Living Alaska — The Amusement Park

When The Cruise Ships Come to Town

I live above a donut shop on the main drag through town. Normally it is a peaceful, serene life, with locals walking their dogs on the promenade. Then the Cruise Ships come to town and drop off thousands of people from all over the world.

It’s a rainbow of humanity, a slice of pie from all parts of the globe. You hear different languages and see every shade of color Earth provides. I walk down the boardwalk; I see the smiling faces. I look at the passengers disembarking from their ships and note their curiosity about seeing Alaska for the first time.

I have mixed feelings about what they see next. From the ship, they see green forests and snow-capped mountains, a colorful little town built into a steep hillside. It is a beautiful seaside town, but it was not designed as a resort village. It was a fishing and timber town. Now it is slowly turning into an Amusement Park.

We are just missing the roller coasters and waterslides. We have a lumberjack show, gold panning classes, and duck boat tours. The part of town that I have mixed feelings about is Jewelry Row. There is a whole section of town that closes in the Wintertime and springs to life for the tourist season.

I was amazed by my little town yesterday. We had four Cruise Ships disembark passengers for the afternoon. The town was flooded with people; we had lines at the shops, stores, restaurants, shows, and boat tours. It was an invading army of cash flow.

The jewelry stores that opened last week were packed with tourists spending money with people who do not live here, do not vote, but have money to buy all the downtown storefronts. It reminded me of Pier 39 in San Francisco.

I visited a store for the first time ever that is two blocks from my home. It closed during Covid and just reopened last week. The transformation of my sleepy little town into Disneyland was amazing. Throngs of people plied the sidewalks, boardwalk, and oceanfront.

I drove slowly through town. The tourist stood in the middle of the street taking pictures. Taking a selfie in the middle of the road is not a good idea, even in sleepy Alaska. The crosswalks were congested with groups on vacation.

The donut shop below me sold out of donuts. I did not know that was possible. I passed by in the early afternoon. I was happy for the shop owner; she lives in town.

I understand economics and know the value of bringing in investors and businesses to the area. Growing or withering away is the adage of economics. The problem arises with the amount of money brought in and the disparity between the locals and outside agencies.

If you do not participate in the economic boom of Cruise Ships, life is tough. The lack of an available labor pool only diminishes with time. The more money brought in, the more expensive housing is, and that forces out the menial labor pool.

The tourism industry is flourishing, and its continued growth for the foreseeable future is positive. I hope that some of the money spent in town is reinvested in the longevity of families that already live here. As the cost-of-living skyrockets, the small-town Alaskan lifestyle is threatened.

I moved to Alaska for a simpler life. As I drove down Main Street yesterday, I saw all the signs that the simple life is no longer so simple. Economics is a global force that has no end. The future is yet to be written for my little town in Alaska. I hope that someone addresses future problems by changing the dynamics of a small town into a resort town. From Ketchikan, Alaska, with love and hope.