We LOVED visiting Ketchikan, Alaska… but NOT this part

I am glad I use Princess in Alaska. Just walk off into the city. Love Ketchikan.

I’m glad I visited Ketchikan when I lived there BEFORE all the cruise ships. I can’t believe how “tourism” has changed it.

Just back from Alaskan Cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas, Royal Carribean - no issues at all with Meals, docking, getting on/off ship - docked in great places at all ports, Shuttles if needed ran smoothly - never an issue with restuarants included in cruise - defineately go with them again. A smaller and older ship but no complaints - had an amazing time - well organised and run

We have cruised a lot with Norwegian (small & large ships) and have never seen anything like this before, please don’t let it put you off trying NCL again. The Lumber Jack show looked great fun and the town itself looked interesting to wander around.

Best advice when picking any cruise is your itinerary and how long you are in each port. You’ve got to have time to explore…..that’s why we cruise!

One of the benefits of cruising HAL is they have priority at the main dock, no bus to get to town. Stay safe and thanks for sharing

Our first trip to Alaska was in 2010 on Princess. My sister forgot to bring a jacket with her. Turned out to be a good thing. We still wear our jackets from that trip. In 2019 we went back to Alaska on HAL, bought new jackets. I still wear mine from our first trip. We'll be going next year on Princess again. New jackets, good prices and they last.

Sorry you had such a poor experience getting back on the ship, but I really appreciate seeing things like this! Ketchikan looks lovely though, great video ☺️

I loved my time in Ketchikan last summer. Enjoyed the lumberjack show. I went on Holland American Eurodam

The itineraries I have looked at specify whether they are docking at Ward Cove or Ketchikan. And for the record, Ketchikan is actually a year 'round community. Most of the residents avoid the areas that are overrun by cruisers during the day, so the cruisers may only see the carpet bagger army that runs the cheesy gift shops, but there are 12,000+ people who live there all year. It is actually a pleasant visit during the off season, there are regular flights to Seattle and Juneau and ferry service up and down the coast.

Thank you SO MUCH for this "reality" video, these are the kinds of videos I really need to plan my trip, not some glossed-over versions of Tubers who are getting paid/free cruises by painting a perfect picture. I was sketchy on going to Ward Cove because I wanted more time to see Ketchikan, so I guess it will be Princess or HAL now.

I was on the Westerdam relocation b2b from Japan 6 weeks ago. There were 4 cruise ships in the harbor and Ketchican was a zoo. But I've been there before and enjoyed it.

Just don’t go on NCL, I was a travel agent for 30 years and never had good comments from clients that insisted on going on them due to the price. You get what you pay for. I never wanted to go on them.

I visited Ketchikan in 2017 on the Norwegian Sun (much smaller ship) and we docked in Ketchikan. I took a flightseeing trip into Misty Fjords and we flew directly over the ship!

We were also part of that mess, too. We were lucky since we’d done the Crab Feast, so we were not needing lunch. There just wasn’t enough time in Ketchikan.

We took this same cruise 2 weeks ago. Had Absolutely no problems eating when returning from the bus to Ketchikan. Remember, you are on a ship with 4000 people!!! As for NCL not giving you enough time in a port to do everything you want to, maybe choose another cruise with a different itinerary.

Your ship was parked at the Mill where I used to work. Which is also about 1/2 mile from where I grew up in Ward Cove. Good video.

Part of the problem with the buffet is campers. Some people will eat and eat and eat then just stay there playing on their phones or visiting. I just got off the Encore this morning, and saw this type of behavior many times. Of course, those cruisers are on vacation, and the staff will not ask them to give up their table so someone else can sit. Sometimes it's best to grab some food, put an empty plate over it to cover, and go to another location, like your cabin, to eat it.

Especially in Alaska, I'd use any other line besides NCL because of Ketchikan. Wards Cove was a bad idea, but ut probably saved NCL money in the long run over docking downtown.

I had a similar shuttle issue on the week of 5/11. Got in line at 11:15 to catch the shuttle, took more than an hour. Couldn’t find food when I got back.