Hubbard Glacier, Alaska - Thursday, June 11, 2009

Hubbard Glacier is a tidewater glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada. From its source in the Yukon, the glacier stretches 122 km (76 mi) to the sea at Yakutat Bay and Disenchantment Bay. It is the longest tidewater glacier in Alaska, with an open calving face over ten kilometers (6 mi) wide.

Overcast and chilly weather yielded to fabulous weather as we approached Hubbard Glacier, the banner title of this cruise. Our narrating guide said he had never seen such beautiful weather at the glacier. We talked to some other people who had been here on a prior cruise. They said ‘all they saw was fog’ so, I can’t believe we lucked out again!

Words, and even pictures for that matter, can not show the awe-inspiring magnitude of the scene before us. I know this because I have seen pictures and movies of mountains all my life but nothing compares to the stark, majestic beauty and the contrasts of the ocean, the mountains, the glaciers and the sky.

Another ship, Radiance of the Seas, has beat us to the face of the glacier, so we approached ‘dead slow’ for the last five miles. The silence was truly eerie as we stood just below the ship’s bridge and watched and drank in the enormous beauty. As we were within what seemed like feet from the 400 foot high of ice, we heard what sounded like a muffled explosion and several thousand tons of ice ‘calved’ off the face and crashed into the ocean. We watched the resultant mini tsunami waves crash against the opposing rocky point.

Sitka, Alaska - Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The onion domes of St. Michael’s Cathedral are your first clue that Sitka was once a Russian settlement – the colonial headquarters of Count Baranof, no less.

At this port there is only one other ship anchored off shore, the Amsterdam, another Holland America ship similar in size to ours. There is no dock here so we use the ship’s tenders to go ashore. This is a minor aggravation because Sitka rewards us with lots of things to see and do.



We remarked that some other ports had visual similarities to the islands and rocks back home in Lake Huron but Sitka looks even more like Georgian Bay.





We hired a taxi for a flat rate of $7.00 to the Raptor Center, which we determined was our farthest point so we could walk the couple miles back to the dock (our walking practice paid off) The young cabbie from Hawaii has some ‘regular customers’ who fly up here every year from California. He said that this fishing group has never seen the mountain peaks because of the fog and rain. That’s why there’s a rain forest here.

The Raptor Center with an admission charge of $12. was very interesting. This center is a non-profit refuge for injured birds of prey. They have a flight training area, a surgery clinic, trails and enclosures for rehabilitated and rehabilitating birds. Bald eagles can live over 50 years in captivity and some, that will never fly again have been here for 8 to 12 years.

We walked back through the National Park where numerous totems have been collected from remote areas of Alaska. Although it is a rain forest, we had no rain and bright sunshine with temperatures is the low seventies. Perfect! We met a fine couple on the ship, Nick and Connie from BC. We haven’t seen them for a couple of days but met them going the other way in the park. It’s funny how you see the same people over and over on cruise ships.

We returned through downtown Sitka with the usual tourist shops and a beautiful Russian Orthodox church. All aboard was at 3:30 pm so we boarded the tender around 3:00 and headed back to our ship.

At dinner since it was a formal night, Bernie was hoping to have Liz join us again, so we always keep the empty seat beside him free on formal nights in anticipation of Liz.

Not to be tonight. The maitre d’ brought the ship’s Doctor this time. That empty seat seems to be a magnet for ‘dignitaries’. The Doctor was born in Alaska, in the navy reserves 23 years, married, and now retired from daily practice. He said that because the cruises to MexicoAlaska. HAL’s major revenue comes from cruises in Mexico Caribbean and Alaska. “All the rest is fluff”. This abundance of ships has caused prices to plummet.The Doctor bought the wine for the table. He said he had a very good conversation and much to Bernie’s chagrin promised it with us again. Bernie of course would prefer Liz, especially on his birthday next week.

Juneau, Alaska - Tuesday, June 9, 2009 The State Capital

Flowers are blooming everywhere with 20 hours of daylight.

