Alaska Cruise

Sunday 8-Sep

After a long flight (almost 14 hours) we arrived in Vancouver, we left Sydney on Sunday morning and landed on Sunday morning in Canada due to the 16 hour time difference. We both had some sleep on the plane and as we could not check in yet in our hotel we decided to do a hop-on-hop-off bus tour around Vancouver. We’ve been here before in 2008 so we just revisited some of the places we’ve seen before. We seen the old steam clock (again) but also admired some new high rises that were not here back in 2008. When we got notification from the hotel that our room was ready we made our way to catch up on some sleep.

After a good nap we went on foot to look for a nice restaurant in an area that was recommended by our tour guide. We found a nice place in what was in the old days a long row of ware houses, the loading docks are now converted into patios with lots of restaurants that have a nice outdoor setting (and parking 😉).

Monday 9-Sep

We had a great sleep and after some quick shopping boarded the Queen Elizabeth around 3 to start our 10 day cruise to Alaska. The ship left port around 5 PM.

Tuesday 10-Sep

This will be a full day of sailing. We set sail westerly through the Burrard inlet, a relatively shallow-sided fjord formed during the last ice age. After passing Burrard inlet opens west into the Strait of Georgia between Port Atkinson and Point Grey. We sailed through the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait, a 110 KM channel along the north east coat of Vancouver Island. This strait is between 2.5 Km by 5 KM wide.

Wednesday 11-Sep

We reached Ketchikan, our destination for today, around 8:00. We had time for a nice breakfast before we had to board the bus for our Bear Encounter today. We had a beautiful day with clear blue sky’s and a nice 18-degree temperature. We did not expect to find this in Alaska as we were ready (with lots of warm layers) for it to be cold.

We had to drive 1/2 hour followed by an 1 hour boat trip to a remote Alaska Salmon Hatchery (more on that later) to see some black bears close up. On our way to the farm we passed by a group of lazy sea lions gathered on a rock, according to our guide we should be thankful that they were up wind from us as otherwise we would all be fainting. Glad we kept our distance.

After a short walk we arrived at the viewing platform and yes there was a bear hiding in the bush, he was hard to see but at least there was a bear (and we were told a few times that seeing bears was not guaranteed). After a few minutes, the bear decided we’ve seen enough of him, and he wandered back in the forest. The guide told us that this bear looked quite big and we are getting close to the end of the spawning season, and he might had eaten enough. However, after a few minutes, he returned and jumped in the water to see if there were any more salmons in there. We had to return to the boat and waved goodbye to the bear, but just when we were at the pier, we noticed another bear that jumped in a pool and even caught a decent size salmon. As you can imagine, Arno was happy and took lots of pictures.

Alaska Salmon Hatchery

The area we visited was run by the SSRAA, a non-profit organisation working to enhance the salmon stocks in Southern Southeast Alaska. They lure the salmon, coming from the salt water into a fresh water stream where they are harvested and provide brood stock for Neets Bay programs as well as cost recovery for SSRAA. Once the eggs are fertilise they go into a hatchery till the little salmons are hatched. These baby salmons, are then released in a closed of area in the ocean for 60 to 90 days before released. After 2 years the salmon will return to Neets bay to repeat the process. After spawning the salmon dies. For more details you can you here:
https://ssraa.org/mckinley-study-economic-impacts-2024/

Thursday 12-Sep

Overnight, we sailed to Juneau, we arrived on time at noon, and had plenty of time to get to our today adventure: A Segway tour through some great Alaskan temperate rainforest We were picked up by our guides who took us by bus to start our ride. We had to go through the mandatory training, but both Jen and I did a few Segway tours before, and I am not saying we are experts but are comfortable getting on and driving off. Part of the training was going up and down hills as the path we would follow has quite a few hills. We were only with one other couple, and that meant we were on our way quickly. Nature was amazing with many pine trees, lots of different flowers, and there seemed to be all kinds of animals and birds. Arno noticed some strange, like rhubarb shape plants all over the place. They are actually called Skunk Cabbage, and they play an important role in the lifecycle of the bears. The Skunk Cabbage starts to grow when the ground is still covered with snow and the bears are hibernating. The plant flower actually makes the snow melt around its base. It also has an awful smell. Hence the name 😊. When the bears come out of hibernation, they eat the cabbage, which is very high in fibres and acts as a natural laxative for the bear, which is good to clear out their gut after a long sleep. It’s quite amazing to see how nature works (again).

