jenseib Posted October 18, 2015 Author #551 Share Posted October 18, 2015 jun9 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun10 by Jenseib, on Flickr I believe I had been going back and forth from deck 7 and our room taking pictures jun11 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun52 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun53 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun12 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 18, 2015 Author #552 Share Posted October 18, 2015 jun13 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun14 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun15 by Jenseib, on Flickr I loved seeing the waterfalls on the mountains. jun16 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun17 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun18 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 18, 2015 Author #553 Share Posted October 18, 2015 jun19 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun20 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun21 by Jenseib, on Flickr Needless to say, Juneau’s surrounding area is gorgeous! jun22 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun23 by Jenseib, on Flickr We got so far in and then turned around and backed the rest of the way in. jun24 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 18, 2015 Author #554 Share Posted October 18, 2015 jun54 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun55 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun25 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun27 by Jenseib, on Flickr Up next….This is not the way I would run things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 20, 2015 Author #555 Share Posted October 20, 2015 As you can see, today was sunny and no signs of rain. It wasn’t very cold either really. Juneau is one way in and one way out. Obviously the big ships can’t fit under that bridge. jun28 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun29 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun30 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun41 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun42 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun43 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 20, 2015 Author #556 Share Posted October 20, 2015 jun44 by Jenseib, on Flickr Juneau’s port area isn’t as cute and quaint as Ketchikan’s but it still had a lot to see. jun45 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun46 by Jenseib, on Flickr And this is what was in store for us today. daily4.1 by Jenseib, on Flickr daily4.2 by Jenseib, on Flickr daily4.3 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 20, 2015 Author #557 Share Posted October 20, 2015 daily4.4 by Jenseib, on Flickr We decided to go to the buffet this morning for a nice breakfast. I think Skip went earlier and Claire and I went together. jun31 by Jenseib, on Flickr After breakfast we headed outside to watch the world go by. jun32 by Jenseib, on Flickr The Grand Princess has arrived! jun33 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun34 by Jenseib, on Flickr Our excursion today was a visit to Mendenhall Glacier and then whale watching…with a 100% guarantee of a whale sighting or you would receive $100 back. I believe it was stated that they have never had to give out the $100, so that was a good sign that we would be seeing a whale today! When looking over excursions, Juneau actually had several that I wanted to do, but when it came down to it both whale watching and the glacier were 2 things I REALLY wanted to do. I debated it a bit over another one that really caught my fancy, which left at 1:30 and would take you out to Tracey Arm on a small boat and then you later meet up with the Jewel and get back on. I had read reviews of it and it sounds amazing. It was a bit more costly and I even looked if I could do both, but the timing wasn’t going to work. In the end I went with my gut feeling and went with my first choice. I then had a few people tell me I shouldn’t have wasted my money on a whale excursion because I would see plenty from the ship. Now I had thought, well that might be true, but I bet it would be better on a boat that would stop near the whales and linger…..and thank goodness I didn’t listen to those people as we all know how many whales I have seen at this point….Last official count…a big fat ZERO! Our tickets said to meet in the theatre at 7:30 AM. Now I had assumed this would be like DCL and you would all meet here and taken off the ship together as a group and then off to your excursion. Well that was a big mistake. Most excursions were meeting here and they would just call off the names of each at a certain time and tell you to get off the ship and find the person with the sign for your excursion. Had I known it worked this way I would’ve just gotten off the ship with Florentina. So we waited a short time in the Stardust Theatre and they rattled off excursion names and we left with a larger group of people….and didn’t make it too far and were at a standstill. They couldn’t get the people off fast enough and we were stuck on the staircase for quite some time. Skip grumbled that if we had left out the other exit we could’ve walked right off and he was right…but we didn’t know that earlier. The line was so slow and once we got to the correct deck we then had to weave down a narrow hallway before getting to the gangway. It was funny as there was a family group there and were obviously separated and they were hollering back and forth…carrying on a conversation. Skip was laughing and I swear he was about to join in. “Uncle Mike! Freddy is with Uncle David already and they are off the ship”…”Great, can you call them and tell them we are on our way”. …”Sure thing, What did you have for breakfast today, we just went to the buffet”. …”We went to Moderno and it was really nice, they sure do take care of you there”. We were just totally cracking up. Half the ship was filled in on what the family had been doing for the past 24 hours. Finally we made it off the ship. You can see the 2nd gangway off in the distance in this next picture and as you can see no one is on it. jun35 by Jenseib, on Flickr We now knew that if any other excursion called for us to meet anywhere on the ship we were just going to get off on our own instead. It just wasn’t run very well in my opinion. I must say I like the way Disney does it better. They walk you right through till you are safely in the hands of the tour operator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 20, 2015 Author #558 Share Posted October 20, 2015 We then headed towards all