Haines cruise port

The quiet Alaska stop: one ship, 2,500 people, 3,500 bald eagles and a fort on the parade ground.

Haines sits at the top of Lynn Canal across the water from Skagway, a town of about 2,500 that sees one ship at a time where Skagway sees five. Ships dock at the Port Chilkoot dock at the foot of Fort William H. Seward, the white 1902 army post whose officers’ houses are now galleries and restaurants, and the day is about the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, brown bears fishing the Chilkoot River, and a float or jet boat through the Chilkat valley with the Cathedral Peaks behind. SmartCruiser lists every cruise that calls at Haines from every line, priced with taxes and fees included, with the sailings that carry SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit or instant savings at the top.

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DockedPort Chilkoot dock at Fort Seward; free shuttle, downtown a 15 minute walk
Skagway45 minutes across Lynn Canal on the fast ferry, about $50 to $70 one way
Jun to Augthe driest big port in Southeast, highs in the mid 60s; eagles peak in November
All inevery price includes taxes and fees
Start here

Three ways to do Haines

Float the eagle preserve, go looking for bears at Chilkoot Lake, or walk the fort and the town with the fast ferry as a wild card; the buttons filter the list of sailings below.

Eagles

Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve float

  • A calm raft float down the braided Chilkat River through the 48,000 acre preserve, nests in every cottonwood
  • About 4 hours door to door with a riverside picnic; about $150 to $220 as of 2026
  • No whitewater, from age 5 or so; the jet boat version covers more river in less time

Best for: families, photographers, first-time Alaska cruisers

Bears

Chilkoot Lake and the Chilkoot River

  • Brown bears fish the salmon weir at the lake outlet from mid July through September, 10 miles from the dock
  • Guided viewing vans run about 2.5 hours for about $160 to $180, or longer with lunch
  • Seals and sea lions chase the same salmon in Lutak Inlet on the way

Best for: wildlife watchers, couples, anyone on a late-summer sailing

On your own

Fort Seward, the museums and Main Street

  • Walk the parade ground, the Alaska Indian Arts carving shed and the Sheldon Museum (about $10) in a mile
  • The Hammer Museum (about $7) is the strangest and most charming museum in Alaska
  • A pint at Haines Brewing or a local beer at the Fogcutter, then the free shuttle back to the dock

Best for: walkers, history lovers, repeat Alaska cruisers

Live from the cruise lines

Haines cruises: SmartCruiser picks first

Every cruise that calls at Haines from every line, priced live with taxes, fees and port expenses included. The picks at the top are sailings where booking with SmartCruiser gets you something extra: instant savings or bonus onboard credit. Below them, every other sailing that stops here, with full sorting by home port, line, month, length and price.

SmartCruiser picks

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Every cruise that calls at Haines

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Prices are per person, double occupancy, in US dollars, and include cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses as published by the cruise line at the moment you load this page. Fares are capacity controlled and change daily; the fare is confirmed when you book. Flights, hotels and transfers are extra unless the line’s offer says otherwise. SmartCruiser instant savings and bonus onboard credit are provided by SmartCruiser on top of the cruise line’s price and are not available when booking direct; amounts are per stateroom, vary by stateroom category and are shown for the lowest category offered. Special SmartCruiser rates are pricing SmartCruiser holds on that sailing for its clients, with extra onboard credit; you book your own stateroom and travel on your own. Senior fares apply to guests 55 and over; resident fares need proof of residency in a listed state or province at check-in; police and fire fares apply to active or retired police, fire and EMT personnel with ID. Qualifier-fare savings are measured against the best fare the cruise line offers the general public for the same stateroom category on the day the list was pulled, updated weekly.

In port

Things to do in Haines

The fort is at the top of the dock road, downtown is a 15 minute walk or a free shuttle, and the eagles and bears are 10 to 25 miles out the two highways.

Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve floatA gentle raft float down the Chilkat River through the preserve that holds the largest gathering of bald eagles on earth each November, with several hundred resident birds all summer plus moose and the occasional bear on the gravel bars. About 4 hours with a picnic lunch, about $150 to $220 through the ship or local outfitters, pickup at the dock.
Chilkoot Lake bear viewingThe most reliable roadside brown bear spot in Southeast Alaska: from mid July into September bears fish the salmon counting weir at the lake outlet, 10 miles from the dock along Lutak Inlet. Guided 2.5 hour van tours run about $160 to $180; go early in the day, and keep the 50 yard distance the rangers enforce.
Fort William H. SewardAlaska’s first permanent army post, 1902, a ring of white clapboard officers’ houses around a sloping parade ground right above the dock, now the Hotel Halsingland, galleries and the Alaska Indian Arts center where Tlingit carvers work on totems. Free, a 10 minute walk up from the dock; the visitor center has a walking-tour leaflet.
Sheldon Museum and the Hammer MuseumThe Sheldon on the waterfront covers Tlingit culture, the gold rush trail and the fort for about $10 (reopened with a new main gallery in 2026), and the Hammer Museum on Main Street holds 2,000 hammers from Roman to railroad for about $7; both are a few minutes’ walk apart downtown.
Haines Skagway Fast FerryA 45 minute catamaran ride across Lynn Canal, past Taiya Inlet and the sea lion haulouts, from the fast ferry dock a block south of the cruise dock. Several departures a day from May to September, about $50 to $70 one way as of 2026, and it is how people on a Skagway ship reach Haines for the day. Only ride it from Haines if the schedule gets you back an hour before all-aboard.
Kroschel Wildlife CenterA hands-on refuge 28 miles up the Haines Highway where Steve Kroschel introduces rescued wolves, lynx, a wolverine, a moose and a grizzly a few feet away; by appointment and ship tour only, about $170 through the ship including the ride. Check that it is operating this season before you plan the day around it.
Hiking and the Chilkat valleyMount Ripinsky rises straight behind town for a strenuous 3,600 foot summit view, Battery Point is an easy 2 mile coastal walk from the end of Beach Road, and the Haines Highway runs 20 miles up the Chilkat valley to the preserve viewing pullouts and the Tlingit village of Klukwan with its Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center. Small-group van tours cover the valley for about $110 to $150.
Flightseeing and the fjordsFloatplanes and helicopters from the Haines airstrip reach the Davidson and Rainbow glaciers and the Juneau Icefield in 30 to 60 minutes (about $300 to $400), and sea kayak day trips paddle the Chilkoot or Chilkat inlets for about $165.
Pick your style

Which lines call at Haines?

