UUNetBill Posted May 10, 2019 #101 Share Posted May 10, 2019 It's funny how your take on things changes throughout a cruise - when we first went to Alaska I was shooting bald eagle photos with my long lens when they were so far out of range they looked like little brown and white dots even when fully zoomed...but by the end of the week, you'd seen so many of them so close it was like, "Hey, another bald eagle. Huh." Majestic birds, and nice shots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckw Posted May 10, 2019 #102 Share Posted May 10, 2019 Also known as white headed vultures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambagahle Posted May 10, 2019 #103 Share Posted May 10, 2019 Our very first cruise with Regent (then Radisson) was on the Mariner from Seward to Vancouver in 2004. it was wonderful - though in Seward it was pissing down with rain. When we boarded, the person who checked us in said "it always rains in Seward" -- I am glad it didn't for you!! that was also the cruise on which the Mariner hit a "growler" or mini iceberg. I hope that DOESN'T happen to you... Your photos of the sea otters are just wonderful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusin7 Posted May 10, 2019 Author #104 Share Posted May 10, 2019 Hubbard Glacier Unfortunately we encountered fog. We saw ice in the water but not the glacier. The ship did a 360° turn and we are leaving. It is also raining. That is disappointing but we tried. Instead of the viewing there will be a documentary in the theater featuring Alaska! Ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcandkc Posted May 11, 2019 #105 Share Posted May 11, 2019 2 hours ago, crusin7 said: Hubbard Glacier Unfortunately we encountered fog. We saw ice in the water but not the glacier. The ship did a 360° turn and we are leaving. It is also raining. That is disappointing but we tried. Instead of the viewing there will be a documentary in the theater featuring Alaska! Ha! Oh...this is disappointing! We have seen some great calving at Hubbard BUT I’ve never seen a bald eagle a foot from me except in captivity/rehab. We take what we can get 😀. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusin7 Posted May 11, 2019 Author #106 Share Posted May 11, 2019 The wildlife has been spectacular. If I had to choose I would take wildlife (especially whales) over the glacier. We are headed to Sitka. We are feeling the rolling motion of the ship. My experience is that the inside passage is usually calm. Not this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveFr Posted May 11, 2019 #107 Share Posted May 11, 2019 (edited) 37 minutes ago, crusin7 said: The wildlife has been spectacular. If I had to choose I would take wildlife (especially whales) over the glacier. We are headed to Sitka. We are feeling the rolling motion of the ship. My experience is that the inside passage is usually calm. Not this time. Crisy, I have really enjoyed your blog and accompanying photos. Are you really in the inside passage? Looking at the map of your cruise, it appears that the journey from the Hubbard Glacier to Sitka takes place in the Gulf of Alaska which is open ocean. Is the map wrong? Dave Edited May 11, 2019 by DaveFr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusin7 Posted May 11, 2019 Author #108 Share Posted May 11, 2019 Holy Smokes Dave! You are correct. I will blame my confusion on my seasickness meds! No wonder we are rolling. Thank you for clearing that up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambagahle Posted May 11, 2019 #109 Share Posted May 11, 2019 Sitka is a lot of fun! Hope it makes up for the disappointment re the Hubbard. there will be other glaciers though. Do you go to the Tracy Arm ?? That is very impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusin7 Posted May 12, 2019 Author #110 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Hi Hambagahle. No we do not go to Tracy Arm. We had no internet while in Sitka. We went on the 10:10 3 hour Sea Otter Quest and Wildlife excursion. I think the only thing that was wild was the captain of the ship driving us at high-speed for hours with water coming up over the windows. I think we raced around for at least 2 hours. I have been on this excursion before and it has been wonderful. This time we were bouncing around and some people were very seasick. Beside that the PA system did not work. We saw total of three sea otters, seal, 2 eagles and a humpback whale. Our view most of the time. This is before the speed racing. Sitka Sunset Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted May 12, 2019 #111 Share Posted May 12, 2019 (edited) Crisy, too bad about the otters--when we did this excursions back in '12, there were plenty, my favourite excursion in Alaska. Oh, and for the record, chuckw, eagles are not just white-headed vultures. Both eagles and turkey vultures are raptors, as are hawks and ospreys. But I'm sure you know that 😉 Edited May 12, 2019 by Wendy The Wanderer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusin7 Posted May 12, 2019 Author #112 Share Posted May 12, 2019 We arrived in Juneau this morning and it is a gorgeous day. The sun is out and the snow-capped mountains are sparkling. We went on the Salmon Bake excursion. The setting is beautiful. They even have a waterfall. The clam chowder was delicious. The salmon was