SITKA ARRIVAL

After a cloudy and drizzly day in Ketchikan, we were looking forward to the blue skies and moderate temperatures forecast for Sitka. Sitka’s skyline is the gorgeous mountains surrounding the city. Still, the most prominent manmade feature is the John O’Connell Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge over the Sitka Channel, named after former Sitka Mayor, John O’Connell.

HERE is a link to the HAL Excursion Catalog for Sitka

TENDERING

This was a tender port, and we arrived around 10 am. Here is how tendering worked on the Westerdam. Tenders are small, 80-passenger power boats used to ferry passengers from the ship to shore. They depart from platforms on Deck A, which is one deck below Deck 1 in the center of the ship. To better manage the process of getting over 1500 passengers ashore in groups of 80, the Westerdam uses a priority system using tender tickets. This is similar to the system used on other HAL ships.

Passengers are divided into four groups, which determines their tendering priority.

1) HAL Shore Excursions: These passengers get to the head of all lines to get ashore in time for their excursions. They don’t get tickets but are escorted ashore from the World Stage at the appropriate time.

2) Presidents Club, Neptune Suites, and Club Orange: These guests have distinctive cruise cards—Red, White and Blue tipped for Presidents Club, Gold tipped for Neptune Suites, and Burnt Orange tipped for Club Orange. This group doesn’t need a tender ticket but can proceed to Deck A and join any existing tender line. Depending on the current situation, they may be held for a short time on Deck 1.

3) 4 and 5 Star Mariners: These guests received an orange tender ticket in the Rolling Stone Lounge and remained there until their tender ticket number was called. On sailings with fewer 4/5 star mariners, they may be grouped with the Neptune Suite passengers and not need tender tickets.

4) Everyone else: These guests received grey tender tickets from the Ocean Bar and waited in the Ocean Bar until their tender ticket was called.

As tenders become available, they will call numbers from each color group. The announcements are made only in the respective lounge. When the announcements used to be broadcast throughout the ship, passengers would take too long to get to Deck A, which slowed everything down.

The process doesn’t wait until every 4/5 star mariner is called before the first of the 1/2/3 star mariners are called, but 4/5 stars are called more frequently. As the day progressed, it took about 1 hour for 4/5 stars and up to 2 hours for lower mariners.

If you have an earlier independent tour, you must get to your tender ticket location an hour before the ship arrives and get one of the early tender tickets. I’m not particularly eager to deal with this uncertainty, so I will usually book a HAL tour in a tender port or book a later tour that won’t have to rely on being one of the first people ashore.

NOTE—The tender ticket colors change for each port, so you can’t save a low orange ticket and try to reuse it in a future port.

GOING ASHORE

We arrived in the Rolling Stone Lounge at 10:30 am and received Tender Ticket Orange 20. A few minutes later, they called Orange 8 – it would be a while before our number was called. At 11:30 am, our number was called, and we headed to Deck A and boarded a tender. We were ashore in less than 10 minutes. Rich and Suzi hosted about a dozen friends from previous cruises, and we were the last ones ashore. The others went ahead to the Sitka National Historical Park. The tour driver, Amy, returned to the tender landing to pick us up, and we were soon reunited with the others.   Follow Rich’s adventure here on his outstanding Blog

SITKA NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

This park is about one mile from the tender landing. If the weather is nice, walking along the shoreline would be pleasant. There is a nice visitor center where we could watch Tommy Joseph, a Tlingit master carver, demonstrate some of his techniques.

NOTE: The National Park website HERE is outdated and doesn’t list any demonstrations, so I would call or email them to find out what time they may have a demonstration to plan your visit better.

We walked for a bit along the Totem Trail. We were a little short on time, so we returned early, but there was much to explore in the park. The Park Brochure lists many other attractions in Sitka. If you don’t have anything planned, I would advise getting here early, exploring the park, and then heading back to Sitka to check out the other sites. A handy app is available with a nice Totem Pole Walking Tour.

PIONEER PARK

Pioneer Park is a few miles north of town. It has a covered picnic shelter and restrooms, and a grocery store is nearby.

Rich and Suzi provided a smorgasbord of drinks and snacks, but the best part was sharing stories of past cruises and our future adventures.

After about an hour, we headed across the John O’Connell Bridge to Japonski Island for a group photo with Sitka in the background.

RAVEN RADIO

Once back on the mainland (Baranof Island) , Rich and Suzi led us on a short walking tour around Totem Square and shared some interesting stories about Sitka. Afterward they gave us a tour of Raven Radio.

Rich and Suzi McClear are Co-General Managers for RAVEN RADIO (104.7 FM & 90.1 FM), a community radio station serving southeast Alaska. The station is located in the historic Cable House (2 Lincoln St), which is very close to the Tender Landing. The Beak Restaurant is on the first floor, and most of the radio station’s offices are on the second floor. They sell Raven Radio merch on the first floor—check it out!

We briefly chatted with some of the news team and watched one of the programs in progress.   Listen live HERE

After saying our goodbyes, we headed back to town for one loop around the central business district.

RAVEN’S HOOK

Apropos for Sitka, we spotted a few Ravens walking down the street on our way to the yarn shop Raven’s Hook. In addition to yarn, Raven’s Hook offers a lot of material for various craft projects.  The store had a small selection of yarn. Judy bought 2 hanks of sock yarn that was hand-dyed in Sitka under the label White Raven Yarn. The color is ‘Rhubarb’, a lovely mix of deep berry and deep forest green.

YELLOW JERSEY CYCLE SHOP

We spotted the Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop on our way back to the Tender Landing, directly across from the Cruise Ship Shuttle Terminal. I always like to check our local bike shops and pick up a local water bottle or jersey. This shop had both! What a treat. The staff is very friendly. They also rent mountain bikes and e-bikes if you are in the mood for something more strenuous.

MAPS

BACK ON THE SHIP

Colin Barkell was the featured performer this evening. His powerful voice reminds you of Johnny Cash. He was joined by his own band: Rany Cantwell –  Bass Guitar; Max Boyce Rossetti – Lead Guitar and Joseph Stewart on the Drums.

He started his show with Folsom Prison Blues and worked his way through the following songs:

– Proud Mary
– I’ve Been Everywhere by Johnny Cash
– Spoonful by Chester Arthur Burnett aka Howlin’ Wolf
– Dueling Irish dancing and drums
– Wipe Out by the Surfaris
– Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry
– Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley
– You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Hound Dog by Elvis Presley

Along the way, he would set aside his guitar and breakout in an Irish Jig!

The show was outstanding, and it was easily the best of the cruise. We are looking forward to his next show.