Ketchikan

Monday, May 6, 2024

With an 11 am arrival time in Ketchikan, no alarm was set and it meant a more leisurely morning. When planning our day, I had looked into a car rental as we did at our other two ports, but the traditional agencies were all located further away at the airport and there didn't seem to be any Turo rentals available. We had a sizeable amount of onboard credit still left in our accounts so the four of us decided to use some of it to book the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show ($43/person). I knew this was located close to where our ship would dock and not require too much walking for me. 

Sailing into Ketchikan was from the opposite direction than what we have done on past visits and "our private deck" was a great place to see the shoreline on both sides of the ship.

Have I mentioned how much I love lighthouses?!

But on closer inspection this one seems to be a little dilapidated and out of commission.

I took the photo to get the float plane, but aren't those clouds beautiful!!

We tried to imagine what it would be like to live in this house on the water. 

The boat has seen better days.

Norwegian ships dock outside Ketchikan at Ward Cove which in my opinion is not convenient at all.

The photos weren't the greatest, but we saw several eagles sitting atop trees.

Bob keeping watch on "our private deck".
The staircase leads up to the aft pool area on the lido deck.

The trees on tops of the mountains were covered with frost!

The yacht, Jackpot, was also docked in Ketchikan when we were there in 2022.

Pulling into Ketchikan.

The tunnel in Ketchikan is said to be the only one in the world
that can be driven through, around and over.

During the whole cruise Michelle had been on a quest to purchase Starbucks collectible mugs and so far she had been unsuccessful at finding any from Alaska. We had stopped at a Starbucks in Juneau but they were sold out of the mugs and there was no Starbucks in Skagway. As soon as we had cell service in Ketchikan, she had called the Starbucks located in a Safeway grocery store and they confirmed that the mugs were in stock so Jon and Michelle got off the ship as soon as we docked and walked the 1.4 miles each way to get her mug.

The mug Michelle bought. She also bought a miniature version (a Christmas ornament) for me! 

I did not have have any interest in walking to a grocery store (nor could my knee have allowed me to) so Bob and I had lunch on the ship before we got off. Our lumberjack show tickets were for 1:30 but we were uncertain where we were to go. The electronic tickets on our Navigator app just said "Pier Ashore" for a meeting place. 

Fortunately we were able to find a HAL shore excursions staff member on the dock who said we could either wait with her and walk as a group or just go on our own since the show was just a block away. We chose to do the latter. When we reached the entrance to the show we were informed that we could line up at 1:30 but the show was scheduled for 1:45. That gave us some time to look around the gift shop first. I was keeping in touch with Michelle via texts and they arrived soon after we did.

We were some of the first in line when the doors opened and got seats down front and center (seats are not assigned). The stadium style seating was undercover so the show goes on rain or shine. Once the show began, the audience was divided into two groups to cheer for the two logging camps participating in the lumberjack challenge...the Spruce Mill American team and the Dawson Creek Canadian team. The humor was a little hokey but those guys were true athletes. I read that they can do as many as six shows in a day so it is no wonder they have bodies like they do! 

After the show had finished, we walked over to Creek Street and walked the boardwalk past all of the shops. Bob is not a big spender, but he is always on the lookout for ideas for projects he would like to do himself. So many of his interests were featured in the gift shops...pottery, native art, wood carving, etc.

Cape Fox Lodge is the hotel located at the top of the hill.

Bob carved a very similar bear that now lives at his brother's cabin in Wisconsin.

At the end of Creek Street we went separate ways...Michelle and I meandered back to the ship and Bob and Jon went up Married Man's Trail to Cape Fox Lodge to see the art on display.

I had to get a photo of the welcome sign on our way back to the ship.

There used to be a funicular to get from Creek Street up to Cape Fox Lodge...much easier than climbing all of these stairs!

Fish ladder to help the salmon get upstream.

Thinking the guys would be late, Michelle and I went to the main dining room alone but shortly after we sat down they came walking in. They were being a little more silly than usual and finally confessed that they had "gotten tattoos". I knew Bob well enough to know he wouldn't have gotten a "real" tattoo so I wasn't fooled when he showed me the native art (similar to the photos above) that was displayed on his upper arm. Boys!

As for our day in Ketchikan...seeing the lumberjack show had been fun, but not to the extent that we enjoyed Ketchikan in the past. On our first visit in 2014 we had explored Misty Fjords by float plane, in 2017 we took to the water on a kayak tour, and on our most recent visit in 2022 we went on an e-bike and hike that gave us a chance to experience the non-touristy side of Ketchikan. My injured knee kept me from planning anything too strenuous this time, but in the future (if there are any more visits to Ketchikan) I will try and find a way to enjoy the beautiful nature surrounding the city.