Maybe good rental cars are scarce here?

Is this fur underwear or fur swimwear?

Above is the State Capital Building and below is the Governor's Mansion.

Sarah Palen wasn't home today. But I can tell you, YOU CAN'T SEE RUSSIA FROM HER HOUSE!

Located at the foot of grand mountain peaks on the Gastineau Channel,the town of Juneau has the massive Mendenhall Glacier and the immense Juneau Icefields at its back door.

I think it is really strange that they would create a state capital city that has no road connecting with the rest of the state. There are no roads leading out of Juneau, so you must ferry your car.

This is the first day that we’ve had rain. A light drizzle. We ate breakfast in the dining room with Jack and Sybil from PEI. While we were eating, the Infinity came in and made an incredible docking behind our ship.

The drizzle cleared up but the sun never did come out. It was ‘shorts weather’ so not that bad. We wandered around Juneau. There was a huge abundance of the usual tourist traps but we did get to the State Building and the nearby Governor’s Mansion. We never saw Sarah Palen (Wendy said she is out of town) and we couldn’t see Russia from her house! We thought about going to the Mendenhall Glacier, but the low clouds didn’t make the trip sound too enticing.

Bernie went off on a float plane excursion to three glaciers. He said he had a great flight and since he rode in the co-pilot seat, he had the best view on the plane.

Today our sail away was at 6:00 pm. We went to the show at 7pm, before dinner. I was selected to be the stooge for a very talented magician/pianist. My five minutes of fame! The dinner menu offered the choice was between a grilled New York steak and lamb shanks. Since I brought my own mint sauce, it was a tough choice. Why do they always put the good stuff on the same night? I chose the grilled New York – excellent steak.





The evening goes on and on. At 10pm it’s still light outside. Tonight is the ‘Chocolate Extravaganza’. Wendy and I chose to ‘look not touch’ and I took a few pictures for the blog. There was enough carbs there to fuel the ship. Truly an extravaganza.

Haines, Alaska - Monday, June 8, 2009

Nestled on the shores of America's longest fjord, Haines is in a spectacular setting.

Bernie suggested we meet at 10:15 at the gangway so we had lots of time to get ready and have breakfast. The weather has turned warmer again and, just as the captain promised, it was headed for the low seventies. When we disembarked the ship we met Bernie and walked down the pier towards the little town of Haines. Our’s was the only ship here since the dock has room for only one. Unlike other cruise ports that we’ve visited in other parts of the world, there were no taxi cabs or hawkers to be seen. Except for a converted school bus, a 1948 Packard Clipper limo and a few 12 passenger vans parked side-by-side, there was no other activity other than the hundreds of passengers embarking on various pre-booked excursions.

Wendy and I wondered to ourselves if we had made a mistake in not booking an excursion since it would appear there was very little to do here. Fortunately we were wrong. There were two women standing near an easel by the Chevy vans. One lady my age was describing the beauty to behold of her 1 ½ hour mini tour to Chilcoot Lake for $40 each. A cute young girl, Sarah, stood nearby and was assisting with the sales promotion. Since there was no other tours in site, I felt my dickering powers were limited so we paid the money and hopped into the first van.


Young Sarah was our driver. It turns out she moved here with her husband two years ago from California, bought some property, and intend to settle here and start a family. Both are naturalists and intend to become more involved in eco-tourism.

The drive along the side of the Chilcoot River was marred by extensive road construction. Apparently the road, which appeared to be perfectly adequate for most purposes, had to be completely rebuilt to accommodate the truck traffic from a new mine. Sarah stopped the van a few times to show us a bald eagle, several types of wildflowers, and other interesting natural features. The stops were terminated by the presence of mosquitoes. Interestingly, we always had a few minutes to look at whatever Sarah had to show us before the mosquitoes discovered we were there. While we waited for construction flagmen, we got some bonus time added to the 1 ½ hours as Sarah described more of the flora and fauna visible from the road. The snowcapped mountains in the background highlighted almost every photo.

