Mariner: 5/18-6/1, Vancouver-Vancouver: Poss now

[bebop bonnie]

Poss...I've never met you but your posts are beyond wonderful and your perspective is sensational. Never never stop taking. your comments are insightful and so appreciated. I'll be there next week and look forward to comparing notes!!

[Travelcat2]

First, thanks for the feedback, and I sure do like Eager's Mom's words. And yes, the word "rapture" absolutely describes what I felt, yes indeedy.

 

Before I launch into a port-by-port review, I want to say that we're cruisers for whom the included excursions are important. Especially at this stage (but earlier as well), I value not having to bother my head too much about what to do in each port. Of course I can drive myself nuts going round in circles about which of the appetizing selections to choose, and I have a tendency to over-study them, but at least I don't need to make arrangements on my own or try to hook up with other people. This was one of the big reasons we chose Regent to begin with, and while I can understand the other point of view, for us the included excursion policy is great. Indeed, we've liked virtually all of the outings we've taken, some more than others of course, and the bus aspect doesn't bother us. We think that Regent has a good balance of included excursions and choice excursions, and we've been essentially happy with both.

 

I'm going to stop here and post because I need to get dinner going, but meanwhile I have a question: Can someone tell me whether I can just leave what I've written on this post, put the computer to sleep, and come back an hour or so later and pick up where I left off? Or does the thing disappear?

 

Your post should be fine sitting there but I always copy what I have posted (CTRL "C") so if there is a problem, I can start again and simply paste what has already been written (CTRL "V"). Much better than losing everything you have taken the time to write.

[poss]

Thank you, bebop and Tc.

 

Ketchikan:

Much as we'd loved Misty Fjords on a previous cruise, and despite having mucho OBC's to spend on things like choice excursions, we decided to do something new from Ketchikan (not at all interested in the town: too many stores, too much commercialism). We hadn't done any of the food excursions in Alaska last time, so we decided to do "Alaskan Lodge Adventure & Seafest." It was fine and dandy. The Regent description of this tour calls it a "spectacular excursion" and "a nonstop adventure in the wilds of Alaska," both of which I think are a bit of an exaggeration, but the boat trip over to the Silverking Lodge was certainly scenic and pleasant. Nothing truly memorable, imo, but the weather was fine and the trip was fun. We enjoyed the little stroll through a handsome forest and very much enjoyed the seafood boil. A variety of quite delicious seafood and potatoes and corn and onions was dumped in the middle of the 6 or so person tables. Plenty of food, and of course fun to be outside eating at picnic tables in Alaska. I had the feeling that everyone enjoyed this excursion. We left at 10:00 and were back by 1:00.

 

We definitely wanted to do some walking in the afternoon, but weren't sure which Tongass Rainforest tour to do. We remembered how much we enjoyed walking in various part of that huge forest last time (in the rain, getting soaking wet, felt like happy kids). We did the one called "Tongass Rainforest Expedition" because it didn't entail using a boat. Those old, old trees were majestic and fascinating, and all the smaller vegetation everywhere along the trail was also wonderful to see. The guide was good, and we learned a lot about the flora of the area (not too much fauna, unless I'm forgetting). We really felt that we were in the middle of a kind of other-wordly environment even though we were close to town. Oh, I have to quote what I found to be a funny statement in the description of this tour: "From the pier you will be met and transferred via van to the wilderness trail head which is approximately 15-minutes away. Upon arrival at this remote location...." A bit of an oxymoron? In any case, we love rainforests, and I think we love the coastal or temperate rain forests every bit as much as the tropical. (Ok, maybe not quite as much, since the tropical forests have way more "unusual" animals than the temperate forests, at least what we've experienced.)

 

In short, Ketchikan was a fine day, but if I'm fortunate enough to be able to do another Alaska cruise, I'm pretty sure I'd want to do Misty again.

