Best Alaska restaurants and food you need to try during your cruise! + Alaska food tours and excursions

Hi there!

Over my several Alaska cruises, I’ve eaten at a few restaurants on land in Alaska cruise ports!

While cruise ship food is free, you might consider eating out on land during your Alaska cruise as one of your DIY food “excursions”! (Which really just means, going to the restaurant on your own! There are many restaurants within walking distance from cruise ports, or an easy shuttle ride away.)

Or if you don’t want to DIY it, there are also food tours you can do as Alaska cruise excursions, which I’ve also included below.

Now, here are restaurants and food excursions in Alaska you need to know about!

 

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1. Tracy’s King Crab Shack (Juneau)

Tracy’s King Crab Shack is best known for crab legs.

It’s also known for its expensive crab legs! If you love crab legs then in terms of cost, you’ll want to think of your Juneau food outing as an excursion! You can easily spend $200+ if you do Tracy’s King Crab Shack the “proper” way.

 

👆 Why is Alaskan crab so expensive? With the prices and availability of Alaskan King Crab, Snow Crab, Dungeness Crab, and crab meat increasing drastically, Tracy’s King Crab Shack has stated that instead of cutting back on portion sizes or quality, they have made the difficult decision to raise prices. Cutting back on quality and portion size is not an option, they say.

 

Now that I’ve prepared you to expect high prices 😂… you can take a look at the menu with prices! 👇

That said, expensive crab legs aren’t the only thing on the menu, so you can still go to one of the most famous Alaska restaurants and get other types of crab food too.

 

👆 The cost of a large king crab bucket started at $210 for a 3 pound bucket and went up to $410 for a 6 pound bucket. This was the cost of Alaskan crab legs when I went to Juneau in 2023. See updated prices of the crab shack menu for 2024.

 

👆 Depending on where your cruise ship docks in Juneau, you might be just a few minutes walk from Tracy’s King Crab Shack. (See the Juneau cruise port map to find out where your cruise ship will dock.)
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The most famous Tracy’s crab shack location is right next to where the cruise ships dock. This means that to get to one of the best restaurants in Juneau is very much walkable from the cruise port!

And because it’s literally right next to the cruise port, you can imagine that it can also get very busy!

There is another Tracy’s crab shack location that you might want to check out instead. Because it requires a little extra walking (like 15 minutes), it tends to be less crowded.

I asked to be dropped off at this alternate location of Tracy’s crab shack on the way back from a whale watching tour. Since it was on the way back to the cruise port, the shuttle driver didn’t mind doing so.

He had asked where people wanted to be dropped off, so I asked if I could be dropped off there! (I think he actually wanted to know if people wanted to be dropped off in the middle of downtown or closer to the cruise ships, but it doesn’t hurt to ask! 😅)

Since it was a morning whale watching tour, I did have to wait a little bit for the crab shack to open.

Read the Tracy’s King Crab Shack reviews.

Then after I ate crab bisque over rice, I walked over to the Gold Creek Flume Trail, and then continued onwards hiking the Mount Roberts Trail to the tram station.

You can also take the Juneau tram up from near the cruise port. Once at the top, you can have food and drinks with views at the mountain top tram restaurant there!

 

👆 Some of the drinks at the Juneau tram restaurant include Alaska-inspired names. Read the reviews.
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I haven’t been yet, but I’d like to go to Deckhand Dave’s. I want to try the fish tacos there! (reviews)

 

Salmon bake food excursion

The best salmon bake excursion in Juneau is the Taku Lodge feast excursion!

Not only do you get a salmon bake at a lodge in wild and remote Alaska, but it comes with an epic 5-glacier seaplane tour. You will fly across glaciers of one of the largest icefields in North America just to get to the remote Taku Lodge in Tongass National Forest, which is the largest national forest in the United States!

 

 

2. The Alaska Fish House (Ketchikan)

I did axe throwing as an add-on after the lumberjack show, and the lumberjack who taught us how to throw an ax had suggested the Alaska Fish House. (reviews)

So after the axe throwing lesson, I hiked the Rainbird Trail, and then went back into town to refuel at the Alaska Fish House. I had the halibut fish tacos.

