Sunday August 25: Embarkation Day:
We woke up excited that today we were finally going on an Alaska cruise. We had been wanting to do this since Kevin was a small boy but life always got in the way. Then Kevin grew up as children do and we thought if we ever went it would be without him. We were so surprised when we mentioned to him that we were thinking of going, he immediately said he would come!
We flew from Atlanta to Vancouver the day before our cruise because of the time change and we were concerned if anything went wrong in the connections, it would give us time to recover. We arrived late in the afternoon, took a cab to the hotel in the city center and ate dinner in the hotel dining room. Then we walked around the area.
The view of the Vancouver skyline from our hotel
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On embarkation day, we awoke hungry and wanted to eat somewhere other than the hotel so we set off for breakfast at a familiar name, Denny’s. It was about a 10 min walk from the hotel. On the way we passed a lovely community garden which had the vestiges of summer’s bloom but was clearly moving into winter’s brown. Then we passed a cute local restaurant which had the most delightful breakfast smells wafting out to the open glass wall. We abandoned Denny’s for the charm of Joe’s Grill.
We headed back to the hotel and started packing. We still had time to kill before we could board the ship. Our plan was to hang out until lunch, eat, check out of the hotel and then head for the ship around 1. Barry and I decided to go to the Vancouver Art Gallery and Kevin headed to a Starbuck’s to work on some coding.
The art gallery was interesting. Most of the art was not of a style we liked but it was laid out well, and the building was visually breathtaking. The most interesting collection was done by artists from India during the last century. In addition to the formal and casual portraits, there was a display of a typical portrait studio of the era.
A reflecting pool joining the Vancouver Courts buildings. The Vancouver Art Gallery is just beyond the reflecting pool on the left.
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We rejoined Kevin and had lunch at Burgoo an unusual restaurant which served “comfort food” from multiple cuisines ranging from chicken pot pie to beef bourguignon.
We returned to the hotel, checked out and got a cab to the port.
The cab delivered us directly to the baggage drop off which went exceedingly smoothly, we sailed through Holland America’s check-in and got our room keys. Then we hit US customs. That line snaked through a serpentine segment and into another room and around it’s perimeter. There were two sets of cruise ship passengers (Holland America Westerdam and the Celebrity Eclispe) trying to get through. And 6 customs and immigration agents for US and Canadian passengers. It took about half an hour(surprising, considering the numebr of passengers trying to get through!) and then we boarded the ship.
While we were passing through the area where photographers take your boarding picture, one of the photographers ran out from behind a partition and said, “I know you - where from?” I immediately recognized her as our favorite photographer from the Veendam Antarctic Trip in 2017. Amazing. We promised to
look her up while onboard and see what adventures she has been up to.
We found our room. We had gotten a good deal on a veranda cabin, so for the first time since our first cruise, we took it. It was a great room with a nice balcony on Deck 4 near the front of the ship.
We collapsed for a rest, exhausted from the process of getting aboard the ship. We then went exploring for a bit but had to return to the room for the mandatory safety drill. Two changes from previous sailings - you didn’t have to wear your life vest and instead of a manual roll call, they scanned your key card. It was all handled quickly and efficiently and we soon were on our way back to our cabin.
Soon enough we heard the engines rumble to life and we started moving away from the dock. We watched from the veranda for a while until we were all chilled to the bone. As we departed Vancouver harbor we were racing the Celebrity Eclipse!
Vortices formed by the azipods as we rotate away from the dock.
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Barry and Kevin on the veranda as we left Vancouver Harbor
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There were lots of interesting sights leaving Vancouver - seaplanes buzzing overhead, motorboats, fishermen, a number of cargo ships including one, flagged out of Hong Kong that was filling with a load of yellow powder, which we assumed was sulphur and a cargo container loading area
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We headed to dinner and had a delicious meal and met our waiters for the cruise - Widodo and Danar, both from the Phillipines. We also met Jessica, the wine steward. After dinner we were winding down. We explored a bit more of the ship and then headed back to our room. Barry was ready to call it a day, but Kevin and I went back up to the Crow’s Nest. While I read he worked some more on a program.
