Live cruise replay - Radiance to Alaska - August 19-26, 2016

[PCWalton1]

I was amazed how close we got to the glacier

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

At times we saw ice calving, where chunks break loose. Sounded like gunfire

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

On the morning of day 2 I was up early and took the opportunity tp get some more pictures of Radiance while other guests were sleeping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our progress towards Hubbard Glacier.

 

 

[twangster]

Day two - Hubbard Glacier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

Starting to see some calving.

 

 

 

This face of the glacier was showing signs of activity.

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures are great but video works a lot better for calving.

 

 

Edited June 17, 2020 by twangster

[twangster]

Sensing we would get getting to leaving I took some pictures around the ship while at Hubbard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

Time to go 

 

 

 

Windjammer outdoor seating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video does a better job of letting you feel what it was like.  Sit back, relax and enjoy the calming wake view.

 

 

 

Edited June 17, 2020 by twangster

[PCWalton1]

16 minutes ago, twangster said:

Starting to see some calving.

This face of the glacier was showing signs of activity.

Pictures are great but video works a lot better for calving.

 

 

Great video!

[twangster]

In 2019 I was fortunate to visit Hubbard Glacier once more but aboard Ovation's first and so far only visit to Hubbard.  I must say we got a lot closer on Radiance than we did on Ovation.  

 

This Radiance cruise in 2018 was the last Radiance cruise of the 2018 season.  After this she headed to Hawaii and onto Australia.  I don't know if the time of year was a factor in the calving action but it was the best of any visit I've had there and with us being so close it really worked out well.  

 

Every time I've done a cruise with a call at Hubbard Glacier I've ended the day with the feeling that if the cruise ended right after Hubbard I wouldn't complain a bit.  Definitely worth the money and it's only day two!  We have a whole cruise yet ahead of us.

Edited June 17, 2020 by twangster

[twangster]

12 minutes ago, PCWalton1 said:

Great video!

 

Thanks.

 

The thing of it is, and you already know what I'm about to say, the pictures we captured don't do it justice.  You have to see it firsthand, live which blows any pictures or video I have.

[twangster]

Day 3 - Juneau

 

There's nothing like waking up in the Alaskan Inside Passage.

 

 

 

Our progress

 

 

 

We are still an hour or two from Juneau.  The Inside Passage is so peaceful at times like this.  Video does a better job of conveying the feeling.

 

 

Finally we have arrived in Juneau.

 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by twangster

[twangster]

No planned excursion, just taking it moment by moment.  I left a lot of today in the hands of a higher power - Mother Nature.  If the weather was good, my general thought was to go up the Mt. Roberts tramway, hike around a little, eat lunch on the ship and head over to the Mendenhall Glacier Park area.  Weather looked good so...

 

 

Few lines early in the morning, right to front of the line.  Early morning dew still on the tramway cars.

 

 

 

I thought I'd go for a small hike.

 

 

Clouds were rolling through the valley.  At times the ships and the valley disappeared from the view completely.

 

 

Looking back in the direction we came when we arrived in Juneau.

 

 

At times the clouds were thick and at times they cleared .  It was quite mesmerizing.  Here is a short time lapse from above the clouds.

 

Onward and upward on the trail in the direction of the peak.

 

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by twangster

[twangster]

Mt Roberts is named after Father Brown, a Jesuit Priest who was an avid hiker and volunteered with a newly formed trail association in Juneau back in the early 1900s.  Being a Priest he erected a cross, long since replaced with this more modern version.

 

 

 

 

Onward and upward.

 

 

With the clouds clearing I spotted an old friend who has been stalking me on this cruise.  

 

 

That's Explorer of the Seas making her way up the Gastineau channel for her scheduled noon arrival in Juneau.  It's a long way from Seattle and this is her first stop since leaving the same day we left Seward.

 

I was on Explorer a few month earlier doing her roundtrip Seattle Alaska itinerary in June of 2018 so I could relate to her arrival.

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

Continuing up the mountain the clouds were all but gone.

 

 

 

Until there was a grumbling in my tummy.  That was the Windjammer was calling my name so it was time to head back down...

 

 

Explorer had arrived.

 

 

Radiance by comparison.

 

 

[twangster]

Located at the top of the tramway is a raptor center where you will find Lady Baltimore.

 

 

She was permanently injured and is non-releasable so she is in the care of the non-profit Juneau Raptor Center.  She spends her summer in the raptor center on Mt. Roberts.

 

 

 

 

 

With more ships in town the line was getting longer.  Glad I went early.

 

 

[twangster]

After lunch on the ship I still had seven hours in Juneau before all aboard so I took the "Blue Bus" service to Mendenhall Glacier.  I looked at Lyft since ridesharing was now available, something new since my last trip to Alaska, but it was going to cost more round trip than the bus and the bus cost includes park admission so bus it was.

 

The salmon were running which is something you won't see earlier in the season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

Back to the glacier...

 

 

On a previous visit I took a helicopter and landed on the glacier.  That was an incredible experience (but an expensive one).  With those memories still fresh in my head this visit was from the national park exclusively.

 

 

I took the short hike to Nugget Falls.

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

Diamond happy hour was upon us and with many miles on my feet this day it was time to head back to the ship.  I was getting tired.

 

After a few drinks with new friends in the Concierge Lounge it was time for a Juneau sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

Time to depart.  Here is looking back at Juneau and Explorer of the Seas as we sailed past on our way out.

 

[twangster]

Many people often ask what is the best time of year to visit Alaska.  Having been on Explorer in June in this exact same spot watching Radiance sail out from Juneau at the exact same time of day highlights one of the big differences between the months.  Sunlight.  

 

Our stop in Juneau on Radiance was in early September.  My Explorer cruise was in early June.  June has longer days and as a photographer that's something I pay attention to.

 

Here are pictures I took from Explorer of the Seas in June at the same time of day watching Radiance depart compared to my last post above from Radiance in September.

 

June 2018:

 

 

 

 

Fast forward to September and standing on Radiance at this exact time of day looking back at Explorer:

 

 

This should give you an idea how much brighter it is in June due to the longer days.

[TiiiSailor]

19 hours ago, PCWalton1 said:

Today we had beautiful weather for our visit to Hubbard Glacier. We could not asked for a better day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the Radiance was viewing distance of Hubbard Glacier, did the ship provide a naturalist narrative over the PA to point out the unique features of the bay?  If so was it also broadcast over the in room television? 

[dani negreanu]

We were also lucky with our weather at Hubbard Glacier. Lots of crew were on the deck with us. Turns out it was the 1st time they've managed to see the Glacier, as the 3 cruises before us were not so lucky.

Lucky - in the sense that at least we've managed to see it at all, since our "window of opportunity" was short.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by dani negreanu

[dani negreanu]

For me, at 6 Celsius, it was very cold.

 

I went down to put additional layers on me, and, back after a few mins, a heavy roll of fog was already out.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by dani negreanu

[PCWalton1]

1 hour ago, TiiiSailor said:

While the Radiance was viewing distance of Hubbard Glacier, did the ship provide a naturalist narrative over the PA to point out the unique features of the bay?  If so was it also broadcast over the in room television? 

Yes to both.

[PCWalton1]

Today we are in Juneau and we took a tour with Harv & Marv to see whales

 

 

 

The day started grey but cleared off and warmed up nicely once we got out on the boat.

 

 

 

 

We headed down to the dock where we spotted an eagle that was about to enjoy breakfast

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dani negreanu]

The Glacier in B & W ....