 

Wrangell:

I hadn't so much been looking forward to Wrangell, especially as the excursions I was most interested in had the "strenuous" symbol in their description. (I keep saying "I" instead of "we" because even back in the day my husband preferred that I choose the excursions, knowing that I knew his/our taste very well. We always had pretty much the same taste in just about everything-- books, sports, touring, art, etc. etc.) I had rather reluctantly chosen for us the tour called "Island Highlights and Native Cultural Tour" because the "more exciting" options seemed probably not a good idea. We slept in that morning (which is a manner of speaking, as I am a serious insomniac and don't get much sleep ever). We enjoyed being on the ship, lazing around, in fact reading and sunning on the pool deck: a really warm and lovely day. As things turned out, we enjoyed immensely our 2 1/2 hour tour. The description read that this "brief but very enjoyable tour gives you a personalized look..."-- and I'm sure that one of the reasons we enjoyed the tour so much was that we had really terrific Tlingit guides, a family with the Dad as driver, and two sisters as the guides; the sisters were superb. We fully enjoyed every one of the four main attractions that we were taken to (very varied, e.g. a Petroglyph beach, a very handsome totem park, etc.). We learned a lot about the history and culture, and felt real fondness for the family. While I thought I'd be disappointed not being able to do things like the shakes canoe or kayak tours (as we'd often done in past travels), or the High Country Hike (which began too early for this sleepyhead), I can unequivocally recommend this tour. We both really liked Wrangell.

 

Juneau what comes next? Juneau!

 

Sweet dreams.

[RachelG]

Poss, don't worry about negative comments. I agree with you about the public areas being chilly, but I have always found them this way. Since I am always the person who is freezing, I have just learned to bring warmer clothing and put on my layers.

 

You would have definitely able to do the Butze walk. It wasn't really a hike, and we stopped to look at this or that plant often. Definitely non strenuous.

[poss]

As I'd mentioned earlier, Tracy Arm was among our three favorite excursions the previous time in Alaska, and in fact it was the only one of the three that we decided to repeat-- this despite its leaving at 7:30 AM, an ungodly hour for us. We'd known that there was a fair chance of having to miss Tracy Arm because of the ice situation that early in the season, and indeed that's what happened. I wasn't terribly disappointed in advance (heck, nature does what nature wants, no bigee), especially as the description of Endicott, the replacement glacier small boat excursion, indicated that it was "just as beautiful."

 

No Way. Not that we didn't enjoy the trip (about 5-6 hours, including meeting Mariner in Juneau at the end), but it didn't hold a candle to our memory of Tracy Arm and the Sawyer Glaciers. The Arm itself wasn't nearly as spectacular in terms of getting up close to a number of huge rushing waterfalls (where we had felt almost as if we were standing directly in them). This time we viewed them from a distance and there were many fewer thundering falls. Never got the feeling of being really connected to those great forces, at least not to the extent that we had at Tracy. Also the Glacier itself was nowhere near as spectacular as Sawyer, especially as when we were at Sawyer, the thing was calving like there was no tomorrow. Actually, even more than the details I've just mentioned, the main thing we missed this time was seeing all along the way a great number of those magnificent, wonderfully shaped, blue, blue, blue, almost impossibly blue little bergs (and not-so-little, especially since, as we know, most of it was under water) popping up all over the place. It was like being in some sort of fairy-land, with sights you just couldn't believe you were actually seeing, especially so close. All of this is not to say that we didn't enjoy the Endicott excursion. We once again had splendid weather, and I was able to be comfortably outside a good deal more than I was last trip. What could not be wonderful about being surrounded by a fine waterway, handsome mountains, and sights and sounds of birds (plenty of eagles, actually pretty much everywhere), even a few mountain goats waaay up high on the mountains, and sea animals (including Dahl's porpoises and orcas if I'm remembering correctly-- anyway cool stuff). It was a glorious outing, not "rapturous," but plenty of grandeur to keep a person wide-eyed.

 

We were back by 1:00 and knew that we'd be eager to do some walking, so we'd signed up to go out to Medenhall. We hadn't especially expected to be overly wowed by this excursion, but since we'd not been there on our past visit, we decided it might be nice. And it absolutely was! Again, nothing "rapturous" (anyway how much "rapture" can a person handle, or deserve?), but the area was handsome, and we especially enjoyed our walk out to Nugget Falls with the up close view of the waterfall and a nice beach where kayak/canoe people came to land. Of course we kinda wished we'd been able to make the little journey across the water (and perhaps we could have), but we enjoyed the hike (maybe about 45 minutes each way, can't remember for sure). Even though Mendenhall may not be as glorious as some glaciers, I recommend it, at least if one hikes to Nugget. (I don't think we'd've much enjoyed just viewing the glacier.)

