Hey Guys!
This post continues our cruise through Alaska on the Carnival Luminosa.
Our cruise dates were May 8 – 15, 2025.
This morning, we would be docking in Ketchikan.
Click here to see the cruise schedule for Ketchikan so you will know how many ships will be there when you are there
Ketchikan is truly the beginning of the last frontier. Set at the southernmost entrance to Alaska’s famed Inside Passage—a network of waterways that snake through some of the most jaw-dropping beautiful wilderness in the world.
With a population at the 2020 census of 8,192, up from 8,050 in 2010, it is the sixth-most populous city in the state, and thirteenth-most populous community.
Ketchikan is best known for three things: salmon, idyllic scenery, and an incredibly rich Alaska Native culture.
Our time here would be even more limited than in Juneau.
We would be docking and disembarking the ship at 7 am and leaving at 1 pm….meaning, we had to be back on the ship by 12:30.
So, we decided to spend our time shopping and having lunch as we really didn’t have time for much more than that.
Arriving to Ketchikan
Click here & here for the best things to see and do & Click here & here for best restaurants
The town was full of colorful buildings!
Before disembarking the ship, we had breakfast on deck 9. 
Once we were docked, we quickly disembarked the ship.
I snapped a quick picture of the Ketchikan sign so we could remember where the main attractions were located as well as restrooms and the visitor centers…there are two.
We then began our walk through the colorful city.
Buildings were painted in bright colors to stand out in the often foggy, rainy environment …the color would help residents and sailors identify buildings easily in poor weather.
Ketchikan gets over 200 rainy days per year….so come with a rain jacket!
Our first stop in Ketchikan was for coffee at Bootleggers Creek Coffee & Tea.
The place must be fairly new as I couldn’t find a lot of information on it ….but it sits right on Creek Street.
Click here & here for coffee shops in Ketchikan
They offered a variety of coffee and pastries.
The coffee was really good!
Since we were already so close to Creek Street, that would be our next stop.
This is one of the most popular things to do in Ketchikan.
The antique boardwalk over Ketchikan Creek is home to restaurants, unique shops, the ‘Dolly’s House Museum’ & private dwellings, as well as some of the best salmon viewing areas in Ketchikan.
Creek Street is built along the shores of Ketchikan Creek. It was built over the water because it was too difficult to blast away the rocky hills surrounding the creek.
The views here are not to be missed!
Ketchikan is named after Ketchikan Creek, which flows through the town, emptying into the Tongass Narrows a short distance southeast of downtown.
Creek Street is known as Ketchikan’s old red-light district. In the mid 1920’s there were over 20 bawdy houses on Creek Street alone!
In fact, Creek Street was once home to Ketchikan’s #1 industry – prostitution.
Dolly’s House, the lime green building in this picture, is now a museum. It was once the home of Dolly Arthur, Ketchikan’s most famous “sporting woman.” From 1919 through the 1940s, it was also her place of business.
The business was shut down for good in 1954 but Dolly lived in the house until 1973, when ill health and failing eyesight required her to move into a nursing home.
Read reviews for the museum here
Creek Street was the red light district and there are many other well known prostitution homes that still stand….you will find informational plaques that tell about them on the sides of the homes.
There are also many shops and restaurants located here.
Read reviews here
While at Creek Street, don’t miss Married Man’s Trail, a staircase & wooden boardwalk that ends at Park Avenue. Married Man’s Trail goes over the river and through the woods and ends at the Salmon Ladder where you can watch the struggling salmon try to jump up the rushing waterfall and continue upstream for spawning.
Ketchikan is the salmon capital of the world!
There are lots of informational signs throughout Ketchikan that tell about the history of the city.
After walking through Creek Street, we continued our walk through the city.
We spotted one of the totem poles that are scattered throughout the town.
There are many Native American Totem Poles located in the downtown, historic district, many of which are identified on the Walking Tour Map.
This totem pole is known as the Raven stealing the Sun.
Beside each totem pole, there was a sign that told about the history and the meaning.
As we continued our walk, we passed the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church.
The church was built in 1902 and is the oldest church building standing in Ketchikan.
Next, we spotted another totem pole…this one was the Chief Johnson totem pole.
The totem pole stands 55′ tall and is carved from a single western red cedar log!
Next, we walked through Whale Park. 
This is where we spotted our next totem pole called Chief Kyan.
The Chief Kyan Totem pole is a lineage pole and has three figures. The Crane, at the top, represents Chief Kyan’s wife, the next figure is a Thunderbird, Chief Kyan’s wife’s clan, and the Bear at the bottom is Chief Kyan’s family crest.
After walking through town for a while, we decided to hit up some of the shops.
One of our favorite places that we shopped at, was the Caribou Creek Company.
The store featured the work of the Alaska’s many talented artists and crafters and was the perfect place to find that one-of-a-kind gift or souvenir. I purchased a bracelet made out of moose bone and one made from lava rock.
