Cruising

There was one thing that was great about the cruise, in that we got to do a lot of relaxing. We napped. We took walks around deck. I finished one book and started another. I finished at least one magazine. I brought three DVDs and watched them all, plus we watched a movie in the theater and we watched movies on the television.

I know, those all sound like things that we could do at home, and they are things that we do at home. Well, naps don't happen that often, but we do read and watch movies. We were able to spend more time on it here, because this was a vacation and we were not working, but even a day off at home is not that productively relaxing. It's just that there aren't those things that responsible people need to do. There was no cleaning house or cooking or washing dishes or running to the store.

When I was on my other cruise we sailed out of Galveston, and there were a lot of Texans on that boat. We were talking to one couple and they said cruising was the best deal for them. They could drive to port and park there, and then their food and entertainment was pretty much covered, with no worries about airfare, hotel, or driving. It made a lot of sense.

Of course the entertainment on this cruise was not great, and even on the Carnival cruise, it's more that it was fun than super high quality entertainment, but still, overall it can be a very relaxing and economical way of taking your vacation. You can run up the cost with spa services, shore excursions, and the casino, but even using only the food and services that are included, you get a lot.

I suppose this only works if you are not subject to motion sickness. Personally, I love being on boats. I remember my first night at sea was a little stormy, and I felt like I was being rocked to sleep. We had to hunt down some dramamine for my friend, but I felt good. I do admit that after getting off, I still feel like I am on the water for a while, and that does get annoying, but nothing's perfect.

It's not something I would do for every vacation. I like seeing stuff, and if there is a lot to see shore excursions tend to be wholly inadequate. However, if every now and then you just want to really relax, and not worry about food budgets or driving around, a cruise is a great way to go.

Alaska in May

I can't say that we regret the cruise, or how we did it, because we intended to have family time with our brother and his wife, we were celebrating her 50th birthday, and letting her choose was part of that. She wanted to go to Alaska, and since the earliest cruise is the least expensive, that's the one they picked. That is okay. I just can't recommend it.


The big problem is that it was too early to see any animals. A lot of them were probably still hibernating. We saw a few bald eagles, and several freakishly large crows, and some people who went on the chartered boat saw otters, but really, there is so much more that should have been visible. I want to see bears and caribou and moose and porcupines, and we saw nothing. Well, there were the two dogs, but it's not the same.


We might have seen more animals in Tracy Arm, but apparently we were in the lower part, and you have bigger chunks of ice with more animals in the upper part, and your cruise will not necessarily get into the upper part, so that is something that it is valuable to check. We had no idea about this before.

I have to say it was beautiful, pretty much everywhere we looked. Of course, as Oregonians we are accustomed to clouds and gray and rain, and we do find it beautiful, so that helped, and maybe that would not work for anyone. If your idea of cruising is fun in the sun, then an Alaska cruise would not be ideal, especially early in the year. It was kind of interesting seeing blankets next to towels by the pool, and there was an indoor pool, but if you want to soak up the rays in a bikini, you should be looking at Mexico or the Caribbean.

We do still want to see more of Alaska at one point, and we know what we are going to have to do. We will have to fly into some coastal city where we can go out whale and otter watching, and then go into Denali for the land animals. It looks like Anchorage is the most logical point for this, but we haven't really researched it much yet. We will need to figure out our best points, and also the best time of year. That means not only that animals are out, but also that it is not mosquito season, and if there is a chance to view the Northern lights, all the better.

This will not be a cheap option, but we have time to think about it, because there are many other places to go. Look, if we ever go to Churchill for polar bears, that will be expensive too, but that's okay. We have a long list, and at least with polar bears, our zoo has them. We have some options.

Going South

This title is sort of misleading. Juneau was the northernmost spot, so we went straight there, and were going south the rest of the time. However, I can't really title this post Victoria, because it tells you nothing about Victoria, and is more about the deterioration of the cruise in general.

So, one thing I learned from this cruise, and I had heard it before, is that if the cruising company is foreign-owned, all of its stops cannot be US stops. Therefore, since this was Holland America, going from Seattle to Alaska, it is illegal to not hit Canada at all.

We were glad there was going to be a stop in Victoria. We had gone there many times as children. When we visited our friend in Vancouver, we had some hopes that we could take a trip there, but it was farther than we realized, so not practical. That's when I remembered that sometimes we went to Vancouver and sometimes to Victoria, but never really both.

