Radiance of the Seas NB Alaska August 8-15, 2014

[rafinmd]

Perhaps I'm a bit premature, but I just printed my flight boarding passes so I'll start this thread anyway. I'll be sailing the Radiance with my DB and his SO (their first time on Royal). At the end we'll overnight in Seward and they will go on to Denali while I return to Vancouver on the Statendam.

 

My primary cruise lines are Crystal, HAL, and Cunard. Royal's primary niche for me is my go to line for cruises out of my home port (Baltimore) but occasionally I stray from that niche. My past Royal cruises encompass 4 nights each on Monarch and Jewel, and 26 on Enchantment.

 

Permission has been granted to tell the rest of the story. Capt. Sindre will be chief of the marine dept. in charge of a crew for a Norwegian company. He'll be on a fixed platform for 2 weeks on and 4 weeks off. This will allow him much more time with his wife and still very young little boy. RCI is leaving the for open to him should he ever desire to return as Master.

 

Wolfcathorse (Happy Birthday BTW), I think there may be some confusion about the Radiance's current captain. I'll report what I find here and also will try to get to your thread. Donna, I'll do the same about Amy Fickert's replacement.

 

This thread will primarily be narrative. I may post some pictures here but most of them (along with Compasses and other documents) will be on my blog at:

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.wordpress.com

 

I'll try to respond to questions but do try to minimize my internet time. I will get questions mainly from an emailed digest of this thread each morning, so it may be a couple of days before you get an answer.

 

Finishing up my final packing.

 

Roy

[katrina915]

Coming along for the ride. Just got off Radiance on July 25 and miss Alaska already...

[bumbletigger]

I can wait to hear about your adventures. I will be doing this route next June.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[rafinmd]

Thanks katrina915 and bumbletigger. The Airport Shuttle pulled up promptly at 7AM and I was at the airport 45 minutes later. Security was a breeze with TSA precheck (a perk of my NEXUS card) but I made it harder than necessary. Expecting to need to take off my jacket I put all my metal stuff in my pockets, but the sign essentially said leave all clothes on and put your metal items in your luggage. There wasn't even a bin for my jacket so I had to quickly take everything out of my pockets. Even so I was through in 5 minutes. My first flight is a 40 PAX puddle jumper to Toronto,. then a non-stop to Vancouver, arriving about 5PM. The adventure has begun.

 

Roy

[July4]

Have fun and hope you have good weather. Looking forward to reading your report. We are doing southbound on the 29th. :DCan't wait.

[rafinmd]

Thank you July4 and I'll do my best to take care of the Radiance.

 

The Airport Shuttle arrived at my door within 30 seconds of the 7AM appointment. It had rained a bit overnight but the weather stayed delightful all day. I arrived at BWI about 7:45 and security was a breeze, with a stop at McDonalds for coffee and oatmeal by 8. My journey to Vancouver began very humbly with 2 hours on a 37-seat Dash 8 propjet to Toronto.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/dash8.jpg

 

Customs was pretty easy but security in Toronto was a bit of a pain. There was a dedicated lane for NEXUS holders which was very short but also very slow moving. When I got to the scanners my backpack and laptops breezed through but the screeners reacted to something in my laptop bag. They were sure there was something sharp and they went through everything (wallet, camera bag, key case and all constantly asking “do you have scissors in THIS?”. After 5 minutes the guy said “I think the fastest thing for you and for me will be to run this through the scanner again”. It breezed through. Go Figure.

 

I had a couple of hours before my next flight dedicated to lunch and a bit of reading and relaxation, before 5 hours to Vancouver on an A-320. That flight was uneventful but boring. I rarely read on cruise ships (too busy) and do most of my reading on airplanes. I had started “Burning Cold”, the story of the 1980 fire and sinking in Alaska of the original Prinsendam, and the successful rescue of all personnel, and finally finished the book midway through the flight.

