For the first time this May, cruise ship passengers will arrive at a newly built floating dock, Adventure Center and Duck Point Smokehouse restaurant at Icy Strait Point, an Alaska Native-owned cruise destination set amidst the wilderness of Chichagof Island near Hoonah, Alaska.
Constructed in partnership with the City of Hoonah, the 400-foot floating dock is 99% complete and will be finished well in advance of the first cruise ship call on May 11. It was built to accommodate the next generation of larger ships anticipated to call on the Alaska market in the coming years.
The 7,000-square-foot Adventure Center is located in front of the dock’s covered trestle. This wood-beam, Tlingit-style building will serve as a welcome center, departure lounge and tour booking center for the more than 20 shore excursions, including whale watching, bear viewing and the world’s largest ZipRider.
Sitting on the waterfront adjacent to the Adventure Center, Duck Point Smokehouse offers outdoor seating on a covered patio, where guests can enjoy the views of Port Frederick and search for marine wildlife from their seats. The menu will feature house-made smoked salmon, fresh Alaska seafood dishes, specialty pizzas and fresh crab tater tots.
“With these new investments, we are confident that Icy Strait Point will offer guests the best arrival experience of anywhere in the world,” said Tyler Hickman, Icy Strait Point’s vice president of operations. “Having eliminated the need to tender, more guests will have more time to experience our shore excursions, delicious dining options and the historic cannery site surrounded by unspoiled Alaska wilderness.”
Icy Strait Point’s restored 1912 salmon cannery is a short walk down the trail or boardwalk along the shore. It is home to a local history museum,Alaskan-owned shops and two other restaurants — the Crab Station and the Cookhouse Restaurant, the cannery’s original dining hall.
This year, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Crystal Cruises will make 78 ship calls on Icy Strait Point between May and September, bringing nearly 160,000 passengers over the course of the season.
Icy Strait Point is located approximately 35 miles west of Juneau and 25 miles south of Glacier Bay National Park. Alaska Native-owned and operated, Icy Strait Point is also the United States’ only private large-ship cruise destination. With approximately 85% local hire, Icy Strait Point is a certified sustainable responsible tourism venture that holds true to the mission of advancing the economic aspirations and culture of the ”Xúna Kaawu” (the people of Hoonah).