Westerdam Alaska Review 6/27-7/4

[Tiffany18]

sorry guys... currently typing the next part. Boy life has not slowed down since I came back from vacation!

[Geonerd]

Thanks for the great review. I'm from Austin and will be doing Glacier Bay/inside passage on Princess next month.

Steve

[Tiffany18]

Sitka 7am-3:30pm

 

I think I could honestly live in Sitka or Ketchikan. I’m sure everyone knows that it is supposed to be where the movie ‘The Proposal’ takes place but it wasn’t filmed there. It is however just as cute as the movie makes it out to be. Since we did a whale watching tour we only saw the area within walking distance of the ship. This was a tender port for us but it went very smoothly. We were supposed to meet our tour at 11am so we took our time getting off the ship. Sitka is so different from the typical cruise ship port. No Diamonds international, no bamboo fabric store, none of that. They all seemed to be just local stores. The welcome center had clean restrooms and an information desk of course. There was a room that had a few dog sledding dogs in it! (sorry don’t know if there is an official name for them)

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I believe it was set up for donations but you could go in there, pet/play with them, take pics etc. We didn’t go in but it really made me miss my dog at home! I heard the lady tell someone that one of them was part wolf! We walked through the building and on the other side you exited into a town square type area. There were benches and this is where there were several people offering tours and also where other tours were meeting. Not a huge amount to chose from but they were there. We walked around for a while going in and out of stores. This place was just so cute!

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Back in May we booked a whale watching tour with Gallant Adventures. I read about it on here and then looked on trip advisor for reviews. I have never seen so many amazingly positive reviews for anything! Usually you get your occasional grumpy person who finds any little thing to complain about but not for Gallant Adventures! So we were sold. I contacted him by e-mail and I got a very prompt response with an extremely detailed email about what to expect. We paid through PayPal I believe. We also exchanged phone numbers just incase there were any issues last minute. Before I forget he did mention that during the summer he works almost everyday doing tours and that he was struggling to keep up with e-mails. So if by chance you contact him, please be patient. It’s a good problem to have! About 10:30 we headed to the area we were suppose to meet Paul. There is a picture of him on his website but he also was holding a sign with our last names on it. His previous tour ended a little early due to someone getting seasick. It was about 10:45 when we met him. He was SUPER enthusiastic right from the start. He said the previous group had a great time and he was excited to go back out. It was like it was his first time but of course it wasn’t. He said as soon as everyone was together we would leave. His boat is ideal for this type of tour. I don’t think I remembered to get a picture of it. He limits the tour to 6 people, which was one major thing that interested us. While out on the water we passed one of those big whale watching tours on a big boat. Everyone looked crammed and fighting for views. Also in a smaller boat, if we saw something we could simply zoom right over there. His boat was also much quieter than the big ones. The boat could fit at least 2 more people but 6 + Paul was perfect. It was us and 2 other very nice couples. There was an inside area with seating and an outside area. We mostly stayed in the outside part but we all kinda moved around. It was pretty overcast/cloudy that day and when we left the wind was starting to pick up but it didn’t rain. I would caution anyone who has a sensitive stomach or balance issues from going on this tour. I’m not sure how it is on a calm day but we were rockin’ & rollin’. We got to know each other quick cause at times we would almost fall or step on each other… especially when we were moving fast to see a whale and we were trying to get in position for pictures. It was crazy fun! My husband and I have never had issues with motion sickness so we were fine but it would be torture for someone who is. Also think of the other people on the tour. If you get sick, you are cutting their tour short as well. That is what happened on the tour before ours. Paul pushed it as long as he could but they still had to come back early. I think the excitement is a distraction from all the motion too. Anyway so we are on the boat headed out. It was very chilly with the wind but my hoodie and adrenaline were enough to keep me warm. Also you could go to the inside area to get away from the wind, plenty of windows to see everything. Within about 15 minutes we saw our first whale!! Paul named him Domino because of the spots on his tail. He said Domino had been coming there for years.

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Paul is extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife and I noticed some reference books in his boat too. He is very familiar with the actions of the whales and was correct most of the time when he predicted what they would do next as far as seeing their tails etc. Whenever any of us would see a spout we would let him know and he would head that direction. He even had techniques when approaching the whales with the boat. We came across a single otter that was just floating in the water. He always gave us plenty of time to take pictures and made sure it was ok with everyone before moving on. Next up was a buoy with sea lions on it. We were able to get so close to them. Several were laying on it and 2 others were trying to get up but they wouldn’t let them.

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Can you see him trying to get up there?

One was curious about our boat and would check us out then swim back to the buoy. We circled the buoy for a few minutes taking pictures and laughing at them.

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There was still more to see so we kept going. Next was an area where lots of otters where hanging out and sleeping. Paul said what they like to do is wrap themselves in the kelp because it is secured to the ocean floor so that when they sleep they won’t float away. There was a lot of kelp in this area so it made sense that was why they were there. Oh my they were so cute!!

