Serenade Multi Glacier May 1 - 8, 2022 RECAP

[twangster]

Day Six - Sea Day/British Columbia Inside Passage

 

Morning finds us in Hecate Sound.

 

 

 

Whales abound.  I stepped onto my balcony and they were evrywhere around us.

 

 

 

 

There was a pack of a dozen or more that appeared to be working together by taking turns breaching.

 

 

 

 

These large splashes were all over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Others were more solitary just doing their own thing.

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

After breakfast I ventured forward.

 

I see a ship on the horizon that looks very familiar.

 

 

Quantum of the Seas on her way back to Seattle.

 

 

A few whales but not like earlier.

 

 

Beautiful day crossing Queen Charlotte Sound.

 

 

Voom has improved considerably.

 

[twangster]

Around noon we were halfway across Queen Charlotte Sound and I was happy to see we had turned.  Earlier in the morning when we were heading towards the open Pacific I was wondering if we weren't taking the Inside Passage.

 

 

Around 4pm we were entering the Inside Passage.

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

We were once again following a HAL ship in the Inside Passage.

 

 

USCG also taking the Inside Passage.

 

 

It rained at times or was overcast.

 

 

 

It was snowing at elevation.

 

 

 

Wet and too cold for rock climbing.

 

 

However at times it was sunny.

 

 

 

 

 

I spent a good bit of time outside looking for wildlife.

 

 

 

 

 

Approaching the narrowest part of the passage and by camera is making it look brighter than it was really. 

 

 

 

 

HAL about to enter the narrows.

 

 

 

 

Around 9:15pm here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this point it was pretty dark and it was impossible to see wildlife if there was any.

 

[twangster]

Near midnight we were passing Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

 

 

Cell service if you have Canada in your cell plan.

[twangster]

Day Eight - Vancouver

 

Just after sunrise we were approaching Vancouver.

 

 

Lions Gate bridge in the distance.

 

 

 

I was having breakfast as we passed under the bridge.

 

 

With that we were back in Vancouver Harbor.

 

[twangster]

Debarking was pretty chaotic.

 

Self-Assist was supposed to leave 7:30am to 8:00am.  We were tied up at the pier by 7am so I thought we might be early but that was a mistake.

 

With no announcements most people including myself assumed debarking has commenced so half of the ship and myself headed down to deck 5 at 7:50am.

We weren't leaving yet.  Canada's CBSA (their version of CBP) hadn't cleared the ship or made an appearance yet.

 

I was directed into the theater with three or four hundred others. I did see a crew member with a list of 50 or 60 guests from foreign nations where they were required to handover their passports at the beginning of the cruise.  CBSA finally appeared and commenced dealing with those more exotic guests that required VISAs or other processing. 

 

Finally closer to 8:40am we were allowed to begin leaving.  That was a slow process with so many guests now jamned onto deck 5.  It was made worse by non-self-assist guests who decided to leave despite not having their luggage tags called.  

 

Vancouver uses cranes to load and unload given the tidal changes so luggage loading and unloading is very slow.  The problem is now the terminal was clogged with these folks who had another hour or two to wait for their luggage.  They stood around making the line for us self-assist folks very slow moving.  

 

Much of this mess was at the hands of CBSA but the ship didn't help by not making any announcements.  Hopefully once they remember how to cruise again they'll begin making announcements on future cruises.

[twangster]

My day involved taking a bus from Vancouver to Seattle.  

 

There were some bus lines that had service from the Canada Place but I booked Amtrak from the Pacific Central train station hoping the train would be operational by this cruise.  The train is currently shut down so Amtrak is running a bus.  This is just the second week for the bus service to operate.

 

Between the CDC and Health Canada both governments have made it impossible to operate a cross border train.  The bus was easier to get going.  Not long ago Canada had a testing requirement that applied to all crew on the train which made it difficult to meet the protocol requirements.  A single bus driver as the sole crew member was easier to get approved by both countries.  

 

With nearly three hours to kill I walked the 1.4 miles to the train station.  I was there by 9:35am so still two hours to kill.

 

The bus ride from Vancouver to Seattle was $43 which isn't bad for the distance involved.  A taxi from SeaTac airport in Seattle to downtown is all of that.  

 

The bus reaches the border where we all get off, collect our luggage, go inside and meet with CBP.    Luggage goes through x-ray for an agriculture inspection.  We all board the bus again and leave for the 100 mile trip to Seattle.  

 

With a day in between my next cruise it was a relaxing way to get to Seattle that didn't involve Vancouver airport or needing to take a test since the CDC has decided that the virus can only fly in airplanes and land borders don't need testing.

 

For future cruises from Vancouver I'll definitely look at flights to Seattle that can be much easier to source and are cheaper than flights to Vancouver.

 

They think the train may begin to operate later this month and it is apparently very scenic.   

 

So this was a successful trial as a means to get between Seattle and Vancouver.

 

My bus took me to the train station downtown Seattle so it was easy to get to my downtown Seattle hotel.  It cost $2.25 for the Link light rail train in Seattle for the two stops lugging my luggage or I would have walked the 0.8 miles.