Friday 13-Sep

We arrived as planned at the Hubbard Glacier around 11:00, we were not sure if the weather gods would be good to us as we the whole morning we had a lot of rain and not much visibility. The ship will approach the glacier very closely and then do a 360-degree rotation. As we are on the port side (left) and the ship was turning clockwise, we had the first opportunity to see the glacier from our balcony. And the weather gods were good on us, the rain stopped, the clouds lifted, and we had a great view of this natural wonder.

The Hubbard Glacier is not your typical glacier, this one is actually advancing rather than retreating, gaining an average of 24 meter per annum. It’s more than 9.6 Km wide where it meets the ocean. It’s also been very active in the past, having had two major surges in the past 30 years. Those surges were big enough to cross the bay, turning the fjord into a lake and threatening to flood the coastal town of Yakutat.

For now, the glacier isn’t surging, but you could say that it’s a pretty light sleeper, it does calve (meaning big pieces break off) a lot. The face is up to 120 meter tall, and icebergs 3 to 4 stories in height aren’t uncommon.

Saturday 14-Sep

We arrived today around 7 in the morning at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, a large natural area in  southeastern Alaska, United States, on the Gulf of Alaska.

We enjoyed a champagne breakfast in our stateroom, courtesy of our travel agent, while we sailed into Glacier Bay.

We had a beautiful day with blue skies and a few scattered clouds. It is hard to describe the beauty of the national park and its glaciers, mountains and surrounds. Have a look at some of the images below to get an idea.

We had two Park Rangers onboard who gave a running commentary and provided details about what was to see. In the morning we stayed in our room with a perfect view but apparently on the other side of the channel were a few bears and mountain goats that we missed. However, we did see quite a few sea otters floating by on their back (and I was convinced they waved at us).

We sailed all the way to where the John Hopkins Glacier comes into the bay. Another amazing site, this is a 19 km long glacier. It was named, colonially, after Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland in 1893 by Harry Fielding Reid. It is one of the few advancing tidewater glaciers of the Fairweather Range. Access to the face of the glacier is limited to the Johns Hopkins Inlet.

Glacier Bay was proclaimed  a national monument in 1925, established as a national park and preserve in 1980.  and designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992. The park and preserve cover  an area of 13,287 square kilometres and includes Glacier Bay  itself, the northern, southern, and western slopes of Mount Fairweather (4,663 metres), and the United States portion of the Alsek River.

Adjoining the park  to the north is Tatshenshini-Alsek Wilderness Provincial Park in British Columbia  Canada. Amongst the most notable features of the park are the great tidewater glaciers. 

Sunday 15-Sep

We arrived n Skagway around 07:00, however after about 30 minutes, the captain came over the ships loudspeaker system to announce that due to the very strong winds (70 Km/h) it was to dangerous to dock. So the ship turned around and we set sail to Sitka. We’re sad that we missed Skagway, we had a train and bus tour booked that we looked forward to, but also relieved as it wouldn’t be much fun with such strong (and cold) winds.

Monday 16-Sep

We arrived nice and early in Sitka, it looked a bit wet and clouded outside. We had a great breakfast in one of the restaurants, instead of doing the buffet. By the time we walked off the ship the rain was only a drizzle, and after a short bus ride from the terminal to town it stopped raining.

Sitka is a hidden beauty on the east coast of Baranof Island in south-east Alaska Towered over by snowy mountains in the distance, it has previously been known as the Indian River Park and Totem Park. A city that appears to have sprung up in the most unlikely of locations, Sitka is one of Alaska’s most picturesque port calls. Its location celebrates everything that makes this otherworldly United States state unique: snow-encrusted mountains, densely forested wilderness and intensely sapphire waters that radiate with glass-like shine. Yet the city is more than a base camp for outdoor adventurers. Sitka enjoys a blended history as diverse as its scenery. Russian, Tlingit and American settlers have all imprinted on the city. Art and culture thrive as richly as Pacific salmon here, and while small compared to other Alaskan communities, Sitka boasts countless treasures for visitors to admire. With only 22 miles of paved roads, we were amazed about the number of cars we saw today. Sitka is also the place where you will find St. Michael’s Orthodox Cathedral which is the oldest in the Americas dating back to Russian control of Alaska.

We decided, after being stuck onboard for 2 days, to spent this day walking. There is a totem pole park that wanders through a beautiful rainforest, so we made our way there. Interesting to see so many totems and to read some of their history. Most totems have been recreated or restored and most of their history is lost over the years.

We crossed the Indian River which was full with salmon swimming up stream, you could see the fish all dying (as they do after they spawn) and there were many many dead salmon on the bottom of the river. I will not try to describe the smell, but you can imagine with thousands of dead fish around it did not smell like roses.

