Rare whogo Posted July 12 #1 Share Posted July 12 This post was recognized by LauraS! "Congrats on your first "Live from..." Thanks for generously sharing your time at sea with everyone at Cruise Critic! See your post featured on our: Click: Cruise Reports page. When you return, please consider submitting it to the site for publication as well: Click: Write a Review" whogo was awarded the badge '"Live from...."' (It's Seabourn's map, don't blame me that the ocean looks like land and the land looks like ocean.) Friday, July 12 Vancouver, BC, Canada 5:00pm Saturday, July 13 At Sea Sunday, July 14 Ketchikan, AK 7:00am 3:00pm Monday, July 15 Sitka, AK 8:00am 5:00pm Tuesday, July 16 Yakutat, AK (Cruising) Tuesday, July 16 Hubbard Glacier, AK 10:00am 6:00pm Wednesday, July 17 Inian Islands, AK 5:30am 10:30am Wednesday, July 17 Icy Strait Point, AK 2:00pm 9:00pm Thursday, July 18 Haines, AK 6:00am 6:00pm Friday, July 19 Juneau, AK 7:00am 9:00pm Saturday, July 20 Tracy Arm (Twin Sawyer Glaciers), AK (or Endicott Arm. Route subject to weather.) 8:00am 5:00pm Sunday, July 21 Wrangell, AK 8:00am 6:00pm Monday, July 22 Misty Fjords National Monument, AK (Cruising) Tuesday, July 23 Prince Rupert, BC, Canada 8:00am 11:00pm Wednesday, July 24 At Sea Thursday, July 25 Alert Bay, BC, Canada 6:00am 4:00pm Friday, July 26 Vancouver, BC, Canada 7:00am You know those live blogs where everything fits together beautifully? Happy cruisers reuniting with their dear friends in the crew? Dinner with the captain? Perfectly arranged private excursions ashore? Reports of sunsets and scenery that read like poetry? This isn't one of those. We are woefully unprepared for our cruise and I don't write any better than this. We spent a night at the O'Hare Hilton because late rising Mrs. Whogo did not want to leave home at 3:00 AM for the three hour drive to the airport. No need to mention who booked the flight, we're not playing the blame game. We spent last night in Vancouver to increase our odds of not being left behind when Odyssey sails. Flying coach for four hours on American Airlines was okay, two servings of a full can of soda with packaged cookies and I have already forgotten the line for the toilets and the wet floors therein. Our seatmate on the aisle slept most of the way, lucky stiff. First snag was to find no cell phone service in Vancouver. Ouch. Forget mapping apps, boarding passes and Uber, we took the light rail (a better blogger would know its name) to Waterfront for a short walk to the Pan Pacific Hotel, worked beautifully, cost US$8.34 each. Cell phone problem was user error, although we're still not playing the blame game. Despite our lack of planning, bumped into a fellow that exchanged US$300 to Alaskan dollars at no commission, now have four crisp, new AK$75 bills. Mrs. Whogo chose our dinner restaurant, we walked a mile through the less salubrious area of Vancouver without being accosted by the street people. The guy who looked dead probably wasn't. First restaurant choice was unacceptable, second choice was nowhere to be found, chose a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place at random, seemed authentic, not that we would know and had a delightful meal and service. Mrs. Whogo won dinner with her shrimp wonton noodle soup. Returned to our room to watch Queen Elizabeth sail away and awoke to write this drivel and watch Radiance of the Seas and our Seabourn Odyssey pull in. AA flight okay crammed aloft in hollow tube long march, tasty meals [This haiku is much better when nicely calligraphied in Japanese.] 12 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbnovak Posted July 12 #2 Share Posted July 12 Loving your style of writing. Looking forward to continued entertainment. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lincslady Posted July 13 #3 Share Posted July 13 5 hours ago, kbnovak said: Loving your style of writing. Looking forward to continued entertainment. Me too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted July 13 Author #4 Share Posted July 13 July 12, 2024 We walked Canada Place terrace this morning to view Odyssey (450 passengers) and Radiance of the Seas (2466 passengers, one of the “small” Royal Caribbean ships). Informational placards were good reading, tales of Gander Newfoundland on 9/11, the real Winnie the Pooh, First Nations peoples and the like. Odyssey was connected to the power grid, great for Vancouver to have it and Seabourn to use it instead of running their diesel engines. Never saw anything loaded or unloaded on Odyssey, hope we have food, beverages and luggage for the cruise. Had fun watching the harbor activity with float planes, ferries and sail boat. Boarding was fairly painless despite being intermingled with Royal Caribbean passengers through US immigration and security, were seated with fellow Seabourners to board, could go directly to our cabin. Refamiliarized ourselves with the ship layout, cabins are in the pointy end, public rooms in the back, except the observation bar in front. Quite simple, really, but we managed to make it difficult. Ate lunch in the Colonnade (buffet) outside, could not pass up leg of lamb, the breeze made 74°F a bit chilly, I was surprised Mrs. Whogo was comfortable. Absolutely gorgeous sunshiny weather for our 4:40 sail away, the rugged Pacific Northwest scenery is nothing like home in the midwest. Cruise director Jan Stearman introduced the entertainers for the week at the pool, we