Ken the cruiser

Thanks! We’re actually planning to do both of those, but weren’t aware of the trails up top. We noticed the tram was near where the Grand was docked last week, so we figured no need to book an excursion for that. As far as the 26-glacier cruise, we actually have that one booked through Princess. We realize it was a little cheaper if we booked it directly, as the tour boat will be right next to where the Grand will be. But since we recently made Elite, we get a 10% discount booking excursions through Princess, so it was pretty much a wash.

Here’s our updated itinerary for the second leg of our cruise. Basically, we’re not going on any excursions when we are in Juneau, as our Juneau excursion on the first leg pretty much checked the box of places we wanted to see there. 8-Day Inside Passage 14-Day Voyage of the Glaciers Date Destination Arrive Depart Date Destination Arrive Depart 4/29 Fly to Vancouver BC 10:30 PM 5/8 Port of Vancouver 7:30 AM 4:00 PM Fairmont Hotel 5/9 Inside Passage 4/30 Port of Vancouver 9:30 AM 4:00 PM 5/10 Ketchikan AK 6:00 AM 2:00 PM 5/1 Johnstone Strait 5/11 Juneau AK 8:00 AM 9:00 PM 5/2 Sitka AK 10:00 AM 6:00 PM 5/12 Skagway AK 7:00 AM 8:30 PM 5/3 Juneau AK 8:00 AM 9:00 PM 5/13 Glacier Bay NP 6:00 AM 3:00 PM 5/4 Skagway AK 7:00 AM 8:30 PM 5/14 College Fjord 6:00 PM 8:30 PM 5/5 Glacier Bay NP 6:00 AM 3:00 PM 5/15 Whittier AK 12:30 AM 8:30 PM 5/6 Ketchikan AK 9:00 AM 6:00 PM 5/16 Hubbard Glacier 3:00 PM 8:00 PM 5/7 Inside Passage 5/17 Glacier Bay NP 9:15 AM 7:30 PM 5/8 Port of Vancouver 7:30 AM 4:00 PM 5/18 Skagway AK 7:00 AM 8:30 PM 5/19 Juneau AK 6:30 AM 4:00 PM 5/20 Ketchikan AK 10:00 AM 6:00 PM 5/21 Inside Passage 5/22 Port of Vancouver 7:30 AM Fairmont Hotel 3:00 PM 5/23 Fly Home 9:15 AM

Cool! According to the Cruise Mapper Port Schedule, the Majestic arrives at 3 am and departs the following morning at 2 am. That seems kind of an odd time to leave a port.

Day 9 - May 8 - In Transit Day

We agree. We’re just getting settled in after 7 days.😂

We have arrived back in Vancouver!!

OK. Now I’m really confused. But that’s OK. We’re going to Glacier Bay two more times on this next leg, so I’ll have listen a little closer next time. But what you’re saying is that the Grand Pacific Glacier is on the right of this picture and the Margerie Glacier is the one on the left.

Same here! Have a safe trip home!

For future reference it takes about 24.5 hours to cruise from Ketchikan to the entrance of the northern entrance of Johnstone Strait. Once we reached the Strait, the naturalist mentioned over the TV Cam channel that he saw one humpback whale on the port side, which of course we never saw while sitting on our aft balcony, and that was it for whale sightings. But we did see a lot of beautiful scenery along the way, just not any wildlife other than a gull flying off in the distance and the photo of a whale I posted earlier. This is the trail of the Grand after making the S-turn into the Johnstone Strait. I came back inside at 8:45 pm as it started to get chilly, even though we were less than half the way through the Strait. I guess we’ll just have to wait to hopefully see the Johnstone Strait Orcas on our May 21 ”cruise by” on the way back between Ketchikan and Vancouver! Like I’ve said before, for us it’s all about the “hunt”. This time the hunt provided some beautiful scenery! 😁

This afternoon we went to the Vista Lounge to listen to Pete Griffin’s last lecture for this leg of the cruise. Then we headed back to the cabin to enjoy the radiant heat from the sun on the balcony until it’s time for dinner. We even saw what we believe was a whale off in the distance! 😁 After dinner we decided to pass on going to the Variety and game shows tonight to get ready to go through the very narrow Johnstone Strait, which shouldn’t be long now, where we will hopefully see some wildlife enjoying their evening meal! 🤞

Yes there is.

If I’m understanding you correctly, the “dirty rock wall” glacier on the left is the Grand Pacific Glacier and the “cleaner” glacier on the right is the Margerie Glacier. According to Wikipedia they were joined in 1992, but in 2004 the Grand Pacific Glacier receded to the point making them two separate glaciers. Thanks for keeping me straight! 😁 This photo I downloaded from the internet when I searched on Grand Pacific Glacier, which is roughly the same picture as mine on a clearer day. It’s amazing what one can see on a clear day! 😂

Yes, you can find them in the Meridian Bay store on deck 7.

No, it’s only held there for breakfast on transition day. We’ve been dining this entire cruise in the starboard side of the Da Vinci dining room.

Now it’s time to get reading to go through Johnstone Strait in a little while. And there is plenty of blue sky to watch for Orcas and whales as well as any other resident wildlife we are lucky enough to see as we pass through there after lunch! That’s the Zaandam off in the distance which will be following us through the Strait. Here is some wildlife information about Johnstone Strait. Johnstone Strait is home to the largest resident pod of killer whales (orcas) in the world, with a population of approximately 200 whales. There is no better place to view these amazing marine mammals. In addition to the orcas that can be viewed around Robson Bight, Johnstone Strait offers up a wide variety of other marine life, including minke, humpback and grey whales, Pacific white sided dolphins, harbour porpoises, Dall’s porpoises, harbour seals and Steller’s sea lions. Bald eagles and an abundance of seabirds will also be encountered in the area. https://vancouverisland.com/plan-your-trip/regions-and-towns/vancouver-island-bc-islands/johnstone-strait/