Observations from Our July 5 Cruise, Part 2

[OldCodger73]

Skagway: Even though someone called Skagway Disneyland like, this was clearly the highlight of the port stops. We rented a full size car from Avis for $50.23, thanks everyone for the promotional code, and using Murray’s guide drove to Emerald Lake, stopping often to take pictures. One thing about Avis is that on Saturday and Sunday the office opens at 9AM, not the 8AM the Avis website shows. Also all the forms are filled out by hand by the one person working the counter so the line moves slowly if you’re not the first one there. Gas on 8 July was $3.61 a gallon.

 

The BC side of the pass had a bleak grandeur with low growing plant life, the granite like rocks and the many small tarns scattered throughout. Equally impressive were the large very long lakes that the road paralleled for many miles. We had an adequate lunch at the service station restaurant in Carcross and then continued on to the dunes and Emerald Lake. The weather was cloudy with very light widely scattered showers. There was also a light breeze that added a ripple on the lake surface so in the flat light the lake color didn’t show to its best advantage. Mosquitoes were only a big nuisance at Log Cabin and the suspension bridge, everywhere else that we stopped was fine.

 

On the way back we stopped at the suspension bridge. At C$18.00, if I remember correctly, this clearly is a rip-off and one wonders at the validity of the owner/owners’ business model. However, in talking to one of the workers in the snack shop, it appears that some of the cruise lines have incorporated a stop at the suspension bridge as part of their prepaid package, so maybe they can make it off that. The two buildings really do look very nice. By the way, we merely stopped there to stretch our legs; we definitely did not pay to go across.

 

In the parking lot we met the guy who runs the golden eagle attraction further into Canada that is mentioned in Murray’s guide. He was dumbfounded at the price that they were charging for just walking across a short suspension bridge.

 

At our obligatory stop at the “Welcome to Alaska” sign we met two couples from Pittsburg, PA who were touring on their customized motorcycles with matching customized luggage trailers. Alaska completed their quest to ride their motorcycles in all 50 states, although they did cheat and rented motorcycles in Hawaii rather than spending $7,000 to ship their own over.

 

After returning the car we spent some time exploring the town, briefly visited the National Historical Park Visitor’s Center and watched the White Pass & Yukon steam locomotive go by before returning to the ship for dinner.

 

Glacier Bay: Glacier Bay was the reason we chose this particular cruise and we weren’t disappointed. Budget Queen was right on when she recommended port side cabins. The narration is given while going in with the view on the port side. We had great views of Margerie Glacier from our veranda, it was so convenient having the lenses I wanted to use spread out on the bed where I could quickly pop in and grab the one I wanted. The sun was out and the veranda was quite pleasant temperature wise. The glacier was very active with many instances of calving. Using continuous mode on my camera I was able to get two great sequences of very large blocks of ice falling off the glacier face. Glacier Bay was everything we had hoped it to be.

 

Ketchikan: This was the port we liked the least. We spent most of the morning wandering around: Creek Street, took the funicular up the hill, looked at totem poles, etc. After going back to the ship for a late lunch, we decided to take it easy the rest of the afternoon. There were four ships in port, with one having to tender. When we arrived there were already two ships there, in the number 1 and 3 positions on the dock. Watching the Volendam ease into the number 2 slot gave a whole new meaning to parallel parking.

 

Animal Life: We saw little animal life, but then again we didn’t spend time watching for it. During the times when the ship was in the areas where there was a high probability of seeing marine animals we were busy doing other things.

 

Overall Impressions: This was definitely a good choice for a first cruise with a good balance of scenic cruising and port stops. Since we were doing things independently we wished we would have had more and an earlier time in Juneau and perhaps less in Ketchikan, but we definitely wouldn’t want any less time in Tracey Arm.

 

Personally, though, I think one would get a much better sense of Alaska by flying into Anchorage or Fairbanks, rent a car or motorhome, and spend all your time in Alaska touring on your own.

 

I’ll try and post my impressions of cruising on the Volendam on the Holland America Line board, probably in a day or two.