will meet the guest lecturer tomorrow. I figure I can make this cruise a bargain by drinking 83 included drinks per day. I had a Molson beer, we are in Canada, eh, only 82 beers to go. Heard a PA announcement outside our cabin, not in our cabin, opened the balcony to find the “announcement” was a bullhorn voiced neighbor chatting. Heaven help me. It's one of those days made for reading on a balcony, but not with that noise. What is with people? Mrs. Whogo won the spa drawing, $150 credit to be used while the ship is in port, appointment must be made before 10:00 tonight. Will she use it or lose it? Did she “win” the opportunity to hear sales pitches for spa products? if so, will she fall for them? Stay tuned. There are children aboard from babes in arms through teenagers, well behaved so far including a table near us of all elementary school aged children with no adults. As regular Holland America cruisers, we are used to seeing walkers and wheelchairs, not prams. Good dinner and good service, no clear winner between my lamb chops and her miso cod. Have I set a record for sticking oddities in quotation marks? beautiful weather sunshine coastline asparagus miso cod lamb chops 13 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare highplanesdrifters Posted July 13 #5 Share Posted July 13 Love it all, keep em coming. My wish for you..... fair winds for calm seas ninety nine bottles of beer quiet balcony 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare markandjie Posted July 13 #6 Share Posted July 13 I know it's only two posts in but this is definitely an early contender for live thread of the year. Please keep em coming! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare theopup Posted July 13 #7 Share Posted July 13 14 hours ago, whogo said: had a Molson beer, we are in Canada, eh, only 82 beers to go. lol; wonderful evening for your sail away. Enjoy your cruise. Looking forward to hearing about it 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TylerRose Posted July 14 #8 Share Posted July 14 I will be following along with your online shares--- and letting you keep track of our days at sea. FYI, my hubby is the one on board dragging about the all the camera gear NOT on crew... I am the one trying to keep warm ---usually heckling him from behind. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted July 14 Author #9 Share Posted July 14 January 13, 2024 Where did all the water come from? We sailed close to shore last evening and enjoyed views of pine covered mountains on both sides of the ship. This morning there is a lot of water and a distant view of land off the starboard side, it is either Canada or Alaska, let's call it North America, will try to pinpoint later. Still smooth sailing, I see the slightest motion between the horizontal line of our balcony railing and the horizon. I scanned the ocean for wildlife, found none. Dining room opened for breakfast at 8:00, the middle of the morning for me, have to remember this is Seabourn and Seabourn cruisers dine late like the Rockefellers. Any American cafe could have provided my egg and bacon breakfast, will have to order lamb chops or eggs benedict tomorrow. Seabourn does set the table with a lot of nice flatware that Tommy's Cafe doesn't. Picked up my no extra charge Helly Hansen waterproof, breathable, guaranteed, hooded Seabourn jacket. Bright blue and orange colors should make it easier for a rescue team to find me. Brent Houston introduced his Ventures (expedition) team in the Grand Salon (showroom), wildlife, kayak, zodiac, Alaska experts, must be about a dozen of them. We sailed with Brent on our Antarctica cruise, he was the penguin expert, presented great talks on them, did wonderful penguin imitations. (Note that I did not call him my dear friend, we were not that close.) Mrs. Whogo and I ended up at a high top table in the Colonnade again for lunch, tables are hard to come by. I spoke with a couple of Ventures experts at their station aft of Seabourn Square, they had not spotted wildlife yet, either. The captain's noon announcement was at noon thankfully, Holland America's noon announcement on our last cruise was at 1:00, still makes me uneasy to remember that. Trivia started immediately after, we lucked into a good team, won Seabourn travel umbrellas. Chopin was Polish, Ray Manzarek was with the Doors, and the answer to the Roman numeral math question was DCIV. I've seen a map. We are sailing off the coast of British Columbia, Canada no longer visible to the east, we reach Ketchikan and Alaska tomorrow. Mrs. Whogo attended the Venture talk on alcids. What are alcids, you ask? They are chunky seabirds of the family Alcidae, including puffins. There is a chance we will see puffins flying about. We have not yet seen any wildlife beyond Vancouver's gulls and pigeons. Seabourn offered me an upgrade to a Wintergarten suite a few weeks ago for $9,100. I turned it down without checking to see if that was the price for both of us or each of us. Just as well, I can't handle our small cabin, had my watch charging cord before dinner, could not find it after dinner. I checked every drawer, shelf, cushion, cubbyhole, in the cabin, so desperate that I carefully eyeballed the ceiling. It will turn up right where I left it, if I buy a replacement in Ketchikan. I am without my smart watch, have to dig my phone out of my pocket to check the time. What an inconvenience. How do the kids do it? Formal