The Crow's Nest - a community area with views to the front of the ship. It has changed from previous Holland America Ships where it used to be exclusively a bar. Now it was a coffee shop, small lecture area, library, bar in the evening and an area to book shore excursions and future cruises. It seemed like a much better use of space. Also note the really cool transparent screens which was a view to the bridge HUD display - it showed water depth, speed, direction, latitude and longitude and other information.
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Monday August 26: Cruising the Inside Passage
Having been told the best whale viewing was early, Barry and I popped out of bed at 5:45 and headed up to the Crow’s Nest. It was just starting to hint at daylight outside. We went up to the observation deck (outside and one floor up from the Crow's Nest) and the wind was blowing with a penetrating cold. Fortunately we had brought heavy jackets.
Daylight was breaking and we scanned the waters for any signs of whales. We were cruising in the inside passage a very calm area of water between the coast of Canada and a series of barrier islands. In fact the water was so calm it was like a glass surface. This area is very narrow with land visible on both sides and not very far away.
We saw a number of birds but no whales. After a while we went inside and watched for whales in the Crow's Nest. The ship had changed since the last time we sailed her in 2009. The Crow's Nest is so named because it has observation seating all along the front of the room and is the highest enclosed area on the ship. It is fun to curl up in a comfy chair and watch where the ship is going and look for whales.
After the whales failed to show, we headed down to breakfast.
The day had turned out to be very foggy, but the waters are calm. Every so often the Captain sounds the fog horn as we continue cruising north. Later we leave the protection of the barrier islands which define the inside passage and hopefully the fog, we will pick up speed. But for now the Captain is setting lazy pace.
Dinner was a gala dress-up affair in the formal dining room. Before dinner was an opportunity to have formal portraits done and we sought out our favorite photographer Basundhara whom we had met on the Antarctic Cruise aboard the Veendam. She is a very talented young woman who has great attention to detail and knows how to put her subject at ease. We asked where her travels had taken her since we had seen her last. She had been to Northern Europe, Iceland, the Far East and now Alaska!
After dinner we went to the main theater for the Westerdam singers' and dancers' performance of “Off the Charts” songs and dances which were medleys of top hits from the Billboard charts since the 1950’s. These were a very talented group of performers!
Then Barry and I went to find Kevin in the Crow’s Nest and we all caught the EXC lecture on Alaskan Wildlife. Our speaker talked about brown and black bears, moose, eagles, wolves and sea otters. We learned some highly interesting information. All carnivores, including eagles, in Alaska are bigger than their counterparts in the lower 48 because of their protein rich diet in the form of salmon, salmon and more salmon. Another rule of thumb is to play dead with brown bears (if they become interested in you) and run like the wind with black bears.
Brown bears (including grizzly) are typically mostly herbivores but can eat meat and they will attack mostly to protect their cubs. So they will leave you alone when you are no longer a threat. Black bears are carnivores and see you as dinner. If you play dead, you likely will be.
Sea otters were hunted almost to extinction by the Russians which was their sole interest in Alaska. Their pelts were worth more than their weight in gold because of the luxurious fur and insulative properties. They have made a remarkable comeback after the hunting ceased. And finally there are more bald eagles in Alaska than people. Everyone is excited at the prospect of seeing all of these majestic animals.
After the talk let out we drifted back to our room. During the night we would continue up the inside passage to Ketchikan and we looked forward to an early morning shore excursion.
Downtown Ketchikan and its iconic welcome sign
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Tuesday August 28 Ketchikan, AK:
When we awakened we were still working our way up the Nichols passage and the East Tonga’s Narrow to dock in Ketchikan. It was very green and scenic with nearby tree-covered low lying mountains, quaint cabins and rocky shores. The trees seemed to be spruce and hemlock. The forecast was for rain and it was heavily overcast with low lying fog, so we got together water resistant jackets and the items we planned to take ashore and went up for breakfast. As we were leaving our cabin we docked along the pier with two other cruise ships.