 

I landed at YVR a bit after 5, and mad my way on Skytrain to the Holiday Inn on Howe Street. With baggage claim, getting directions, the train, and connecting bus I was at the hotel about 6:45 with a corner room and views on 2 sides. I got dinner and did a bit of shopping but by 9:30 (12:30am Eastern time) I was too exhausted to function.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/hi-yvr.jpg

 

I volunteer with my local Fire Department and today’s parting shot comes from a colleague there. He mentioned a rule that pigs in transport on a truck for 2 hours or more must have at least 4 square feet of space each. A standard seat on my 5-hour flight to Vancouver had 3.95 square feet. I hate flying.

 

Roy

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Looking forward to following along! :) I'll be on the Radiance next summer - just in the opposite direction, but this should give me an idea. :)

 

Have a great trip!!

[KirkNC]

Bon voyage!

[rafinmd]

Thanks Kirk and WrittenOnYourHeart .

 

I think my body was still a bit off but I was up around 6. A morning walk took me to Canada Place and Gastown. I’m beginning to think of Vancouver as “City of Clocks” as I encountered 2 interesting clocks quite close together, the Berks Clock near Canada Place and a working steam clock in Gastown. Canada Place was pretty quiet today with one of about 3 convention halls busy and the Silver Shadow at the docks. I’m sure the Shadow is headed for Alaska but after my one experience on Silversea I had absolutely no desire to be aboard.

 

My brother arrived at the hotel about 12:30. His friend Adrienne had a hankering for an Thai lunch but as we set out walking (Roger and Adrienne were both quite starved after their flights from Des Moines) we ended up at a bistro in the IGA market. Everyone found something to satisfy and we continued walking to Stanley Park where we paid a visit to the Aquarium. Soon after we arrived there was posted a show on caring for seals. I found the 5-minute show pretty lame and after touring for a while Roger and Adrienne went to one show featuring Beluga whales while I attended the Dolphin show. After the shows we (especially the fliers) were pretty well worn out and we had difficulty finding a cab but once back in downtown Vancouver caught the bus back to our hotel. We did find the Thai restaurant for dinner and pretty well crashed afterwards.

 

As today’s parting shot this trip is a bit unusual. I usually book my cruises way in advanced (one is booked in 2017) and this was pretty well last minute. I didn’t book the Statendam until April and the Radiance until May, for me that is about as close to last minute as it gets. Roger and Adrienne booked even later. It’s their first time on Royal and I’ll see many things through fresh eyes. An adventure truly awaits.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

I normally post once per day but this should be an exception. I may post again just before boarding, and a post tomorrow for the day’s activities.

 

I woke about 4:45 and walked the 3/4 mile to Canada Place an hour later. It was very quiet when I arrived but a freighter appeared about 6:15. The main walkway at Canada Place was gated, but the upper level was open and I was able to get to the far end of the dock. The Radiance appeared first around 6:35, followed by the Zaandam (I last sailed her 30 months ago) about 15 minutes later. The Radiance backed into the inland side of the pier while the Zaandam’s bow pulled up to the Convention Center side.

 

 

Clicking on the remaining links should bring up the pictures.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/radiance2.jpg

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/radiance3.jpg

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/zaandam1.jpg

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/zaandam2.jpg

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/zaandam3.jpg

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

My brother and I took a morning harbor cruise. He returned to the Hotel to pick up Adrienne while I headed for the ship. Embarkation was easy and I was on board about 12:40. I am getting lunch (and wifi) at Tim Horton's across the ship.

 

I did go up to deck 12 and made an appointment at the future cruise desk and walked through the WJ. I usually think of embarkation lunch at WJ as a crowed madhouse but it looked pretty civilized today; perhaps with all the options in downtown Vancouver not everybody was trying to eat at once.

 

There was a delay in opening up deck 3 rooms, 1:00 got pushed back to about 1:20. The good news was that when I got to my room both my bags were there.

 

Not being primarily a Royal person I'm a bit confused about the Captain. The Current Captains thread had a message that Captain Sindre had left the company, but the Compass shows him as the Captain. Are (were) there 2 Captain Sindres?

