Ketchikan question for those who've been there

[AmberCascades]

Hello,

 

We are going to be in Ketchikan at the end of August from 2:00 p.m. till 8:30 p.m. Besides exploring Creek Street we also wanted to check out the Totem Heritage Museum and possibly the Alaska Discovery centre. We are also, currently, booked on a duck tour that goes from 2:30 till about 4. From what I can tell, the museums in town close at 5:00. That will leave us barely any time to check out one of the museums. Should we cancel the duck tour? We thought it would be a good way to get an overview of everything and then go back and look around. But will anything still be open after 5 or 6 p.m. or will we just be wandering around deserted (but for our fellow cruise passengers) streets?

 

Words of wisdom from those with experience in this port would be appreciated.

[Budget Queen]

Well you are going to have to choose. The Duck tour, drive by, is easily walkable, if of interest. Why not see if there is a late duck tour? They do have a direct web site.

[mapleleaves]

Switch to the 4:30pm duck tour if there's space available. That will give you 2 hrs for your priorities in town.

 

After the tour, have dinner, then go out to Totem Bight. It's several miles from town, no admission fee. Bus, taxi or rental car. Explore the grounds (print the interpretative brochure to take with) then walk down to the water .

[AmberCascades]

Thank you both. There is nothing later re the Duck Tour. If we hoof it we should be able to check out one of the other places (the one with the totem poles inside sounds very interesting). Another poster somewhere else said places stay open as long as ships are in port. However, I'm guessing the people who work at these places have families and lives away from tourists and aren't necessarily interested in following tourist whims. :) I don't remember which port(s) they might have been referring to.

[mapleleaves]

Check the Ducks tour frequently, or call them .. people will cancel and you can grab their spaces.

 

Totems can be seen at any hour in town or at the Bight so it makes sense to visit sights/activities in town that won't be available after 5pm. Keep in mind that you will have lots of daylight so in the evening you can do the town walking tour or Totem Bight. http://www.experienceketchikan.com/things-to-do-in-alaska.html

[Budget Queen]

Thank you both. There is nothing later re the Duck Tour. If we hoof it we should be able to check out one of the other places (the one with the totem poles inside sounds very interesting). Another poster somewhere else said places stay open as long as ships are in port. However, I'm guessing the people who work at these places have families and lives away from tourists and aren't necessarily interested in following tourist whims. :) I don't remember which port(s) they might have been referring to.

 

The "places" are stores.

 

Although there are Totem Bight recommendations above, the Blue bus, doesn't run real late, so have cab phone numbers with you, if you wish to stay past the running times. You do need to allow 3 hours, if you go there.

[rditton]

The two museums you mentioned (Totem Heritage Center & Southeast Alaska Discovery Center) do close at 5pm. If you stick to your current plan, I would suggest hoofing it to the SEAK Discovery Center which is only a couple short blocks away from where the Duck Tour departs, the Totem Heritage Center is much further away. (I'm assuming you're coming in on a Friday on the Century Cruise Ship? If so, you will be parked at Berth #3 and the SEAK Discovery Center is approx 2 Cruise Ship Lengths away).

 

Regarding the Duck Tour - are you 'sure' there is nothing later? Check their availability calendar for the date you are in town - they 'usually' run at least a 3:00 or 3:30, maybe even 4:0 departure on Fridays. As BudgetQueen mentioned, you can check with them directly for times/tickets.

 

The shopping stores will stay open as long as there is a ship in town.

 

Enjoy!