Quantum of the Seas in Icy Strait Point

Icy Strait Point on Chichagof Island is a cruise ship port near the native village of Hoonah, Alaska. Natives of that village are Huna Tlingit who originally inhabited the Glacier Bay area until the rapid advancement of the Grand Pacific Glacier in the little ice age of the mid 1700’s chased them out of that area into present day Hoonah.  The port is owned and operated by the villagers at the site of an old fish cannery, originally built in 1912. It’s the only privately owned cruise port in Alaska. The rest are all ports in cities. The salmon cannery ceased operation in 1953 and the site was used as a maintenance and storage facility for the tribe’s fishing fleet until 1999. There was still a pile of crab pots sitting on a dock when we were there.

port view from the ship

In May of 2004 Celebrity Mercury made the first cruise ship visit to Icy Strait Point. In 2007 the ZipRider zipline opened. The first cruise dock and the adventure center on land followed in 2016 and the second cruise dock and wilderness landing area opened in 2019. There were 3 ships in port the day we were there. Our ship at the original dock, a Norwegian ship at the second dock, and a little Seabourn ship anchored out in the bay tendering to shore.

port map of Icy Strait Point

It originally took a 45-minute bus ride to the top of the mountain to get to the zipline, but with the opening of the red gondola in 2022 the mountain can be accessed much more quickly. The gondola itself is now a bigger attraction than the ZipRider since more people ride the gondola, you can take it both ways, and the wristband for it is good for as many rides as you want up and down all day.

green gondola

A free green gondola connects the land areas between the two cruise ship docks, or people can opt to walk a trail that starts on the beach on the original dock side and then meanders through the woods past an eagle’s nest high in a tree. If there’s a big crowd you can walk the trail before you would even get on the green gondola, but if there isn’t a crowd the gondola is much faster than walking the trail. The green gondola passed over the Tree Top Adventure ropes course. We never saw anyone on it, but passes can be purchased to use it and equipment is provided if you do. There are several courses with a minimum age of 7, one with a minimum age of 12, and a kid’s course for those aged 4-6.

houses near the cannery

There’s a row of 3 old houses where some of the management lives right onsite. These houses sit next to the boardwalk leading from the port area to the old cannery which now houses a number of shops and some old museum pieces from the cannery days. There’s a little graveyard next to the houses – perhaps working in the cannery had been quite a risky job. Two of the houses looked occupied when we walked by them. If anyone was living in the middle one at the time they didn’t have all the obvious signs of use out in the yard that the other two had.

ZipRiders coming in for a landing

Depending on which of the port’s two docks your ship is at you might have direct access to the wilderness landing area where there’s a building for shore excursions to meet in, a whale statue, and the cannery with its shops, restaurants, and museums. The ZipRider lands in this area, near that end’s station for the free green gondola between docks. There’s also beaches in this area, and sealife including whales may be spotted near the whale statue or from the walkway to the cannery. The other dock leads to an area with a gift shop and restrooms near the free green gondola station for that end, visitor information, and up a little hill the building where you sign waivers for the zipline and exchange your zipline or gondola tickets for wristbands which are required to take the red gondola up the mountain. That building also has free lockers, a necessity for any zipline riders with more stuff than they can take down the zipline.

red gondola

Booking either the ZipRider or the gondola means you can ride the red gondola up and down the mountain as many times as you want. On a clear day the views are spectacular. At the top there’s a cell phone tower so reception up there is excellent, though at the bottom it is not. There’s a mile long loop trail that goes by a lake, some viewpoints, and the check-in area for the zipline. The red gondola is definitely the highlight of the port. The ZipRider is lots of fun, but you just get one go and it goes fast whereas the gondola takes a lot more time and you can ride it all you want – or just ride the gondola and not the zipline.

view of Tree Top Adventure ropes course from the green gondola

Some of the other excursions offered at this port included whale watching, jeeps, a bear watching tour, and kayaking. Other tours may include fishing or a hands-on traditional native food preserving experience in Alaska’s Wildest Kitchen.

whale statue

For a nominal fee there’s a shuttle to Hoonah. It’s a small native village with a few shops and restaurants. It has totem poles and a carving hut where there could be a totem pole in the making. Like a lot of Alaska, the town is a good place to spot bald eagles. We didn’t go there so I don’t have any firsthand information about the town.

old cannery converted to shops, restaurants, and museum

There are also some free things to do. Walking the trail between dock areas or spending time on the beach, strolling on the boardwalk, walking through the museum and shop area at the cannery, or posing for photos with the whale statue don’t cost anything. Neither does the green gondola. It doesn’t have the spectacular view that the red one does, but you can see stuff from there that you don’t see from the ground. There could be a native Tlingit show at the tribal hall near the cannery. People who don’t want to spend a few bucks to take a shuttle to Hoonah can walk the mile and a half to the village. And of course any wildlife you spot from shore is free. I saw something briefly poking out above the water’s surface near the boardwalk to the cannery, which was probably a small portion of the side of a whale. Back on the ship we saw whales right outside the window from our cabin.

eagle nest by the walking trail between cruise docks

There were no port photographers on the dock at any of the ports on this ship, but they did have someone in a bear suit by the buffet on the morning of the day we went to Icy Strait Point.

Barbara and the bear

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