2012 July 6-20 Alaska Land and Cruise Adventure Review with LOTS of photos!

[WalleyeLJ]

We continued to make our way along the Wood Pier towards Berth #1, working our way around the front/water side of the cruise ship Visitor's Center. In addition to the usually array of brochures of all sorts, you can also book pier side excursions, and most importantly for us at that moment - clean and empty restrooms!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right next to the Visitors Center we some tables and a couple of small eateries - very reminiscent of some Caribbean ports. We didn't eat there, but at least they're close to both the ships and the shopping!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now down near Berth #1, we could see that while still a good sized ship, it wasn't nearly the size of the RCI and Princess ships. A closer look and we could see that it was Silversea luxury ship "Silver Shadow". That was pretty cool as we had seen it featured on a cruise Alaska TV special before we left!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As usual, we didn't leave a ton of time for shopping, but we hadn't checked out this part of town our first trip, so we headed across Front Street to check out what was there. Here are a few shots of the historic fountain near the pier, and some of the shops.

 

 

 

The Dockside Trading Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fountain and a little something in the background for the Harley-Davidson fans...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cruise ship company shopping in Alaska...

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[VegasCrossfire]

Your pictures and diary are wonderful. I have to say, I am a little jealous (OK...a LOT jealous). We took an Alaskan cruisetour last June and went to the same ports, so I "recognize" most of your pictures. However, when we were there, it was about 45-49* and raining the WHOLE TIME! Every where we went, the locals kept saying "welcome to Junuary" because it was so miserable. We looked at as much as we possibly could because we knew we would never go back - but we missed the "beauty" of everything. Your pictures are absolutely gorgeous and makes me realize how much we really missed.

[WalleyeLJ]

Your pictures and diary are wonderful. I have to say, I am a little jealous (OK...a LOT jealous). We took an Alaskan cruisetour last June and went to the same ports, so I "recognize" most of your pictures. However, when we were there, it was about 45-49* and raining the WHOLE TIME! Every where we went, the locals kept saying "welcome to Junuary" because it was so miserable. We looked at as much as we possibly could because we knew we would never go back - but we missed the "beauty" of everything. Your pictures are absolutely gorgeous and makes me realize how much we really missed.

 

Vegas,

Thanks for taking the time to go through the review. I'm sorry you had such tough weather on your trip. We had weather like that while we were in Seward, but otherwise we fared pretty well. I know you said it would be your only trip to Alaska, but maybe you'll decide to give it another shot!

L.J.

[sue402001]

Hey LJ, you getting any of that North Carolina snow???? :D

[WalleyeLJ]

Hey LJ, you getting any of that North Carolina snow???? :D

 

LOL - yes we did! Huge, puffy flakes fell for a couple of hours. It didn't stick to the roads, but it did stick to the ground and the trees, just enough to cover everything, so it looks great!

 

L.J.

[TypeREX]

Spent the whole day reading all 33 pages of your review. It's already been said but those eagle shots are amazing!

 

Hoping to plan an Alaska trip for this year if it's not too late. I'm almost ready to get my first DSLR setup after struggling with a point and shoot for WAY too long. The HD video camera just doesn't cut it for stills. Been looking at the Canon 7D or possibly the new 6D but I don't know if full frame is the way to go. I'll need to shoot underwater photography for our dive trips and will need a high quality underwater housing to boot. I could save $1k by going with the 7D and put that money into lenses and gear.

[VegasCrossfire]

Vegas,

 

Thanks for taking the time to go through the review. I'm sorry you had such tough weather on your trip. We had weather like that while we were in Seward, but otherwise we fared pretty well. I know you said it would be your only trip to Alaska, but maybe you'll decide to give it another shot!

 

L.J.

 

Seward is the one place that had fantastic weather while we were there. In fact, all the locals in Seward kept remarking that they see sun about 3 days a year and we got 1 of them! So we did get to see Seward at a nice, leisurely pace and enjoy it.

