LEGEND ALASKA July 31, 2018 Photo Review

Ketchikan, Alaska 7:00 am - 1:00 pm I really enjoyed this port. We did not do an excursion, we walked around with specific places we wanted to see. We did go a little farther out to the salmon ladders/river area because it wasn't that far once we got there and ended up seeing a lot of the places on the 'walking tour', even thought we didn't follow that. You can get a map at the visitors center but I also printed one from a google search before we went. I had considered a trip to see totem poles at Saxman Village or Totem Bight but was worried about our short port time & maybe not getting to see anything else. In the end, we called a taxi to take us to Saxman Village, about 5 miles outside of town. I'd read that you could walk to it along the waterfront but I would not. The taxi guy gave us his card so when we were done, we could call for a pick up. We only needed about 30 minutes to see the poles, carving shed, etc. We did not stay to see a native dance. The taxi brought us back into town and dropped us off at Annabelle's. It is down the cruise pier past the Welcome Visitor's Centers on the right hand side. It was really good. We were afraid we'd not get our food in time to get back to the ship by 12:30 so ordered a couple of appetizers instead. It was quick, and I think we would have had a meal in time. We sat down at 11:00ish and had plenty of time to be back to the ship.

The red, blue, & green buildings in the background are Creek Street. Not far from the pier.

"Whale Park" along the way to Creek Street from the ship.....

Most of the shops on Creek Street were not open. Not sure if it's because it was Sunday or if it was because it was 7:00 am. (On a Sunday). We made a quick pass through & went up to see the totem poles at Cape Fox.

We walked over to the Funicular that takes you up the hill to Cape Fox Lodge to see the totem poles. There was a note on it that said "Out of Order 7:00 - 1:00". Hmmmm. Convenient that those were the exact hours our ship was in port. We took the trail and walked - climbed A LOT of stairs to get there.

Where you enter the Funicular to go down the hill....

We walked down the road from the Lodge and around the corner towards the Salmon Ladders on the walking map.

Shallow creek that runs through, there are places you can walk down to the water. People were carrying fishing gear, lots of locals but also tourists who had rented it somewhere near.

There were a lot of large salmon and also these babies if you looked really close.

This is where the shallow creek runs into the one that goes down through Creek Street

Cape Fox Lodge from town

Another photo of "Whale Park"

Shopping note: Sockeye Salmon (and other kinds) were sold everywhere. We had samples on the glacier cruise and it was for sale, $12.95 a box. Here at this store.....the same size/kind was 2 for $12.95. I also had planned to buy a totem pole to bring home. Real wood carved ones about 2-3 foot tall were anywhere from $200-$800. I saw one in Juneau somewhere for $33 and should have bought it.

Saxman Village - the taxi picked us up by the visitor's center. One was parked off to the side. It was $12 and took about 10 minutes. Entrance was $5 I think. They also have a pamphlet for $3 that tells all about the totem poles. There is a small souvinier store that also has a full color guide for $20.

Some of the shops around have color photo books (reminds you of children's books) of totem poles, Native people, Alaska in general, etc. They're about $4. I brought back a coloring pack for $2 that had a totem pole in it, the totem pole book, and totem poles (about a 2" size) for $2 for all my preschool kids. We talked about totem poles telling a story, what parts mean, etc. They colored their own & we talked about how they got the colors (berries, etc) and then gave them the little one to take home. Good activity and didn't cost me much at all. I also got a Native people book to go with the Eskimo dolls I'd bought earlier to bring home to some little girls. These things came from Juneau. I got the books in Skagway back by the snow blower train replica. Ketchikan had the best shopping.

You can pay for an excursion - which includes a guide, a tour of the carving house, and a native dance. We just wandered around on our own and looked in the windows of the carving shed.

This is what the entrance looks like if you're driving down the road.

We called the taxi, waited about 15 minutes, and they picked us up at the gate. We had them drop us off at Annabelle's.

The beer sampler of Alaska Beers. Can't remember how much it was - $10 maybe ?

Bacon wrapped scallops & coconut shrimp appetizers. They were SO good. Lots on the menu and fast.

We walked back to the ship, window shopping along the way. We walked by one store that had Alaska appliqued hoodies for $20. It was the same material as UnderArmour Storm and in a burnout pattern. Really nice. Lots of 4 for $20 tshirts too in most of the ports.

We went up to the Lido deck for sail away. They did play music , opened the covered pool area, and had an ice carving demonstration. I had a taco salad from the Blue Iguana (you can get a plate of white rice from the buffet & they'll put toppings on it too if you prefer), my husband went to Guy's Burgers. We did not have any trouble finding deck chairs along the side or anywhere.

