Btimmer

Here's a panorama at Marjorie Glacier which just calved.

BBKing is gone on all HAL ships. On the Noordam it's called the Rolling Stone Lounge and plays similar styles of music.

We had a wonderful day in Skagway! We took a city tour which was part of our travel group package which included a stop at the historic cemetery and a short hike hike to Lower Reid Falls (Jakob insisted on doing it) and a nice viewpoint of the city. Jakob also got his Jr. Ranger Pin by completing 15 activities in a workbook. In the afternoon we did an independent excursion to the Musher Camp where we rode a sled and held puppies (Jakob's highlight). There will be more detail when I write my daily blog on the next few days. As I write this, it's 6:30am and we are entering Glacier Bay where we will be all day. Below are a few pictures from today. our track Noordam in the middle, Disney Wonder in the foreground, and Discovery Princess in the background Lower Reid Falls Our Unimog transport vehicle up to musher camp thus salmon is having a bad day Tonight's towel animal (a sea turtle). Yes we have towel animals every night as well as chocolate ( we requested it ) 11 week old Saint (the current batch of puppies are named after PNW volcanoes) petting one of the sled dogs (we petted them all) Our team being sworn in as a Jr Ranger

As part of the "Almost Live" coverage, we are docked in Skagway and we lost power on the ship about ten minutes ago. Here's hoping we can still get off in a few minutes.

We used Juneauwhalewatch.com and we were on the newest of their large catamaran aluminum boats. We also used them last year on one of their smaller boats.

It was just clear and we were downwind at least 100 yards.

Today in Juneau we did a fantastic whale watching trip. We saw two full breeches and at least a dozen bubble feeds. The crowning "achievement " was smelling whale snot for the first time. It's pretty nasty.

We know all about making memories. We practiced with our kids and are perfecting it with our grandkids with cruises and RVing. 😉

We had a terrific time in Ketchikan. Jakob totally enjoyed the lumberjack show as did we. It was a great bargain at $39.95 for adults and a bit less for him. The Potlatch Park tour was also good. We found a couple of seals and a few salmon in Ketchikan; and on our sailaway, we passed a pod of orcas both of which pleased him no end. I spoke with an officer last night about our day one pool adventure, and he indicated that children are now banned from the aft pool and they lowered the water level. The water skimmer design of that pool has a design flaw of too narrow of a channel which permitted the type of incident that occurred to Jakob. I was also able to personally thank him for the kind gesture HAL provided Jakob after the incident. My daily updates are going to lag a few days until our last two sea days as we are up and going until 10:30pm. Finally, having the internet package and text messaging got real expensive yesterday. I received a text message from a friend about a new HAL cruise in 2024 that checks off visiting our last continent (Africa) on a favorite HAL ship the Volendam. 30 minutes later I had it booked. Stay tuned for more details. That's all for now at 4:30am, Thanks for following along. Tonight's towel animal (yes they are available along with chocolate upon request) a furry friend Rapt attention

Thanks! We're having a terrific time. The cruise is definitely Jakob approved. Here's the link to last year's NS cruise to Iceland and Greenland: HTTPS://timmercgi2022.blogspot.com

HTTPS://timmertd2022.blogspot.com

His dad is from Iowa and a cherished aunt & uncle live there. The sweatshirt does get a lot of attention.

Day 2 of my blog is posted. Here's a nice teaser picture.

No, but in that blank area to the right of the Hudson room they have installed the Explorations cafe and lots of tables towards the top of the blank area. There are a few book shelves in that area with more in the Crow's Nest.

Yes I saw a few books in the Explorations Cafe today.

No whale sightings yet.

There is a small library of books in the puzzle area in the crow's nest but nothing like the libraries of the past. BBKING is totally gone.

A few noticeable changes to the ship are: 1. BBKing is now the the Rolling Stone lounge and there are cute little tables. 2. Lincoln Center Stage is now the Explorer Lounge. The ship is sailing pretty full and there are significant lines in the Lido and challenging to find seating.

Here's a pano of our stateroom showing the setup for 3 people.

Here's a pano of our stateroom showing the setup for 3 people.

On the aft end of the aft pool there is a channel used to collect water. It was under water due to Canadian regulations (not US regulations) and large enough for his bent leg to slip into and get jammed in as he attempted to get out of the pool.

Today we began our 2023 northbound voyage on the Noordam. Our day was filled with a long bus ride, a long check in and border control process at Canada Place, excitement of a new cruiser, return to a familiar ship, and 15-20 minutes of sheer terror at the pool with our grandson. All the details are in my daily blog and the link is: https://timmer2023alaska.blogspot.com

We were never provided the name of the charter bus company. Our pick up location was the Courtyard by Marriott on the West Valley Highway next to Embassy Suites. Last year we used a commercial bus company to travel from Vancouver to Seattle and it was equally pleasant. Flix is the name.

On the charter bus in Tukwila for our 3 hour trip to Vancouver with a very happy first time cruiser.

That's good news. We board our charter bus in about 2 hours to drive 3 hours to Vancouver BC.