BrusselsGirl07

That was all of the action we saw for a really long time, and the group from the yacht had left to go to the other viewing area. Finally Heather said we should walk back to the beach and have some lunch. Then we could decide if we wanted to stay in the same lookout area or walk to another viewing area. There are only the two viewing areas on Admiralty Island.

We had a sandwich and a muesli bar and then the park ranger on the beach told us that the other park ranger had been calling and had finally gotten through to her (she was having trouble with her walkie talkie) and just after we left a mother bear and a yearling had arrived! We quickly packed everything up, stored it in the locker, and walked back to the lookout area.

We watched an adorable yearling and his mother fish. She was in the river catching the fish, and the baby was bouncing along the side of the river like a big, bouncy puppy. He was really cute. They worked their way up the river, and eventually were quite a distance from us, but we could still see them fishing and eating their fish.

Mother Bear hunting fish:

Baby bear bouncing along the shore staying dry:

The baby had a play and tussle with some grass and nearly fell in!

When we landed on the island, we stepped from the floats on the seaplane into knee high water. (which was why we needed the waders!). We waded to the shore, and then replaced our waders with our rubber boots. A ranger greeted us on the beach and gave us a short briefing. I was surprised that she was an Australian!

Heather then gave us a safety talk and locked all of our lunch and other bags into the bear proof lockers, and off we went to the viewing area. There are no toilets on Admiralty Island, and if you do need to use the bathroom, there is a small pile of rocks on the beach that you can crouch behind, and this is the only place you can go to the bathroom. You have to take any paper with you. None of us used the bathroom.

We walked along the beach and it was low tide, so there were jelly fish everywhere. After 10 minutes walking along the beach, we walked up into a clearing and found a small group of people sitting on logs in front of a river with a park ranger. These people had their own yacht and so had purchased some of the 12 passes for independent travellers.

We had been there a few minutes and I saw a bear walk out of the trees in the distance and out on the beach. I got Bill’s attention to show him, and alerted everyone else to the bear. It was quite a way away, but gradually it made its way along the beach and up into the river in front of us. It did not stay for long and ambled up into the trees.

At the beach upon arrival:

The first bear!

A Kingfisher:

As Bill and I had to go out to the Juneau airport for our next excursion, we asked our driver if she could drop us out there. She readily agreed, and it ended up being quite a way out of her normal route, so we thanked her and gave her a big tip. At the airport we had some spare time, so we went to a cafe where they had Alaskan beer on tap, so Bill was happy. I ordered a coffee, and we both had a snack.

Our next stop was Admiralty Island (part of the Tongass National Forest) to hopefully see bears! http://www.recreation.gov/permits/Pack_Creek_Bear_Viewing_Area/r/wildernessAreaDetails.do?page=details&contractCode=NRSO&parkId=72356 We would be visiting the Pack Creek Bear viewing area on the island. Admiralty Island has one of the healthiest bear populations in the world and is home to around 1,500 bears. In peak season they only give out 24 passes per day - 12 can be booked through the site linked above, and 12 can be booked though tour guides such as Pack Creek Bear Tours.

At 12 noon we went to the airline counter where our Pack Creek Bear Tours guide, Heather, was waiting for us http://packcreekbeartours.com/about-the-trip/. There was 2 other ladies on our trip, one from a Princess Ship also in Port and one who had flown in from Sitka to do this excursion.

Our guide finalised the paperwork, then walked us through the airport and out into a shed where we where fitted with rubber boots, and also thigh high waders. They also had hats, binoculars, raincoats and walking sticks which you could use. Anything you did not want to take could be left behind in the shed, and absolutely no food was allowed to be taken, apart from the food that our guide provided, which she would lock in the bear proof containers on our arrival.

We left our normal shoes behind and wearing our thigh high waders, climbed into a van to be driven to the seaplane takeoff lake. We boarded the plane and had a beautiful 40 minute flight to Admiralty island. We saw some whales diving, and our pilot circled to see if they would come back up, but they did not. As we flew over Admiralty Island, I saw a big Grizzly jumping in a stream catching fish!