 

Donna, I will make it a priority to ask Amy who will cover her break.

 

Time to get back on the ship and unpack.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Adrienne was working on an article for her business and stayed behind, but Roger and I left the hotel about 10 and dropped our bags off at the pier, then made the short walk to the seaplane base for a harbor tour. The MPV Constitution (motor paddlewheel vessel) departed at 11 for about ah hour circle of Vancouver harbor. After passing Canada Place we passed a number of container docks and finally Ballantyne Pier, the overflow cruise terminal. I’ve never seen it as the cruise slip is on the opposite side of the dock from Canada Place. We circled around the north side of the harbor with drydocks, more cargo terminals, a maritime school, and seals sunning on some docks. We returned to the dock about noon, as the whistles on the Canada Place pier sounded.

 

Roger returned to the hotel to pick up Adrienne and I walked back to Canada Place. Checkin went quite well and I was on board about 12:40. I went up to deck 12 to make an appointment with Cruise Sales and took a quick walk through WJ and thought it looked more civilized than usual for an embarkation day (Although Roger and Adrienne thought it a bit primitive). I had planned to leave some things in my room before lunch. The 1PM stateroom was delayed until 1:20 on deck 3, but when I got to my room there was a welcome site, both my bags were already there.

 

I went across the street to Tim Hortons for soup, baguette, and wifi, and a little bit of final shopping. There were still a number of people just arriving when I returned at 2:30, so some must have had pretty stressful days.

 

I was nearly unpacked when the muster drill came. It was very much what I’m used to on HAL, standing under the lifeboats without or life jackets. Sailaway was imminent at 4:45 with the Zaandam backing away from Canada Place first. As it straightened out for the sail to sea, a sea plane seemed to me to pass quite close to it, so close that I wasn’t sure which side it would pass under. We started moving at 5:02, far enough from the dock to watch the Zaandam pass under the Lions Gate bridge, and we followed suit about 5:20. As I finished unpacking stateroom attendant James came by to introduce himself.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/lionsgt.jpg

 

Our early dinner is at a 10-top with one couple and another threesome along with 2 empty seats. Our waiters were Edison and Anak. I enjoyed the fruit plate, raspberry and cucumber soup and pork chop, followed by carrot cake with ice cream. RCI first timer Adrienne was very favorably impressed by the dining room.

 

The evening entertainment was a single show by comedian Tom McTigue. I lost track of time and arrived near the end of the show but he was pretty good. I organized stuff until bed around 10.

 

Today’s parting shot is based on my reading during my travels. Muster drills are always a bit of a pain but they can be real lifesavers. Trained rescuers can do a lot when things go wrong but they are not the entire answer. Our crews and crews from other agencies train regularly and very seriously to support our safety. The least we can do in return is to give our full attention for 5 or 10 minutes at the beginning of each cruise. Here’s a salute to the people of our crews and also to the Coast Guards and other vessels who may be in a position to help a stricken vessel. Thank you for your service and your dedication to training.

 

Roy

[reallyhooked]

I'll be checking for your post this week.We board when you get off. Our 1st on Radiance

Have a great week

[rrmcdonald]

Isn't one of the 7 deadly sins is envy? Sigh.......

[rafinmd]

reallyhooked, I promise to take good care of Radiance for you. Be sure to wish Amy a great vaction (which I believe is also her wedding/honeymoon).

 

There were some frustrations as well as some good things today. I woke at 5 and made my way up to the WJ for coffee and walked about 5 miles (100 minutes) on deck 12, mostly laps from the bow all the way to the stern. It was a pleasant morning but quite cloudy, it was about 20 minutes past sunrise when the sun finally found a little hole to peek through. As I walked we had the mainland to the starboard and Vancouver Island on the port, venturing into open ocean in mid-morning.

