Whales & Waves

By: Samie

Travel Dates: July 13th-25th, 2025

Day 2

(Port Day in Ketchikan)

Compared to our first night on the ship, our second night on our time at sea was much less eventful. There were no blaring alarms or nighttime interruptions, and we got a full and uninterrupted nights sleep.

Instead of going down to breakfast and facing a potential herd of other passengers and morning people, we opted for the ship’s available and included room service breakfast option. A menu is included in the daily itineraries left in the room each day. You check your options and hang it on the door before midnight the night before, including what time within a certain window that you want breakfast delivered, and poof! Like magic, it arrives directly at your door the next morning, no line or waiting involved!

Luke and I wanted to try a little bit of everything, so we got a fruit platter, yogurt, pastry basket, cereal, and an American breakfast that came with bacon, eggs, sausage, and a hash brown. We also ordered coffee of course as well. If we didn’t feel like we were being treated like royalty already, we definitely did after having breakfast delivered to us essentially in bed!

While our ship docked in Ketchikan at 6:30 in the morning, it was not out goal to be the first one’s off the boat. We were fine with a slightly more relaxed start, and instead, disembarking at around 8:30. All aboard wasn’t until 2:30 that afternoon, so even when waiting an extra two hours after arrival, we were confident we would still have plenty of time to explore and enjoy Alaska’s first city!

Exiting the ship was a slight process. We followed the signage down to the level that would allow us to walk onto the pier. It was made very clear that we would need our room keys to board, and our faces were scanned similarly to how they were when we first embarked. The line was long, but it was a well-oiled machine, and we were through and on land in no time!

We were quickly greeted by a bustling street and great lines of shops and stores. We snapped our first picture on land since embarking and began to meander down the main street. We popped in to check out a couple of different gift shops, souvenir destinations, and local hot spots before making our way to the infamous Creek Street!

Creek Street is a historic boardwalk built on stilts over Ketchikan Creek. This area is known mostly for its past as a red-light district with saloons and brothels, including a brothel that was home to madam Dolly Arthur, which now houses a museum that offers a glimpse into the early 1900’s in Ketchikan, Alaska

While interesting, we weren’t inclined to explore the city’s more colorful past, and instead opted to weave through the more modern shops, restaurants, and galleries. The area is completely surrounded by nature and trees, so when not passing through quaint and colorful structures, we were walking through lush, green landscapes.

After exploring Creek Street, we continued our walking along the city’s salmon walk. Ketchikan is known as the Salmon Capital of the World. Ketchikan Creek is often a fantastic place to see salmon swimming upstream to spawn, even leading to a salmon ladder made for assisting in the fish’s migration. The walkway was absolutely stunning, and walking into a canopy of trees brought the toasty temperature down to a brisk and cool walking climate. It made for a very enjoyable and tranquil nature walk. We, however, did not spot a single salmon.

We continued our walk until we reached the Tlingit Totem Heritage Center, which houses one of the world’s largest collections of unrestored totem poles. The poles were recovered from uninhabited Tlingit settlements around the Ketchikan area. The center assists in preserving and promoting the traditions of the Tlingit peoples, as well as a few other smaller indigenous peoples of coastal Alaska.

We didn’t purchase a ticket to enter the Heritage Center, but if interested, admission is only $5 per person, and kids under 12 are free. Instead, we admired the totem poles placed outside and gave one last attempt to spot any salmon working their way up the creek, but we were once again unsuccessful.

Before making our way back in the direction of the ship, we popped into a nearby plaza, where we found a place that served coffee, and we were ready for a caffeine break! The place we found was called Polar Treats Espresso and Deli. They had more than just coffee, but we were aching for an extra burst of energy. We had been walking for the last hour and a half and were in the market for a quick boost before making the trek all the way back.

They had a display of some specialty drinks for the month, and the one that caught my eye was the peanut butter cookie iced latte. Luke opted for an iced caramel latte. We found an open table in the plaza, and all five of us huddled around it as we sipped at our refreshments.

I should also mention that while in Ketchikan, it was the first time we had internet or service in two days! This meant that during our time in between exploring, we were getting caught up on messages and whatnot. For me, whatnot meant doing my Duolingo, so when a picture was snapped during our rest and coffee break, it captured me getting my language practice in!

We began the journey back toward the ship, making more stops along the way. The first of which was in Ketchicandies, a local candy and sweet shop. If we weren’t already excited and, for lack of a better phrase, feeling like kids in a candy store, we were greeted by a cloud of bubbles signaling that we had arrived at our intended destination and that we were in for a good time.

