Day 5 to Day 12 - Cruise......

Inside Passage - Vancouver to Whittier Alaska

Day 6 - Thursday 16th May - Cruise...... Vancouver to Anchorage

Another reasonably lazy day today......On board ship and not good weather! It was wet, windy and very misty this morning, and with a bit of a roll. But undeterred we made our way to breakfast, sharing this time with an American couple and another couple of Brits. 

Following breakfast I stayed in the central Atrium area and watched a Fruit and Vegetable Carving demonstration.... and very good it was too. There were three Phillipino chefs, and they did three each.  Very clever and very quick. 

Phil sorted out the photos, FaceTimed Helen, Tristan and Chloe, and went for a stroll, even braving going up to the top open deck for a bit, in the rain, before returning to our room.

We then went along to the ‘New Cruisers’ welcome meeting..... much the same as most of these welcome meetings are. We stayed on in that area to watch a film about the Spirit of Alaska, which was very good.

Then it was time for lunch..... all 6 of the others at our table were American. The food is nice, but service, although excellent, quite slow.... so lunch took quite a while.

We thought we ought to stretch our legs this afternoon, and the weather had improved, definitely clearer and virtually stopped raining. So up to the top deck for a walk around the edge, and then onto Deck 7, the Promenade Deck, which states 2.8 laps is a mile. About half way around we realised we were going the opposite direction of the other hardy souls out walking, so after one lap turned and did a couple more in the right direction! 

About to go and get dolled up for our first Formal evening! Had a lovely meal, good company..... 2 Aussies, 2 Canadian and 2 American. 

Just put our clocks back an hour as we enter Alaska overnight, which is good news as we have an early start in the morning, needing to meet for our shore excursion at 6:45am!

No of Miles Driven 0

No of steps walked today.... 7946

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We woke bright and early to a lovely day....... well Phil did initially and soon woke me up to come and join him on our balcony, 5 am, as we slowly made our way along the coast to Ketchikan - Alaska’s first City. This is on an island, about 50 miles long and 30 miles wide, with a habitated part on a narrow strip about 30 miles long but only a few miles deep.  The scenery was absolutely stunning, especially with the early morning light, and the very dark water.

The buffet opened at 6, so we grabbed some breakfast before disembarking for just after 6:30. We had booked onto an excursion that was taking us to Totem Bight State Park, and brief tour of Ketchikan and the Lumberjack Show. We soon found the right tour person, to find we were the last to arrive....at 6:40 when it was meet at 6:45 for 7! So we were soon on our way. We had a knowledgeable guide/driver who pretty much didn’t stop talking all the time we were with her- at least 3 hours! Therefore, although most of what she told us was interesting, I’m sure I can’t remember it all!

The drive out to the Park, was along the coast through the new town area and beyond. We were the first tour group to arrive and she took us on a guided route around the Park, that was on a spit of wooded land. The area had been constructed by the CCC - the Civilian Construction Corps, a government established programme for work relief between 1933 and 1942 for young, unemployed, unmarried men. We had come across many places that had benefitted from this programme last time we were in the States.

The programme here had at least 50% Native people involved, and created the Park with replicas of Totem Poles and a Clan House from the surrounding area. It was interesting to find out about the stories the different Poles tell.

Returning to Ketchikan she took us on a tour of the old city pointing out places of interest, before dropping us off for the Lumberjack Show. This was very entertaining with 4 lumberjacks competing in pairs and a lively commentary to go with it. They competed in 8 different disciplines..... axe, axe throwing, cross saw, chainsaw, tree climbing, log walking.

After the Show we went for a walk around old town Ketchikan, taking in Dolly’s house and Creek Street, the original red light district of the town. Ketchikan, being right on the waters edge, and the transport being by boat, had lots of wooden steps going up to the houses. Bootleg booze was also delivered to hanging sacks out of the trap doors of these houses. Money was also put in the sack to pay for the booze.

Roads were also built on stilts overhanging the edge. If the flights of steps were more than 100 then they are maintained by the local Council, less than 100 need to be maintained by the houses they service. Now there is quite an area of town right on the waters edge that is flat, as it is built on reclaimed land mainly filled in by the pilings from the mines. Following mining, the main industries have been the  pulp mills, fishing and now tourism, with between 1 and 7 cruise ships visiting most days between May and September. Today there was 4.

We feel extremely fortunate with the weather today.... it was glorious this morning, clouding in this afternoon but staying dry. This is even more remarkable as Ketchikan has such a high annual rain fall - averaging 13 feet of rain a year! It even has a Liquid Sunshine Gauge in the centre!

