June 18, 2026 Ketchikan, Alaska

Our destination today was Ketchikan, Alaska. It is known as the “Salmon Capital of the World”. It is the rainiest town in Southeast Alaska, averaging over 200 inches. Travelling north from Canada or one of the lower 48 states Ketchikan is Alaska's "First City” to cruisers. It is the first destination of the American Inside Passage where the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures are highlighted. Ketchikan boasts that it has the world's largest collection of Pacific Northwest totem poles. Here you can see the cultures and artwork of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian, who have traded with each other and been stewards of the land for over 13,000 years before the arrival of Europeans. Ketchikan is surrounded by the Tongrass National Forest.

We slept in this morning. The ship was scheduled to arrive in Ketchikan at 11 a.m. At 7:30 a.m., the temperature was 11°C, there was lots of blue sky, with a few clouds and the wind was about 14 km/hour. The ship was travelling at its cruising speed of 19 knot (about 35 km/hour). Our last two visits to Ketchikan (2001 & 2023) were partially rainy days. We took excursions out of town and did not have time to explore the town.

We knew that all of the berths would taken with four cruise ships, Royal Princess, Discovery Princess, Viking Venus and Holland America Eurodam. Our ship had to anchor and tender the passengers to the pier for the first two or so hours. Royal Princess departed in the early afternoon, so after 2 p.m. our ship was moored at its pier. The Cruise director, Rebekah Law, announced 45 minutes earlier than planned that the tender operations was starting. The boat ride was less than five minutes. The dock was near the Information Center on Front Street, where we picked up a copy of the 2026 Official Historic Ketchikan Walking Tour Map just before 11 a.m. Claire realized that she had forgotten her GPS device so we did not get a map of our wandering route.

We started the slight incline up Mission Street walking under the Welcome to Ketchikan arch to find the entrance to historic Creek Street, a boardwalk built over Ketchikan Creek, with houses hugging the rock face, which 100 year ago featured thriving saloons, brothels and gambling houses that had nearly disappeared in the 1950s. (1 km) We spotted the four person cable car that lead to the entrance of the Cape Fox Lodge, about 20 meters above, overlooking a steep cliff.

We found the beginning of the Salmon Run walkway which followed Ketchikan Creek on the northern edge of the town and began an uphill stretch. It ended by the Totem Heritage Center. (3 km) By the creek, standing near its edge, by the short Salmon Row bridge, were two young deer. There were people sitting on benches within two meters of them and many people walking closer to take pictures. The deer just walked away when they decided it was time to leave. It was our closest wildlife exposure of the whole trip. We continued toward the waterfront and passed the Sun Raven totem pole at East Street. Nearby, at Pier 1, was the Holland America ship Eurodam which we will be sailing on next April.

We continued toward the eastern side of Waterfront Promenade, along Thomas Street then Steadman Street, Mill Street and back to Front Street. It was close to 1 p.m. and we wanted to find a coffee shop which also had Wi-Fi and pastry. We searched on several street, but most had no seating and no pastry. Finally across from the Tunnel, at By the Blue we found a selection of parties and coffee and access to internet for 15 minutes each. However, having been told the the signal was not strong, after trying with five different access codes which would not allow the upload of the blog text, the manager allowed us to access her personal Hotspot. It was a great fast connection. Allowing text and pictures to be uploaded at a good speed.

We had our break and proceeded to follow the Newtown and Westend walking map. Newtown was cut off by a rock knob from Downtown Ketchikan. But a rickety pedestrian boardwalk was built in the early 20th century to connect the two neighbourhoods. Finally in 1954, a tunnel was blasted through “The Rock”. It is the only tunnel in the world which can be driven through, driven around and driven over (on the street above it) according to Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Again we began an uphill trek that gave us views of the harbour and the interesting design of houses built on stilts against sheer rock walls. (3 km) The route flattened then went downhill to Tongass Avenue and the western side oh the Waterfront Promenade. We found Ketchicones and bought ice cream in a cup and sat on their patio with a view of the harbour by our ship and watching seaplanes landing on the water. The walk back to the ship, now moored at Berth 4, was less than five minutes. The line for ship’s security was short. We were back in our stateroom by 3 p.m. We had walked more than 10 kilometres in the past four hours.

We read our library book before getting ready for a Seafood Boil dinner on Deck 9 in Lido restaurant. A section of the restaurant had been defined for the event. Inside the rolled napkin were a knife, fork and soup spoon, plus crab crackers and a kind of hook tool to dig out flesh from the crab legs. The menu started with seafood chowder. Our server then delivered large paper bibs. She then brought a small stewing pot each. One of the lids served to gather the shells of the seafood. The stewing pot contained six each of shrimp, clams, mussels and large crab legs four chunks of potato and half of a corn cob, split in two pieces, in a creamy broth. There was room for a small blueberry crisp for desert. That was a nice meal to enjoy with a window seat overlooking the harbour.

After dinner we enjoyed the music of the Vivace trio of a violinist, cellist and pianist in the Ocean Bar. The ship departed Ketchikan around 7 p.m. The route was south and a bit east at a speed of 15 knots. The water to the north, south and east of Haida Gwaii, (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) is known as the Great Bear Sea (also known as the Northern Shelf Bioregion) part of the Inside Passage. Departing Ketchikan, the ship entered the Dixon Entrance at the north end of Haida Gwaii, then overnight will travel travel into Hecate Strait continuing through Queen Charlotte Sound. By midnight, we will be in Canadian waters passing Prince Rupert to the east on the northern mainland coast of British Columbia, to the west will be the large island of Haida Gwaii. It’s western coast is on the Pacific Ocean.

The 8 p.m. show in the World Stage was a performance by Canadian comedian, Mike Delamont.

Tonight was Orange Night, a salute to the Dutch origins of Holland America. After the comedy show, in the B.B. King’s Blues Club, was the Guests vs. Officers Trivia music game, the preliminary activity before the Orange Party. One of the officers was Yvonne, a communications officer, whom we met on the Noordam during our December and January Australia and South Pacific cruise. We chatted with her after the trivia game. The ship’s dancers did a dance routine followed by people joining in, then three line dances that began with the Macaraina. Then the Orange Party began in earnest with music by the B.B. KIng’s Blues Club band.

Total steps = 19,017 Flights of stairs, which includes inclines during our walk = 44