First Star Legend Alaska cruise live-ish.

The first Alaska cruise starts today. I'm not taking the wifi package but I'll try to post here when we are in port. Others on the cruise are welcome to join in.

 

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Thank you so much. We are doing the June 12 (starting land tour the 8th). Looking forward to your posts!

 

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Following as well. Thank you for posting when you can.:)

The crossing from Japan was relaxing but with more activities than I expected. Meals were in Amphora after our last Japan port because it was too cold for the Veranda.

 

Part of the expedition crew boarded early. Much of the day, they kept a look out for wildlife. Several times, the Star Legend stopped (or even went back a bit so we could whale watch). I saw sperm whales, killer whales, fin whales and a humpback whale.

 

The Pacific was kind to us & obeyed it's name for once. The first couple of days out of Japan, we had up to 2 meter seas. Then it went almost flat for most of the crossing. The last two days, it picked back up to around 2 meters.

 

Light rain on & off in Seward now.

 

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Thanks New_Cruiser.

Enjoy your Alaskan adventure.

Hope to hear more.

Thanks for the update! Looking forward to hearing more.

Thanks for posting during your trip. Looking forward to your updates.

Today in Seward, O strolled along the path by the shore hoping to see sea otters. No luck there.

 

After picking up the boarding pass for a Major Marine boat tour, I had lunch at Chinooks - halibut sandwich with salad and an apple ale. Very yummy. And a pair of sea otters showed up swimming in the lanes between boats so I got to see them while dining.

 

Then I boarded Orca Song for an Orca Quest. (It seems "watch" on a tour means sightings are almost guaranteed, and "quest" means sightings are less certain.) Today, our quest was successful. We had a brief glimpse of a pair (probably mammal eating "migratory" Orcas). 4 fish eating "resident" orcas stuck around for a more extended observation.

 

We also saw humbacks & harbor seals.

 

Then back on board to start the Alaska cruise.

 

I'm scheduled for both kayaking an zodiac tomorrow in Kenai Fjords.

 

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Really nice of you to post your experiences. Thanks. Happy Sailing.

Thanks for posting updates. We go in August and are looking forward to hearing about the trip.

Today in Seward, O strolled along the path by the shore hoping to see sea otters. No luck there.

 

After picking up the boarding pass for a Major Marine boat tour, I had lunch at Chinooks - halibut sandwich with salad and an apple ale. Very yummy. And a pair of sea otters showed up swimming in the lanes between boats so I got to see them while dining.

 

Then I boarded Orca Song for an Orca Quest. (It seems "watch" on a tour means sightings are almost guaranteed, and "quest" means sightings are less certain.) Today, our quest was successful. We had a brief glimpse of a pair (probably mammal eating "migratory" Orcas). 4 fish eating "resident" orcas stuck around for a more extended observation.

 

We also saw humbacks & harbor seals.

 

Then back on board to start the Alaska cruise.

 

I'm scheduled for both kayaking an zodiac tomorrow in Kenai Fjords.

 

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Really interested to hear about the zodiacs. We've booked 3 over the 2 weeks and wondering if it's too many.

 

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New_cruiser,

 

DH and I will be on Legend June 12. We would love to hear how far into Kenai Fjords you sail, and what you see. We’re debating a trip in there with one of the local companies before the cruise.

It's been less live than I'd hoped. Signal at Icy Strait Point was too weak & I hadn't thought to post when I was in town (Hoonah). There was wifi in the restaurant on shore, but I was back on board when I realized it. People with AT&T had no trouble in Haines, but my Verizon phone showed strong signal but no service there. I didn't seem out one of the wifi places.

 

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We are now in Juneau. I'll try to post more when I return to the ship.

 

In Kenai Fjords, we parked opposite Aialik Glacier. I took both a kayak tour & a zodiac tour. In the kayaks, we got quite close to the glacier (perhaps a quarter mile away) and the beach to the left of it. We had plenty of time to watch calving. We saw seals on the sea ice.

 

On the zodiac sign, we again got close to the glacier and to the shore on the right side of it. We saw a mountain goat low on the montain-side and a black bear on the shore very close.

 

The morning zodiacs saw more bears and the newborn kid with the goat along with a very rare sighting of a wolverine stalking the kid. The wolverine wasn't successful, but in the afternoon we found the kid in the water (it may have fallen due to the wolverine).

 

I also kayaked in Endicott. The ship got to within a mile & a half of the glacier. The kayaks and zodiacs again got very close. We saw harbor porpoises and seals as well as various sea birds.

 

The support of the crew for getting in and out of the zodiacs and of the expedition team for transferring from zodiac to kayak is excellent. I felt very safe as a novice.

 

One of the safety boats provided a snack of hot cocoa and cookies for kayaks. I didn't take the cocoa but the cookies were good.

 

I'd encourage taking the kayak if you feel at all inclined & the zodiac if the kayak seems too challenging.

 

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Sounds wonderful. We are totally excited and really appreciate the post.

