Day 7 -- Glacier Bay

Today was scenic cruising in Glacier Bay. There were no scheduled activies during this time. It was very chilly outside rainy and foggy. By the time we reached Tarr Inlet, the fog lifted enough to see the glacier faces. These are ice rivers that are thousands of years old. They vary in color from white to all shades of blue. You could see where some of them have receded, and where others have increased in width. It is difficult to estimate how big these things are, but I am guessing that some of them are at least a mile wide and 20 stories tall. We did not see any whales, seals, bears or any other wildlife except a few birds.

I spent most of the day in a very comfy chair in the library, reading and watching the scenery. I spent some time with my new knitting pupil going over the basics of casting on and the knit stitch. Later in the afternoon, there was a bridge game and I was needed to play. My partner, who I had never met, and I played brilliantly (if I say so myself). We came in first with a 62% game! We then had dinner and then saw another musical production show. I must say that the food on this ship is so-so, but the production shows are wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed the new singers and dancers.

Later in the evening, the Captain announced that we would be going into some weather, with high winds and seas. By the time we got ready for bed, it was starting to get a little rocky. Being in an inside cabin is not fun when you don’t have the horizon to look at or some fresh air, so the only thing you can do is go to sleep.

Day 8 -- College Fjord

Woke up this morning and quickly got dressed and out of the room. We were rocking enough that you have to hold on to something while brushing your teeth. It was not a good day for a shower in something that is smaller than a telephone booth. Up to the outside decks to get some air.

I met my knitting student, Shirley, for more instruction and after about 15 minutes, she was sick with mal de mer. She went topside to get air and came back and tried again, but we had to quit as she looked like she was going to get sick and pass out. I went in search of a place to sit that would minimize the rolling and wound up in the library again. By noon, things started to calm down a bit and Shirley came back to continue our lessons. Again, she got sick and she had to go lay down.

The bridge club championship was today and prized were awarded. I have to say this Princess ship gave out some good prizes – tote bags, hats, and passport holders. Unfortunately, not too many people showed up and I was not needed. By this time, Shirley was feeling much better and we continued the lessons. I taught her two week’s worth of information in one day. I got her started on a simple scarf and hope she enjoys knitting as much as I do.

We went back to our cabin and found a notice that we were to use our old room (the one with all the bass noise) to store our bags during the transition day tomorrow. Michael and I decided to move as much of our stuff as possible by ourselves. You do not realize how long a ship is until you have had to haul suitcases from the bow to the stern, not once but three times. I am sure we walked at least 2 miles doing this. Now all we have left to move is the stuff we need for the night.

We had a pleasant farewell dinner with Ralph and Shirley. We really enjoyed their company. Ralph played bridge and Shirley now knits, so we had a lot in common! While dining, we did scenic cruising through College Fjord. According to the naturalist on board, there are over 100,000 glaciers in the area, but only 600 are named. The sights are awesome, with glaciers spilling down the valleys and the snow covered mountains shrouded in fog. There are thousands of small icebergs floating by the ship. It is grey and gloomy.

Michael started feeling sick with a sore throat and since we saw the show last night, we went back to our cabin and found another room assignment. This one is on deck 4, which is where the regular crew (not the guest crew on deck 5) lives. They gave us official Princess name badges so we can enter deck 4. We need to check it out before we commit, so if this room is unacceptable, then we will go back to the noisy bass room or else they might give us a passenger room if the ship is not full. So, we still don’t know where we are going to stay. Did I mention, no more Princess cruises!?

As I write this (I am in the noisy bass room because that’s where all our stuff is), Michael is in bed trying not to get too sick. Please let his illness be brief and pass soon.

Day 9 -- Whittier

We arrived in Whittier early in the morning and the fog was so thick you could barely see the pier. Disembarkation began early and we needed to leave our cabin by 8 am (we actually left at 9 am). We thought we could get a head start on moving and unpacking again, doing laundry, etc. but none of that happened. The ship is not geared up to process any incoming issues until the disembarkation has been completed, so we just had breakfast and hung around until noon. I was able to do a load of laundry and had the laundry room to myself. At 12:15 pm we finally got the keys to our new room.

