We visited The Mill at Ward Cove during our Norwegian Alaska cruise on the Norwegian Bliss, and…read morethis is the port where Norwegian ships dock instead of downtown Ketchikan. The moment you step off the ship, you walk right into a huge warehouse marketplace filled with multiple shops and tons of Alaska‑themed merchandise. There are so many souvenirs, clothing items, snacks, and gifts that it's easy to spend time browsing before heading into town. To reach downtown Ketchikan, you pass through The Mill to get to the shuttle buses, and sometimes there's even a live singer with a guitar performing while guests wait -- a nice touch that makes the line more enjoyable. Overall, The Mill at Ward Cove is a convenient and lively first stop for anyone arriving on a Norwegian Alaska cruise, with plenty of shopping and an easy setup for getting into town.

This is where NCL ships dock, not in Ketchikan. If you want to see the famous creek street, you'll…read morehave to take a shuttle to Ketchikan, which is about 7 miles away. Upon disembarking the ship, one of the first things you'll see is a large warehouse type building that turns out to be a giant gift shop with Alaska themed merch (and is the least expensive so I recommend shopping here, as the merch is pretty much the same at the Alaska ports). It is also meeting place for your NCL booked excursions. We met our captain for our halibut fishing excursion here, and after checking in, we quickly walked to the boat, which was also docked here at Mill Cove (super convenient!) There's also a few dining options, including one that serves Filipino food! There was a food truck featured crab legs but unfortunately ran out of many items by the time we got there, and only had dungeness crab left (which was $50! and the serving we saw people eating was definitely NOT worth the price tag so we passed)

We loved this excursion. We purchased it directly through our cruise ship and it was well worth it…read more The tour itself was informative and fun. The staff were beyond friendly and accommodating. Kelsey the captain was great. She provided a lot of really cool information. The hot chocolate was to die for. The snack plate was delicious. It was a great day in Ketchikan with the Lighthouse Excursion team.

My family and I loved this excursion. Lighthouse Excursion staff were professional and made us feel…read moresafe. Their salmon spread was delicious. This may sound silly, but one of the main reasons I wanted to see Alaska since I was a young girl, were the eagles. I would hear stories of eagles just flying overhead regularly and how stunning they looked as they soared through the sky. Well, this excursion made my dreams come true! I still have the chills just thinking about it. We did not see whales like some were fortunate to see them, but we didn't feel like we missed anything. The totem poles were gorgeous and the lighthouse added a warmth feeling when I saw it. It was a perfect day.

We had such an amazing time on our boat tour in Ketchikan! This was easily one of the highlights of…read moreour Alaska trip. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, and being out on the water gave us a completely different view of Ketchikan and the surrounding mountains and coastline. The crew was friendly, welcoming, and very knowledgeable about the area. They made the experience fun and relaxing, and you could tell they genuinely wanted everyone onboard to have a great time. We also really appreciated how they shared information about the local wildlife, history, and community along the way. If you're visiting Ketchikan on an Alaska cruise and looking for something memorable to do, I would definitely recommend taking a boat tour. Beautiful views, great people, and an unforgettable Alaska experience. We would absolutely do it again! Highly recommended!

Tracy and Captain John was a great host on this duck tour. This is a good family tour.read more

Had a wonderful experience booking with Wild Wolf Tours for an excursion during a port stay in…read moreKetchikan. We used Viatour to book and had clear communication with them from booking, pickup, and through the drop off at the end of the excursion. We were lucky to get Austin as our guide for our group of 4 and he provided us with knowledgeable, engaging and entertaining information about our surroundings. We started off with the Rainforest walk and then stopped over at visitor center and learned about the local Totem art and history. Overall had a great experience, made all the better with Austin's contagious love for Ketchikan and Alaska. He expressed how much he loved working with Wild Wolf Tours which made our experience even sweeter. Check out and support this local family owned business if you get the chance!

We had a GREAT tour of the rainforest and Totem Park with Kevin of Wild Wolf Tours on June 2, 2026!…read moreIt was delightful to have a guide who is a long-time area resident who know so much about the area, the rainforest, and the native Alaskans and the totems. He was ready and waiting at the designated spot just a few minutes walk from our cruise ship and took the three of us on an interesting, informative, and picturesque tour.

They cancelled our reservation of 8 but refunded only 4. They claim they refunded all 8 but we…read morenever got the credit for the 2nd 4. Do not use a debit card with them as you cannot get the bank to reverse/refund it. Also, they are quite rude in communications. We attempted to contact them multiple times and never got a response for weeks. Then they come back and say we are "harassing" them.

We had a fantastic time with Emily, our tour guide on the Wilderness zodiac Quest. We booked the…read morefirst trip of the morning and our group was very small, which made for a great time. The van picks you up and drops you off at the cruise docks, so no worries about transportation. They were very conscientious about getting us back to the boat on time. The cannery was a cool and unique venue, which included snacks and drinks after the zodiac ride. They have all the equipment needed to stay warm and dry. Emily was extremely knowledgeable and personable, which made for a great experience. We saw eagles, seals, deer, and of course, stunning scenery. 10/10 would recommend this, it was one of the highlights of our Alaska trip.

