Alaska has long been on my bucket list of places I'd like to explore. So, when Bruce invited me along with his family on an Alaskan cruise, I jumped at the opportunity! This all came about almost a year ago - August 2015. Back then it all seemed so far away but the time went by quickly and the trip was upon us before we knew it.
Our cruise was 7 days one way from Vancouver, BC, Canada to Seward, Alaska aboard Holland America's ship the Zaandam. We went through the inside passage, made stops in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway and spent and unforgettable day cruising through Glacier Bay National Park.
In Ketchikan, we hadn't booked an excursion so we got off the ship and explored on our own. My favorite part of that day was the Totem Heritage Center where we were able to see many totem poles that were quite old and learn about the significance of these poles and also about the imagery used in totem poles in general. I believe all the poles we saw were carved by the Tlingit people. We walked through the city - which I was surprised to learn as small as it is that it is the 5th largest city in the state - exploring lots of back streets and 
going in some cute little shops. We walked past the famed Creek Street (a former red light district in the early part of the 20th century). After that, we enjoyed a lunch at a local fish restaurant - a recurring theme throughout this trip, as you can imagine.
Our arrival in Juneau brought a full day of excursion activities. We disembarked and immediately boarded buses out to the Lynn Canal for a few hours on a smaller ship to search out Humpback Whales. We were not disappointed! Did you know that a group of whales is called a gam?? I didn't! Well, we say a gam of around 10 humpbacks which we were able to watch for some time. They came up to the surface and we were quite close so we could see their water spouts and also those beautiful tail flukes (fins) as then dove back under. I was hoping for a bubble net feeding sighting (which I understand is not all that common) or something spectacular like a whale doing a big jump out of the water but that just didn't happen. We were told that those big, impressive jumps happen more around Hawaii where they go to mate; their time in Alaska is mostly for feeding in the water which is very rich in nutrients. We were also able to cruise out and see a number of Stellar Sea Lions sunning themselves on the rocks of a nearby island - and by a number I mean one hundred or more, easily. 
After the excursion we were all pretty wiped out but took a little bit of time to walk around the part of the city beside the dock. Again, there's so much more to see there...I've already got a long list of things to revisit or see for the first time the next trip I make to Alaska (which, I hope will be very, very soon!)
Our next port of call was Skagway. Of the three ports, this was my favorite. To me, it looked like an old western town....maybe a little cleaned up but the buildings and the main street really seemed like a place John Wayne would be comfortable in. Our excursion wasn't super early in the morning there so we disembarked and walked around a bit going 
in some shops and soaking up the atmosphere. Skagway was made famous as a starting point for those mining prospectors arriving in search of gold in the Klondike area of Canada's Yukon territory. From there, miners would start the hard journey on foot across the White Pass into Canada.
And that brings me to our excursion from this port. We road the White Pass Train line over the mountain pass into Canada. I don't think we could have picked a better day for it! Endless blue skies with only a few clouds and fireweed in full bloom along the train line (think beautiful purple stalks of blooms all over the place!). It was a 3+ hour trip via train through the mountain tunnels and around the many turns to the top where we crossed into Canada (but we're sadly not allowed to get off or given a stamp from crossing the border...). We were able to see sights along the way of the old trail used by miners, had impressive views back to the harbor at Skagway and also had sightings of several glaciers along the tops of the mountains. If our whale watching trip hadn't been so impressive I'd have thought this excursion was my favorite...my pictures from that afternoon don't do justice to how beautiful the day was.
The next day our cruise ship entered Glacier Bay National Park. I'm told that a lot of ships are too large to enter the park and also they only allow two ships per day to enter so not all Alaskan cruisers get to witness this. I would tell anyone looking to book a cruise through the panhandle of Alaska not to miss this! It was spectacular! That morning, several national park rangers boarded the ship to give us some information about the day and the things we would see. I found it all so fascinating. Also, a local Tlingit woman boarded the ship to tell us some about their history there. We spent most of the late morning/early afternoon sitting on the back deck of the ship as we sailed through looking at the untouched beauty of that place. 
We were able to cruise up to the area of the park where the Grand Pacific Glaciers and Margerie Glaciers reach the open water. The Margerie Glacier is the one I've seen most in pictures of glaciers calving off into the water with a loud crack. We were able to see that happen several times in the hour or so we were able to be in that area of the park. Our huge ship was dwarfed by this massive river of ice that is slowly making it's way to the bay. Our next day was spent at sea as well but this time we were moving along at a quick pace headed toward Seward. I cannot say enough about the crew of the ship and how much I enjoyed my time on board. They were all very pleasant and accommodating. Most of the ship's crew were either from Indonesia or the Philippines. On the last day at sea, the Filipino crew put on a show which I enjoyed thoroughly and the Indonesian crew had a tea which was interesting also. Each night we went to dinner in the main dining room and enjoyed wonderful meals together. We had the same servers throughout the week which allowed us get to know them a little bit - I liked that a lot.
When the 7th day arrived, I found myself not quite ready to get off the ship. It was such a lovely week filled with nice people, good food and amazing sights! But, when we arrived in Seward we did disembark. From there, Bruce and I said goodbye to his family and headed out on our own. We did a quick excursion before leaving Seward and then headed north but more about all of that on the next post...
Until then...LuLu
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