Ketchikan & VIctoria

07.17.2015

Thursday morning when we woke, we were in Ketchikan. We were at a new dock, further north of where we have docked before. The weather was dry, a first for us since we've been told it rains 100 inches yearly, almost every day. We walked around and found a store with internet so we could post the last blog entry. The internet on the ship is horrible. When we went around South America earlier this year we didn't have the trouble that we have had this time in Alaska. We still haven't had cell phone service either.

Yesterday when we were in Glacier Bay we found that the open air food venues on the ship (barbeque, pizza, ice cream, etc.) didn't have the usual paper napkins that they usually have. There was so much concern that one might go overboard and disturb the eco systems, that they put cloth napkins out.

Thursday, the four of us started out walking around the town of Ketchikan, then headed our separate ways, meeting back at the ship for sail away shortly after 1 pm. We were all supposed to be back on board by noon. About 12:40 there was an announcement naming six people that were not accounted for, asking them to call into passenger services immediately. About 10 minutes later the same announcement. Shortly after 1 pm from our balcony we saw a couple run up to the gangway. They were the lucky ones, as we think we left the other four behind. The ship doesn't wait. There are schedules to keep in order to get to the next port on time. Paying the long shoremen and other shore staff overtime is another consideration. So we might see them in Victoria tomorrow, if they had their passports which would be required to fly from the US to Canada.

As we sailed away from Ketchikan, John and Mick located many eagles with their binoculars. After dinner we went to a magician show which left us all wondering how he did that, then we went to a Broadway like show "Disco - Blame it on the Boogie' which we all enjoyed. We then went back to our cabin to watch the best show of the night. The whales were playing right by our balcony. More whales than we have seen in all our cruises combined. A great show for our last cruise for awhile.

Friday night about 7PM the Crown Princess docked in Victoria and we walked into town along the waterfront. Not far from the cruise terminals (that now handle three ships) is a new area that is called Fisherman's Wharf. It is a collection of lived in house boats along with small businesses, mostly selling food and tours. It was very nice. Once in town we watched some street performers and walked by local artisans. Also very nice. Then we took a water taxi back to the ship to pack and put the bags out into the hall. End of cruise!!

Colleen & John