 

Hooray for Juneau and surrounds! I wish that the port could be an overnighter -- there's so much more I'd like to experience there (including another copter trip).

 

Skagway:

 

Last time we did White Pass Railroad up, then met a bus to Yukon Suspension Bridge (a handsome area), then bus back down to Skagway. We liked, but weren't wild about that excursion, so I was hoping to find something different. The trail hikes and river floats that sounded most appealing seemed mostly not appropriate for us. I'd first signed for the Eagle Preserve Float Adventure and Cruise (marked "easy"), but after realizing that one sat on the side of the raft the whole time, with nowhere to lean, I worried that it might not be right for my husband, with his iffy back and imperfect balance. So faute de mieux we signed up for White Pass again, this time the shorter trip, train up and back, no venture to the Yukon.

 

And we liked it plenty! I remember that last time, Skagway had been another of those rainy, gloomy, difficult-to-see-much days; we knew that beautiful scenery was supposedly out there somewhere (out the left side of the train going up), and we caught glimpses of it now and then, but things were mainly a blur. Not this time! Even though it was mostly cloudy (though some sun too), the views were great and even "wow"-- and sometimes double-wow -- pretty much the entire length of the ride. We'd thought we might be bored doing the same scenery back down, but we sure were not, especially as our train car was not full so everyone was able to enjoy the good seats in both directions, rather than doing the required switcheroo (so that everyone has a chance for the "good" side). What a feat of engineering and endurance the building of that railway was: awesome to contemplate, and well worth the ride to experience the little journey (3 1/2 hours).

 

Because we'd opted to take the afternoon tour rather than obliging ourselves to get up early, we didn't have time for another tour, so we took a short walk in town (our town walks never include shopping), and returned to dear Mariner to do some reading before dinner. Always a great pleasure to return to our suite ("G," deck 7); we feel so comfortable and "at home" there.

 

Rachel: Yah, it still bugs me a bit about Butze.

 

More anon.

Edited June 11, 2016 by poss

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Lovely descriptions of the excursions, Poss. We too missed Tracey Arm in 2012 since it was May. Some day maybe we'll go again. The weather that you had has two sides--on the one hand yes, I can imagine it was less dramatic out on the water, without the looming mists. On the other hand, you had great views on the railway. The fact is, the weather in Alaska has been extraordinarily warm, and that, my friends, is not good. I would imagine one can expect to see fewer floating mini-bergs, etc., because there just ain't going to be any!

 

Wendy: Of course I remember now about your friends in Ecuador. What fun that'll be for all of you. And is it really the case that non-passengers are permitted on board? ...

(I also want to do a bit of research on the voyage that you're on. Sounds good, and of course the included business air and the one-way flight is a big draw. I suspect the flight will be too long for us though.)

 

As you've already heard, yes, you can invite people onboard, with the proper documentation. I will be getting a form our friends to fill out, and will have to decide if they come on for lunch, or perhaps just tea. You do get charged for meals, but I think it's a token amount.

 

The Business air is not included, but it's cheap. $499 each for one way. We have taken this, and will be deviating to fly back from Guayaquil in Ecuador. We would fly through Quito but I'm trying to avoid high altitudes.

 

... Your experience had me remember long ago words from my Mom. They are perhaps dated in today's world but they often ring true to me. "You can't recapture a rapture". Your first Alaska trip sounds like it fit into that category.

 

What a great saying! And how true, although sometimes, after many years, you *can* recapture a rapture, if you're very lucky!

[Eager2Travel]

You are correct Wendy. We, too, have been fortunate enough to recapture a rapture or two but I try to prepare myself that it might be otherwise (just my cautious nature).

[poss]

Wendy: On the Regent website, it indicates that it's free business class air on that January 17 cruise. Of course it says free business class air TO SA, but goodness, it's the SHIP that goes TO SA-- so huh??

