Ken the cruiser

Day 5 - May 4 - Skagway, Alaska

And we’re off! Next stop Skagway, Alaska early tomorrow morning!

After another tasty dinner in the Reserve Dining Room, we went to an enrichment lecture presented by Pete Griffin. Then we were off to the theater to watch the evening show entitled My Journey to Broadway with singer Krystal Washington, one of the production cast singers.

Thanks! All I have is an iPhone SE. But I have found if I take a bunch of pictures, I can usually can find a few that will work. On our Otter, Eagle and Whale excursion yesterday, I took over 580 photos! 😂

Just curious, if Skagway was replaced with Sitka on May 1 (according to Cruise Mapper itinerary below), we were wondering why you were still anchored in Sitka the next day as well, May 2, when we arrived on the Grand Princess Wednesday morning at the northern Sitka pier? According to their below posted schedule, which of course could be wrong, you were supposed to be cruising the Tracy Arm Fjord on May 3. I’m just curious. 😁

Here’s our Skagway excursion for tomorrow where we meet in the theater at 7 am tomorrow morning. That means we have to eat breakfast in the buffet! 😱

Had a fun time on our excursion today. First we headed to the Glacier Gardens Rainforest that took about 15 minutes from the ship to drive there. When we got there after a short introduction about their upside down trees, we hopped on a 16-passenger open-air shuttle that took us to the top of the forested garden area. At the top there was a vista viewpoint to take some photos of the surrounding area. Stellar Jay looking out over Gastineau Channel. Then we headed back down the mountain where we spent about 20 minutes relaxing in a greenhouse-like setting. Some folks just hung out and looked at the flowers while others either had a quick snack or checked out the gift shop. Then we headed to Mendenhall Glacier and were given about 90 minutes to check out the area, which worked out just fine. Barclay’s Willow Blossoms While we were waiting for our tour bus to pick us up, a fun thing happened. A Porcupine decided to cross the road near us to have a little bite to eat. As you might imagine, there were quite a few folks including us that wanted to watch! 😁 Then it was time to head back to the ship. After we got back and had an afternoon snack up at the buffet, we headed to the cabin to relax and watch life pass us by for a while. 😁 Black-legged Kittiwaks and Herring Gulls flying around behind the ship.

We have arrived in Juneau!

Thanks! We’re going to go to Guest Relations, thanks to @Nikulai, this evening to get on the notification list. This way we’ll hopefully at least have a better chance of seeing them if they appear again. Update: Just called Guest Relations and we’re on the List! 🕺💃🏻 Tonight and maybe even tomorrow, as we will be farther north in Skagway, is looking pretty good! 🤞

Good morning as we approach Juneau as we enter into Stephen’s Passage! And another pretty day! 😁

Here’s what we will be doing in Juneau!

Day 4 - May 3 - Juneau, Alaska

And we’re off. Next stop Juneau, Alaska tomorrow morning! After a tasty dinner in the Reserve Dining Room, we headed to the theater to listen to a variety of popular songs sung by Travis Turpin! Then it was time to head to the Explorers Lounge to participate in a very funny Murder Mystery Music Trivia. Then it was back to the cabin! However, with all the clouds, I don’t think there will be any visible Northern Lights tonight!

Then it was time to board our sightseeing vessel and head out! This is what the vessel looked from a distance. Herring Gull Bald Eagles flying over us. Bald Eagle sitting on a sign admiring Mount Edgecumbe which is a dormant volcano. Stellar Sea Lions Raft of Sea Otters wrapped up in some kelp. A sea otter came out to say hi! Bald Eagle nest Now we’re headed to a cove where there are eight Gray Whales which turned out to be the highlight of the excursion!! If you look real close, there is a small Sea Star on the right side of the photo. Annahootz Mountain Then it was time to head back to the ship! What an awesome excursion we would recommend to anyone that was thing about booking it! 😁

What a day to go on such an awesome excursion! We started off getting in a bus and driving south for about 15 minutes to the southern part of Sitka, where the main part of town is located. HAL Nieuw Amsterdam anchored off the southern part of Sitka, which was not scheduled to stop in Sitka on their itinerary. A couple of Bald Eagles flying over the bear rescue center. Bald Eagle Golden Eagle Peregrine Falcon who is very proud of his fancy wings! Great Horned Owl Bald Eagle Another Holden Eagle