Date of tour: July 18, 2025…read more Really enjoyed this all-women(!) crew on our visit to the Dawes Glacier. The boat was clean and spacious--there's nothing worse than being on a boat that is packed to the gills with people--with two levels to enjoy and outside areas as well, including a third level that was opened when the boat was not in motion. Everyone was friendly and the snack and drink options were plentiful and for the most part, affordable. Given the captive audience, I appreciated that they weren't outright gouging us during our journey. They also offered up some free items as well, which was also quite unexpected. Crew interacted well with the passengers, asking them how their cruise has been and where they were from. The collection of glacier ice to be used in the making of drinks at no additional cost was a nice touch, even giving the kids cups of glacier ice without a charge was something you rarely see in this day and age! There were some things that could be improved, though: - The captain scolding the crew over the public address system was unnecessary. Apparently the other boat forgot their net and we needed to pass it over to them but the crew was busy helping passengers and didn't want to make the lines longer by going to fetch the net and pass it over. Confident that this could have been handled better. - The free donut holes were awful. Like puffs of stale bread that sat next to sugar, hoping the wind would blow some sweetness onto them. I know, it's free, but still something that should not have been served. - Hearing a crew member awkwardly navigate the tipping section of the credit card machine literally 50 times the exact same way. Saying, "You can just hit skip. If I do it, I'll get talked to about it." There are so many other ways to handle this that don't come across like she's going to be beaten at the end of the cruise.

Through an unfortunate series of events, we missed the boat by 10 minutes, but this operator…read moregraciously have us a refund. We have taken this adventure in the past and it is awesome!

Went on a tour June, 28. She was rude, Rushed us, and not in a good mood. The comfy Dodge Caravan…read morewas the only good thing about the tour. The Bald Eagles as well. If were ever back we'll go with Sourdough Tours.

We did the wildlife waterfall tour with Pam and 10,000/10 highly recommend! She was so fun and…read moreknowledgeable. Even if we hadn't seen bears, eagles, and (kind of close up to a) whale, it would have been a great trip. So very happy we booked, great tour. THANK YOU!!

Grayson was awesome. No halibut on thursdays and the salmon were shy but he found us a rockfish…read morenest to make up for it. Rockfish tacos here we come

Had a wonderful time. Capiton Jake is very knowledgeable and patient. Recommend the charter to…read moreeveryone.

This is my opinion of Big Fish Charters. Our group of 4 arrived at the airport and there was a…read morevehicle waiting in the parking lot for us to just load our gear, hop on the ferry and be at the apartment within 10 minutes of departing the ferry. A very nice two bedroom with two beds with all your necessary needs and full kitchen plus a grill outside in case you needed it. The apartment was not fancy but we were there to fish. Met with Captain Rick later that day and we went over all the questions we had and a general idea of what kind of fishing we wanted to do. We left for the boat every morning at 6:15 am and fished 12 hours a day for three days. We caught Kings, Coho, Pinks and a large Chum Salmon and we also caught 2 small halibut. Captain Rick pretty much left it up to us as to what kind of fishing we wanted to do since the Coho bite was on we fished the main part of the tide for Salmon and when it slowed down we asked to fish for Halibut. When we asked for a change Captain Rick did not blink a eye and put us on his spots, working hard trying to put us on fish. Since everyone should know, they call this fishing otherwise they would call it catching so there was no misconceptions on the few slack times we had not getting fish. During the slack times we all got to know all about the Captain and he learned a little about each of us and it was a great experience. Our experience with Big Fish Charters was great and we will be booking with him on our future trips to Ketchikan. If we had gotten another skipper this review might be different, who knows. Dale M

Went on a pink salmon excursion during vacation. We were lucky for the excursion to be split onto…read moreRick's boat. Rick was great. He was laid back and had patience with people who have never fished before (especially when we couldn't determine what a bite on the line was). He showed us how to bait the line and the procedure for bringing the fish into the boat once it was caught. With 6 of us on his boat, we caught about 12 or so salmon for the few hour excursion. He made it fun and also had one of the guests on the excursion drive his boat most of the time. While waiting for the bites on the lines, he also told us some of the history and going ons of the town.

Absolutely the best way to experience Ketchikan! Our guide Rick has lived in Ketchikan for over 30…read moreyears and was a font of local as well as Alaskan knowledge. Rick really cared that we have a great experience while in Ketchikan. The Honda Odyssey van was spacious enough for the four of us. Rick had pairs of binoculars and waters for us. He took us to a place to see black bears catching and feasting on salmon. We saw Bald Eagles and just missed seeing an orca. While on Creek Street, a black bear emerged from under a building to eat blueberries and huckleberries. We ate a few too after the bear moved on. Rick took us to a totem pole park and gave a great tour and history of totem poles. We took many tours while in Alaska and this was by far the most enjoyable one. You can't beat having a private tour with a guide who is proud of his town and wants you to have a great experience.

Leon our tour guide was awesome and very knowledgeable of Ketchikan. He went above and beyond the…read moretour listed. He also take great photos with you in them. When I come back I will book an all day tour to see more.