End of cruise

Two sea days to end our cruise. One day of rollercoaster waves and gale-force winds with most time spent up in the observation room taking sneak peaks of the swells. The next morning we woke up to big swells just as we crossed the last open water before hugging Vancouver Island. The sky was clear, the swells left over from the previous day's storm. Then it was smooth sailing - and a beautiful trip for the remainder of the day travelling the inside passage. We both finished our second book, talked to people we had met over the week and relaxed! The last big supper was a five-course dinner with the traditional Baked Alaska dessert. The waiters no longer bring them in flaming - their fire insurance must have gone up - no flames but the same delicious, calorie-laden dessert and a few more notches let out on the belt.

We woke up to the TV monitor view of the Vancouver port and the Convention Centre and sunny skies - glad to be home.

Hurricane force winds means no Ketchikan

We woke to whitecaps and rain as we were heading into Ketchikan. The captain came on to inform us that the wind was at 50 knots and increasing to 60 (hurricane force) and that our day in Ketchikan was cancelled. Travelling up the inlet and even more-so the docking would be too tricky so the decision was to drop the Ketchikan pilot off and just head slowly back home. So we have two “sea days” instead of one. The staff got busy and produced a new program for the day with extra drinking sessions, games, and classes to fill our time. Bill and I hunkered down in large, comfortable chairs in the Observation Lounge and got our books out. The waves are huge, the swells also big, and the wind is howling but we are safe and comfortable inside. All decks are closed with signs and yellow warning tape except one protected one at the back of the boat. Little white bags have appeared here and there but Bill and I have both managed to feel fine. I don’t look out as much as Bill who is mesmerized by the towering swells. They look small from the Observation Lounge on the tenth floor but down on the main deck they are huge!! We have made it past one open section and will cross Queen Charlotte Sound tonight – then we’re in the inside passage so protected from the worst.

Amazing sights – glaciers calving, whales spouting, a sea otter rolling

So this is why we came. Glacier Bay – “one of the wildest and most dynamic landscapes on earth”. Access is limited – boats of any size are only allowed in these waters after September first when the harbour seal pups, born on the icebergs away from dangers of wolves and orca whales, are old enough to be on their own. Weather is also a big factor – 100 feet of snow falls here annually (hence the glaciers) – the rest of the time it is rain – thus clouds or fog make viewing the glaciers rare. The day started out with low clouds and rain but by the time we arrived at the entrance to the bay, the clouds lifted and we had a calm, clear day.

We picked up a couple of rangers stationed at a remote outpost at the mouth of the Bay as well as a Tlingit Elder who spent the day with us. They climbed up a rope ladder to come on board. Grey whales surfaced and blew all around us as we slowly entered the bay. We were able to slowly sail right up to the glacier – its face as tall as our ship. We found a good spot on the bow of the ship and watched huge parts of the front of the glacier “calve off” with sounds like rifle cracks and thunder booms accompanying them. As we approached the glacier, we realized that the hundreds of black dots on the ice bits in the water were harbour seals. On our return out of the bay, I spotted a sea otter in a kelp bed rolling on his back to have a snack. We also passed a female Alaskan Brown Bear and her two yearling cubs - (they are called this because they are considered to be a different group from mainland grizzly bears because they feed on salmon and end up with huge bellies at the end of the summer (kind of like cruisers!).

National Historic Town and Narrow-gauge Railroad

We checked the TV monitor in our room early Tuesday morning to see the dock in Skagway. The ship had left Juneau at 10:00 pm the night before and sailed all night to Skagway – arriving in the dark this am. After breakfast we walked about a block from the dock to the Visitor Information Centre on the main drag of Broadway and Second Avenue. Looking back, the four ships in dock towered over the tiny town. We learned about Skagway’s part in the Klondike gold rush before taking a four-hour trip on a narrow-gauge railroad that was built to replace the path thousands of prospectors followed on foot in their attempt to make it to the Yukon. The narrow worn path skirting the steep mountain side can still be seen in places.

The town of Skagway is a National Heritage Site and the buildings have been maintained and restored – many originating in the days of the gold rush. There has been no attempt to have them resemble that time in any other way, unless you consider the rush for cheap jewelry and souvenirs by thousands of Cruise Ship passengers a similar kind of activity. The shops all close down at the end of the month until the season starts up again in June and the population drops from thousands (1900 on our ship alone) to 600! A woman in one shop told us that most of the locals have two jobs during the Cruise ship season and work part-time the rest of the year.

We returned to the ship for another four-course dinner then went to another show. Another musical review – different songs but same talented twelve or so singers and dancers and same lights flashing and sounds blasting. We were sitting close to the stage and it felt at times like being hit against the side of the head with a frying pan with the ringing going on long after the initial blast!! It made me cringe but I’m trying to like it, honestly!