 

Breakfast was a bit disappointing. WJ did not have prunes but I was told they were in the dining room. That turned out not to be true, and the omlet I ordered was slow coming; I had to rush to my appointment with future cruise sales after wolfing down my eggs. The future cruise guy was then about 10 minutes late at his station. Once he showed up he was quite efficient and I got 5 cruises booked in under half an hour.

 

There were probably 30 people at the Cruise Critic meet and Mingle held in the Quill and Compass, and the staff put out a nice spread of snacks.

 

I met Roger and Adrienne at Shore Excursions at 11. I was surprised that several we wanted were sold out, but I think we have all found something we can live with. Some we will do together and others we’ll go our own ways. We met again for lunch in WJ, then I tried to help Adrienne retrieve editors’ comments on her article. Between the internet, problems with both the editor’s computer and the internet here and a lack of complete understanding between us of how the process should work it was a real challenge, but I finally got the editor’s document to her at dinner.

 

In the afternoon there was a talk on Alaska in the Aurora Theater followed by tea and scones in the WJ. The afternoon closed with organizing things on my computer and preparing for formal night.

 

At dinner we were joined by the final couple at our table, dedicated cruisers who are on the seconded leg of a round trip out of Seward. At the Welcome Aboard party Captain Sindre introduced the officers and mentioned that we have something like 38 countries represented among our guests and about 65 crew nationalities. On the way out I spoke with the Staff Captain and cleared up my confusion about Captain Sindre. I thought the person leaving had already done so but, (Staff) Captain Wendy confirmed that he will leave the company at the end of this contract.

 

The evening entertainment was Piano Man by the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers. Sometimes the show took pretty wide liberties of sticking with the theme but it was very enjoyable. There is only one time change on this cruise. We gain an hour tonight which I will need to give back near the end of my Statendam cruise. I tried to take advantage of the extra hour by visiting TA Williams in the Schooner Bar, but alas he went on break just as I arrived.

 

Today’s parting shot: Best wishes to Captain Sindre Borsheim in your future endeavors.

 

Roy

[reallyhooked]

Reading your post is going to make the next few days until cruise enjoyable

 

Thanks

[rafinmd]

This is my 6th visit to Ketchikan. While Ketchikan has a reputation as one of the wettest cities in North America, I have always been blessed by nothing more than an occasional shower here–until today. There were a few brief periods of drizzle, but the rest of the day the constant rain was moderate to heavy.

 

I was up at 5 and out of my cabin about 5:15. I went up to deck 5 and walked around the bow of the ship before heading up to the WJ for coffee. As I walked past the helipad (one of the rare periods of drizzle) we were clearly very close to the docks. We pulled into the dock before 6 and the gangway was out soon afterwards.

 

With this being Sunday I had planned on attending church, but there was a hike in the Tongass Rainforest that left at 7:30 and would get me back in time for the 11AM service. It was quite a steady rain as 7 of us met on the dock and boarded our van. Our driver, Tia, took us about 5 miles North of town and we stopped at a forest service parking lot where we met Rob, our guide. We were all offered umbrellas, ponchos, water, and snacks as we started out on our 2-mile hike. We were on a pretty wide gravel travel with some grades but nothing steep. Rob explained that most of the animals take shelter and are most likely to be out and active soon after the rain stops as they will then be hungry. Rob pointed out a wide variety of vegetation from magnificent trees

to various herbs. We saw a number of slugs on the trail and Rob explained that they helped clear animal deposits from the trails. We turned around at a scenic waterfall with a torrent of water and a few salmon trying to make their way upstream. We retraced our steps to the parking lot, the whole hike in a steady rain, and Tia returned us to the ship. Despite the challenging weather conditions, it was a very scenic and enjoyable hike.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/waterfall.jpg

 

I was back at the ship just after 10, unsure of the church starting time (11AM) and walked about 5 blocks in the pouring rain to the First Methodist Church of Ketchikan, passing the Celebrity Solstice and Pacific Princess along the way. I was very early for church, but they were serving cookies and very welcome coffee in the lobby, and it was an excellent place to start drying out.

