Live from the Koningsdam - Alaska Inside Passage - June 3-10, 2023

[visagrunt]

some sharing went on to create this combo aapy plate

[visagrunt]

3 minutes ago, Jeremiah On a Cruise said:

@visagrunt  Loving your reviews!

 

Do you know if the northbound portion of the trip went on the East or West side of Vancouver island?  All of the maps show the trip on the East/inside passage side, but I've read reports from others that earlier trips this year on the Kon. went on the west side of the island (i.e. into the open ocean).  

 

Again, thank you.

Absolutely went through Salish Sea and Johnstone Strait.  Given the excess distance, the only reason to divert would be the unavailability of a pilot or a hazard to navigation.

[Jeremiah On a Cruise]

36 minutes ago, visagrunt said:

Absolutely went through Salish Sea and Johnstone Strait.  Given the excess distance, the only reason to divert would be the unavailability of a pilot or a hazard to navigation.

 

You, my friend, just made my day :).  

 

[nw gardener]

1 hour ago, Jeremiah On a Cruise said:

@visagrunt  Loving your reviews!

 

Do you know if the northbound portion of the trip went on the East or West side of Vancouver island?  All of the maps show the trip on the East/inside passage side, but I've read reports from others that earlier trips this year on the Kon. went on the west side of the island (i.e. into the open ocean).  

 

Again, thank you.

Not OP but on board,  east side of Vancouver and Queen Charlotte NB.

[nw gardener]

Morning from windy and cool Skagway,  no rain.  More pics later today.

[nw gardener]

Impressive rock slide, Koningsdam at the Ore dock so no tendering like the Princess ship.

[nw gardener]

[nw gardener]

Celebrity only busses,  no tenders since they weren't docked in the line of fire of the rockslide zone

[nw gardener]

Time for a drink in the Crow's Nest

[MisterMatthew]

32 minutes ago, nw gardener said:

Impressive rock slide, Koningsdam at the Ore dock so no tendering like the Princess ship.

 

Yowza!  My guess is that the rocks are, slightly, more than 3 LBS each.

 

--MisterMatthew

 

[nw gardener]

Glacier Bay tomorrow,  although not too shabby looking south down the channel from Skagway.

[RuthC]

9 minutes ago, nw gardener said:

not too shabby looking south down the channel from Skagway.

It's a gorgeous ride. One of the world's best. 

[LoveRoughSeas]

Hi!  I am on the same cruise 7/22.  Question please, it there a Blues band in The BB king lounge??   Thanks!

[POA1]

Your writing style is wonderful! @visagrunt

[visagrunt]

Thank you for the compliments on my style and for your forebearance from noting my increasing tardiness!

Day the fourth (and this time I mean the fourth; not mislabelling the third) features Skagway.  With the 6 am knock on the door came the coffee with which to watch the beautiful scenery of the Taiya Inlet moving past.  The apparent wind was behind us, foiling my cunning plan to acquire a balcony sheltered from the wind (#5124--a generously large example).

Skagway had four visitors today--Koningsdam, two Princesses and a Celebrity.  The scale of the rockslide was remarkable and the ongoing risk made evident by the tendering going on beneath it.  The ships are big, but no matter how big they are, Nature is bigger.

A steady onshore wind made shelter the order of the day.  We made a quick trip into town for some browsing, but after so many visits here there are fewer and fewer things to acquire.  Still, Skagway scores over Juneau as a nice little town to stroll through.

Our travelling companions had taken the White Pass railway (upon our very strong recommendation) and all returned without having plunged into the river below.  Cocktails were consumed at the Ocean Bar (including the pleasant reminder of how refreshing the Mariner Cocktail is).

My carefully researched plans for dinner in Club Orange were completely thrown when the team revealed that the CO special tonight was a veal chop with mushroom risotto.  They had me at mushroom!  Actually, they pretty much had me at veal.  It was superb.  And the only fault that I can conjure up is that my Baked Alaska came to the table while I was still deeply engrossed in my cheese plate making the ice cream a smidgen runnier than perfection when I impaled it upon my spoon.  These are the grave shortcomings of post-pandemic cruising!

A serene evening in the Crow's Nest followed where my hammer curl skills were called into action to lift more Highland Parks than I care to number.  Eduardo needed only once to hear my horrified response to the suggestion of ice and each of the successors were dosed with the merest suggestion of some still water.  Appropriately lubricated we watched the evening light dancing off the snow capped peaks until the sun finally set after 10 pm.
 

[visagrunt]

And herein lies the tale of the fifth day--Glacier Bay.

No matter what time of year I come here and no matter the weather, Glacier Bay never fails to impress.  Lamplugh (the "Blue") is a magical sight in any weather, and while coming early in the season deprives us of an up close encounter with Johns Hopkins--it is impressive even from 10 km away.  

Margerie wasn't letting any of her children go today (no calving to be seen), but it is a stunner of a glacier front even when quiet.

The weather was mixed, with some light breeze and cloud throughout the morning, but transitioning to brilliant sunshine and high, broken cloud later in the afternoon and into the evening.

Birthday dinner was eaten at Rudi's.  This was our first encounter with supply issues.  None of the beers on the Rudi's menu were available (to one companion's frustration).  Among the champagnes only Dom and Ruinart were available.  While I might credit Vancouver provisioning for the unavailability of some product, yellow label is available by the crate, and since it is listed by the glass everywhere on the ship, the unavailability of a bottle in Rudi's was puzzling.

Less surprisingly foie gras was also unavailable (with consequent implications for those who wanted Tournedos Rossini).  But we made do, and a fine dinner, indeed was had.

I thereafter withdrew to the casino where the Roulette Table demonstrated that she had, in fact, been saving herself for tonight.  Two of my numbers came up in very quick succession, which I interpreted as a sign to take the money and run (metaphorically speaking).

All in all, one cannot complain about such a birthday!

[visagrunt]

[nw gardener]

8 hours ago, LoveRoughSeas said:

Hi!  I am on the same cruise 7/22.  Question please, it there a Blues band in The BB king lounge??   Thanks!

Just came from the BB Kings, the current band is very good!  Enjoying the music walk immensely, get there 10 to 15 minutes early to secure a seat however. 

[Bruinboy]

Great report. Writing and observations terrific. A joy to read and NW Washington ... thanks for adding to our vicarious cruise experience.

[Cade387]

Thanks for the updates. We are boarding on Saturday and really enjoying your posts. 

[nw gardener]

Glacier Bay yesterday.

[nw gardener]

Approaching Ketchikan with the Majestic Princess bringing up the rear.

[nw gardener]

And just went by this humpback.  Plenty of wildlife sightings this cruise.

[reposado]

Great review!

 

Doesn't the ship stop by Tracy arm fjord before Juneau? 

[decrepit old man]

3 hours ago, nw gardener said:

And just went by this humpback.  Plenty of wildlife sightings this cruise.

where did you see this? No whale sightings on last week's cruise...