"Are We Mad?" - a not quite live review of our Alaskan, Transpacific, Comedy, and Papua New Guinea cruises

[joejoe 59]

4 hours ago, Jean C said:

Aha, as easy as that! Thanks 😊

And if you have trouble just go to guest services & they are happy to help you😀

[Cbtours]

2 hours ago, NSWP said:

Been in several helicopters over the years, army and cops, always a bit nervous, they shake like hell.

STOP IT!!!!!!1

[Cbtours]

4 hours ago, arxcards said:

There are some gorgeous spots that are best seen by helicopter. We had planned to do the Hawaiian one, but covid said no. During our previous visit, we had already stretched the budget. Some of our best holiday memories are from helicopters.

Vegas night flight

Whitsundays

Sydney Harbour, the day P&O had their 5 ships in the harbour

Canmore (just out of the national park at Banff), anyone visiting the Rockies is in awe of the icy peaks seen from the road or rail. The helicopter is 3D, with peaks beyond peaks beyond peaks.

 

All I can say Irene, a Glacier chopper will be well worth stepping outside the box for.

I'm getting inspired!!!!

[Cbtours]

31 minutes ago, joejoe 59 said:

And if you have trouble just go to guest services & they are happy to help you😀

the pop up medallion stand (outside effy store) was great in helping reset my app after it froze!

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, NSWP said:

Been in several helicopters over the years, army and cops, always a bit nervous, they shake like hell.

The fancy ones like the one we went on in Hawaii are very smooth. No shaking at all.

[Jean C]

4 minutes ago, Cbtours said:

STOP IT!!!!!!1

We went on our first (and at this stage, only) helicopter ride in Hawaii. It was fantastic, very smooth take-off, ride and landing.  Our pilot was a young woman, very proficient 🚁 👍 😊

[Jean C]

4 hours ago, arxcards said:

The helicopter is 3D, with peaks beyond peaks beyond peaks.

 

All I can say Irene, a Glacier chopper will be well worth stepping outside the box for.

The 3D effect was something that fascinated me. Irene, you'll have a fabulous experience, JUST DO IT 🥰 🤗 🙂

[Sparky74]

7 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

Just a little alert to Aussies wanting to use the US pattern. What Americans call 'sc' (single crochet), we call 'dc' (double crochet). Mark's wife Catherine would know this.

Oh, I should have mentioned that. I’m bilingual when it comes to crochet patterns. 🤣

[aussielozzie18]

In my 2Os I did the triple treat of helicopter flight, then jet boat and then white water rafting in New Zealand.  It was fabulous.  Couple of years back, did a helicopter flight over Kings Canyon.  I enjoyed it but I’ve decided helicopters just feel too flimsy for me now.   We flew in a light plane over Kakadu last year and I was much more comfortable in that and it was a fabulous scenic flight.

[Sparky74]

We’ve boarded the Pacific Encounter in Brisbane. I’ve got the next episode ready to go so will post it. Once we loose mobile signal we won’t have Internet again until Tuesday morning. 

[Sparky74]

Part 9

The Great Alaskan Disappointment

 

A few years ago DW revealed that a helicopter flight was on her bucket list. This was news to me! So for Christmas 2019 I presented her with a toy helicopter with a note saying that we’d go on a helicopter flight in Alaska. At that stage we had planned a trip to the USA for 2020, little knowing that some batty person in Wuhan had already unwittingly unleashed a disease that would bring international travel to a grinding halt and send the entire world into lockdown within a few months.

 

When we booked this cruise I was delighted to discover that HAL offered several excursions in Juneau which included helicopter flights. I decided on "Dog Sledding on Medenhall Glacier by Helicopter" and paid for this separately from my "slush fund". 

 

Let me explain. DW and I have joint bank accounts: everyday, savings, credit card, and a fee free debit card for international travel and online transactions. We also each hold individual accounts with small balances funded by our tax returns and returns on our small personal investments. We refer to these individual accounts as our "slush funds". Are we mad? As I’d given DW the promise of a helicopter flight for Christmas 2019, I felt it only right to pay for this excursion out of my slush fund rather than from our join savings. 

