Alaska: Ketchikan

Our last stop was Ketchikan, another small city in the inside passage. We only had a few hours in Ketchikan and we spent it on a lumberjack show.

I wish I could provide more photos or footage of these lumberjacks, but that was prohibited. Basically it’s a bunch of guys doing lumberjack things, like running on top of a log in water or climbing up a tall tree log or cutting a log – you get the idea. It was a pretty fun show and they had it split up to be Canada vs. America in teams where the lumberjacks would compete in different activities.

Lumberjack show. My mom likes the guy on the left.

Aside from that, we did a bit of walking around the shops (same stuff – selling “gold” and rock jewelry).

Small town of Ketchikan.

For the rest of the way home, I mostly enjoyed the free movies offered in my cabin room and the jacuzzi spa. We watched a music show in the theatre, saw a classic band perform for a few minutes, gambled at a casino went to a free facial demo, watched a little bit of a cooking show but generally speaking most of the boat attractions were not very interesting to me.

Empty jacuzzi pool.

I would say this cruise is definitely more for older folks and maybe young parents (free childcare!). It definitely isn’t cheap since they automatically deduct a service fee every day you are on the cruise (for the workers who are working 24/7). There are additional fees everywhere you look like bringing your own wine.

I suppose one interesting thing is that they seem to be a bit more lax in terms of casino winnings – maybe it’s because we’re in open waters and we’re not sure which gambling rules to adhere to? Or we’re just really lucky.

View from the geothermal spa chairs as we get close to Vancouver.

If I was willing to spend a lot of money, I would have been interested in the helicopter ride, dogsledding, or kayaking near the glaciers. There was a train recommended by my coworker, but we preferred the private bus tour we had back in Skagway.

Back to warmer weather on the deck near Vancouver islands.

The cruise was relaxing and I don’t regret going. I would never go to Alaska otherwise. I had time to reconnect with my Hong Kong family, had unlimited food and access to a gym that I didn’t use.

Conclusion: 8 days was enough.

Sincerely, Loewe



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