night tonight, the clothes people are out. I look like an unmade bed in sweater and tie, but would look like an unmade bed in a suit or dinner jacket, so what's the diff? If my appearance annoys you, just remember all the things you do to annoy me and let's call it even. Signature Dinner tasting menu tonight, six course set menu, four small appetizers (we both thought they were full size) plus choice of a halibut, beef tenderloin or vegetarian main followed by dessert. Waiters expected applause as they popped the covers off the main dishes in unison. Popped our lids off and I was served my wife's halibut, she was served my beef. Boo. Hiss. Today's tally, zero beers, one elevator ride (don't tell Mrs. Whogo). Oh, Canada, eh, baby puffins are pufflings Alaska awaits 7 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted July 14 Author #10 Share Posted July 14 Life was simpler before Mrs. Whogo discovered my blog. She picked a fight. “Poem? That's not a poem.” “It's a haiku, it's a poem.” “You're just putting in a few random words.” “It's an ancient poetry form. Five syllable line followed by seven syllables followed by five. Eighteen syllables.” “Seventeen syllables.” “Oh, that does make seventeen. I rounded up to an even number. Poetic license. I was speaking American and counting syllables before you were born. You just don't appreciate art. Philistine.” Then it got ugly. It is a sad state of affairs when a man is treated better by social media than by his wife. Life was simpler before Mrs. Whogo discovered my blog. 6 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted July 15 Author #11 Share Posted July 15 July 14, 2024, Happy Bastille Day Alaska! Forty-ninth state in the union, fiftieth and final for me. Alit in Ketchikan, Alaska at 6:32 AM. My US map is all colored in, I have completed the set, major goal of this cruise reached, I don't have to do anything else. In reality, I screwed up, should have made North Dakota my 50th state, joined the “Best for Last” club at the welcome center and received the tee shirt to the staff's applause. https://www.fargomoorhead.org/best-for-last-club/ Ketchikan did nothing, no trumpet fanfare, no greeting committee, no congratulatory handshake. I'm still happy to be here. Alaska, The Last Frontier, Nature in all her glory on display. The annual migration of thousands of miles, shifting from the Caribbean to the Pacific Northwest, undaunted, jewelry stores follow their prey feed off cruise ship passengers. Effy, Diamonds International and all the rest. Ketchikan, population 8049, today welcomed Ruby Princess (3080 passengers), Celebrity Edge (2918 passengers), Carnival Spirit (2124 passengers), Seabourn Odyssey (458 passengers). It brings tears to my eyes. You can see Russia from here. All you have to do is look back to a time before Seward arranged for its purchase from Russia. The cruise director's PA announcement of the weather and gangway opening was fine, the continued announcement of a half dozen things that were printed in the daily Herald were too much. Let those who can't or won't read suffer. We expected rain in what is considered the rain capital of Alaska. It was, instead, a beautiful sunshiny day, shirtsleeve weather. What luck. Mrs. Whogo and I were off. I had checked to see that it was open on Sundays, arrived at Totem Heritage Center to find a taped up message that it was closed due to power failure. We followed the creek back to downtown past the fish hatchery, closed Sundays. Beautiful, fast moving shallow stream, the sound of water frequently all one could hear, bridges gave a good view of some big salmon, maybe two feet long. We passed a couple of piles of bear scat without encountering the beasts. The “closed due to power failure” sign was removed as we reached Tongass Historical Museum. It was worth more than the $5 they charged us elders (old people). I especially liked displays of stone, wood and horn tools, and woven baskets, a video of the salmon cannery operation was mesmerizing. I watched a series of short videos, loved the statement in the credits of one of them that thousands of fish had been killed in the making of the film, just the opposite of what you expect in films today. Finally back to downtown, Mrs. Whogo went wild in the shopping paradise and bought postcards and salmon rub. We pulled away from the dock right on time at 3:00. The captain mentioned a few minutes before that we would leave the protected inside passage about 1:00 and might experience more motion and that scenic sailing would start about 6:30 AM as we approach Sitka. Pretty scenery this evening, too, fairly close to little forested islands, distant mountains. We watched from our table in TK Grill celebrating a milestone. Do people eat all the food in all the courses? I was served crudites, bread and butter, clam chowder, a big ribeye steak, spinach, mushrooms, a sundae and chocolate chip cookies. What a gut busting meal. Patchy fog as dusk fell added some eeriness, imagined it as the opening of a horror film. Today's tally: Zero beers, zero elevator rides. Russia's right next door on our anniversary fifty is nifty 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted July 16 Author #12 Share Posted July 16 July 15, 2024, Sitka, Alaska Our ride was a little rougher last night as predicted, still nothing to speak of. The weather service reports current conditions of rain/fog/mist in Sitka. Forecast? “Rain. High near 58. