Ward Cove Cruise Ship Pier

The pier is in the middle of nowhere but it has a really neat gift shop. The cruise lines provide transportation into town.

Currently, it is an industrial dock. There is a visitors center with lots of items to purchase. Free Wi-Fi is available here. The downside is the distance from the town. You need to take a shuttle to town. The early lines back to the ship were over an hour long. The later ones had no line but became of your onboard time because the shuttle is not guaranteed to be there. We did go on the Aluetian Ballard crabbing vessel tour. If you like Deadliest Catch you'll love this excursion.

We were annoyed that we were docking here at First!! But. It was a pleasant experience to be honest! I am mobility stricken and a cart is put on from the ship to the main building at ward cove, a short walk through for the free shuttle where I was prioritised by staff and given first to board access which helped me so much ❤️ On returning we booked a taxi to bring us back for $35 as the queue was HUGE and after a full day exploring was more comfortable for us. The mill is vast in its options for everyone to buy and has a lovely live music playing to increase the atmosphere, a pleasant experience all round. Thank you NCL for being so disability friendly. 🙌🏼🥳

Great stop for the Norwegian Jade! There was a TON of souvenir options, coffee and music. I had to take a couple work calls and the internet was a pleasant delight.

Great port with shopping. Again complimentary shuttle was handy as it is soon far from the main city

Nice view with all cruise ship docked.. Atmosphere is cold and plenty shopping market around here.

Shop around - Norwegian has a lot to learn related to customer service / guest relations. We were on the Norwegian Sun. the staff culture is definitely NOT customer oriented. Too many challenges to outline in a single post - suffice to say, guest services staff was not accommodating - to the point that they would not even listen to concerns. Shore excursions were wonderful, food was ok, shows and entertainment - often cancelled and not professional. Although we enjoyed our Alaskan cruise, we will not become NCL repeat cruisers.

NCL's dock which requires a shuttle to get into town. There's a huge shopping building but not much else. It's not very pretty and the necessity to take a shuttle means time in Ketchikan is limited.

I really love the set up here at The Mill at Ward Cove. It may be an unpopular opinion, but I don't really care. Most people see it as a money grab. What I saw was a very well-organized terminal where you can buy souvenirs, find your tour group, or head into town on a complimentary shuttle bus. I was quite impressed with the facilities as well. The restrooms are spacious and clean. There's a café that serves local coffee that I didn't get to try. It has a museum that gives a brief history of this site that was once the Ketchikan Pulp Company. The actual store has a ginormous selection of Alaskan products. I thought the prices were much more affordable than any I saw in the cities that we visited. The reversible waterproof fleece jackets were a little under $30. That's a great deal! I wanted to get the huckleberry and blueberry jam that was in these cute mason jars that can be later used as salt & pepper shakers. We planned on purchasing them after our tour, but time ran out for us. I also liked the entertainment. It was so relaxing and comforting to browse through the store while listening to live music. They were all classic rock hits, and she played them so well on the piano. Check out the Global Piano Bar website to learn more about Diane Slagle. I wish we could have stayed in Ward Cove/Ketchikan longer. That was my only disappointment with this NCL itinerary. I can understand why others are frustrated with that, but it's more of a time constraint issue than a port issue. I actually loved being docked at Ward Cove versus Downtown Ketchikan. There's more wildlife to see in this area around Refuge Cove such as Bald Eagles (and maybe Sasquatch, lol). I wouldn't have seen the "Road to Nowhere" near the airport on the way to Ketchikan had we not been here. The Mill is a hidden gem tucked away in a cove.

When our ship docked, we had an excursion that departed from the docks so we did not go into the building to exit the docks. Due to this we were not aware there was a shop when we returned that you could get souvenirs. We took advantage of our 4 hours or so in Ketchikan and headed back to Ward Cove. When we arrived back, we were shocked there was this massive building with a store that we could pick up items that we didn't have time to purchase in town. The prices were higher than the stores in Ketchikan, but only slightly. The store was very nicely organized and had so much variety. Everything from clothing, bath and body, snacks and candy, just about everything. I personally was really appreciative of this store and the opportunity it gave me to pick up a few last things for others.

