Day 4 of our 7-night Alaska cruise aboard the MSC Poesia brought us to Icy Strait Point, Alaska, and this ended up being one of the most memorable days of the entire cruise. We had a relaxed morning aboard the ship before heading ashore, with plenty of time to explore since we weren’t due back onboard until later in the evening.
Exploring Icy Strait Point
We started by making our way toward the historic cannery area, stopping to explore the shops, displays, and old equipment along the way. Even if shopping isn’t your thing, the cannery is worth walking through. There is a lot of history here, along with information about Alaska, salmon fishing, and the area’s past.
Then came the biggest surprise of the day. As we stepped outside near the cannery, we spotted a large group of humpback whales incredibly close to shore. Several surfaced together, and before long people were following them along the beach as they made their way toward the MSC Poesia. We weren’t expecting anything like this, and it quickly became one of the best whale experiences we’ve ever had in Alaska.
Mini Doughnuts & the Hoonah Sea Walk
After all that excitement, we stopped at Lil’ Gen’s Mini-Doughnuts and tried the salted caramel and snickerdoodle flavours. They were served warm and fresh, and the proceeds help support the local community, which made the stop even better.
From there, we headed out along the Hoonah Veterans Memorial Sea Walk. It’s a beautiful waterfront walk even if you don’t plan on continuing all the way into Hoonah. We spotted a family of deer and enjoyed the scenery, but somehow the whales weren’t finished with us yet. A little later, we saw what appeared to be the same group of humpbacks coming back in the opposite direction, which had us hurrying along the shoreline trying to catch another look.
Nature Trail & Transporter Gondola
Later in the afternoon, we explored some of the trails near the ship and made our way through the rainforest toward Wilderness Landing. There are signs throughout the nature trail with information about the local environment and wildlife, including plenty of reminders that this is bear country.
We eventually reached the other cruise landing area and took the free Transporter Gondola back toward Ocean Landing. It’s a fun and easy way to travel between the two sides of Icy Strait Point, and by later in the afternoon the line was quite short.
Back Aboard the MSC Poesia
Back aboard the MSC Poesia, we cleaned up and headed to dinner at Il Palladio Restaurant before finishing the evening with the Total Divas production show in Teatro Carlo Felice. The show featured familiar music, lots of singing and dancing, colourful costumes, and plenty of energy from the performers.
Looking back, Icy Strait Point was one of those days where everything seemed to come together. We enjoyed the cannery, waterfront, trails, gondola, wildlife, and of course the incredible humpback whales right from shore. We went into the day expecting a relaxing visit to one of our favourite Alaska ports and ended up with one of the biggest highlights of the cruise.
Tomorrow, we’ll sail through Endicott Arm to view Dawes Glacier before making our way to Juneau for the afternoon.
Watch our full Day 4 MSC Poesia Alaska cruise vlog here: https://youtu.be/48vefC9Lvno
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