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OhMyLard

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yorkshirephil

yorkshirephil

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15 minutes ago, OhMyLard said:

Tell me the highlights please.

We woke up at 07:00 for our first day, at sea after a very restful night, lovely and comfy king size bed. Went down to breakfast in Britannia restaurant, we are not fans of the bunfight in the Lido. The breakfast choice and quality were very good, proper fruit juice too. The weather was dull but quite mild first thing. We had checked out the daily programme and noted that the naturalist had her first talk at 10:00, anything science or nature is my thing so always check out the speaker. Rachel Cartwright was an excellent and knowledgeable speaker who we later found was very friendly and approachable. After the talk it had brightened up so we picked up our books and headed for deck 9. Ironically we both got sunburned, it didn't help that I nodded off on one of the comfy sofas. We saw a couple of Whale blows in the distance. Tonight is our first of two formal's (Black and White) plus Captains cocktail party. Our captain was Inger Klein from the Faroe islands, she kept her speeches short and sweet throughout the cruise. After another great show (Be our guest) performed by the entertainment team we went to play cards in the lounge and listen to the music of EOS strings.

Sunday morning, an excellent breakfast in Britannia restaurant, the blueberry pancakes with maple syrup were to die for, we then headed out with the cameras and binoculars as we had a sail past Endicott and Tracy arm where we saw literally hundreds of whales around the bays (I am sure we also saw the same whales several times), the weather was very pleasant and we had put sun cream on. We docked in Juneau at 14:00, we had a whale watching trip to St Stephens passage booked, when I had checked my waterproof coat earlier I had noticed that I didn't have the woolly hat in the pocket I thought I had, so purchased a new Queen Elizabeth hat from the shop aboard. Typically I didn't need it and spent the entire tour in my Jeans and T shirt. Anybody want to buy a hat, one careful owner? We had a great trip and saw lots of whales and Dolphins up close and personal, they served the most delicious smoked salmon on the boat. We had told our table companions that we would miss dinner as we wanted to look around Juneau when we returned from our tour. We dined in the Lido which was very nice with a good choice of food, it wasn't too busy when we dined at 20:00 as people were out on tour still. We didn't bother with the show as we were somewhat fatigued being out all day in the fresh air plus we had walked for miles around Juneau which was a nice town for mooching around.

Monday we were docked in Skagway, virtually in town, Another great breakfast, I fancied a full English but didn't want to miss out on the pancakes and knew I shouldn't have both, never mind I'll have less tomorrow. Skagway is like going back to the gold rush days, lots of people in Victorian dress around town, the buildings looked like a film set from a western. The scenery was amazing the town is surrounded by snow topped mountains, the weather was set fair however I didn't risk the shorts, it did get a bit breezy in the afternoon. We wandered out of town to the Gold rush cemetery and Reid's falls before wandering the backstreets and stopping for Coffee and cake. After showering it was again time to savour the delights of the Britannia restaurant, I tried the Molasses glazed local Reindeer loin which was very tasty, dinner was followed by Palladium nights in the theatre, another good show. We then sat in the lounge and listened to EOS strings.

We didn't get up until 09:30 next morning and had missed the restaurant so braved the bunfight in the Lido. We went to the naturists talk in the theatre which was again well patronised, we went to the next lecture “The importance of eclipses” by Charles Barclay which was very enjoyable and informative. It was now time too get the cold weather gear on as we were heading towards Hubbard glacier, we went out on deck 5 front which had been opened up for viewing, there were a lot of people already out but we got a good spot near the front. The Hubbard is phenomenal, and although there was an icy breeze blowing off it we stayed out for several hours, we got a lot closer than we expected and got some great photo's and short film clips, there was quite a bit of calving of the ice which was very spectacular. There were lots of seals on the small ice flows that had calved off the glacier. By mid afternoon we were on our way so decided to try the Queens room for afternoon tea, we try not to eat much in the afternoon but everything was so yummy. We then headed for the cabin to prepare for the evenings culinary delights, the show was guest artists “The great Dubois” a mixture of juggling, circus and comedy. Albeit this is not usually my thing I did enjoy the show.

