June 9

Disembark - Vancouver

This morning we disembarked off the MS Noordam and said farewell to our great friends Claudia & Gary Wanlin as they head back to their San Francisco area home and we fly out tomorrow to Orlando.  The transition from ship to shore could not have been smoother - continue to be impressed with the Holland America Cruise Line organization - and made our way to the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel.  Funny anecdote - we'd heard that there were taxis available right outside the terminal and that was our plan to transfer to the hotel.  Fortunately I emailed the concierge about transfers to the airport the next day and happened to mention we'd be taking a cab TO the hotel.  His reply was that there was no need for that because they were located RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from the terminal.  Would have like to know what WOULD have happened if I had not contacted the hotel and we'd jumped into a cab.....LOL :)  We enjoyed a light lunch on the harbor and then walked to historic Gastown to the Water Street Cafe for dinner.  It's located right across the street from the iconic steam clock and we'd enjoyed a great dinner here three years ago with my high school teammate Dave Enyart and his lovely wife Heather.

We arrived in Vancouver

View from our room on the 16th floor (yes, that's the Noordam)

Light lunch of cheese pizza and wine

Harbor view at lunch

Dinner in 2016

And tonight's farewell dinner

June 8

Sailing The Inside Passage

This, as I've mentioned, is our fifth trip to Alaska and we've sailed the Inside Passage several times, but I don't ever remember there being as much scenery.  I get it if you're not from Florida or you see woods & trees often.  But to a South Florida couple who never sees even a small hill and certainly not these kinds of waterways, it was cool to stand on the top deck for most of the morning and take in one more day of "The Last Frontier" from Alaska.

June 7

The Final Stop

Ketchikan:  Wilderness Exploration & Crabfeast

Today was the final stop on our Alaskan 5.0 Cruise.  Tomorrow we sail through the Inside Passage and on Monday we arrive in Vancouver where Kim and I will transfer to the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel to spend the night, then fly back to Orlando early Monday morning.  But today was one of our very favorite excursions, in fact when we begin researching the next Alaskan adventure every two or three years (and yes, we have begun talking about the NEXT one already!) we always make sure that one of the ports of call is Ketchikan where we can partake in the crabfeast at the George Inlet Lodge.  

Twice previously we took the boat excursion, like today to see how crabs are caught; and the last time we were here (in 2016) we took a flightseeing tour.  We left the ship at 11:30 and boarded our motorcoach for the about 20 minute trip to the lodge.  Then we descended the nearly 80 steps down to the lodge and dock where we boarded the boat.  We cruised out towards the cove where the crabpots are located but we stopped at an eagle's nest and offered them some fresh fish.  Within minutes several came flying by and swooped down to scoop up the treat.  So close to us :)  We continued on to the cove where we pulled up a crabpot and were given a live demonstration of how the crabs are caught.  We turned around and returned to the lodge for our all-you-can-eat crabfeast.  Of course my competitive wife quickly initiated our table in how to build our crab scraps because they run a "competition" to see who has the biggest pile.  AND they encourage creativity.  We were the only table to do so (because we are seasoned veterans!) and we easily won the competition with a "pile" some 29 inches tall (18" was the second highest.  We topped the meal off with blueberry cheesecake and then took some snapshots before returning to the ship.

Sunset over the snow-covered Alaskan mountains last night

Down the steps

Our cruising vessel

Here come the eagles!

The eagle grabs the fish - see it?

As they say, "we caught crabs at the George Inlet" :)

Close-up

Local brews

Oh yeah

The WINNING pile

The inlet

We'll see how tomorrow goes in regards to photos.  The Inside Passage is often billed as a wildlife experience, but in our four previous trips those were few and far between.  But it will be nice to have a "day at sea" with our great friends Claudia & Gary before we say goodbye and head for home.

June 6

THE BEST DAY

Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer

We thought that today would be THE day of all the excursions and if anything it surpassed expectations!  We boarded a small ship about 9:30 am and sailed out to Tracy Arm Fjord, about a 90 minute ride....but oh was it worth it :)  The scenery was great but NOTHING like what we were about to see.  We rode up the fjord and saw so many mountains and waterfalls and then went right into the Sawyer Glacier inlet where we crept through icebergs to get within 1.5 miles of the glacier.  Then after navigating out way out we went to the South Sawyer Glacier and got within a half mile of it.  We also saw eagles, sea lions, and a black bear.  Just a wonderful, amazing day.

We're in Juneau

Typical scenery before we got to the fjord

Our first glacier, a "hanging glacier"

Right up to the waterfall

Posing at the waterfall

View from the back observation deck as we sail up the fjord

Eagle on an iceberg

These are about 8-10 feet tall and 20-30 feet in length

We have to navigate this ice field to the glacier - see it on the far left

Closing in on the glacier

Sawyer Glacier

There it is....Sawyer Glacier!

We are SOOOO close!

Another iceberg on the way out

South Sawyer Glacier

A sister ship approaches - yes, that's where WE are going

Within a quarter of a mile of the glacier

Close-up of South Sawyer Glacier

Snow-capped mountains surrounding the fjord

Our first BEAR

Sea Lions on the way back

Sawyer Glacier Highlights

June 5

Glacier Bay Wilderness Safari

This morning we arrived in Haines (which is about 15 miles - via water - to Skagway where we typically stop).  We were off the ship at 9 am to board a 9:20 jet boat to begin our excursion.  We rode 45 minutes along the fjord.  We arrived at Glacier Point, walked up the beach and jumped on a bus (school bus) for a ten minute ride into the forest to the "gear station."  We got our life jackets, boots, and paddles and then hiked about a quarter of a mile to the river.  Boarded canoes and sailed out to Davidson Glacier.  We paddled about ten minutes or so then coasted with the outboard engine the remainder of the way.  Beached the canoes and hiked about two of the three miles to the glacier to see it up close.  REALLY cool.  Repeated the trip back, but before boarding the jet boat we were served a turkey sandwich lunch.  Another great day in Alaska!

MS Noordam in background

Saw several bald eagles on the voyage out to Glacier Point

Geared up ready for the hike & canoe adventure!

Canoeing to Davidson Glacier

Davidson Glacier - three miles out

 Ten years ago we were in Alaska for the second time and we took this identical excursion.  You hear all the time about climate change, where here you go......this photo is taken from where we beached the canoes, and it's about three miles to the glacier from here.  Ten years ago we canoed ALL THE WAY to the glacier on the river....there was no getting out of the canoe to hike like this.  The glacier has receded and the silt has built up while the water level has diminished (it's the opposite problem for the rest of the world as the glaciers melt into the ocean and raise the water levels).

"The Glacier Picture"

Davidson Glacier

We are SOOOO close!

Selfie as we canoe away

Seals everywhere on the return trip

Rainbow Glacier (from the boat) on the return trip
NOTE:  This is a "hanging glacier" because it's "hanging" in a valley in the mountains

Wilderness Safari Highlights