Still, now we were going to have a chance to go back, and our friend had started taking classes in Victoria, so she had not completely relocated, but was spending a few days a week there, and we could meet up. It was a very short stop, but Victoria is a beautiful city, so wandering around a little with our friend should be just fine.

That ended up being the worst day of the cruise. First of all, we had the talk with disembarkation instructions. We were all supposed to go together, but we accidentally overslept, and I was the only one ready in time. I got out just as they stopped serving breakfast, and just as the dolphins everyone had been seeing were no longer visible. Oversleeping was our own fault, but scheduling an overly long and pointless, self-congratulatory thing with some important information during breakfast, when we were not even going to hit land until 6, is on the cruise line.

It really started the day on the wrong foot, but you need to keep going, so we went for our walk around deck, and at some point I got some varnish or something all over my purse, pants, and arm. I do blame this on the ship. At this point I ordered my sisters away, ordered room service, and took a nap. Yes, it was the last day of the cruise, but it was coming a day too late.

We were originally supposed to get into port at 6. That was moved to 7, then to 9. I don't know if the seas were rough or what. They didn't really give us any information about this. Better updates could have been good. Also good would have been them changing the Muppets Quiz to an earlier time so those people stuck waiting could participate. As it was, we waited in a long line and finally got to see our friend a little after 10, and spend about 40 minutes with, going and returning past a big and beautiful ship that had beat us into port by at least an hour.

Ketchikan

If Sitka was the least touristy of our stops, then Ketchikan was the most.

There is a big harbor and just a huge shopping section there. There was a vending machine with used DVDs, something that I had never seen before, but that made a lot of sense in the context of the last major stop for many cruises. There was a lot of decorative artwork, and everything was well-maintained, and it was probably the best stop for nicer handicrafts. There were some great quilts and mobiles. (At the same time, some of it was quite pricey.) The shop staff that we spoke to were all very helpful.

For these reasons, this was probably the favorite stop for my sisters. I spent most of my time waiting outside for them to be done shopping, because I am not into that. Still, the stop was not a total loss because I got to pet a dog. I saw a dog in Juneau too, but I did not get to pet it, so in that specific area, Ketchikan was superior.

Of them, my favorite store was Christmas in Alaska. There are a lot of nice ornaments and decorations, but the really cool thing is that you can get your picture taken with Santa all year long.

Ketchikan was also the place where we came closest to going on a shore excursion. We tried to get tickets for the Lumberjack Show, but we waited too long. There was only one spot left for the 11:00 show, and we weren't motivated enough to go to the 8:15 show, so we did no official shore excursions on the entire cruise. It is much cheaper that way, though, some of the money could have been well spent. (There will be other posts on cruising in general and that specific time of year.)

Honestly, we probably should have taken the funicular, and gotten a view that way. Apparently that only costs $2.00. We did get fairly near there on our way to the library, but there were no free terminals, and we really weren't feeling it, so we got back on the ship. It was a short stop, leaving at noon, so we did have some concerns about making it back in time, and ultimately, that was our day.

Sitka

Sitka was the most disappointing of our Alaska stops. I feel like I'm being mean for saying that, but I will explain why, and then you can judge.

First of all, it was probably the smallest of the stops, with a smaller harbor. We needed to board tenders rather than just walk down the gangway. That may have been part of it. It is probably the town least set up for tourists. There is a main street with shops, but it is not as in your face about it as Juneau and Ketchikan. The first place you find is the library, and there is a visitor's center, and then you start getting into shopping.

There is a Tlingit Ceremonial Canoe set up right by the library, so this was the first attraction, and we walked around and took pictures of it. This one specifically was commissioned for the Alaska Purchase Centennial.

We had thought we would check out the cathedral, because that was a stop for most of the shore excursions, and it was certainly within walking distance, but when we got there it was not really that grand on the outside, and kind of peeking in it did not really seem worth exploring.

Not to be discouraged, there was also a Totem Pole Park within walking distance, and so we headed there, and somehow I thought there would be multiple totem poles, but there was just the one. That was pretty much at the end of the main walk too, so we were going to turn around, but then I saw a path leading uphill, and a sign that said Castle Hill. All right, that sounds intriguing.