The evening entertainment on the ship was a rerun of the dance show, Musicology, which we skipped. (The many repeat entertainment options on our cruise was discouraging.) Instead we watched as the Zaandam left Ketchikan and then retreated to the lido buffet for a fun evening of cards!

Over the River and Through the Woods in Ketchikan

Thursday, May 5 - Ketchikan

Today's blog post begins at 1:30 am. That was the time the ship's alarm system began sounding in our room. The speaker is on the headboard of the bed and to say we were jolted awake would be an understatement. I was conscious enough to realize the series of tones was different than the emergency alarm we hear during a muster drill, but knew it still must be serious if it was being blasted into all of the staterooms in the middle of the night!

Then the announcement came. Fire on the ship! Emergency teams were to report to their stations. Passengers were told to stand by and wait for further instructions. Immediately scenes from the movie Titanic began to flash through my mind. The outside temperature was in the upper 30's so conditions were similar to that fateful night on the North Atlantic. I started mentally making a list of what I needed to grab and what clothes would be appropriate for a cold Alaskan night. 

The captain's voice came over the speaker next. In his calm voice he reiterated that the passengers were to stand by. Over the next 20 minutes more announcements came through, first saying that the emergency teams were assessing the area. Then a message that the staging area was Deck A marshaling area. Once I was awake enough, I began recording the announcements on my iPhone.)

The captain's next message was that the problem was a belt on an air compressor and there was no reported fire, only smoke, and emergency teams were still working on the situation. Finally at 1:54 am the captain said that the emergency teams could stand down. He stated that the air compressor had been isolated and turned off and the smoke had dissipated. He ended his announcement with "thank you and have a good night." Below is the video (which is really just audio) of that final announcement:

Getting back to sleep was not easy. And for the first time all week, I had an alarm set for an early excursion in Ketchikan which meant there weren't too many hours left of our night 

I crawled out of bed at 6 am, a little before the alarm was supposed to go off. Our cabin wasn't facing the port, but I could tell the ship had arrived in Ketchikan. Room service had been ordered for 6:45 am but at 6:30 a knock on the door signaled it had arrived early.

At 7 am the announcement was made that the ship had been cleared and we could make our way to the gangplank on Deck 2. (Previous ports had us leaving from Deck A.) I was a little concerned about the plans for our tour with Ketchikan Kayak called "E-Bike and Hike." When I booked the excursion online, our port times were from 7 am until 1 pm and I had confirmed the times with the Alaska cruise ship schedule calendar. But once onboard our daily schedule on the Navigator App showed an all aboard time of 11:30 am with a noon departure. I had called the owner of the company from Seattle on Saturday, but I think he doubted my information. 

The Eurodam was docked at Berth #1 in Ketchikan and our directions for the tour instructed us to meet our driver at Berth #3 at 8:00 am. It was about a 5 minute walk to our meeting spot and we observed the little town of Ketchikan starting to come alive for the day.

Looking back at the Eurodam from Berth #3.

This yacht was anchored near our dock in Ketchikan.

A zoomed in view shows the yacht is the "Jackpot". A little Googling and I learned that it is for sale for $38 million!!

When our driver arrived, I mentioned to him that we needed to be back on our ship by 11:30. I sensed this caused a little concern on his part. He walked away saying he needed to contact the owner. When he returned he said they would be able to accommodate us but that it would have been nice to have known about the shortened port times sooner. Good grief. I had left two different phone messages AND talked to the owner personally so not sure how much more notice they needed!

Bob and I and two other guys loaded into the van for the half hour ride to where our tour would begin. The guys were from the Norwegian Bliss which was docked about 15 minutes outside of Ketchikan at Ward Cove. On the way we made a stop at Ward Cove and picked up 6 more people from the Bliss which was about 2 more than the van could comfortably hold. One of the couples from the Bliss would be doing the bike tour with us and the rest were taking a kayak tour (We had taken the kayak tour five years ago.)

Both tours began at the marina where the kayaks were located and they must have scrambled to get our situation covered. Two girls (Danielle and Francesca) were assigned to our small group of four bikers. We were given helmets and time to ride the bikes around the parking lot to acquaint ourselves with how the electric assist operated. 

The sun was shining when we began the five mile ride, but half way through the rain started. Bob and I stayed dry with our rain jackets and pants, but the cold rain pelted our faces. We rode alongside the highway, but there was very little traffic. Along the way we crossed a couple of bridges that went over a small creeks and waterfalls. I was grateful for the electric motor as our route took us up some fairly steep hills.

