I wasn’t sure what to expect from Icy Strait Point. We chose this cruise specifically because it was the only one in the Summer 2023 schedule that visited this small cruise destination. We had done the traditional Skagway-Juneau-Ketchikan cruise in 2012 and in our pursuit to visit new ports, we wanted to try something new this time around. I’m not gonna lie…there was party of me that was feeling some regret in the weeks and days leading up to this cruise because I really loved Skagway.

After my normal morning walk around the ship, this time with only William, we eventually made our way to Cabanas for breakfast. We originally had a whale watch scheduled for this day, but we ended up opting for a whale watch on the day we returned to Vancouver instead, so we had no formal plans for Icy Strait Point.

We eventually made our way off the ship around 10AM with the goal of taking the SkyGlider to the top of the mountain. The first building that you come to is the Icy Strait Point Visitor Center, which contains a desk to schedule shore excursions and some other basic amenities.

We purchased our tickets for the SkyGlider (which were quite expensive at around $50/person) and made our way outside. Alyssa described it perfectly on the podcast – she said it has a ski lodge feel to it and she’s right! In front of you is the SkyGlider transporter, a free Skyliner-like gondola ride that takes you from Wilderness Landing, where the Wonder docks, over to Adventure Landing on the other side. There is also a restaurant and a bar, which all surround a large fire pit in the center.

Overhead you can hear the whizzing of riders ending their trip down the ZipRider, which advertises itself as the world’s longest zipline. It looks like tons of fun and we would have been up for it had Emily been old enough to do it.

We decided to explore the area a little bit before heading up the mountain. Beyond this little common area was a boardwalk path that takes you out along the edge of the shoreline that overlooks Port Frederick. You’re greeted there by a very large orca statue. We couldn’t resist the urge to make William mimic a scene from “Free Willy”.

Further down the boardwalk are some shops, restaurants, and a crab shack.

We made our way back to the transporter and took a ride over to the other side to get on the SkyGlider. The transporter takes you over the top of what appears to be a really fun adventure course, but apparently that has not been reopened since the Covid shutdown.

The SkyGlider is very much just your traditional ski resort gondola with a very steep ascent to the top of the mountain. We do ok with heights, but Alyssa said it made her palms a little sweaty. There are times where you are 100-150 feet above the ground.

Looking back down the mountain gave us a great view of the Disney Wonder and looking ahead gave us an eerie glimpse into the clouds.

At the top, we were greeted by several different versions of “Beware of Bears” signs. This made Alyssa quite nervous, but I took (false) comfort in the fact that I’d never heard of anyone being mauled by a grizzly at ISP.

We joined a large group of people (which is apparently safer) on a short nature walk, led by an elderly native Tlingit who carried bear spray instead of a rifle to ward off any attacks.

The walk/hike was about a mile long and, aside from a small deer that we saw, was quite unimpressive. I’ve heard that people sometimes see bears on this walk, which would have been fun, but we had no such luck.

When we returned from the walk, the clouds and the fog had started to clear and from the lookout points at the top of the mountain, you could see how beautiful the surrounding landscape was.

We made our way back down the mountain and opted to walk back over to the other side because the line for the transporter was extremely long. There was a Royal Caribbean ship in port with us and the who area felt extremely crowded. The walk over was nice, though, and there weren’t a lot of people on the trail.

We explored the shops a little bit once we got back and I really wanted to sit down and eat some crab at the crab shack, but the line was super long. Since nobody else would eat it, I didn’t want to make everyone wait with me, so we made our way back to the ship.

The rest of the afternoon was spent between the pool, the upper deck, and our verandah. By this time, the clouds had mostly cleared and Icy Strait Point had revealed itself as the most beautiful port of call that we visited. It’s surrounded on all sides by towering mountain ranges and looks like it comes right out of a postcard.

That evening, we ate dinner in Tiana’s Place for the first time ever. We enjoyed the live music from the Crawfish Crooners and the visits from Tiana and Louis (and the baked Alaska dessert).

My favorite part of the day came a little later in the evening back at the room. I was sitting out on the verandah and something caught my eye way off in the distance. I went and grabbed my binoculars a could clearly see a large pod of orcas just off the shoreline. At first we could see their spouts and dorsal fins, but then we got to watch a couple of them breach out of the water! They were being so playful and it was REALLY cool to watch. We must have followed them for close to an hour. I was really wishing they had been closer, but what an experience. Definitely one of the highlights of our cruise! You can’t see them in this photo, but there are orcas in it!

Not long after, it was time to call it a night. We enjoyed our visit to Icy Strait Point, but all things being equal, I would have preferred another visit to Skagway.

---