 

Ngaire's group, those of you who are monitoring: For booking a cruise on board, among the other perks was a copy of the video from the cruise (only 2nd week, I believe). Jack and I watched last night, and I'm pretty sure I recognized some of you. Have you watched the film? Seemed to us that it was more about the outside the ship, the officers and the entertainment than anything else, which was not uninteresting for us, as we don't go to any of the shows except Krew Kapers, which we always enjoy. Not as many takes of the inside of the wonderful ship, the dining, trivia, the teas, etc. Also, anyone looking at the photos of the ports--they were essentially just the part of each port where Mariner berthed -- would think, oh, my, what a dreary and unappealing place Alaska is. That was unfortunate, but I understand that the video was about the ship, not the excursions or the actual towns. It was fun to watch (much better to be there!)

Edited June 11, 2016 by poss

[freddie]

I, too, love that wonderful expression about recapturing a rapture, although we don't often visit the same places repeatedly, as there are so many new places to experience. However, Paris, Venice, Istanbul, and London are definitely cities which we have visited on many occasions, with great pleasure, and which give many occasions to re-experience particularly lovely times.

 

As for recapturing a rapture, I do seem to recall a marvelous repeat experience involving lots of dark chocolate, 18-year-old single malt scotch, and a magnificent pair of blond identical twin trapeze aerialists. Out of respect for the chocolate, the bartender, and the twins, I will say no more, other than to declare that, "What happens on Voyager, stays on Voyager!" ;)

 

Rapture on, dear friends!

Edited June 12, 2016 by freddie

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Wendy: On the Regent website, it indicates that it's free business class air on that January 17 cruise. Of course it says free business class air TO SA, but goodness, it's the SHIP that goes TO SA-- so huh??

...

 

Well, I don't see that, in fact I don't see the $499 one-way Business Air any more.

 

But who knows how it's screwed up--at the bottom of the page describing the cruise, it states, "Cruise fares above valid for guests residing in Canada only." Have no idea how to interpret that, except rssc has now detected I am in Canada right now, and some cookie has identified me as such. My point is I may no longer see what Americans see. But I did pay for the $499 Biz deal.

 

Oh gheez, when I change my country to U.S., I see the Free deal--I'll have to email my TA on Monday and as her what gives! Thanks for noticing, Poss.

 

I am suspecting that this refers, somehow, to the Grand Voyage, of which our segment is a part, but if so, obviously the web page is in error. And you're right, it says "to South America", which is crazy. In fact, I'm suspecting they've lowered the fares, but I'll have to study this...

Edited June 12, 2016 by Wendy The Wanderer

[Travelcat2]

Wendy - definitely agree that you should check it out with your TA.

[tallship]

Fares were significantly lowered yesterday for a number of sailings including the Med, Baltics and the remainder of the Alaska season

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Fares were significantly lowered yesterday for a number of sailings including the Med, Baltics and the remainder of the Alaska season

 

And have you noticed that rssc.com now identifies you as being in Canada? (Look at the top right of the page.)

[poss]

I can't remember exactly where the Hubbard Glacier day was in our 14-day itinerary, so I'll mention it briefly here. But first to say that we had about 3 sea days over those 14 days, and we enjoyed them all. I'm not sure we would love a crossing (especially as we don't engage in many of the onboard activities), but a few sea days here and there suit us fine. It's nice for my husband, who needs to rest and likes to take little siestas. On one of the sea days (the first I think), the seas were fairly rocky, and I got pretty queasy. The captain had announced the evening before that things might not be smooth, and suggested taking Bonine or whatever first thing in the morning for those who are susceptible. I did do that, but later found out from several passengers that they always take a pill the night before possible "weather," then another one in the morning. Live and learn.

 

Anyway, Hubbard Glacier was not unhandsome (the entire surroundings in Alaska are splendid imo), but the area wasn't particularly memorable either. I'd been reading endlessly that Glacier Bay is a not-to-be-missed part of visiting Alaska (sadly, Regent doesn't go there), but that Hubbard was good too. Yes, it was good, but nothing mind-boggling, at least imho. Hey, but who's complaining! It's all pretty great!

 

SEWARD (so happy we weren't disembarking!)

 

As many of you know, one can't sign up for shore excursions on turn-around day until actually on board, but it was fairly clear what the offerings would be. Because usually (not always) we prefer to be out hiking somewhere rather than doing a boat tour, we signed up for Exit Glacier and the observation center/museum at the site. Exit Glacier was good to see (can't imagine ever tiring of such treats), and the telescopes set up at the center made up-close viewing wonderful. We'd not really appreciated all the facets, angles, colors, depths of those glaciers before; the telescopes were a real eye-opener (ha). Of course those folks who know what they're doing with cameras, especially those who have good ones, were able to place their camera up against the scope and snap and save those great images. I tried, to no avail (to no surprise).