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph becoming south in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.” We dined late last night, finished before 10:00, the Grill had just two other groups when we left, the large party of Spanish speakers was just getting their appetizers, were probably eating earlier than they prefer. But I have kept you on tenter hooks long enough, you want to hear about Mrs. Whogo's experience winning the $150 credit at the spa. Was she able to book a treatment during a port stop? Yes! Did she receive the discount? Yes! Was she happy with her treatment? Yes! Was there a sales pitch to buy product? None at all. Of course her mani/pedi with extras cost more than $150, but she felt it was a bargain. Tipped. Wildlife sightings! At last. Before breakfast I saw a sea otter at some distance, bald eagles, and what the Venture team said were Steller sea lions. They are the largest of the eared seals. Only the walrus and elephant seal are larger pinnipeds. The eagle, otter and seal are the only wildlife seen since Vancouver's gulls and pigeons. Remember, all I wanted from this cruise was to reach US state #50, all the rest of this is gravy. Mrs. Whogo and I split up after my second breakfast (I ate before she arose and then could not let her dine alone). I wore my rain gear in light rain all day. It took about five minutes to tender ashore at 10:00, Silversea's Silver Nova was anchored farther away. Norwegian Bliss, with capacity of 4,004 passengers, was docked five miles away and explained the mass of tourists in Sitka. I made a pedestrian tour of the town, viewed St. Michaels [Russian Orthodox] Cathedral, the Lutheran Church, the blockhouse and the cemetery. When did you last see a Russian princess' grave? Princess Maksoutoff was the wife of the last governor of Russian America. I bought six postcards at $0.25 each without telling the shopkeeper what a bargain that was. I walked with the musical lilt of raven song, those big birds are a favorite of mine. Then I got to the good stuff. The log Russian Bishop's House, ca 1841, now a National Park Service museum with info about Russian America was also an orphanage. St. Peter's by the Sea Episcopal Church had interesting architecture with a unique steeple. Then I got to the really good stuff. Sitka National Historical Park on the site of an 1804 battle between the Russians and Tinglit Kiks.adi. Early and modern totem poles were displayed, the forest trails were a wonder, especially after the crowds thinned out, trees are impressive in the Pacific Northwest. I was pleasantly surprised to see no litter. Spent some time chatting with the totem carvers in the visitor center. The park rangers were helpful, all in all a great experience. A number one primo day. Although we had split up, Mrs. Whogo saw the same things I did plus the Sheldon Jackson Museum with info about its life as a school for the natives. Dining room meals of Vietnamese lemongrass chicken with rice noodles for me and scallops and shrimp for her. She was off to hear a singer in the Grand Salon, I had important blogging to do. Alaskan forests ravens eagles are gravy totems by Tinglits 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted July 17 Author #13 Share Posted July 17 July 16, 2024, Hubbard Glacier I have a drinking problem. There, I admitted it. It's time to face facts, own up to it, do something about it, go public with it. You'll recall that I needed to drink 83 included beverages per day to make this cruise a bargain. I have had one beer. I am 414 beers short of my goal. I will never make it. This cruise will never be a bargain. It's not that Seabourn don't try, they offer alcohol all the time. Seabourn will have bottles of your favorite booze waiting in your cabin when you board, will stock your fridge with your favorite beer, replenish it daily. They offer a shot of vodka as you enter the caviar party. Don't want vodka? Take the bubbly instead. Order a drink at trivia, all included. You should see the look of shock on the waiter's face when you turn down wine at dinner, they offer to bring something else, anything else. The confused look on the poor guy's face as he tries to understand that you really don't want anything. I feel like I hurt his feelings when I don't give him the pleasure of bringing me a drink. What are we doing on Seabourn? What does the staff say about the weird undemanding Whogo couple? Dosed myself with caffeine in the Observation Bar, not available until 6:15 AM and they call that “early riser”, go figure, I'd been up for two hours. Admired the snowy mountain peaks way off to port. Mountains were closer as we entered Disenchantment Bay (what a great name). Next great scenery was our arrival at Hubbard Glacier, a massive wall of blue ice, seven miles wide, 350 feet high above the waterline with another 250 feet below. It rains all the time here, but the sun shone on us, metaphorically speaking, as the overcast skies spit out a few widely scattered tiny drops on occasion. We took a ships excursion, about 120 of us loaded onto a catamaran for a narrated tour closer to the glacier. We moved from heated inside seating to outside viewing as the mood hit us. It was wonderful to get close the glacier, witness some calving and to see a number of harbor seals that had pulled themselves up on floating ice. Also saw a number of black-legged kittiwake and what's the black bird that is too chubby to be a