Stills from Haines excursion

Two of my favorite ships-design wise, inside and out.  We haven't sailed on Radiance but if we were to book a Royal Caribbean cruise she would be my ship of choice. Nice size and layout.

 The NCL ships. I read a lot-I mean a HUGE amount-about cruising and cruise ships and I have no desire to sail on NCL ships.

Even though there is comfy seating in the warmth of the ferry cabin Carol wants to be outside and soak up the fresh sea air.

Statendam in Haines-one of the small Holland America ships.

Haines

Our bus at the boat landing area

River Adventures? I'll say!!

After the ship would sail away from Skagway that evening we would not set foot on land again until it was our turn to leave the ship in Whittier, Alaska. We would visit Glacier bay and College Fjord near the end of our cruise. It had already been a cruise of highlights but now we had the "icing on the cake" to look forward to.

Skagway photos

For us it's important to get off the ship in port and enjoy an excursion. Some folks stay onboard to enjoy a quieter ship, some rent cars and drive out of town to scenic places such as Emerald lake if you are in Skagway.  Excursions give us a chance to do things we don't normally get to do-like landing by helicopter on a glacier as we did on our first cruise. If we get cold and even wet then that is part of the experience and we know that we'll be returned to the comfort and luxury of the ship once our time is up and we are on the bus/boat heading for the Diamond Princess.

So a cold but bracing river trip with occasional eagle sightings among good company was at an end and we were back on the bus that would take us to the boat dock at Haines and thence home to the DP.

The lady driving the bus took questions as we drove along. Someone asked about winter up here and she had a lot of emotion in her voice talking about the long dark frigid days with nothing to do and nowhere to go once most the bars and restaurants had closed after the cruising season ends in late September.  No work for her. Staring at the calendar for months of end until the better weather came and the "army" that runs the tourist industry returns from all over North America for the summer jobs. I felt for her.

Here are some of the stills I took as I made my Skagway Morning Walk video. I was using a pocket sized Canon digital camera then and took stills sparingly as I favor video more. I have since bought a Canon Digital SLR and now take more stills as I enjoy learning how to use it.

This is a small restaurant specializing in fish and chips, close to the cruise ship pier where we docked. I hope to sample their halibut and chips at some point in the future when it is dry enough to sit outside.

No matter what city or town I am in, I love to walk the streets early in the morning, when I have them to myself. I can take a nap later....

There is no shortage of tourist shops in Skagway....

This is the White Pass and Yukon Railway which can climb out of the valley and up into the mountains and take you on a scenic ride into Canada. 

Four massive ships in port but I have beaten the crowds

Driftwood put to good use...

Even though it is just 7 a.m most shops are already open as the clock is ticking.....

Carol loves stylish old American cars like this...."unsafe at any speed" is a phrase that comes to my mind...no seat belts, crash crumple- zones, air bags, brakes that mean what they say, weak headlights etc. I noticed an Indian restaurant- my favorite food after years of indulging in it when I lived in London, England. They weren't serving lamb vindaloo for breakfast, alas.

A damp, drizzly climate has it's rewards for the gardener

A backpack put to good use as a planter

Home, sweet Home

Back on board

Just some of the graffiti left by crew members of ships who have berthed here over the past 90 years

Chilkat River excursion

In keeping with my 2012 plan of staying close to the ground in Alaska , rather than 2011's first visit where we were on trains and helicopters and float planes, our Skagway excursion was centered on a river trip to hopefully see some eagles in their natural habitat. We would do this on the Chilkat River but we had to travel to the port of Haines to do this.

A high speed ferry boat would take us to Haines and from there a motor coach would continue the journey to the banks of the river where two boats awaited for our party. We were suitably wearing layers of clothing as we are not complete idiots but even this was not enough so extra warm clothing was provided at the boat station, as were gloves.

The most welcoming thing at the boat station was however a fire pit fueled by alder wood which burns slightly hotter than the sun and it was here that we were given long forks and hot dogs, so we could get some delicious hot food in our stomachs for the trip.