Our little tour ended at Dalton City. This is a little grouping of buildings which were moved to this part of Haines after they were used in the filming of the Hollywood movie White Fang.



The quaint little production props are now used to house tiny businesses like gift shops, candy and souvenir stores and even a micro-brewery. We sampled some beer and rootbeer before boarding a converted school bus ‘free shuttle’ for a ride around Haines before returning to the ship.

Ketchikan, Alaska - Sunday, June 7, 2009

Built out over the water and climbing weathered stairways, Ketchikan clings to the shores of Tongass Narrows and drapes the mountains with a cheerful air.

When we awoke around seven Wendy went out on the pool deck to see what the weather was doing. Not nice. Cool, overcast, and the possibility of rain, we decided to have breakfast in the dining room. There, as is always the case we met some new people, two sisters-in-law Mary and Linda from Michigan and Washington DC. This is one of the reasons why we prefer to eat in the dining room. At the buffet, someone seems to always be away from the table, so you can’t carry on a great conversation. They had left their husbands at home and were traveling together on their own.

Nothing planned for Ketchikan so we walked fairly aimlessly then took the free city bus shuttle for a quick fifteen minute overview. This town is not very large but the core near the docks is crammed with tourist shopping and of course with two larger ships, the Infinity and the Brilliance of the Seas in port at the same time, there was lots of activity.

We departed the bus near the fish hatchery and strolled along Ketchikan Creek though the brothel section, paused on the bridge just long enough to snap a few pictures and drop my favorite Wal Mart polarized fisherman’s sunglasses into the Creek. . Wendy noticed a Wal Mart shuttle so since it was only eleven forty, we hopped aboard and headed about twenty minutes out to buy new sunglasses.

Wal Mart proved to be a very popular destination (not shown or the cruise ship excursion list) When we arrived, there was a large line-up of people trying to cram on to the shuttle for the return trip before we were even able to get off. Now we were worried that we might have difficulty getting back to the ship before ‘last call’ at 2:30pm. But the driver assured us there was two shuttles-not to worry.

Waiting in line we met some staff from the Infinity (3 baby sitters and 2 dancers) I kibitzed with the young girls and we really had a fun ride back. Wendy scolded me for offering to let one of them sit on my lap in the crowded van.

So, we travel a few thousand kilometers and spend an hour or so of our precious time going to Wal Mart. Sorry Holly, no “Big Kmart” here.

We picked up some brochures and decided to see what the weather was like next week when we return. I can’t see spending a couple hundred each to take a seaplane to Misty Fjord if the visibility is bad.

We saw three whales from the pool deck but they were really too far away tosee well. Dinner was fairly uneventful, but tall tales abounded.

At Sea, Saturday, June 6, 2009

When we got up around 6 AM it was pretty grey, cold 45 F and I thought sure it would sock in for the whole day. We headed for the dining room, sat with 2 other couples from Montana and North Dakota. By around 10 AM it started to brighten up and by 11 AM it was absolutely spectacular with ‘shorts’ temperatures, zero wind and views of amazing vistas.

We followed the Port Hardy to Prince Rupert ferry route through narrow channels with breathtaking views. The Princess Royal Channel joins the Grenville Channel and on the map it looks too narrow for cruise ships, but it really is as wide as the St Clair River back home.

I brought my “Streets and Trips” GPS on my tablet and was amusing people around the pool with my ability to see where we were and how fast we were going etc. There were actually a fair number of people swimming outside. Of course the pool is heated and the temperature was in the mid 70 ‘s. NOT A SINGLE CLOUD IN THE SKY. Hope it keeps up.

We took hundreds of pictures but it’s hard to upload them on the ship, So I’ll post some of them later.

Wendy says it reminds her of Georgian Bay with mountains. “Today was one of the best days of my life!” she exclaimed.

Tonight is “Meet the Captain” formal night but the views are so amazing, we missed the party and remained on deck watching the scenery go by.