Wednesday morning we were woken by the Captain informing us we were docked at Icy Strait point, so after a leisurely breakfast of fruit, blueberry pancakes and poached egg on toast we prepared to go ashore. Our plan was to walk into Hoonah which is a good mile from Icy Strait point, there was a free shuttle bus for those who needed it. We were definitely in the Wilderness here, the scenery was stunning, there was a little light drizzle early on but this petered out and soon the sun was shining and warming up nicely. After wandering around Hoonah for a couple of hours we headed back along the seafront track, we had rounded the headland approaching the ship when a trio of humpback whales decided to leap out of the water just in front of us, amazing or what? We stayed and watched them bubble net feeding for the next hour or so, getting some nice film clips too. The eagles were also feeding in the bay which was spectacular to watch, a local guide who was showing a small group around pointed out the eagles swimming, amazing to see a such a massive bird doing the front crawl with its wings. We had a look around the museum and shops adjacent to the ship before going back for afternoon tea. We attended another great meal in the Britannia, I tried the Elk burger which was very nice and tasty, two of our table companions that were regulars with Cunard had given us their passes for the repeaters cocktail party as they were not going and we said we didn't fancy the show as it was a group of A Cappella singers. We then had a relaxing evening listening to EOS strings before an early night.

After a relaxing breakfast, yet again including blueberry pancakes we went to pick up our tender tickets as we were anchored off Sitka, we waited around 15 minutes to get the tours off and we were away, we were not anchored far from Sitka so within a few minutes we were ashore. It was a very pleasant warm morning which turned into a hot afternoon. Our plan was to go to Fortress of the bear and the raptor centre, we were pointed to a shuttle bus where we paid $10 CAN for a ticket, we travelled for about 30-40 minutes through amazing countryside where John our driver gave great information about the surrounding area and history. At the fortress we were informed that the bus would be back in approx one hour, if we needed more time we could leave it two hours as the bus did a one hour circuit. The fortress was made up of several massive water tanks which were part of an old wood pulping mill plus a section of rainforest sectioned off for the black bears. The staff were brilliant explaining how the fortress had evolved and how the bears had arrived there, a really enjoyable visit for $13 CAN. Our driver John picked us up for our next detour to the raptor centre, there were other places that John explained were worth looking at where he would drop us off then pick us up one hour later.

After a further 20 minutes journey we arrived at the raptor centre where we paid our $15 CAN entrance fee before our guided tour. The centre was set in several acres of woodland with great trails along the river, I am not a big fan of animals in captivity but this place is more than that, they had a glass fronted operating theatre where you could watch the vets operating, we saw a Peregrine falcon having its beak rebuilt after an accident and a bald eagle that had been injured in a fight being checked over before being released back to the wild. There was a real menagerie of various birds being treated, even down to a family of Alaskan hummingbirds which had been hand reared. A really enjoyable and informative tour. We the took the shuttle back into Sitka with the intention of touring the city which is situated within the Tongass national forest which is the largest temperate rainforest in the world. It is very difficult not to get engrossed in the history and culture of the native Indian's when visiting the parks and small museums around town with its many forest trails and totem parks, especially in pleasant sunshine. Sitting watching the eagles soaring around the mountains and pulling salmon out of the bay. We visited a local bar where they had a great range of home brewed beers, I can vouch for the Alaskan wheat beer and their version of stout which had a thick liquorice taste and was 7% proof, hic. We tendered back to get ready for the evening. After another amazing meal we went to the show “Danza” which was dance based and very energetic, this dance group is one of the best we have seen aboard ship.

