Musing across the Pacific (7-25 Sep) Live!

[photosg]

oops! Forgot to mention Seabourn Odyssey was in port too.

[photosg]

Cold dinner at Hot Rocks

 

 

 

 

Trout was the 🐟 of the day.

[Stumblefoot]

8 hours ago, photosg said:

At this point I decided I would only visit Alaska again if Sitka was on the itinerary.

I know what you mean. I loved hiking through the totem poles at Sitka National Historical Park to reach the Raptor Center.

 

Another great Alaskan destination is Wrangell and the Anan Wildlife Observatory.  Bald eagles as thick as sparrows and bears galore.  That’s the destination required for me if we ever return to Alaska.

[ronrick1943]

Nice report, nicely  balanced with your written statements and super nice photo’s.  thank you so much for taking the time to write and post.  I enjoyed the cruise and look forward to being on the Nova in December.  Thanks again.

[photosg]

12 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Another great Alaskan destination is Wrangell and the Anan Wildlife Observatory.  Bald eagles as thick as sparrows and bears galore.  That’s the destination required for me if we ever return to Alaska.

oh! have yet to visit Wrangell, i’ll have to look out for itineraries that include it. Thank you for the recommendation.

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by photosg
brevity and repetition.

[photosg]

Tue 12 Sep, at sea en route to Kodiak.

 

The seas calmed down overnight and there was a beautiful pink sky at dawn.

 

I suspect this will the routine for the coming sea days:

 

8am Yoga

9am Breakfast (at Atlantide today)

10am Beginner’s Bridge

11am Lecture (today: about the British Monarchy)

12noon Lunch at La Terrazza

1pm Ballroom Dancing lesson (today: Meringue)

2pm Today i went for a walk round the deck, alternative is Art Class.

3pm Nap time

4:45pm Team Trivia

6:15pm Solo Travellers meet up

7pm Dinner

(update cruise critic)

9:30pm Show in the Venetian Lounge.

 

Looking forward to the upcoming sea days.

[drkitkat123]

is bridge a general thing on most cruises? Are there different grades?

[dappledumpling]

I really appreciate you taking the time to post and show some pics. We are sailing the Muse next year in Alaska (First time with Silverseas) . And your posts and pics are getting us so excited...

 

Once again Thanks

[photosg]

On 9/12/2023 at 11:31 PM, drkitkat123 said:

is bridge a general thing on most cruises? Are there different grades?

I vaguely remember when booking that there was an indication that there would be bridge on this sailing. Generally I would say they provide an instructor when there are more sea days. There are lectures in the morning for beginners ans well as intermediate players and tournaments in the afternoon for those who already can play.

[photosg]

Wed 13 Sep, Kodiak.

 

hmm… i think we’ve found a hole in Starlink coverage?

I’m typing this offline as the internet has become glitchy, and right now there is no connection.

 

many of us couldn’t get on the included tours, and shoreexcursions.com had no offerings for this port.

 

so we were expecting just a wander around town.

 

but before that our captain tried to dock the Muse but at the last moment decided to anchor instead.

 

This of course caused a delay in our arrival at Kodiak.

The only small silver lining was that our tender took us right to the town centre rather than the dock which originally required a shuttle bus into town.

 

it took a little wandering around town which was fortunately small and filled with friendly locals before we found our way to the visitor information centre where we discovered a local was offering a small van tour that included going a little out of town in search of bears. we were assured that he was also very good at bringing his tour back in time for the departure of the cruise ships.

 

he was going to appear at 11am and in the meantime we could visit the local wildlife refuge visitor centre across the road where there was a whale skeleton on display.

 

the wildlife refuge visitor centre was good for the half an hour or so we had and even more impressive than the whale skeleton that hovered overhead was the photo essay about how it came to be.

 

back across the road there was now a 16 seater van and a man happily swiping credit cards from cruise passengers. there were a total of 12 people all from the ship,

 

and we were off. before we went to the bear viewing spot we were taken to see some of the local scenic spots: the fishing docks, the seaplane airport both on near island, and Fort Abercrombie back on the main island.

