ShawShip
-
Posts
12 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by ShawShip
-
-
I enjoyed your review. Did you find that the airfare was a lot more expensive since you booked your trip only two weeks in advance?
The airfare didn't change that much over the few weeks we were checking. It stayed pretty much in the $550-$650 range depending on the departing airport right up until we booked, but in the end we decided to use miles to pay for the flight. Our flights were DCA>SLC>SEA>ANC, and the return was YVR>MSP>DCA. Kind of convoluted on the way out, but I couldn't pass up a quick home stop in SLC. The flight out of DCA was packed. The flight out of SLC was nearly full, and the flight to Anchorage was only half full at best. I ended up having an entire row to myself.
-
I know adjectives like ‘spectacular’ and ‘amazing’ and ‘wonderful’ are over-used, but it really is all of those things. I don’t know how else to explain the wonderment of the place. Matt and I lived in Wyoming for a year, so I came in believing I understood the bounds of an unspoiled frontier. Alaska is something else entirely.
Completely agree with this. I grew up in rural Utah and have been to many other parts of the West, and I thought I knew mountains and rugged beauty. Alaska blew me away.
Very nice pics and review!
-
Great review and such beautiful photos.... could you tell me what kind of camera you used? Thanks for sharing your trip with us...
Thanks! Just a small Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-WX220 and my i-phone. I'm definitely going to invest in something better before I go back. I was disappointed in a lot of my whale and glacier calving pics.
-
Ketchikan – Ketchikan was a bit of a down day for me. I spent most of the day exploring the city on foot and taking a few pictures. My partner did the snorkeling excursion and said he had great time looking at colorful underwater creatures and rocks. We met up later in the afternoon and enjoyed lunch from the Burger Queen at The Asylum Bar with some really good Alaskan beers.
On our final day at sea we cruised the intermittently rainy Inside Passage. We spent much of the day relaxing at the pool and other parts of the ship. We arrived early the next morning in Vancouver.
Vancouver – We only planned one day in Vancouver before our flight home, and unfortunately didn’t get to do many of things we had hoped or wanted to do. We stayed in a high floor room at the lovely Blue Horizon Hotel, and we spent much of the morning and early afternoon exploring Stanley Park and admiring the gorgeous views it afforded of downtown. In the late afternoon and evening we spent the day enjoying some of the city’s downtown neighborhoods and bar hopping a bit.
Overall the trip greatly exceeded our expectations. The Zaandam and crew were excellent, and we made some good friends that made a wonderful trip even better.
Alaska is more than amazing. If you have the chance to go, don’t put it off. Who knows where the terminus some of those incredible glaciers will be in 5-10 years.
Alaskan Sunset -
Tracy Arm Fjord Cont.
We first went to the Sawyer Glacier where we stayed at least 15 minutes. The colors of the glacial ice and rock were remarkable, and we saw one fairly big calving event.
We next navigated through quite a bit of ice to get fairly close to the South Sawyer Glacier. The deep blue color of the glacial ice was even more striking here. Despite all the remains of glacial calving in the bay, we didn’t see any major events here.
One of our tour attendants fished out some glacial ice from the bay that he used to make cocktails on the trip back. We also saw 4 mountain goats on rocks just above the glacial bay. On the ride back to Juneau we also saw several more whales and some porpoises.
Before we left Juneau I walked around downtown a bit and did a quick trip up the tram. As we were cruising well south of Juneau the sun began to set, and we saw several whales on both sides of the ship. A couple of them even breached and slapped their fins into the orange reflected waters. It was amazing to witness.
A bit later that night we were treated to the northern lights. The lines and curtains of green light in the sky were fabulous. Unfortunately a rising moon to the east probably prematurely ended a brilliant show.
-
Haines – In Haines we were anxious to get off the ship for some physical activity. We chose to stay in the Haines area and do a kayaking excursion on Lake Chilkoot. On our bus ride to the lake we saw our first bears of the trip along the Chilkoot River. We were told by our guide that it was the famous local bear named Speedy and her two cubs.
After a safety briefing at the lake we got on the water and kayaked along the north shore. It was mostly overcast, but the clouds were high and not threatening with rain. From the lake we saw several bald eagles including one that was eating a live fish on the shore. The silt-green lake and lush waterfall-laden mountains were really beautiful. Our only regret was that we couldn’t stay out kayaking longer in such a peaceful and fantastic setting.
