Fish and Chips

We stopped at Fish Pirate's Saloon for lunch.

They had live entertainment!

We ordered fish and chips and the waiter asked, "Do you want fries?"

Delicious!

Disney Cruise to Alaska - Ketchikan

Ketchikan!  I saved the best for last.

We were up early to watch the ship pull into port in Ketchikan.  Today, we were very fortunate that the weather was dry and the sun was shining for most of the day.  And as luck would have it, the ship docked right in the center of town.

If you're interested in Totem Poles, you won't be disappointed.  There are many to see and the choices for purchase are almost overwhelming.  If you are serious about purchasing one to bring home, the people running the shops will be able to explain what they mean and provide information about the native artists.  Most of the totem poles we saw were being sold through a company called Alaska Black Diamond from Ward Cove, Alaska.  I'd never heard of this place.  

You can purchase this one.

Totem in Whale Park near the center of town.

Totem outside the Tongass Historical Museum.

Our excursion was in the afternoon so we spent the morning exploring Ketchikan.  It's a walkable adventure.  Creek Street was once a red light district but now its filled with interesting shops selling local artisan goods. 

In the afternoon, we headed out for our Lighthouse, Eagles, and Totems excursion.  We boarded the motorcoach from the ship and it drove us north of Ketchikan to Ward Cove where we boarded our boat for our tour.  I love the irony of this.  Now when people ask about my totem from Alaska, I can say I've been to Ward Cove.

During our tour, we saw a traditional clan house and many totem poles including Fog Woman at Totem Bight State Park.

Totem Bight State Park

Fog Woman

We hung out with the locals....

Remember to bring a camera with a big lens, there are so many eagles but they're usually up in the trees.  There were even two eagles sitting on top of the lighthouse.  Without a powerful lens, all your eagle photos will look like this.

Guard Island Lighthouse

After the tour, we returned to the port with enough time for more shopping!

The last day of our Alaska cruise was a day at sea.  We spent the day up on the top deck enjoying the view.

This cruise was so amazing.  It was wonderful to see so much pristine wilderness.  I would love to go back to Alaska.

Disney Cruise to Alaska - Juneau

It rained all day!  And we were prepared for it, rain ponchos and umbrellas at the ready.  The ship docked just south of the downtown area, just far enough that you had to take a shuttle from the ship to get to downtown.  Our activities for this day included a stop at the Botanical Gardens and the Mendenhall Glacier.  

The Botanical Gardens

A guide met us at the bus and gave us a short tour of the grounds and explained the history of the gardens.

They created these amazing flowering tree sculptures by uprooting dead trees, then replanting them upside down into the ground.  They added the flowers and nature does the rest.  Very unique and beautiful.  

Next we boarded golfcarts and trams for a slow journey up the mountain to the lookout point for views of Juneau airport and the surrounding area. Because of the rain, the visibility wasn't very good.  This part of the visit would have been more enjoyable on a clear day.

Mendenhall Glacier

The pictures on Google earth don't do this area justice.  The bus dropped us off just outside the Visitor's Center.  Even though the rain was coming down a little harder we chose to walk out to the peninsula to get a closer look at the glacier.  The umbrella came in handy to protect the camera lens from getting wet in the rain.  Even after taking several photos, there's nothing like being there in person.  Besides the visual aspects of being there, you could hear the rain and the waterfall next to the glacier.  And the air was damp and cool.  It was amazing.  

If standing out in the elements is not your thing, there are great views of the glacier from inside the visitor's center.  They have information on glaciers and rangers available to answer your questions.  The gift shop is small but filled with a nice collection of books on Alaska.  

At the end of our tour the bus offered to drop us off downtown Juneau.  Since we had spent several hours now out in the rain, we decided to just return to the ship.  This was a difficult decision because our wait staff onboard the ship told us the best place to eat Alaskan King Crab Legs was at a little place on the water behind the Library, but you eat outside on picnic tables.  This will be on our list of must do's for our next trip to Alaska.