Friday was Ketchikan a nice easy to explore kind of place, we walked to the Totem heritage centre which was quite interesting then through the park, there are plenty of walking trails in the rainforest for anyone fancying a good hike, we wandered the back streets which was good as there are many purpose built walkways traversing town. We had the usual coffee and cake en-route, it was lovely and warm, we were told that Ketchikan is currently having a drought. One of the highlights was the Alaska fine arts shop on front street, we spent hours marvelling at the carvings and had a chat to the owners daughter who was extremely knowledgeable and approachable. Another excellent meal in Britannia followed by the show which was guest comedian; Rondell Sheridan who was very good. It is not often I say that about ship comedians having seen the usual old timers that are usually trotted out.

Saturday was a sea day and our second and last formal night. We went to the naturalist talk before going to the Lido for a brew, I noticed a lady with a large plate of gateaux and chocolates, being a bit of a cake monster I went to check it out. There were cakes and chocolates galore so I thought it would be rude not to partake, I had the most delicious double baked cheesecake ever plus several truffles and a piece of chocolate fudge cake, no afternoon tea for me. We then sat out for a couple of hours reading in pleasant sunshine. After another great meal and show we had an early night.

We were up in good time Sunday, I think it was the background noises from a 7:00 docking that likely woke us. A leisurely breakfast then off the ship for 9ish, we had planned to go to Butchart gardens in the morning, we waited 10 minutes for another 2 couples who were also going to the gardens and shared a taxi ($60 CAN) the driver showed us several buildings of interest and gave us a commentary along the way. Its not exactly cheap into the garden ($35pp once taxes were added) but it is an amazing garden, a riot of colour and very well kept,you could easily spend the day there. When we came out we walked to the bus stop as I knew there were regular buses back into town, the Butchart tour bus was ready to leave which was $20/pp, however I knew after a short wait the service bus was due which was $2.5/pp. As we were waiting for the bus I got a nice bit of footage of a hummingbird feeding on the flowers in a pot by the bus stop. Once we had got back into Victoria we had a good mooch around town before walking back on the promenade to the ship, a shuttle bus was provided if required. We packed in the afternoon before going to dinner, its always sad saying goodbye to your table companions and waiters on the last night. The show was part entertainment team and part guest artists, which was the A Cappella band Six Appeal who were actually quite good, although not my thing.

 

Please feel free to ask if you need any more information.

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OhMyLard

OhMyLard

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32 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

We woke up at 07:00 for our first day, at sea after a very restful night, lovely and comfy king size bed. Went down to breakfast in Britannia restaurant, we are not fans of the bunfight in the Lido. The breakfast choice and quality were very good, proper fruit juice too. The weather was dull but quite mild first thing. We had checked out the daily programme and noted that the naturalist had her first talk at 10:00, anything science or nature is my thing so always check out the speaker. Rachel Cartwright was an excellent and knowledgeable speaker who we later found was very friendly and approachable. After the talk it had brightened up so we picked up our books and headed for deck 9. Ironically we both got sunburned, it didn't help that I nodded off on one of the comfy sofas. We saw a couple of Whale blows in the distance. Tonight is our first of two formal's (Black and White) plus Captains cocktail party. Our captain was Inger Klein from the Faroe islands, she kept her speeches short and sweet throughout the cruise. After another great show (Be our guest) performed by the entertainment team we went to play cards in the lounge and listen to the music of EOS strings.

Sunday morning, an excellent breakfast in Britannia restaurant, the blueberry pancakes with maple syrup were to die for, we then headed out with the cameras and binoculars as we had a sail past Endicott and Tracy arm where we saw literally hundreds of whales around the bays (I am sure we also saw the same whales several times), the weather was very pleasant and we had put sun cream on. We docked in Juneau at 14:00, we had a whale watching trip to St Stephens passage booked, when I had checked my waterproof coat earlier I had noticed that I didn't have the woolly hat in the pocket I thought I had, so purchased a new Queen Elizabeth hat from the shop aboard. Typically I didn't need it and spent the entire tour in my Jeans and T shirt. Anybody want to buy a hat, one careful owner? We had a great trip and saw lots of whales and Dolphins up close and personal, they served the most delicious smoked salmon on the boat. We had told our table companions that we would miss dinner as we wanted to look around Juneau when we returned from our tour. We dined in the Lido which was very nice with a good choice of food, it wasn't too busy when we dined at 20:00 as people were out on tour still. We didn't bother with the show as we were somewhat fatigued being out all day in the fresh air plus we had walked for miles around Juneau which was a nice town for mooching around.

