Use this guide to find great tours available in or near, Ketchikan, Alaska. Choose a letter of the alphabet to select your next adventure.
Author: Debbie
ABC Tips-How To Maximize Your Alaskan Flight Seeing Trip
Questions to Ask When Choosing Your Tour Operator:.
- Is the business a large multi-planed operation, or a one plane, one owner type company?
- How many years and/or hours of flying experience does the pilot have?
- Does the pilot regularly fly in this territory? (Many pilots are hired seasonally and come from the lower 48 states).
- What type of plane will you be flying in? Most flight seeing planes seat 4, 6 or 10 passengers
- Will all passengers have a window?
- What are the cancellation policies for: weather, expected turbulence, number of passengers, or generally?
- What type of tour is this? Some tours are specifically for whale or bear watching, others focus on scenery.
- How many water landings are included in the tour?
- Will you be allowed to step onto land, or will you only be exiting onto the pontoon or docks?
- Will there be communication with the pilots and other passengers or is this a narrated tour?
- Are tickets purchased through the cruise line, at the Visitor’s Center or directly from a website?
- Are there additional discounts for early booking, AAA members, military, children or senior citizens?
- What is the total air time?
ABC Alaska-Q is for Quote
“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.”-Pat Conroy
“C” Is For “Champagne Celebrations”-Cruising
Champagne Celebrations
Twice in my life I have had the opportunity to stand at the top of a champagne fountain. The tall tower is stacked pyramid style, with 650 precisely balanced glasses. This Italian celebration is usually done at weddings. Alan and I have been fortunate to have had calm seas, for the Princess Cruise line tradition to take place in the middle of the atrium. Mostly this event is another formal night, photo opportunity for the cruise lines, but I enjoy the excitement of pouring the bubbly. Besides, this is a free drink event, so of course we will always attend! Continue reading
“A” Is For “Altered States”-Cruising
Cruising Through The Alphabet-A Is For Altered States
In our real world, Alan and I don’t drink much alcohol. Usually we’ll have a glass of wine at Christmas and a Mimosa on New Year’s Eve. We might indulge in the odd wine cooler or a glass of wine with friends. On average, we probably have 8-10 drinks of alcohol, per year. Take us on a cruise though and we become different people, usually enjoying at least one drink a day, sometimes a lot more! Maybe it is the freedom from driving, kids and work that we feel. But I think there is more to it than that. What is it about this change of environment that makes us alter our behavior so radically?
“B” Is For Balcony-Cruising
B is For Balcony
On our first cruise, in 1994, we had an interior room. At the time, we didn’t know any better and we couldn’t afford more. Like many first time cruisers, we started and ended our day with activities, using our room for little more than falling into bed, exhausted. This is the number one reason we hear for not upgrading the room and if you have nothing to compare it to, then price alone can be a compelling argument. After twenty years of cruising, and a few lessons, we have come to understand the difference that this little extension of the room makes.
I remember the first time we had a balcony, there were things to learn. Lulled by the soft breeze and setting sun, we fell asleep with the curtains open. Forgetting that it is a continually changing landscape outside that window, we woke the next morning in port, docked next to another ship, looking directly onto their balcony rooms…and they into ours! Still, that ever changing, floor to ceiling view is just one of several reasons to have a balcony room. This is especially true when cruising very scenic locations such as Alaska. While most passengers are on deck fighting for that perfect picture of the glaciers, you can simply return to your room and enjoy the passing scenery in quiet serenity.
“A” is for Atriums-Cruising
While cruising, we challenged our fellow travelers to document their time on board the ship. The goal was to find something to photograph, which began with the letter “A”. We chose atrium.
On a cruise, the atrium is usually one of the first places that a passenger will see on embarkation day. Similar to a hotel lobby, it is the heart of the ship. In this location, you will also find the customer service desk, the shore excursion office, the purser’s desk and the cruise consultant.
Around the Ship-An ABC Cruising List
Cruising is so unique that I thought it deserved an ABC list of its own! Use this list to discover your ship. Highlighted items will link to other stories within the blog and/or you may use the search feature.