There was another store that we shopped at that was huge and offered all kinds of great souvenirs….I think it may have been the Tongass Trading Company. 
After spending way too much money, we headed to find something for lunch.
We decided to eat at the Alaska Fish House.
This is one of the best places to eat in Ketchikan and the line of people waiting to order, was proof!
Tip: Right next to the Fish House you will find another popular restaurant called, Ketchikan Crab & Go. 
Thankfully, the line moved pretty quickly….you ordered at the counter and then you go find a table.
The restaurant specializes in fresh, local seafood and offers meals such as fish & chips, salmon chowder and halibut tacos. They also offer burgers, salads and fish & rice bowls.
The views right beside the restaurant
I ordered the two piece halibut fish and chips for a whopping price of $27.99!
My sister & mom ordered the crab legs which were $24.99 for a half pound.
The food was really good!
Read reviews here
After lunch, we decided to go find dessert!
My sister had found a place called Jellyfish Donuts so we headed that way.
The walk from the fish house to Jellyfish Donuts was approximately 15 mins.
We passed lots of historical signs along the way.
We spotted another map showing more attractions in the area
We even got to see the famous “Welcome to Ketchikan” sign!
We passed “The Rock” statue.
“The Rock” shows a vision of early Alaskan pioneers and an introduction to Ketchikan’s story.
Six of the seven sculptures represent people who helped to form Alaska’s First City. A fisherman, a miner, a logger, a bush pilot, a frontierswoman, and a Native drummer.
These figures illustrate the initial pull factors that drew people to early Ketchikan: the salmon, the gold rushes, the bountiful forests, and the wildlife.
The seventh sculpture represents an actual historic figure: Chief Johnson, a Tlingit chief, symbolizing how his people were the first to make Southeast Alaska their home.
We spotted the Thundering Wings at Eagle Park totem pole.
The pole is located at the entrance to the famous tunnel, alongside Cruise Ship Dock 3.
The view around Dock 3.
Arriving to the Jellyfish Donut.
After arriving, we were told they had ran out of donuts and it would take approximately 15 mins for them to make our order!
Read reviews here
When you go inside, you will first need to grab an order sheet beside the door and mark what you want on the sheet, then write your name and take it to the register.
They offered all kinds of crazy flavors such as sour patch kid, loaded baked potato & the “famous” salmon donut! No thanks!
I stuck with the moose tracks…the cost for one donut was $5…if I’m remembering correctly.
My sister ordered the strawberry shortcake.
The donuts had a very dense, cake like consistency ….they were delicious!
After purchasing our donuts, we quickly made our way back to the ship!
Views along the way
Tip: Ketchikan was the coldest place we visited…it was cloudy and it rained for about 15 mins while we were there. So, be prepared and dress warm and bring a rain jacket!
After boarding the ship, we made our way back to our room.
But first, we had to stop and see the “Reclining Woman” statue.
The unique multi-million-dollar sculpture, 11+ feet in length and weighing ~1 ton, depicts “a female figure, daydreaming in a reclining position with a subtle and ironic facial expression.” The sculpture serves as a good luck charm to Luminosa, her crew members, and guests.
After getting back to our room, we headed to the balcony.
We loved coming back to our room every day and finding these cute little animals made out of towels!
We sat on the balcony and watched all of the sea planes fly by…it was really cool!
And the fishing boats!
Once our ship finally left Ketchikan, we sat on the balcony with our binoculars to see if we could spot any wildlife near the shore.
We started seeing Eagles….and they were everywhere!
We spotted several in the treetops!
Ketchikan is known for its abundant bald eagle population.
They are a common sight, especially during the summer months when they hunt salmon and raise their young.
Alaska has a population of approximately 30,000 bald eagles!
Ketchikan has 30 nesting sites weighing in at up to 2,000 pounds and measure 6 feet deep!
It was a good thing I had my 50x zoom lens camera with me!!
Tip: When visiting Ketchikan in May, you’ll start to see mature eagles preparing their nests. Their eggs hatch the following month, and through June and July you can watch adult eagles feeding their young in the nests.
Always be on the lookout for wildlife from the ship….we saw lots of whales & eagles during our cruise!
Later that evening, we made reservations on the Carnival Hub app to have dinner in the dining room.
Tip: As soon as you request a table on the app, you will need to be ready to go because they can notify you pretty quickly that your table is ready and they only hold your table for 10 mins.
After being seated, we looked over the menu.
Once. again, we ordered an appetizer, our main course and a dessert.
The food was very good!
After dinner, we headed to the theater to watch another musical. 
It was called Vintage Pops…it was a 20s-jazz-meets-modern-hits musical.
Tip: They also show movies every night on the lido deck and offer popcorn
The show was good but I was exhausted so my mom and I ended up leaving early and going to bed!
That’s it for our time in Ketchikan!
Stay tuned for Days 7 & 8!
Read Days 1-3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here & Day 6 here.….Click here to see links to all of my blog posts
For the best tours in Ketchikan, Click here, here & here
