Cruise Journal

Day 1 — San Francisco, California Day 2 — At Sea Day 3 — At Sea Day 4 — Ketchikan, Alaska Day 5 — Haines, Alaska Day 6 — Juneau, Alaska Day 7 — Glacier Bay National Park Day 8 — At Sea Day 9 — Victoria, Canada Day 10 — At Sea Day 11 — At Sea Day 12 — San Francisco, California

Day 4 — Ketchikan, Alaska — Port Schedule: 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM

07/23/2025 06:00 AM

Ketchikan, Alaska was our first stop in the Inside Passage, a waterfront town with stilt houses, old buildings, and rainforest pressing in behind. Creek Street has a brothel-based history, but now it’s a wooden boardwalk with shops over the creek where salmon swim upstream, and there are totem poles scattered all through town. A tunnel that once doubled as a bomb shelter cuts through the hill, and our tour bus driver, who clearly wasn’t a fan of the cruise industry, made a point of pointing out the locally owned businesses instead of the many cruise-line jewelry stores.

07/23/2025 06:04 AM

Wake up, open the curtain, and things are getting interesting as we approach Ketchikan. Also, we turned our clocks back one hour last night. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 06:07 AM

07/23/2025 06:08 AM

07/23/2025 07:04 AM

The Quantum of the Seas. This Royal Caribbean ship was our tag team buddy for a good portion of the trip.

🎶🎶🎶
I am the Quantum of the Seas,
A marvel of amenities!
With robot arms and skydiving,
And wi-fi strong for livestreaming!
Though I was built to float and roam,
You'll feel just like you're back at home!
With sushi bars and robot booze,
And bumper cars for kids to bruise!

Chorus (passengers):
You are the Quantum of the Seas!
You bring us fancy things with ease!
We eat and drink and float in style,
And rarely touch the sea at all!
Oh yes, we rarely touch the sea at all!
Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 07:34 AM

07/23/2025 08:30 AM

07/23/2025 08:35 AM

07/23/2025 09:24 AM

Finally we are ashore! Our first time since boarding. It took over two hours since we docked. (We weren't in a rush to be first.) Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 09:24 AM

07/23/2025 09:27 AM

07/23/2025 09:53 AM

07/23/2025 10:50 AM

We took a tour stop. First stop was a cultural center and a short presentation by a native woman. It was very interesting. Unfortunately I'm unable to find the name of this place. Here's a totem in the room. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 10:51 AM

07/23/2025 10:52 AM

07/23/2025 11:37 AM

Next stop on the tour was a place called Herring Cove. Bears are seen here sometimes, but not by us. We did see some bald eagles and other birds. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 11:38 AM

07/23/2025 11:47 AM

07/23/2025 11:55 AM

07/23/2025 12:03 PM

07/23/2025 12:23 PM

07/23/2025 12:24 PM

07/23/2025 12:25 PM

07/23/2025 12:26 PM

This is actually the third version of the pole. Here we see a closer view of Seward, who was the US Secretary of State and architect of the Alaska Purchase for $7.2 million. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 12:26 PM

07/23/2025 12:27 PM

07/23/2025 12:28 PM

07/23/2025 12:30 PM

Sea plane! Sea plane! There was a lot of sea plane activity in the Ketchikan area. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 12:45 PM

Totem detail at Saxman Totem Park. A little bit of disrepair. Notice the missing beak at top. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 12:45 PM

07/23/2025 12:46 PM

07/23/2025 12:48 PM

07/23/2025 12:59 PM

A sign in the tour bus. I grammatically suggested they rewrite it as: "Tips are bearly appreciated." Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 01:03 PM

The famous Ketchikan Creek Street as seen from the tour bus. Would could have gotten out and walked back to the ship, but we didn't feel like it. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 01:03 PM

07/23/2025 01:15 PM

07/23/2025 01:31 PM

I had to try a local oyster from a place called the Alaskan Oyster Shack on the dock right next to the ship. It was very good. Probably one of the best oysters I've ever had. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 01:43 PM

07/23/2025 01:58 PM

We're back on the ship. There's our old buddy again, The Quantum of the Seas. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 04:14 PM

Seems like we saw quite a few of remote lighthouses like these. They were endlessly fascinating to me. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 04:25 PM

07/23/2025 04:59 PM

07/23/2025 05:09 PM

07/23/2025 05:10 PM

07/23/2025 05:20 PM

The shrimp cocktail from the 'Specialties' section of the menu. It didn't look very special. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 05:37 PM

I had prayed for chicken. My prayers were answered with some Tandoori chicken. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.

07/23/2025 05:39 PM

07/23/2025 06:08 PM

07/23/2025 06:09 PM

07/23/2025 07:01 PM

07/23/2025 07:06 PM

07/23/2025 08:07 PM

07/23/2025 08:21 PM

Somehow I ended up on the Lido deck. I think this was a Long Island Iced Tea. The bartender said, "Lucky you! That's one of the few drinks I know how to make." Not bad. And that's how I closed out Day 4. Copyright © 2025 Timothy B. Burleson under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.