raven? It was a black oyster catcher, marvelous bird with striking orange eyes and long orange beak, look up a photo of one. We could not have been happier with the excursion. Mrs. Whogo was not interested in sushi at The Club, I went alone, ordered a couple of sushi rolls and she showed up and snagged some away from me. Feasted on escargot and lamb chops in the dining room, I am one happy camper. Seabourn's Voyage tracker will give you their corporate take on this cruise. I have not looked through it yet (hope there is nothing bad about me), expect flowery language about gentle breezes, majestic mountains and jeweled light on rippling waters and absolutely no negativity. See if they mention that it rained all day in Sitka, e.g. You may need to do some navigation via the three line menu link (which on my iphone is off the screen in the upper left corner) to Odyssey, July 12, 2024: https://www.seabourn.com/en/us/experience/voyagetracker/index.html You can also see our approximate current position and nearby ships here: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:370039/mmsi:309416000/imo:9417086/vessel:SEABOURN_ODYSSEY or the more exact satellite position by paying for an upgrade. blue skies and blue ice Hubbard glacier calved for us escargot is tops 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lincslady Posted July 17 #14 Share Posted July 17 Loving it. If you actually want to wake a bit later in the morning, can I recommend a few glasses of wine with dinner, which would probably do the trick? And reduce the profit you are giving to Seabourn, to make you feel like more of a winner in the financial stakes. 1 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTtravelers Posted July 17 #15 Share Posted July 17 8 hours ago, whogo said: ...The confused look on the poor guy's face as he tries to understand that you really don't want anything. I feel like I hurt his feelings when I don't give him the pleasure of bringing me a drink.... At the pool area, I came up with a creative solution that really, really works: ask for a glass of sparkling water with a twist of lemon or lime. The waiter gets to bring you a drink and all the other waiters will see that you already have something! So they are all happy. Problem solved. 🙂. Love you blog! keep 'em coming. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted July 18 Author #16 Share Posted July 18 lincslady, I found out years ago that I don't much care for wine. I can drink it, but do not enjoy it. DTtravelers, I have used the club soda and lime trick on occasion. I should do it more often, if gives the staff such pleasure to fetch me a drink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted July 18 Author #17 Share Posted July 18 July 17, 2024, Inian Islands, Icy Strait Point I am an alcoholic. I lied about my alcohol use, did not mention that I had a beer yesterday with my sushi. It is a lie of omission, but a lie nonetheless, you've been counting on me for all the facts. I await an intervention. Awoke early to gray skies, climbed to the Observation Bar to find it was raining steadily, not a great day for our zodiac tour, spotted a couple of humpback whales, they disappeared after about ten seconds and I saw no more wildlife for the next hour of looking. Ah, nothing like a little zodiac ride in steady rain. Twelve of us sat on the inflated rim of the boat while guide/driver Meghan(sp?) straddled the pilot seat. I stayed warm and dry in Gore-tex from head to toe. Seas were calm, the ride was smooth and sedate. Meghan brought us close to the shore of the islands. Steller sea lions were plentiful, they swam about and we saw one catch a nice sized salmon. Observed a batch of sea lions on rocky outcrops. The alpha male posed regally in profile, other males were not far away, females and young filled out the scene. Assume things would be less peaceful in breeding season, there were just a couple of juveniles sparring a bit. Also observed mature and juvenile bald eagles in flight and at rest. Sea otters resting on their backs in kelp were a crowd favorite, one had her young on her belly. I liked the black guillemots with their bright red legs and webbed feet and white on their wings. They feed by swimming underwater like diving ducks do. We were lucky to see one harbor seal. Would have been fun to spot a puffin or whale. Shucked off my Gore-tex and raced to trivia, few players, no one from my regular team, joined the team named Ralph and did spectacularly poorly, saved by our member who knew what laser was an acronym for, were beaten by the team made up of ship's officers. We weren't the worst team. This was a two port day. Two, two, two ports in one. We anchored at Icy Strait Point which appears to be a made for cruise ship port at the town of Hoonah, I heard it is run by Native Tinglit and they get all the profits. Good for them. Tendered ashore and saw we were not alone. The Norwegian Sun was docked at our tender landing spot, the Norwegian Jewel a bit farther on, 4100 passengers or so. Ouch. We merged with the teeming multitude to take the nature trail to the facilities, passed up the gondola, needed the exercise. The gondola is mandatory when bears are spotted near the trail. I did like the Alaskan rain forest, despite the crowd, with tall western hemlock and lots of greenery and rotting tree trunks. Lichen hangs from some trees like Spanish moss. It was not raining.We did not take a whale watching tour, the