Sounds crazy doesn’t it? The snorkeling in Alaska is amazing. Alaska’s intertidal zone provides a rich assortment of plants and animals to view. We provide full 7mm wetsuits with a hood, boots and gloves to keep you warm while in the water. Wetsuits keep you warm by filling with a thin layer of water which heats up to body temperature in just a few minutes time. Don’t miss this once in a lifetime experience! It may be the highlight of your cruise.

The average summer water temperature is 55 degrees fahrenheit on the surface. Surface temperatures fluctuate between a low of 45 degrees in the spring and a high of 65 degrees in mid-summer.

From the smallest barnacle to a massive Humpback Whale swimming by, you’ll see a wide variety of colorful creatures. Our website offers just a small glimpse of Alaska’s intertidal marine life. All of the photo’s here were taken while snorkeling at Mountain Point.

Everything you need to snorkel safely and comfortably in our waters is included. We also provide roundtrip transportation from the downtown cruise ship docks. All guests are outfitted with full 7mm Harvey’s or SCUBAPRO wetsuits, hoods, boots and gloves. We provide top of the line Tusa & SCUBAPRO masks and Twin Jet fins. Prescription masks and optional weightbelts for freediving are also available. You will receive complete instruction, in water supervision and a one hour guided marine life tour conducted by our experienced guides. Beginners are always welcome! Hot beverages and water are also included.

Of course!  You are more than welcome to bring any or all of your own equipment.  But that’s a lot to pack for a cruise!  Many people bring their own masks and snorkels but rest assured all of our gear is top of the line and cleaned and sanitized after every tour!  We highly recommend bringing along a camera or GoPro to capture this once in a lifetime experience.  But please leave your full face masks at home.  They just don’t seal well with a hood and the plastic lenses fog up profusely.  We know, we’ve tried them many times!

Yes! Yes! Yes! And we’re not the only ones saying it.

• 7 time winner of the Princess Cruises Shore Excursion of the Year Award
• 8 Snorkel Alaska tour guides have received the Princess Cruises Tour Guide of the Year Award
• Winner of the 2009 Excellence in Tourism Award from the Ketchikan Visitor Bureau
• Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence Winner in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019.
• Trip Advisor Travelers Choice Award 2020.
• Our guests frequently remark that this was their favorite Shore Excursion of the cruise.

The Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure is 3 hours from start to finish (For NCL guests and any ships docking at The Mill in Ward Cove plan on 4 hours).  We guarantee you at least one hour in the water and up to an hour and 20 minutes depending on how quickly everyone gets into their wetsuits. Our shop is conveniently located 4 miles from town which is about a 10 minute bus ride.  Mountain Point is another mile down the road.  The rest of the time is spent changing, conducting safety briefings and enjoying hot showers and cocoa after the tour.  We also have a great selection of souvenir hats, T-shirts and hoodies to choose from.

You should bring a towel, a swimsuit or shorts to wear under the wetsuit and an extra pair of socks.  The socks help the wetsuit slip on and off easier and also keep your feet a bit warmer.  Don’t forget to bring some cash or a credit card if you’d like to purchase a souvenir t-shirt, hat or hoody.  We also provide secure storage for all of your belongings.

Participants must weigh between 80 and 260 pounds to insure proper wetsuit fit.  You should also be reasonably physically fit as the tour is rated most strenuous.  We snorkel from a rocky beach so the tour is not suitable for the elderly or guests with limited mobility.  Currents are almost always present.  Our suggested age limit is 70 depending on your level of physical fitness.  If you can’t walk one mile this tour may not be for you.  

Due to the strenuous nature of snorkeling in Alaska and in accordance with the guidelines established by The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Discover Snorkeling Program, we must deny participation for a variety of medical conditions.  If you suffer from ANY form of heart condition past or present minor or major we are unable to take you snorkeling.  Heart conditions include but are not limited to: murmurs, flutters, mitral-valve prolapse, angina, stints, pacemakers, defibrillators, bradycardia, tachycardia, congestive heart failure, valve replacement, bypass surgery etc.  We also must deny participation for major respiratory disorders like bronchitis, emphysema, COPD, exercise induced asthma etc. Lastly, if you have any history of past or present of seizures or fainting we are unable to take you snorkeling.  Please accept our sincerest apologies if you have any of the above medical conditions.  Your safety is always our number one priority.

The Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure is an all inclusive Shore Excursion. The tour $179.99 per person or call us to inquire about private tours. 

If you are docking in downtown Ketchikan you can book a tour time that is a minimum of 30 minutes after your ships published arrival time.  The cruise ships are very punctual so a 7:00am arrival times means the gangways are set and you can disembark at 7:00am.  Therefore a 7:30am tour time is perfectly doable.  All of tours meet and depart from the Ketchikan Liquid Sunshine Gauge located adjacent to the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau at Berth 2.  There are 4 cruise ship docks in Ketchikan all just a short walk to the Rain Gauge.  We will also wait for you if your ship is running late.

If you arriving on NCL or to The Mill at Ward Cove you should allow a minimum of 1 hour to take the free shuttle bus to town.  If your ship docks at 7:00am then an 8:00am departure or later would be ideal.  

We can 100% guarantee that you will not miss your ship!  Company owner, Fred Drake, worked on ships for 7 years and understands the importance of getting back to the ship on time.  All of our tours are scheduled to give you plenty of time to snorkel, see the port of Ketchikan and get back to your ship well before the posted sail away time.

Back to Ship Guarantee
Snorkel Alaska guarantees that you will get back to your ship on time, provided that all of the following requirements apply:
– Your tour is scheduled to end no less than 1 hour prior to the scheduled departure time of your cruise ship. It is your responsibility to confirm your ship’s departure time prior to booking, in addition to re-confirming the ship’s itinerary on the day of the tour.
– The delay in returning to the ship was due to no fault or action of your own.
In the event that you are not returned back to your cruise ship before it departs, Snorkel Alaska will cover up to USD $500 per person towards transportation and/or accommodation necessary to travel to the next port of call. Receipts are required for reimbursement.

SCUBA diving here is extremely strenuous due to the additional equipment required for cold water, access to deep water and potential for strong currents. To dive safely in Alaska you should have Advanced Diver certification, 100 logged dives and extensive cold water diving experience. Snorkel Alaska does not offer SCUBA diving for these reasons.

Office: 1-907-247-7782

Mobile:  1-907-617-7740

Email:  [email protected]