Bill standing in the airside shed where we where fitted out with our boots:

Me and my big boots!

Our seaplane at the watery runway. I had never seen an airport that also had liquid runways for seaplane use!

Hubbard Glacier!

Thanks Cathy - on with the story!

Can you let me know if you think the photos are too big? Thanks, Yvette

This looks like a huge boot print in the snow!

A glacier research station:

Mountain goats dotted on the hillside:

This was such a fantastic excursion. We just loved our first helicopter ride, and the scenery was spectacular!

We flew back a different way over the glaciers and the views were so incredible. It is something that everyone should experience if they can. We really loved this adventure.

Bill on top of his hill! He looks so small!

After our time on the glacier, we got back in the helicopter and I was in the front this time. It was really interesting to see the dash board and watch the pilot start and fly the helicopter.

Bill climbed a steep hill and had trouble getting back down!

This was a photo he took at the top of the hill looking down, before he had to slide down!

Tuesday 5 August - We arrived in Juneau at 7am and had to be back on board by 8.15pm. It was a sunny day again. This was a big day for us with two excursions planned - a helicopter ride and a seaplane out to Admiralty Island. It was an amazing day - both tours were outstanding.

We started the day with an early coffee and free fast wifi in a coffee shop just around the corner from the Red Dog Saloon. We took advantage of the empty streets to take some photos!

We had booked on Era Helicopter's Taku Glacier Tour https://www.eraflightseeing.com/content/index_eng.html and had to meet at 8.45am at the port. The port was really busy with tour guides and people everywhere! We walked around but could not see our tour and by 8.45am we were feeling a bit worried! We asked a few tour guides and were assured they would be there. We finally called the Era offices who assured us the driver was on their way. A few minutes later they arrived and apologised for being late (although it was only by a few minutes, so no big deal, but we were used to having guides be there early so got worried).

Our driver was really friendly, and she drove us out to the Era Helicopters offices. We were weighed (again, none could see your weight) and fitted out with overboots, and we stored our bags in lockers they provided. By 9.30am we were sitting in a helicopter with 3 other people and off we went! Bill and I were in the back with another person and 2 were in the front with the guide. It was our first ride in a helicopter and was really exciting! The views as we flew over the town, the mountains and the glaciers was beautiful!

After a 20 minute ride we arrived and landed on the glacier. We had about half an hour to just roam around and take photos. The glacier was just spectacular and different to all of the other ones we had seen before. To me it looked like what I imagine the moon would look like. There were really blue ponds and streams and we could see bits of gravel embedded in the ice that had been moved along with the glacier. We drank some of the freezing cold water out of a stream. Our pilot took some photos of us while we where there.

Views from the helicopter:

We walked back to the Icy Strait Point complex. The Icy Strait Point facilities used to be a fish and salmon cannery. It is now owned by the Huna Totem Corporation and is apparently America's only private cruise ship destination. They have restaurants, shops and the world’s longest zip line ride and offer numerous excursions to cruise ship passengers. They had some large wooden bear carvings outside that I liked.

We had lunch at the Cookhouse Restaurant and ordered Halibut and chips. The serves were huge and we wished that we had only ordered one to share.

After lunch we looked through all of the shops and I bought a handblown glass ball. The shops were very well stocked, clean and bright and very welcoming. There was even a quilting store that my friend Nancy would have loved.

We caught a tender back to the ship, and had a quiet afternoon. We went to the Captain’s Club Cocktail hour to catch up with our new friends and then had dinner in the main dining room.

Once in town we walked around the area by the shore line. We saw some Bald Eagles and a Kingfisher. Hoonah is very small, and there are a couple of things to see there such as a totem carving centre, but they were closed.

Monday 4 August - we were back at Icy Strait Point/Hoonah, arriving at 10am with all aboard at 7.45pm. They were running tender tickets this time, as it was a much later start. We had been given priority tender tickets for the first time!