 

Best of all was the hike to the top of the viewing trail at Exit Glacier-- grand views! The trail was handsome all along the way and had plenty of easy areas, but it did include some boulder climbing, a few fairly steep spots, and some other navigational "watch-outs." The excursion had been designated "easy," so I questioned the Destination Desk when we returned. I was told that the excursion was not meant to include the trek up to the top, but rather just the visitor's center and the down-low viewing sights. Who knew? In any case, we huffed and puffed a bit, and had to watch our step, but I'd've been sorry to miss that little hike (I think about a mile in each direction; maybe about 45-min each way). If we managed it, I'd guess most folks could-- though the hike would properly be called "moderate." In any case, we liked it a lot.

 

And we'd've liked to be able to spend more time, do more things in Seward. Seems like an interesting town and scenery definitely very nice.

 

I'll post more soon. Need to get to the Sunday paper.

Edited June 12, 2016 by poss

[poss]

Funny coincidence: In the Travel section of the NY Times on Sunday, there was an article about the Kenai Peninsula, including some details about handsome Seward and Exit Glacier. I'd forgotten to mention an interesting aspect of the experience out there-- interesting and disturbing. We all know that glaciers have been receding, often rather rapidly. But the two of us hadn't so specifically understood what that meant until we did this excursion. There were markers all along the way, even starting on the road well before one gets to the actual visitor center, of where Exit Glacier used to come. Maybe a dozen or so indications, along the road and along the trail, marking where the glacier had been in such and such a year, going back to I don't remember when, but quite a few markings in recent decades and years. The glacier today is waaaay back from where it used to be. A stunning and not-very-heartening reminder of what's happening to our planet.

 

ICY STRAIGHT (HOONAH)

 

Loved this place! I'd not heard of this port before (not much visited by cruise ships until recently), but what a stunning setting. Most of the material I read suggested that whale watching was very good in this area, so I knew we wanted to do that. (May 27: fun 86th birthday treat for my dear Jack!) Probably would have signed on for the more expensive Whales, Wildlife & Bear Search (we had OBC's), except that it started early. Our Whale and Marine Mammals Cruise began at 11:30, and it was terrific. The scenery in that whole area (Point Adolphus) is splendid, the weather was again our friend, and the wildlife sightings were frequent and thrilling. Porpoises, harbor seals, sea lions, a great many eagles-- and whales galore. Well, we saw six humpbacks, and that's plenty "galore" in my book, especially as we were so close. Wonderful to hear the blowing sounds of those great beasts, and see those high and hefty spouts. The boat (comfortable) hung with them for quite a while. We also saw three more humpback whales breeching-- again and again! (These great mammals can be 50 ft long and weigh up to 50 TONS, if I'm remembering my 50 details correctly.) To see this kind of thing is really awesome, obviously, and we were spellbound for the half hour or so that we were privileged to be able to watch that birthday bash. Saw some orcas too-- and quite a number of bears on the beach, some with cubs. I don't think we got as close to the bears as one of Rachel's tours did, but it was quite something to see anyway.

 

Upon return to the port, with its very handsome setting and handsome new buildings (getting commercial already), we took a short walk through the woods. We wished that walk would have been an hour or more rather than the mere 20 minutes or so that it was. Stunning forest, but we were advised only to do the marked trail that circled back to where the ship was. The Tongass National Forest covers about 17 million acres-- how I'd love to be able to lose myself in all that majesty for a few weeks or so. (Dream on....)

 

SITKA

 

I'd remembered Sitka as one of our favorite ports from last time, and we again liked it very much, but felt the difference in not being able/willing to do two excursions instead of just one. The Tongass Rainforest Nature Hike (there it is again, that majestical place, world's largest temperate rainforest) started at 8:30 AM, which would have given us sufficient time to do the Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest that we wanted to do (re-do) at 1:00. We'd loved the hike last time, but opted to have a leisurely morning on board instead. More fun to be young, an early-waker, perfectly healthy, and full of more vigor-- but oh, how fortunate we kept feeling ourselves still to be.

