Today we will enjoy our last port in Alaska…..Ketchikan. It turned out to be cold, windy, and downright rainy. Typical Ketchikan weather we understand. Breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill filled up with several guests today due to the fact that our arrival to Ketchikan was at 11am. Around 9am, we bundled up and went outside to watch the scenic sailing on the way to the city. Strong winds almost blew us off of the deck. The rain was coming down heavy and the deck was about flooded. No wonder we had the entire deck six forward to ourselves. The bow was supposed to open at 9am, but the weather prevented it.
The airport was still operating despite the driving rain and winds. Strobe lights flashed on the runway as some commercial planes landed. We could see the floatplanes were grounded. We highly doubt that there will be any small planes flying over Misty Fjords, the wilderness adventure, or the bear adventure. Sadly in years past, there have been fatal accidents involving float planes here. You could not pay us enough to take one of those tours….good or bad weather.
The most-booked attractions here are the totem-carving tours and the lumberjack show. The Bering Sea Crab Fisherman (from the show Deadliest Catch) is very popular as well as any excursion that includes salmon, crab, or oyster tasting. The pub crawl is easy and fun too.
The only other ship here was the Grand Princess, which arrived an hour or so before us. Her passengers were pouring off in large groups heading for tours and shopping we assume. The Zaandam docked portside by 10:30am, but was not cleared until closer to 11am. It is always interesting watching the shoreside team with the ropes and maneuvering the gangway. There is a 16 foot tide fluctuation here, making the gangway steep. When it gets ridiculously steep, they opened deck A for easier access.
We left the ship around 12:30pm in the heaviest rain of the day. We have never been here when it rained so hard. Oh well, we had the hooded jackets, waterproof boots, and umbrellas, so the only part of us that got soaked were our jeans. A funny thing happened on our way down the gangway when a couple of grumpy old men warned us by saying, "Don't go to that crab place across the street. It was horribly salty and way too much money!" Really? Of course that was our lunch place, but we never order the King crab anyway. At $150 for two pounds of legs, that's is way too expensive.
One good thing about the rain was that the streets were not crowded, and walking Creek Street by the Ketchikan Creek was a piece of cake. Crossing Stedman Street Bridge, we noticed some harbor seals working the deep waters below us. The second funniest thing happened when a man and his wife said to us…..look at the walruses. Hmmm, wonder if they were on the town's pub crawl? Just kidding, but we did have to say we think those are seals. As far as we know, there are no walruses here.
The recent rains had the rapids in this creek rushing big time. The depth of the water and the brown tannic acid color made it hard to see the fish. Whatever had been dead on the banks were either washed away, or devoured by dozens of herring gulls. We watched the activity in the creek long enough to see at least three harbor seals forcing the salmon to jump by the dozens along the shallow banks. The gulls were right there to pick up possible scraps. Walking up the stairs of the boardwalk, we watched the fish ladder where some salmon were fighting their way up. We would say that the run of this variety of salmon is coming to an end. We think they are the pinks or humpy's. Going up to the next bridge, we saw a few locals fly-fishing. They did catch a few trout, but no salmon that we could see. Since the salmon are not biting now, the only way to catch them is snagging, which is legal for the locals.
There was no point going to the park or the Totem Heritage Center, because the rain never let up. Going to lunch sounded a lot better to us. Heading back to downtown, we went for lunch and ordered a salad and chicken tenders with the best honey-mustard and BBQ dip. Some guests sitting near us had ordered one King crab leg, which was quite large. It came with rice and veggies and cost $50. We enjoyed the draft beers and a shared slice of carrot cake. That is one dessert that we have not seen served on the ship so far. Since this was our last chance to get some room treats, we headed for the popcorn stand for 2 more bags of kettle and caramel popcorn. Checking out a few stores there, we did not see discounts like we saw in Juneau. They get the prize for the best sales this year.
The gangway had not been changed yet, so we hauled ourselves up the steep one to deck two. Those with walkers had lots of help from the attentive crew. I swear we left a trail of water on the way to our room. It would take all night for the jackets and jeans to dry.
The ship left after 6:30pm…in the rain. We found it strange that there was a wildlife spotting from 7 to 8:30pm from the Sea View deck. It was dark by then, so we don't get it. And it was cancelled anyway. Dinner time came quickly, and this evening was dressy. Another strange request when it had been a port day where we left late. Most folks ignored it anyway. We had one shrimp cocktail, a Caesar salad, pork schnitzel and a salmon plate. Skipped dessert since we had indulged at lunchtime. If we had stayed out and about until 9:30pm, there was another chocolate surprise on deck five. Chocolate, particularly dark chocolate keeps one of us awake at night. Not worth it. The entertainment was Humanity, another show we had seen numerous times. With the clocks going back one hour, we turned in right after dinner. One thing that is different with a seven day cruise compared to a 128 cruise, is that the guests squeeze every activity in every day and every night. Passing the Ocean Bar, we noticed there was not one empty seat. Probably the Have-It-All option contributes to the number of guests getting their quota for the day. Good for them.
Tomorrow we will be packing most of our things for a move to another room on deck six. That should be fun…… or not!
Bill & Mary Ann