We left the ship at 7:20 and arrived on dock a few minutes later to join up with our tour - “Wildlife Viewing and Beach Bonfire”. When we met the guide on the dock he welcomed us and said "let’s go." There were no other people standing around and we were afraid we were somehow late. After a short walk through town, we arrived at the dock and met the boat captain and crew and found out we were it - we had the boat to ourselves! On the one hand we felt bad that no one else had signed up but on the other hand we were thrilled for the private tour. Our boat was the “Sea Otter Express”. It had a lower enclosed deck with bench seating and an upper outside deck with no seating which was was very breezy and cold but great for photography when the boat was stopped. They provided binoculars and drinks. Our crew was Captain Tony, Naturalist Chelsea and Assistant Deckhand Maury.
Our boat for the day - the Sea Otter Express!
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We first headed out to a small rocky island to see harbor seals. Along the way the Captain pointed out a bald eagle in a tree along the shoreline. We also saw a nest and the eagle, a juvenile without the characteristic white head, flew over to the nest. Bald eagles take 5 years after hatching to get their white feathers. The speaker from the night before told us that juvenile eagles look larger than their parents because of the extra feathers which fluff them up and serve as padding for the ‘toddler years’ which helps them survive collisions, getting pulled in to the water when learning to fish and bad flying!
We continued on to the harbor seals. They were very active, moving around, getting in and out of the water and lounging in the sun. They had very big brown eyes and came in browns, grays, whites, and black. Chelsea said the colors were unrelated to age and were merely genetic diversity.
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When we asked about what the fishermen we saw were fishing for, Maury, an Alaskan native who was very knowledgeable about the area responded. He said that there were 5 types of salmon in the waters - chum, sockeye, king, silver and pink. He said the locals used the fingers of your hand to remember it by - thumb: chum, pointer finger: sockeye (poke in the eye), middle finger: king (biggest), ring finger: silver (you wear silver rings) and pinky finger: pink.
As we were circling around the rock outcropping of harbor seals there was what looked like a piece of washing machine hose floating near the boat that Chelsea and Maury tried to hook. We thought they were getting some trash out of the water. But Chelsea explained that it was bull kelp which is used for relish, jelly and pickles. It also fouled the propellor and Maury had to go into the hold to try to free it. He brought up a 10 ft piece that was about an inch in diameter with a hollow center. It felt rubbery on the outside and the inside was soft. Interesting plant. Here is some Bull Kelp floating near the boat.
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Barry and Chelsea discussing the Bull Kelp
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Lori, topside, enjoying the beautiful day as we head across Nichols Passage.
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We left there and headed out to see if we could find some sea lions. Apparently this was not in the normal part of the cruise but Captain Tony was getting into the spirit of the private tour. So we had a long ride across the the water which had a number of salmon fishing boats, sea birds and a ferry. The sky was clearing and it was becoming a gorgeous sunny day. We arrived at a buoy which was home to a family of sea lions - mom, dad and 2 pups. I don’t know who were more excited, us or the crew. Apparently it is pretty iffy on whether the sea lions are in residence.
Captain Tony had the boat circle from 20 ft away - close enough to really get an up-close look at them but not so close to scare them. They were gorgeous creatures with really lush fur. I asked how they got up on the buoy and Maury said they jumped. I was amazed since it looked like the platform was 5 or more feet out of the water. Soon the male rolled into the water and then we were treated to him hopping back up onto the buoy. He made it look easy except for the tipping of the buoy when his considerable weight was added to one side. But it righted itself and the family was reunited.
Here is the dad Sea Lion just before he rolled off into the water.
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And the 2 sea lion pups carefully watching the boat as we circled.
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We left the sea lions and were headed to another special treat - a waterfall down the face of a mountain from a hidden pool all the way to the ocean. It had been raining for the past few days and it had started flowing again. As we headed in that direction, I thought I saw a whale spout. I pointed it out to Kevin and he agreed. Initially the crew didn’t and then they saw it and the race was on! We followed two humpback whales as they were swimming around. Several times we saw their bodies and twice their flukes. Chelsea told us when the flukes come out of the water they are going to dive deeper for more food. We lost and then reacquired them. Again the crew was very excited since whale sightings were also a rarity at this time of year.
