Btimmer

Today's Tundra trip was very nice and we had spectacular weather to sight see in. Here are a few pictures. My blog is updated with much more detail. Mt Denali Faux vintage tourist car Cuteness Sled dog team ptarmigan

We had a very nice train ride to Denali with spectacular weather. Great views of the mountain from the train. It's totally clear this year compared to last year. Tomorrow is an early start for our Tundra tour. Denali our train car (we rode on Princess train cars up IMPORTANT TIP Consider eating over at the Princess Lodge or Village. We couldn't get in any of the HAL restaurants, but got right in to Fanny Q's (just like last year). Also Princess has a kid's menu. There's a free shuttle back and forth between the properties and the TWA food vouchers are good in either location.

Currently we're in the Anchorage Museum and Jakob's report is: "This is really cool" in response to all of the hands on exhibits. His favorite was the bubble creator.

I really prefer the inside passage route which leaves out of Vancouver. Plus it was the specific north bound itinerary we wanted. However I strongly prefer the southbound itinerary because we sail the inside passage in the daylight.

Yes, we saw them last August when we were there. The map display overlooking the town was impressive.

Thanks, we're trying. Here at the Captain Cook hotel, they have many murals and paintings and models about Captain Cook and he's absorbed all of it and we've been able to chat about it. We did much the same thing last year with his sister who was 11 at the time and she still has vivid memories of the trip and was super jealous of her brother taking the trip this year. It's been really good for them to be separated so they can absorb at their own pace and interest rate. Are you on the GSA in October on the Zaandam?

Barbara, for a 10 year old, Club Hal was perfect. Watching Glaciers and scenery would be super boring for a 10 year old. During the breaks, he would be quite interested in the wildlife sightings. In Glacier Bay, the afternoon session was spent with the park rangers and he completed his Jr Ranger badge workbook. Throughout the cruise he's participated with us in many cultural activities and one of his nightly reads was a book, Alaska Legends, which he totally enjoyed. Personally, I think it's on us to expose him to as much Alaska as we think he can absorb, and we feel we've done that in spades. It's not Club Hal's responsibility to do that.

I looked in both library locations and did not find a Book Exchange.

There is no charge for Club Hal.

Thank you. Every day has been full and we've missed a number of onboard events as our focus needed to be on ensuring Jakob has a great first cruise. Generally that has meant at least two pool times per day plus three Club Hal sessions (9-12, 1-4, & 7-10). He absolutely loved Club Hal as did his sister last year on the Noordam. I asked him yesterday if he would like to cruise again, and it was an emphatic yes but that he'd like his mother & sister along. He didn't think his dad could come because of work. His favorite things were in this order: the pool, ice cream 2x a day, and Club Hal.

We didn't request the sofa to be turned; Sarji, our stateroom attendant, initiated it. Yes, we had drop dead gorgeous weather and calm seas.

Below is our roughness indicator. These toothbrushes haven't fallen over the entire voyage.

I haven't noticed, but I'll try to look in the morning before we disembark. It's 11:30pm and we are just arriving in Whittier.

I should add that this is an obstructed view full size window that does not open. We are just aft of lifeboat 15.

I have now updated my blog through yesterday. I think you'll find it informative and has many more details about our past 4 days daily activities. This link is: https://timmer2023alaska.blogspot.com Enjoy! We are having a very flat sea in our final day cruising across the Gulf of Alaska on our way to the Hubbard Glacier which we'll reach around 8pm tonight. The internet has been quite good with download speeds in the 30-40mph s. I can't tell if it is Starlink or not and I have not spotted any Starlink antennas. Below is a picture of our stateroom taken from the window side facing the entry door. The small sofa unfolds and is Jakob's bed. It's worked quite well for us. The sofa is normally located under the picture on the left, but they rotated it for better stateroom access clearabnce at night.

Https://timmer2022du.blogspot.com

Here's a picture from the Rolling Stone Lounge last night. The lady singer on the left sang an amazing "I Will Always Love You".

Here's a picture from Billboard Onboard tonight. This duo (Victoria & Trey) is pretty good. It's been well attended all week.

We received our tiles today. They are very different from the prior ones.

For the most part our temperatures have been in the 60's & low 70's. I wore a T-shirt and shorts all day today in Glacier Bay although most passengers dressed like a snow storm just happened. Pack lightly but have layers available including rain gear (not just an umbrella). While I haven't used it, I have a compact down jacket with me. Cargo pants work well for me and one long sleeve travel shirt.

Here are a few more pictures from Glacier Bay. Sea Lions Another Jr Ranger pin Pretty rock face

Thanks for the clarification.

Here's not a bad view as we leave Glacier Bay.

Here's a cool short video taken from the park ranger boat this morning. I'll put in today's blog how I came about it. out_2023-07-28-12-02-34.mp4

I totally agree.