Monday we were docked in Skagway, virtually in town, Another great breakfast, I fancied a full English but didn't want to miss out on the pancakes and knew I shouldn't have both, never mind I'll have less tomorrow. Skagway is like going back to the gold rush days, lots of people in Victorian dress around town, the buildings looked like a film set from a western. The scenery was amazing the town is surrounded by snow topped mountains, the weather was set fair however I didn't risk the shorts, it did get a bit breezy in the afternoon. We wandered out of town to the Gold rush cemetery and Reid's falls before wandering the backstreets and stopping for Coffee and cake. After showering it was again time to savour the delights of the Britannia restaurant, I tried the Molasses glazed local Reindeer loin which was very tasty, dinner was followed by Palladium nights in the theatre, another good show. We then sat in the lounge and listened to EOS strings.

We didn't get up until 09:30 next morning and had missed the restaurant so braved the bunfight in the Lido. We went to the naturists talk in the theatre which was again well patronised, we went to the next lecture “The importance of eclipses” by Charles Barclay which was very enjoyable and informative. It was now time too get the cold weather gear on as we were heading towards Hubbard glacier, we went out on deck 5 front which had been opened up for viewing, there were a lot of people already out but we got a good spot near the front. The Hubbard is phenomenal, and although there was an icy breeze blowing off it we stayed out for several hours, we got a lot closer than we expected and got some great photo's and short film clips, there was quite a bit of calving of the ice which was very spectacular. There were lots of seals on the small ice flows that had calved off the glacier. By mid afternoon we were on our way so decided to try the Queens room for afternoon tea, we try not to eat much in the afternoon but everything was so yummy. We then headed for the cabin to prepare for the evenings culinary delights, the show was guest artists “The great Dubois” a mixture of juggling, circus and comedy. Albeit this is not usually my thing I did enjoy the show.

Wednesday morning we were woken by the Captain informing us we were docked at Icy Strait point, so after a leisurely breakfast of fruit, blueberry pancakes and poached egg on toast we prepared to go ashore. Our plan was to walk into Hoonah which is a good mile from Icy Strait point, there was a free shuttle bus for those who needed it. We were definitely in the Wilderness here, the scenery was stunning, there was a little light drizzle early on but this petered out and soon the sun was shining and warming up nicely. After wandering around Hoonah for a couple of hours we headed back along the seafront track, we had rounded the headland approaching the ship when a trio of humpback whales decided to leap out of the water just in front of us, amazing or what? We stayed and watched them bubble net feeding for the next hour or so, getting some nice film clips too. The eagles were also feeding in the bay which was spectacular to watch, a local guide who was showing a small group around pointed out the eagles swimming, amazing to see a such a massive bird doing the front crawl with its wings. We had a look around the museum and shops adjacent to the ship before going back for afternoon tea. We attended another great meal in the Britannia, I tried the Elk burger which was very nice and tasty, two of our table companions that were regulars with Cunard had given us their passes for the repeaters cocktail party as they were not going and we said we didn't fancy the show as it was a group of A Cappella singers. We then had a relaxing evening listening to EOS strings before an early night.