This was the only day in port of both cruises that I did not organise an excursion. We had a lazy morning and a late breakfast and then got off the ship at 10am and walked into Hoonah. The day started off looking cool and cloudy, but became a very warm sunny day. We were both too hot in our long sleeves and jackets that we had worn off the ship.

Leaving the ship:

An old dock:

There are really nice walkways and gardens around the Icy Strait Complex, and we took photos of these totems:

The walk from the ship into Hoonah took about 25 minutes (although we do walk fast). It was flat and had a good path the whole way and is a pretty walk.

A view on the way into Hoonah:

Before I move onto our day in Hoonah, I forgot to say that after the snorkel, the guides provided huge containers of hot water in the back of their equipment truck, so when you first walk up from the sea, you can peel off the top half of your wetsuit and pour hot water all over yourself. It felt really nice and washed all of the salt off. We then handed our snorkels and masks to the guides who stored them in their truck and we all got back on the bus.

The funny thing was that the water we had poured over ourselves had all gone down and collected in our boots, so we had sloshy warm feet until we took our boots off back in the offices!

This was a really fun activity, and I would recommend it to anyone if they can do it. I was a bit afraid of the cold water, but there was nothing to be scared of at all. The suits also keep you incredibly buoyant - you could not go under the water if you wanted to (unless you wore a weight belt). I bobbed around on top like a cork! I just wished the snorkel could have been for a longer time.

Yvette

We are now on the ship with you. Your pictures are the ones that I have in my memory bank. You make me want to go again today. Keep up the great work. You will love the Solstic. We have been on her three times.

Have a great weekend.

Ben

Hi Ben, such a shame we did not get to meet up. I am really looking forward to being on the Solstice after only sailing on the older, smaller ships (which I have loved by the way!).

It's the most comprehensive review I've read in this forum - just super. I'm amazed at not only the amount of research you did on the various shore activities but also with you and your husband's willingness to try different things. Your experience at the bear viewing platform was particularly awesome. And those photos!

 

We're going to Alaska in August 2015 but I know we're not going to be doing any bear viewing. We will be visiting a lot of shops, though.:)

Thanks cruisernewbieman - I appreciate your comments! I hope you have a great time in Alaska, and I hope you get to see a bear anyway, maybe an unexpected sighting on another excursion or something! Anan Creek was amazing, and when we go back to Alaska, we will do that again.

You can see Creek Street in the distance:

Our room is on the opposite side of the ship, but this is identical to the one we will be in at Christmas! The first row of rooms above the blue window, the first room to the right.

We were dropped back at the ship and went and had a look at Solstice. We are sailing on Solstice at Christmas and New Year’s Eve to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and we could see our room, 6302! Later on after we showered and changed we took some photos of all of the cruise ships lined up. I took photos of the opposite of 6302, 6303. I think we will be happy in our cabin at Christmas time!

We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We did not go to the elite elegant tea this week, but we did got to the Senior Officer’s Cocktail Party and met the couple from the night before, as well as another couple who were great dancers. We had a nice time chatting with them all. We had a late dinner before heading to bed.

Room 6302 is the very first balcony on the far left directly above the blue windows and to the right of the circle window!

An octopus in Ketchikan!

Sun 3 August - We were back in Ketchikan arriving at 7am and we had to be back onboard by 2.45pm. We had booked on the 11am snorkelling tour, which was only offered as a ships excursion http://snorkelalaska.com. I had contacted the company to book with them directly, but they asked us to book via the ship.

The day was bright and sunny, so after breakfast we got off the ship and walked around. We spent some time looking at the Christmas shop which was really big and had so many Christmas decorations! http://www.christmasinalaska.com/index-1.html At 11am we were met by the Snorkel Alaska reps and driven to their premises. On the way they explained about the suits we would wear, how to put them on and what we would see in the water.

