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The sun is out - hallelujah! Today we had our ship's white elephant sale! This is an opportunity for passengers to give away things they bought for which they now have buyers remorse, or no luggage space, along with anything else they don't wish to take home with them. The items are auctioned off to the benefit of the crew. Most of the clothes and some of the art just became "make us an offer" items and anything left over is simply offered to the crew. It's pretty hard to describe how much fun this was. From the absurd things people bought and/or brought with them (aka a can of baked beans) to the things they wore onboard - one couple arrived in matching space style seatsuits, everyone recognized the suits in the sale!
We've had two cruise directors while onboard, Ray who started with us and left in Dubai (I think) an Dottie who replaced him. This was Ray's event - he's back and brought his fabulous sense of humour with him. Most items were bundled with others and he often threw in a free gift - the free gifts were Kissing Chickens, gifts the ship gave each of us "Around the World Folks" in Vietnam that are heavy coal objects - that many folks donated back to the sale! (Ours will remain on board when we depart). Such fun.
We arrived in Ketchikan about an hour early, so we had the opportunity to go ashore as soon as the auction ended. Wow - so much change - I was in Ketchikan about 40 years ago and remember very little. Originally a lumber based community, when the mill closed, and about 1/3 of the community lost their jobs, they worked hard to grow their fledgling cruise industry. Converting the Mill into a cruise terminal I'd say they succeeded - not less than 6 large ships in port today. Don't miss the picture of our ship dwarfed by the one docked next to us!!!
This is certainly a tourist community, gift shop after gift shop - sadly all offering similar stuff - were everywhere. Lots of restaurants, food like the rest of Alaska is expensive here. Lunch for one can easily cost $70 US including tip! Much of the community is built on stilts above the water, not sure the pictures due this feature justice.
The streetscapes are very similar to gold rush architecture you might see in Whitehorse or Dawson City.
We've had two cruise directors while onboard, Ray who started with us and left in Dubai (I think) an Dottie who replaced him. This was Ray's event - he's back and brought his fabulous sense of humour with him. Most items were bundled with others and he often threw in a free gift - the free gifts were Kissing Chickens, gifts the ship gave each of us "Around the World Folks" in Vietnam that are heavy coal objects - that many folks donated back to the sale! (Ours will remain on board when we depart). Such fun.
We arrived in Ketchikan about an hour early, so we had the opportunity to go ashore as soon as the auction ended. Wow - so much change - I was in Ketchikan about 40 years ago and remember very little. Originally a lumber based community, when the mill closed, and about 1/3 of the community lost their jobs, they worked hard to grow their fledgling cruise industry. Converting the Mill into a cruise terminal I'd say they succeeded - not less than 6 large ships in port today. Don't miss the picture of our ship dwarfed by the one docked next to us!!!
This is certainly a tourist community, gift shop after gift shop - sadly all offering similar stuff - were everywhere. Lots of restaurants, food like the rest of Alaska is expensive here. Lunch for one can easily cost $70 US including tip! Much of the community is built on stilts above the water, not sure the pictures due this feature justice.
The streetscapes are very similar to gold rush architecture you might see in Whitehorse or Dawson City.
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