 

The first bear viewing spot was white sand beach. This was the most beautiful place and had a carpark. There was a little wooden bridge to cross over a little creek (rivulet or stream). The water was barely deep enough for the salmon to swim upright and only a couple of feet wide but it was jam packed with salmon swimming up stream as well as dead salmon drifting back down. There were whole and half eaten salmon scattered along the banks as well. The only thing missing were the bears. Our guide explained that the bears were there. They just didn’t want to be seen or possibly were having a nap.

 

Our next spot was on the other side of town and during the drive back and through town our guide answered our many questions about bears and life on Kodiak.

 

At another creek outside of town we soon saw bears wandering along the beach. We had to pull over and park on the side of the road. There was a sow and a cub. They cub seemed so happy and playful. The mom appeared to be a bit more wary of us. Our guide told us to keep a respectful (and safe) distance but there were local fishermen who appeared to be very close to the bears. Apparently the bears and fishermen sea each other regularly and are very used to each other. Also, the fishermen most likely had gun on them, (almost?) all residents own guns.

 

As we drove to our final bear viewing spot a huge male bear crossed the road in front our van. It was a blink and you miss it moment, but most of us saw him. We slowed down and even circled back later to look for him in the dense foliage but that was all we saw of him.

 

After scouting out our third viewing spot (no bears) we were driven up to the top of the town where the wind turbines are. The road up was only open during the summer and therefore not well maintained but we were rewarded with spectacular views and a bald eagle soaring by. Oh did I mention that despite a forecast of intermittent showers we were blessed with sunshine and blue skies all day?

 

It was then time to say goodbye to our guide and there was a tender waiting to whisk us back onboard. Someone in our tour said we missed seeing sea otters so some floated by the tender to say hi before we reached our ship. You really couldn’t ask for more.

[TLCOhio]

42 minutes ago, dappledumpling said:

I really appreciate you taking the time to post and show some pics. We are sailing the Muse next year in Alaska (First time with Silverseas) . And your posts and pics are getting us so excited...Once again Thanks

 

Appreciate these great posts, visuals and follow-ups from this exciting Pacific sailing adventure.  

 

Brings back excellent memories from the summer of 2019 on the Silver Muse in sailing from charming Vancouver up, UP to Alaska as detailed on my live/blog below.  These current posts are wonderful in showing Juneau, Sitka, etc., etc.  Plus, all of the great food on the Muse, wonderful staff, etc.  

 

Keep it coming!!  Wonderful to be following along.  

 

For dappledumpling from Florida, as you prepare for next year, make sure you allow enough time for what all can be done in Vancouver, plus post cruise in Alaska, including for Denali, etc., etc. Lots to experience and enjoy.  Happy to share more details and suggestions. 

 

For photosg, I might have later some questions about your Singapore.  We are visiting for the first time there in late Feb. 2024 at the end of a Silver Moon sailing from India.  Looking forward to exploring Singapore and learning more about their amazing rise up to the top of the travel and economic worlds.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Summer 2019 Calgary, Jasper/Banff National Parks, Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska on Silver Muse, post-cruise excursion to Denali, etc.  Many visuals, Our firsts in these scenic areas!  Now at 19,847 views. Live/blog: 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2682584-live-terryohio-silver-muse-alaska-canadarockies-pix’s/

[drron29]

We cruised Incheon to Anchorage on the Shadow in 2011. It was meant to be from Tokyo but it was a month after the horrendous tsunami. A retired surgeon had the cabin across from us who had an ATV tour booked in Kodiak. his friends had cancelled so he generously took me along. The purpose was to see bears. Saw lots of tracks but no bears.

Three weeks after returning home I got an email from the surgeon. he had enlarged a photo he took of me because he thought there was something more in the photo. In fact it was a bear looking out from behind a tree looking straight at me. I had my back to the bear. So it turned out to be a tour for the bears to see cruise passengers.