Tablemates Carol (above) and Gordon (below with Bernie) are from Shuswap Lake in B.C.

Bernie is quite the ladies’ man. Since he is single, we have one extra chair at our table for 8. I don’t know if it was luck or co-incidence but the maitre d’ placed Liz Kamas, a staff member at our table. Bernie had met her earlier and was hoping he’d see her again. She bought a couple of bottles of wine for the table and was the star of the table.

Bernie said “He’d rather have her at our table than the Captain any day!” Liz promised to join us again on Bernie’s birthday June 18th. She is the Holland America shopping representative and as such, must call on every member vendor at each port. HAL allows the personnel to mingle on formal nights. She hails from Albany New York and is as nice as she looks. Good going Bernie, nice date!

Flight and Embarkation Vancouver, Friday, June 5, 2009

Ryndam - Carrying 1,260 passengers, this 720-ft, 55,451-ton ship with 10 passenger decks has a beam of 101 ft and a draft of 24.6 ft. She is registered in the Netherlands and cruises at a maximum speed of 21 knots. The professional staff is composed of Dutch officers and a 557-member English-speaking Indonesian and Filipino crew.Her summer home port is Vancouver for Alaska; then she is based in San Diego for 7- to 10-day Mexican Riviera cruises.

At the London airport we bought two large sandwiches at Tim Horton’s. These, combined with the free drinks on the plane, proved to be more than we needed to eat, especially since we will have lots to eat on the ship. One large BLT went into the garbage.

The West Jet trip was excellent. The plane holds 140 people and with only 70 on board, there was lots of room to spread out and relax. Some people even laid down across 3 seats. The time passes quickly. (TV with 30 channels included) It’s nice that this is a domestic flight and there is no customs to worry about. We arrived on time at around noon BC time. (3pm Eastern) and found a cab to the ship. It’s nice here, mid 70 ‘s, sunny.

On board the ship, we met our old friend Bernie who we met 5 years ago, on our first cruise aboard the brand new (at the time) Westerdam.. We kept in touch by email all these years, so it was nice to see him again. The sail away party was 5 pm after life boat drill.

Later at dinner, we met our new table mates, more Canadians, Hans and Glynnis from Edmonton and Gordon and Carol from BC and of course, Bernie, the only ‘Yankee’ at our table.

The jet lag due to a three hours time difference was augmented by the changing of the clocks another hour at two AM this morning. That puts us 4 hours different. We stayed up until after 11 PM (3AM) to see the ship travel through ‘the narrows’ near Campbell River. There was a full moon so it was nice, but would have been better in daylight. Getting to bed at midnight (4 AM home time) it wasn’t hard to sleep until 6 AM (10 AM home time) Hopefully this has shaken off the jet lag.

Originally, during the Gold Rush, in order to ensure that adequate supplies were available in the Yukon and Alaska the gold prospectors were required to bring a mandatory ton of supplies to be hauled with them over the steep and treacherous Trail of '98.

It would seem we are STILL trying to adhere to that policy even though we are traveling by ship and are unlikely to need the whole ton for our two week tour.

Click weather map to read

I checked the weather forecast for Alaska and they are having an exceptionally hot, high seventies week right now. Unfortunately the temperature drops of to the sixties for next week with a little more cloud forecast. Oh well, that’s weather for ya! It looks like it’s trending into the low sixties which is still very comfortable. Notice the sunrise/sunset at 3:52am/10:07pm. Maybe our inside cabin will pay off.

I'm Afraid Of Flying

I never worry about the plane crashing. I worry about more important things like spilling my drink on myself or worse, the person beside me. Or losing my luggage. Or getting the runs. Or missing my connection with the ship. Or catching the flu.

I've never done most of the above, but I've come close, that's for sure. I'm hoping for an uneventful 5 hour flight on Friday. I will try to post to the blog every day, but please bear with me. There are so many distractions aboard a cruise ship you know.

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If you need to get in touch with us, I try to check my email every day.

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