the buses. jun36 by Jenseib, on Flickr We were at the furthest pier in Juneau and unlike Ketchikan there really isn’t anything very close to the dock. Yes you can walk to things but it is a little ways away. I have been told there is even a shuttle bus running back and forth, though we never had a chance to use it today. jun37 by Jenseib, on Flickr A look back up at the Jewel and her life boats. jun38 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun39 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun40 by Jenseib, on Flickr A plane!!!!! jun56 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 20, 2015 Author #559 Share Posted October 20, 2015 The Mount Roberts Tramway. jun57 by Jenseib, on Flickr We were directed to our bus and found some seats. I don’t remember out bus drivers name, but he was really a nice young guy…and pretty cute too. He said he would be taking us to each of our destinations today and he also liked to give info on Juneau as he drove along. Soon we were on our way. jun58 by Jenseib, on Flickr The dock area itself is a bit more industrial looking. jun59 by Jenseib, on Flickr There goes the tram! jun60 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun61 by Jenseib, on Flickr About here is where the tourist area starts. Not too far from some ships, but from ours it would be a good 10-20 minute walk. jun62 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 20, 2015 Author #560 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Our driver talked most of the way, pointing out things and giving us info on the city. jun63 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun64 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun65 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun66 by Jenseib, on Flickr Up next…..Mendenhall Glacier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 23, 2015 Author #561 Share Posted October 23, 2015 As we drove along our driver talked about the area and how he liked his job (I think this was his first season doing this if I remember right) and he was really interested in the history and the area and knew the names of different mountains and told us stories about the areas we passed. jun67 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun68 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun69 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun70 by Jenseib, on Flickr It wasn’t long and we were out of the town area and it was very pretty. jun79 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun80 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 23, 2015 Author #562 Share Posted October 23, 2015 jun71 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun72 by Jenseib, on Flickr Selfie time. jun81 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun73 by Jenseib, on Flickr And then all of a sudden I saw it from afar as we drove by! mend32 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun74 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 23, 2015 Author #563 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Our guy parked up, told us which bus to come back to and how long we had there, which was basically an hour. mend31 by Jenseib, on Flickr It was just so stunning to see. And we were told today was an exceptionally clear day too. jun75 by Jenseib, on Flickr jun76 by Jenseib, on Flickr There is a trail that takes you to this waterfall. I believe it’s about a mile away with an estimated 20 minute walk each way. jun77 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend5 by Jenseib, on Flickr We hit the bathrooms and looked around the area from the parking lot at first. jun78 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 23, 2015 Author #564 Share Posted October 23, 2015 mend9 by Jenseib, on Flickr We then started down towards a trail. mend10 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend6 by Jenseib, on Flickr Real Live Icebergs!!! mend11 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend12 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend1 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 23, 2015 Author #565 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Skip asked if we wanted to walk to the waterfall, but we only had about 45 minutes left and I knew our walk would be slow because of his bad hips…and I didn’t want to be the one blamed when he was hurting later, so I told him we better pass on it. mend13 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend14 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend2 by Jenseib, on Flickr A look back at the visitor’s center. mend15 by Jenseib, on Flickr We took a shorter trail. Stop for a picture please! mend3 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend16 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 23, 2015 Author #566 Share Posted October 23, 2015 mend17 by Jenseib, on Flickr Look at that gorgeous sky!!! mend7 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend18 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend19 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend20 by Jenseib, on Flickr Can you see the people at the waterfall? mend4 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 23, 2015 Author #567 Share Posted October 23, 2015 mend21 by Jenseib, on Flickr We got to the lookout area and just enjoyed the scenery. We were all wowed! A family was trying to get a picture and I asked if they wanted me to take it so they all could be in and they were thankful. They then took a picture of us too. mend33 by Jenseib, on Flickr It was just so amazing there. The beauty was overwhelming. mend22 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend34 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend8 by Jenseib, on Flickr I was obsessed with the icebergs. mend23 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 23, 2015 Author #568 Share Posted October 23, 2015 mend35 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend36 by Jenseib, on Flickr Airplane! mend24 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend25 by Jenseib, on Flickr Sadly this glacier is receding back at a fairly fast pace. At one time it came out to the waterfall. mend26 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend27 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 23, 2015 Author #569 Share Posted October 23, 2015 mend28 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend29 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend30 by Jenseib, on Flickr Pose for me again! mend38 by Jenseib, on Flickr And we handed off the camera to Claire…scary I know….and she took about 15 of us. mend39 by Jenseib, on Flickr We