Joelocal

Formal nights are Sunday and Thursday. Prime rib Wednesday. Visiting Glacier Bay today on board. Very picturesque. We stopped and went backwards to see a black bear on the shoreline. For those of us who have lived in the mountains we have seen these up close. I tried to attach photos of glacier. The medallionet wifi is unable to upload photos. FAILED. Finally saw some blue sky today. Just a small patch. First blue sky since Vancouver. Haven't used sun glasses since last Saturday.

Purple, an obscure Christmas song to look up, Pretty Purple Snowflakes By Marvin Gaye

Congratulations back at you Purple. 1972 was a great year!

Excursion report Yesterday at Juneau our niece and husband went on a whale watching trip. They got the trip of a lifetime. They got to see a whale bubbling event. This is when several whales will go down and create confusion on a school of anchovies with bubbles, then come to the surface and eat mouthfuls. The outfitters that ran the trip said it is a rare event to witness. Some had never seen it. Some of those whales have not eaten since Hawaii. It's time to put on the feed bag. Poor lowly anchovy. Everything eats anchovies, whales, fish, and birds, even people. Today they went on the White Pass Railroad trip in Skagway. We went on this excursion on our last trip to Alaska. I highly recommend watching the YouTube video of the opening scene of the movie Music Man. Rock Island. railroad scene. This train looks like it was in the movie.

It felt like a lot of people in town. 4 ships. Had to walk on the street a few times because the sidewalks were crowded. We came back to the ship and went to the uncrowded buffet.

Brew pub crawl cut short. Klondike brewing we were out back by ourselves. We then went to Skagway brewing. Waited for 5 minutes then were told we could go upstairs. We got up there and my sister asked if I was comfortable being there. My response was "Looks like covid central to me" . We all agreed and left immediately. Crowded and no masks. Here is my reasoning. We've got 10 days left. I would take the risk if I was home, but I don't want to mess up my vacation being in isolation

No tender. No rock slide. We walked into town. Doing a brew pub crawl today Cheechako amber lager. Klondike brewing company

All the main dining rooms are 5 to 9 pm

OK, it's time for a little humor. Yesterday my niece and her husband were in the gym area doing a class on yoga stretching. Of course during one of the leg lifting exercises someone tooted. They looked at each other with that "What?" look. So I asked them if they said anything? Nope. Of course these things happen in life. So I have some suggested short retorts for your use if this occurs in your presence depending on the situation. It's OK lady, I'll take the blame. From Ernest goes to camp. " Eggs erroneous. Made with 37 herbs and spices" A more sophisticated response. " People of our prestige do not have to put up with this odorous abuse"

This afternoon my wife and I had a couples message. It was gifted to us by my sister for our 50th wedding anniversary that's coming up in October. This trip is part of our Magical Mystery Tour for this year as we have several trips done and more planned. We have been truly blessed in our lives. The most important being our health. We are still very much in love. The messages were fantastic. I even started to snore. Anyway, we are having a great cruise. Relaxation at it's finest. On the balcony watching the Alaska coastline.

It was a light drizzle at Ketchikan today. I did a power walk to Safeway and purchased some apricots $3.99/pound, peaches and nectarines $1.97. All were ripe. The season is short and these are my favorite. They have peaches aboard, but picked green, very hard and not flavorful. Not Princess's fault. They just get what they get when they order. The rest of the gang went on a walk downtown to purchase trinkets. Enjoyed a nice lunch at the buffet. Not sure what time the doors open at Concerto for dinner as we eat later. App works fine now. Messaging to others in our group and locating where they are on the ship works too.

It was a light drizzle at Ketchikan today. I did a power walk to Safeway and purchased some apricots $3.99/pound, peaches and nectarines $1.97. All were ripe. The season is short and these are my favorite. They have peaches aboard, but picked green, very hard and not flavorful. Not Princess's fault. They just get what they get when they order. The rest of the gang went on a walk downtown to purchase trinkets. Enjoyed a nice lunch at the buffet. Not sure what time the doors open at Concerto for dinner as we eat later. App works fine now. Messaging to others in our group and locating where they are on the ship works too.

Yes, logging out of the medallion app a day back in solved the problem. It would have been nice if Princess would post this on the medallion app. Thanks nw.

When I post replies, I have to wait awhile to actually post them. We are dining in the Concerto

Thanks, I think there is an advantage to cruising first before land package. Everyone has been tested. Everyone is wearing masks. Haven't seen anyone coughing or sickly looking. Just wish the temperature would be warmer. Had to hold onto our hats on the walk around this morning. Would be nice to lounge around outside. Not today. People were all bundled up last night watching movies under the stars.

Weather was nice at Vancouver. It has been windy and cold since we left port. Now have rain. Rain predicted for tomorrow at Ketchikan.

2009 cruisers on a ship for 3500. It appears that way too. The crew is great. Princess and the crew are putting their best effort into making this an enjoyable cruise. So far the food has been excellent in the main dining room. Wait staff are really friendly and attentive. Only complaint on the ship so far is this Medallion app. It's no good. Period! It will lock up on your phone reading "Loading" with this annoying little circle spinning around that will stay there forever until you exit the medallion app.

If you can get TSA pre-approved it will save you time. Especially at SFO. Embarkation Flying into Vancover you have to wear a mask the entire flight. And the entire time until you board the ship.. When you get to Vancouver you go through customs. Keep your passport out you will need it several times the first day. Also have your negative test results handy. Once you get your luggage and exit the area, Princess people are right there. They will take your luggage and the next time you will see it is in your room. Bus ride to the cruise terminal takes about 40 minutes on city streets. Could be longer depending on the day At the terminal it's getting checked in and going through Customs again. They have self serve kiosks to enter your information. They were doing two ships at the same time. Once you got done you went to the left or right to your ship. Then through Princess security and finally on the ship. The whole process was orderly, but took time. It could have taken longer, especially if you have to get tested by Princess. Or if you don't have your medallion and everything filled out on the app. Pretty exhausting day. Note: Before we left we were able to get our Covid vaccine cards and negative covid tests uploaded to the medallion app. The vaccine cards we approved. The negative test results never changed from pending. Make sure you have a paper copy to bring along