This has officially become the worst cruise experience we have had in regard to accommodations. We moved into our new room on the crew deck – it has bunk beds!! Michael volunteered to be on the upper bunk. I am on the lower one and cannot sit up without bumping my head. We do have portholes and that is the only nice thing I can say about the room. It has a lingering smoke odor that Febreze has not been able to fix, and the carpet has cigarette burns all over. It is dirty, shabby and very small and cramped. This is such a surprise as the passenger rooms and the previous noisy bass room (which is an officer/lecturer room) were clean and didn’t stink. We cannot ask to be moved again as the assistant cruise director worked really hard to get us out of the noisy room; so we are stuck.

It is really weird walking down below the passenger decks to see the inner workings of how the ship functions – to see the stuff that makes the passenger experience so seamless and enjoyable. We feel like aliens in a strange land as we really don’t belong there. Deck 4 is like a highway that runs the entire length of the ship. There is the crew mess, recreation hall, extra food and drink stores, mattresses piled up against the walls, wheelchairs, a pingpong table, glass recycling, cardboard recycling, and on and on. It’s like a little city that lives underground.

We unpacked and then had lunch. I was very tired since I didn’t sleep the night before and Michael still wasn’t feeling well, so we took a nap. I spent the rest of the day reading in the library. After dinner, there wasn’t much for us to do as we had seen the shows and movies, so back to the library I went. Michael stayed for a brief time, but then he decided to go to bed. I was pouting about the room, so I decided I would not go back to the room until I was ready to go to bed as I just didn’t want to be there. I read in the library until 11 pm, and then decided to go to bed. Unfortunately, my plan backfired as I wasn’t tired enough to go to sleep so I wound up reading until 2 am. I made up my mind that I would not bitch about the room for the rest of the trip.

Day 10 -- College Fjord

Today is a sea day. We entered College Fjord at 5:30 am! I don’t know how many people are up for sightseeing at that hour! It is 55 degrees and overcast today. Most of the day was sailing in the Gulf of Alaska and the seas were smooth. Michael gave a bridge lesson in the morning and had a very good turnout. Had bridge in the afternoon and I didn’t have to play. I spent most of the day in the library and managed to read an entire novel in one day.

Day 11 -- Glacier Bay

We spent the day cruising Glacier Bay and since we were just there, I couldn’t get too excited about it so I spent most of the day, again, in the library. I managed to read another book in one day. My eyeballs are going to fall out.

We attended a lecture by the park ranger and learned about the history and geology of tidewater glaciers and Glacier Bay. The white ice is white because the ice crystals are loosely compacted and reflect all light wave colors. The blue color of the ice is due to the compression and density of the ice crystals and thus reflects only the blue light waves. Glacier Bay is part of the second largest wilderness preserve in the world. The presentation left a very warm feeling in my heart for nature and all that it involves.

After lunch, Michael and I played a game of Scrabble (and he won – I think he cheats and makes up words). While waiting for my turn, we were passing by one of the big glaciers and I started to reflect on what I was seeing. It is so difficult to describe the majesty of these ice rivers. It is surreal and ethereal. There are deep vertical crevasses, craggy peaks and jagged ice spires – blue monoliths reaching up to the heavens. The water at the face of the glacier is still and dotted with ice floes and teaming with flocks of birds. Another glacier had a waterfall coming out of the middle of the face, a rare occurrence. I also saw “calving,” a phenomenon that occurs when salt water melts the glacier’s snout and huge pieces of ice crack off the face, creating an iceberg.

We arrived back at our room and found an excursion waiting for us! Michael and I are going together on a whale watching, salmon bake and Mendenhall Glacier tour in Juneau. We were hoping to get something in Skagway, but we will find our own tour in town.

Day 12 -- Skagway

What other lousy thing can happen on this cruise? Well, yesterday we got an excursion for Juneau but not for Skagway. We thought that was kinda weird because they give the tickets to you the night before, not two nights before. I was in the shower when I heard a loud banging on the door or wall. Michael was in bed asleep when I got in the shower so I thought the steward was at the door. Well, there wasn’t anything I could do about it so I finished my shower. As I got out, Michael informed me that he was banging on the wall for me to answer the phone (which I did not hear) because he was asleep and it was a pain to get off the top bunk. He answered the phone and the person on the other end asked why we weren’t on the train excursion to White Pass. He told them we didn’t know about it and never received tickets; they told him that someone had forgotten to deliver them to our room the night before and that we shouldn’t have received the Juneau tickets until tonight. He was then told that we should call the excursion desk the night before to see if there is a tour for us – like it was our fault for not knowing. This really pissed me off. We could easily have made the excursion, which was the one thing I wanted to do on this trip. Urggggghhhhh