 

We were really looking forward to this excursion and I fully expected it to be the highlight of our 8 week trip. It had caused a few issues when shopping for travel insurance and my travel agent was surprised to discover that the policies she was able to on-sell had an exclusion for dogsledding, even though it was a ship's excursion. I eventually found a policy that would cover us and felt my Scottish blood congealing in my veins as I paid the hefty premium but I realise that if the worst should happen, I’d never be able to pay a US hospital bill. 

 

During our pre-cruise shopping expedition we had looked for merino wool socks to wear under the glacier boots that were to be provided. But if they think I’m paying over $50 for a pair of socks that I’m probably going to wear once then they’re madder than I am! DW's sister-in-law came to the rescue and sent us some mohair socks produced by the firm she works for. Three pairs each, actually!

 

And so, with the ship docked at Juneau, we dress for our helicopter flight to the glacier and dog sledding. I don my 100% cotton red unionsuit and wonder why I don’t wear it during winter at home as it’s so warm and comfortable. Over this I place a T shirt emblazoned with the words, "I have no cruise control - it’s like the book themselves" which I tuck into a pair of hiking pants. Over this goes a zippered sleeveless fleece which is covered with my heavy showerproof jacket with hood. In my childhood we would have referred to this as a "Parka" but that term seems to have fallen out of usage. My jacket is olive green, almost khaki. Of course, I'm shod with a pair (not all 3 pairs) of mohair socks under my shoes and I have a pair of heavy winter gloves purchased from the op shop and carried in my suitcase from Australia. 

 

This fetching ensemble is topped off with a hat. But not my trusty black derby style Akubra which has shielded me from sun, rain, sleet, and snow as I’ve travelled around the world. The one that I thought I’d lost when we were in the taxi from SeaTac Airport to our crummy motel. No! I’ve deserted my trusty companion in favour of a hunting cap, lined with faux fur, sourced from my favourite shop, the op shop! It sports the Quicksilver brand across the back and a label in the lining informs me that whilst, like most of our consumer goods, it was manufactured in China, it was designed in Australia. 

 

DW is attired in a similar, although not identical, fashion. I will show her the courtesy of not discussing her underwear online but suffice it to say that she does not own a red unionsuit, nor one of any other colour (or should I say color?) for that matter. 

 

And so we head ashore dressed in our multiple layers, unanimously instructed by the multiple online guides I had consulted. The theory is that not only do multiple layers provide great insulation but one can also remove or add layers as necessary, the Alaskan weather being somewhat changeable and unpredictable. 

 

What the online sources neglected to mention was that if two overweight (technically we're "obese" according to our BMIs but at least we are not morbid about it) middle aged people dress in multiple layers, they can no longer walk! So we waddle off the ship and make our way to the designated meeting spot, in plenty of time. 

 

Sure enough, there we find a lady holding a sign for  "Dog Sledding on Medenhall Glacier by Helicopter". We waddled over to her and after finding our names on her list she deals a bitter blow. The excursion has been cancelled due to the weather. I immediately slump into despondency. I don’t slump physically, my many layers of clothing prevent that from happening but they cannot buoy my spirits. (And as much as I try to embrace Americanisms, I insist that "buoy" is pronounced the same as "boy". I just cannot come at boo-ee.)

 

I had flashbacks to our honeymoon, on the South Island of New Zealand, almost 13 years ago. Am I mad? No, well not in this instance. On our honeymoon I had also booked a helicopter flight onto a glacier and it was also cancelled due to the weather. 

 

We waddled over to where the Eurodam shore excursion team were and they said they had nothing else to offer us. They directed us to a row of booths operated by independent tour operators and we waddled over there. Here a silver-tongued salesman talks us into purchasing tickets for a whale-watching tour, even though we have a similar excursion booked for the following day. 