 

The pastor was taking a vacation but the lay led service was very pleasant and I returned to the ship through a heavy rain about 11:45. Despite the weather I stopped briefly at the ship to pick up my computer and walked just over half a mile for a bit of shopping at Safeway and lunch and wifi at McDonalds. The wifi was slow, but sipping coffee as large files were transferred for free was very comforting.

 

The rain was still heavy as I returned to the ship about 2:30. Most of the next hour was spent dealing with wet clothes, but as I headed to the WJ for coffee and a cinnamon scone at 3:30 the Captain came on and said everybody was on board at or before the deadline. We headed out of the harbor about 3:45.

 

All of us were present for dinner at table 464. None of the menu selections looked good to me so I went to the classics or the chicken breast. It was excellent, and there are 2 other selections on that part of the menu that looked great so I expect to get through the week with no repeats.

 

John & Diane Stockman gave a talk on Alaska wildlife at 7:45 in the Colony Club. They operate as a team standing on opposite sides fo the screen and talk for about a minute each before the other one taking over. Dinner is running about 1:50 so I was a bit late for the talk.

 

The evening entertainment was singer Greg Bonham. I was late for the show as I ended up dozing at my computer. He was ok and played the trumpet as well as singing. I actually preferred Captain Gus of the Enchantment (future Quantum) on the trumpet.

 

As today’s parting shot I am actually finishing this post on Monday morning. If I understand the reports correctly, former Press Secretary James Brady is being laid to rest today. I had not remembered until reading his obituary that his service was only a couple of months, his impact to America was astounding for such a short public role. Mr. Brady, rest in peace, and thank you for your service.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Icy Strait is a bit of an unusual stop. While there was no such place until the cruise industry created it all the buildings are over a century old. The complex was built in 1912 as the canning factory for the town of Hoonah. The plant functioned as a cannery until 1953 when increasing automation resulted in the factory moving closer to Juneau. The buildings were refitted as a repair center for the fishing fleet and functioned in that capacity until 2000, when the complex was sold and the machine shops suddenly closed. They were just locked up for a while, but soon most of them were converted to museum space and souvenir shops; a small portion of the workshop was left as is with wire mesh windows where we can peek in and look at the projects artisans were working on as the shop closed. The building exteriors are all original but most of the interiors are very much changed. The complex’s original mess hall is now one of the restaurants. Some all new tourist facilities have been added, primarily a large zipline.

 

The tour I had booked was a walking tour. Tendering began at 9, and my meeting time in the Aurora Theater was 9:15. My tour was actually called about 9:40, and the short tender ride had us ashore before 10. There were about 20 on the tour and our guide was a lifelong Hoonah resident. His family was lumberjacks, and he learned the trade early but was convinced that wasn’t the best way to make a living. He made it through college and became a math teacher at Hoonah High, while using his lumberjack skills in the summer. He retired about 5 years ago.

 

While the age distribution is changing rapidly, the total population of Hoonah has held steady at 800. There are 2 major tribes of Tlingit, Ravens and Eagles. What I found especially interesting was that men were always required to marry someone of the opposite clan. Property is passed down through the female. There were carvings of the tribe symbols along our walk.

 

Before leaving the complex our guide stepped into the office and picked up a rifle. Hoonah’s island has about 800 humans and 6000 bears. We walked for a short distance along a boardwalk and then out onto the rocky shore. It was low tide, and Hoonah’s tides run about 25 feet, with higher tides in poor weather. Our footing required quite careful walking as the rocks were mostly quite slippery. At one time glaciers came right up to Hoonah, but are now about 70 miles away. It is a geologically actiive region with frequent earthquakes, and an active geologic plate which was once on the equator and drifted north. The glaciers also compressed the earth’s crust and with the loss of that pressure the land is rising almost an inch a year.

