Ketchikan, Alaska Port Reviews

Lovely little town. We docked in the morning and I managed to have a nice walk around before the hoards flooded the town. No need to do a tour as you can walk around, up the streets etc, go to a local bar.

Ketchikan felt like the most "touristy" of all the ports we visited. Lots of trinkets and nick knack shops and last stop for Alaska souvenirs.

Visited: Jun 08, 2019

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We did the Zodiac Coastal excursion. Our guide had heard there was a whale near the ships so we started there instead of going further in. We got to see the whale many times and very close up. There were lots of eagles and the guide would throw fish so we saw up close the eagles swooping in to get the fish. My husband had a blast driving the boat. Our guide was excellent Afterwards we walked around down including Creek St which was great

Visited: Sep 07, 2019

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Fun, we walked to a lumber cutting and enjoyed the lumber cutters

Visited: Jul 06, 2002

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Misty Fjords NM boat cruise was very nice. Bit of a haul to get out there but we had incredible weather and it was gorgeous. Back in town walked around a bit including down the Creek Street shops. Some of the same type stores found in other ports line the pier areas but if you walk past those you can find some stores with local arts and carvings.

Very fun port. Lots of shopping here. Just walked around looking at what was in town. I enjoyed seeing all the cruise ships lined up here, I believe there were four.

Visited: May 26, 2018

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It seemed like we would have plenty of time in Ketchikan. Our schedule was 8 am to 6 pm but as it turned out we had to tender in so that took up a lot of time. There is room for four ships to dock but we had to anchor even though we arrived before two of the others. Some ports are all tenders but if you have a choice when choosing a cruise remember tendering means lines and lost time. We had no excursion booked so no priority. We didn't get off until 11am and there was still hundreds waiting for their turn. /// We took the public bus. Cost is $2 per trip or $5 for all day pass. The stop is right across the street. Look for bus sign or ask Information Booth or store clerk if you don't see it. You can download the bus schedule. It basically makes a one hour loop so whenever it let's you off somewhere it will be back in an hour. The public bus is always a good way to meet locals and get a sense of the place. We went north to Totem Bight Park, a recreated Indian village with totems, rain forest and tidal beach. Really neat. $5 entrance fee. Very educational and scenic. /// We planned to ride bus back south of town to Saxman, an active native village but we're running low on time. /// Asked local were to get off to walk to Creek Street. Had nice walk through neighborhood and across Married Man's Trail. The salmon we're not running yet -first week of July- unfortunately. Creek Street was cool. I was trying to catch up to my wife and walked in front of Dolly's Place alone. The tour guide of this famous bordello now museum, dressed as a lady of the night, stuck her head out the window and propositioned me, "Why don't you come in for a good time." I said, "Um, I'm married." "So am I" she said, "If you won't tell, I won't." /// Went to Alaskan Fish Co. for some salmon but they were out. How can the salmon capital of the world be out of salmon. Oh well, the halibut was good. Shopping by the pier was reasonable. Saw the same jacket for cheaper than San Francisco./// Of course it rained but it was light and didn't slow us down. Fun town!

We did the wildlife excursion, it was very good. The town is worth seeing too.

Visited: Jun 28, 2019

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My favorite port on this trip! Such a fun town! I headed out and had a few drinks with the locals. A great way to really learn about the town, it's culture and residents. Please drink responsibly :)

Visited: Jun 12, 2019

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Did the Deadliest Catch crab fishing boat tour. Unlike some other tours that feature young people as tour guides and/or folks that live here just in the summer, this was run by some retired commercial fishermen that had spent most of their lives on the water. I got the impression they were just having fun sharing what they love. They had great stories to tell and were very good about making sure everyone on board got to see, touch, hold all of the sea creatures. Also, a wonderful surprise was stopping to feed the birds and being joined by several bald eagles that swept in and picked up the fish right in front of us.

Visited: Aug 19, 2019

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