We went into the offices changing rooms - the boys into one with the male guide and the ladies followed the female guide into our change room. We were fitted out with our thick wet suits, boots and head cover. They had sizes for everyone. Our female guide was quite curvy, and there was a couple of larger ladies in our group, but they had suits that would fit everyone.

We spent the next half hour trying to put them on. It was really hard work, and by the time I got the suit on both legs and up to my waist I was red and sweaty and really hot! I could not wait to get into the freezing water! It was such a workout getting these suits on, but I persevered and finally got both arms in, my head cover on, my boots on and everything zipped up.

We waddled out to the bus - the suits were very hard to move in as they were so thick - and we were given gloves, masks and snorkels. We then loaded up on the bus and drove to the water, where we waddled down the path with assistance from the 3 guides and hopped in the water. I thought the water would gush in the suits, but it did not. It sort of trickled in really slowly, so you were hardly aware of it entering your suit.

By the time it trickled in, your body had warmed it up, so we were cosy and warm! We saw lots of beautiful golden kelp that looked like mermaid’s hair, lots of beautiful starfish, fish, anemones, sea cucumbers, little hermit crabs and lots of other things that the guides would dive down and pick up for us to look at.

The only downside was that there was a family with two pre-teen daughters. One of them freaked out the entire time, screamed at the top of her lungs, flailed around and was totally unaware of anyone around her. This stressed out her parents who started yelling at her and her sister, and they yelled back.

The hour went too quickly, I would have liked more time in the water, and a more peaceful environment would have been nice as well. I got a few photos before the battery in my trusty underwater camera failed. It had been playing up and not taking a charge, and it finally died at the worst moment!

We drove back to the offices and went to change. It was a relief to get those suits off, and they came off so much more easily than they went on! I wanted to buy a t-shirt but we realised we had left our wallets back on the ship! We felt terrible not being able to tip and apologised.

Bill in his wet suit:

Hi Cathy - yes, the story will continue as we head back up to Seward and Anchorage. Thanks for your kinds words. The photos are a mix of iPhone photos and photos taken with Canon cameras and different lenses. I just got a new iPhone 6 Plus today, so am really excited to try out the camera, it is meant to be very good!

Saturday 2 August - We were cruising the Inside Passage again and looked forward to a relaxing day together. One of the things we love so much about cruising is that we can spend so much time together. We both work full time in very busy jobs and have a lot of activities we pursue after work during the week. Sometimes we hardly see each other during the day! So to be able to switch off from phones, the internet and television and just be together talking and sharing new experiences is so wonderful.

Dirk the naturalist had told everyone to go up to Cosmos early as we would be passing a spot where you can see Orcas. The lounge was packed!!! We did not see any Orcas as the morning was very foggy and misty but Dirk was nice enough to answer everyone’s questions.

We did not do a lot today, but we did have lunch again at Bistro on 5. We went to the Captain’s Club Cocktail Hour at 5pm, and met a nice couple and chatted with them until they left at 6pm for their early seating dinner.

Lionel the Captain's Club Host had left and was replaced by Raluca. She seemed much quieter than Lionel, but she was very nice.

We stayed at drinks until 7pm and then went to dinner in the main dining room. The select dining hostesses welcomed us back and we were seated at a fabulous table for 2 by the back windows. The view was really nice! We did not go to the Captain’s Gala Toast and the show Boogie Wonderland, we just relaxed and watched the sunset before heading to bed.

A very foggy morning:

But a beautiful sunset to end the day:

The steam powered clock was very popular and always surrounded by people. This was the best photo I could get!

Me and Gassy Jack:

Crepes in Bistro on 5 - I love this place!

Checking out the Vancouver Skyline which reminded me a little of Sydney Harbour:

Leaving Vancouver and going under the bridge:

Friday 1 August - We arrived in Vancouver very early. We had breakfast with that lovely feeling that only people on a back to back cruise have, knowing we would be back on board that afternoon!