I started up the hill, and there was no castle. There was a sign explaining about the different things that were once up there, but there were all gone now. It was a really good view though, so I took pictures from various angles, and continued to get wet, because it was also raining. Feeling adventurous, I decided to take the other path down, which put me pretty far from where I had left my sisters. I was working my way back, but at this point they were already starting to get worried and call me. Fortunately, this was one of the spots where I had a phone signal, so that ended up being fine.

I mentioned enjoying the small town feel in Juneau, and this seemed smaller, but less friendly. Actually, I did have a few people greet me, but they were all people from the ship who had been at karaoke the night before. They were telling me I had done a good job, so that was really pleasant, but that could have just as easily have happened on the ship.

From a livability point of view, it is probably better for the town that it is not as touristy. I'm just saying that from a tourist point of view, this is probably a place where you really need to sign up for a shore excursion. The most tragic thing is that I have a friend from Alaska, and I had tried to reach her before we left, but we didn't get a chance to talk. If we had, her mother would totally have come and picked us up and shown as around, and that would have been great. Rats.

Juneau

Our ship stopped in Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan. (It stopped in Victoria too, but that almost doesn't count. I'll explain when we get there.) I think the favorite for my sisters was Ketchikan, because there was more shopping. My favorite was Juneau.

I know it's the capital, but it had a nice, small town feel. Actually, I can tell you what won my heart. We were working our way up the main street and stopped to look in a toy store, and were chatting with the owner. Not only was she very helpful with going over the merchandise and where to find different things, but after we had been chatting for a few minutes she asked if we could watch the store for a few minutes while she went to get a cup of coffee.

Okay, on one level it was some pressure, but still, it felt kind of of cool. Also, fortunately, we didn't have to do anything. She was quick and no one came in during that time.

We also found helpful assistance at the information booth. The guide told us everything we wanted to know, including pointing us to the library for internet access, which was right there and it was free, and it was the nicest of the different libraries that we visited.

In general, I think Juneau did better for public art. There was gorgeous stained glass in the library, murals on buildings, and statues in the park, including one of Patsy, a dog who elected herself as Juneau's ship ambassador. We are suckers for animals.

All of the cruise ship stops tend to have well-maintained houses visible, but somehow with the setting, and the public art, to my  mind Juneau was the prettiest of the three. Plus Juneau was the one with Mendenhall Glacier and they also had a tramway you can ride up Mount Roberts, and they are the location of the famous Red Dog Saloon.

So, Juneau is the way to go.

http://www.juneau.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneau,_Alaska

Mendenhall Glacier

We had not booked any shore excursions for the cruise. There will be more on that later, but really the only place where we really left the initial harbor area was in Juneau, where we visited Mendenhall Glacier. 

There were a few shore excursion options for this, but we took the bus, because it was much cheaper and then you are on your own schedule rather than having to go with the tour guide’s agenda.

As you get off the boat, there are several booths for different options, including trips to the glacier. We took the white school bus one, with trips on the hour. While we were waiting for it the rain was really pouring. Somehow we lucked out though, and the rain stopped when we were actually at the glacier. 

Our driver was Tlingit, so he told us about some of the customs and history on the way, as well as the local geography. He pointed out one island off to the side, and he said beyond that there was an island with one brown bear per square mile, so approximately 1600 brown bears. This is unusual, because on the mainland it is mainly black bears. We saw some bald eagles, and also there were ravens that were just enormous. They were almost scary.

Other fun facts included that you get more tourists via ship over the summer than the entire population of Alaska, and that you cannot drive to Juneau; access is only by air or sea. Alaska Airlines is the only air option, and most things come in by barge.

At the glacier we looked around and took some pictures, then went up to the visitor center to watch a short film. It did have a strong conservation message, which I expected. If anyone is sensitive to global warming issues, it is people near glaciers. The film gives you an idea of the glacier at different seasons, with a broad overview of the wildlife, so that was nice too, as I don't think we were there are the best time of year for it (early May).

While we certainly could have done more, in Juneau and in all of our stops, I was really glad that we went here. First of all, the setting is beautiful, and worth seeing in its own right. The visitors center is really good, both for the film and for the helpful staff. Also, while there is rugged terrain, the area is overall pretty accessible, with a nice trail, and elevators. Yes, there are options for more strenuous hiking and getting more adventurous, but people at all activity levels should be able to enjoy their visit.