After a good look around we returned to the ship about 1 o’clock (everyone needed to be back by 2:30) and went for a buffet lunch. We walked around the top deck taking in the views, and eventually returned to our room and sat on our balcony as we set off once again. As we were trying to find the Totem Poles on the shoreline, using the binoculars, we saw first a single, then a pair of bald headed eagles high up in trees. So finally we can say we have seen them, alive and in the wild! We were pretty sure we had seen 2 or 3 circling overhead this morning, but seeing them sat in the trees there was no mistaking.

A great day today with wildlife, culture and sight seeing..... looking forward to visiting Juneau, the capital of Alaska tomorrow

Met a mother and daughter from Memphis tonight at dinner..... swapped lots of travel stories!

No of Miles Driven 0

No of steps walked today.... 12349

Day 8 - Saturday 18th May - Cruise......Juneau

Today has been full on....... starting with half waking up at 4:30 this morning- looking out the window and deciding I really needed to get up to take pictures of the sunrise! It was beautiful. And although I did snooze again for an hour or so, it has been a long day. We came into Juneau about 8 this morning, and although not such a picturesque setting as Ketchikan yesterday, it was interesting.

Juneau is the State Capital of Alaska and again, only accessible by boat or air. As with most of this area it has a mining history from the Gold Rush days, although not much in evidence today. The main industry now is fishing and tourism - cruise boats are huge business in this part of Alaska, with 1000s of visitors each year.

And we have been so lucky with the weather, another day of blue skies and sunshine...... I’m sure it’s because we are lugging lots of layers around with us all the time, especially today as we were sure it would be cold when we went out on our boat trip - but it wasn’t!

Mendenhal Glacier. We had just over an hours free time to explore there, time enough to walk the short trail to the ‘photo lookout’, look around the Visitor centre and watch the 15 minute film being shown.

From here we were taken to Auke Bay and got on a boat to go whale watching... out for about 3 hours, with the most stunning scenery all around. The offer from the company is if you don’t see a whale you get your money back - and needless to say we saw whales! The area here is a feeding ground for them, and we saw 6 whales, two with their calves alongside. The trouble with whale watching is you never know when or where they are going to pop up next, and when they do it is for such a short time. But we did manage to get some photos, also lots of just water! We also saw sea lions, some swimming around, and some sunning themselves on the base of a marker buoy that also had an eagle sitting on the top. So we had wildlife and scenery.

Returning back we could either be dropped off back to the ship, or in the centre of downtown Juneau, so we got off there, at Marine Park, and grabbed some lunch in a waterfront bar. We then strolled along the waterfront, taking in the sights, to the Mount Roberts Tramway. We had seen this earlier as we docked, and had bought tickets in advance. It was a good ride up, with lovely views looking down onto Juneau.

At the top there were various trails you could do, and we decided to do the shortest, a scenic loop that took you up a further 350 feet. We passed some snow patches on the way, and had lovely views. The start was through a wooded section and was quite cool, so we stopped to get a layer out, but a couple of ladies coming back down told us we wouldn’t need them, and they were quite right. It was quite a climb up and we were quite hot by the time we got to the top lookout.

Back down the Tramway and back to the ship. A great day of different sights and activities before setting off this evening on route to Skagway and tomorrow’s adventure.

No of Miles Driven 0

No of steps walked today.... 13518

Well, another wonderful day. We docked into Skagway just before 7 this morning. Our booked tour today met for 7:15, and we were in the queue to get off in good time. We had booked to go on the White Pass and Yukon Railway trip.

We were soon on our coach for a brief ride around Skagway to be dropped at the Railway depot. This Railway was built in 1898 following the start of the Klondike Gold rush. As prospectors arrived they had a choice of routes for the start of their 600 mile journey into the Yukon, both treacherous, and they were required to carry a ton of supplies with them - enough to keep them going for a year. There was the shorter but steeper Chilkoot Trail, or the longer, less steep White Pass. But in May 1898 construction began on a Railway. The White Pass and Yukon route climbs from sea level to 2888 feet at the summit in  just 20 miles, with gradients of almost 3.9%. With the tight curves a 3 foot narrow gauge was used. It ran as far as Whitehorse, just over 110 miles.