Haines takes one ship at a time, so it appears on the longer and more varied itineraries and on the small ships rather than every 7 night loop.

Holland AmericaNoordam and Zaandam on Vancouver round trips, Seward one-way Glacier sailings and the long Seattle voyages; Holland America and Princess bring most of the big-ship calls.SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit PrincessRuby Princess calls on select Vancouver, Whittier and San Francisco sailings each summer.SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit SeabournSeabourn Encore calls at Haines from May into September on 7 to 14 night Alaska sailings between Vancouver, Juneau and Seward.SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit Lindblad ExpeditionsNational Geographic Sea Bird and Sea Lion run 5 night Haines, Inian Islands and Endicott Arm expeditions between Juneau and Sitka all summer.SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit CunardQueen Elizabeth’s Alaska season from Vancouver and Seattle includes Haines on select 10 to 12 night sailings.SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit NorwegianNorwegian Spirit calls at Haines on the long Honolulu and Vancouver repositioning sailings through Alaska in summer.SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit VikingViking Orion and Venus call at Haines on 10 night Alaska and Inside Passage sailings between Vancouver and Seward.Live prices American Cruise LinesAmerican Constitution and American Ranger small-ship Inside Passage sailings from Juneau include a Haines day.SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit WindstarStar Breeze and the Windstar yachts call at Haines on 7 to 14 night Alaska sailings from Vancouver and Seward.SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit
Timing

When to go

Haines sits in a rain shadow and gets about 48 inches a year, half of Juneau, with the driest and warmest weeks in June and July; the port is busiest from mid June to August and the eagles are at their thickest after the ships leave in November.

MayHighs around 55, snow on the Cathedral Peaks, the first small ships and the lowest fares; the fast ferry starts running and the bears are still up high.
June to JulyHighs in the mid 60s, the driest weeks of the year, 18 hours of daylight, the Southeast Alaska State Fair in late July and bears arriving at Chilkoot by mid month; this is the window we book first.
AugustHighs low 60s, about 4 inches of rain, peak bear viewing at Chilkoot Lake and salmon in every river; book the bear tour the day the cruise is confirmed.
September50s, rain building to about 6 inches, fall color in the Chilkat valley, the last ships and eagles already gathering on the flats; good value for a quieter Alaska.
Good to know

Haines questions we answer every day

Where do cruise ships dock in Haines and how far is town?

Ships dock at the Port Chilkoot dock at the foot of Fort Seward, on the south edge of town; a few smaller ships use the fast ferry dock a block further south. Fort Seward is a 10 minute walk up the hill from the dock and downtown Main Street is about 15 minutes along the shore, and a free shuttle loops every 30 minutes on ship days from the dock to the Sheldon Museum, the visitor center, Dalton City and the fort. On the rare day a second ship is in, one of them tenders.

How do I get around Haines?

On foot and the free shuttle for the fort, the museums and Main Street. Everything else is out the two highways: tour vans pick up at the dock for the eagle preserve, Chilkoot Lake and Kroschel, a taxi to Chilkoot Lake is about $40 to $50 each way, and there are a couple of car rental counters in town if you want the Chilkat valley on your own. Bikes and e-bikes rent downtown.

What currency, language and time zone?

US dollars and English. Haines is on Alaska Time, one hour behind Seattle and Vancouver, so check whether your ship keeps ship time. Cell coverage is good in town and thins out up the highways; the library and most cafes have Wi-Fi. The borough charges a per-passenger port fee, about $9 as of 2026, which is already inside the fares you see here.

Is Haines safe?

Yes. It is a town of 2,500 that leaves its doors unlocked. The cautions are wildlife and weather: bears use the same river trails as people at Chilkoot, so keep the distance the rangers set and never get between a bear and the water, and dress for wind and rain on the river and the ferry.

What is the best excursion, and should I book it through the ship?

The Chilkat eagle float on any sailing and the Chilkoot Lake bear tour from mid July to September. The local outfitters are the same boats and vans the ships sell, so booking direct is fine for the float; book the bear tour and anything with the fast ferry through the ship, because the return timing is tight and the ship will wait for its own tour. Kroschel is ship-tour only.

Do I need a passport for an Alaska cruise?

Round trips from Seattle, San Francisco or Los Angeles are closed-loop sailings, so US citizens may sail with a government photo ID plus an original or certified birth certificate, but we recommend a passport. Most Haines itineraries start or end in Vancouver, Seward or Whittier, and those require a valid passport; a Haines Highway tour into the Yukon needs one too.

Are taxes and fees included in the prices here?

Yes. Every price on this page includes the cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses. Flights, hotels, shore excursions and gratuities are extra.

Talk to a Haines cruise specialist

Haines is on far fewer itineraries than Skagway, so tell us your dates and we will find the sailings that include it and carry SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit. Monday to Thursday 9 to 6, Friday 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 6 ET.

1-800-444-1560