Alaska cruise and land review June10th-17th

[shutterbug285]

 

 

 

unfortunately it was time to head back but as we were leaving.......

 

[phillyjavagirl]

Thanks so much for these pictures! They're getting me so excited for my Alaska trip! I'm leaving for Vancouver tomorrow, so I'm a little sad I won't be able to catch all your photos before I leave! We'll see if I can find free wifi in Vancouver ... :)

[shutterbug285]

so we head back to the lodge

 

 

and the sentry is waiting for our return

 

On our way back we are talking to another couple. they live in Florida. We find out that they had the same problem with their dinner seating. I told them I was having trouble eating that late. He looked shocked, they had gotten their meals free in the pay restaurants!!. He told us to go back to the service desk and tell them that we wanted the same thing. ( which is ultimately what we did.) A little aside here: I was a little ticked off that because we didn't make a big scene we got swept under the rug. OK dismounting my high horse. grin

 

back to the tour

we pick up our lunch. and brain loads us all in the van. We see lots of bear poop on the road. Brain explain there are more bears than humans on the island approx two and a half times as many. Brain is not a native. He came here several years ago for a summer job and never left. When asked if it was hard to fit in here, he replied that it takes a while but if you do what you say you will and mean what you say they accept you. You can tell how much he likes it here by how he speaks of his island

 

 

 

 

the scenery is quite pretty as we drive along. but its difficult to get a shot because of the reflection in the glass. Brain tried hard to find us a bear. He takes this little path and OH MY there is a bear really big one. Brain figures he would stand about 7 1/2 to 8 feet weighing in at about 850lbs. He unfortunately takes off as soon as he sees us ......so no photo

 

Next Brian takes us to a spot where we can have our food. He tells us to wait for a second and gets out of the van to check the area.

 

all clear. and being that it 2;00 we are all starving. the sandwiches are great! thanks Hope

 

 

so we eat and stretch our legs. all under Brian's watchful eye. He has a cool looking camo gun slung over his shoulder just in case. He said he has had to use it a couple times but just to make noise to scare the bear away.

 

We head back and no more bear sightings. It seemed to bother Brian that he couldn't find us another bear. but i had a great time and so did the rest of our tour. He took us to a spot with a pretty view before we went back.

[shutterbug285]

He used to live in a house behind us. I would love to have this view every morning

 

 

 

 

We do a little shopping and take the tender back to the ship. I can highly recommend this trip!!! and I loved icy strait, a regular Alaskan town

[shutterbug285]

Thanks so much for these pictures! They're getting me so excited for my Alaska trip! I'm leaving for Vancouver tomorrow, so I'm a little sad I won't be able to catch all your photos before I leave! We'll see if I can find free wifi in Vancouver ... :)

 

 

I'm happy to share them:)

I'm sure you will have a great time!! I dont think there is such a thing as a bad trip to alaska? feel free to ask any questions

[silversalmon]

Thanks for the great review and pictures Lisa.

I'm just over 2 weeks away from my sailing on thr Radiance starting July 22nd and I too will be going whale watching and bear searching thru Misty Bay Lodge. From your accounts Cpt. Dan and Hope both sound just as friendly in person as they are over the phone!

Did you have any trouble getting onto the first tender? I've read somewhere on one of these boards that they hold the first seats for pax who are booked thru the cruise line for shore excursions at Icy Strait.

 

Steve

[shutterbug285]

Thanks for the great review and pictures Lisa.

I'm just over 2 weeks away from my sailing on thr Radiance starting July 22nd and I too will be going whale watching and bear searching thru Misty Bay Lodge. From your accounts Cpt. Dan and Hope both sound just as friendly in person as they are over the phone!

Did you have any trouble getting onto the first tender? I've read somewhere on one of these boards that they hold the first seats for pax who are booked thru the cruise line for shore excursions at Icy Strait.

 

Steve

 

They do annouce that but we went down there and waited. there was plenty of room plus they have three tenders, and as soon as one is full the next one pulls up. The time to shore is only about three minutes so I wouldn't worry at all, you"ll have no trouble.

Hope and Dan are as friendly as can be. and hopefully Brian will drive you on the search. say hello for me. and bring lots of memory and batteries

you will enjoy these excursions

[shutterbug285]

We get back to the ship and stop by the service desk, we are told we are more than welcome to dine at the pay venues, just tell the waiter to call the desk if there are questions. Yeah! dinner at a reasonable hour. We stop by the samba grill to make reservations and go upstairs and freshen up. I thought the food was great in there. It had what was called a sides bar, side dishes served buffet style. Everything I tried was quite good. note.... the focus is definitely on the meat, there is a gaucho that brings around different cuts of meat... beef, chicken,lamb all excellent but if you lean toward the vegetarian side................ I am a happy carnivore, I thoroughly enjoyed this restaurant

 

We went to the show after. A piano man revue,I really enjoyed it. Great performances from the singers and dancers. The whole show was very well done. tomorrow Juneau

[shutterbug285]

 

coming into Juneau was very foggy as you see and it was raining. a few days had started this way, little foggy slightly rainy

 

 

 

We are going hiking today, planned on doing the east loop and nugget falls at Mendenhall. We were also going to try perseverance trail . After breakfast we leave the ship and get tickets for the bus to Mendenhall Glacier. Its raining but lightly.