No one on Earth likes cooking outdoors more than I do.  Had there been tables and chairs outside I would have stayed by the fire to eat what was the best hotdog I have ever enjoyed even though there was no sauerkraut gracing it. The river was a few feet away but I could sense how frigid the waters were.

There was a structure with picnic tables to eat in and supplement the hot dogs with soup and potato chips and sundry snacks. Simple food shines when you are hungry. Very much appreciated!

Two boats and 26 people. The first was loaded to capacity (16 plus the Captain) which meant our boat only had 10 and we had a bench seat to ourselves ahead of the Captain. We would be on the water for 90 minutes, often going at speed and the faster we went the colder it became so we were glad of the extra survival clothing.

We didn't see a lot of eagles alas but we enjoyed the ride on the water, so far from our everyday world back in Chicago. And that phrase, in a nutshell, is why we enjoy cruising so much. It is beyond our everyday experience in every way.

I'll let the heavily edited videos tell the story.....

Skagway photographs

Here we are safely docked in Skagway on a Wednesday morning in August 2012

The view from our balcony

Distant neighbors Norwegian Jewel and Norwegian Pearl

Motorcoaches and a train line up next to the ship to whisk people away on excursions into the surrounding mountains. There are also helicopter flights to nearby glaciers from Skagway.

The marina where our excursion boat would sail from later in the morning.

A little light drizzle fell from time to time and I decided to work up an appetite for another breakfast by walking into town from the dock. There was a trickle of fellow passengers with the same idea.

Those with mobility issues can ride in a shuttle van for a small charge.

 Here's the video of my Skagway Morning walk.........

On to Skagway

Following the departure of Radiance of the Seas it was time for us to eat. We always choose Anytime Dining where you can eat outside the normal 2 fixed seatings, the earliest of which begins at 5.30-much too early for us. Fixed seatings also usually mean you will dine with the same people each night at a table that seats more than two. We like two-tops so we can focus on eating rather than chatting.

The Diamond, like it's twin sister the Sapphire, has 4 small Anytime Dining rooms, each with a unique decor- New Mexican (Santa Fe dining room), Asian (Pacific Moon) and Italian (Vivaldi) but we liked the lack of geographic specifity of the Savoy with it's dark woods and Gentlemen's Club feel. We asked for a table by a window and were served by two young Thai waiters. We enjoyed their company and would ask for the same table from here on in, whether lunch or dinner. They liked to laugh as do we. They were Siwa (tall one) and Sadudee. (video)

While we are eating late, earlier diners are in the casino, once the ship gets far enough from land or are in the Princess Theater watching a singing-dancing show or catching a stand up comedian in Explorer's Lounge or enjoying a drink in anyone of the many bars on board. Crooners Martini Bar has a pianist and usually draws a crowd. So much to do and enjoy but no doubt we probably went to listen to karaoke in Club Fusion at the stern of the ship.

With our last port of the cruise arriving in the early morning I set an alarm to be up early so I could see the ship coming in to Skagway. We had an excursion planned of course but there would be time for my two breakfasts and a walk into town before we left for the town of Haines on a fast boat.

I was up on deck enjoying my coffee before 6 a.m with the camcorder in hand....(video)

Radiance video

 I thought I would show you some close-ups of the melon carvings in Skywalkers. They are for decoration only and covered in plastic film.

By all means DO try this at home and amaze your friends!

Here is the video of Radiance of the Seas leaving Juneau. It would be our turn soon. We were both heading North to Skagway. It was shot from our aft balcony.

Skywalkers and Radiance bids us adieu

Skywalkers lounge is the highest vantage point with a roof over it on the ship so a good spot for whale watching and people watching from on-high. Factor in that it has a full bar and savory snacks and comfy armchairs and it becomes one of my favorite things about Princess-it's another trademark like the stepped balconies and the undercover bow walk. Italian ship design and build in most cases although the Diamond and Sapphire were made in Japan and the Island and Coral were crafted in France. The last two ships lack a Skywalkers alas. They also lack aft cabins of any kind so we are unlikely to sail on them again, stellar as they are in their own right. Now we have seen the wake there is no going back!

