Contrary
to what most people think, the ports that cruise ships visit don't
matter at all.
Take this trip. We start and end in Vancouver, and in between that stop at Sitka, Hoonah, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Victoria. There are also three "sea" days.
On the port days, many if the ship facilities are running in a reduced fashion, and there are hardly any activities at all.
On sea days, everything is in full swing. Every venue is running and fully staffed, and there are activities galore. Although the little towns are fine, I prefer the fully-operating-ship experience a great deal more.
*****
Disaster on board at 5am. No coffee. These people are dead to me. A failure of epic proportion.
Today it's Ketchikan, which vies with Skagway as my favourite Alaskan stop. It all depends on my mood.
They have the finest tourist junk-n-tshirt shop. It's really big, with an equally big upstairs where none of the stuff is tourist related at all. It's all sporting goods, quality clothing, and workman's wear.
The old downtown is nice, and we walk through it both ways getting to Creek Street. That's where the hookers used to be, but it's all gussied up for tourists now. The buildings are on pilings over the local river, which is usually packed with salmon.
A fun town, and all accessible right off of the cruise ship dock. No busing required.
On a normal, one-week cruise we would already be unloading back in Vancouver. We still get a full day here in Ketchikan, then a ship day, and a day in Victoria. This 10-day trip is much better. I'm not ready for things to be over just yet.
Take this trip. We start and end in Vancouver, and in between that stop at Sitka, Hoonah, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Victoria. There are also three "sea" days.
On the port days, many if the ship facilities are running in a reduced fashion, and there are hardly any activities at all.
On sea days, everything is in full swing. Every venue is running and fully staffed, and there are activities galore. Although the little towns are fine, I prefer the fully-operating-ship experience a great deal more.
*****
Disaster on board at 5am. No coffee. These people are dead to me. A failure of epic proportion.
Today it's Ketchikan, which vies with Skagway as my favourite Alaskan stop. It all depends on my mood.
They have the finest tourist junk-n-tshirt shop. It's really big, with an equally big upstairs where none of the stuff is tourist related at all. It's all sporting goods, quality clothing, and workman's wear.
The old downtown is nice, and we walk through it both ways getting to Creek Street. That's where the hookers used to be, but it's all gussied up for tourists now. The buildings are on pilings over the local river, which is usually packed with salmon.
A fun town, and all accessible right off of the cruise ship dock. No busing required.
On a normal, one-week cruise we would already be unloading back in Vancouver. We still get a full day here in Ketchikan, then a ship day, and a day in Victoria. This 10-day trip is much better. I'm not ready for things to be over just yet.
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