After a relaxing breakfast, yet again including blueberry pancakes we went to pick up our tender tickets as we were anchored off Sitka, we waited around 15 minutes to get the tours off and we were away, we were not anchored far from Sitka so within a few minutes we were ashore. It was a very pleasant warm morning which turned into a hot afternoon. Our plan was to go to Fortress of the bear and the raptor centre, we were pointed to a shuttle bus where we paid $10 CAN for a ticket, we travelled for about 30-40 minutes through amazing countryside where John our driver gave great information about the surrounding area and history. At the fortress we were informed that the bus would be back in approx one hour, if we needed more time we could leave it two hours as the bus did a one hour circuit. The fortress was made up of several massive water tanks which were part of an old wood pulping mill plus a section of rainforest sectioned off for the black bears. The staff were brilliant explaining how the fortress had evolved and how the bears had arrived there, a really enjoyable visit for $13 CAN. Our driver John picked us up for our next detour to the raptor centre, there were other places that John explained were worth looking at where he would drop us off then pick us up one hour later.

After a further 20 minutes journey we arrived at the raptor centre where we paid our $15 CAN entrance fee before our guided tour. The centre was set in several acres of woodland with great trails along the river, I am not a big fan of animals in captivity but this place is more than that, they had a glass fronted operating theatre where you could watch the vets operating, we saw a Peregrine falcon having its beak rebuilt after an accident and a bald eagle that had been injured in a fight being checked over before being released back to the wild. There was a real menagerie of various birds being treated, even down to a family of Alaskan hummingbirds which had been hand reared. A really enjoyable and informative tour. We the took the shuttle back into Sitka with the intention of touring the city which is situated within the Tongass national forest which is the largest temperate rainforest in the world. It is very difficult not to get engrossed in the history and culture of the native Indian's when visiting the parks and small museums around town with its many forest trails and totem parks, especially in pleasant sunshine. Sitting watching the eagles soaring around the mountains and pulling salmon out of the bay. We visited a local bar where they had a great range of home brewed beers, I can vouch for the Alaskan wheat beer and their version of stout which had a thick liquorice taste and was 7% proof, hic. We tendered back to get ready for the evening. After another amazing meal we went to the show “Danza” which was dance based and very energetic, this dance group is one of the best we have seen aboard ship.

Friday was Ketchikan a nice easy to explore kind of place, we walked to the Totem heritage centre which was quite interesting then through the park, there are plenty of walking trails in the rainforest for anyone fancying a good hike, we wandered the back streets which was good as there are many purpose built walkways traversing town. We had the usual coffee and cake en-route, it was lovely and warm, we were told that Ketchikan is currently having a drought. One of the highlights was the Alaska fine arts shop on front street, we spent hours marvelling at the carvings and had a chat to the owners daughter who was extremely knowledgeable and approachable. Another excellent meal in Britannia followed by the show which was guest comedian; Rondell Sheridan who was very good. It is not often I say that about ship comedians having seen the usual old timers that are usually trotted out.

Saturday was a sea day and our second and last formal night. We went to the naturalist talk before going to the Lido for a brew, I noticed a lady with a large plate of gateaux and chocolates, being a bit of a cake monster I went to check it out. There were cakes and chocolates galore so I thought it would be rude not to partake, I had the most delicious double baked cheesecake ever plus several truffles and a piece of chocolate fudge cake, no afternoon tea for me. We then sat out for a couple of hours reading in pleasant sunshine. After another great meal and show we had an early night.

We were up in good time Sunday, I think it was the background noises from a 7:00 docking that likely woke us. A leisurely breakfast then off the ship for 9ish, we had planned to go to Butchart gardens in the morning, we waited 10 minutes for another 2 couples who were also going to the gardens and shared a taxi ($60 CAN) the driver showed us several buildings of interest and gave us a commentary along the way. Its not exactly cheap into the garden ($35pp once taxes were added) but it is an amazing garden, a riot of colour and very well kept,you could easily spend the day there. When we came out we walked to the bus stop as I knew there were regular buses back into town, the Butchart tour bus was ready to leave which was $20/pp, however I knew after a short wait the service bus was due which was $2.5/pp. As we were waiting for the bus I got a nice bit of footage of a hummingbird feeding on the flowers in a pot by the bus stop. Once we had got back into Victoria we had a good mooch around town before walking back on the promenade to the ship, a shuttle bus was provided if required. We packed in the afternoon before going to dinner, its always sad saying goodbye to your table companions and waiters on the last night. The show was part entertainment team and part guest artists, which was the A Cappella band Six Appeal who were actually quite good, although not my thing.

