Day 17, Thursday, August 4

Today is our second and last day at sea as we cruise the Inside Passage.

Our day started with a tour of the theater and the backstage which was interesting. One thing that we learned was that the entertainment staff have an 8-month contract and they are allowed to bring family on the ship for up to 3 months. That’s a huge perk.

After the backstage tour, we went and had morning tea and then we had a private tour of the bridge, which of course was very interesting.

By then it was time for lunch and ate a small lunch in the Oceanview Café.

Alaska’s Inside Passage is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific Northwest coast.

The Inside Passage stretches 500 miles along the Pacific Ocean and boasts wildlife-filled fjords, tidewater glaciers, and lush island scenery.

Before entering the Passage, we were invited to a cocktail part with members of the senior staff. That was fun talking with them after a great cruise.

The show tonight was

We ate dinner with the couple from Road Island again and it was fun as we had a lot of things about our lives that were in common; however, they did not play in the casino.

After dinner we went to the casino for our last session where Barb broke even and Ed had a nice win and in total we were up for a good total win.

Night from Canada this time and tomorrow we arrive for a couple of days in Vancouver, BC

                                                        Going out for the day's tours

                                                           The theater from the stage

                                         The second officier explaining the navagiation equipment

                                             We had a snack at about 4:00pm!

Going out for our last evening of this cruise

                                                    Palo, the Casino Manager, left and 

                                                      Charles our Casino Host  

                                        

Day 16, Wednesday, August 3

Now we are in Ketchikan and the highlight of the day was our Misty Fjords National Monument Flightseeing Tour in a floatplane.

But first we walked around the town and looing at the sights.  We walked right away to the old town area and walked along the creek where the salmon were running.  Later, we stopped at the local Eagles Club for a Halibut sandwich.  The club was recommended by one of the local shop owners.

Then we walked to the Salmon Latter and watched the salmon climb the rapids and the Salmon Ladder which was an easier way to go upstream.  Salmon always returns from the ocean to the stream where they were born, spam and then die.

They had a wonderful museum showcasing totem poles and their history.

After than we took off at 2:45pm for a 2-hour trip, including landing on an alpine lake for a chance to get out and take some pictures.  The Misty Fjords National Monument is a 2.3-million-acre area which is larger than Yellowstone National Park and the only way to get to it is by floatplane – what an experience!!   This was truly one of the major highlights of the trip.

The floatplane we were on was owned by the female owner and pilot, Michelle.  She came to town 35 years ago, worked on a fishing boat for 2 years to save enough money to buy her first plane.  Then she also bought another plane and has a very, very successful business.

The highlight was landing the plane on a very small lake high up in the mountains and we got out and walked around for about 20 minutes.  Then it was time to get back on the plane for the trip back.  We hope the videos show the experience we had.

The show was two acrobats and it was just ok.

The casino tonight was not good for us as both of us lost a little.

After that we went to our restaurant and shared a table with a couple from Road Island and very fun to eat with.  We decided to eat together tomorrow.

That’s it and now we set the clocks ahead 1 hour and we will get up and be cruising in the Inside Passage all day.

Night from our next to the last day of our cruise.

                                                                Ready to go to Ketchican

                                                     Sampleing Sockey Salmon - Wonderful!

                                                        The old town area with the Salmon stream

                                                        On the floatplane

                                                    Landed on a beautiful lake

                                                               What an experience!!

                                                            Snacks as we were leaving port

                                                            Time for dinner, etc.

                                          The Hotel Directors sent us a bottle of good Italian wine

                                                    and a plate of chocolates

                                                    Salmon climbing the Salmon Ladder

                                                    Taking off in the Floatplane

                                      Just flying - there are no roads here - just lakes to land on!

                                                          Landing on an isolated lake

                                               Total isolation and total beauty - very quite

Day 15, Tuesday, August 2

This is Icy Strait Point.  This is like one of those ports in the Carabeen as it is a cruise line owned port, built, maintained and staff by the cruise line.