With our transfer tickets, we left the ship. We were on a mission to find an iPhone screen protector, as two days earlier I had shattered my phone. One day as we were boarding I had just taken a photo, so had my iPhone in my hand, and my sea pass on the other. They insisted on squirting hand sanitiser in my hand, so I put my sea pass in my teeth! I then had to put my sea pass card in the machine myself, still holding my phone and a hand full of sanitiser, and the lady at security insisted I remove my hat. It was just too many things with too few hands, and my iPhone fell to the floor and smashed. I wish they would wait till you came through the X-ray machine before giving you the hand sanitiser.

Anyway, the shattered screen was losing little shards of glass, so I had not used it for a few days. I did find a screen protector and it did a great job of making the phone usable again and keeping the shards of glass where they should be. Because my phone was broken I hardly took any photos of our last day at sea cruising the Inside Passage, our day in Vancouver and then the next day cruising the Inside Passage again. But I have lovely memories, just not a lot of photos to share on my review!

I had researched Alaska really well, but not Vancouver! I knew we had a very short time here, and we had to be back on board by 3.45pm. It was a really hot day which we were not prepared for, so we just went for a big walk, checked our email and had a nice cold drink at Starbucks, and then went to see Gas Town and the steam powered clock. We went to the Steamworks Brewery, and then we decided to get back on board as we were so hot. As we were doing a B2B, we had been given a free lunch at Bistro on 5 which we could use until 2pm. To get back on board, we had to go through customs, and we stood in line for 45 minutes!! We got to Bistro on 5 just before 2pm, and had a very yummy lunch. The banana crepe with the chocolate sauce is great, but add some caramel sauce as well and it is even better!

We went to the lifeboat drill at 3.45pm, and then went outside for sail away to watch the ship go under the Lion’s Gate Bridge. We showered and got ready for the evening and went to Cosmos and had drinks and enjoyed the views. The 7pm Opening Night show gave a taster of the acts for the week ahead, and the excellent juggler had been replaced by a just so-so (in our opinion) comedian. We did not go and see his show later in the week based on his opening night show.

We saw lots of these beautiful feature tiles on the footpaths in Vancouver. This was my favourite:

I really like this statue as well, featuring Eagles, Fish, Bears, Otters, Porpoise and Seals:

Thursday 31 July - Today was the last day of the cruise and we cruised the Inside Passage. We had a very relaxing day watching the beautiful scenery. Bill went to the naturalist’s talk ‘In the company of whales’ and I stayed outside reading in the sunshine.

They had the breast cancer research t-shirt sale and walk, so I bought a tshirt for $15 and did the mile, and then continued walking with Bill when he came out and found me.

There was an Elegant Tea for elite and above Captain’s Club members at 4pm, so we dressed early for dinner and went to that. we sat with the mother and daughter we had been sitting with at the Cocktail Hour and ate far too much! The scones were amazing, and they just kept piling things on your plate! I ended up taking a little bite of everything and leaving it on my plate as I was so full.

We then went to the Cosmos Lounge for our last cocktail hour with our friends. It felt a bit mean that there were lovely views to be seen but a section was cordoned off for the Captain’s Club cocktail hour, but at least it was to one side, and the whole front, which had the best viewing, was open to everyone. This was our 11th cruise, and it was nice that we had finally reached the level where we got free drinks at night! We also really appreciated the free bag of laundry per cruise, free dry-cleaning and the 90 minutes of internet each.

We were not that hungry, so we had something light in the buffet and then met up with a lovely couple from our roll call after dinner for farewell drinks at Cellar Masters. They had been on our bear search and whale watch in Hoonah. On a 7 day cruise, time for socialising is hard to find when everyone has different dinner plans etc. We would have really liked to spend more time with them. I was getting a bit of a cough, and they were lovely enough to give me some cough medicine that they had with them for such an emergency!

Bill and I went to bed happy that we did not have to pack and would be back on the ship the next week!

At the High Tea: