Written by Most Alaska Cruise Reviews Read Like Brochures. This One Doesn’t.
Written By: Tom Ogg, Co-Founder and Co-Owner – Travel Professional NEWS
Part 2 of 3
In Part One of this review, we took a look at the Norwegian Joy and its first port of call, Ward Cove. In Part Two, we’ll cover the rest of the ports visited on this cruise. In Part Three, we’ll finish up by reviewing the dining options and the ship in general.
Please understand that this review is meant to give you what you actually need to know to sell NCL’s Alaska product well. Most reviews are as sunny as a brochure photo. After creating the cruise portal CruiseReviews.com and writing hundreds of reviews, I’ve learned that agents need the real story, not just the highlight reel. So let’s pick up where Part One left off.
Icy Strait Point (Hoonah)
The next port of call was Icy Strait Point. Like most cruise-line-operated ports, it’s built around restaurants, shops, a museum, and a zip line billed as the largest in the world (someone always has to be the largest). Unlike most Alaskan ports, though, this one isn’t a city at all, it’s a restored 1912 salmon cannery turned cultural and adventure destination, owned and operated by the Huna Totem Corporation on behalf of the Huna Tlingit people. The land belongs to the Tlingit people; the crowds belong to the cruise industry.
Icy Strait Point has two piers, one right in the heart of the port and one quite a distance away. Fortunately, a gondola ferries passengers from the staging area over the mountain to where the action is, think ski gondola, minus the skis and the pretense. There was a separate line for passengers with disabilities, and since I’m low-vision and walk with a cane, I happily skipped the long line of people waiting to board. Having visited Icy Strait Point several times already, I decided to skip the shopping and dining entirely and walk into Hoonah instead.
The Village of Hoonah
The Village of Hoonah is a genuine pleasure, and I’ve enjoyed visiting this Tlingit village several times now. It sits a little over a mile from the port, and a sidewalk runs the entire way, making the walk itself part of the experience. You’ll spot whales in the bay, bald eagles overhead, and other wildlife along the route — basically a nature documentary you get to walk through. A visit to A Farmer’s Daughter Restaurant is a must for the beer-battered halibut. I don’t know what they put in the batter, but it’s the best halibut I’ve had in Alaska, and I don’t say that lightly. There are also a few gift shops and other diversions, but honestly, just being in the village and around the harbor is worth the trip on its own.
Coming up in Part 3 of this Alaska Norwegian Joy review — dining options and the ship in general. Stay tuned on Travel Professional NEWS.