 

Please feel free to ask if you need any more information.

Lovely review, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  One question, when you were in Sitka and other places in Alaska, why did you pay in Canadian dollars when you are in the state of Alaska, USA.  They accepted Canadian dollars?

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OhMyLard

OhMyLard

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2 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

We paid US in all Alaska ports, it must have been selective text, I cut out the first part of the review as we had 3 days in Vancouver pre cruise. Well spotted.

How did you like Vancouver and what did you do there?

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yorkshirephil

yorkshirephil

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11 minutes ago, OhMyLard said:

Where did you stay pre-cruise in Vancouver.  Thank you

This is the first part of my review which gives some details;

The limo driver was waiting for us in the airport, straight to Regency Hyatt in pleasant evening sun, arrived 20:30 hrs, there is an eight hour time diff. We walked down to seafront even though tired as we didn't want to go to bed too early. Woke at 06:00 next morning to light cloud and pleasantly warm, had a brew then set off to explore, we walked the seawall around Stanley park (6 ½ miles) then went for a brew at Breka cafe where they had great cakes, we had chocolate and blueberry scones which were smashing. We sat talking to an Aussie couple who were taking their first cruise on HAL just after us. We then walked back into town and through Gas town and China town, it was very warm by late morning. We sat on seafront for a while watching the world go by and the many seaplanes coming and going and eating ice cream. We went back to hotel 14:00 to chill and get ready for our evening. Had a very good and big meal at Victoria Chinese restaurant followed by beer at the Elephant and Castle pub. A pretty full day with 16 miles walked. Slept like a log in comfy king size bed. (28-05-19)

We woke at 07:00 next morning and walked down to Breka cafe as we had enjoyed it so much yesterday, It was a lovely morning and soon warmed up. I had the marzipan and chocolate croissant which was massive and delicious, Carol had the scone again. The Aussie couple from yesterday turned up for breakfast and we sat talking for over an hour. We walked back to hotel and caught the free shuttle to the Capilano bridge and park. We had a great time and walked across the longest suspension bridge in world plus treetop park walk. On return in afternoon we walked to Gas town where we called for a beer, next table had Nachos which looked yummy so we ordered same which we washed down with another beer. We went out in the evening but were still pogged from lunch so missed dinner we walked the seawall to Stanley park where we spent a good hour around the gardens before walking back to hotel for 21:40, we packed luggage ready for tomorrow.

Awake 06:00 next morning, had cuppa in bed then walked down to Breka again. Walked into Stanley park with intension of going to aquarium but it didn't open until 10:00 so we walked to Beaver lake and through different part of park. Walked back along seawall to take our first look at Queen Elizabeth which was docked at Canada place. We walked back to the hotel for our luggage as the limo was picking us up at 13:10, arrived at dock 13:30 after short drive in Tesla T3. Our embarkation time was 12:30 so were pushed into fast track lane, short wait inline for US customs clearance, aboard 14:15. There was ½ bottle of Champagne on ice waiting for us which we decided to save for Carol's birthday later next week. Has a quick look around before muster then unpacked and got ready for 1st sitting dinner in Britannia restaurant, time brought forward from 18:00 to 17:30. No jacket was required for the first evenings smart attire dress code. We had a table for 8 where we had an excellent meal served by Ratheesh and Al followed by show in the Royal Court theatre where a very good show team performed, the evening was shared by a brilliant group, the Flyrights who were excellent vocalists, they certainly rocked. We had a mooch around the shops and some of the lounges before a fairly early night. First impressions of Cunard are very good.

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