 

The other little disappointment in Sitka was that we didn't get a chance to experience once more the handsome and interesting town. We'd planned to do some walking/exploring after the Sea Otter cruise, but the tour boat took us straight back to the ship instead of leaving us off in town, as we'd expected. The "quest" itself was as interesting and pleasant as last time. I mean how could something not be delightfully engaging that enables a person for three hours to see so much wildlife among so much handsome scenery! (I kind of wished that I'd signed up for the 5 hour tour called Sea Otters, Raptors and Bears Oh My!-- but I ain't complaining.)

 

I'll report on our last two ports-- Prince Rupert and Victoria-- later, and then maybe call it quits since there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of interest. Even if I decide not to talk about some of our dining delights or other pleasures on board (mainly just relaxing and luxuriating in all the beauty), I'll for sure check in now and then, and will of course be very happy to reply to any questions.

 

Later, Gator.

Edited June 13, 2016 by poss

[vlinbin]

I have been reading with great pleasant your reports on your cruise and the ports. Please don't stop. We took the Alaskan cruise that began on June 1st going from Vancouver to Seward. The cruise itself was lovely but the weather was not as cooperative during our week.

 

Somewhere, TC asked about children on the June 8 cruise. I can say that there were children on our cruise as ours was the first week of the Mariner's Club. I don't have an exact count of children, but I would guess there were about a dozen families with children ranging in age from an infant just learning to walk up through a number of teens. The children did not interfere with our enjoyment at all and in some cases enhanced it with their enthusiasm.

[Travelcat2]

I have been reading with great pleasant your reports on your cruise and the ports. Please don't stop. We took the Alaskan cruise that began on June 1st going from Vancouver to Seward. The cruise itself was lovely but the weather was not as cooperative during our week.

 

Somewhere, TC asked about children on the June 8 cruise. I can say that there were children on our cruise as ours was the first week of the Mariner's Club. I don't have an exact count of children, but I would guess there were about a dozen families with children ranging in age from an infant just learning to walk up through a number of teens. The children did not interfere with our enjoyment at all and in some cases enhanced it with their enthusiasm.

 

Thank you for the response about children. IMO, the Mariner is the best ship for the Mariner's Club because of the large space in Stars Lounge.

 

poss - please posting! We want to hear about food, etc.

[1982CruzStart]

I am with the others. Please keep posting. I am really enjoying them.

[poss]

PRINCE RUPERT

 

I think that next time (may there be one!) I'd opt for the excursion called Canada's Wilderness Via Seaplane. I don't remember whether any of the other posters reported on this tour; I need to look back. What I thought was that it seemed like a lot of $$ ($269) for just an hour and half tour. Or maybe I'd be less self-indulgent and forego some of those spa treatments! (But I think that my husband is as pleased to see me enjoying those as he is enjoying the excursions.) The tour we took is called Prince Rupert City Highlights and Museum. The native peoples in this Canadian port were Tsimshian, rather than Tlingit, as in several areas of Alaska, and we found the Museum of Northern British Columbia very worthwhile. We were less interested in the small railway museum, the totem park, and the drive through town. This was our most unexciting day of the cruise, but it wasn't "bad," just less impressive or interesting.

 

Oops-- I forgot that this was the port that had the Butze Rainforest Nature Walk as one of its tour choices. That would be the one I'd choose for another time, even before the seaplane excursion (unless we learned that it was in the not-to-be missed category). I'd posted earlier about our disappointment when we learned that the Butze walk was not really strenuous, as Regent's description had indicated. Understanding the impracticality of Destination people knowing every tour first hand, I still wish that they knew more about more of them. I've always wished that on our cruises.

 

And I should add something else about Prince Rupert. I'd wanted to take at least some sort of walk after our museum, etc. tour, but I kept being told (by our tour guide and by the Destination Desk) that there was nowhere to go within walking distance, except to stroll the town, which I had no interest in, as other than what we'd seen on the bus tour it was just shopping. When the bus dropped us off, I stopped at an information booth, and one of the women there suggested a little walk through some woods that started about 1/2 mile out of town. My husband wanted to return to the ship and lie down, so after walking him there and making sure all was ok, I set out to find the mentioned trail-- which was quite nice. All too short (about 75 min. total, including walking through town to find the trail), but still handsome and worth doing if one wants some exercise. I will admit that since I was completely alone, I did feel just a teensy-tiny bit apprehensive, nothing to make me truly nervous, but I guess I'd rather walk with other people somewhere nearby. Btw, I had asked before I started whether there were any bears on that trail and was told "very unlikely"

