Alaska Cruise - Skagway

The next morning, we arrived in Skagway. It was the northernmost point on our cruise:

I thought you'd like to see the map. This is not the exact route our cruise took, because we started in San Francisco. However, it does give you an idea of the ports within Alaska's Inside Passage. Before this trip, I was not familiar with the geography at all.

It was a beautiful morning - partly cloudy and cool. As the day went on the clouds moved out and it was mostly sunny and warm.

Disembarking today was much easier than when we had arrived in Juneau. In Juneau, because we were late getting into port, everyone had to get off the ship at the same time in order to make their rescheduled excursions. But when we arrived in Skagway, the passengers were leaving the ship at different times as their excursions began throughout the morning.

I loved seeing how big our ship was when we were on shore! It was  the biggest cruise ship on the seas when it was launched in 2001, but I know there are even larger cruise ships today. Hard to believe.

One of the interesting things to see as we disembarked was the harbor seals taking advantage of the plentiful salmon right there in the shadow of the ship's bow. They feasted all day long and put on quite a show.

This was the one shore day that we did not spend with my parents. Mom and Dad took a ride on the White Pass Railroad - a long ride. I had decided a few months ago that Michaela would not be amused by such a long ride despite her enthusiasm for trains. Instead, we panned for gold and met some sled dogs.

Although were weren't very adept with our gold panning technique, we did manage to keep more than $20 in gold flakes. I think I'll keep my day job, though.

The best part of this excursion was meeting Matt Hayashida and his dogs. Matt has completed the Iditarod several times, and it was really interesting to hear him talk about his equipment, the trail, the weather conditions, and his dogs.

Matt began with a short lecture:

And then we went out to meet his dogs:

After a little meet and greet with the doggies, they got into their harnesses and did a short run for us to see:

They do train in the summer on a dirt track like the one you see in the background above. Matt said it was their strength training.

Then it was time for them to return to their kennels, and Matt shared the next generation of sled dogs with us:

Just four weeks old! Aren't they precious. There were eight or ten of them, and Matt let us hold them and love on them.

That's Michaela with a sweet little friend named Sophia who she had met at the kids club on the ship. I just learned today that Sophia's mom works with Michaela's cousin at Disneyland. Talk about a small world!

Speaking of kids club, that was were Michaela wanted to go. Yeah, sure the panning for gold and puppies were okay, but the place she really wanted to be was that kids club. So we went back to the ship, had lunch, and I dropped her off at the kids club before heading back into Skagway for a look around. It's a small town, for sure. In fact, I heard one woman (I believe she was a resident) say that when the cruise ships leave at the end of the day, the town is practically deserted and it looks like a vacant movie set.

Here's what it looks like from the deck of the ship:

 And here's what it looks like as you walk into town form the docks:

Now, I've got to mention that there was something really peculiar about all of our ports - they were riddled with jewelry shops. Like a ridiculous number of jewelry shops. We really couldn't figure out why, but maybe there are enough people who make fine jewelry purchases when they are on a cruise. I really don't know. I bought a t-shirt and a miniature totem pole...

In spite of all the jewelry shops, there are some other sites to see as you walk the main drag of Skagway:

And although I didn't get to see nearly the amount of wildlife I hoped to see, I did get to see the rarest of all creatures:

I know you're jealous. I mean who expects to see a unicorn in Alaska?

Bears?

Yes.

Whales?

Yes.

But a unicorn?

Who knew?

So that was our day in Skagway.

Up next, Tracy Arm Fjord...

Alaskan Cruise - Juneau

Juneau was our first port, and it took us nearly three days to get there. The night before we arrived the seas were very, very rough. The captain announced the next morning that he'd actually slowed the ship's speed down because of the high seas, and because of that we were late getting into port.

Needless to say, it was good to see land!

I will give credit to my mom now for the photos in this post. It was rainy and cold in Juneau, and instead of capturing our day with my camera, I was pretty busy keeping Michaela and myself dry. She was not a happy camper...

All of our shore excursions had to be rearranged because of our late arrival. We were originally scheduled to see Mendenhall Glacier and Glacier Gardens, but because of the last minute changes we actually had a third stop added to our tour - the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery.

Here, Dad and Michaela encountered some wildlife:

Of course there were also gazillions of salmon at the hatchery, but they aren't as much fun to take pictures with!

At the Mendenhall Glacier site, we walked out to see the glacier and then went into the visitor center:

Our final stop was at Glacier Gardens. By this time Michaela was really cold and crabby. I think there is a very interesting story behind the development of these gardens, but I couldn't really pay attention to our guide because I was managing Michaela's behavior.  (Just keeping it real, friends. I was pretty crabby by then, too.)

Yes, those are upside down trees with their roots holding potted plants. Mom caught a nice shot of the bald eagle that landed near it's ginormous nest on the property.

We were driven up a road to a viewing platform that looked out over parts of Juneau. I'm sure on a clear day it's really a beautiful view, but today it was just wet and cold. After a couple of minutes, I headed back to the tram for the drive down the mountain.

By the time our excursion was complete, we didn't have much time left before we were required to get back on the ship. So, we didn't get to explore Juneau at all. Besides we were too wet and tired to do so. A glass of red wine helped warm me from the inside out, and after dinner we hit the sack.

Next time, Skagway...

Alaskan Cruise - Embarkation Day

My parents had been talking about taking a cruise to Alaska for their fiftieth wedding anniversary next year for quite a while. My mom's vision was for it to be a family affair, but some of our family is not keen on cruising. So, I encouraged my parents to join Michaela and me this year instead.

After waiting five months, August 20th finally arrived and we embarked upon the Golden Princess in San Francisco Bay. Embarkation was somewhat delayed by some technical issues, but it seems like we left port pretty much on schedule.

Waiting outside the terminal prior to embarkation.

After attending the mandatory muster drill, we made our way up to deck 15 for the sail away party. Mom and I celebrated with a glass of champagne, and we took in the sights of beautiful San Francisco.

TransAmerica Building

Coit Tower

Bay Bridge

Alcatraz

What I didn't manage to catch on camera was when our ship went under the Golden Gate Bridge. Darn it! That was such a fantastic moment. I have driven over that bridge many times, but this day I saw it from a completely different perspective!

The next two days were spent at sea, and at times the seas were rough. Very rough. Like 12-14 foot swells. That was hard on my mom, but the rest of us faired well. I think one of the advantages of having the cheap inside cabin was that the rocking of the ship wasn't as severe for us as it was for folks like my parents who had balcony staterooms.

The night before we entered our first port city, Juneau, was a formal night. It was kind of fun to dress up, have our picture taken, and have a fancy dinner. When we returned from dinner, Michaela was delighted by the towel animal our room steward had crafted for her.

We spent those first two days exploring the ship, enjoying the food, and Michaela made herself at home in the "kids club". In fact, she preferred being there to eating, being with her family, and going on excursions. Ha! Crazy kid. But I was really pleased that Princess Cruises has such a great program for the little ones, and that she was so content to be there. I don't know how I would have entertained her all day long otherwise.