[WalleyeLJ]

One thing I'll say for Ketchikan is that there is NO shortage of places to shop or things to buy. All the ports have lots of options, but to me it seems like Ketchikan has the most options immediately off the cruise piers. Here's a look inside one of the many shops facing Front Street and Berth #1.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the Harley fans...

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you're looking for Christmas in Alaska, it's right down the street from the Harley shop above...

 

 

 

 

 

 

After picking up a few small items (I love collecting magnets and shot glasses from the places we visit - but it drives Bev nuts sometimes), we started to make our way back to Radiance. The wood dock wasn't very crowded so it just took a few minutes. Along the way, we made another stop at the Tongass Trading Post that's located right on the pier between Berth #2 and Berth #3 where Radiance was still waiting for us. While the TTPs seems to be everywhere along the waterfront, they do have some pretty darn good bargains if you're looking for stuff to bring back to friends and family. I think of them as the Wal-Mart of souvenir shops in Alaska... Plus, I was still t-shirt hunting for something from Ketchikan and still hadn't found anything I liked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No luck on the t-shirt, but I was able to find some Alaska candy to bring back for some folks at work. At this point Bev was done for the day and ready to return to the ship, but we had something like a whole 43 minutes or so before departure, so of course I couldn't get back on board yet...

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Spent the whole day reading all 33 pages of your review. It's already been said but those eagle shots are amazing!

 

Hoping to plan an Alaska trip for this year if it's not too late. I'm almost ready to get my first DSLR setup after struggling with a point and shoot for WAY too long. The HD video camera just doesn't cut it for stills. Been looking at the Canon 7D or possibly the new 6D but I don't know if full frame is the way to go. I'll need to shoot underwater photography for our dive trips and will need a high quality underwater housing to boot. I could save $1k by going with the 7D and put that money into lenses and gear.

 

TypeREX,

Obviously both are great cameras. I don't own a full frame yet, but I'm so use to APS-C sized sensors and the 1.6x crop that it's "normal" to me. I went with the 7D because of the high speed burst rates for sports and wildlife. I have a 11-16mm f/2.8 Tokina for the 7D which gets plenty wide in my opinion. In any case, I'm sure you'll enjoy either one. Good luck!

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Seward is the one place that had fantastic weather while we were there. In fact, all the locals in Seward kept remarking that they see sun about 3 days a year and we got 1 of them! So we did get to see Seward at a nice, leisurely pace and enjoy it.

 

Right now a return to Seward is on the list for 2015, either before or after our next bear watching adventure. Looking forward to getting back into Kenai Fjords and hopefully stopping by Exit Glacier. Hopefully the weather will be a bit more like yours!

L.J.

[zaks pack4]

Hi LJ -

Just catching up on your recent posts and enjoying the fantastic photos. We had a cruisetour booked for this coming August, and were so excited about it (our 1st trip to Alaska), flights booked, excursions booked. BUT, Hurricane Sandy struck hard here on the NJ shore (we live in Union Beach) and many, many homes were totally destroyed. Our house was still standing, so we are under construction while living at a different location. Needless to say, our trip to Alaska has been cancelled since there are now other priorities to deal with.

Maybe one day we will get there, but in the meantime, we can enjoy the posts and pictures.

Take care,

Patty

[WalleyeLJ]

Hi LJ -

Just catching up on your recent posts and enjoying the fantastic photos. We had a cruisetour booked for this coming August' date=' and were so excited about it (our 1st trip to Alaska), flights booked, excursions booked. BUT, Hurricane Sandy struck hard here on the NJ shore (we live in Union Beach) and many, many homes were totally destroyed. Our house was still standing, so we are under construction while living at a different location. Needless to say, our trip to Alaska has been cancelled since there are now other priorities to deal with.

Maybe one day we will get there, but in the meantime, we can enjoy the posts and pictures.

Take care,

Patty[/quote']

 

Patty,

I'm so sorry to hear that. Hopefully the reconstruction will go well and quickly so you can get moved back in. It's a shame you had to cancel the trip, but maybe it can be part of the light at the end of the tunnel for getting things back to normal. I'll be recapping our first trip to Alaska once I finish this one, so there will be some more photos and stories to come!