We arrived at 6:45am; however, we did not get off the ship until 9:00am and walked into this little made for ships port.  It was just a bunch of overpriced gift shops and some restaurants.  In addition, it was the area where you boarded busses and boats for tours.

We instead went to the back of the compound and took a $5 shuttle to the little native town call Hoonah, a little town of 800 people.  It was a wonderful choice as we walked around the town, stopped into local shops run by locals and just had fun.  Basically, the town was about 4 blocks one way, up a little hill and then 4 blocks the other way.

We stopped at one gift shop run by a 7^th generation native and spent quite a bit of time hearing him with stories of his past.  Most of the people here are a combination of native Indian and Scandinavian counties, like Norway, Sweden and Finland.  This person we talked had the eyes of Ed – blue eyes and was very light skinned!

We ate a halibut lunch that was good and then on the way back to the ship found a place that was sell crab dinners, so we had that also!!   Barb wanted fresh caught crab and this was the place.

As is our custom, when we got back on the boat we went to a little café and had tea and snacks and listened to music.

Again, our normal routine then is.

1.        Dinner

2.       The show which was a cast production number called “Boogie Nights” and it was very good.

3.       The casino where Barb broke event and Ed won a little

Tomorrow is our last stop and it will be at Ketchikan

Night

                                                        Our normal going out outfit

                                                        The guide we talked about and his shop

                                                    Carving their own totom pole

                                                    Lunch stop

                                                            We saw lots of Eagles here

                                                        Barb's other lunch

                                                            The location of our cabin in the back

                                                        Going out for the evening

Day 14, Monday, August 1

Today it is the little town of Skagway and it was 55 degrees when we left the ship at 7:30am because today we booked a tour on the White Pass Scenic Railway tour.

Skagway is just a one street town.  It was originally the gateway to the original gold mining areas.  We watched a video and a Ranger presentation about the start of the gold rush.  It was very interesting as there were a lot of pictures that showed all aspects of life during that time.

The town of Skagway had not transformed itself from the gold mining gateway to a totally tourist town and they did a good job of it.

We took a narrow-gauge train ride for about an hour up to the summit and there were some amazing views along the way.

After the train ride we ate in town and then of course shopped until late in the afternoon when it was time to go back to the ship.

Most of the afternoons, we have gone to the little café and had tea and snacks and we did it again today.

We left our cabin at around 5:30pm to listen to the music before going to the 7:00pm show.

The show tonight was a magician and he was quite good.

Then, of course it was on to dinner where we sat with a couple from yesterday and also were joined by another couple

After dinner we went to the casino where Barb and a good win and Ed  also won.  Both wins were the most per day that we have had this trip.

Night from Skagway and next stop is Ice Straight.

                                                        On the train

                                                        Halibut sandwich for lunch

                                                        Downtown

                                                        Shopping with Barb's new bag!!

                                                            Our shuttle

                                                            Tea for two - our afternoon tradition

                                                        Going out for the eventing

                                                                 New friends
.

Day 13, Sunday, July 31

We arrived in Juneau at 10:00am and we took a bus to a harbor where we boarded a boat for a 1-hour boat ride where we saw Bald Eagles and two whales, a momma and her baby.  We were only able to get a picture of the momma plus the elusive tail flipping into the water.  Once they do that, you don’t see them for some time. 

Then the boat took us to the edge of the Tongass Natural Park where after seeing a movie in the visitor’s center we walked one mile to almost the base of the Mendenhall Glacier and an enormous waterfall – what a site. 

To got closer to the waterfall, we had to wade across a small stream.  As you can see by the above YouTube video, Barb attempted to walk on the rocks and she splashed into the water.  Ed took off his shoes and socks and waded across.  The water was 35 drees and it was up to Ed’s calves at the deepest point.

We were then on a sand bar with others and could get much closed to the waterfall – now that was fun!!

We went back across the stream and made the 1-mile hike back to where the busses left us off for the drive back to Juneau and at that point, we walked around the shops and finally went back to the ship at 6:00pm – showered and went to the last part of the show.

We walked into the show and after 5 minutes we walked out – the singer was terrible in our view.