For the remainder of day we walked around the small town of Haines. We stopped into a few shops and visited what remains of Fort Seward. In the evening the ship did a nice big Alaskan bake on the Lido deck.
Juneau - One of the biggest dilemmas we faced in our brief planning of this trip was over what to do in Juneau. We knew whale watching was probability the best activity at this port, but after all the descriptions and pictures of Tracy Arm Fjord that I’d seen, I really wanted to see it and the twin Sawyer Glaciers. The attendants at the HAL excursion desk onboard thought that this was a no-brainer. Do Tracy Arm they said. I’m so glad we did!
The day was spectacularly sunny with highs near 70 degrees. Just past the Taku Inlet we started to see whales—and lots of them. Our naturalist counted at least a dozen in one area. When we came across a couple of sizable groups the Captain stopped the boat for a while to let us observe in silence and take pictures. It was simply incredible to watch these giant, graceful animals. We saw and heard lots of air blowing, trumpeting, and dives.
Whales South of Juneau 
Whales South of Juneau Several more miles down the coast we came to the entrance to Tracy Arm. From beginning to end Tracy Arm Fjord is phenomenal. The 30 miles of narrow, steep, rock walls that dive dramatically down into ice-filled, blue-green water is amazing.
Note the large boat in the lower right hand corner.
-
More pics from Glacier Bay National Park
Johns Hopkins Inlet
Johns Hopkins Inlet
Johns Hopkins Glacier
Lamplugh Glacier
Lamplugh Glacier Blue
Glacier Bay Sunset -
Glacier Bay National Park -- This was to be the highlight of the trip, and it didn’t disappoint. The weather was sunny and quite warm, and from morning until night, the scenery was just spectacular. In the morning we woke to admire the stunningly bright white Mount Fairweather in the distance, and later we attended the park ranger and native people’s presentations in the ship’s theater. When we reached the area near Johns Hopkins Inlet on our way to the Margerie Glacier, we headed to the bow of the ship, which at the time wasn’t too crowded.
The Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers were stunning. We spent quite a bit of time very slowly cruising past the Margerie, and saw a few large calving events. I could have spent all day there, but the ship soon turned around and headed for closer viewing of the Lamplugh and Johns Hopkins Glaciers.
The park ranger narrating our journey said that starting that day they were letting ships get closer to the Johns Hopkins Glacier than at other times of the year. (One benefit, I guess, of going in September.) As we approached this incredible glacier the ranger mentioned that she thought that this was the most magnificent place on earth, and I think she may be right. The iceberg-filled blue-green water and the enormous Johns Hopkins Glacier surrounded by 10k+ plus foot jagged peaks and alpine glaciers were breathtaking. Even though we stayed fairly close to the Johns Hopkins Glacier for at least a half an hour we didn’t see any calving events, but it was truly a spectacular place.
Later that evening we went to a fun social mixer and met some people who we became good friends with for the rest of the trip.
-
Seward to Vancouver on Holland America’s Zaandam
Trip dates: August 28th – Sept. 7th, 2015. Cruise dates: Aug. 30th – Sept. 6th.
Stops in Haines, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Glacier Bay cruising.
We settled on Alaska as our vacation destination and booked this cruise only 2 weeks before the cruise departure date due to job/vacation constraints. After some quick research (Thank you to all who post and answer questions here!) we settled on, this route and Holland America based on a desire to see Glacier Bay N.P., the price, and how we could work out flights in and out of Anchorage and Vancouver for the days we could go. Alaska has always been a strong travel option, and now that I’ve seen it, I wish I would have done it earlier in life, and I’m definitely going back.
The Zaandam – We booked a large interior stateroom on the 3rd deck. Although we probably spend less time in our cabin than most cruisers, it was still a bit odd not having a window to see the ship’s location. I liked the room though. The bathroom shower tile looked a bit dated, but overall the cabin was nice, clean, and the furnishings seemed new.
I was rather pleased with the rest of the ship too. Most of the common areas all looked like they had been recently updated. We generally don’t turn in early, so we were also happy with some of the options for drinks later in the evening.
We ate most breakfasts and lunches on the Lido and most dinners in the Rotterdam main dining room. The food was great. One or two courses may have missed the mark a bit, but overall we were very satisfied with the selection, presentation, and taste. We chose open seating to give us maximum flexibility for sunset or wildlife viewing.