 

 

[shutterbug285]

Mendenhall glacier

 

 

we start down the trail to nugget falls. There is a big section of rock that you can scramble up................ lets see do we take the easy way or......

 

 

nah lets take the hard way

 

 

so we scramble over the rocks to the top, let me warn you getting up is easier than getting down especially when its raining. Having good hikers were a definite plus.

 

 

 

alpine lupine

 

[Bigduff14]

WHat cruise tour did you do?

[shutterbug285]

Its raining now, no longer lightly so i switch to my waterproof camera and tuck my dslr in my rain jacket and cover the backpack with the waterproof cover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jennat]

ok pictures are too big

 

lets try this

 

 

 

can't seem to be able to make them smaller.. suggestions?

 

 

 

 

 

When you upload them to photo bucket you chose the size....to resize them you have to do it individually through the edit on each pic

They are working fine for me......I wouldn't worry about it

 

You pics are amazing.....my list to send me is increasing.

What is Bud doing to that tree?

 

Great report....wish I had been there,,,,,oh wait.....I was! ;)

[shutterbug285]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and just in case these icebergs look small to you

 

[shutterbug285]

When you upload them to photo bucket you chose the size....to resize them you have to do it individually through the edit on each pic

They are working fine for me......I wouldn't worry about it

 

You pics are amazing.....my list to send me is increasing.

What is Bud doing to that tree?

 

Great report....wish I had been there,,,,,oh wait.....I was! ;)

 

 

He is marveling at how huge these tree's are. lol brat!!

 

and for anyone interested jen has a fabulous review of her own. Its also very amusing to read, she has a great sense of humor

you can read it here

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1434211

[jennat]

He is marveling at how huge these tree's are. lol brat!!

 

and for anyone interested jen has a fabulous review of her own. Its also very amusing to read, she has a great sense of humor

you can read it here

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1434211

 

Yeah right! Likely story

 

Seriously, your review is awesome (although you didn't talk enough about the incredible people you met on your Icy Straight tour...they sounded super cool by the very little you said about them)

I can't believe how incredible your pictures are. I truly didn't give the camera the mourning it deserved when it met it's ultimate demise. Can't wait to read and see more....get busy!

[Chelly]

Absolutely Spectacular photos!!! Thank you so much for sharing them and your review with us. I'll be sailing to Alaska in just over three weeks. Your photos have added to my excitement.

C

[gangof 5]

where in Vancouver are the trees? They look very unusual and I would love to spend some time seeing them after our cruise.

[jennat]

where in Vancouver are the trees? They look very unusual and I would love to spend some time seeing them after our cruise.

 

They are in Stanley Park easily accessed from Downtown Vancouver

[Deb in Cali]

Shutterbug,

 

If you think that the trees in Stanley Park are big, then you need to come to visit me. I will take you to Mariposa Grove in Yosemite or to the Giant Forest in Sequoia. "My trees" will make them look like babies. I am serious, I live one hour from Yosemite to the North and one hour from Sequoia to the East. I also know of some secret pockets of Sequoias that only the locals know about.

 

Your photos are wonderful. I don't think that I want to hear about the demise of the camera that has taken these awesome pictures. I hope that you had insurance on it, so that you can go right out and buy another one. Many people can take a decent picture, but you have a special gift. Both of my brothers are professional photographers.

 

Deb

Edited July 6, 2011 by Deb in Cali

[shutterbug285]

WHat cruise tour did you do?

 

We did the northbourd cruise on the radiance of the seas. The land portion on our own

[shutterbug285]

Shutterbug,

 

If you think that the trees in Stanley Park are big, then you need to come to visit me. I will take you to Mariposa Grove in Yosemite or to the Giant Forest in Sequoia. "My trees" will make them look like babies. I am serious, I live one hour from Yosemite to the North and one hour from Sequoia to the East. I also know of some secret pockets of Sequoias that only the locals know about.

 

Your photos are wonderful. I don't think that I want to hear about the demise of the camera that has taken these awesome pictures. I hope that you had insurance on it, so that you can go right out and buy another one. Many people can take a decent picture, but you have a special gift. Both of my brothers are professional photographers.

 

Deb

 

Yosemite and Sequoia national park, actually is next on my bucket list!

When I get there I would love to see the secret grove. I thought of that when I was in Stanley Park, trying to imagine how awe struck I would seeing a sequoia

 

Thank you very much, that means alot. I love taking pictures, trying to capture these places as I see them. I guess I want people to see through my eyes for a moment. Does that make any sense? Would love to be a professional photographer.

Edited July 6, 2011 by shutterbug285

[jennat]

Yosemite and Sequoia national park, actually is next on my bucket list!

When I get there I would love to see the secret grove. I thought of that when I was in Stanley Park, trying to imagine how awe struck I would seeing a sequoia

 

Thank you very much, that means alot. I love taking pictures, trying to capture these places as I see them. I guess I want people to see through my eyes for a moment. Does that make any sense? Would love to be a professional photographer.

 

We just got back from Sequoia and Yosemite in May. Loved it! My number one tip: rent a convertible! Stuff there is BIG!

[shutterbug285]

I haven't forgotten about my review. I promise I will continue. Wednesday and Thursdays are longs days for me. Please bear with me :). No pun intented.

[TravelWise101]

Thank you for sharing your lovely photos!

Enjoyed the comments.