The walls and shelves being filled with sweets of all kinds, from chocolate to gummies to hard candies to fudge was enough to make anyone’s mouths water. I have a delightfully unhealthy sweet tooth, so trying to decide on just one or two things to pick out was a spectacular challenge. With the help of my supportive husband, we settles on a small brick of chocolate pecan fudge and a bag of flavorful sugar jellies.

We continued on our way until we found ourselves in Eagle Park, aptly crowned with a large statue of an eagle, a very recognizable feature of the city and unmissable photo opportunity. We then continued along the tourist-focused street along the port where the cruise ships were docked. While mostly souvenir and, inexplicably, diamond shops, the buildings seemed charming and welcoming due to the surrounding tree-covered mountains and blue skies with the sun shining over it all.

Finally, we made our way around the docks and port, where there were gorgeous tile sculptures along the pilings. Then, it was time to make our way back onto the ship, at least for us. It wasn’t quite all aboard, or even cutting it close, but we’d had our fill and enjoyment of Ketchikan and were ready to enjoy some food.

The process to board was similar to our exiting routine. We used our room keys to first signal that we were, in fact, passengers of the ship and not freeloaders or stowaways. We then had our faces scanned by their tablets with the face recognition technology that we had extensively put in place when first boarding. Finally, we went through a mini security and baggage scanner.

Once back on board, we made our way to the Lido Deck for lunch. While unable to spot a salmon in the world’s salmon capital, I was still able to enjoy some salmon in Ketchikan, even it was just on our cruise ship.

After eating, we walked off our meal by doing laps and meandering onto the upper and outdoor decks of the ship. It was such a beautiful and sunny day that we wanted to soak up as much sunshine as possible since we knew we might not be as fortunate to be graced by the sun’s warmth during the remainder of our trip.

We looked out on the city from above and looked out along the waters before making our way back to our own cabins to soak up some sunshine from our own balconies. I grabbed the book I had brought with me that had been gifted to me by a student as an end of year present and read while I sunbathed.

While out on the balcony, I noticed an irregular splash. It’s hard to describe how it was irregular, but after seeing the massive ship send out cresting waves nonstop for the last two days, I could tell this one wasn’t being created by the ship. I rushed into the room to snap up my binoculars, and sure enough, what I was seeing was definitely not coming from the boat, but from a pod of creatures swimming just out beyond the reach of the ship!

I could hardly contain my excitement as I grabbed Luke and drew his attention to what I was seeing. The animals were only surfacing briefly as they swam along beside us, so it was hard to tell what they were. We saw flashes of black and white between splashes, so we thought it could be a pod of orcas, but their swimming patterns didn’t quite resemble how orcas swim, and they looked too small to be orcas. It instead, resembled how dolphins would swim, but that didn’t make sense with the colors we were seeing. We looked it up later, and learned that Alaskan porpoises are actually black and white, so that was definitely what we had spotted!

Because they were so fast, we weren’t able to successfully snap a good photo, but I did manage to get some videos that effectively capture what we were seeing from our point of view. It was a near-perfect way to spend an afternoon.

The afternoon flew by in a flash, and it was supper time before we knew it! We were excited to make our 5:00 dinner reservation in the dining room instead of the Lido Market after learning it was a much more peaceful and enjoyable atmosphere. This night wasn’t a dress up night, so we didn’t have to worry about getting all dolled up either. We just had to show up and be ready to enjoy!

Our options for starters for the night were seafood deviled eggs (smoked salmon, crab, and honey-mustard dressing), chicken and tabbouleh salad, crab cake, french onion soup, classic Caesar salad, arugula and pumpkin salad, and gold rush soup (fennel, yellow tomato, and creme fraiche).

Our options for mains were fresh cod with endive and caramelized orange, spaghetti aglio e olio, parmesan-coated veal loin, petite beef tender with creamed leeks and bacon, boneless beef short rib stroganoff, rustic home-made lasagna, turkey roast and cranberry, citrus Alaska salmon bowl, and chile rellenos.

To end it, our dessert options were strawberry crisp, red velvet cake, chocolate and whiskey torte, strawberry cream, an artisan cheese selection, smores sundae, or ice cream of the day.

My choices were the crab cake, fresh cod, and chocolate and whiskey torte. Luke went with the seafood deviled eggs, turkey roast, and strawberry crisp. Once again, everything was delightfully delicious!

After our meal, we spent the evening taking in the open sea as we had once again set sail. We watched the sun turn the waters from a gentle cerulean to a deep sea blue to a careless navy blue touched with the gold of the setting sun.

We enjoyed some of the sweets acquired from our day within the comfort of our cabin and in our pajamas. We put on a movie and got to spend the night winding down with relaxation and the comfort of knowing it was a day well-spent.

The second day of our cruise was our first port day, and the first port on our agenda? Ketchikan! The salmon capital of the world!