Trip log, day three. A day of liquid sunshine in Ketchikan, Alaska.
9-Night Alaskan Cruise on Disney Wonder
July 17, 2024

Guests Ashore: 7:00 am Guests Onboard: 5:00 pm
Personal Navigator – Day 3

Today, I tried something different and headed to Cove Cafe for my morning coffee. The chairs were nice, but not really conducive to working. Emily likes when I choose this office, as she can stop in before and after her trip to the gym, but I much prefer working in the streetcar in French Quarter Lounge.

We were approaching the pier, I headed out to watch from the open decks. It was relatively quiet with little passenger activity, so I figured this was a better location to make a few necessary phone calls.

Before going ashore, I picked up the depleted battery pack to charge back up ahead of our visit to the glacier tomorrow. I was initially skeptical, but the Anker power bank usb battery exceeded my expectations allowing me to create the time-lapse I posted in the day 2 trip log which I started in Vancouver and spanned over 24-hours!

The plan for today was to head ashore and on a little walking tour of Ketchikan. This remains the only port of call on the Alaskan sailings we have not done an official or even third party excursion. There is enough to see, shop, and eat in the port area which is all within walking distance of the ship.

In typical Ketchikan fashion, it was a day of liquid sunshine. Ketchikan is one of the rainiest cities in America and receives in the range of 140 to 160 inches/year – 261% more rain than the national average. We were prepared with rain gear, but we chose to not pack waterproof shoes. On previous trips to Alaska, we brought hiking boots or Columbia waterproof shoes, which kept our feet dry. Well, we didn’t have any plans to go off pavement this trip so we opted to lighten our suitcases and leave the boots at home. Emily had trail shoes, and her shoes stayed dry.

Since Ketchikan is no stranger to rain, most of the shops along the waterfront have awnings over the sidewalk and there are buildings with large individual or interconnected shops and restaurants to keep visitors out of the elements.

I think Scar said it best… When cruising to Alaska, be prepared. This goes beyond having rain gear and adequate footwear, I highly recommend mentally preparing for the worst conditions and not letting the weather impact your time ashore. This is actually a pro tip I’d recommend for any port of call. Who knows when you may return, so get out there and experience the port for the few hours before the all aboard time.

We headed out to the furthest point of our little walking tour, the Salmon Ladder. We did not see a salmon run occurring, but there were a couple fisherman in the creek. Technically, we did see one salmon that likely made a delicious meal later that evening for the fisherman to whom this salmon belonged to.

The trial was mostly under a tree canopy keeping marginally dryer than out in the open. We set forth back down the trail, which is comprised of an elevated walkway and stairs, to walk around the Creek Street shops where we ducked in and out of the shops. 

There was one shop that caught my eye. I spotted what the Perfect Partners shop claims to be the world’s 3rd largest Matrix Opal. Discovered in 1978 at the Andamooka Opal Fields in South Australia, this approximately 135 million years old and found in South Australia in 1978 and weighs 10,900 carats. No idea if this is for sale or not, but will set you back $218,000 based on the listed $20/carat value on the sign.

Depending on your port time, Ketchikan has a movie theatre within walking distance to the ship. Currently, it looks like the easiest showings at Coliseum Theatre are around 4PM, but this is an option if you are in port late. If anything, it is a nice option for crew with time off to see a first run film from other studios on those later port days.

We were walking to a lunch spot and stopped at Ketchi Candies on our way. We have been waiting to stop here after discovering the shop closed/out to lunch during our last visit. The candy shop offers a variety of chocolates and other treats. We left with a few goodies, including a box of assorted chocolates, freeze-dried duck farts, freeze-dried Nerds and a huckleberry lollipop.

Initially, we were headed to 108 Tap House & Burger Bar for lunch, but there was no way we could all be seated together in a timely fashion since we had a party of 11. Instead, we walked another block down Main Street to the Alaskan Fish House, which was also packed, so we headed to Ketchikan Crab & Go. We have actually eaten here before, on our last stop in 2019. We arrived at a great time, it was only about 15 minute wait and we were all seated together. I hear the Dungeness crab melt was delicious and I enjoyed the halibut.

The restaurant was located in the large 2-story in the Salmon Landing Market building with interconnected shops. You can find public restrooms on the second floor, and this is a great building to escape the rain with a variety of retail shops including a few other food & beverage options.

After lunch, the rest of our group headed back to the ship and we headed back out to grab some bags of Orca Corn which I highly recommend. Not only is the popcorn a delicacy, they sift the popcorn to remove the kernels leaving fully popped popcorn! Since our last visit, there has been a reduction of flavor offerings to just plain, kettle and carmel. There is a stand closer to berth 1 that offered additional flavors, but we have never tried that spot, and have always enjoyed our purchases from Orca Corn. We even brought a couple bags back to Florida for friends.