[twangster]

On a side note on the bus ride I overheard a couple who were also on Serenade.  They were telling another passenger that it was too early and there were no whales to be seen yet.

 

Honestly I saw more whales from Serenade on this cruise compared to six other Alaska cruises.

 

It just goes to show you have to be very careful listening to past guests comments and user reviews.  I can't count the number of whales I saw from the ship without taking an excursion.   Granted many of them were not up close like you'll see from a whale watching excursion but there were plenty of whales to be seen on this cruise and my photos didn't catch most of them.  

[twangster]

15 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Looks so weird and stupid to see a ship that large sailing in Alaska............Almost shows a lack of respect for the Alaska Frontier. I bet the towns people hate to see that.

 

To the contrary - they love it.  They lost so much money during the shutdown they love seeing tourists back.  Bigger ships equals more wallets spending money in the local economy.

[twangster]

I have rushed through getting this all posted as I am waiting here in my Seattle hotel to board Quantum of the Seas today.  I don't expect Voom to be much better on Quantum once we go North so I wanted to get this all posted before boarding.

[twangster]

Cruise Compass in PDF format:

 

Serenade Cruise Compass May 1 2022.pdf

[Sea Dog]

@twangster Your photos are stunning and the wildlife captures made me feel like I was reading National Geographic. Loved your whale pictures. I think I would enjoy Alaska on a smaller ship such as Serenade. The ability to use the helipad for viewing is a huge bonus.

[Hummingbird33]

Thank you so much for the details and amazing photos.  Makes me even more excited for our cruise on Serenade of the Seas in June.

[Jimbo]

41 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

To the contrary - they love it.  They lost so much money during the shutdown they love seeing tourists back.  Bigger ships equals more wallets spending money in the local economy.

Agree but before the shut down they were doing fine with just the smaller ships. I hope the larger ships don't  dilute the Alaska Experience and effect the wild life of Alaska.

 

Maybe I'm old school, but seeing that large ship parked there in your pictures is kind of sad looking. Just looks out of place, send it back to the Caribbean.

Edited May 9, 2022 by Jimbo

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

My tummy was on Eastern time so I ventured out for an early bite of dinner.  

 

After eating I venture down to Canada Place.

 

 

The Canada Line train from the airport ends at Waterfront station which is pretty close to Canada Place.

 

 

There had been three ships in port today, I missed a HAL ship that had just depart.  

Seven Seas Mariner on the left and Royal Princess on the right.

 

 

In Canada they take their social distancing seriously so they have put it out there in common terms any Canadian would understand.

 

 

If curling isn't your thing maybe Maple Syrup is.

 

 

The ramp to reach the cruise terminal where I'll walk down tomorrow. 

 

 

Some additional pictures of the area.

 

 

 

With that I was getting tired so time to start heading towards my hotel a few blocks away.

 

 

So nice to see spaces between pictures and descriptions vs a photo dump👍

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

Suite Lounge drink menu for the nightly cocktail happy hour in the Concierge Club.

 

 

On this sailing the Concierge Club worked much like the days before the shutdown.  Pinnacle were allowed in, they scanned our cards to enter and to leave the lounge but drinks did not use C&A drink vouchers.

 

 

Ah, the good old days of NA vodka

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

Breakfast menu for the MDR:

 

 

Are these photos of the TV screens? Very sharp

[twangster]

Just now, John&LaLa said:

 

Are these photos of the TV screens? Very sharp

 

Yes, taken with an iPhone.

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

 

 

Huh, and I thought it was a Carnival ship sinking🤔

[tarhehelicopter]

To thanks for the review.  Our cruise starts next week.    First time to Alaska.  Do you know the seating capacity of the solarium?

[twangster]

3 minutes ago, tarhehelicopter said:

To thanks for the review.  Our cruise starts next week.    First time to Alaska.  Do you know the seating capacity of the solarium?

 

I don't know the seated capacity.  For the purpose of a reception the department that does charters lists the Solarium capacity at 300 people. 

[twangster]

36 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Agree but before the shut down they were doing fine with just the smaller ships. I hope the larger ships don't  dilute the Alaska Experience and effect the wild life of Alaska.

 

Maybe I'm old school, but seeing that large ship parked there in your pictures is kind of sad looking. Just looks out of place, send it back to the Caribbean.

 

Before the shutdown large ships from many lines have been sailing in Alaska.  Ovation was cruising here since 2019.  NCL Bliss and a sister ship since 2017.  Princess has their largest ships in the region as well.

 

Honestly the newer and larger ships are great in Alaska.    

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

One of the peaks near Hubbard.

 

Some glacial close ups.

 

 

 

 

After an hour or so we turned and began our retreat.

 

 

From this point I went down to my aft balcony to watch it from there.

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, incredible day for you 

[Ashland]

Thank you so much. We'll be doing this in September. Sorry but did I miss any details about getting the covid test for flights back to the US. If so it was probably because your beautiful photos.