 

As there is some time before we have to meet for our tour, we waddle through some of the shops and purchase the obligatory fridge magnet, t shirt, and souvenir teaspoon before waddling to our meeting point. 

 

We were herded onto a bus and as we travelled to where the whale-watching boat was docked our driver gave a running commentary. At least I think that’s what he was doing. He was from Texas and judging by his accent he was from deep, deep, deep in the heart of Texas. Between his accent and the distortions the microphone I struggled to understand him. And by the time I worked out what he’d just said, he was halfway through the next sentence. And he just kept talking and talking and talking, without drawing breath. It was exhausting just listening to him and inevitably I nodded off but DW would wake me every time I started snoring. 

 

The whale-watching component of the tour was quite good although we spent more time whale-waiting then actually watching them. Nevertheless we spied several of these majestic creatures and even managed to capture their images with our cameras, and not just photos of patches of the ocean where a whale had been half a second ago. 

 

As we headed back to the shore, DW and I were comfortably seated in the cabin while three hearty souls remained on the open deck at the bow of the boat. Suddenly I jumped up and quickly waddled through the door onto the exposed forward deck. DW sighed and wondered, "What on Earth is he up to now." But I was on a gallant quest. I had noticed that one of the chaps out on the deck had neglected to zip his fly and I was concerned that the deck may not be the only thing exposed on that boat!

 

As soon as I revealed his negligence, the man rectified the situation and thanked me for my kindness. I remained on the open deck for the rest of the journey to shore and was grateful for the protection offered by my many layers of clothing. I was rewarded with the sight of several bald eagles but although I continued to scan the shoreline I couldn’t spy a bear. 

 

Our tour included a visit to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Centre which provided great displays and interesting information. We braved the freezing rain, again thankful for our many layers of clothing, as we took multiple photos of the glacier which we didn’t land on in a helicopter.

 

Determined not to be "those people" we waddled back to the meeting place and boarded the bus. In this instance "those people" were a young couple with a toddler in a stroller. They were fortunate that another passenger on the bus realised they were not aboard and the bus driver turned back for them. It would have been a very long walk back into town!

 

After waddling back onto the ship we shed our many layers of clothing but as we aren’t completely mad, and aren’t naturists, we dressed for dinner. Considering the lateness of the hour we headed to the buffet instead of the dining room. Upon returning to our cabin, DW and I donned our pajamas and were soon engaged in a duet of snores as we dreamt of what adventures tomorrow might bring. 

[CDaze71]

Owwww nooooo bloody weather. What a shame.

[Sparky74]

Just now, CDaze71 said:

Owwww nooooo bloody weather. What a shame.

It is what it is. 🤷‍♂️
They reckon that there are old pilots and bold pilots but there are no old bold pilots. Better safe than sorry. 

[CDaze71]

2 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

It is what it is. 🤷‍♂️
They reckon that there are old pilots and bold pilots but there are no old bold pilots. Better safe than sorry. 

Enjoy Encounter and say Hi to Stino (Sports Co-ordinator from FIJI) for me. Say Cilla says HI.

Edited October 1, 2022 by CDaze71

[Elorac123]

6 hours ago, arxcards said:

There are some gorgeous spots that are best seen by helicopter. We had planned to do the Hawaiian one, but covid said no. During our previous visit, we had already stretched the budget. Some of our best holiday memories are from helicopters.

Vegas night flight

Whitsundays

Sydney Harbour, the day P&O had their 5 ships in the harbour

Canmore (just out of the national park at Banff), anyone visiting the Rockies is in awe of the icy peaks seen from the road or rail. The helicopter is 3D, with peaks beyond peaks beyond peaks.

 

All I can say Irene, a Glacier chopper will be well worth stepping outside the box for.

Agreed, I got talked into it years ago in Alaska on my first ever cruise and to quote one of my Grandsons favourite words Awesome.

Cheers Carole

[Cbtours]

15 minutes ago, Elorac123 said:

Agreed, I got talked into it years ago in Alaska on my first ever cruise and to quote one of my Grandsons favourite words Awesome.

