Ketchikan, United States

Ketchikan is the first Alaskan town most northbound ships reach, and it is built into a strip so narrow that much of the old centre stands on pilings over the water. The town stretches several kilometres along the shore and is rarely more than a few streets deep.

It holds the largest collection of standing totem poles in the world, split across several sites. Totem Bight and Saxman Native Village have poles standing outdoors in traditional settings; the Totem Heritage Center, walkable from the berths, preserves 19th-century originals indoors — unpainted, weathered and considerably more affecting than the restored ones.

Creek Street is the postcard: a wooden boardwalk of brightly painted houses on pilings above Ketchikan Creek, once the town’s red-light district and now shops and small museums. In late summer salmon run up the creek beneath it, which draws seals and the occasional bear.

Misty Fjords is the excursion that justifies the port. It is a wilderness of sheer granite walls and waterfalls reached by floatplane or fast boat, and a floatplane landing on a remote lake is the single most memorable thing on many Alaska itineraries. It books out early and the aircraft carry small numbers, which is a real constraint for a group.

The wettest town on a mainstream cruise itinerary — Ketchikan averages over three metres of rain a year and locals call it liquid sunshine. Summer days sit at 13–18°C. Plan the day assuming rain rather than hoping against it.