We biked to the end of Ketchikan's road system and parked the bikes. From there we took a trail through the woods that was almost magical. We passed by 600 year old trees and everything in the forest was covered with a thick blanket of moss. The boardwalk trail lead down the hill to the coastline. A rushing waterfall tumbled down the hillside, flowing under a small bridge that we crossed.

Over 600 years old!

Skunk cabbage was blooming in the forest. After coming out of hibernation, bears eat the plant which acts like a laxative.

The ocean was at low tide and the two girls lead us out onto the beach. Because of our short time in port, Bob and I only spent a few minutes there and then had to leave to start back. Danielle came with us while the other couple remained with Francesca to spend more time at the beach.

I am sorry we didn't have more time to spend at this beach.

The rain continued off and on as we biked the 5 miles back to the office at the marina. Along the way I came within inches of a deer on the side of the road. I was nervous he would dart out in front of me, but thank goodness he headed back into the woods. 

The excursion website mentioned a snack of smoked salmon at the end of the tour, but we were offered a can of sparkling water and then hustled into the van. Danielle drove us back into Ketchikan and dropped us off right at the ship at 11:15, shortly before the final all aboard time. 

Riding bikes in the rain wasn't ideal, but I was most disappointed in that our tour was so rushed. In hindsight I wished we could have cancelled and asked to have our money refunded (the tour wasn't cheap) but we didn't ask and they didn't offer the choice either. But with four ships docked in Ketchikan it was nice to leave and enjoy being in nature instead of fighting crowds in town. I was also glad to get a chance to try out an e-bike to see how well I liked riding one.

At lunch, the buffet was the most crowded that I had seen all week. I'm sure everyone had gotten back on the ship and went directly to lunch just as we had. Bob and I got salads and then picked up burgers at the Dive In that we had ordered through the Navigator app. There were no empty tables. (In pre-covid days we would have asked to share a table with someone and then had nice conversation while we ate.) But I also wanted to watch sail away so we carried our food down the stairs to our cabin and ate al fresco on our balcony.

The pilot boat coming to pick up the ship pilots.

Pilots climbing down the ladder and onto their boat.

And off they go.

Since riding bikes for 10 miles and hiking through the woods wasn't enough exercise, Bob went and walked a couple of miles on the promenade deck. I spent the afternoon going through photos and working on the blog. (On longer cruises I back up my photos to an external hard drive every day, but this time I just swapped out my memory cards and waited until we returned home to download the photos. I did put some of the photos my iPad so we could look at them right away.)

Later in the afternoon we went to the buffet to get something to drink and walked out by the aft pool. We started visiting with one couple and another guy who were standing at the rail. They had cameras with extremely long lenses and were busy looking for wildlife. A couple of dolphins, a few birds and a whale spout (all at a long distance away) were all we saw so we gave up and returned to our room. Oh...and we watched as the Zuiderdam sailed past us.

The Zuiderdam passing by.

It was "dressy night" (Holland America's new version of formal night) and neither of us were in the mood for dressy...or a lengthy meal in the main dining room. When we got to the buffet, a group of people were standing in front of the windows on the port side pointing at something. Whales!! We walked outside by the pool to get a better look and found people also on "our" side (starboard) watching whale spouts in the distance.

Without coats, it was too cold to stand outside so instead of eating, we went back to our room. We grabbed our coats and binoculars and whale watched from the balcony. Mostly it was just spouts in the distance, but still fun to see. 

Eventually the whale activity subsided and we went back to the buffet for dinner. We were excited to see sunchoke soup was on the menu. This was one of our favorites from a past cruise, but we agreed it tasted different.

Sunchoke soup from the buffet. The main dining room version is better.

At 7 pm a dance production called "Off the Charts" was scheduled in the main theater, but the cruise director had announced earlier in the day that it was being replaced with a comedian. No reason given. Instead we went to the Lincoln Center Stage for the 7 pm show "The British Isles". We were so impressed that we also attended the 8 pm show "Just Strings" (same group minus the piano player.) What talent!!

We stepped outside between the shows at the Lincoln Center Stage to see this sunset.

The Majestic Princess traveling alongside the Eurodam.

Our evening ended watching part of the movie "Call of the Wild" on tv in our cabin. Clocks are scheduled to go forward an hour so our night will be a little shorter. Let's hope we don't lose any more sleep to emergency alerts in the middle of the night!

The Majestic Princess looking pretty in the night.