Entertainment was fine with a few hits. We enjoyed the Ocean Bar and the Neptunes, the comedians, the violinists, and surprisingly, the Dancing with the Stars finale. We also spent a fair amount of time in the heated, retractable-roof pool, and we really enjoyed having a cocktail in the hot tubs while cruising by the spectacular Alaskan shoreline.
Anchorage to Seward – We flew out from the East coast after work on Friday and arrived in Anchorage a little after midnight. We decided to take the early morning Alaska Railroad train to Seward, and being the hearty travelers we are, we concluded that we could wait it out in the airport and train station without getting a hotel for a 3 or 4 hour nap.
The train ride to Seward was amazing and a great welcome to the state. I always expected Alaska to be beautiful, but I guess I didn’t expect stunning beauty that just goes on and on for hundreds and hundreds of miles. As we pulled out of the train station in Anchorage a bright red sunrise lit the sky. Far across the bay the snowcapped mountains were bathed in a pink glow. A part of me wants to believe we got a peak at Denali. Along the initial route we were treated to numerous beluga whale sightings. A few were even fairly close to the train. We also saw eagles and a dall sheep.
Seward – The Seward area is spectacularly beautiful. The blue-green bay is surrounded by jagged and majestic snowcapped peaks. After checking in to our hotel and getting a bite to eat at a local burger joint, we set out to find the quick and easy shuttle to Exit Glacier. We had a lot of fun hiking around the Exit Glacier area, but were slightly disappointed that it was nearly impossible to get close enough to touch. Still, the area is gorgeous, and the rangers were excited that the President was visiting the next day.
After our return to Seward from Exit we hopped on the free shuttle and went to the Alaska Sea Life Center. It’s not the most elaborate aquarium, but we enjoyed our time there learning about the local wildlife. We particularly liked touching the live, colorful starfish, sea urchins, and sea cumbers, and we enjoyed watching the playful seals, sea lions, puffins, and other birds.
For dinner we had an excellent meal at the Seward Brewing Company with several nice beers. At sunset we walked back to our hotel along the shore of the bay admiring the bright sunlit peaks across the water.
Overnight it was very windy. I worried that our 6-hour Kenai Fjords trip would be cancelled, but, thankfully, it wasn’t. It proved to be a rough trip though, and I was glad I took some motion sickness pills before getting on the boat. A few miles out we even turned around and headed back to the harbor, but we soon learned it was because another boat behind us had spotted some orcas. We didn’t get too close, but we could see the orca’s dorsal fins going in and out of the water from a short distance.
It was probably crazy, but for most of the tour we rode outside on the bow of the boat. With the high seas, it was like riding a very bumpy roller coaster. We loved every minute of it though. After viewing some sea lions up close and Bear Glacier from afar, we finally arrived at the beautiful Holgate Glacier. We stayed here for quite a while and saw a few small calving events but nothing too remarkable. On the ride back we stopped into a few wind protected coves and were finally able to see a couple of young humpback whales blowing and surfacing. Overall it was a great tour even with the wind. I would do it again, but I would definitely take the longer tour.
Upon our afternoon return to Seward we boarded the Zaandam, and by early evening our ship departed under another spectacular Alaskan sunset. We spent the next day, our first day at sea, relaxing and doing some jet-lag maintenance. We explored the ship, spent some time in the casino, and enjoyed our first gala night.
-
We did the 6 hour Kenai Fjords on Aug. 30th on a very rough and windy but sunny day. Wind gusts were over 50 mph, and our Captain said that the seas out in the Gulf were up to 9 feet. I get seasick very easily, but with 2 Bonine I was fine the whole time. A calmer day would, of course, been better for sightseeing, but we actually had a great time riding the waves. There are also enough coves and inlets that you will travel to where the waters are much calmer, so it isn't rough seas all day. I will say too that we didn't see any sea otters after leaving the immediate Seward area.
-
The HALcats also play live in the Crows Nest on different nights. We spent several late nights having drinks in the Ocean Bar listening to the Neptunes and found them to be very good.
RSVP in 2019?
in LGBTQIA+ Cruisers
Posted
Onboard last week's cruise they announced that the 2019 RSVP Caribbean cruise will be Feb. 10-17 on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Stops include Curacao, Aruba, and Half Moon Cay.