Cheers Carole

Ok so following info in Sparky74 post, I just checked Franks travel insurance PDS and it doesnt include the snow sports option which seems to be even just going on ice/snow??? I did a dummy run and it looks like its $400 to add that option in........ arrggg which doesnt auger well if they cancel the excursion as in Marks case!!!!! I will phone the office on Monday and check if landing on a glacier counts as snow sports. Then  will reassess if the said excursion is worth it.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, aussielozzie18 said:

In my 2Os I did the triple treat of helicopter flight, then jet boat and then white water rafting in New Zealand.  It was fabulous.  Couple of years back, did a helicopter flight over Kings Canyon.  I enjoyed it but I’ve decided helicopters just feel too flimsy for me now.   We flew in a light plane over Kakadu last year and I was much more comfortable in that and it was a fabulous scenic flight.

I also did the triple challenge in Queenstown once. Later on they made it a quadruple challenge by adding in a bungy jump as well. I actually did the Skippers Canyon bungy jump once. We were on a bus trip into Skippers and there was a bit of disappointment that nobody was doing the bungy jump when we got to the bridge. I'd done a smaller one before so I said I do it. I wore the tshirt to the pub that night and all the young guys were amazed that someone of my advanced years (I was around 40 at the time), and female, had done that jump! I thought it was hilarious!

[Elorac123]

7 minutes ago, Cbtours said:

Ok so following info in Sparky74 post, I just checked Franks travel insurance PDS and it doesnt include the snow sports option which seems to be even just going on ice/snow??? I did a dummy run and it looks like its $400 to add that option in........ arrggg which doesnt auger well if they cancel the excursion as in Marks case!!!!! I will phone the office on Monday and check if landing on a glacier counts as snow sports. Then  will reassess if the said excursion is worth it.

I am ashamed to say that I didn’t even think about extra cover but then I hadn’t thought I would be going in a helicopter ride.

Cheers Carole

[aussielozzie18]

2 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I also did the triple challenge in Queenstown once. Later on they made it a quadruple challenge by adding in a bungy jump as well. I actually did the Skippers Canyon bungy jump once. We were on a bus trip into Skippers and there was a bit of disappointment that nobody was doing the bungy jump when we got to the bridge. I'd done a smaller one before so I said I do it. I wore the tshirt to the pub that night and all the young guys were amazed that someone of my advanced years (I was around 40 at the time), and female, had done that jump! I thought it was hilarious!

You’re braver than me! and well done on showing the young boys how it’s done!

[OzKiwiJJ]

31 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

You’re braver than me! and well done on showing the young boys how it’s done!

That was in my Kiwi Insanity era! 🤣🤣🤣

[aussielozzie18]

So sorry that you didn’t get to experience the helicopter flight.  My son was in Anchorage for a week recently.  He was solo and wanted to book a glacier heli flight but the minimum was two.  As it turned out, he had atrocious weather for his week there so like your experience, the helicopters flights wouldn’t have gone ahead.

At least you made the most of it with your whale cruise.

[NSWP]

10 hours ago, Cbtours said:

So you never ordered anything? Or just went to bar? Buffet? MDR etc

Just went to bar or waved the waiter  over.  Just used the cursed medallion for on and off ship, cabin door and drinks. I survived easy. Buffet and Mdr easy, I shared tables. 

Edited October 1, 2022 by NSWP

[arxcards]

Sad about the helicopter. You had me roped in and then, just like that, it was gone.

[MicCanberra]

Have done numerous helicopter tours, including the Queenstown triple adventure, Uluru, NYC and Mt Kilauea. Have also done many small plane and sea plane flights. They are all wonderful memories and it is such a shame you missed out on your much anticipated helitour.

[NSWP]

Sparky, I might knock on your door 22 Dec staying a night at Fitzroy Motel at Grafton on way to Goldy for Xmas with my brother and sister and other family members. 

Edited October 1, 2022 by NSWP