Then of course we went to eat and had a wonderful meal

After dinner, we went to the casino where Barb broke even and Ed won a little.

Tomorrow, we arrive in Skagway

Night - night

                                                    See and listen to the falls - amazing

                                                        On the boat heading towards the glacier                                         

                                                                  The tail flip

                                                                Momma Wale

                                                                    The Mendenhall Glacier

                                                            The waterfall - we walked to where 

                                                         the people are at the bottom of the falls!!

At the base of the falls

                                                        Ready to go out for the evening

We are being told that internet will be not working some days so if the blog is not there, that's why!!

Day 12, Saturday, July 30

Today is our first of two days at sea and we are cruising the Hubbard Glacier. The Hubbard Glacier is famous for being North America's largest tidewater glacier. It's over 75 miles long and 7 miles wide and flows directly into Disenchantment Bay, which feeds into the North Pacific Ocean.

We woke up to a foggy morning and as usual, Ed had breakfast and we wandered around until 11:00am when Ed played in the blackjack tournament where he won. No trophies anymore but he did win $100.00.

Then it was time for lunch which of course we ate a lot more than we usually do

At 1:00pm we entered Yakutat Bay and arrived at the closest point to Hubbard Glacier at 3:00pm and stayed there for about 30 minutes. What an amazing experience as we go up to 1.7 miles from the bottom of the glacier. We were able to go up to the helicopter pad at the very front of the ship to see the glacier. After ½ hour, the ship rotated so that all sides of the ship could see the glacier. Then it was time for the ship to leave and we finally exited the Bay at 6:00pm.

As is our usual custom, we went to the first show at 7:00pm and it was a singer and she was very good.

Then onto dinner and finally to the casino where we had a nice night as Barb won and so did Ed.

Tomorrow, we arrive in Juneau.

Night

At the present time, we do not have the ability to download pictures.  When we get to Juneau we will do so.

Day 11, Friday, July 29

When we woke up finally at 9:00am, it was 56 degrees, clear, and no humidity.  It appears that most places do not even have air conditioning and the hotel did not – you don’t need it up here.  It is so warm that we could walk outside without a coat and in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt if we wanted to - amazing!! 

It was a wonderful stay in Seward and the hotel was amazing.

We took the hotel’s shuttle to the pier at 11:00 to board our ship the Celebrity Millennium for a 7-night cruise.

Our schedule for the rest of the trip is:

Saturday -  Cruising the Hubbard Glacier

Sunday – Juneau

Monday – Skagway

Tuesday – Icy Strait Point

Wednesday – Ketchikan

Thursday – Cruising the Inside Passage

Friday – Arrive in Vancouver

Saturday – Vancouver

Sunday – Fly to Los Angeles – Atlanta – Bloomington, arriving home at 10:21pm

We have a unique cabin on this ship and it is a cabin at the back of the ship so we have a larger balcony and can see everything on both sides of us – should be fun.

We went to our cabin and dropped off our carry-on bags and then went to the back of the ship to eat at the Oceanview Café.  It is tradition that we always sit outdoors on the very back and today was no exception.  The temperature was 63 degrees and the sun was shining.

After lunch we walked around the ship to see where everything was.

There are 3 classes of ship in Celebrity and this is the smallest of the classes.  We have been on this ship 3 times with the last being in 2016 when were in Asia.

The ship has been newly renovated and extremely well done.

We went to eat at 7:30pm and met a couple from Texas.  They have over a thousand acres of land right on the border right next to Del Rio and they spent time talking about all their problems with the illegal border crossings.

After dinner, we went to the theater and the show was a comedian and he was pretty funny.

Then it was onto the casino where Barb lost a little and Ed had a great first night win.

                                                            Our room - #1141

                                                    The amazing Ocenview Cafe

                                                        Check in is about to begin!!

                                               Lunch on the outdoor deck at the back of the ship

                          Our extra large balcony at the back of the ship - we can see both sides

                                                    The Port of Seward - lots of boats

                                                Part of the comercial side of the port

                                                Notice the school bus!