Alaska in July

A cruise to Alaska has always been on our bucket list. In June we found a "Last Minute" 7 day Holland America cruise that departed from Vancouver. With Tito and Sandi, we purchased round trip tickets and we were on our way on July 14. 

This is Canada Place in Vancouver, with it's white sails and nautical appearance. It is the port where cruise ships dock in Vancouver. Inside are the US and Canadian Customs. This picture was taken as we sailed away.

Yvonne, Sandi and Tito on observation deck of the Nieuw Amsterdam with the city skyline in the background.

We sailed under the Lion's Gate Bridge with only a few feet to spare.

This is the Lido pool on the 9th floor as we steam North. It was sunny and warm on the first day but a little cool on the open water with the wind. If it gets too cold lounging around this deck there is a larger covered pool mid ship with a retractable roof.

The Nieuw Amsterdam was commissioned in 2010. 

It can accommodate 2106 passengers and a crew of nearly 900.

Our 8 day itinerary.

Our first Port of Call was Juneau.

Disembarking in Juneau.We spent the day walking the streets and sightseeing. Juneau is a landlocked city of 31,000 residents. There are no roads to connect it to other cities in Alaska or Canada. 

When asked how she ended up in Juneau, the barmaid at the Red Dog Saloon told me there are only three ways to get to Juneau, by boat, by airplane and the way she arrived, her mothers womb.
Thanks for the visual....

Back on the ship just in time for dinner in the main dining room. 

A choice of appetizers and salads followed by a main course and dessert.
If the dinning room is too fancy you can eat at Lido buffet or several other specialty places that serve pizza, tacos, sushi and even hot dogs.

On sailing days, one of the on board attractions is a live cooking show on the 3rd floor.

This is the test kitchen stage where today, a chef was sharing his cooking tips and techniques on how to cook a perfect steak. On other occasions he covered salmon and various seafood dishes. 

WI'm not a foodie but who could ever get tired of this?

Cool weather lounging by the pool.

They look harmless but, like most wildlife they're highly unpredictable. Be careful when you approach them.

Winter Bikini, a bargain at only $79 USD

Inspirational ideas for the woodworker in a Skagway furniture store.

Street food in Skagway. $25 per leg.

Yvonne and I celebrated a wedding anniversary while on board. The Captain sent a card but the wine never came.

In Skagway we took a train that took us across the Alaska panhandle into British Columbia. The tracks continue on to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territories but our trip ended in Frazer BC where we boarded a tour bus back to Skagway. Our driver kept us entertained by strumming and singing the song "Squaws along the Yukon"

As we approached this decrepit old bridge, it appeared that we might be crossing it. To everyone's relief the track curved onto a new steel and concrete bridge along side the old wooden bridge.

Yvonne standing in front of our ship.

A zillion pieces of driftwood cover this tourist shop in Skagway.

We entered Glacier Bay were greeted by a boatload of park rangers and a bald eagle perched on a chunk of ice.

While on the ship the Park Rangers spoke of their lives and jobs living in America's last Frontier. 

The Native lady, waving in the carter of the picture, is 80 yrs old. I watched her descend the 10 ft rope ladder from an opening on our cruise ship to this smaller boat. Quite remarkable for somebody her age. 

This is Margerie Glacier in Tarr Inlet. The face of this glacier is over 250 feet high and routinely calves off huge chucks of ice. They crash into the water creating tremendous thunder-like noise and produce large waves.

These kayakers seem awfully close but they're still ~1/4 mile away.

Our ship got pretty close to the Margerie Glacier and we did see a small piece of ice, perhaps the size of a car, calved into the ocean. It was surprising how loud the noise was.

Totally unacceptable today but, years ago, the ship's captain would blast the horn when the ship was close to a glacier. The sound wave often resulted in spectacular collapses.

Our bartender is never far away.

Ketchikan is the most southern city in Alaska and my favourite of the three we visited. Like Skagway, it is possible to drive here from Canada.

Creek Street in Ketchikan. These buildings were all brothels a hundred years ago. Today they are souvenir shops.

This is an old, yet still functional, fish ladder. Spawning salmon can apparently bypass the nearby waterfall by swimming up the concrete channel. We didn't see any fish using it.

While on our cruise I read about the July 20th Branson Missouri accident that claimed 17 lives. I now have serious doubts about the stability of this type of amphibious watercraft referred to as a Duck Boat, especially in the rough waters of the Pacific.

 

Plenty of totem poles in Ketchikan.

These adult size salmon are getting ready to run the Ketchikan Creek rapids to the spawning grounds upstream.

Metal sculpture of a Heron.

Part of the Ketchikan Creek rapids that the salmon have to navigate.

I managed to capture a Humpback whale's tail after it surfaced for a breath of air.

Lots of paintings, sculptures and artwork depicting New York City on our ship. 

This was the upper part of a massive rotating chandelier in the grand lobby.

Some statistics regarding our 7 day Vancouver cruise to Alaska and back.

Our staff and crew consisted of 857 men and women from 44 nationalities.

We travelled 1987 miles at an average speed of 16 knots and used 625 metric tons of fuel.

We recycled 1,266,664 gallons of water and somehow, without my help, 42,700 eggs were consumed.

Holland America is based in Seattle and is a subsidiary of Carnival Corp which also owns the following cruise lines.