then decided to head back to the visitors center and check it out. mend40 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 23, 2015 Author #570 Share Posted October 23, 2015 As you can see, Skip took off his coat. It was getting pretty warm. mend37 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend41 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend42 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend43 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend44 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend45 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 23, 2015 Author #571 Share Posted October 23, 2015 mend46 by Jenseib, on Flickr We headed up inside the visitor’s center taking the elevator up. Claire questioned why till I gave her the choice of all the stairs. LOL. The views were fantastic in here too. I’ve always been one who thought some of the most beautiful places in the world are where the palm trees, blue oceans and sandy beaches are….This ranks right up there. I could spend hours just enjoying the scenery and taking pictures. mend47 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend48 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend49 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend50 by Jenseib, on Flickr We wandered around looking at the displays. mend51 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 23, 2015 Author #572 Share Posted October 23, 2015 mend52 by Jenseib, on Flickr We also looked through several of the telescopes. mend53 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend54 by Jenseib, on Flickr mend55 by Jenseib, on Flickr And then we hit the bathrooms one more time and headed off to the bus. Luckily everyone followed the rules and we got back on the road right away. Next we were going to the docks to go whale watching….yippie! Up next……There is only a 10% chance you will see an Orca. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 26, 2015 Author #573 Share Posted October 26, 2015 We headed off to Auke Bay where we would catch the boat to take us out whale watching. whale69 by Jenseib, on Flickr Our driver told us about how he had been hiking a certain mountain recently and while he was there he ran into a Timber Wolf. He said it was really such a cool thing to see. Sounds a little scary though too. Before long we were at our next destination. whale68 by Jenseib, on Flickr We made our way off the bus and onto the boat. jun82 by Jenseib, on Flickr The lower half of the boat has seats and is enclosed but it has windows all around it. The upper deck is outdoors and we are allowed to go up and down as much as we want. whale31 by Jenseib, on Flickr We soon started to take off. This boat is from the Cayman Islands….that had a long trek here. whale32 by Jenseib, on Flickr Our Captain was Pete I believe. He told us today we were actually going out further than the normal area they go to as there has been reports of exciting activity. He said if we saw whales along the way he would most likely not stop as where we were going had more promising surprises for us. He said if by the time we got there it was done then we would back track to the other whales. Ok, then, this sounded exciting. whale33 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 26, 2015 Author #574 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Sammy was our guide for this. She was a college student working here for the summer. I am not sure what her major is, but she knew A LOT about whales, which makes me think this is her field. The Captain even said he learns stuff from her every day. whale67 by Jenseib, on Flickr She started out by tell us safety rules and life jacket locations. She told us how cold the water is, so you really don’t want to go for a swim, but if you did fall in to try and stay calm. If you see someone fall in to yell and point your finger at them and never look away so that they would be able to pull the boat to them for a rescue. She said it’s amazing how fast you can lose sight of a person if you look away. whale66 by Jenseib, on Flickr She told us how this was an extremely clear day and this is not what it usually looks like here. She said normally you never see the tops of the mountains as there is usually a mist of fog. We saw the tops of the mountains pretty much all day long. Wow! whale34 by Jenseib, on Flickr Sammy talked about the whales we would be seeing today…..Humbacks. She said many people come on this tour expecting to see orcas but this is not an area where orcas typically hang out. She said there is a 10% chance of seeing an orca on this tour, so don’t get your hopes up. Darn….but I actually knew that coming in. whale35 by Jenseib, on Flickr Sammy pointed out different mountain ranges and we had a map that kind of helped us get our bearings. map by Jenseib, on Flickr The also offered free hot chocolate (and coffee too I believe) and some donut holes to snack on. Skip went up and got some …..well when he came back he wasn’t really sharing. He got cocoa for Claire but wasn’t going to share the donut holes and she had a few tears (lack of sleep was catching up to her) and he gave over a few, but none for me. So I got up and got myself some …and by then there were literally only a couple of donut holes left and then he was stunned I didn’t bring more back for him. There were a few tense moments over these stupid donuts….but life goes on. whale36 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenseib Posted October 26, 2015 Author #575 Share Posted October 26, 2015 And who can get too mad with a view like this. whale37 by Jenseib, on Flickr With this tour they really respect the whales and she told us that they only approach the whales from the side as to not scare them and also will only get so close to them. I understand how that is important. However I saw several of the smaller boats on this tour get pretty darn close and that would be pretty cool….but I will respect the whales. whale38 by Jenseib, on Flickr Sammy talked the whole time. She had kind of a dry sense of humor as she would spew out all this info and then throw in a joke in a serious tone and see if we were listening and I would look up at her each time…thinking that can’t be right…and sure enough she would crack a smile. whale39 by Jenseib, on Flickr Coming up next is Point Retreat Light. I took about 4 million pictures and also headed upstairs for a few. whale40 by Jenseib, on Flickr whale41 by Jenseib, on Flickr Point Retreat Light provides aid in navigation through the Lynn Canal. whale42 by Jenseib, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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