I stopped at another regular stop for me in Ketchikan, a small liquor store on the waterfront to look for some beer. I found a limited offering from Alaskan Brewing – Rocky Coast Double IPA, which is not one of the Alaskan beers available onboard. I’m happy to report there was a plentiful supply of Alaskan Brewing beers, and even some of the seltzers available onboard the Disney Wonder.

It was that time of the day where Isabelle and I started to think about how nice it would have been if we had dry shoes. Well, we stopped in a few more shops looking for some shoes. We did find one shop, but decided not to get them. Then I remembered there was a Salvation Army store down by Dolly’s at the end of Creek Street. However, upon arrival, we learned the store is closed on Wednesdays and Saturdays, which is unfortunate because when I peered inside the window, I spotted a couple containers full of shoes and boots with a sign: $2/pair.

After consulting with the radar, we accepted the fact that the rain was not letting up. It was actually starting to pick up a little bit more, so was time to head back to the ship. We dried out, and managed to dry out our shoes with the stateroom hair dryer. Will I bring waterproof shoes the next time we cruise Alaska? Well, just like this time, it depends on our plans. I can live with wet shoes if we are walking around the streets in port, but if we are planning to hike say at Mendenhall Glacier, I’d bring appropriate footwear.

Isabelle went out the deck 4 to read, and I eventually joined her to see the long line of passengers returning from what we guess was a whale watching excursion. Although it was nearing the all aboard time of 5PM, the line stretched down the pier. Thankfully, we did not see any dock runners.

We took advantage of the opportunity to take some pictures overlooking Ketchikan from deck 4.

This is us, literally chilling on deck 4. During our last 2 Alaskan voyages, there were always blankets available on the loungers. This cruise, they were exclusive to the pool deck by the towels. We ended up keeping a few in our stateroom for quick trips out to deck 4.

Tonight we are headed to dinner in New Orleans. Tonight, Tiana’s Place was serving the Princess menu featuring regional inspirations.

Near the end of our dinner, our server noticed we have been ordering a lot of the vegetarian dishes and asked if we’d like to have a selection of vegetables prepared each night for the remainder of the cruise. This is the first time we’ve been offered something like this and we didn’t even hesitate to accept the offer. When our server delivered dessert, he told us he put in the order. However, we had to let him know we would not be attending dinner tomorrow, but would love the veggies on the following night! 

Dinner service improved, but we still arrived in Crown & Fin after the start of 50s & 60s Music Trivia. Although a lot of the tunes were familiar, actually more familiar than a lot of the modern music trivia clips, I really struggled coming up with artist names.

After everyone cleared out after trivia, I spotted a something shiny shoved between the cushion and arm of a chair near the portholes in Crown & Fin. It was a zero-proof menu which is available at all of the lounges onboard.

Available is relative. It was by luck that I spotted this menu before the servers cleaned up following trivia. Even on following nights, we had to ask for the menu. It was not out even at the bar; not sure why it is not out in the open for guests to discover and browse. Currently, each lounge only had 2 of these menus. 1 to circulate and 1 they try to keep at the bar. In all fairness, the menu is listed in the app, but then again, you will only see it if you go hunting for it.

I’m jumping ahead a bit, but while on the subject, it is worth mentioning there are a number of folks with us that do not drink alcohol and for the most part have been enjoying the offerings from this zero-proof menu.

Everyone, including Isabelle has been enjoying the zero-proof options such as the Lyre’s Amalfi Spritz which is relatively to source at home via Amazon. Isabelle has never been a drinker of the cloyingly sweet sugary juice ‘mocktails,’ so these are right up her alley.

Time to rest up for tomorrow, which is slated to be a very relaxing day of viewing a glacier from the comforts of deck 4. Best way to relax on a cruise ship is to be rested.

Complete Trip Log Index

• Pre-Cruise – ✈️ Travel Day from Orlando, Florida to Vancouver, British Columbia & Pre-Cruise Day in Vancouver
• Day 1 – Vancouver, Canada
• Day 2 – At Sea
• Day 3 – Ketchikan, Alaska
• Day 4 – Glacier Viewing (Stikine Icecap), Alaska
• Day 5 – Juneau, Alaska
• Day 6 – Icy Strait Point, Alaska
• Day 7 – Sitka, Alaska
• Day 8 – At Sea
• Day 9 – Victoria, Canada

We love it if you considered joining us on our next DCL Blog Cruise in May 2025 as we sail from cay to cay. We will be returning to The Bahamas visiting both Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay. Click here to learn more.