plainly colored fish, including one fish that looked just like an eel. We also saw many jellyfish, urchins, and sea stars, as well as hermit crabs. Floating through the "kelp forest" was also a unique and neat experience:D .

I guess people can see the same trip very differently, and trips can differ a lot from day to day, but this is what I encountered on our recent (June 25) Ketchikan snorkeling excursion. My daughter always answers "snorkeling" when asked what was her favorite thing on her Alaska cruise.:D

Some of the ship snorkeling excursions do not allow the younger children, though, so you may have to find a different tour provider if this is the case for you.

[happy2]

Zimmerjulie,
That makes me feel better. Sounds like a great trip. Did they provide the dry snorkle or did you bring it? I have not heard of one of those.
Thanks!

[Casshew]

off topic but it is a gorgeous day in Ketchikan today (July 13th)

I have been compulsively watching the earth cam there and for the past two weeks it has been quite foggy and drizzly... today looks gorgeous (at the moment) blue skies, no clouds.

[url]http://www.earthcam.com/usa/alaska/ketchikan/[/url]

[zimmerjulie]

we brought the dry snorkel. We got it at Costco in a set. The mask worked really well too.

[Genessa]

[quote name='happy2']Genessa,
We are also thinking of doing this snorkeling trip. My son is not the greatest swimmer and doesn't quite get the hang of snorkeling. Did you stay in shallow water by the beach or swim out farther. If so, how far and how deep? Is this a bad excursion for a weak swimmer?
Thanks so much![/QUOTE]


as someone already answered, it's actually one of the better snorkeling excursions for a poor or non-swimmer due to the bouyancy of the wet suit and the fact that you enter from shore. Also, if your son doesn't even want to snorkel, the guides brought up plenty of things to look at (and sometimes hold) above water. Just make sure to inform the guides about the swimming ability.