This is the mysterious place Cruise Ships Dock when they Dock in Ward Cove. The Mill is a few yards from when you walk out of your cruise ship and is very user friendly after you get the lay of the land. When you exit your cruise ship you are ushered into this giant warehouse. You are initially greeted with Totem poles. After you walk through the giant store if you go left you go to the free shuttles to town. We were told that they take driving time 20 minutes. Remember that doesn't account for the time you spend in line waiting for the shuttle. We had a could hours before our tour, but due to the amount of time the shuttle took and the time it took to get in line we just hung out in the Mill till our tour. If you go right you are greeted with a mirid of signs all for different excursion. They are not in any sort of order. Not alphabetical or anything. We panicked because we didn't see our excursion listed. We asked at the booth and they told us because our excursion doesn't leave for a while that it wouldn't be posted yet. It will be posted closer till the time it leaves. We stayed in a panic till it was posted then got in line immediately. In the end it was a success. We stood in in line till we were given boarding passes in exchange for our tickets. We were led out in a line and boarded an old school bus and were taken to our excursion. After the tour the school bus met us and we took the bus back to ward cove. Due to the logistics of taking the shuttle we passed on hanging out around town and being scared we'd miss our cruise ship due to we were in line for the shuttle so we just hitched a ride back on the school bus after our excursion. The mill is a nice shopping area. Probably most of the goods are made in China, so if you're ok with it then it's a nice place to shop. I heard that the price of the goods there were cheaper then some of the shops in town. I wouldn't know because we didn't go to town. If you are looking for Alaskan made souvenirs you're probably in the wrong place. I could be wrong. The cases of knives may actually be made in Alaska, you'd have to ask. When checking out you have the option of shipping your purchases home. That's a great option as you can't take the knives back on board. I love shopping local, but logistics were not on my side for finding nice mom and pop shops so I was ok with shopping at the Mill and I was thankful for the opportunity to do a little shopping so close to the cruise ship and not having to take the shuttle. I found some cute whale shaped sponges ($5) and a large fleece blanket ($52) with a map of Alaska on it. I am very happy with my purchases. I highly recommend doing your final shopping of Alaska at the Mill. It's the perfect place to find something for everyone. They had great deals on clothing and even a clearance section. It was our last Alaskan port on our Cruise.

3.5 stars This is the place that cruise ships dock at and they provide free shuttle services to and from downtown, Ketchikan. The Mill is very much like a warehouse housing all the souvenirs you can imagine. They even have a whole clearance section for us tourists. In my other review on Ketchikan, this store is organized and ready to sell! Designs are cute, but the prices are wild. Like Skagway, cute womens' clothes are $$$. There's research showing that women tend to veer right when walking into a retail store. Guess what? The jewelry & womens' clothing are on the right side! Within this warehouse of goodies, there is a men's section and kids corner. On the far right of the building is a cafe/restaurant area where one can purchase beverages, grab n' go food, and crab legs (to be eaten there). Towards the back right corner is where all the excursion shuttles pick up. The free shuttle service is in the back left corner. To the left, near the kids corner, is a little museum that explains The Mill's history & logging history a bit. This is the most organized, neat, & clean port I've been to so far that will gladly help you with your wallet ;)

Lots of great shopping and Colton was awesome super helpful and got us out efficiently and quick since we needed to get to our ship.... Also the tax is only about 2% great for souvenirs b4 leaving Alaska.

This is the place cruise ships dock at and have shuttles for tourists to get to downtown Ketchikan for shopping, restaurants and excursions. This is a huge warehouse that has souvenirs, food, picturesque props and restrooms . Pricing is reasonable. Clearance section is available and jewelry stand as well. It's literally a one man shop .

As other reviews have mentioned, The Mill is kind of an inevitable stop when visiting Ketchikan via cruise ship. This is a giant warehouse full of history and souvenirs. We were lucky, because it was full of music on the day we visited too. Local singer and pianist Diane Slagle works out of The Mill and fills it with song. While I wish the lines for the shuttle buses was shorter, this was a much better option than standing outside on a damp Ketchikan day.

All passengers must go to through the terminal or Mill ward to board their ship. Great place to do last minute shopping if you have time. Anything from sweatshirts, tee shirts, kitchen stuff, food items and souvenirs can all be found here. There was even an entertainer on the piano singing. Prices were reasonable and comparable or even cheaper than the shops in the town. Definitely worth walking around before boarding the ship.

