SUPER ALASKA CRUISE
L. Day 6: Ketchikan
Some time over the night, our ship, the Norwegian Wind, passed the Volendam. When I went outside we were sailing down a narrow channel with the Volendam following behind us (and would dock a few minutes after we did). As we got closer to Ketchikan, there were more houses on the shores and more boats on the water. An interesting sight is the Ketchikan Airport. It is located on the other side of the channel from Ketchikan and the only way to get there in a wheeled vehicle or by foot is by way of a dedicated car ferry. In addition, the runway is uphill from the terminal, which means that airplanes must taxi uphill to get to the runway. We saw an Alaska Airlines 737 take off.
The Ketchikan area is relatively populous by Alaskan standards with a population of just under 30 thousand. Ketchikan is known for its abundant rainfall averaging 154 inches a year and it is technically in a rain forest. Major industries in Ketchikan include timber, fishing, and tourism.
The area where the cruise ships dock (downtown Ketchikan) is filled with many tourist-oriented shops. In the downtown area there is a museum that I was told was worth visiting, a lumberjack show, and historic Creek Street, the historic red-light district. Creek Street did not seem like that big a deal, considering that it is touted in tourist and cruise ship brochures as a major attraction of the city.
Upon arrival in Ketchikan the Holland America ‘Nieuw Amsterdam’ was already in port. The Nieuw Amsterdam, which suffered a fire on or about May 23, 2000, showed no signs of damage. {Note: This is the last season that the Nieuw Amsterdam will be sailing Alaskan waters. At the end of the 2000 Alaska cruise season, ownership of the Nieuw Amsterdam will be transferred to the United States Lines (www.unitedstateslines.com ), (purchased for $114 million) and will be sailing as the US flagged ‘Patriot’ through Hawaiian waters. (Note: This was done in accordance with the U.S.-Flag Cruise Ship Pilot Project Statute passed by Congress in 1997 [PL 105-56 Section 8109] (link with more pictures), which allows the United States Lines to purchase a foreign made vessel and use it between US ports (the Jones act does not allow foreign constructed ships to do this) if it places orders for two US built cruise ships. Construction on the first ship, a 1900 passenger 72,000-ton vessel, began on June 30, 2000 and is scheduled to be completed in 2003.}
The weather for the visit to Ketchikan was beautiful. It was in the low 60s and sunny. In Ketchikan I took the ‘George Inlet Mountain Bike Ride’ excursion. The excursion consisted of a bus ride south along the costal road, past where the pavement ends and the road turns to gravel, to a waterside overlook on the side of the road. There we met our guides who were finishing off a tour with passengers from the Nieuw Amsterdam. We were fitted with helmets, gloves and pants cuff clips and given water bottles (with water) to keep (if the weather was different we wound have been fitted with rain pants and jackets). The bicycles are 21 speed mountain bikes with shock absorber suspensions, soft seats, and knobby tires. We were fitted on the bikes, given safety instructions and rode off with two guides. One of the guide’s bike’s had a trailer behind it where they carried supplies including fruit bars to snack on and jackets in case it rained. We could also store our own jackets there if we got too hot.
This excursion consisted of a 2 to 2 ½ hour ride along the gravel costal road (there was very little traffic) sheltered by trees. Since the road has a rolling terrain, this ride was relatively strenuous, though most of the riders could handle it. During the ride we visited a salmon hatchery were given a tour by our guides who also explained the salmon’s life cycle and the mechanics and economics of operating the hatchery.
Since the ride was along the coast, there were many costal overlooks with views of the water. This excursion was OK, though a Kayaking trip would have been more fun. When we arrived back to where we started, the next group of passengers had arrived for their tour.
On the van ride back to the ship the driver told us about living in Ketchikan, and since she grew up as a military child all over the country, how Alaskan life is different. On the way back she took us on a tour through the downtown area.
At the docks I noted that the Dawn Princess was anchored in the water a few hundred yards away from the other cruise ships. Passengers were being tendered to and from the ship on motorized life boats designed for this purpose. At times I noted that there were long lines of people on the dock waiting for the tenders. I guess there were also lines of people on the ship waiting to get off.
In the afternoon I wandered throughout Ketchikan and purchased tourist stuff in the shops. Ketchikan is another place where the coupon books picked up when initially boarding the ship can be used. You can buy inexpensive post cards and videotapes of Alaska, just in case your pictures do not turn out as desired or if it rained too much, as well as other souvenirs.
The Norwegian Wind departed at 5PM and the Volendam and the Dawn Princess literally followed us out of the harbor while the Nieuw Amsterdam had departed earlier in the day.
E-Mail Me With Your Comments, Suggestions, Pictures, etc at:
Links to other pages in the Super Alaska Cruise web site