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They were definitely cautious of us but didn’t swim away. Paul had turned the motor off so we were just drifting. One particular otter was sleeping and he didn’t realize we were there. We got super close to him and took pictures.

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At some point he finally opened his eyes and his reaction was priceless! A very shocked human like reaction. He was wrapped in the kelp but was flailing his arms backward to try to get further away from us. We had a good laugh at his expense. We then went to this island; I think it was called St Lazaria.

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It was so interesting. We got very close and when the tide would go down you could see bright orange and purple starfish stuck to the rocks. At one point we sailed into a cave like area. The tide was going in and out so the water would go up and down. We sailed to another part that had a specific type of bird but thousands and thousands of them. It was like a bat cave for birds. It was all such a unique experience and was all a bonus seeing as how we were just on a whale watching tour. We also saw many other species of birds including puffins!

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Paul was very knowledgeable about them as well. Oh and we sailed right over a huge amount of jellyfish. I have no idea how Paul spotted them but once we were stopped it was very easy to see them. Thousands of them! He said they are a type that doesn’t sting. Between the start of the tour and this point we had seen about 3-4 whales. Some were more shy than others. Oh and there is also a dormant volcano that was neat to see from afar on a different island.

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More clouds were rolling in and the wind was picking up alittle more. It was getting closer to the end of the tour so we started to make our way back. I’m guessing about half way back to the dock we saw a whale so we headed in his direction. Out of nowhere it jumps out of the water!!! (Breaching) I had asked Paul about this at the start of the tour and he said its not known exactly why they do this but he has found that when the water is more rough and the wind picks up you are more likely to see it. He said about 10% of his tours see breaching… SCORE!! So this whale put on quite the show for us. He jumped out of the water a good 20 times!!! I was like omg is this real life?!? It was incredible! At times we were pretty darn close to it. I’m so grateful that he jumped so much because it was more difficult than I expected to get good pictures. It would dive deep to get momentum but you couldn’t tell where exactly it would come up. Also the boat was really rocking and moving up and down! None of us noticed or cared much. I had my camera set to rapid shooting so I would just hold the button down. Sometimes my camera would have trouble figuring out what to focus on with all the movement. This tour was amazing without the breaching but that was icing on the cake! My husband and I enjoy watching documentaries about wildlife and this was like being in one. You see things on TV or online but you can’t quite wrap your brain around something so beautiful and wild. I probably took hundreds of photos of the whales and only a handful are really good. I thought I got a lot more good shots so I’m glad I kept taking them. At one point I did stop taking pictures just to take it all in. WOW! Needless to say we were all on cloud 9 the rest of the way back to the dock. I think we went over on time by at least 30 minutes or more but you just don’t sail away from something like that! Like I said, I would have been overjoyed by just the whales that we saw earlier in the tour and never imagined we would experience something like that. Best day ever! So for us this topped the glacier walk. Oh and these were humpback whales that we saw. My husband had hoped to see killer whales but we didn’t. I hope you guys enjoy the pictures! I’ll try to get another part written before the weekend is over. Thanks for sticking with me.

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the best for last

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[Geonerd]

Your whale photos are incredible! What kind of camera did you use?

Steve

[judynorth]

I LOVE your enthusiasm! Alaska is an experience that you will never forget and it draws you back again and again. We leave next Sunday for our 5th visit.

[Singinman]

Perfect reading to get in the mood for Alaska. Photos help too.

 

If you are omitting anything significant, it doesn't show. I keep a day book for rough notes on each day to help at review time.

 

To the one looking for inexpensive excursions, if you are going to Ketchikan, you can take the public bus to Totem Bight State Park for two dollars round trip (less for seniors), have hot chocolate and cookies (donations accepted), see the totem poles, see the museum and maybe some birds for less than five dollars per person. In Sitka, you can walk to the National Park and see some of the finest totem poles anywhere.

[Gizmorella]

Sitka 7am-3:30pm

 

I think I could honestly live in Sitka or Ketchikan. I’m sure everyone knows that it is supposed to be where the movie ‘The Proposal’ takes place but it wasn’t filmed there. It is however just as cute as the movie makes it out to be.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review, I'm enjoying it so much! ... Sorry to back track, but whoa! I had no idea the movie you mentioned wasn't actually film in Sitka! I saw it years ago and have been starry eyed to visit ever since, how sneeky. It hasn't changed my mind or obsession to visit Alaska any less ;)

[Tiffany18]

Your whale photos are incredible! What kind of camera did you use?

Steve

Nikon D3200 It's my first expensive/fancy camera. I bought the 'for dummies' book on it and that helped a lot. I took 1000 pictures just in Sitka, almost all on that tour! Many are of nothing but even a few really good ones is worth it! One guy on the tour with us was NOT a professional photographer but had a camera lens as long as my forearm.. paparazzi style!