Get your trips here, get your diamonds there…

Juneau is the capital – a town that hugs the shore below steep mountains. Tuesday there were four huge cruise ships in dock. When we disembarked, we were met with a line of kiosks with barkers leaning out of them, calling us to try their tours, sign up for their adventures, come look at their special trips. We moved past them and bought a bus ride on the much cheaper “Blue Bus” and headed off to the Mendenhall Glacier.
The trip was about 10 miles out of town and our bus driver pointed out the relevant tourist highlights: “On your right you’ll see our new Walmart. We also now have two international food chains in town: MacDonalds and a Starbucks.” As we passed the governor’s house his comment was: “At least now the governor lives in it, Sarah spent all her time on her boat.” He apologized for the sound of the brakes which howled for half a block each time we had to stop. He said that while Alaska has been a state for 50 years, the bus is much older.
We piled off the bus at the Mendenhall Glacier and joined tour buses and hundreds of other people looking over to the Glacier –a massive turquoise and dust-covered body of ice moving its way down the valley. After a quick look in the crowded information centre, Bill and I hiked for an hour up a forest trail to get a closer look at the Glacier and leave the crowds behind. The trail took us through wonderful coastal rainforest with trees and rocks dripping with thick green moss and pathways decorated with dinner plate-sized, caramel-coloured mushrooms. The glacier kept appearing as we rounded corners but the forest was as much an attraction as the view.

We returned by bus and wandered around downtown Juneau. The streets were crowded with hundreds of people and the store fronts screamed “Season Closing Sale!” Four out of five stores on the main street sell jewelry – mostly diamonds and tanzanite (northern lights-coloured!). The remainder of stores feature Alaska souvenirs including fur of all descriptions, and carved bone and antlers. The majority of items for sale, of course, are made in China. We didn’t last long before coming back on board for relatively quiet evening. Bill went to magic show, Eileen decided to give it a miss.

Low cloud cover and distant iceberg

Foggy entrance to Tracey Arm

Burger bits and leaping dolphins

We woke before sunrise to prepare for a morning in Tracey Arm. While Bill exercised, I sat above in the observation lounge. One surfacing Orca made our early-morning start worthwhile and many white-sided dolphins kept us entertained off and on all morning. The entrance to the fiord was a non-event because there was a fog bank hugging the water and we crept in seeing nothing. The clouds soon lifted a bit and we found ourselves surrounded by steep walls carved out by the retreating glaciers from the last ice age. We entered glacial water filled with many little “burger bits” – mini icebergs left from the summer calving. They glow bright blue in the low light - each one a unique sun-sculptured shape. An on-board narration kept us informed now and then though the National Parks allow only 2-minute announcements in three places in the fiord to protect the environmental integrity. Our ship is smaller than the three other cruise boats travelling in tandem with us. None of them could fit in the fiord. We travelled up the inlet for two hours until it narrowed then made a 360-degree turn and returned for our two-hour trip to Juneau.

End of "At Sea" Day

The end of the evening was spent sitting in the forward coffee bar and watching a spectacular sunset. We change time zones tonight and get up at 6:00am to prepare ourselves for Tracey Arm where we should see whales, glaciers and icebergs.

North to Alaska

Today is an “At Sea Day” as we make our way up the inside passage and north to Alaska. After breakfast with an Australian couple, Bill headed off for a fitness class while I lasted five minutes in a shore excursion seminar (“For only $500 you can fly into a lodge where you’ll have the best meal Alaska has to offer while watching bear cubs who always stop by to lick off the grill where we’ve just cooked the fresh salmon…”) and escaped to an outside deck where I sat in the sun wrapped in a wool blanket and read my book.
Lunch, another presentation on South-east Alaska, more reading, a nap, and then it was time to dress for our formal dinner! We sat with an American couple and shared our political similarities then went to a broadway-style production. Lots of talent but too much sound blasting at me for my tastes.

Flexible seating and inside cabins

We chose flexible seating for dinners and are finding it reminiscent of B&B’s in Atlantic Canada. Our tablemates thus far have been from Princeton, B.C., Florida, Georgia, Australia and Seattle. Most have been chatty, friendly and interesting. Only Mrs. Princeton sat grimly sipping soup, scowling at her husband and nodding sharply when asked a question. She appeared to be barely holding herself together while suffering from the motion – a very worrying sign since we’d only just left Vancouver and the water was like glass.

Our inside cabin is comfortable but strange since it is pitch-black when the lights are out no matter the time of day. 8:30 in the morning is indistinguishable from 2:30 am – very disconcerting. However the air is fresh, cool and comfortable. We felt our first swells this morning at 8:30 as we lost the protection of the islands and crossed Queen Charlotte Sound but the water is generally as smooth as the ocean is capable of being.