Take a port of call, an old very large fishing or shipping wearhouse, and throw in some of the more inexpensive souvenirs you can find in town, then up the ante slightly by placing some staged scenes of miniature mounts, stuffed animals, and actual running water through the scene to act as a river, and you have a great set up for a souvenir shop that must be passed through in order to get into Ketchikan's wonderful fishing town. This is a total NCL cruise line thing, their port is a 10 minute bus ride into town, and you must pass through this building to get to the buses. It is very massive and open. The prices are considerably less expensive than the shops in town. It's a great old building in a very run down port area. I thought it was really cool and genius. Would loved to have seen signs or something that gave the history of what the place used to be.

Phenomenal place! Great souvenirs, good music by the lady who plays her keyboards, was very entertaining and cafe was great and being just where NCL docks made it perfect! And the free shuttle to town and back is amazing! Definitely worth checking out for all your souvenir needs!!!

Cruise Port used by Norwegian Cruise Lines when visiting Ketchikan. It is situated outside of Ketchikan, and is next to the Pier which has space for 2 ships at a time. We came in late October on the Encore, and the Sun was here as well. Because of timing, we only got to be at Ketchikan between 8 and 12:30 pm, and had no time to walk the town since we had an excursion. Because there were two ships in, it was quite hectic inside. There is a free shuttle near the back, that should take you into town. Towards the back, there are many lines for the various excursions and it was kinda of a zoo with people trying to find spots to wait...plus the gentlemen manning/directing the lines was not in a great mood. Not a great experience.

Great spot for cruisers to do last minute shopping, live music, small museum, and waiting for boarding. Norwegian Cruise Line in cooperation with The Mill at Ward Cove does a great job in taking care of passengers who are exiting and returing to NCL vessels. The shopping is very good vs what's in town...prices, selection, etc. Even after seeing what was in town, I bought my one souvenir (tshirt) here for $25. I especially liked the t-shirts made by local artists. Enjoyed it!

Appears to be an example of NCL cost cutting. Rather than berthing in Ketchikan, NCL ships berth at this industrial port (with a made to order gift shop) and proved converted school buses for the half hour ride into Ketchikan... where you'll see the other cruise liners.

NCL was clever to route us through this gift shop upon disembarking/embarking. The prices of souvenirs were notably cheaper than the gift shops in town. We pretty much bought all our souvenirs here since it was at the tail end of our cruise. Everything was going well until the check out process. Stormy, our cashier was actually friendly, but she is also a few fries short of a Happy Meal. She engaged in small talk with us while ringing up our items. However, her short attention span ended up double, sometimes triple charging us for some items. She would scan an item, talk to us, or her co workers, then scan the item again. I called her out on it and rather than owning up to it, she blamed it on the scanning gun. I could see a summary of the credit card screen on the counter and asked her why there were 2 or 3 of some items and rather than check, she dismissed it and said I PROBABLY bought more than one of that item. When in fact I didn't have any duplicate items. She tried to correct the problem and rather than delete the item, she would scan it and end up adding it to my bill. I ended up calling over the cashier next to her for help and she was able to remove the duplicate items from my bill. Had I not noticed what Stormy was doing, I would've been overcharged well over 100 dollars.

Our NCL cruise ship docked here, which I was not pleased with. I'm sure NCL is doing this to save money vs docking in Ketchikan. The shuttle ride to and from Ketchikan chips away at your limited time there. BUT, I will give The Mill a glowing review. The souvenirs and items at The Mill are priced lower than in Ketchikan. The Mill has a fabulous selection of anything you could possibly want as a momento of your Alaska vacation. They have lots of local handmade items along with a big selection of Alaska apparel. You will find jewelry (some handmade with the artist selling it), a kids' section, apparel, pottery, Christmas ornaments, chainsaw carved wooden bears, and on and on. If you're on an NCL cruise, don't just pass through The Mill on your way to Ketchikan, thinking it's a tourist trap. It's a great place to shop...you will find a huge selection and great prices. I was also impressed with staffing at The Mill. The checkout line was long because everyone was doing last minute shopping before boarding the ship. They had 4 or 5 cashiers working...every cash register was staffed. This helped the line to move much quicker.