⚓ legtolegcruises.com BETA
← Port guides

Ketchikan: when your ship stops here

Creek Street on its stilts, the biggest collection of totem poles in the world, and a rain jacket; the fjords are for a long call.

Facts checked Nov 2, 2026, each with its source. No prices on this page.

Ketchikan is on Revillagigedo Island in the far south of Southeast Alaska, with Deer Mountain, 3,001 feet (915 m), right behind downtown. Ships dock in one of two places: downtown, at Piers 1 to 4, where the shops and Creek Street are a walk away, or Ward Cove, about 5.5 miles north, with a bus into town. Civic boosters call it the Salmon Capital of the World; it also has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles, and rain averaging 149.54 inches (3,798 mm) a year.

Sources: Wikipedia: Ketchikan, Alaska; Ketchikan Visitors Bureau: Welcome cruise travelers

Top 3 things to do

  1. 1. Creek Street

    A boardwalk on stilts along Ketchikan Creek. A 1903 city law pushed the brothels here, and it was the town's red light district until 1954; today the houses are shops and galleries, and Dolly's House is a museum of those years. The street went on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

    Tip: Dolly's House is the one to go inside; the rest of the street is shops and galleries, with more around each pier and downtown.

    Sources: Wikipedia: Creek Street (Ketchikan, Alaska); Wikipedia: Ketchikan, Alaska

  2. 2. The totem poles: the Heritage Center and Saxman

    The Totem Heritage Center, run by the city since 1976, keeps 33 totem poles rescued from old villages, 16 of them on show. Saxman Totem Park, 2.5 miles south of downtown (about 5 minutes by road), has carved poles by Tlingit artists along forest paths.

    Tip: The Visitors Center on Berth 2 and the kiosks on the docks book tours on the day; ask there for the way to each.

    Sources: Wikipedia: Totem Heritage Center; Ketchikan Visitors Bureau: Saxman Totem Park; Ketchikan Visitors Bureau: Welcome cruise travelers

  3. 3. Totem Bight State Historical Park

    At Mile 10.5 of the North Tongass Highway, 10 miles north of town (a 20 to 25 minute drive), 33 acres (13 ha) of forest where the Civilian Conservation Corps set up 15 totem poles and a copy of a chieftain's house in 1940. It became a state park in 1959.

    Tip: Go with a tour or a taxi, and fix the pick up time before you walk in.

    Sources: Wikipedia: Totem Bight State Historical Park; Ketchikan Visitors Bureau: Totem Bight

What to skip

  • Misty Fjords on a short call

    The national monument, 2,294,343 acres of fjords with walls 2,000 to 3,000 feet (600 to 900 m) high, is about 40 miles (64 km) east and reached only by boat or floatplane. It takes most of a day. On a long call it is the trip of the cruise; on a short one it is the trip that misses the ship.

    Source: Wikipedia: Misty Fjords National Monument

Before you go ashore

You do not have to book a tour: you are free to go ashore on your own. Royal Caribbean sets the all aboard time about 30 minutes before the ship sails, posts it near the gangway, and says the ship does not wait for guests touring on their own.

Source: Royal Caribbean FAQ: Do I need to book a shore excursion?

Back-to-backs that stop in Ketchikan

Back-to-back cruises from these home ports have a stop in Ketchikan, from the Royal Caribbean sailings we track:

Sources

Read on Nov 2, 2026. Opening days, hours and rules change: check with the place itself before you go. legtolegcruises.com is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Royal Caribbean International or any place named here.

Find back-to-backs that stop in Ketchikan

Two or more Royal Caribbean cruises in a row, with a day in Ketchikan on the way.

Find legs for free ›