Haljo1935

Just short of 1 hour out of Ketchikan - glassy smooth water. No whales yet today.

Hey @Denise T if you're still packing, you might want to be sure to toss in ear muffs. Even in the sun when a jacket may due (vs a coat) the slightest breeze can still chill the ears. I forgot mine today and wished a few times I had them. I practically live in 'em on the balcony.

Back on board still enjoying the beautiful 52(F) almost clear blue sky day. Haven't seen any Pier Runners yet, but there's still time, lol. Well, thanks to a little internet glitch, I lost the original pictures and we've since left. But it was a nice final view of the pier, nonetheless, and sail away is gorgeous. We're headed to our final port, Victoria BC. It will be a very quick stop for dinner, as we're only there 8pm - midnight. We're having candied bacon in the Pinnacle tonight - yummy!!

Enjoying a cappuccino from Local Grounds in the whale park while we wait for All Aboard. Local Grounds has a decent menu - I only captured one side of the menu.

Beautiful sunny day, 52, occasional breeze. Nice weather for walking Creek Street.

We've been cleared to go ashore. Looks to be a beautiful dry 🌞 day in Ketchikan; perfect for walking the streets over to Annabelle's for lunch. This is a very short stop as All Aboard is 1230.

No excursions booked for today - we'll just wander the town and eat a quick lunch at Annabelle's before a very early 12:20 All Aboard. Usually 🌧 🌦 when we're here, so we do an ATV ride on old abandoned logging trails - the wetter, the better. But since this is a very short stop, we decided to not do the ATV. Mother Nature seems to approve as we've been blessed with a clear, dry day. ☀️🌞🌝

Waiting on clearance to leave ship - looks to be a beautiful day in Ketchikan!

Good morning, Ketchikan!!

Sunrise through Tongass Narrows coming into Ketchikan has been lovely (seem to be giving that word a workout - open to suggestions for alternatives, lol). The water is very still, balcony is such a peaceful place (using the HAL provided blanket plus my jacket) - sure wish Explorations Central was open this time of day. Is it too early for wine? Need something to enjoy on the balcony. Miss the wake views from the aft balconies, but these views are still stunning and camera-worthy. Slightly envious of those who were able to snag the afts 😘🤧 but this slightly forward deck 6 SS from a lowest level balcony guarantee is quite enjoyable and proof last minute guarantees can pay off!! Thanks again @Denise T for your Live thread - it was the inspiration for this booking!!

Sorry, @Denise T I should have checked your itinerary before posting the Sitka pics - it's worth a stop on your next trip! We've entered the Tongass Narrows as we head closer to Ketchikan. BTW - balcony pictures are taken port side. Additional posts & pictures are on my Live Eurodam AK April 29 - May 6 thread. I am really excited to follow @Denise T and her pictures in a few weeks - no such thing as "too much Alaska" for us Lower 48ers.

More pictures from Sitka yesterday: Enjoyed coffee at A Little Something just next to the Lutheran church. It's inside a "mall" with little shops - has fish shaped bike racks out front. There's a pretty dark blue coat at the fur store if you have an extra $17k - we passed, so it may still be available 😀 Flowers in bloom at the harbor across from the shuttle drop. Mountain in the background sure makes a nice view. Sitka is very walkable (reminder free shuttle runs continuously throughout the day to/from ship & Downtown) with a variety of restaurants. The Russian influence is evident in the food options as well as in the shops. This is the place to buy nesting dolls and Christmas ornaments. A very nice variety of handmade jewelry, gifts and shirts - lots of artisans. Last few pictures are from our balcony looking over the port as we prepared to say goodbye to Sitka. Weather held - just started to drizzle as we got back to the ship. There is a courtesy cart to get you to/from the ship & the welcome center if you want/need. We didn't use it, but would also be handy if you're prone to shopping 😉

Few pictures from around Sitka, which is a bike-friendly, dog-friendly town. The new welcome center was nice, ypu still go through the old one when returning to the ship. There are excursions available Downtown at the shuttle drop. View of the church with mountain behind is lovely - clouds rolled in as the day went by eventually blocking the mountain. Remember to get fresh popcorn at the Lutheran church - we didn't have room, but did get coffee just inside the littleshop next to it. There are unique fish shaped bike racks outside.

Good morning - we're entering Tongass Narrows as we near Ketchikan.

Yes, we've missed the libraries, too, and are happy to see them returning. Not sure why they feel it necessary to leave all the empty cubbies in Explorations Central which had games and a few books... DH got a really big book to read and is halfway through it. He took a picture of the front of it so if he doesn't finish, he can get it at home. Selection seems to be pretty good with several copies of each book. Drop box to return is just inside the door.

Warm goodness...

Time for the good stuff- berry crumble!!

Progress has been made on the steamer pot, as there is now more in the lid than the pot. The pot is mostly crab and soup. Triple berry crisp a la mode will finish it off. That I will eat, lol, we had it at the Mariners Lunch and it was awesome!!

Lid of the steamer pot becomes the vessel for the "spent shells" lol.

Ivar's clam chowder is up first, followed by a steaming pot of Dungeness crab legs, clams, mussels, shrimp, Alaskan salmon, corn 🌽 on the cob, red skin potatoes, drawn butter, lemon and mini baguette. I don't eat seafood, so I'm waiting for the buffet to open.

We're in the Lido for DH seafood boil. Have a great view of Mt Edgecumbe, volcano about 15 miles west of Sitka. We've had about 5 or 6 whales spouting, so we have a great location. Tables are wrapped in lobster printed Butcher paper and there are plenty of bibs coming out!! No lemonade tonight - only iced tea or cranberry juice.

Awesome - welcome to HAL and to AK!! We were also Princess cruisers then rec'd a random email w/AK itineraries on HAL; we booked one and have been hooked since. That was May 2018 - we have thoroughly enjoyed all of them except last May when we did a land cruise. I'll spare you the horror story, but know that we'll be sticking to the cruises even though we blamed the disasters (of which there were many) on Covid.

Update - found this re Eurodam's recent drydock - the casino was to have been revamped. Not spending any time in there, I couldn't tell you if it was significant or not, but happy to go take a peek at it if you'd like.

As we're leaving the Sitka port heading back into Sitka Sound, CD came on reminding passengers that completing the Canadian customs declaration form is not optional and must be done by everyone on the ship for us to get clearance into Victoria. Violators are subject to fines or even more harsh action and potentially delaying (or even denying) entry. So, everyone on every cruise, please kindly submit the customs forms where/when you're asked. Thank you!

Here's pictures DH took of the smoking area near The Cookhouse in Icy Strait Point and kayakers in front of our ship that we saw as we were headed back down the path from The Cookhouse. Where the kayaks are is not far from where we saw the whales, so we had a very good "parking spot."