Ports
Ketchikan's Two Cruise Ports: Downtown vs Ward Cove
Ketchikan has two cruise berths — downtown and Ward Cove, seven miles north. Which one your ship calls at materially changes your day, and not always for the better.
Ketchikan is the southernmost cruise port in Alaska and one of the most-called — but the city has two separate cruise facilities, and which one your ship docks at materially changes your day. Downtown Ketchikan has four walkable berths in the historic core. Ward Cove, seven miles north, is a Norwegian Cruise Line facility opened in 2021 on the footprint of a closed pulp mill. If your ship calls at Ward Cove, you cannot walk to Creek Street.
Quick comparison
| Downtown (Berths 1–4) | Ward Cove | |
|---|---|---|
| Distance from city center | 0 — you arrive in it | ~7 miles (~11 km) north |
| Walking access to Creek Street, totem center, shops | Yes (5–10 min walk) | No — shuttle required |
| Operator | City of Ketchikan / Port of Ketchikan | Norwegian Cruise Line (private) |
| Year opened | Berths 1–4 over decades; current configuration ~2010 | 2021 |
| Lines that primarily call here | Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney, Celebrity, MSC, world-cruise calls | Norwegian (most NCL Alaska); occasional Oceania, Regent |
| Shuttle to town | N/A — you're already there | 15–20 min, NCL-operated |
Why two ports
The short version: Ketchikan's downtown berths fill up fast on peak days. The Alaska summer season can pile six or seven cruise ships into Ketchikan on a single Saturday or Sunday, and the downtown facility caps at four simultaneous large-ship calls. As Norwegian's Alaska fleet grew, Norwegian invested in its own facility north of town to guarantee a daily slot for its own ships — Ward Cove opened in September 2021 and now hosts most of NCL's Ketchikan calls plus occasional sister-brand traffic.
For Norwegian, this is a deployment efficiency play. For passengers, it's a tradeoff.
What you actually do at each one
At downtown: You walk off the ship into Ketchikan. Creek Street (the historic boardwalk built on pilings over a salmon stream) is about a 10-minute walk south. The Tongass National Forest visitor center, the Totem Heritage Center, and Saxman Native Village (just south of town) are taxi rides. The cruise dock area itself has a tourism strip with the usual jewelry and souvenir shops. There's no mystery — you're in a working Alaskan town, and the town's tourism geography is built around the dock.
At Ward Cove: You walk off the ship into a purpose-built tourism complex. There's a welcome center, an espresso bar, a shop or two, and the trailheads for several Tongass National Forest excursions (Misty Fjords flightseeing, ziplines, salmon-stream walks) which are conveniently right there. Ward Cove's pitch is "less crowd, more nature." But to see Creek Street or the totem center, you wait for an NCL shuttle, ride 15–20 minutes each way, and budget your return time carefully. Several incidents in the 2022 and 2023 seasons involved passengers missing the ship's all-aboard time after shuttle delays — Ketchikan's narrow waterfront road can back up.
Practical advice
- If your ship is calling Ward Cove and you want downtown, don't book a shore excursion that ends in town and trust the shuttle. Build in at least an hour of buffer for the trip back.
- If your ship is calling downtown and you want a Tongass National Forest experience, you can still book Misty Fjords flights (most depart from the float-plane base near downtown), but ziplines and forest walks are a longer transfer than they would be from Ward Cove.
- If you're booking a cruise and care which Ketchikan port you visit, the cruise line will tell you — check the itinerary detail page on the cruise line's website. NCL is the line most likely to send you to Ward Cove.
The Ketchikan port page on CruiseMigration shows which ship is calling at which berth on which day.
Sources
- Port of Ketchikan — official port info
- NCL Ward Cove press release (2021 opening)
- Ketchikan Visitors Bureau — Cruise Information
- CruiseMigration AIS feed and port-call schedule (live data)
Frequently asked questions
- How many cruise ports does Ketchikan have?
- Two. The downtown waterfront has four berths (Berths 1–4) within walking distance of Creek Street, the Ketchikan totem heritage center, and the city's shops and restaurants. Ward Cove is a separate facility about 7 miles (11 km) north, opened by Norwegian Cruise Line in 2021 on the site of an old pulp mill.
- Which Ketchikan port do most cruise ships use?
- Most ships call at downtown Ketchikan. Ward Cove is used primarily by Norwegian Cruise Line ships (most of NCL's Alaska deployment) and occasionally by ships from sister brands Oceania and Regent. All other lines — Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney, Celebrity — call downtown.
- Is Ward Cove worse than downtown Ketchikan?
- It depends on what you want from your day. Ward Cove is a quieter, less-crowded facility with its own visitor center, food, and shops, and is the trailhead for some excursions (notably the Tongass National Forest tours). But you cannot walk to Creek Street or the Totem Heritage Center from Ward Cove — you must take a shuttle into town, and shuttle delays have caused passengers to miss their ship's departure.
- How long is the shuttle from Ward Cove to downtown Ketchikan?
- About 15–20 minutes one way, traffic-dependent. The shuttle runs continuously during port-call hours. NCL provides shuttles for its passengers; passengers booking independent excursions in town must rely on the same service or a taxi.
- Can I walk from the Ketchikan downtown cruise berths to Creek Street?
- Yes — Berths 1–4 are all within a 5–10 minute walk of Creek Street, the salmon ladder, the Ketchikan totem poles, and most downtown shops and restaurants. This is one of the major reasons cruise lines and passengers prefer the downtown call.