zip line, jeep tour or the like. Toured the museum and shops, had a pint of Cannery Red Ale by Denali Brewing served by a girl with braces that I took to be about sixteen, although I am lousy at judging ages. Saw a number of whale spouts too far away to see the whales themselves. Saw my first MAGA hat of the cruise. The walk back on the nature trail was more pleasant without the earlier crowd. Dined at a hosted table with a congenial group, conversation flowed. Another Inspirations set menu. I had another beer. Quit saying I have an alcohol problem. beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer no intervention 12 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted July 19 Author #18 Share Posted July 19 July 18, 2024, Haines, Alaska Overcast again, still beautiful, love the way a layer of clouds conceals part of the surrounding mountains, very atmospheric and nothing like any view back home and it is not raining. The dining room is not open for breakfast and lunch on port days. I ordered the daily special, eggs royal (eggs Benedict with smoked salmon instead of back bacon) in the Colonnade for first breakfast. Not really special, available every morning, I would call it a suggestion rather than a special. A couple of things on Seabourn reminded me of Holland America. A fan was set up to dry a patch of carpet in the deck nine hallway. Leaky roofs and pipes and buckets to catch drips are a Holland America hallmark. The other thing is the automatic machine that converts a hopper of oranges into glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice, Holland America used to have them on all their ships. I toured Haines on foot, tendered to the pier and heard a loud warning announcement. Volcanic activity, take shelter. (I could see archeologists of the future uncovering my remains. Why didn't I dress better? Is my underwear clean?) Tsunami warning, evacuate. Tune local radio for details. High winds expected, take shelter. Mandatory evacuation order. Tune local radio for details. Amber alert... This is a test of the emergency warning system. We were joined in port by the 163 passenger American Constellation whose passengers were probably cursing having to share the area with the massive 450 passenger Seabourn Odyssey. Clouds dispersed, the sun came out, saw the nearby snow streaked mountain peaks. Believe me, it was beautiful even I can't describe it. A helpful woman at the tourist information station confirmed my plan and suggested a route that would ease the hill climb. I headed up to the site of Fort William H. Seward. The parade ground survives and the surrounding well kept houses look like they could have been military construction. I missed the turn to lessen the hill climb and added extra, way to go whogo. Stepped into the library to recover from the climb, did not find a book by my favorite author, but did not try very hard. Continued on to the Hammer Museum, a surprisingly interesting place with an engaging docent. This little Hammer Museum was sued by the wealthy (Armand) Hammer Museum for infringement, won, was sued again, won, was sued a third time and a Wall Street Journal article about it shamed the wealthy Hammer Museum into dropping the nonsense. The publicity brought in donations from all over. Great ending to the story. Carpentry, railroad, electrical, medical, so many different kinds of hammers, well researched and displayed, worth the $7.00 admission. The nearby Haines Sheldon Museum tells of local history, art and culture. Great resource for a town of 2,000, but did not add much to what I have already learned of the Pacific Northwest. My favorite artifacts were baskets of woven spruce root. Back aboard for lunch, lost at trivia. In what city would you find the Spanish Steps? What nationality were Mason and Dixon? Mrs. Whogo took a ship Moose Meadow Coastal hiking excursion. Bused to the trailhead, only 100 foot elevation gain, but it was up 90, down 80, up 50, down 20, up 60, etc for five miles on paths slippery from eight days of rain. She was thankful for the provided hiking stick, had a good walk, no great wildlife sightings. The Epicurean & Officers on Deck Farewell was held around the pool with snacks, drinks, music by Audrey & The Band and an introduction to the multitude of staff aboard ship. I met fellow CC member TylerRose and her husband, hope to hear a report on Keller chicken in the Colonnade and to dine with them next week. Dinner of polenta crusted shrimp appetizer and steelhead trout main course for me. Blundered into a view of historic octagonal Eldred Rock Light while walking after dinner. lush verdant mountains rise steeply from water's edge with snow contrasting 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTtravelers Posted July 19 #19 Share Posted July 19 (edited) 10 hours ago, whogo said: July 18, 2024, Haines, Alaska Back aboard for lunch, lost at trivia. In what city would you find the Spanish Steps? What nationality were Mason and Dixon? Dang! I could have helped you here even though I am otherwise pretty useless at Trivia. Back aboard for lunch, lost at trivia. In what city would you find the Spanish Steps? Maybe your next adventure cruise might include central Italy? Then you will be all prepared for when this comes up again in Trivia. And you can get a really good cappuccino too. What nationality were Mason and Dixon? Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) and James Taylor explained all this in the really beautiful duet "Sailing to Philadelphia" on Knopfler's album by the same name. Warning - after a couple listens, it will stick in your head and you will be humming it all day. YouTube it... (sorry, couldn't resist) Sending you some sunshine from Seattle area! Today is our 16th straight day with highs in the 80's. A new record. Edited July 19 by DTtravelers 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted July 20 Author #20 Share Posted July 20 July 19, 2024, Juneau Low ceiling and rain welcomed us to Juneau. We booked a fourteen day cruise, did not realize it was available as seven day cruises, this is changeover day, about half the ship is departing, new cruisers will be boarding. The woman at the visitor center recommended what turned out to be the perfect hike for us, the ideal length and level of difficulty. Travel Juneau's free map was clear and concise, even showed where the streets were steep. Leaving the safety of the Effy, Diamonds International and Tanzanite International stores on the pier, we braved Franklin Street with it jewelry store after jewelry store after jewelry store. I liked the one with the two salesmen smoking out front. One stamped out his cigarette and rather than leave it on the sidewalk... he kicked it into the street. I want to shop in that store. The uphill climb was steeper than what we deal with at home. We heard the rushing water of Gold Creek far below us from Basin Road and crossed a footbridge at a dam to head west on a nearly level boardwalk on Gold Creek Flume Trail. Easy walking except for a small landslide and rivulet to deal with. Stopped to admire the visual effect of fog in the tall trees. No wildlife to speak of, saw a junco like bird. We descended a 75 step stairway to city streets and a definite wildlife sighting of a big bear enjoying a snack from a garbage can. Yum. Disney Wonder, Carnival Miracle, and Quantum of the Seas were docked early this morning, Zaandam anchored at lunch time. After lunch of mahi mahi we toured the Alaska State Museum. Where else can you see a parka made of bird skins, a water/wind resistant parka made from seal intestines (think natural sausage casings), and the remnants of a 5,450 year old spruce root basket? We did not attend the 6:00 congregation led Sabbath Service – I know even less about Judaism than I do about Christianity. The extent of my knowledge is that sunset Friday starts the Jewish Sunday and Jews observe Christmas by going out to a Chinese restaurant. I had sushi and a beer in The Club, filet mignon for dinner in the dining room. highways lead elsewhere Juneau has no connection Alaska is weird 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted July 21 Author #21 Share Posted July 21 July 20, 2024, Endicott Arm Iceberg! Visions of the Titanic disaster flash through my mind as an iceberg is the first thing I see outside. Icebergs! The captain has skillfully avoided them. So far. Widely scattered, he'd have trouble hitting one. The bergs are small. At what size do they become a hazard? Up early, shaved, showered and in the Observation Bar at 4:50 AM. Overcast, rainy and windy, it would be dreary if we were not sailing through another beautiful fjord. The channel narrows, fog rolls out of a narrow inlet, there are some small waterfalls, the rain stops, visibility improves, I can see snowy peaks, clouds dapple lower parts of the mountains, fog hides in the trees. Sunshines on a mountain top ahead, this is promising. Where did the beautiful blue water come from? I see a meeting of the waters, brown, more sediment laden water from an inlet lies beside the blue. I mention to a Venture staff member that the scenery must be glorious in sunshine, she says it looks better in overcast conditions. The sun comes out and she is proved right. I have already climbed more stairs than anyone should, up to the Observation Bar, down to get my jacket, up for the view, down for my laptop, up for the view. I am not going down for my polaroid glasses. We stop about a mile from Dawes glacier at the end of the fjord. We should see some harbor seals, slim chance of seeing a bear or mountain goat. I figure the bird with the sharply pointed wings and black cap is an arctic tern, I might be right. More stairs, down to the Colonnade at 6:30 for breakfast, find out that was yesterday's opening time, back up to view, back down at 8:00 for an omelet, watch little National Geographic Quest (100 passengers) pass us and get much closer to the glacier. One quarter mile? Maybe. Ate leg of lamb and a taste of sauerbraten for lunch on the outside deck aft of Colonnade before an afternoon at leisure, we had booked no excursions closer to the glacier. Ben Dilley gave an excellent talk on Lives of Seabirds. Seabirds are K breeding types. They live longer lives and invest a lot in raising a single offspring as opposed to R breeders who have a lot of short lived progeny. I found it interesting that albatross find prey by both sight and smell. International cooperation in tracking birds has been a boon to knowledge. Took a wrong turn on deck 6 and met Captain Tim Roberts, never met a cruise ship captain before. I escaped soon for another sushi lesson in The Club, one deck below. Dinner in the dining room was another set course affair, do not much care for it will order off the classic menu if they have yet another one. Just one arctic tern no other wildlife spotted nice scenery though 