After the totem park we walked to the Alaska Raptor Centre that cares for bird of prey since 1980. 85% of the birds here have been harmed by humans or human structures like power cables. It is an impressive place with a large area where the birds can learn to fly again after their injuries have healed.

We walked back to town and looked in some of the shops and had a nice lunch in a local pub. Arno lost his sunglasses somewhere on the walk but only noticed when we were almost back at the ship 😒.

When we got back onboard we had done over 12000 steps, that was exactly what we needed, a good stretch of the old leggies.

Tuesday 17-Sep

Once we had started sailing again we rounded Big Gavanski Island before passing out to sea through the Sitka Sound. We will have to cover a quite a distance from Sitka to Victoria in Canada and be sailing all day and night to arrive around 1.00 pm Wednesday. This will be our last day on the cruise.

Once were clear of the Alexander Archipelago and out into open sea we set south easterly courses. During the early hours of the morning we passed Graham Island to port.

It was a beautiful day and we found a great spot on the aft deck where we spent several hours soaking up the sun. Some guests saw an orca, we only saw another cruise ship that apparently was on its way north.

At 3 pm we headed to the Britannia Club for our afternoon high tea. We had a nice glass of champagne and some nibbles. Another typical English custom completed 😊.

Continuing on our passage during the evening we cruised along the western coast of Vancouver Island. This is the eleventh largest island in Canada and the largest island on the west coast of the Americas.

Wednesday 18-Sep

This morning we entered the Juan de Fuca Strait, this strait separates the Canadian province of British Columbia from the state of Washington in the United States. We followed the charted tracks through the strait before docking in Victoria around 1 pm.

Nestled on the southern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia’s capital city, Victoria, is a blend of historic streets, Victorian architecture and dramatic craggy coastlines. Here we will find old and new, where the legacies left by indigenous populations are imprinted alongside fairy-tale castles and gardens that stay in bloom year-round.

Overlooking the harbour is one of the city’s oldest and most famous hotels, the Fairmont Empress. Opened in 1908, the building is a classic example of turn-of-the-century architecture, with countless celebrities and royal visitors electing to stay here over the years.

As we visited Victoria before and seen most the city attractions we decided this time to do a wine and cider tour. Our tour started a little later as planned, one person did not show up and after waiting 15 minutes our guide/driver got the ok to get going.

Our first stop was Enrico winery, we had several very nice wines and the host was very informative. The next stop was Cherry Point winery and I think we all agreed they can take this stop out of the itinerary. The tastings were not more than half a teaspoon, and he served us from a small jar, the left over went back into the bottle 🫢 After this we went to a Merrivale Cider and Distillery, here we had a very entertaining host who took us around the apple orchard and showed us how they make the cider. We picked up a nice bottle of desert wine that we will take with us to Janet and Brian.

Now here is an unbelievable story

As you might reminder Arno lost his sunglasses when we were in Sitka. Today on our wine and cider tour we met these very nice Canadians from Nova Scotia (a place we will visit on this trip), Sharon and Clinton. They will stay onboard of the Queen Elizabeth to sail all the way to Sydney. So as you can imagine, we had lots of information sharing going on, what to do and what to see in our home states. When the bus dropped us off back at the terminal Arno (duh) left his phone in the van and ran back to get it. While Jen, Sharon and Clinton were having a laugh that men (and Arno in particular) tend to loose stuff all the time, Jen mentioned that Arno lost his sunnies. Sharon ask: “what kind of sunglasses and where?”. “Well they were very nice Oakley’s and he lost them in Sitka” Jen replied…What came next is really astonishing: On a boat with 2000 people and only 10 of them went on this tour, we met the one and only couple that found my sunglasses! And not only that, the day we were in Sitka there was another cruise ship docked, so I suspect there would be hundreds if not even thousands of people that walked through that forest as we did and this nice couple found my sunglasses! I think I should have bought a lottery ticket 😊

Friday 19-Sep

Back in Vancouver, and this concludes our cruise, tomorrow we will fly to Toronto where we will start our Eastern Canada trip. We arrived early in Vancouver and got at our very nice hotel by 9 AM. We dropped off our luggage and went for another walk through this very nice town. We were not to far away from Granville Island, a very upmarket area with food courts, and lots of arts and craft shops.

We had a nice lunch and on our way back we took one of those very cute little ferries (called Aqua bus) to a drop off halfway to our hotel. We picked up some nibbles and some drinks so we can spent the evening just relaxing and no need to go out.

More to follow 😊