We dropped the RV off, with no mishaps...(however 10 days later and we are still waiting on our $700 deposit back...despite 2 emails...with no reply!) and took a shuttle bus into downtown Anchorage, dropped our bags off with the cruise liner (all so easy), and went for a wander around the city centre for a couple of hours. At midday we caught a shuttle bus out to Whittier...1 1/2hr drive....along Turnagain Arm. The weather was miserable the whole way there, so we considered ourselves lucky we got to see that area in beautiful weather. We had to travel through a train tunnel in the bus to get to the cruise ship...a really narrow tunnel..either a train or one vehicle can go through it at a time and it's 4kms long (2.5 miles). It passes under the Maynard Mountain and is called the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel.
Once we were on the other side we saw the cruise ship....WOW! We knew we were in for a good time!
It was pouring with rain and blowing a gale. We queued up and checked in with our passports and tickets, which took about 20 mins, boarded the ship
and found our room. Oh so easy! We had an inside cabin or stateroom, with no window (the cheap ones!!), but it was bigger than the RV, the bed was bigger, the bathroom a tad bigger....and we were very happy!! This was our view....
First port of call..the buffet! OMG!!! But before we got through to the buffet...we were greeted by the "Buffet Welcoming Staff" with a "HAPPY, HAPPY, SMILEY, SMILEY, WASHY, WASHY"...we had no idea what was going on....but they had a spray bottle that they sprayed your hands with every time you came into the buffet...and EVERY time you came into the buffet you got the "WASHY, WASHY, HAPPY, HAPPY"!!! At first I thought it would drive me insane, but it almost became a term of endearment!! (But I don't know how well it would go down at Bunnings with "Rita the Greeter"!)
We were actually in the middle of a bad storm, so the Captain delayed departure by a few hours... so many icecream cones were devoured by Stu while we waited. We had to do a safety drill, but it was too rough to be outside so after 1 hr of being thrown around the ship, we learnt to put a life jacket on....that was our drill!!
Once we left port and got out into the open waters, the Captain recommended if you get seasick to take a table before you went to sleep. That was enough for me as I was starting to feel queasy, especially after watching all the people trying to walk in a straight line with no success! So I took a tablet which wiped me out for the night, although I did wake to hear things being thrown around the room and doors opening...it was pretty rough! And when your room is in complete darkness you have no idea where you are.
We were in open seas for the next day as well and it continued to be rough...and I was still a bit zonked from the tablet. But we enjoyed the buffet and finding our way around the ship.
One of the destinations to check out was Hubbard Glacier, which was supposed to look like this,
but the weather was so bad all we could see was this!
The next day we stopped at Icy Strait Point....Hoonah. We had to catch a shuttle boat into the port, which was all set up for the tourists...the town was actually a couple of kms away. I have to say it was done really well...interesting information about the fishing industry, a nice rainforest walk and of course lots of shops!
Every night there was some sort of entertainment...we saw a comedian, the Norwegian Cruise Liner performers, of which there were about 20 of them, who sang and danced...full of energy. They were amazing...so very talented and could have been performing anywhere...they were from all parts of the world with about 5 Australians amongst them. We were really impressed with them. There were also game shows that we watched which were always funny and entertaining...leave your inhibitions on shore! And every night when we went to bed, there was a different towel animal on our bed....
When Stu started to get a bit fidgety and needed to do something there were basketball, table tennis, pool, spas and golf facilities to use up some of that energy!
There were great viewing areas all around the boat with plenty of seats available without feeling too crowded...
even with 1700 guests and 700 staff on board. Our favourite place was the back of the boat...
We spent a few hours in Juneau, the capital of Alaska, where access is only via boat of plane. It was pretty small, but again we found it quite interesting...we took a tram ride up a mountain
which gave us great views of Juneau...
and wandered through the streets with the other 1700 people on board the ship!!
Check out this face in the snow up on a mountain above Juneau...
and the Cop Shop grew it's own "grass"......on the roof!
We had beautiful views from the back of the boat as we left Juneau....
After leaving Juneau
we made our way to Sawyers Glacier. This was breathtakingly beautiful....going down narrow passages,with waterfalls cascading down mountains into the water,
large icebergs floating everywhere...
The closer we got to the glacier, the more ice appeared..
and even another ship...
It was spectacular.
The glacier itself could be seen from a distance, and it was pretty amazing too.
It was a fabulous, serene few hours...everyone on board was in awe and respectful of this beautiful scenery...
As beautiful as all the icebergs were, that night when we went to bed, I woke up with a start, thinking we had hit an iceberg. Stu of course was sound asleep. I was so convinced that I actually went out the passage to make sure everyone was evacuating! Of course, everyone was sound asleep and it was just my vivid nightime imagination going into overdrive!
Next stop was Skagway...we had been there before in the RV and didn't like the place at all, and our opinions didn't change....we actually didn't even get off the boat as it was pouring with rain...just like before!
Our last port of the 7 day cruise was Ketchikan. On our way there we got a sunshower and saw this beautiful rainbow...
Ketchikan turned out to be our favourite town. The boat literally parked up at the end of the main street and we all got off.
It was pouring with rain the whole time we were there, but there was so much to explore that we didn't care.
It had the usual shops that are everywhere,
...fur shops, taxidermy shops, gift shops...but our favourite place was Creek St.
It was an old brothel area which was sited alongside a creek...hence the sign....
It had great character and was really picturesque...it even had a seal swimming up and down the creek.
So another lovely day on the cruise...the next day being out on the open seas and our last full day on board...again I felt a little seasick, so took 1/2 a tablet and wiped myself out for a few hours. When I woke we were back in the Inside Passage and the waters were calm. It was an absolutely perfect evening with calm weather, clear skies and more shipping traffic...beautiful.
It was a perfect way to end our last night on the boat...
The next morning we were up at 6am to see the views coming into Vancouver.....spectacular...
We had our last brekky and reluctantly disembarked around 9.30 am.....farewelling the ship...
Monique, our friend from Manitoba had arranged for us to stay at her brother Norbert's place. We had never met Norbert before and he very kindly agreed, even catching the train to the ferry terminal to meet us and take us back to his place. This exchange just keeps on giving for us as we have spent a fantastic few days with Norbert and his sons, Julian and Ben. A wonderful family...no surprise there though! Norbert took us into Stanley Park and along the Downtown waterfront for the day yesterday...
our first warm day since March. We had passed by Vancouver about 3 times, so it was great to actually see a bit of the city. It is a really nice looking city...plenty to see and do and even better when you are being shown around by a local.
We visited another sister of Norbert and Monique's...Henriette and her husband Ray. We had the best night together...so many laughs and stories..and again the family made us feel so welcome. Thanks guys!
While we were staying at his house, Norbert, Stu and the boys took the old shingles off Norbert's shed, replacing them with new ones....you've got to earn your room and board some way!
Norbert took us to Whiterock for an icecream on our last evening, which was a lovely seaside town...
Thanks Ouimet's..so glad we got to spend time with you all and do be able to visit some of the "Ouimet Trail"...can't wait to see you in WA!!
So the cruise turned out to be way better than I expected and I guess you should experience something before you judge it.....it came at just the right time for us. A week of not having to decide anything was just what we needed and I would now recommend it to anyone. Then to be able to spend 3 days with Norbert and his family was priceless with a friendship forged.
We are now in Charlotte, North Carolina, will drive through South
Carolina and Georgia and into Florida for our house exchange. Really
looking forward to it.