 

Thanks so much for all your sweet comments! I'll be going out of town this weekend and I hope that maybe I can finish the review on the drive.

[donaldsc]

I have a suggestion regarding your cruise diary. You have used very long run-on paragraphs with no spacing between each paragraphs. This makes it very hard to read.

 

Shorter paragraphs and spaces between the paragraphs would mean that more people would read your stuff.

 

DON

[frankc98376]

Be aware for future cruises the the forward outside deck on deck 7 is normally closed to passengers. There are staff cabins up there.

[Tiffany18]

I have a suggestion regarding your cruise diary. You have used very long run-on paragraphs with no spacing between each paragraphs. This makes it very hard to read.

 

Shorter paragraphs and spaces between the paragraphs would mean that more people would read your stuff.

 

DON

 

Well this isn't a school paper so I'm not too concerned with paragraph structure. I'll try to be more mindful of that if I ever write a review in the future.

[Tights]

Well this isn't a school paper so I'm not too concerned with paragraph structure. I'll try to be more mindful of that if I ever write a review in the future.

How picky, I have a brother like you, he returns the emails I send him with full punctuation.

[Tiffany18]

Ketchikan 7am-1pm

The last 2 days of the cruise were not as exciting as previous days but we still had a great time.

We enjoyed Ketchikan and were fortunate to have beautiful weather! They are one of the cities with the most rainfall in the US according to our tour guide. It looked a lot like the typical cruise port with tons of souvenir shops. There were 4 ships in port that day so the pier area was packed with people.

 

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We wanted to beat the crowds to creek street so we got off the ship early. The cruise director had mentioned a place called Ketchi Candies the previous night. He said they sell (among many other things) chocolate dipped oreos! My husband loves oreos so we had to get some. That was our first stop and we found it by accident. They were delicious! Very rich! It wasn't a very far walk to creek street. It was so cute and colorful. They said when the salmon are running they fill the creek below! That would be neat to see. We first took the Cape Fox Hill-Creek Street Funicular (aka tram) to the hotel above for $2. The tram looked very old but it provided a nice view on the very short ride up. We briefly walked around the hotel lobby area and the immediate outside area. I felt weird wandering around the hotel when I wasn't staying there. We went back down and explored creek street. There were a lot of neat stores with unique items for sale. We ended up buying all our souvenirs there. The stores were a decent size but they definitely utilized all available space. Also the boardwalk was not very wide. I can see how that place would be a nightmare if it were full of people. It was a very nice area, I wish we had more time to spend there.

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We had booked City Highlights, Totems & Creek Street by Trolley $29.95 each through the cruise ship. We had spent so much on the other excursions, we wanted to do something simple. I would have loved to go on a floatplane... there were tons of them landing and taking off all day. Our tour started at 9:30 and we met right in front of the ship. The trolley was very nice but not ideal for picture taking. You couldn't open the windows and they were slightly tinted. Our tour guide was a college student from Utah and this was her summer job. She was very knowledgeable about Ketchikan and even told some stories about the totem poles. We stopped at Saxman Village Totem Park. It was very interesting hearing some of the stories and learning what the different symbols mean. We were taken by a workshop where they work on the totem poles. Nathan Jackson who is the main artist that works on the poles was in his shop that day. Google his name to read more about him. We had some time to walk around the park, take pictures, and look around the gift shop. The tour was 1 hr 30 mins but it went by fast.

 

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We wanted to eat lunch at Burger Queen. I read about it here and the reviews were very good. They opened at 11am and we arrived maybe 8 minutes before. There were about 7 people waiting for them to open. When we all walked in hey said the wait was already 30-45 minutes. Someone had called in a very large order. I assume it was staff on any of the 4 ships but I don't know for sure. None of us wanted to wait that long and one of the ships was leaving at noon so we all turned around and walked out. Oh well, we ate for free on the ship.

 

From there we headed back to the ship. It was a very short port day but we enjoyed what we did. I would love to see more than just the pier area.

 

Took Don's advice and tried to put into paragraphs.

[fourcruisin]

Thanks for the great review. We just booked this trip for next August. I enjoyed reading about the different excursions!

[sherryf]

How picky, I have a brother like you, he returns the emails I send him with full punctuation.

 

Sorry, but I have to agree with Don. I find this review VERY difficult to read. I've been skimming it because I'm on the Westerdam next year, but it gives me a headache to try to read the whole thing. Must be getting old and need new glasses. :eek:

[Geonerd]

Thanks Tiffany. Photos are quite impressive.

 

Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk

[jrp5808]

Thanks so much Tiffany. We are going on the Westerdam next June with this same itinerary and I was so excited to see this review. You took a lot of time out of your day to share your review and pictures with us. Was Victoria a wash because of the late port times?

Thanks again for sharing.