We start with a few days in Portland then head to Vancouver to start our Alaska adventure. Next up is a few days in Seattle, Amtrak’s Empire Builder to spend a few days in Chicago, and then back home. We’re packing for everything from chilly temperatures in Denali and rainy excursions to July 4th heat in Chicago! Four planes Two …
The cruise begins
The bus ride from SeaTac to the cruise doc was around 3 hours with quick crossing at the border and no sign of the expected FIFA gridlock. And here it is – the Nieuw Amsterdam! We’ve been on this ship for a couple of Blues cruises but this is our first experience in a Neptune Suite. The room is fabulous …
Ketchikan
What a glorious day! Ketchikan is one of wettest cities in the country but we had a mix of sun and clouds and temps in the 50s. It was a perfect day for our Rainforest hike with WildView Tours. After a short walk to the waterfront, we started our tour at 8 AM in a small van with 6 other …
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Juneau
A new day and a new port! We were sorry to leave Ketchikan but cruise ships have to keep moving! We docked in Juneau around 10 and headed off for our Discover Alaska Whales tour on a small research vessel. The weather was great once again and our guide, Malia, was fun and interesting. She’s a recent Marine Biology graduate …
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Skagway
We spent the morning in Skagway catching up on the blog and enjoying some time on the verandah. We knew we needed to rest up for the afternoon’s Glacier Point Wilderness Safari! Skagway has a population of about 1200 year round and mostly caters to the tourist industry brought in by the cruise ships. We tendered over to the dock …
Glacier Bay
We woke up to clear skies and crisp air surround by amazing scenery. The ship picked up a National Park Ranger in Bartlett Cove and slowly made it’s way up Glacier Bay to Margerie Glacier where we paused for 30 minutes with the port side facing the glacier then turned and spent another 30 with starboard side facing. Many decks …
College Fjord
We woke up again to a sunny, but chilly morning. There were really verdant, rolling hills near the shore in front of a large mountain range. Fortified with coffees and some blankets we watched the scenery as the ship cruised up the sound toward College Fjord. Ice floes began appearing as we got closer to the fjord. The ship kept …
Anchorage
The ship docked in Whittier bright and early Sunday morning. We walked right off the ship and onto an Alaska Railroad train to Anchorage, about a 2 1/2 hour ride. This was our one and only opportunity for a bike ride in Alaska! We were delighted to have another beautiful day for that adventure. The timing was a little tight …
Denali
We had breakfast and an early lunch in Anchorage, and then boarded a bus to the train station to get on a five-hour ride to Denali National Park in a domed car. The views were amazing, and the narration covered not only the mountains and rivers that we were passing, but also a lot of history and tales of the …