tupper10

A beautiful day sailing to Valdez. We are passing multiple glaciers on the port side of the ship. It is cold out but we can sit outside with a jacket and hat. We will spend most of the day enjoying the view.

We got a late start today. We had lunch in the lido and then headed out. There was no wait for the shuttle bus that drove us downtown. We walked around a bit. I was debating doing the trolley tour but I have been to Anchorage and have seen most of the places it goes to. There was also a wait for about 40 minutes for the tour I was thinking about so instead I went to the anchorage museum. I have to say I was very glad I did. It was a spectacular museum and I spent the entire afternoon enjoying the various exhibits. If you ever get to Anchorage I highly recommend it. Later today we will look to see if Denali has reared its peak through the clouds. The sleeping sister near her is out but the clouds are still blocking Denali. It is a casual dinner again tonight. I have to say that the majority of people are very casual. Jeans and sweaters or sweatshirts seem to be the go to outfit for most everyone.

As far as I know only one or two cruises port in Anchorage. Most do go from Whittier or Seward. Anchorage is a very large commercial port.

@cat shepard A suggestion about your car search. We had the same issue in Fl when we wanted a 4 wheel drive. I contacted the USA site and found the car we wanted out of state. The price was better than the front wheel drive in Fl. Just get the price quoted with everything included , all fees etc except for sales tax. All paperwork was done over the internet and the car delivered to our home. Also you can find a good car agent who can do the work for you. So sorry to hear about everyone’s medical issues. It is hard getting older!! We are enjoying our cruise to Alaska on the Noordam. We got to Anchorage a bit early. We are waiting for the crowds to disperse and then we will head out. We have been here multiple times so we are just going to walk around.

We arrived a bit early in anchorage. It was a wonderfully calm sail last night and this morning since we were not in the open sea. It is raining and cold out though in about an hour the rain is supposed to end. We have no shore excursion planned. When the rain stops we will head into town. It is an industrial port and the city is providing shuttle buses since you are not allowed to walk in this port.

Our view from the balcony of Kodiak harbor. Weather could not have been better.

Just saw land. Kodiak and the sun is shining.

I tried to insert a video but I think it is too large. Pictures don’t really give you the sense of how much the ship is moving. We are barreling towards Kodiak. We will be an hour late but it should be sunny out instead of rain. I set my aurora app since the ships to the south of us had quite the show last night. There are multiple pictures on social media from the people on those cruises.

@SwissMystplease post as much as you can about our voyage. It is great to have info and experiences from other people. Today many of us spent the morning in bed. After lunch from room service I put on my jacket and hat and walked the promenade deck. It was quite nice out and helped me feel better. I took some videos of the pool in the afternoon which was wave city. People who were there in the morning said it was much worse. No one could swim but people were in the hot tub. Tonight after dinner we saw Hyperion Knight. I remembered that we had seen him on a Celebrity cruise years ago and had bought one of his CDs. He gave a wonderful performance. Tomorrow we will make it to Kodiak per the captain though our arrival time is a bit up in the air. We were told to listen to the announcements in the morning. We have a HAL excursion booked so we assume the time changes will be worked out. If not we will walk around the town and go to the museum.

On our way to Kodiak with 16 foot swells. It has been quite the ride. @kazu thank you for the recommendation but I am allergic to one of the ingredients. The Dramamine worked thank heavens or last night and this morning would be no fun at all. The captain said our roller coaster ride should end by about 10. It is not as cold out as yesterday. We have intermittent sun and clouds. We will probably hang out in our cabin and veranda until this stops since walking is an adventure and you must hold on to the railings to go anywhere. Thank heavens for room service. Now if only I could remember how to post pictures from my phone!

Thanks I went to deck 3 but it was quite cold out. The rock and roll party is over until tonight. Have to say crew is more than fabulous. I am allergic to nuts so I can’t eat the desserts due to cross contamination. The lido chef just made me my own basket of sugar cookies - hot out of the oven.

As I lay here with my toast and crackers we were really moving this morning but now better. My DH is fine and just went for lunch. Tonight is supposed to be quite the ride. Captain just told us to secure everything in our cabins and no high heels for us tonight. I will be taking my Dramamine. I already took my ginger. My steward told me I am not alone with my woes today. Tomorrow after 10 AM the ride is supposed to be over.

@smitty34877so sorry to hear of Lou’s passing. Please accept my condolences to you and your family.

Sorry I don’t know it is only 7:30 am. The ship is rocking and rolling letting you know we are at sea. Lots of people walking the promenade deck with jackets and hats on. The weather is now partly cloudy and cool as we start the inner passage. We are relaxing on deck 3 waiting for the main dining room to open. Tonight is a dressy night.

I checked this out for you and yes there is a bar right by the casino.

No we are in the aft section. I can’t do forward but aft is usually fine.

On our way. Check in was fine it took about 1 hour from arrival to boarding . Crew has been wonderful. The captain told us we are going a different way to Kodiak due to storms and tomorrow we will be rocking and rolling. Ladies were told no heels and we should hold on to the bannisters. Dinner was nice and now just relaxing. We gain 1 hour tonight.

Hello to all from beautiful Vancouver. We arrived here on Friday night after a long flight from FLL with a connection in LAX. We made our 2nd flight by only a few minutes - luckily the gates were next to each other. Our hotel here is beautiful, it is called L'Hermitage. All the hotels were so expensive so we decided to splurge a bit and get a suite for not much more than a basic room. This hotel is centrally located, walking distance to anything you could want and a 2 minute walk to Tim Horton's. We have a one bedroom with a full kitchen, washer/dryer, and a balcony which overlooks the courtyard and a beautiful pool and hot tub. I could live here. We board the ship this morning. We have an early boarding time but it should be a zoo at the port since I think there are 5 ships here this morning. We are prepared with our books to read as we wait in huge lines. I am going to wear a mask, as I did on the plane since it seems Covid is rearing its ugly head again. So far the weather forecast for Alaska is for rain every day- but hopefully we will have some clear skies. It is our 4th time to Alaska but Kodiak and Valdez are new for us. I will try to post here every day about our travels.

Hello from beautiful Vancouver. We are on the same cruise as @SusieKIslandGirl. It is our 4th time to Alaska and hoping that the weather is not all rain and freezing cold. Sending healing thoughts to all who need it. @rafinmd I hope you don't miss your cruise. My 2 cents - if you are really feeling sick then I would not go, but if you are just tired then I think being served and pampered is the way to go. Hoping everyone has safe travels. Thank you to all who keep this thread going. I read it every day.

It depends on the airline if you can pick your seats right away by booking with FE. We booked for Europe next year on Delta through FE and we were able to pick our seats right away. We also used them for Alaska (here now) and again we could book our seats right away and see our trip on the Delta site even before final payment.

@mcrcruiser That happened to me and I spoke with a supervisor. At first she claimed I couldn't get it, but like you I had booked two cruises and both were in 2025 - one I had the credit one not- so she couldn't claim that they weren't offering it on 2025 cruises - she had to add it manually and then re sent my confirmation.

I had to call HAL and the agent booked everything for me and I only was on hold for about 1 minute.

We hope for the same thing - really want to do this cruise but it is a long way away. We love Turkey and I am thinking we will just fly home from Istanbul, we like it more than Athens.

@CNSJ thank you for posting this. Booked our 2025 Europe cruise to Egypt and Istanbul with two overnights with the $2.00 deposit.