Ken the cruiser

We have arrived at Glacier Bay! These photos were taken around 7:45 am and it is definitely overcast! There were also some otters swimming around looking for breakfast. Our plan today is to hang out on the balcony while listening to the GP ranger talk on the TV. This is where having a protected covered balcony is going to come in handy today. 😁 New forecast for today.

Day 6 - May 5 - Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

This evening after another tasty meal in the Reserve Dining Room, we headed first to see the new production show, British Invasion, which was great! 😁 Then we were off to watch the always hilarious Liars Club! 😂 The ship left port around 8:30 pm and is now on the way to Glacier Bay! Luckily, we’ll be going there 3 times on our B2B cruise, as the forecast for Hoohah, which is just south of the entrance to Glacier Bay, isn’t looking too favorable.

Glacier Bay reference material we were given today for tomorrow’s visit scheduled from 6 am to 3 pm, plus a map to help figure where it is actually located.

I would imagine HAL gets that berth at a cheaper rate than Princess is paying for theirs.

When we got back to the pier, we noticed the Zaandam was tendering their guests to the pier, even though they were pretty much right next to it. Now I might also note the Grand is docked right next to the Zaandam, and we had to walk about 3 minutes once we disembarked the ship through the tunnel in the below photo to then take a two minute shuttle bus ride to the port! 😂 I’m pretty sure it has to do with the June 2022 rock slide, as the Zaandam did not have a gangway opened on the pier side. After the first rockslide on June 23, 2022, which caused minor damage to Discovery Princess, an environmental consulting firm was hired to thoroughly examine the slope and recommend mitigation measures and emergency procedures to safeguard cruise ships and guests on other parts of the dock. https://www.cruisehive.com/alaska-port-rockslide-work-to-be-done-by-cruise-season/94215

What an awesome excursion! We took a 45 minute ferry ride from Skagway down to Haines. Right before arriving at Haines, there was this little island loaded with sea lions! Haines, Alaska Here’s our ferry, which we also took back to Skagway after the tour of the wildlife center. It was about a 45 minute drive to the center. Photos of that drive will be after the wildlife pictures, as we had a better position on the bus to take them on the way back. The owner and main tour guide, Steve Kroschel, who truly loves all of the animals you will see and treats them all like pets! Of course, some with a little more respect for obvious reasons. It was truly an amazing experience! 😁 A couple of timber wolves. Red-tailed Owl Snowy Owl Red Fox Silver Fox Arctic Fox Porcupine Mink Moose being fed tree leaves and loving it! Caribou Wolverine who likes eggs! 😂 Pine Martin who likes raspberry jam! Grizzly Bear who likes pie! After a little over an hour and 45 minutes visiting the center, it was time to head back to Haines along the Chilkat River and a beautiful mountain range. A couple of Trumpeter Swans. A glacier off in the distance.

We have arrived in downtown Skagway, Alaska on a beautiful but chilly morning that’s supposed to creep into the low 50s by 10 am! 😁

Had to get up at 5:30 am to get ready for a 7 am Skagway excursion. Opened the curtains and this is what we saw as we cruised up the Taiya Inlet towards Skagway! 😁

Day 5 - May 4 - Skagway, Alaska

And we’re off! Next stop Skagway, Alaska early tomorrow morning!

After another tasty dinner in the Reserve Dining Room, we went to an enrichment lecture presented by Pete Griffin. Then we were off to the theater to watch the evening show entitled My Journey to Broadway with singer Krystal Washington, one of the production cast singers.

Thanks! All I have is an iPhone SE. But I have found if I take a bunch of pictures, I can usually can find a few that will work. On our Otter, Eagle and Whale excursion yesterday, I took over 580 photos! 😂

Just curious, if Skagway was replaced with Sitka on May 1 (according to Cruise Mapper itinerary below), we were wondering why you were still anchored in Sitka the next day as well, May 2, when we arrived on the Grand Princess Wednesday morning at the northern Sitka pier? According to their below posted schedule, which of course could be wrong, you were supposed to be cruising the Tracy Arm Fjord on May 3. I’m just curious. 😁

Here’s our Skagway excursion for tomorrow where we meet in the theater at 7 am tomorrow morning. That means we have to eat breakfast in the buffet! 😱