We waited until the rain stopped and walked into town and went to the internet café. There were four ships in port and the town was crawling with loads of people. It was so crowded, that we wound up walking in the street because there was no room on the sidewalk. It started to rain again so we just went back to the ship for the rest of the day. We played board games and read. There was a storyteller/folksinger from Skagway who put on an excellent show about the history of Skagway in story and song, telling tales about the gold miners, whalers, White Pass railroad, Alaska statehood and the AlCan Highway. Had dinner, saw a movie, played Yachtzee (sp), and went to another show that we walked out of because the music was too loud and the singer was oh so old school and boring.

The highlight of the day for me was making phone calls to family and friends. Best one was when Isabelle asked if she could come to my house. Anytime, sweet child, anytime!!!! Grammy misses you so much.

Tomorrow is Juneau and we have tickets for an excursion!

Day 13 -- Juneau

This is summer in Alaska!! Cold and windy.

I know that my previous posts have been nothing but complaining and not much to do with the towns we have visited and the sights we have seen. Today was a reprieve from dealing with the ship stuff, and I actually have some stuff to report that is, hopefully, interesting. Michael and I both had a tour – together!! We have some great pictures, which I will post on the blog when I return home.

Our tour started with a bus ride through town to Auke Bay where we boarded a whale watching tour boat. The day was grey and about 57 degrees with a light drizzle. We had a naturalist aboard who gave us gobs of information about the sea life and wildlife, and the geology of the area. Southeast Alaska is in the heart of a temperate rain forest (the Tongass National Forest, which is the largest rainforest in North America) and that means wet, cloudy weather year round. In fact, Juneau receives only about 44 days of sunshine per year, and gets about 93 inches of rain each year, while 11 miles away, the Juneau airport receives only about 53 inches. There are two low tides and two high tides daily, with tidal fluctuations from 16 to 25 feet. In terms of size, Juneau is the second largest city in the U.S. and is the capital of Alaska. There are only 98 miles of road in the area and it is said that the only way to get to Juneau is by air, sea, or birth canal.

During our 2 ½ hour boat tour, we saw many humpback whales. It was raining most of the time, but the boat was very comfortable and dry. What an exciting sight to see these huge creatures blowing, breaching and diving with their tail in the air. Humpbacks are baleen whales; that is, they have no teeth and strain water through comb-like plates of baleen, which trap krill and small schooling fish like herring. The esophagus of a humpback is no larger than a grapefruit! We also were able to see many eagles, harbor seals and Steller sea lions laying about on the beach or frolicking in the water. The seals looked like sausages just scattered along the beach, laying there doing nothing. The sea lions were huge (the large males weigh about 1,200 pounds) and were fighting for territory.

We then went to a salmon bake at the Orcas Point Lodge. I was very impressed with the organization of feeding so many people so fast. We walked up the dock and as you entered the dining room, there was a buffet line set up so people went down both sides to get a wonderful salmon and corn on the cob meal with all the fixings. There was a tidal basin exhibit, and the naturalist gave us a wonderful “tour” of all the creatures that live there. One of the most interesting tidbits of information is about how starfish eat. The starfish encircles a muscle and pries open the shell just enough to stick its inverted stomach into the muscle and eat the contents.

We also saw many bald eagles and learned that they can spot a fish from over a mile away and can fly at speeds up to 30 miles per hour. The number one killer of bald eagles is – I would never have guessed this – is drowning. If an eagle grabs a fish with its talons and the fish pulls the eagle down into the water or the fish is too heavy, the eagle will drown as it will not be able to fly or release the fish from its talons. The eagle can only release its victim when it sets it down, like on a tree branch.
After returning to Auke Bay, we boarded the bus for the ride to Mendenhall Glacier. We walked on a boardwalk that ran along a stream choked with spawning salmon. We could only go part of the way as it was too dangerous to go any further due to bears in the area. We also saw a porcupine up in a tree. Then we went to the visitor center and saw a movie about the glacier. Michael and I had been to Mendenhall Glacier about 20 years ago and were surprised to see how much it had retreated from then.

We then returned to the ship for the usual nighttime ritual. Only three more night to go.

Tomorrow is Ketchikan.