Quantum of the Seas in Sitka

The first time I had a port stop in Sitka it was a tender port. The ship anchored near town with a short tender ride to the city. You could get great ship views from the top of Castle Hill. The next time it had a dock, but not in town. They called it the old cruise ship dock. It’s 5 or 6 miles from the city. There wasn’t much there. It was mainly a boatyard filled with a lot of old boats abandoned or undergoing repairs. There was a tent building with a motley assortment of old busses parked next to it, a few of which were used for shuttling passengers to town.

view of the port building from the dock

The ships still dock out there on Halibut Point Road, but other than a couple old boats sitting on the shore the remains of the old boatyard are gone. There’s a big fancy new building and new shuttle busses to go along with it.

the last remaining old boats onshore by Sitka cruise dock

Now it’s called Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal. The dock holds two ships. A constant stream of busses shuttles passengers to town. The free ride takes about 15 minutes to or from town. The lines can get long, but they move quickly. As soon as one bus leaves another takes its place.

entryway to the port building

Approaching the building from the dock you may come across offerings of last-minute things to do. Ours was the second ship in and we waited for the crowd to thin before disembarking so there wasn’t much left by the time we went by, but there were signs from a few things that had been there earlier. The new building has shops, restrooms, and wifi.

visitor’s center at the shuttle stop

Shuttles stop in town by the visitor’s center. There were more signs lined up outside with various things to do, but these too had nearly all filled their tours with just a couple pricey things left among the otherwise abandoned row of signs. We didn’t go inside the visitor center. There may have been options of things to do there, but since we didn’t check it out I can’t say for sure. There are plenty of things you can walk to from the shuttle stop. Walking tour maps of Sitka are readily available online.

Mount Edgecumbe view by the fish hatchery

Views near the waterfront are dominated by Mount Edgecumbe, a formerly dormant volcano that has started to show signs of activity. It hasn’t erupted in centuries and doesn’t appear ready to do so anytime soon, but they are monitoring magma movement and gas.

map of tourist attractions in Sitka

Sitka’s biggest tourist attractions are Fortress of the Bear, which is 5 miles outside of town and not in the same direction as the port, and the Alaska Raptor Center, which is within walking distance of the shuttle stop. Both are available in shore excursions from the ship. On previous trips they were also available last minute on shore, but we didn’t see anything for them on the most recent visit. You wouldn’t really need an excursion to get to the raptor center since it’s within walking distance, but Fortress of the Bear is a long way out on a road with no shoulders so that’s not one you can walk to on your own.

Saint Michael’s church

The closest attraction to the shuttle stop is an old Russian church. There’s a lot of Russian influence in Sitka as the Russians controlled the town for a time, but the original occupants of the area were Tlingit. There are other churches in town, and an old Russian Cemetary which is also a draw for tourists. There are lots of little shops near the old Russian church.

the sea walk has excellent views

The sea walk takes people a short walk – less than a mile- along the scenic shoreline to the National Historic Park, which has trails through the woods with totem poles along the way and a building with some Tlingit artifacts and exhibits, a short film, and restrooms.

Sitka Sound Science Center

On the way to the totem park you pass by the Sitka Sound Science Center, which has a fish hatchery and some small aquariums. I recognized the building when we walked by from an excursion on a previous visit called Birds, Bears, & Barnacles, which went there as well as the raptor center and Fortress of the Bear.

playground by the sea walk

The sea walk has views of the volcano as well as of the sea. It passes by a boat harbor, a playground, and a dock that you can walk out on.

view of the port from the ship

There’s enough to do in Sitka that you can find something worth seeing even if you don’t have any excursions booked or find any available last minute.

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