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<\/a>I’m getting used to the ship rocking and swaying it’s a new feeling. It’s a quite large ship with many things to see and do. \u00a0It’s much, much colder than I expected. \u00a0Summer in Alaska can be cold. \u00a0I bought a hat and gloves onboard today and I’m very happy spending \u00a0most of the day on deck 11 watching for whales. \u00a0 It is so beautiful. The scenery is amazing and I can’t put down my camera. \u00a0The average age of the people on the cruise is about….70, so when we arrive at dinner and find everyone at our table between the ages of 30 and 45 we’re very happy. There’s a very nice couple from Toronto, two women from Greenville, SC (no kidding) a couple from St. Petersburg (she works for the same hospital system i used to work for) a single guy from Australia (he’s a long, long way from home…and a bit odd) and the three of us ladies.<\/p>\nAs expected, the close quarters in the cabin are going to make for an interesting trip.<\/p>\n
Day 3 – Ketchikan<\/p>\n
Two words – tourist trap. \u00a0I found the shops to be cheesy and filled with magnets, key chains, and t-shirts. \u00a0A quick walk through town, a few phone calls (I’ve got 3G, woohoo!) and back to the ship for a spa day. \u00a0My friends went on the Lumberjack show excursion, but I couldn’t force myself to go see lumberjacks. \u00a0The spa is very nice and offering specials on excursion days. \u00a0Fabulous pedicure, mini-facial, hot stone massage and reflexology. \u00a0Sweet! From the treatment rooms, I have a great view of the mountains. So glad I skipped the lumberjacks, this is the way to go. It is very, very cold and only a few whale\u00a0spotting’s today.<\/p>\n
The Spa – \u00a0on a normal “at sea” day, the prices are extremely high, but luckily during excursions they offer great specials. Some specials are too good to pass up! \u00a0One tip, make sure you’re not in a treatment room that shares a wall with the gym. \u00a0During one of my treatments all I could hear was the sound of machines clanking and a really loud spin class going on.<\/p>\n
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Day 4 – Icy Point Straits<\/p>\n
This is interesting, no port, just a dock that we take small tender boats to. \u00a0Whale watching today. I am so obsessed with seeing whales again that I have book two excursions today, yup, two! \u00a0We take the tender to the dock and meet at the fish house in Icy Point Straits.<\/p>\n The town, if you can call it that, is run by the Hoonah Indian Tribe. \u00a0The docks opened up in 1994 after the salmon cannery closed. Until then, it was only used by fisherman. \u00a0I just can’t contain my excitement as I \u00a0board the catamaran and head out to sea in search of whales. \u00a015 humpback whales spotted on the trip. \u00a0Success! \u00a0It was awesome. \u00a0The whales are beautiful, graceful and majestic giants. \u00a0Before I even know it, the first whale watching trip of the day is over. Food: \u00a0The dinners in the main dining room were good, they exceeded my expectations for a cruise dining room. We were very pleased to learn that they matched us up at our table with people our age and it was fun to catch up with everyone and see what the other had done. Drinks were very, very expensive. Drink packages are worth it if you drink a lot…\u00a0alcohol\u00a0or soft drinks alike. \u00a0Only water and black drip coffee were free. \u00a0Specialty coffee drinks were quite expensive too – they gave Starbucks a run for their money!<\/p>\n Lunches were not so good. The main buffet got boring very quickly. The grill was okay, but you can’t eat burgers and hotdogs every day! Breakfast was the best meal of the day in my opinion. They had a ton of choices and even though it was “buffet” there were serves dishing out the food (seemed more hygenic that way).<\/p>\n The best meal we had was in the specialty dining room, The Olympic. It was fabulous! I would eat there again! \u00a0Service was spectacular and the meal was one to remember. \u00a0Such a treat!<\/p>\n Day 5 – Juneau<\/p>\n Next, off for 3 hours of whale watching. \u00a0At first, I was a little underwhelmed but then, the boat sped up and the captain said hold on. There were Orca whales in the distance and she was going to try to get us there to see them. Only 10% of visitors to Alaska are lucky enough to see Orca – Killer Whales. \u00a0And today, I found out why they have their name. \u00a0There was a family of 4 Orcas that had come across a sea lion and were hunting it down. \u00a0Meanwhile, two humpbacks had come to the aid of the sea lion. \u00a0The sea lion was on the back of the humpback trying to escape the jaws of the Killer Whales. \u00a0The Killer Whales thrashed and dove trying to get the sea lion and the humpbacks used their massive dorsal fin to defend it. \u00a0After about 30 minutes, the sea lion was in the water (Auke Bay to be exact) and would eventually fall pray to the killer whales. \u00a0 The tour guides, naturalist and captain were in awe and so were we. \u00a0We had witnessed (and photographed) what people from national geographic spend an entire career trying to catch on film. \u00a0By the time the spectacle was over, there were 5 whale watching vessels, 3 humpbacks, 4 Killer whales and one very dead sea lion. \u00a0It was a once in a lifetime experience. If i didn’t have the pictures, I might have thought I was dreaming.