 

👆 The cost of halibut fish tacos at the Alaska Fish House in Ketchikan is $22. This was the cost of when I went in 2023. See updated prices of the fish house menu for 2024.

 

This restaurant is located literally right next to the lumberjack show. Because the lumberjack show is one of the most popular excursions in Ketchikan, this makes the Alaska Fish House very convenient… which can mean it can get crowded if you’re there in peak season.

And even for people not going to the show, it’s located pretty near the cruise ships. Depending on where your cruise ship docks in Ketchikan, you might be a 5 to 10 minute walk away from the Alaska Fish House restaurant.

So this means that to get to one of the best restaurants in Ketchikan is very much walkable from the cruise port.

 

👆 Depending on where your cruise ship docks in Ketchikan, you might be just a 5 to 10 minute walk from the Alaska Fish House. (See the Ketchikan cruise port map to find out where your cruise ship will dock.)
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One of the great benefits of doing an end of season cruise is how few people are in town, including at the restaurants! Since I was there in October, I didn’t have to wait very long at all.

Note this does not necessarily mean that YOU will love an end of season Alaska cruise. 🤪

But if you are there during busy season, one option you do have while you wait is to order local Alaskan beer and then head to the observation deck in the back to drink with views!

 

Crab food excursion

The best crab feast excursions to do in Ketchikan are at the Silverking Lodge or the historic George Inlet Lodge.

If you’re on a Norwegian cruise ship, there is also a meet-up at Ward Cove available for the Silverking Lodge excursion.

For another crab excursion, although there’s no eating involved but you get to see (and hold) crab, the Bering Sea crab fisherman tour is very popular. If you’re a fan of the TV show Deadliest Catch, then it’s a must-do. The boat you’ll be on is as seen on TV.

 

 

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3. The Fisherman’s Daughter (Icy Strait Point)

I walked from the Icy Strait Point cruise port to Hoonah which is a nice coastal walk, although you can also get a shuttle to take you to town. When I went the shuttle was $5 round trip.

Once in town, I walked over to the Fisherman’s Daughter to have some fish tacos. I had salmon fish tacos this time, but if I go again, I’d want to get the halibut tacos since Alaska is known for halibut too.

 

👆 The cost of salmon fish tacos at the Fisherman’s Daughter in Hoonah is $20. This was the cost of when I went in 2023. Prices for 2024 can change.

 

This is in the town of Hoonah, and because it’s a bit further away from the cruise port, there will likely be less people, at least compared to the restaurants directly within walking distance of the cruise port. If you want to feel like you are in a local area, then head into town and go to the Fisherman’s Daughter restaurant in Hoonah! (reviews)

 

👆 You can walk 2 miles to this restaurant from the Icy Strait Point cruise port (map), or you can take a shuttle to town.
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After that, I walked over to the shuttle stop instead of walking back. You should buy your shuttle ticket before you leave the port area. It’s the same price whether you go one way or round trip.

There is a shuttle stop right in front of Icy Strait Brewing, so if you have some extra time you can stop by there. (reviews)

 

If you want to stay closer to the cruise port, there are also restaurants with classic Alaskan food within walking distance of the cruise port, including the Crab House and the Cookhouse.

These are great not only because of the convenience, but because they have waterfront outdoor dining so you will get great views of Alaska as you eat your Alaskan food!

The Duck Point Smokehouse is located even closer to the cruise ship.

If your cruise ship is docked at the lower end, the Ocean Landing pier, these Icy Strait Point restaurants are very walkable from the cruise port. Even if you’re docked at the other pier, it’s not that far either. You can take the free gondola ride down, or do a short walk through the forest along the Icy Strait Point nature trail.

 

Fishing excursions

Along with Ketchikan (where you can do a salmon fishing charter), Icy Strait Point is another cruise port that you can do a fishing excursion.

You can go river fishing (while possibly doing bear watching) or you can go on a halibut fishing charter out of Icy Strait Point.

 

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HAPPY EATING DURING YOUR ALASKA CRUISE!