 

With the glacial activity our guide pointed out a wide variety of rocks on the shore carried here from distant locations. He also pointed out a wide variety of marine life. He cut the shore walk a bit short of his normal route as a stretch of beach was being frequented by a bear with her cubs. We returned on a forest trail where he (the lumberjack/guide) pointed out the qualities of good and not so good trees. The local soil is still too shallow to support the best trees.

 

The area is noted for it’s little donut shop. What they actually sell is 6-packs of very small donuts, and the toppings are supplied separately in a small cup. I thought they were good but not anything spectacular. The town of Hoonah is about a mile away with a shuttle ($5RT) running about every 20 minutes. We had a bit of drizzle much of the morning but the skies really opened up as I disembarked the shuttle. I only took a little time in town with a carving studio across the street, the school a bit further up the road, and a little store in between. On the way back we passed the ferry slip midway to Icy Strait (airport supports max 20 pax planes and one of the smaller ferries runs 2-3 per week. I returned to the ship about 2:30, right after getting back from Hoonah. My lunch consisted of Maple donuts in Icy Strait and a Cranberry Scone in WJ. A C&A platinum pin was on my bed when I returned.

 

Roger and Adrienne had booked a whalewatch cruise. They returned on the last (5:30) tender and saw just a touch of a fluke, while there were good whale sightings on the ship. We pulled up the anchor and set off for Juneau just as we entered the dining room.

 

The Crown and Anchor welcome back party was held at 7:45. It seemed a bit surprising that there were only about 730 repeat cruisers on the ship and only about 300 at or above my level. The top cruiser had over 600 nights with RCI. The evening entertainment was the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers with City of Dreams.

 

Today’s parting shots looks back at my first (1991) visit to Alaska. It was mostly a land trip with a drive from Skagway to Anchorage, but included an overnight on the Alaska ferry Matanuska from Ketchikan to Skagway. A misprint in the ferry schedule had us stopping at Hoonah. That was impossible since only the smaller ferries can dock there and the Matanuska cannot get there. Since then I have always wondered what Hoonah was like. Sometimes it takes nearly a quarter century to answer a question.

 

Roy

[reallyhooked]

Congrats on making platinum. I think we are doing the tram tour in Icy Strait.

[rafinmd]

Congrats on making platinum. I think we are doing the tram tour in Icy Strait.

 

Thanks. I was actually platinum in December 2012 by Celebrity Reciprocity and got my 29-37th C&A points on Enchantment in February 2013 so it seemed a bit anticlimactic, but this is the first time I boarded as platinum by my C&A points. The tram in Icy Strait looked good.

 

I did not set the alarm today but was up at 5 anyway. We were just approaching Juneau harbor. As we docked about 6AM there was a steady rain, and the Coral Princess and Norwegian Jewel pulled in behind us. I had no tours today and Roger and Adrienne had an afternoon flightseeing tour, so there was no rush to get out today. The last time I was in Juneau I used wifi at the downtown McDonalds, but a walk through town revealed it is now closed. As the morning progressed the rain let up, and a visit to Mendenhall Glacier seemed like a good idea.

 

There are several shuttle companies that provide service to the Glacier, and I bought a ticket from one ($20RT). The shuttle pulled up about 15 minutes later for the ride out to the Glacier. The driver pointed out sights along the way. Juneau has a population of about 30,000, with 25% living in the main city, 60% north of town in “the valley”, and the rest across the channel on Douglas Island. He indicated that the downtown area closes down after the cruise season and all shopping is in the valley. Once at the visitor center, the glacier (and Nugget falls) dominate the view. The glacier is approached by a trail past Nugget Falls, unfortunately that trail was flooded and closed. Today’s views were accessed by a short trail to photo point, where the view was excellent but it didn’t really provide a lot to do.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/mendenhall1.jpg

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/nuggetfalls.jpg

 