Forget the resolve and exercise!

Our cabin is wonderful – actually spacious! There is absolutely no movement noticeable as we travel our way past Vancouver Island. The air is cool and fresh and the bed large and comfy! I was worried about the long, dark rolling stuffy nights but expect to get the best night’s sleep I’ve had in ages. Although Bill suggested that if I do have any trouble sleeping, I can just slip down to the casino in my complementary robe! So you can all imagine me sitting up at a slot machine, slippers, white bathrobe and fag hanging from my lips (I added the last to fit the image!) As for Bill, he did eat too much today (Dinner for him was Scallop Ceviche for starter, then arugula salad with mandarins and pistachios followed by Prime Rib and baked potato for entrée, and Baked Alaska for dessert) No worries, he has signed up for two classes in the gym tomorrow. The 2:00 pm class is titled: Secrets to a Flatter Stomach Seminar. - I kid you not!

Full of resolve and feeling safe

As soon as we boarded, we rushed off for lunch. The cafeteria had stations with a random assortment of temptations: pasta, pizza, ice cream, desserts, a bistro with international dishes, a deli with multiple choices of breads, meats and condiments, and salads. We hadn’t yet parked our common sense so had avocado halves with crab filling followed by fresh fruit and coffee. Bill then fell compelled to sample the desserts – a raspberry slice and a small piece of peach pie!

We reconnoitered the ship, finding our bearings (actually checking where the restaurants are). A mandatory life drill was interesting as we all stood packed like sardines under our life boats. We had to wait for delinquent missing passengers to be rounded up before we could go and with our thick, solid life jackets sticking out we were jostled around like bumper cars at the stampede! Two assurances made me feel better – women and children STILL go first, and the life boats float even if filled with water!

Searched and non-contagious

Our first day is over and we are well-fed and on the way to understanding some of the ins and outs of being on a cruise.
The first two hours in Vancouver were spent in a variety of lines deep in the bowels of the cruise ship centre. The atmosphere was much different from what we’ve experienced in airports but the intention was the same. Keep the borders safe! The staff was very friendly and even made jokes and we didn’t have to remove our shoes but the checks were there none-the-less.

Our first line was for security – a zig-zagging line where we had a 30-minute opportunity to look over our fellow passengers. People were generally jolly and tolerant of the wait. It appeared that many had flown in from all parts of the U.S. to join the cruise. Bill had the only Tilley hat on in a crowd of hundreds. The security guard said he looked like he was going fishing! The majority of men had baseball hats on although there were a few Stetsons sticking out here and there. It appeared that most had decided to start their diet after their cruise…. It still felt like we were herded like cattle – the difference in this experience is that we were all happy cows!

After the security line, we were moved around the corner into another zigzag line for customs where our passports were finally scanned and we were shuffled off to the next line – this time for our health! We had to fill out forms regarding recent stomach ailments, coughs, body aches and fevers and sign our assurances that we felt 100% and ready to travel! We were handed sheets outlining proper procedures to be sure we don’t bring H1N1 back with us on our return. One important reminder is to avoid contact with swine for 7 days after your fever and cough start…
Finally we were sent to the gangway but were stopped in one last line for pictures! By this time, Bill was snarling a bit at the photographer so we may not be buying that one!

Cruisin'

Our Alaska cruise is a few days away and we're curious about what it is going to be like. Preparing for it has already been interesting... I've borrowed a big suitcase from one neighbour and 'cruising' clothes from another. Quite a change from a carry-on with runners, a change of clothes, and an extra layer or two in case we need it. Now I'm taking jewellery, good shoes, two formal outfits, and a sports jacket and tie for Bill! Neither one of us think this is the "real us" but ask me in a week .... Who knows, by then, we might be ready to head out to buy new luggage and sign up for another.

We already realize a few essential things about cruise travel. It is hard to see the wildlife from the boat because we'll be looking down on them from many stories above the water. The cost of the cruise only begins to tell the story as we check out the $500 (US) helicopter trips to the glaciers, full-day boat trips to see the grizzly bear and salmon country, and train trips to the Yukon. The inside cabin that was recommended to Bill for our first time (in case we get sea sick) can feel like a coffin if we are in fact sick and confined to quarters. We are entering a confined area with 1900+ people at a time when the H1N1 flu is about to take hold (again, that enclosed coffin...). And, it rains every day in Ketchikan and has been windy, cold and rainy at all the other spots we are going to for the past two weeks.

In spite of all of the above, we also know that the scenery will be beyond magnificent and the trips into the towns that now depend on tourism to replace logging, fishing and gold mines, will be worthwhile if you are prepared to dig a bit past the tourist stands and look for authentic rather than made in China...

We leave on Saturday from Vancouver and return the following Saturday.