Incredibly beautiful. Bring warm clothing, thermal underwear, and wool hat and gloves. I brought my own binoculars and posted up when the bow opened at sunrise with a hot coffee. The slow sailing into the bay was absolutely gorgeous. Everywhere you looked there was a new vision of incredible natural beauty. It was like living in a moving postcard. Gorgeous. I can't imagine there was a more beautiful day to visit.

Not the best (sorry Ketchikan!) as the main walking areas were very close to port. It seems locals like to torture themselves by driving through that main street hugging the coastal area next to port and it angers them cruise ships and tourists exist. It angers them so much, they speed up at pedestrian crossings even in the pouring rain with no regards for the foot traffic. The shops open after 9am and lunch places after 11am, so it isn't the best in terms of time spent. Shops are not varied. The coffee place we stopped at had surly workers and they scoffed at me when I asked for sugar... which they were out of at 9am in the morning... puzzled why I wasn't beaming at the opportunity to have an artificial sweetener. This was all after I tipped $2 on a $4 coffee. The crab shack on the water next to the port was delicious and not too overpriced. That was the only highlight of the stop, but we did have to wait in a long line in the cold pouring rain which was not fun. Overall, if I went on another cruise to Alaska, I would skip this port or just get off later for a crab lunch. That's pretty much it. Seeing that wounded woman when re-boarding who was hit by an angry hit-and-run driver was a huge turn off too. Why so angry Ketchikan? I live in the PNW, and you don't see me angry at the tourists for Olympic National Park, the Cascades, and Seattle. I definitely wouldn't speed up at the pedestrian crossing or torture myself by not taking the street 2 blocks over to avoid the tourists. Maybe it will be better next time, but first impressions mean a lot.

Super cute little town with lots of history. We enjoyed the light rain and walking around town. The Victorian homes and buildings are charming. The Russian history is interesting and even with current events, it was charming partaking in those leftover hallmarks of the culture. Russian dumplings at Sitka Pel'Meni looked delicious, but the line was long and the tables are few so we opted for the street eats along the main street. We had some salmon chowder in the drizzling rain under a small awning. There were nice bathroom stations here and there if you are like me and stay well-hydrated. The Russian Bishops house and Basilica were neat to visit, but get there early as the tour groups are very small (6 people or less) and book up every 30 min block. We were lucky and got in before noon, but we watched many people be turned away due to it filling up. The walk from port is easy (with some stairs/steps) and lots of shops in walking distance. People were very friendly in port from shop owners and tour guides to food stall vendors. The guy running the Fur shop gave us a couple of great recommendations for reindeer sausage and street eats. Have to say we had a nice time. Cute town.