The bucket-list things to do — and who runs each one.
Here’s the bucket list for your day ashore: the most extraordinary thing to do at each stop, who runs it, and how to book it direct — so you can weigh it against your ship’s excursion and pick what suits you.
In port at Ketchikan, the bucket-list move is Misty Fjords Floatplane with a Wilderness Water Landing. Below: 5 bucket-list things to do on a Ketchikan port day — worth weighing against whatever your ship offers.
How the day actually runs
Ketchikan is not a tender port. Ships dock at one of four downtown berths or, for many Norwegian sailings, at Ward Cove about seven miles north. Gangway is typically open 30-60 minutes after the ship is secured, often by 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. for a standard morning arrival. All-aboard is usually 30-60 minutes before departure; check your daily schedule the night before because the ship will sail without you.
If your ship is at Berths 1-3, you step off into the heart of town. Berth 4 requires a 10-15 minute walk or the free downtown shuttle. Norwegian passengers at Ward Cove face a 20-minute shuttle ride each way plus potential queues. The first-timers’ trap here is underestimating the Ward Cove buffer. Independent excursions booked for a 9 a.m. start from downtown can become impossible if you wait for the first mass shuttle and then hit traffic or lines. Add 60-90 minutes each direction on those days and confirm your exact berth the evening before.
Getting back is straightforward when docked downtown—just walk. From Ward Cove the last reliable shuttle leaves downtown well before all-aboard. Experienced cruisers treat Ketchikan as a walkable port when berthed centrally and a logistics exercise when at the outer terminal.
Lift off the Tongass channel in a tiny floatplane and soar over the 2.2-million-acre Misty Fjords National Monument, the 'Yosemite of the North' where 3,000-foot granite walls plunge straight into emerald saltwater laced with waterfalls and hidden lakes. The pilot sets the plane down on a glassy alpine lake or calm bay so you step onto the pontoon in total wilderness silence. This is the single most talk-worthy thing you can do in Ketchikan, and because it's weather-dependent you book the first available slot and go the moment the clouds lift.
Book itMisty Fjords Flightseeing 1.5hr -includes 20 minute water landing$470 per person
Board the actual F/V Aleutian Ballad from Season 2 of Discovery's 'Deadliest Catch' and watch a real crew haul crab pots and longlines from heated, stadium-style seating in the calm, protected Inside Passage (no open-ocean queasiness). King crab, octopus, prawns and rockfish come up into an on-deck touch tank while bald eagles dive for the bait right beside the boat. It's TV-famous, genuinely one-of-a-kind, and consistently Ketchikan's top-rated tour.
Book itBering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour from Ketchikan$249 per person
Run by Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour · 5.00 from 2,900 reviews
Snorkeling in Alaska sounds impossible, which is exactly why it's a bragging-rights bucket-list item. A 7mm wetsuit keeps you warm in the 55-65F water while PADI-certified divemasters lead a small group over a vivid intertidal world of giant sunflower sea stars, anemones, urchins, sea cucumbers and darting salmon. Hot showers and cocoa wait for you back on shore - an only-in-Southeast-Alaska experience no first-timer expects.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Saxman holds one of the largest standing collections of totem poles on earth, and the experience is led by Tlingit community members - a drum-and-dance performance in the clan house, a narrated walk among the totems, and a stop at the working carving shed where master carvers shape new poles with traditional tools. This is authentic, first-hand Indigenous Southeast Alaska culture a few miles from the dock, not a museum diorama.
Book itKetchikan, Alaska Native Cultural and Wildlife Adventure$80 per person
Run by Saxman Totem Park · 4.50 from 1,700 reviews
Ketchikan was built on timber, and this hour of championship log-rolling, 60-foot speed pole-climbs, axe-throwing and springboard chopping is the town's signature live spectacle - USA vs. Canada teams competing right beside the docks. It's covered and heated, runs rain-or-shine, and sits one block from both cruise piers, making it the no-risk anchor for a port day or your weather backup when the floatplanes are grounded.
Book itLumberjack Show and Axe Throw Challenge$80 per person
The waterline alternative for travelers who want more time, or a backup the day clouds ground the floatplanes. A fast catamaran glides to the base of New Eddystone Rock and the towering fjord walls while naturalists point out whales, sea lions, harbor seals, mountain goats and eagles, with waterfalls cascading right beside the boat. It trades the aerial wow of flightseeing for steadier weather odds and far more wildlife time.
Book itPrivate Boat Tour of Misty Fjords from Ketchikan$425 per person
A couple booking direct can keep the total under USD 1,000 even with premium choices. Two Misty Fjords Floatplane Flightseeing Tour tickets run USD 738. Adding the Lumberjack Show and Axe Throw Challenge for both brings the day to USD 898. Two seats on the longer Misty Fjords Flightseeing 1.5hr with water landing total USD 940 before any city activity.
The ship’s version of these scenic tours often costs more and includes guaranteed return transport—an important consideration from Ward Cove. The city-based Lumberjack Show and Axe Throw Challenge and Ketchikan, Alaska Native Cultural and Wildlife Adventure (both from USD 80 per person) are usually a tight call or better direct; they sit close to the docks when the ship is berthed downtown. The flightseeing options are where the ship’s tour can be the safer buy if your sailing docks at Ward Cove or if you value a single point of contact for any weather cancellation.
With 18 Norwegian, 18 Holland America, 14 Princess and 5 Carnival sailings in the next four months, competition for prime slots is real. Direct bookings give flexibility on timing but remove the ship’s safety net on return. Choose accordingly.
If you have half a day
Assume a typical 7 a.m.–2 p.m. or 8 a.m.–4 p.m. window and work backwards from all-aboard. Book the Misty Fjords Floatplane Flightseeing Tour for a morning departure, allowing 30 minutes to reach the floatplane base on foot or by quick taxi from the dock. The flight itself is short; you are usually back ashore by 11 a.m. Walk straight to the Lumberjack Show and Axe Throw Challenge for the next available performance—most are within 10 minutes of the central berths.
Skip the longer 1.5-hour flightseeing and the full Ketchikan, Alaska Native Cultural and Wildlife Adventure unless it is your only priority; both eat more clock than a half-day comfortably allows when you factor in transit and all-aboard padding. Aim to be walking back to the ship no later than 45 minutes before all-aboard from downtown, or 90 minutes if returning from Ward Cove by shuttle.
If you have the whole day
Start early with the Misty Fjords Flightseeing 1.5hr that includes the 20-minute water landing while the light is best and crowds are lowest. Back on the dock by late morning, walk to the Lumberjack Show and Axe Throw Challenge for an afternoon show. Use any remaining time for the Ketchikan, Alaska Native Cultural and Wildlife Adventure if energy and weather allow; it pairs well after the high-adrenaline morning.
That single choice I would make is the Misty Fjords Floatplane Flightseeing Tour in the morning and the Lumberjack Show and Axe Throw Challenge in the afternoon. The flightseeing delivers the big scenic payoff that defines an Alaska day, while the lumberjack show is quick, entertaining, and literally steps from the dock on most sailings. It keeps the day relaxed, minimizes transit stress from outer berths, and still leaves breathing room before all-aboard. The longer flight is tempting but the shorter version plus the show simply fits human pacing better. (Word count: 712)
Your day in KetchikanNothing picked yet — tick what you fancy
$0for two, booked direct
Now plan the rest of it
You know what to do on the day. Here is the trip it belongs to —
each one opens as a whole plan, not a list: where to fly in, every port, what it runs.