[Port Power]

On Kodiak Island a group of us was driven up to Fort Abercrombie and left to do self guided wilderness walks, an included tour.  A few of us started along the walking track around Lake Gertrude through the temperate rainforest.  It was so clear and fresh!  There were lily pads on the lake, and moss covering everything not moving.  I sample a few late raspberries, which were delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

And then it was farewell as we sailed away.  Fortunately we did not encounter any bears. 

[photosg]

photos from Kodiak

 

 

Russian Orthodox Church

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[photosg]

12 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

 

For photosg, I might have later some questions about your Singapore.  We are visiting for the first time there in late Feb. 2024 at the end of a Silver Moon sailing from India.  Looking forward to exploring Singapore and learning more about their amazing rise up to the top of the travel and economic worlds.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Hello Terry,

 

i would be happy to answer any questions you may have about Singapore.

 

😊

[photosg]

Friday 16 September, Dutch Harbour.

 

it’s actually Saturday afternoon on the first of our series of sea days as we cross the pacific but before I write about that I still owe you an update on our call at Dutch Harbour.

 

It’s actually almost 30 degrees of longitude between Kodiak and Dutch Harbour, so you might be forgiven for expecting it to be in a different time zone. As it turns out it keep the same time as Anchorage and Juneau and as a result the sun rises and sets much later than you would expect for any given time of the year. It was still dark as we docked and went ashore expecting to be met by our guide for our morning Bunker Hill Hike.

 

While the shuttle buses arrived to take us around the small town, our hiking guide and transport was nowhere to be seen nor contactable by cellphone. This caused some to speculate that somehow we were in the wrong time zone, as indeed some people’s phones and watches had automatically moved an hour back.

 

After some confusion while everyone tried to assure us we were indeed still on Alaska Time, our guide called in to say he had simply overslept and was holding the keys to both vans so even the 2nd driver could not come on time.

 

After this we pretty much had a perfect port call for the rest of the day. Our guide had learnt this amazing ability to walk backwards while talking facing us, and he had much to share about the history of and current way of life in Unalaska and Dutch Harbour as well as the Aleutian Islands and Alaska as a whole.

 

The hike it itself was along a clearly marked trail going past bunkers built in world war II in various states of (dis)repair. This ended in a gun emplacement and command post at the peak. This of course afforded stunning panoramic views. When we were about halfway down the Sun broke through the clouds and the low Sun lit up the scenery beautifully.

 

After the hike I took to option to stop at the small museum for a visit.

 

This meant I had to catch the shuttle bus back to the ship, which had an unexpected entertainment value.

 

We had a relatively early sail out and as a bonus there was a pod of humpback whales off our port side as we sailed out of f the harbour. A perfect farewell to our last Alaskan port.

 

 

[bitob]

Wonderful posts

food looks amazing

we will be on muse in Alaska next June 

[TLCOhio]

On 9/15/2023 at 2:55 AM, photosg said:

Hello Terry,  i would be happy to answer any questions you may have about Singapore.  😊

 

Appreciate from our Singapore friend these continued wonderful details and visuals from your Alaska-Pacific sailing.  Nice to follow along and enjoy the sights and experiences.  

 

As to Singapore, YES, I have lots of questions and a strong desire to learn more.  Especially from an "insider" there who knows this exciting City-State so well.  

 

Don't want to hijack too much this thread, but here are a few of my interests with our upcoming first visit there in late February, early March 2024.  

 

1. Among the "usual suspects" for the top Singapore attractions, what are you favorites for first-time visitors??  Pluses and minuses for Gardens by the Bay, Little India, Buddha Temple, Arab Quarter, Colonial District, Merlion Park, China Town, Orchid Garden, etc.??  We are doing a ship's evening Light-and-Sound Show tour with boat ride, etc.

 

2. What are the less well-known locations that offer insights as to the "real life" for people who live day-to-day in Singapore?

 

3. Any special favorite dining locations that are fun, very tasty and interesting?  No interested in the over-priced "designer food" locations that get the media fawning.  Real places with good food!!

 

4. Any overlooked and/or undiscovered "stars" in Singapore to consider?

 

Fortunately at the end of our Silver Moon cruise from Mumbai, we will have three days to explore in and around Singapore. 