The project was a success, and ran until 1982, when metal prices slumped and the mines closed. It was reinvented as a tourist attraction in 1988, to run from Skagway to the White Pass summit. This has now been extended as far as Carcross, but that section wasn’t running for the season yet, so we could only go as far as the White Pass summit today.

The scenery was stunning, and we had commentary as well which is great as they let you know what to be looking out for. The track hugged the mountainside, and climbed  up, with many twists. There were two short tunnels, and some trestle bridges. Near the summit we spotted a small group of Caribou - that’s reindeer to you and me - which was great. At this point we were in the sub arctic tundra, with lots of snow and frozen water around us. Also near the summit we passed from Alaska back into British Columbia, Canada. So once the train stopped at Fraser, the end of the line for today, we all had to stay seated and hold out our passports, for the Canadian Border Patrols to check before we were allowed off the train.

Once off the train, our coach driver was there to pick us up, having driven up the other side of the valley to the train - taking just 45 minutes, against our nearly 2 hours. She was taking us on in the coach, and also gave us commentary, and a few photo stops along our way. Wildlife spotting continued, and we saw a brown bear, a bear cub - although it was too quick for us to get a photo, and mountain goats. We were passing some lovely lakes, and with the sun shimmering on the water and on the snowy peaks it was really beautiful. We have been so lucky with the weather again.

We stopped for lunch at Caribou Crossing, rather early for lunch(11:15), but welcome all the same - BBQ chicken, half a baked potato and coleslaw, with a ring cinnamon doughnut being provided. The complex was in the middle of nowhere and had a stage set feel about it, with mock building fronts, some barns behind, where the food was and the gift shop and a museum that had an interesting display about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

After a time there we stopped off at Carcross, originally known as Caribou Crossing. This city is the 5th largest populated in the Yukon, and it wasn’t very big! We had a short while to look around here. There were a couple of local boys running and jumping into the river near the railway bridge..... it looked extremely cold! We also stamped our Passports with a Yukon stamp!

Then it was back on the coach for the 2 hour trip back to Skagway. The US border control was a fair few miles on from the actual border, lower down the mountainside, and didn’t require us to show passports to come back in!

Back in Skagway we got off in the historic downtown, so we could look around before heading back to ship. A lot of the historic gold rush buildings have been preserved/restored and are now protected under the National Park. It was great to have a good look around before walking back to the ship.

A truly wonderful day of lovely sights. Looking forward to more tomorrow as we cruise Glacier Bay.

No of Miles Driven 0

No of steps walked today.... 11795

Day 10 - Monday 20th May - Cruise......Glacier Bay

Well another awesome day of scenery and weather! Today was spent on board,  cruising Glacier Bay - which is more of a very large inlet rather than a bay.

When our cabin steward first met us when we came aboard, he said that on the Glacier Bay day we should use room service. He reminded us again last night, saying - you’ve paid more for a balcony room, use it and don’t fight for viewing space on the top deck with all those from interior rooms! So we took his advice and ordered room service breakfast. Talk about breakfast with a view.... it was stunning.

We went through a short while this morning with low cloud, and mountain tops poking out above, and once that cleared it has been glorious sunshine again. Glacier Bay is a National Park, and we had four Park Rangers come on board for most of the day. They had information, and were available to talk to if you wanted. Also, on the on board tv channel that has a camera on the bow, there was commentary from one of the Rangers throughout the day, telling you some of the history and when wildlife had been spotted etc.

So during the day today we have seen:  lots of different sea birds, stellar sea lions, harbour seals, sea otters, whales spouting (but didn’t actually see the whales!), mountain goats, brown bears - so a good day on the wildlife front.

The map on our National Park leaflet shows the extent the Glacier used to go to in 1750, and various marks of where it had retreated to at different times. By 1795 it had melted back 5 miles into Glacier Bay, which it had gouged out. By 1879 it had retreated 40 more miles up the bay. Now you have to travel 65 miles to reach tidewater glaciers.

We spent an hour circling around at the Margerie Glacier. The Ice face is about 250 feet high (above the waterline) and 100 feet below, and about 1 mile wide.

While we were watching there were a few ‘calvings’, when great chunks of ice fall off into the water below. This produces a huge roar, a bit like thunder.

The other Glacier we saw that came right down to the waters edge was Lamplugh Glacier, and we stayed there for about half an hour. This one was quite different to look at, much more blue.

All around on both sides of the inlet were mountains, many snow capped, and forests. The National Park itself is a huge area, over 3.2 million acres, and again only accessible by boat or plane. Only two cruise ships a day are allowed to enter, but there are other boats as well allowed in.