L.J.

[zaks pack4]

Thanks, L.J. Will look forward to those stories and pictures.

[WalleyeLJ]

As I mentioned earlier, there was a small harbor/dock space right next where Radiance was tied up in Berth #3, because Berth #3 is a pier extended offshore instead of being right onshore like Berths 1 & 2 on the Wood Dock, the original spot for cruise ships to stop in Ketchikan. AS one would expect, there was an assortment of shops, bars and excursion offices built on pilings right above the dock area. Since it was only a couple minute walk, I figured I might manage to not miss the ship!

 

 

 

The first string of shops after entering the elevated boardwalk. Among the places here is Taquan Air, just out of sight to the left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little further down the boardwalk...

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's a bit of a gap after that, and then there's a small waterfront bar called the Arctic Bar. I'm assuming it's because of all the polar bears...

 

 

 

 

...Polar bear club crazy (likely drunk) nutcases!!! These loons were stripping down to their underwear, climbing up onto the railing of the outside deck, and hurling themselves into what had to be frigid water below. Check it out!

 

 

 

Crazy guy #1!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crazy guy #2!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After watching those two guys, I turned my attention back to the boats in the harbor. The light was tough for good photos, but it was fun to just check out all the different sizes and shapes of the boats and just enjoy my last few minutes in Alaska. Time was getting short, so I started making my way back towards the ship. This shot gives a better idea of just how close this area was to the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the last shop of the strip I found a neat shop that had a great variety of shirts and not only did I find a few I liked, they ALL were on sale!!! Shopping complete, I made it back on the ship a whole 5 minutes before departure. Next stop - Vancouver, Canada!

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Ketchikan was our shortest port of call at 9 hours (along with ISP), so as soon as I boarded I headed up to Dec 11 forward to photograph our departure since I still had a little time before dinner. The sun was out and there some very cool clouds and blue sky, so was a lot of fun - and of course I took a lot of photos! It was a shame that there were so few people out on deck, because it was a very nice sail away. It's funny how small Ketchikan looked from the cruise ship after walking through a bunch of it that afternoon. It was also amazing how empty it looked compared to just a couple of hours before. The rest of this post and the next will mostly be photos with captions for those that want to see a bit of the Ketchikan waterfront and the south end of town. The first shot will give you a better perspective of the pier side Tongass Trading Post, and the first few will tie together the flow of Front Street a little better.

 

 

 

"Beep...Beep...Beep!!! Prepare for departure. In the event of a water landing...oh wait - we forgot the helicopters - we're all good!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cruise Ship Visitors Center is the mint green building in the lower left...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a better on shore view of the Rain Gauge and VC I meant to include earlier

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the neatest things to me is the barges around Ketchikan bringing in not only supplies and goods, but vehicles of all shapes and sizes, since Ketchikan, like Juneau, is on an island, so if a vehicle doesn't ride in on a ferry, then this is how it gets here. I'm assuming they don't go out, or go out far, into the open ocean and stick to the Inside Passage whenever they can...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A sweeping view of the south end of Front Street and Berths 1 & 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[am-mc]

am-mc,

 

I happy for you and jealous:D. Will this be your first Alaska trip, or are you returning? Barring a lottery win, we likely won't be back until 2015, but I'm already planning...;).

 

L.J.

 

Been a while since I have been on been dealing with the details of the cruise - we are all going for the first time - we are up to 7 people in the group. I finally have the flights - hotels and rental cars for before our Cruise tour in Fairbanks done. We are flying to the Arctic cirlce one day - my Dad always wanted to go just to say he did it.

 

Thank you for all the info - we are all so excited and reading your posts just makes me more excited.

[am-mc]

L.J.

 

So now that we are within 5 months of our trip - I am getting to specifics. Do you remember what nights were formal for the Southbound cruise. I want to make a reservation for my parents 50th anniversary dinner one night and want to do it the same night as the formal night since we dont really go tot he formal nights.