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Day 6 – Skagway<\/p>\n Yet another very rainy day. It’s cold, very cold again..and i really didn’t pack well (go figure) but I am so glad I went to Eddie Bauer before i left and got a \u00a0fleece vest, a fleece and a waterproof jacket, they have saved me! \u00a0Today my excursion is a train ride to the White Pass Trail – otherwise known as the Dead Horse Trail. \u00a0Beautiful scenery and majestic views, but a little on the boring side. \u00a0However, quite peaceful and relaxing. \u00a0Skagway is also one of those tourist trap towns. I stuck to the scenery and avoided all the shops.<\/p>\n Excursions – Boy, are they EXPENSIVE! I learned a tip from the more experienced cruisers…book on your own. Don’t book through the cruise line. The whale watching was great, \u00a0I would do that over and over….but I wouldn’t pay the high prices the cruise lines offered. In almost every port, there were tour vendors set up offereing the same tours at lower prices and all of them had online sites to pre-book.<\/p>\n Day 7 – At Sea and Cruising the Hubbard Glacier\/ Glacier Bay<\/p>\n The glacier calves and the ice comes tumbling down and splashes in the water. \u00a0Just amazing. \u00a0I took about 1000 pictures until my fingers and ears were frozen. \u00a0It’s about 35 degrees out….high today of about 50. \u00a0 Now, I’m sitting here typing this diary from the deck of a cruise ship on my iPad. \u00a0Dolphins darting here and there on the side of the ship, an occasional whale spotting and the most amazing view of the mountains. \u00a0This is glorious. \u00a0 This is why I love Alaska so much. \u00a0Tomorrow we end up in Seward and take a little land tour before heading back to Anchorage.<\/p>\n Entertainment – I didn’t go to any of the “shows” they all sounded a bit silly – nothing like what you’d find in Vegas. My friends who did go confirmed my suspicions. They didn’t go back to see any other shows. The other onboard entertainers were okay. Some much better than others. There was a guitar player who was good, but we went back a few times and he played the exact same songs, in the same order, with the same jokes every night. There was trivia, which was fun when we weren’t the only ones who showed up. \u00a0I don’t want to brag or anything, but I think people were scared they couldn’t beat me \ud83d\ude42 \u00a0Overall, entertainment was average. Nothing to write home about. \u00a0However, all the staff members were great and really did do their best to make sure we had fun.<\/p>\n Day 8 – Back to Anchorage<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What I learned from the trip? 2) Three adults in a cruise ship cabin is a great way to destroy friendships<\/p>\n 3) I wouldn’t cruise again, unless it was to Alaska. \u00a0I found that while it’s the perfect way to see Alaska, I wouldn’t be happy cruising elsewhere.<\/p>\n 4) Get a balcony, it’s worth the extra money!<\/p>\n 5) Pack warm and layer!<\/p>\n Here a few more photos from my first trip to Alaska – All of these animals were seen from the safety of a tour-bus. \u00a0If you ever have the chance, I would highly\u00a0recommend\u00a0a trip to Alaska. \u00a0I will be back for another visit soon!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nWith nothing to do in Icy Straits and the rain coming down, it’s back to the ship to wait for the second excursion. \u00a0The girls and I head out for Whales and Wine (or in my case, Sprite) and anticipate even more whale sightings. \u00a0The trip turns out to be stellar. \u00a0There are two whales doing what whales almost never do in Alaska. \u00a0They were breaching! Bodies fully out of the water splashing down on the surface. (For the record, humpback whales reserve this behavior for mating season and so you usually only see this in Hawaii. \u00a0The naturalist onboard speculates that the whales are young males practicing this behavior.) \u00a0The second whale excursion is way \u00a0better than the first one of the day. \u00a0Back to ship for dinner.<\/p>\n<\/a>Guess what I’m doing today? \u00a0Whale watching. \u00a0I wanted to be sure I saw whales on this trip. \u00a0Boy, did I get lucky. \u00a0The day started with a trip to Mendenhall Glacier. \u00a0We were on our own to hike and explore. \u00a0I saw a black bear from the distance, it looked like a fuzzy spot, but the park ranger said it was a bear. \u00a0Then I explored the glacier. Got some great photos.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>I get a 6:45 am wakeup call to be on deck by 7:15 when we enter Glacier Bay. \u00a0WOW! \u00a0What an amazing sight. \u00a0It is magnificent. The glacier is huge, there is just no other way to describe it. There are harbor seals everywhere, and they’re playing on the icebergs that have broken away from the glacier.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>As I suspected, 7 days in a cabin with three girls took its toll. \u00a0The 2 1\/2 hour ride back to Anchorage was painful. \u00a0We had all had it. \u00a0It rained almost the entire way back, but we did manage to stop for lunch at \u00a0really bad diner and we spent about an hour at the Alaska Wildlife rescue center. \u00a0Once back in Alaska, we all went on our own way – me to the airport and the girls – well, I’m not sure where they went actually. \u00a0I was just happy to be alone for a while.<\/p>\n
\n1) A cruise is a great way to see Alaska<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n