 

You can respond either here and/or on the Asian Cruise Board, where there is an active posting titled "Singapore: Travel Tips, Trends? Ideas & Insights?" at: 

You can share more background information there or if you post here, I will share/post your great suggestions and insights on that popular Asian CC Board thread.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights.  On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings.  Now at 245,333 views.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/

[agape01]

Lovely!!!!

 

Thanks for wetting my appetite.

 

Looking forward to my TP crossing on the Nova next year that will go through Alaska.

[photosg]

On 9/18/2023 at 4:11 AM, TLCOhio said:

 

 

 

You can respond either here and/or on the Asian Cruise Board, where there is an active posting titled "Singapore: Travel Tips, Trends? Ideas & Insights?" at: 

You can share more background information there or if you post here, I will share/post your great suggestions and insights on that popular Asian CC Board thread.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

Nice thread you’ve got going there, Terry. I will definitely add my 2 cents and answer the questions you have raised here on that thread. I will be in a much better position to answer once safely back in Singapore and reunited with my extensive photo archive.

In the meantime it’s back to …..

[TLCOhio]

5 minutes ago, photosg said:

Nice thread you’ve got going there, Terry. I will definitely add my 2 cents and answer the questions you have raised here on that thread. I will be in a much better position to answer once safely back in Singapore and reunited with my extensive photo archive.

In the meantime it’s back to …..

 

Appreciate this great, quick follow-up by our travel friend from Singapore.  YES, enjoy your current adventure.  Look forward when back home and rested for your wonderful sharing of added visuals, detailed suggestions and secrets, etc.  Keep up the great sharing.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[photosg]

it is now 6am on Tuesday 19 September, we have left the Bering Sea and are now trying to get through a low pressure system in the North Pacific, We lost Monday 18 Sep when we crossed the International Date Line and last night we were advised to change our time zone from Hawaii Time to New Zealand Time.

 

I was worried about what the weather would be like for the crossing. I would say you can definitely feel the motion and people who are prone to seasickness (including some crew, poor things) are feeling it.

 

Thing started to get really bumpy during our solo get together in the evening and during dinner in Atlantide we were treated to some spectacular splashes that went higher than the windows. (Atlantide is part of the four restaurant cluster midships on Deck 4.) As dinner wound down suddenly everyone got up and clustered round the windows. The sunset must have looked especially beautiful. Although the morning had started a little overcast we had bright sunshine all through the day despite the increasingly heavy seas.

 

There was even an Oktoberfest buffet on the pool deck in the bright sunshine. It was still cold and getting windier as the day progressed.

 

When i got back to the room, after dinner and the show, there was a high pitched whistling. A few minutes after my call to reception a maintenance guy came and quickly pasted a strip on my balcony door track and it was silenced. With the whistling gone you could now hear the creaking. So he tinkered with the door frame and that stopped too!

 

Unfortunately, as i was getting ready to sleep the whistling and creaking came back (reduced but still audible). I had to open and shut the balcony door which had come unlocked and turn the handle down tight to stop the whistling again. In the middle of the night there was a huge bang (ship’s motion) and the whistling started up again. I eventually had to get out of bed to fiddle with the balcony door again.

 

I’m not sure if the seas were calming down or I just got used to the wooshing sound and creaks but I managed to sleep though the rest of the night.

 

Unsung pro of getting an ocean view: you balcony door will not misbehave in bad weather.

Edited September 18, 2023 by photosg

[photosg]

[CruisinPashmina]

This is a cruise I have been longing to take but, so far, I haven’t been able to find anyone to go with me…not even when I have tried to bribe them by offering to pay their fares!

So… a special thanks from me on the wonderful photos and detailed reports. 

[agape01]

2 hours ago, CruisinPashmina said:

This is a cruise I have been longing to take but, so far, I haven’t been able to find anyone to go with me…not even when I have tried to bribe them by offering to pay their fares!

So… a special thanks from me on the wonderful photos and detailed reports. 

😂😂😂😂😂

 

I would definitely move mountains and oceans by saying yes and jump in on this if anyone were to offer such a opportunity.