 

VICTORIA

 

Ah, Victoria! We'd not visited in a number of decades, but remembered it fondly. No disappointments at all this time around. I wish that we could've seen more, and no doubt we could have if we'd made more effort, but this was the last port, so we needed to spend time packing and such. We chose the tour that went to Butchart Gardens, including having tea there. All was lovely and yummy. Taking tea at Butchart may not be quite as "haute" as taking high tea at the famous Empress Hotel in town, but it was relaxing and we enjoyed it. Actually, the service did seem a little impersonal, but no big deal. The environment was handsome and the food was fine.

 

And those gardens! Every inch as handsome as we'd remembered, maybe even more so. We had a good couple of hours (we cut tea fairly short), and had a delicious stroll through the various sections of that dandy place, hanging out for the most time in the Sunken Garden, our favorite area. Remarkable grounds and flora, and the story of its transformation from an ugly, depleted limestone quarry to the serene marvel that it is today was especially inspiring.

 

We asked to be dropped off in town rather than be brought back to the ship, so we had about an hour and a half of strolling and enjoying the handsome city, its buildings, neighborhoods and waterfront. Felt a great pang as we stepped back on the Mariner, knowing that it was the last time (at least for a while) that we'd have that pleasure.

 

I'll be back tomorrow, I hope, with some stuff about lectures, OBC's, dining, people, spa, etc. Excursions are real important to us, so I tend to natter on. There'll be less nattering about those other areas, but there are a few things that I'd like to say.

[newlondon]

Poss, So glad you are cruising again. If I remember correctly you were off line due to your DH's problems. Things seem to be at least tolerable.

Would you please fill me in as best you can how you feel about the difficulty icons on the excursions. We are taking the 10/8/17 cruise in the Med. Places like Patmos and others warn about mobility. While I am totally healthy my balance and endurance have gone down hill; therefore I would really appreciate some comment as I didn't use to pay attention.

[poss]

newlondon: I wish I could be more helpful about the "degree of difficulty" designations. My feeling is that usually they're accurate, i.e. I don't remember in former years feeling that the symbols were off. One incident this past cruise (Exit Glacier) stemmed from the fact that the details of the tour were not perfectly clear (as described in my earlier post). The other (Butze) stemmed very much from the fact that no one had taken that tour, especially as Prince Rupert was new (or fairly new).

 

I think that perhaps the main reason that Destination may sometimes "exaggerate" the degree of difficulty in their descriptions is that some people sign up for tours beyond their abilities, which obviously isn't great for either them or their fellows. I've read a certain number of posts over the years where someone will complain that a passenger did that sort of thing, and it can be pretty annoying I guess. Actually I don't remember feeling that way on any tour that we've been on, but I could easily be forgetting. In any case, I'm not sure that it's the kind of thing that'd bother me too, too much (may be kidding myself).

 

Thanks for your nice remarks, newlondon, and I'm sorry that I couldn't give you more specifics. Maybe others will ring in on this question, but no doubt best to start a specific post about it, as not a whole lot of people will see your question here. I think, btw, that reading posts and asking questions on the particular place you're interested in (e.g., on the "port" forums in CC, or the similar ones on Trip Advisor) may be a real help.

 

The cruise you're taking sounds great!

[1teach53]

As far as the Hubbard it is the most impressive glacier in AK . Unfortunately, this early in the season the ice doesn't allow the ship to get very close. Later in the season it is awesome.

[RachelG]

Poss, I would never have guessed your husband was 86, maybe 80 at most. He is getting around very well for 86. And I am loving reading every word and reliving our wonderful trip with you and him!

Edited June 14, 2016 by RachelG

[Travelcat2]

As far as the Hubbard it is the most impressive glacier in AK . Unfortunately, this early in the season the ice doesn't allow the ship to get very close. Later in the season it is awesome.

 

Could not agree with you more.

[ronrick1943]

Poss,

Great report, thanks for taking the time. We mainly cruise "O", this will be the first cruise on Regent and looking forward to the time on the sea.