Art Auction
Art Gallery
At Sea
Bars
Beauty Salon
Bridge Tour
Buffet
Cabin
Cabin Steward
Captain
Casino
Centrum (see also atrium)
Chocolate Buffet
Cigar Room
Classes
Cocktails
Coffee/Tea
Comedian
Dining
Disembarkation
Embarkation
Entertainment
Excursion Desk
Excursions
Fitness Center
Formal Night
Free Dining
Future Cruise Sales
Galley Tour
Games
Golf
Grill
Guest Services
Hidden decks
Hot tubs
Ice cream
Internet at Sea
J
Karaoke
Laundry
Learn Something New
Lectures
Library
Lifeboats
Lingo
Lounges
Maitre d
Magician
Massages
Medical Center
Movies Under the Stars
Music
Muster Drill
Nap
Open Ocean
Organizing a Cabin
Passenger Services
Photographers
Photos/Video Gallery
Pools
Quiz
Room Service
Sail Away Party
Sanctuary
Sauna
Shops/Shopping
Shore Excursion Desk
Shows
Solarium
Spa
Splash Pool
Sunsets/Sunrises
Tea/coffee
Teen Center
Towel Art
U
Vow Renewal
Walk a Mile
Wine Tasting
Xbox
eXcursion Desk
Yoga
Zen
ABC Lists-Exploring With the Letter “G”
Gaelic
Gaillardia/gardenia/geranium
Gale
Galleon
Galleria
Galley
Gallop
Gamble
Game
Gammon/gateau/gelatin/gerkin
Gander
Gannet
Garden
Gate
Gather
Geode
Geodesic dome
Georgian
German
Get away
Gig
Glamour
Glisten
Gnome
Goal
Goat/Goose
Go Kart
Golf
Gold/golden
Gorge
Gorse
Gothic
Grail
Grammophone
Grass
Gratitude
Grindstone
Guitar
gym
ABC Lists-Exploring With the Letter “F”
This is an ever expanding list for the letter F. Here you will find words which describe; activities, name places (cities, towns, states, countries, restaurants, stores etc). Words may elicit emotions, describe an event or festival or be the beginning of phrases and quotes. . Basically, you are limited only by your own imagination. Therefore, this is a long list, with a variety of words which might be helpful when planning any adventure using the letter F. This list will be updated regularly, as more suggestions are offered. Eventually it will be broken down into categories. Remember, a word may have more than one meaning. For example, the word “farm” might bring to mind a Farmers Market for one person but an animal farm for another. Words can become actions, emotions or lead you to discover new destinations. They won’t necessarily be the same as the dictionary definition. Be creative and use this list in any way that inspires you to try something new! It will be impossible to list every word/phrase beginning with F here, so remember to look for restaurants, stores, road names etc., to inspire you. Think beyond locations. Consider new foods to try, animals to see , experiences to have, song titles that speak to you, or anything else that gets you thinking out of the box. Let your own individual experiences reflect a personal journey of discovery and have fun with the wordplay! As always, we value your contributions, so please leave a comment when you think of other ways to explore, using the letter F. (Please remember to keep your comments G-rated!) Here is our list so far. Remember to check back often as we are always growing the lists.
Factory
Falcon
Fair
Fall
Family
Fauvism
Favorite (colors, flowers, foods, quotes….)
Favorite Things to do Alone
Favorite Things to do Together
Feast
February
Fedora
Ferment
Ferry
Festival
Fiddle/Flute
Field
Finch/Fox/Frog
Film
Fire
Fireworks
Fish
Fish & Chips
Flag
Fleet
Float
Flowers
Fly
Folk/ Folklore/Folk dance
Fondue
Food (eat it, make it or catch it)
Football/Frisbee
Footpath
Forage
Forest
Fossil
Fountain
Four/Fourteen/Forty
Frappe
Freesia/Fritllaria
French
French Cuisine
Friday
Friends
Fruit
Fun
Funny