By evening we are out of the Bay and travelling up the coast, still with snow covered mountains lining the shoreline. It is the second formal night, and we sat with 6 others, all Americans. Yet again lovely food.

No of Miles Driven 0

No of steps walked today - 4899

Day 11 - Tuesday 21st May - Cruise......College Fjord

Today was spent cruising up the coast , in the Gulf of Alaska. By early evening we reached College Fjord where we had a slow cruise up and back with magnificent scenery.

But first off, we again had breakfast in our room. Being out in the Gulf it was a bit choppier than we have had since our first day, but not bad, and the weather was again sunny.

With nothing much to look at for most of the day, I decided to go to the Culinary demonstration..... hosted by the Executive Chef and the Maitre D’..... well, it was ok, with a lot of banter between them, but you couldn’t actually see the food that was being prepared which was a shame. It was due to go on for three quarters of an hour finishing with a tour of the galley. So I was going to meet Phil at the Theatre for a film preview of the onboard dvd that had been made yesterday in Glacier Bay, that was due to start an hour later.

However, after three quarters of an hour they were still only on the second dish, and the pastry chef was just coming on to do a dessert.... so I left as otherwise Phil would be wondering where I was! I don’t imagine I missed a great deal.

The film showing was good, and it was nice to see where we went yesterday again, and to go into the Theatre. My next event was the Ice Sculpting. Not really thinking I went off to it, and soon returned to get some more clothes on as it was being done on the open top deck, where, although sunny, it was decidedly chilly. One of the Phillipino chefs that had done the fruit and vegetable carvings was doing the ice sculpting. It was very good, and he carved a fish.

This afternoon was mainly spent sorting out our packing etc. And then early evening we had more dramatic scenery as we neared the cost again, and into College Fjord. There were  5 different Glaciers, all coming down to the waters edge, along with some lovely snow capped mountains. On the wildlife front we saw an Orca, Sea Otters and a Bear.

So, as I am sitting here typing this, at 10pm, the sun is just dipping down behind the snow capped mountains, a fantastic end to a lovely week on the cruise.

No of Miles Driven 0

No of steps walked today.... 7589

Day 12 - Wednesday 22nd May - Cruise - Whittier, Anchorage  & Glacier Boat Trip

So by this morning when we woke up we had already arrived in Whittier, and quite a lot of passengers had already disembarked! Luggage had all had to be outside our cabins yesterday evening, as this all had to be off before any of the passengers. We had different coloured luggage tags, depending on where it was to go...... but more of that later! Also, depending on your onward plans, depended what time you had to leave the ship. This started at 6:20am, and we were in the last group to leave at 11:30, so had a relaxed start to the day.

When we finally left, it was to get straight back on another boat, as we had booked the 26 Glacier excursion in Prince William Sound, a 5 hour, 140 mile trip on a high speed catamaran, with salmon chowder lunch included.

Although some of the route duplicated what we had seen yesterday, it was from a differed perspective, lower and closer to the glaciers. The scenery, as ever, was stunning, although today was quite cloudy and so we didn’t have the clear blue skies we have been used to. Out on deck, at full speed, it was decidedly cold, and we kept adding layers, but eventually admitted defeat and sat inside for a while.

Lunch was good, and the staff on board were extremely friendly. The Captain gave us some good commentary on the way as well. The wildlife spotting was in addition to seeing the Glaciers, and we ticked off the following: Bald Eagles, sea otters, seals, orcas, Dalls porpoises (but no photos of these)

During the afternoon one of the galley staff came around with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, which were extremely welcome. Also, another one fished out some glacier ice, and you could then go and get a drink with this in! We opted for a coffee instead - to warm up!

Returning back to Whittier, we got on a coach to travel to Anchorage. Almost immediately after leaving Whittier, the road shares the Tunnel with the railway!  This is the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, built during World War 2, for the railroad. In 2000 it was transformed into the longest shared rail-vehicle Tunnel in North America, and there are precise time slots, for trains and vehicles, and in both directions. We were due to go through at 6pm, and we arrived back on shore about 5:30.... so the coach driver was in a hurry to make sure he had everyone he was supposed to, in order to make sure we got through, as some needed to be at the airport. This tunnel is 2.5 miles long, so if you don’t get your timings right, you obviously have to wait quite a while, before the next time slot!

The road up to Anchorage was following an estuary most of the way, and we will be doing it again, in the other direction on Friday. So hopefully we will get to see it in more detail.