very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Gilly Posted May 13, 2019 #113 Share Posted May 13, 2019 (edited) How sweet are Regent CC friends? We just got back from lunch and I find treasure on my door! Thank you Chrisy and Cathy - I appreciate that additional journal ephemera xx What a brilliant morning in Skagway we've had. We did the Chilcot Trail Hike and Float and must say, the tour description in the brochure could be strengthened to four walking men. Anyone else who has done that tour have any thoughts? The tour itself is magnificent and we were blessed with an excellent guide, but the steep hike is not for the weak of limb for sure. If you are fit and able though, I highly recommend it! Edited May 13, 2019 by Gilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckw Posted May 14, 2019 #114 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Wendy -Having lived in Alaska and currently have eagles in my back yard, they will just as soon eat something pre-killed as hunt for them selves, hope to meet you some time - Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusin7 Posted May 14, 2019 Author #115 Share Posted May 14, 2019 You’re very welcome Gilly. But unfortunately we missed the stamp at the museum. They were at lunch until 2:15 and we were all aboard at 2:30 so we didn’t chance it. The weather was picture perfect. We did the Scenic White Pass Railway. We spotted a brown bear...no picture though. The train was nice and relaxing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusin7 Posted May 14, 2019 Author #116 Share Posted May 14, 2019 We haven’t had internet all evening. Will try and send more pictures tomorrow. Downtown 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelcat2 Posted May 14, 2019 #117 Share Posted May 14, 2019 I do think that it important for posters to pay attention to the places that you have had not internet. This has been our experience in Alaska more than once and, for some posters, it is important to know ...... in case they depend upon the internet for work, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted May 14, 2019 #118 Share Posted May 14, 2019 14 hours ago, chuckw said: Wendy -Having lived in Alaska and currently have eagles in my back yard, they will just as soon eat something pre-killed as hunt for them selves, hope to meet you some time - Chuck Sure. I was just being literal, a fault of mine! Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusin7 Posted May 14, 2019 Author #119 Share Posted May 14, 2019 En route to Ketchikan and internet had been nonexistent. We braved the cold and sat on our balcony this morning to whale watch. Yippppeeee we found some! Raining now. Will try and send pics later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Gilly Posted May 14, 2019 #120 Share Posted May 14, 2019 @liptastic would you like to drop me an email/get in touch via my blog before you sail, please? G x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusin7 Posted May 14, 2019 Author #121 Share Posted May 14, 2019 At least you can tell it is some kind of marine life. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusin7 Posted May 14, 2019 Author #122 Share Posted May 14, 2019 We just arrived in Ketchikan. It is chilly with scattered showers. We heard about the float planes colliding here yesterday. Poor people. We have a great spot! In the center of town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnRuns Posted May 14, 2019 #123 Share Posted May 14, 2019 22 hours ago, Gilly said: How sweet are Regent CC friends? We just got back from lunch and I find treasure on my door! Thank you Chrisy and Cathy - I appreciate that additional journal ephemera xx What a brilliant morning in Skagway we've had. We did the Chilcot Trail Hike and Float and must say, the tour description in the brochure could be strengthened to four walking men. Anyone else who has done that tour have any thoughts? The tour itself is magnificent and we were blessed with an excellent guide, but the steep hike is not for the weak of limb for sure. If you are fit and able though, I highly recommend it! I would agree that the hike descriptions need to better indicate the terrain. We did that very hike and float in Skagway and while it was totally easy to us, there were a couple of participants who could not handle the terrain very well. I ended up many times offering a hand to help some tentative hikers on some rocky portions or steep portions. Interestingly, the guides offered no such help. There would often be a large gap between the guide and the slowest hiker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelcat2 Posted May 15, 2019 #124 Share Posted May 15, 2019 3 hours ago, crusin7 said: We just arrived in Ketchikan. It is chilly with scattered showers. We heard about the float planes colliding here yesterday. Poor people. We have a great spot! In the center of town. Yes, our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. Such a tragic thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusin7 Posted May 15, 2019 Author #125 Share Posted May 15, 2019 We decided to ditch our crab feast excursion and just walk and shop this very picturesque town. The locals could not have been nicer. Cherry Blossoms The Creek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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