 

Thanks,

 

Andrea

[WalleyeLJ]

Been a while since I have been on been dealing with the details of the cruise - we are all going for the first time - we are up to 7 people in the group. I finally have the flights - hotels and rental cars for before our Cruise tour in Fairbanks done. We are flying to the Arctic cirlce one day - my Dad always wanted to go just to say he did it.

 

Thank you for all the info - we are all so excited and reading your posts just makes me more excited.

 

Excellent! I'd really like to follwo in your Dad's footsteps one of these days - there's just SO much to see and do in Alaska! Hopefully we'll be blessed with a few more opportunities over the next 30-40 years to knock a few more off the list!

L.J.

[satchiesmom]

Just popping in to say Thank you so much for the wonderful review and photos, what a joy to read! We are planning our first Alaska cruise for May of 2014 and will be booking with HAL as soon as the itineraries come out. I'm already ordering gear (waterproof lightweight raincoat and waterproof hiking shoes so far) and am so excited. Your review has really upped the excitement level and the photos are exquisite.

 

Susan

[Shazzah]

Another fan here, wanting to tell you how much I appreciate your wonderful report. Your photos are excellent, but the way you tell the story made this a joy to read. This is my first post on CC - had to log on to say "Thank You."

 

We are going on our first cruise to Alaska this coming May, with a visit to Denali after the cruise - I was happy to see you are planning to report on your 2009 trip!

 

(Another Canon Shooter here)

 

Sharon

Edited February 20, 2013 by Shazzah

[Jdfireman]

Loving the new pics... Hope all are doing well.. Operation planning 2 weeks in Alaska is almost complete.. Thanks again for all the help

[WalleyeLJ]

Just popping in to say Thank you so much for the wonderful review and photos, what a joy to read! We are planning our first Alaska cruise for May of 2014 and will be booking with HAL as soon as the itineraries come out. I'm already ordering gear (waterproof lightweight raincoat and waterproof hiking shoes so far) and am so excited. Your review has really upped the excitement level and the photos are exquisite.

 

Susan

 

Susan,

 

That's awesome - I hope you love Alaska as much as we do. Our first trip to Alaska was in late May 2009, and we had great weather and a wonderful trip.

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Another fan here, wanting to tell you how much I appreciate your wonderful report. Your photos are excellent, but the way you tell the story made this a joy to read. This is my first post on CC - had to log on to say "Thank You."

 

We are going on our first cruise to Alaska this coming May, with a visit to Denali after the cruise - I was happy to see you are planning to report on your 2009 trip!

 

(Another Canon Shooter here)

 

Sharon

 

My fellow Canonite!

 

I hope I get to my 2009 report before you leave on your trip;)! It's very cool being part of your first post. I'm sure you've already found this out, but CC, and this board in particular, are a fantastic resource. You'll find plenty of other great experiences on here if you haven't already completed your trip planning.

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Loving the new pics... Hope all are doing well.. Operation planning 2 weeks in Alaska is almost complete.. Thanks again for all the help

 

Excellent! Once you've got it done, you'll have to post for us! Work has been very busy this week, so I probably won't be posting more trip info until Friday night or Saturday. Thanks to all for hanging in there with me!

 

L.J.

[BecciBoo]

Wow! Just spotted your review....best pics ever I've seen here on CC.

Can't wait for our trip in Sept. Have already booked HnM and Michelle for the float plane. We don't fish that often, but the rest of my family does. My brother is a die hard fly fisherman and he loves bone fishing the coast with fly. They would love your fish photos. What trophies you all caught!

You should be working for National Geo. I'm saving all your camera advice for our cruise bud who does Nikon. We shoot Canon Rebel but have only scratched the serface with ours. He is much more knowledgeble and has tried to convert us to the dark side! Ha! He has some big A lenz he's taking for our trip. We're doing the video and he's doing the stills. But don't know how we'd ever beat yours...totally fantabulous! Keep them coming, didn't your trip end in Vancouver? Waiting for your obviously fantastic pics of the Lion's Gate Bridge and coming into Canada Place.:p:D

Edited February 21, 2013 by BecciBoo