Are you taking a cruise to Alaska and contemplating visiting Kroschel’s Wildlife Center? I highly recommend a tour with Steve and Mario. This quirky duo and their incredible animal friends were one of the highlights of our Alaskan adventure to Haines.

Keep reading for my review of the experience as well as tips for a more inexpensive way to book the excursion.

Meeting a Moose is No Simple Task!

When planning our Alaskan cruise on the Norwegian Bliss, each member of the family had specific goals of what we needed to see and do while in Alaska. I wanted to fish for Salmon, my husband wanted a helicopter tour and to dog sled, my son wanted to a meet a moose.

Yes, a moose. This Florida kid’s favorite animal just so happens to be a moose. We needed to make this happen.

After much research, I came across a location known as Kroschel’s Wildlife Center in Haines, Alaska. This wildlife preserve is home to Karen, the moose, as well as many other amazing, exotic animals we had never seen. How exciting!

How To Get to Kroschel’s Wildlife Sanctuary

You may have heard about Kroschel’s already when researching shore excursions in Haines or Skagway, Alaska. Your interest in that shore excursion may have brought you to this article.

Visiting this animal heaven was not an option as an excursion on our cruise ship at the time we sailed. Currently, it is being offered by Norwegian Cruise Line and several other cruise lines, but the price tag is pretty steep. The good news is there are options to easily plan a trip on your own for a fraction of the cost.

If Haines, Alaska is part of your Alaskan cruise vacation itinerary, you are lucky. Getting to Kroschel’s Wildlife Sanctuary will be a piece of cake. You will need only to rent a car for the day.

If you are instead stopping in Skagway, you are not alone. You can still add this one of a kind adventure to your bucket list trip by purchasing ferry tickets and renting a car.

Here are the details

The Fast Ferry

Booking tickets on the Haines Skagway Fast Ferry on their website was easy and convenient. Simply choose a time to leave Skagway and a return time from Haines back to Skagway. The ferry is a scenic trip through fjords. I had seen shore excursions for the same thing. We would be getting a cruise through fjords on our way to meet a moose! Bonus!

I booked three tickets on the fast ferry leaving Skagway at 8:00 a.m. The fast ferry dock is directly outside of where the ship docked. The ship allowed passengers to disembark around 7, so we had plenty of time to make it to the fast ferry!

The ferry ride was about 40 minutes. The ferry is climate controlled, serves hot coffee and hot chocolate, and has a restroom. It was a very smooth and pleasant ride.

Rental Car

Steve, from Kroschel’s, recommended we rent a car from Captain’s Choice Hotel. Steve provided me the phone number in his email and I called them in advance to rent a Suburu Forester. The car rental price was $89 plus tax . When we arrived at the dock in Haines, I called Captain’s Choice Hotel. They had someone pick us up at the dock. She took us to the rental office, which was several blocks away, where we completed the paperwork for the rental and inspected the car. We were then off!

The ride from the town of Haines to Kroschel’s Wildlife Center took about 45 minutes and was extremely scenic. Look at these amazing photos taken on the drive too and from Kroschel’s!

Kroschel’s Wildlife Center

We arrived at the gate of the property along with a tour bus from a cruise ship from another ship in port. We had purchased a tour from Steve online prior to arrival. The cost was $150 for the three of us.

We were met by two quirky naturalists, Steve and Mario. They told us the history of Kroschel’s. Most of the animals were abandoned and could not care for themselves. The animals seemed to love them. As we progressed through the wildlife center, Steve and Mario were greeted by a variety of animals. In turn, they introduced us to them, telling us about the animals, how they acquired them, and the animal’s unique personalities. It was as if the two men were a member of the animal’s family.

During our tour, we met a wolf. Steve entered in the closed compound and actually made noises as if speaking to the wolf. The wolf responded excitingly.

They introduced us to a red fox as well as a silver fox. We were able to pet the tail of the red fox.

We saw a Lynx. The cat looked to be an extremly large house cat.

Steve brought out a Wolverine on a leash. What an amazing sight to be that close to the largest member of the weasel family!

Over the course of the tour, we met many other amazing animals to include a weasel, porcupine, a baby reindeer, several birds of prey, and a bear.

But What About The Moose?

The highlight of this adventure was meeting and feeding Karen, the moose. Why? Because my son absolutely fell in love with her. The sheer joy on his face was priceless.

Save Money

When we did this trip, Norwegian cruise line did not offer a visit to Kroschel’s as a shore excursion. They do now. The cost is $429 for adults and $337 for kids. Obviously, the convenience of booking directly through the ship may be worth the additional cost to you. If you are thrify and want to save some cash, book it on your own.

The trip to Kroschel’s Wildlife Center booked on our own cost us:

• Fast Ferry tickets too and from Haines: $102 per person
• Rental Car: $110 including tax
• Admission to Kroschel’s: $50 per person/$150 total

This is quite a savings in comparison to $429 per person that Norwegian is charging!

In summary

There are other excursions to do in Skagway such as panning for gold and riding a train. I would recommend you choose to go to Kroschel’s Wildlife Center. This tour was amazing. Several cruise ships to include Norwegian Cruise lines now offer a shore excursion to Kroschel’s, however it was not difficult to make arrangement and do the trip on your own. You can save quite a bit of money by using the tips in this post and contacting Steve Kroschel directly for a tour time.

Related: Check out our post on saving money on shore excursions.

You are able to get an up close and personal look at some animals you have never seen before in any zoo. Your hosts, Steve and Mario, are fascinating as they share their love of these incredible animals.

Have you been to Kroschel’s Wildlife Center? If so, drop us a comment and let us know how you enjoyed it.

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