 

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Wow! It sounds like a fantastic cruise! Wish I could see what the handicap cabins are like because my friend needs one. I am fully abled and would love to do the kayaking!

Sounds like WS has another winner in Alaska. That is great. Thank you new cruiser great reading. Have loved your posts.

We are now in Juneau. I'll try to post more when I return to the ship.

 

In Kenai Fjords, we parked opposite Aialik Glacier. I took both a kayak tour & a zodiac tour. In the kayaks, we got quite close to the glacier (perhaps a quarter mile away) and the beach to the left of it. We had plenty of time to watch calving. We saw seals on the sea ice.

 

On the zodiac sign, we again got close to the glacier and to the shore on the right side of it. We saw a mountain goat low on the montain-side and a black bear on the shore very close.

 

The morning zodiacs saw more bears and the newborn kid with the goat along with a very rare sighting of a wolverine stalking the kid. The wolverine wasn't successful, but in the afternoon we found the kid in the water (it may have fallen due to the wolverine).

 

I also kayaked in Endicott. The ship got to within a mile & a half of the glacier. The kayaks and zodiacs again got very close. We saw harbor porpoises and seals as well as various sea birds.

 

The support of the crew for getting in and out of the zodiacs and of the expedition team for transferring from zodiac to kayak is excellent. I felt very safe as a novice.

 

One of the safety boats provided a snack of hot cocoa and cookies for kayaks. I didn't take the cocoa but the cookies were good.

 

I'd encourage taking the kayak if you feel at all inclined & the zodiac if the kayak seems too challenging.

 

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Sounds fantastic, we have 2 zodiac trips booked!

 

 

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Wow! It sounds like a fantastic cruise! Wish I could see what the handicap cabins are like because my friend needs one. I am fully abled and would love to do the kayaking!

We have tendered at two ports now. Haines & Juneau. Not sure why we tendered in Haines. To get two the tenders, excursions start at Compass Rose and go down 3 flights of stairs to loading stages in the marina. It's the same for loAding zodiacs & kayaks. Coming back or getting to tenders when not on an excursion, it is 2 flights up or down, respectively from the show lounge.

 

I don't know if they have an alternative path for those who need to limit stairs. There are 4 or 5 steps down into the tender cabin after boarding the tender.

 

 

 

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We have tendered at two ports now. Haines & Juneau. Not sure why we tendered in Haines. To get two the tenders, excursions start at Compass Rose and go down 3 flights of stairs to loading stages in the marina. It's the same for loAding zodiacs & kayaks. Coming back or getting to tenders when not on an excursion, it is 2 flights up or down, respectively from the show lounge.

 

I don't know if they have an alternative path for those who need to limit stairs. There are 4 or 5 steps down into the tender cabin after boarding the tender.

 

 

 

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Yeah I saw the tendering on the Juneau webcam. Strange because there were open docks

We have tendered at two ports now. Haines & Juneau. Not sure why we tendered in Haines. To get two the tenders, excursions start at Compass Rose and go down 3 flights of stairs to loading stages in the marina. It's the same for loAding zodiacs & kayaks. Coming back or getting to tenders when not on an excursion, it is 2 flights up or down, respectively from the show lounge.

 

I don't know if they have an alternative path for those who need to limit stairs. There are 4 or 5 steps down into the tender cabin after boarding the tender.

 

 

 

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One other note relevant to handicaps & stairs. The Gulf or Alaska was pretty rough when we left Kenai Fjords. They shut down the elevators because of the motion causing some problem with using them. They were offline all evening and perhaps part of the morning.

 

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Yeah I saw the tendering on the Juneau webcam. Strange because there were open docks

A 4th big ship came in before we left. I think there are just 4 docks for bigger ships.

 

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We were on Breeze (sister ship) out of Lisbon and and it was pretty bouncy. That first night we could not sleep for being tossed from one side to the other. We are supposed to sail on Legend from Alaska to Tokyo in Sept and we are concerned that we will

 

a. never sleep

 

b. never shower (all that bouncing!!)

 

It sounds like you were lucky on the crossing. The Pacific has a bad rep but I really wanted to sail the Aleutians. Have not paid the final yet so any suggestions are welcome. I thought there were too many gaps in the hand rails, like from the hall on 5 to the center stairwell. First night out, a food tray full of dishes crashed in the dining room. They never had to stop the elevators though.

 

What kind of activities were there? There were almost none on Breeze. 7 days at sea are a lot.

One other note relevant to handicaps & stairs. The Gulf or Alaska was pretty rough when we left Kenai Fjords. They shut down the elevators because of the motion causing some problem with using them. They were offline all evening and perhaps part of the morning.

 

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If you get a chance please let us know what you're hearing about excursions. We are signed up for many (probably too many) and really curious about what people are experiencing. And thank you so much for sharing. It is really appreciated.

 

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Thank you for all of the updates and info. We have signed up for both Kayaks and Zodiacs on the same itinerary in August. Sounds like it will be amazing.