I was returning to the shuttle stop much sooner than planned when I noticed a trail leading off across from the parking lot. The “Trail of Time” was a real day saver. The one mile loop started out following Steep Creek for a little while, then headed up a slight hill through dense forest and past a CCC cabin, a lovely waterfall, and reminders of Mendenhall Glacier’s past before returning to the visitor center.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/littlefalls.jpg

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/mendenhall3.jpg

As I returned from the Trail of Time a shuttle bus was just pulling into the parking lot. As we prepared to leave (12:40) the bus might have been a bit late and an apparent NCL cruiser was complaining about being late for his ship’s all aboard. As we disembarked the shuttle he seemed to be running to catch a shuttle to his ship as it was pulling away. I personally can’t imagine counting on taking the last bus before sailaway on an independent tour. Apparently NCL had a tag team in Juneau with the Jewel leaving at 1:30 and the Pearl arriving in the same slip at 2. I think the Jewel left a bit late and the Pearl had to sit waiting for the slot. I wonder how many late arrivals contributed to the Pearl’s wait for dock space.

 

Boarding the ship I ran into Roger and Adrienne on the way to their flightseeing tour. They reported spending part of the morning using the free internet in the library. My lunch was a hot dog at Boardwalk Dog House (watching the NCL shuffle), followed later by a raisin scone at tea time. In between I spent an hour or so at the library’s free wifi and did a bit of light shopping for some pens. The library is located close to the ship on the top level of a parking garage.

 

All 10 of us were present at table 464 this evening. While we all enjoyed our entrees the big hits of the day were the Strawberry Bisque (one person had it both as an appetizer and desert), and the pistachio ice cream. I learned at dinner that Roger and Adrienne’s flight had been cancelled and they went instead to Mendenhall Glacier.

 

There was a talk in Colony Club on the history of Skagway and the Gold Rush. Soon after it ended we pulled away from the dock and headed out the Gastineau Channel. I normally like to watch and photograph the sunrise on my cruises, but so far what I’ve seen in the morning is clouds at best and more likely rain. As I stood outside for sailaway there was quite a nice sunset.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/dusk0812.jpg

 

In lieu of a live show Captain Phillips was shown in the Aurora Theater. I took advantage of the free evening to catch a bit of T.A. Williams at the Schooner Bar Piano. He was a bit over the top in intensity but good.

 

Today’s parting shot originates with my wanderings around the waterfront today. There were a number of memorials by the water one in particular caught my eye. It was a plaque dedicated to those who served on the USS Juneau and were lost at Guadalcanal November 13, 1942. While this happened before I was born and it is far too late to thank them personally, a belated thank you to the 10 survivors and nearly 700 men who were lost that night.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/ussjuneau.jpg

 

Roy

[reallyhooked]

Hi Roy

Well won't be long & you will be headed South on your 2nd leg of the trip. Enjoyed reading about your daily activities. Don't know if you like fish, but wondering if you had a chance to drop by "RITA CRAB SHACK" to check it out.

Edited August 14, 2014 by reallyhooked

[rafinmd]

Hi Roy

Well won't be long & you will be headed South on your 2nd leg of the trip. Enjoyed reading about your daily activities. Don't know if you like fish, but wondering if you had a chance to drop by "RITA CRAB SHACK" to check it out.

 

Sorry, but I don't eat seafood at all. Enjoy Rita's. You should be either on the way or in Alaska by now.

 

When I woke at 5 the Skagway dock was prominent on the bridge camera, and by the time I got out for coffee we were swiveling to back in behind the Coral Princess. NCL’s Jewel and Pearl soon docked on the opposite side of the harbor. It was drizzling and in the 50's with a chilly wind.

 

My tour today was the White Pass Railroad and Trail Camp. Adrienne had her heart set on a train and kayak adventure. When we signed up there was only one kayak left and Roger planned to come with me, but later a second space opened on that tour. I believe we were both on the same train, but our tours were assigned to separate cars.

