Here are our pictures from
Ketchikan.
Sorry about the delay in posting - busy week!
So I last left off with us about to head into Ketchikan - me, DH, and our friend S. The boys stayed on board. We headed off the ship after 1 p.m. Some of the excursions were still heading out so we were intermingled with them in getting off the ship. Once we were off, we followed the path and asked one of the ship officers where the shuttle into town was, so he pointed us to where it was waiting.
In Ketchikan, you can walk into town, about 10 minutes from where we were in the 4th berth, but there are also a couple of guys who run two different shuttle services. One takes you just to the Inside Passage store which is part of the Tongass Trading Company and puts you pretty much in the middle - about a 5 minute walk to Creek Street, about 3 minutes to where they do the Lumberjack show. He just goes back and forth from the berth he's at to the store, going about every 15 minutes or as passengers require. It's free but there's a tip jar.
The other one has two routes - one that goes to the places outside the immediate town area such as to the Totem Poles and other such, and one that goes around town but takes you a little further down and also up to a block from Creek Street. He goes around about every 20 minutes and he stops at at least one of the other berths. He's also free and works for tips. This is the one we used going into town and he was helpful with what we wanted to see once we got over to Creek Street.
Creek Street is a couple of blocks of shops along the creek - they are more eclectic than you might find closer to the ships (where you find all the traditional cruise port jewelry stores). They had a variety of art shops, a book shop, souvenirs, Alaskan art and stuff, a salmon shop (Salmon Etc. - it's where we bought our Ulu knives - one for us, one for our neighbor).
Let me mention about that if I haven't already - if you buy an Ulu knife while on your Alaskan cruise, it's best to have it shipped home! You can ship it yourself from Skagway because the post office is right there - just get a priority mail flat rate box and mail everything home to yourself (you're in Skagway on a Friday), or if you're in Ketchikan, ask about shipping before you buy it because you will not be allowed to bring it on the ship and keep it with you - they collect it when you reboard and you won't get it back until you are disembarking in Vancouver - along with 1,000 other guests in the same situation - and then you have to pack it into your suitcase for getting it home from there. We asked about shipping at the Salmon Etc. store and the lady who worked there happens to work at the post office during the day and at the Salmon shop after hours and on the weekends - so we knew she would get our items shipped home properly packed. And sure enough, they were here when we made it home (we took a few extra days on the way back). We got two of the large Ulu knives that come with a bowl and block - I love ours and my neighbor was excited to get hers!
Anyway, when we got to Creek Street, S needed to find a restroom, so we saw one marked on the map - turns out, it wasn't on Creek Street but up the funicular at the Cape Fox Lodge - but we'd walked to the end and the lady at Ms. Dolly's said we could use theirs for a $5 entrance fee or go around the corner to the New York Cafe and use theirs. They had a sign that said "for customers only" so I bought a cookie which I later gave to one of the CMs onboard along with some of the treats we got in our FE gifts.
We did take the funicular up - it's $2 to ride all day - and the lodge is beautiful . They also have some totem poles out front. It looks like a very neat place to stay if you're ever staying in the area. And we used the restroom as long as we were up there (note: don't drink a lot before going into Ketchikan). In fact, we saw a couple of signs posted that said "tourists, please write to our local council about the lack of public washrooms."
After we'd been over at Creek Street for about two hours, I was ready to head back. S had found a piece of jewelry she wanted to get and was deciding whether to get it then or go back later - so we told her go then and we'd wait - it was such a beautiful day and a nice place to just relax. When she came back, she told us that the clerk at the shop was from our hometown! And we know she didn't just say that becasue when S told her where she works, the girl said "oh yeah, I remember going there on a field trip and seeing the hand in the jar" (we get school groups on tours where we work from time to time and there is a hand in a jar!).
We took the shuttle back to the ship and had a rest for a bit. S's DH came back from his misty fjords floatplane adventure which he said was really good, and then we all went back into town, taking the other guy's shuttle because he was there. We wanted to go to the Del Sol store and the Christmas in Alaska store, and our friends still needed to get their salmon, so they went to the salmon shop while we went to Del Sol. We got done pretty quickly and then looked around a few other shops including one where they make totem poles to sell - we ended up getting one to add to our collection of things like that.
We poked around a few other shops including the Christmas shop which was interesting to me, and then went in the Inside Passage Tongass shop while our friend went back to get more salmon jerky - so of course I found a few more things to buy (long sleeved t-shirts that have Alaska on them). Then we took the shuttle back to the ship, getting back around 6:30.
Dinner had been delayed until 6 p.m. because we were in port until 7:30 and it was Captain's Gala night which meant lobster - and semi-formal dress. We were not interested in lobster so we knew we'd find plenty to eat at the buffet on Deck 9. Our friends were planning to eat at their late seating, so we made plans to meet up later. S and I were going to see Prom at 10:30 while the men were going to see chad Chesmark do his magic/comedy show in WaveBands, also at 10:30.
DH and I had dinner and Zachary joined us seeing as it was Father's Day. After dinner, I met the boys at the Walt Disney Theater to see the Platt Brothers comedy/action show - they had been on America's Got Talent the season before we started watching, but that got the boys interested in going to the show this night. It started at 9:15 which is later than usual - and this was the Platt Brothers' first night on the ship performing. They were entertaining and the boys really enjoyed it. I thought some of their sketches were too long but I think they'll work those kinks out - they were interesting and I met them the next day and talked with them for a few minutes - they are really nice guys and just seem to really enjoy what they do.
While I was at the show, DH decided to do one last load of laundry so we'd have mostly clean clothes for bringing home. Yet again why I gave him charging privileges.
After the show, I went to see Prom - me and practically every girl on board between the ages of 9 and 15. S was late because their dinner ran late, but it was a cute movie. It got over around midnight so we went back to our cabins, but the guys weren't back yet. I needed to check on something at Guest Services so I told the boys I would be back. As I was heading that way on Deck 3, I saw a few people with plates of desserts and realized we had missed the late night dessert buffet. Because we hadn't gone to the dining room for dinner, we didn't have anyone tell us about it and I totally missed it on the Navigator. In fact, I am just looking now and see it - under Late Night Snacks...
So here's a lesson - read all of your Navigator - even the parts that you think are the same each day because they aren't. Six cruises with
DCL and I'm just discovering that they DO indeed list the Gala Dessert Buffet on the Navigator in the Operating Hours section - from 11:15 - 11:45 p.m. in Tritons.
Anyway, I followed the trail of food and saw they were done at Triton's but I kept walking in search of whatever late night food might be out - and discovered the guys in Diversions - they had moved out of WaveBands after the show (which they said they enjoyed) and into Diversions to hang out. I stayed for a bit and finally went to bed. I'm not sure what time DH came in, but S told me the next day she got worried and went to find out where her DH was and it was around 2 a.m. I had to laugh at that because every other time we've cruised, DH has been tucked in bed by 11
Anyway, Ketchikan day was relaxing and enjoyable all the way around! We set our clocks forward an hour this night and have one more day at sea before it's over.