Cruise Alaska: A Review of the Duck Boat Excursion in Ketchikan
First a question that may seem arbitrary at first, but will save some of you from having to endure today’s lecture: What’s your favorite type of cheese?
If you just thought, “doesn’t she mean fromage” and then rolled your eyes and tipped up your nose and answered “camembert,” you may be excused from today’s lecture and, actually, from Cruising 101 and, actually, from cruising all together – you’re far too refined.
But if you answered “American” but pronounced it ‘merican with visions of Velveeta smothered nachos dancing in your head, I have the perfect Alaska shore excursion for you!
The Duck Boat Tour in Ketchikan!
Where the jokes are cheesier than a Taco Bell Doritos Cheesy Gordita Crunch with a side of cheesy fiesta potatoes (now I’m starving – please hold while I hit the drive-thru), but not as cheesy as the average Prof. Cruise blog post (keep striving little Ducky Boat).
But seriously, when I found out our tour guide was from Seattle I thought to myself, “backup plan if my cruise blog goes belly-up” and spent half the tour looking at cute houses with water views I could rent for next summer’s cruise season as I practiced my one-liners.
Why I Booked the Duck Boat Excursion in Ketchikan
Those of you who follow my blog know that I don’t usually book excursions in Alaska anymore. I’ve cruised there so many times I’ve pretty much done them all and usually hike while in port. But I booked the Duck Boat for two reasons. First, I had my mom, who was celebrating her birthday on this cruise and has some mobility issues due to an expired hip (please help me nag her in the comments to upgrade to a newer model), with me. And second, I had a $50 shore excursion credit to use up which meant that, even if this tour guide was a total quack (see what I did there), it would cost me almost nothing.
How Much is the Duck Boat Excursion in Ketchikan and Where can I Book it?
This excursion is currently priced at $69 for adults and $49 for kids and will likely be offered through your cruise ship or you can book it independently HERE. While I booked through my ship (NCL’s Encore), I usually opt to book excursions independently because I prefer my dollars go directly to local tour operators without the cruise line taking a cut. It’s often cheaper too, but that wasn’t the case this time.
What You’ll See on the Duck Boat Excursion in Ketchikan
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…Superman! Or rather, it’s a bus, it’s a boat, it’s…a duck? Quack, Quack, Quack!
If driving a bus into the waters of the Tongass Narrows without dying isn’t enough of a thrill for you, maybe seeing a pair of bald eagles about as close as you’ll ever see them in the wild would be!
That was the highlight of the excursion for me – but there’s no guarantee you’ll have the same luck on your…duck (seriously, I was born for this). Here’s what I can guarantee you’ll see on your 90 minute tour:
On Land:
-The salmon ladder on Ketchikan Creek
-Whale Park
-Creek Street
-The city’s gravel baseball field (I wince at the thought of digging bloody pebbles out of my knees and I’d probably be out anyway: “Prof. Cruise clumsily slides into first base a good 30 seconds after the baseman catches the ball and the umpire declares her OUT!”)
-The Water Street tunnel (perhaps the only tunnel in America you can drive through, over, and around)
On Water:
-A local fishing fleet
-Fishing canneries
-Seaplane docks
-Views of surrounding mountains and neighboring islands
What You Won’t See on the Duck Boat Excursion in Ketchikan
Actually this headline should read, “what you won’t see WELL on the duck boat excursion in Ketchikan, and the astute among us will notice that it’s the same list:
On Land:
-The salmon ladder on Ketchikan Creek
-Whale Park
-Creek Street
-A gravel baseball field (luckily, your view won’t be clear enough to actually see any bloody knees)
-The Water Street tunnel
On Water:
-Local fishing fleet
-Fishing canneries
-Seaplane docks
-Views of surrounding mountains and neighboring islands
And those eagles I mentioned earlier? This is what they actually looked like from the Duck Boat (the earlier photo was a stock shot for dramatic contrast):
While this excursion is entertaining and provides a nice overview and history of the area, you’ll be limited in how much you can actually see from the boat/bus/duck thingy. It was raining during our tour (which you should anticipate – Ketchikan is so wet you’d expect to find scorpions and cacti in Seattle by comparison) so the plastic windows on our vessel were down and covered in rain droplets and fog which limited visibility. It was possible to lift them up to snap a quick photo, but leave them up for too long and you’ll really put that “unsinkable” claim to the test: “ma’am, we need to use your ‘I Don’t Need Therapy, I Just Need to go to Alaska’ souvenir mug as a bucket!”
Then you’ll ALL need therapy.
Even sans rain (skip the mug and buy a lottery ticket if you don’t have rain on your port day in Ketchikan), you won’t see as much on this excursion as you would if you walked around, which is easy to do if you don’t have mobility challenges (go HERE for a walking guide to Ketchikan). And there are other water-based excursions that would allow for better on-water views.
Final Thoughts on the Duck Boat Excursion in Ketchikan
If your grandson’s only request was that you bring him back a duck bill whistle from your cruise to Alaska AND if you secretly loathe your daughter-in-law, AND if you don’t have a front porch for said grandson to get dumped onto, “he’s yours now, Betty!” shortly after receiving said whistle, well, this Ketchikan excursion is for you!
Or if you want an inexpensive, short, easy, and entertaining overview of Ketchikan that doesn’t require any walking (but does require you navigate some steep steps onto the bus), this excursion is also for you.
OR if you have a $50 shore excursion credit to burn through and don’t want to spend a lot on top of that, congratulations, you’re as cheap as Prof. Cruise! AND this excursion is probably your best bet.
However, if you want to do a deep dive into Ketchikan instead of a drive-by quack, I wouldn’t recommend the Duck Boat excursion or I’d recommend the Duck Boat excursion coupled with a walk around Ketchikan either before or after (since it’s a short tour, you’ll have time to do both).
And with that, Quack, Quack, Quack. And also…
Class Dismissed.
Homework (10 points): Review my Guide to the Best Excursions for your First Cruise to Alaska and my Alaska Cruise Packing Guide. You can also find all my other Alaska cruising content HERE. Be sure to also subscribe to the blog and follow Prof. Cruise on social media:
Question for your mom – How did you manage this excursion with your hip? I have expired knees.
Besides about 6 very steep steps to get up into and out of the bus, this was the perfect excursion for mom and her hip – no walking required! She was really nervous about the steps, but it turned out fine. She went slow and myself and guide were there to help her. At the end of the tour she said she was really glad we did it. Hope that helps! Happy Cruising! Quack, quack, quack!
Thanks for the encouragement!