Enjoying your review.....makes me want to book another Alaska cruise. It's been several years (review in sig). Love your info and pics.

I am loving these photos! Alaska looks so beautiful! Hopefully, I will make it there on one of my cruises. Cant wait to read more of your review! Fabulous!

Originally posted by CheckersMidwest

Did you happen to bring the fun times home with you? I am trying to plan events that don’t conflict with these talks.

realent: You know how there's always multiple things going on at different places on the ship all day? And some people make firm plans about one event or another, while others just wander around and look at the fun times from time to time and say "oh, this starts in 15 minutes, let's do it"? We're a mix of both and the best way I can think of classifying the naturalist as an "event" is that like CheckersMidwest said, "Really pay attention" - because the naturalist talk events are fascinating, but the naturalist will be talking all day, more than the cruise director, and you have to be listening at all times, and be prepared to quickly abandon whatever you're doing at the time when you hear the naturalist say things like "...up ahead on the right, at the small sandy beach below the cliff, you can see a grizzly bear and her cub on the water's edge"... if you don't get to a prime viewing place within a minute or two, you probably will looking at a bear's butt 'cuz we will have passed her. The other thing is Alaska is so amazing that you will spend much more time at front of ship (windy!) or side of the ship just gawking at Alaska. It's not like Caribbean where much of time is spent at sea and it all looks the same. While cruising Alaska, much of the sea time provides ever-changing but constant stunning beauty and this is one of the best things about Alaska cruising.

CheckersMidwest: your pictoral review is amazing! Great photos and brings it back to life for us THANKS SO MUCH.

The last day was basically a sea day. This was our anniversary ! We had a 5:30 dinner reservation at the Steakhouse. I had trouble with our reservation - I booked it back in Feb 2017, so the confirmation email said Aug 6 2017. Wrong year. I didn't notice until I was reviewing all our documents a few days before the cruise. I emailed the steakhouse again and filled out the online link in My Cruise Details but did not hear anything. I messaged John Heald and asked him to check on it for me since it was so close to sailing. He said not to worry, he would forward the information to the ship. I double checked on embarkation day and our reservations was ok. I asked for a table by the window since it was our anniversary. When we got there, it was not at all crowded. Maybe 3 or 4 other couples there the whole time we were and we did get a window table. The food was wonderful. At the end, they brought us a complimentary Marzipone dessert. It was SO good. I'm not sure if it was from the steakhouse for our anniversary or if John Heald arranged it. Either way, it was greatly appreciated.

We were in Victoria, Canada that night from 7:30-midnight. Only a few excursions to choose from and I wasn't sure how dark it would be. We booked the horse drawn trolley. It took us around basically the same walking tour that was suggested except the trolley driver talked the entire time. She told us about history, what we were seeing, etc. There are a lot of historic homes. We rode past the capitol, the marina, lots of historic buildings, a park with ducks & peacocks, grassy preserved areas, flowers, etc. If you walk the same route, there are human rickshaws, carriage rides for 2 or 4 people, a few shops, etc. There weren't a lot of stores. There is one souviner shop at the port. It had clothes, tea, regular gift items and miniature china tea sets.

It was chilly once the sun started to set. The trolley supplied wool blankets for everyone.

These are individual garden spots. I think they belong to people who live in the neighborhood.

The dark brown/gray oval plaque on the front of houses & buildings indicates it is a historical building.

My pictures did not turn out so well here. The trolley was not moving fast, but fast enough everything blurred. I switched to the sport setting but if I took a picture from the side of something up close it still did not work. I advise to take pix of things ahead of you or just behind. Maybe sit in the back row.

The properties were very well maintained and had really nice landscaping.

These were available to rent when you get to the busier part of town by the marina & capitol.

So these were real.......sometimes they had 2 or 3 people in them. The 'driver' was talking when we passed them, I think narrating along the way. Have no idea where you get them or what they cost.

This photo is super blurry - but look at those flowers !! Again, sit in the back so you can take pix of things ahead or you or turn around and take it behind you. I was on the outside but things were blocked until they were right next to us.

*Book Mark* Thanks for the review of Alaska. We leave next Sat. 25th for our two week Journey's cruise aboard the Carnival Splendor.

I turned and took this pix behind me and used sport mode on the camera.

I took the same pix and then cropped/zoomed after I got home. Good way to save those pix that might otherwise be too far or not centered because you're on the move.

They said this was the Washington Mountain range.

When you first get off the ship, there are maps available here. I looked for one for our scrapbook when we came back through and they were all gone.