Suite passengers and frequent cruisers- Platinum and Elite card holders have Skywalkers to themselves between 5 and 7 pm each evening. There's a half-price cocktail of the day and if it is a mojito I am having one. There are also snacks which vary night by night. Might be guacamole, salsa and tortilla chips or a selection of cheeses and crackers, crunchy fresh vegetables and so on. We'll take a nibble as we had afternoon tea a couple of hours before and will have dinner a couple of hours after.

There's never a crowd and that's what we like....restful calm with good bar waiters waiting for my raised glass or eyebrow.

(video)

Juneau photos on the water

Photos taken from the whale watching boat in Auke Bay, minus whales

Mendenhall Glacier appears through the mists

Later, Mendenhall is ready for his close-up

A whale of a time

Whales, alas, are not known to pose for photographs. They often surface too far away to make it worthwhile pressing the shutter button. Your captain sees some half a mile away and by the time you get over to them they are at the spot you just left, probably laughing, which they like to do.

Zoom lenses and tripods on a bobbing boat holding only 7 people and a lot of snacks aren't the answer either. Point your camera and hope for the best. Take lots of photos and video and trash what failed to make the cut. Fully-charged batteries are essential as you won't turn the camera off often as you may miss Willy the tap-dancing whale if he is in the neighborhood.

So here's a few minutes of video out in Auke Bay. Even if we saw no whales it would have been a nice couple of hours on the water in good weather....

I kept the camcorder on that last whale for a long time as I had never seen a whale behave that way before (certainly not in downtown Chicago).

The Harv 'n Marv minibus makes a stop at the local glacier-Mendenhall, on the way back to the ship.
You can stay there after the bus leaves or after a 20 minute break get a ride back to downtown Juneau and thence the ship you are on. We went back to the ship with Harv' Marv's driver.  Local buses or taxis can get you back too. Bears can be sighted at the viewpoint across from the glacier and there are bathrooms too (hopefully bear-free).

Another afternoon tea followed and that brought on a nap in the Sanctuary. Our next important engagement would be the nightly Suites, Elites and Platinum card holder cocktail hour from 5 to 7 pm in Skywalkers. The ship wouldn't leave until about 9 pm when darkness was falling and we'd have dinner as we sailed back down the channel we had sailed to get here.

Off to Skywalkers again.....

Ashore in Juneau

Once the gangway is down and the ship is cleared to begin disembarking passengers I set out for my early morning walk.

The camera comes along for the ride.

What a welcoming sight ! There are maybe ten red booths in the background which ae already drawing a small crowd. These belong to Independent Local Tour operators who will take you sightseeing or for helicopter trips to glaciers or whale watching cruises.

I pass by the Radiance of the Seas

My first bear sighting. 

The Red Dog saloon which is popular with visitors (with two exceptions). 

The streets are still deserted which is exactly what I want at this early hour. Sleep deprivation has it's rewards. We were actually woken at 2 a.m by the Captain's voice on the P.A , telling us that a helicopter was coming to the ship to take a sick passenger off the vessel.  Some folks near the pickup zone had to vacate their cabins for an hour or two. We managed to get back to sleep. There is no helipad on the ship so a basket had to be lowered. The ship has a medical center on deck 4 but this was a life-threatening emergency and time was of the essence.

Very familiar from our years of traveling to Germany and an eye-catching billboard vehicle- a Smart car.

Sea plane landing area

The Visitor's Center with a nice stand of white Astilbe

We had a few hours before we would be picked up by the Harv ' n Marv minivan which would take us to Auck Bay where many of the whale watching boats leave from as the Bay is rich in humpback whales.

Here's the video I shot during my walk......

Juneau approach photos

Here are some stills from the approach to Juneau.....

Juneau comes into view

Ships from Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and Royal Caribbean (RCI) are already berthed.

Norwegian Jewel

Radiance of the Seas

Juneau, as we prepare to make a turn to dock

Overcast but not raining. Hooray!