When spotting whales, you look for the spout. A wispy plume coming out of the water, often off by itself.
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Then you see part of them breach the surface of the water. In this case, two humpback whales side by side.
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Here is a short video of the whales breaching. Look for the tail!
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After taking a number of photos and watching the whales for a while, we headed to Annette island and our beach bonfire. Here we met two native Americans from the Tsimshian (sim shi-Ann) tribe who were our hosts. They live in the native village Metlakatla which we could see from the beach we were on. Eight hundred members of their tribe migrated from British Columbia in the late 1887 following a white minister and settled on Annette island and created the only Native American reserve (not a reservation) and were given ownership of the land. Another 1000 or so remained in British Columbia.
To get from their village to the campsite, they drove part way and then hiked the rest of the way. He answered questions and told us some of his tribe's customs and history.
Meanwhile another tribal host built a fire and speared reindeer hot dogs for us to toast. One of the things he shared with us was that they have no word for hello, but their standard greeting is “the fire is hot” conveying the idea of welcome, warmth and food as well as how important both heat and friendship were in this cold place.
Our female hostess, a young woman from the Tsimshian tribe.
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With the hot dogs (made from reindeer meat, with some pork and beef mixed in to make them less lean) they had all the trimmings but with an Alaskan twist. Instead of cucumber relish they had bull kelp relish, along with bull kelp pickles with jalapeño and salmonberry jelly for crackers. Salmon berries are so named because they ripen when the salmon are running and the berries are small like salmon eggs. I tried the kelp relish and pickles and both were a terrific addition to the hotdog.
What I liked the most was the salmonberry jam on Ritz crackers which had a very mild fruity flavor unlike anything I have tasted! After we ate, Chelsea took us on a short walk through the woods where we saw an abundance of moss which covered almost everything, red alder trees and a huge hemlock tree.
The ground was squishy and moist and very spongy. Chelsea indicated this was because it was an old growth forest and the floor was made up of vegetation and the remnants of fallen trees. Maury picked huckleberries which we got to taste. And we saw a Devil’s Club tree. It looked like an alien cactus but with poisonous tines and large flat leaves like kudzu but prickly on the edge. It is a very strange plant. But it has amazing medicinal properties for pain relief when the inner bark is used as a tea.
Here is the banana slug, named that for color and shape. He is a big boy - probably 5 inches long.
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Lori assisting Maury in picking huckleberries - small red berries that are very sweet.
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Devil's Club Tree - doesn't it look friendly?
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After the nature walk, we had campfire s’mores. In addition to the traditional chocolate they also made some with Reese’s Peanut butter cups. Absolutely heavenly! Then one of our Native American hosts told a story from the tradition of his people. It was very entertaining. All too soon it was time to leave.
Our male host from the Tsimshian tribe in the middle of his story.
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On the ride back to the port, we stopped at the waterfall which was cascading beautifully down the mountain in some place as delicate rivulets hugging the rock and in other places coming in a torrent that didn’t touch the rocks below it.
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When we arrived back at Ketchikan we wandered around the town and then headed back to the ship. We rested in the afternoon, then went to an EXC talk on whales by our cruise director, Stephanie Summerville, which was fascinating. She focused on the Humpbacks and Orcas of Alaska. Humpbacks feed on krill and other small organisms found in the Alaskan waters and fatten up, then swim to Hawaii to have their babies. Because they are picky about their food they don’t eat for the trip to Hawaii and back. They also sing for reasons we don’t know -perhaps for communication or for pleasure or for some other reason. The song start in the fall when they arrive in Alaska, evolves through the winter and abruptly stops in the spring. The songs, when analyzed, are similar to jazz music in complexity and structure. When they start up in again in the fall they start the same song that they were singing in the spring.
After dinner in the Lido (the menu in the dining room was too exotic) we went to play music trivia. The theme was the ‘80’s and Barry was on his game. We did respectably but did not win. After that we saw New York comedian Ken Boyd on the Main Stage. He was very funny and had the audience in stitches over the idea of voluntarily taking a cruise to a cold place and his first and only sky diving experience - a surprise birthday gift from his best friend.