 

The train ride was enjoyable despite being in fog most of the way. The occasional good vista was worth the ride. Trains on the narrow gage railroad generally are diesel powered, but a few use steam and one of the steam engines was on display at the yard. We made a couple of brief stops to drop off hikers, including one at Dayton where an old caboose had been set up as an overnight hiker cabin.

 

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http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/skgwriver.jpg

 

Our route followed the Skagway River and at one point passed an abandoned trestle that towered 190 feet over the valley below. At the 3000 foot summit we crossed into Canada, marked by the flags of the 2 countries and 3 states/provinces served by the train. Soon after the border we pulled into the Fraiser station where we were checked by Canadian officials and disembarked the train.

 

We had to wait about 30 minutes in quite chilly conditions for the bus for the return trip. The tour was somewhat less than what I expected but our driver/guide James was a real joy. A Skagway native, he is a student at Anchorage College and his enthusiasm was infectious. The fog was worse on the highway than on the train and often James had to create a mental picture of the sites we were passing. He mentioned one bridge high over a stream which is cantilever construction and anchored only on one end with the other end freestanding. The area is on an active fault line and connections at both ends would place fatal stresses on the bridge as the earth moves.

 

The trail camp part was on the outskirts of Skagway. It was on the last level land before the ascent up the trail began. It was called “Liarsville”, allegedly named for the press who frequented it. The story was that the reporters congregated here and listened to the stories of people returning from the trail and reporting them as their own experiences, while sitting in the relative comfort of the camp. We were treated to hot cider and cookies, a show, and had a chance to pan for gold.

 

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James took us for a quick tour of Skagway before dropping us off at the ship or in town. I took an additional 45-minute walk around town before returning to the Radiance around 2:30. There was a spot on the deck where 5 ships were in view, the 4 cruise ships and the Alaska ferry Malaspina. I have a soft spot in my heart for the Malaspina, I’ve sailed it briefly and it’s sister Matanuska was my first overnight ship.

 

I was up on the back deck as the Malaspina backed away and headed out for Haines and Juneau. We pulled out about 4:45 and I watched our sail down Lynne Canal (actually a fjord) as far as Haines. On the way out the sun poked through a thin spot in the clouds. There was a ship docked there (I think the Oosterdam), and I will be docked there in exactly one week. It was about 5:45 when we passed Haines, giving me just enough time to get to dinner.

 

All of us were present at table 464 for the cruises second formal dinner. Roger and Adrienne reported that their kayaking was very nice (their lake was right outside the Fraiser depot and it looked awfully cold to me). At the close of dinner the culinary team was all introduced.

 

The Crown and Anchor “Top Tier” party was held between dinner seatings in Starquest. Several passenger milestones and 4 crew milestones were recognized. The evening entertainment was vocal impressionist Greg London. He was pretty good but I was quite tired and didn’t stay long.

 

Today’s parting shot will ponder the concept of loyalty. The “Top Tier” event was described as a party for Royal’s “most loyal customers”. I would hardly be called a “loyal Royal”. There are at least 3 other cruise lines I prefer but Royal has a legitimate place in my cruise options. A cruise line is not a marriage and I will not forsake all other cruise line until some cruise line forsakes all other customers. I will suggest that loyalty is a 2-way street and the greatest loyalty benefit for a customer is a string of great experiences. That’s the basis of my loyalty and it isn’t exclusive.

 

Roy

[Pumbaamd]

Hello Roy,

Enjoying your log as usual.

Enjoy the rest of Alaska!

Rick and Deirdra

[Michigangirl11]

We are on next weeks trip to Alaska. You said the trail was flooded, does that mean you can't get close to the glacier? Was your photo as close as you could get? I was really looking forward to see the Mendenhall Glacier up close. :'(

[rafinmd]

We are on next weeks trip to Alaska. You said the trail was flooded, does that mean you can't get close to the glacier? Was your photo as close as you could get? I was really looking forward to see the Mendenhall Glacier up close. :'(

 

That was as close as I could get. We had a LOT of rain that week so I would hope that the flooding would be gone by the time you get there.

 

Roy