Ketchikan and the Misty Fjords!

Today we arrived in the early morning and had a great view of the town as we arrived from our balcony. There is nothing better on an Alaska Cruise than a balcony cabin! Almost every morning we order coffee and croissants from room service and just sit an enjoy the scenery as we awaken and prepare for the day. Many cruises is is not as big a deal, but for Alaska you are almost always close to land and the spectacular scenery.

Today we have booked a floatplane tour to the Misty Fjords National Monument! We are a little nervous as we join or group for the transfer to the marina - the weather is beautiful, but full of clouds and far off drizzle! The trip is about 2 hours long, flying out of the marina and over a few islands to reach the Park, then we tour around some of the volcanic mountains, drop into the canyons for a close up view and then actually land on one of the hundreds of lakes we cross for a close up look! IT WAS AWESOME! We had a great pilot who has been in Ketchikan for over 30 years and was really good! I got to sit in the front seat as the co-pilot and had a ball! On the return flight we flew really low through the canyons and just kissing the mountain tops as we flew below the clouds back to the harbor. Upon our return we got a great view of the four cruise ships in the harbor, and landed right next to the Serenade of the Seas - right next to it!

Today we leave early from town, so it was off for shopping and then boarding by 1:00 PM. Tonight we are having dinner in the Pinnacle Grill with some friends. The Pinnacle Grill is Holland America's upscale alternate dining experience. It is a small restaurant on the ship that only seats 60 - 80 guests at a time. All the meals onboard Holland America are exceptional, but we hear the Pinnacle is just superb - and we can hardly wait!

Sitka!

Today we decided to get a little more active and have booked a Kayak Excursion that takes us around the inlets to the fresh water estuaries so we could see the Salmon running and we are not disappointed - WOW is all I can say, the Salmon where incredible, and we where also treated to an up close and personal visit with two Bald Eagles! Both were perched only about 30 - 50 feet from us, above in a tree as we paddled up and watched them for about 10 minutes and then watched them swoop down towards the water and fly swiftly towards the sky. We were told they where hunting Salmon and are there most of the mid-summer period for kayakers to see and enjoy. We also saw some huge Jellyfish and Starfish during our paddle! After our trip, we wandered through town enjoying all the Russian Handicrafts and artwork before grabbing a bite to eat and heading back to the ship to watch us as we sailed back out into the open seas and the Inside Passage on our way to Ketchikan.

Juneau - Whale Watching

This evening we are invited on a private shore excursion with the rest of the Centurion Group to go Whale Watching and see what else we can find! Our group of over 20 people are bussed to the local Allin Marina and loaded into three beautiful high speed catamarans for our Quest! The catamaran is three decks high, with very comfortable seats, binoculars and maps in each seats for us to use. We also have been presented with a full buffet of Salmon, Reindeer Sausage and all kinds of other local delicacies - and a full open bar - of course! :)

Just as soon as we leave the harbor we spot our first Humpbackwhale and are able to sit back and watch as it breaches the surface, spouts and dives back down with its spectacular tail rising into the air! We watch a few more times then head off to look for more. This time it takes us about 45 minutes to find another whale - but this time we spot a whole pod of them and watch for another hour as they swim, dive, jump, spout and generally feed and protect their young! On the way back to the marina - the captain brings Priscilla to the front of the cabin so we can all sing Hapy Birthday! Priscilla's face was a red as her hair! A great day was had by all!

Juneau, Alaska!

Juneau - Capital of Alaska!

We arrived today in Juneau for Priscilla's Birthday! This morning we have booked an EARLY river rafting excursion down the Mendenhall River which flows directly off the Mendenhall Glacier - which means the water is Ice Cold - actually it is 35 degrees where we put the rafts into the water. We meet our group at 7:30 AM for the trip to the Glacier and our next adventure. When we arrive we are issued a paid of rubber boots to keep our feet from numbing, along with full length rain coats and pants to help keep us warm. We are warned NOT to fall in if possible - no problem there!

We are loaded into the rafts with a family of five and begin our journey down the valley to the inlet below. Our trip is approx. one hour long and travels 7 miles down the Mendenhall Valley. The rapids are very small, al class one and one class two rapid - easy for any one of any physical ability to accomplish. We have a great trip, with a great group and just rafting along the base of the Glacier makes our day! We are now off to town to have a cold beer with some friends at the Famous Red Dog Saloon in the center of town - to warm up of course!

Glacer Bay II

We met some friends in the Crow's Nest and decided to go to their suite so we could enjoy some Champagne and watch the Glaciers from the vantage of the balcony. The Captain has positioned the ship parallel to the Glacier so that we can wait and watch for an calving activity - we are not disappointed! We sat for about 45 minutes and were treated to four or more active shows of ice falling - HUGE cracking sounds - icebergs being created - it was very cool! We decided to visit the Jacuzzis on the aft of the ship and watch as we depart Glacier Bay - the cold air and the hot water where invigorating - and we got to see a pod of Orca jumping and swimming by as we departed the Bay! What a day! Tomorrow we are in Juneau for Priscilla's Birthday - Red Dog Saloon - here we come!

GLACIER BAY!!

Today we entered Glacier Bay at approx. 11:00 AM and first picked up our local "Pilot" who will guide the ship and it's crew through the channels, inlets and bays to give us up front and personal views of these amazing glaciers. We also picked up a pair of naturalists from the National Parks service who will provide commentary, stories and answer questions during our 8 hours in Glacier Bay. The whole of what is now Glacier Bay used to be a massive Glacier itself and has been receding for hundreds of years, creating the 65 mile long Glacier Bay and the many Glaciers that feed it.

Today the temperature is in the 50's and it is overcast and misty! Wonderful if you have been in Arizona for the last few months as I have! We have decided to bundle up and join a few intrepid adventurers on the bow for what we hear is the best viewing and picture taking on the ship. we also hear they are serving hot toddy's so we are sold! We find only about 20 other people braving the cold - but the view is AWESOME! We hang out for about 60 minutes and decide to retreat to the comfort of the Crow's Nest lounge on the top of the ship - where it is packed with passengers and where the naturalists are giving their presentations. The massive Glaciers are incredible to view from here too. As we are relaxing, another Holland America ship passes by, with the Captain's both blowing their horns! Everyone was cheering and waving - very fun!