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted July 22 Author #22 Share Posted July 22 Sunday, January 21, 2024, Wrangel, Alaska 99929 USA I have done my other cruise blogs as The Grouch, but caught flak for not being very grouchy, false advertising. I will pick a few, minor, first world nits with Seabourn. Shower controls are a challenge. The temperature control knob works beautifully, it even has a temperature gauge. The other knob? Turn it to the left to send water to the shower head, turn it to the right to direct water to the shower wand. The problem is to find the sweet spot in the middle to turn it off, it takes the fingers of a safe cracker to prevent a drip, drip drip. Bathroom storage is at a minimum. There are awkward little out of the way shelves under the sinks. There is also a tiny corner wall cabinet, maybe 10” X 10” with three shelves, one of which is taken up by a jar of cotton balls. The cabinet below that is locked up and has a stash of spare toiletries. Why would Seabourn take up valuable space in my bathroom to store toiletries that I do not have access to and that they need only once per week or so? Ever hear of a housekeeping closet? I am not a fan of the squeeze in closet, have to sidle in. The deep drawers in there are its best feature. The shallow cabinet at the foot of the bed is not handy. Left handed people be warned, coffee cups and tea pots in Colonnade are right handed. Christians? No Sunday service was listed in The Herald. The Seabourn app is not supported on Mrs. Whogo's old Android phone, not available for her on Google Play. The app has been handy on mine. Daily schedule, dining menus, opening hours, deck plans, statement, everything is there. It reminded me a day late of an excursion and then the next day again, two days late. I did have some problems connecting originally, found that opening internet.seabourn.com solved all problems on my phone and laptop. Bookmark internet.seabourn.com before your cruise. Today? After breakfast we took a left from the pier and walked a mile along the shore road to Petroglyph Beach Historic Park, thought we might see one or two of these rock carvings on a cliff side. No, there are numerous petroglyphs on black, metamorphic boulders on the beach. Pretty neat, we clambered over rocks and fallen tree trunks in search of them, unmarked, no boardwalk, no warning signs, I thought there would be placards on each. Did not find all forty or so that are supposed to be there, but had fun looking. There is a Chilean family of forty-one aboard that has skewed the usual breakdown of nationalities. They have a number of active elementary school age kids who are probably annoying some of my fellow cruisers. I have not heard any complaints and I like seeing happy, healthy kids having fun. Afternoon tea in the Observation Bar to the gentle sounds of light piano music soothed away the day's stress. Tea includes a tower of savory and sweet treats and choice of tea. Did not attend Brent Houston's presentation on expedition cruising on the new ships Venture and Pursuit. Regular Seabourn cruises are more expensive than I prefer and the expedition ships much more so. I need no more than their prices to kill my interest in them. The serenity of the afternoon tea wore off in a hurry. I went to The Club at my usual time for my nightly sushi lesson only to find the space blocked off for a private party. What a nightmare. Checked again an hour later and the place was too crowded for me. The dining room menu did not appeal, the Colonnade menu wasn't any better, but we tried our first dinner there ever. The noise was incredible, it was not just the party next to us, a staff member was just as loud. My red beef curry had a lot of liquid and some pieces of thinly sliced beef that I might have been able to piece together to cover my palm, pretty chintzy. You're right, I'm not going hungry, quit grousing. Made a final attempt at sushi in The Club, they were closing down a half hour early. when disappointed forget life's irritations think afternoon tea 3 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lincslady Posted July 22 #23 Share Posted July 22 Sorry you had a not so good day; seems to happen once a cruise for everyone. Hopefully you got all the less nice things over at once. I must admit I would probably be one of the grumpy ones regarding the huge Spanish speaking family on board, especially a lot of noisy children. Onwards and upwards. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleally Posted July 22 #24 Share Posted July 22 I have friends on this cruise and 4 hours ago, whogo said: happy, healthy kids having fun. I have friends on this cruise and they call it, kids running through the dining room barefoot and kids running down the hall screaming after 10pm! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleally Posted July 22 #25 Share Posted July 22 2 hours ago, lincslady said: Sorry you had a not so good day; seems to happen once a cruise for everyone. Hopefully you got all the less nice things over at once. I must admit I would probably be one of the grumpy ones regarding the huge Spanish speaking family on board, especially a lot of noisy children. Onwards and upwards. Oh trust me, you would, I would. From what my friends report, I’d be at guest services often. Seabourn is not Carnival. Sorry not sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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