After five very hectic days on our land based tour of Alaska, we made it to the ship, Regent Seven Seas Navigator. Let the relaxation begin. After gaining entry to our cabin, we just chilled out for the rest of the day. One of the best parts about cruising is you unpack once and you are done! Champagne helps the unpacking process!
One last call before we loose service.
Muster drill... orange doesn't really look good on anyone.
Regent is an all suite ship. We were able to upgrade at the last minute for a larger suite. The Navigator is smaller than the Mariner, the ship we were on in the Mediterranean, but this suite was very spacious. The bedroom was much bigger than the Mariner.
Small pool, but lots of loungers. Add nice soft music and it is a pleasure to relax here. There were only 450 passengers so the majority of the time wherever you were you had the place to yourself.
The following day was a sea day but held a treat, the Hubbard Glacier! Although we didn't get to see it calve (break off), it was a beautiful ride!
The next day was July 4th and we were in Sitka.
This deserves explanation. The burger of the day was a double patty burger sandwiched between two grilled cheese sandwiches! This guy told us he comes every year for July 4th and eats the burger of the holiday. Ugh!
We boarded a boat to explore a remote beach. It was a beautiful ride.
Bald Eagles everywhere!
A little sea otter just lounging...
It was remote all right, especially after the boat dropped us off!
It was so quiet. It was almost complete silence. The boat did come back to pick us up after about an hour, thank goodness.
Next port of call, Juneau, the capital of Alaska.
It was a tight fit!
Really neat to watch the seaplanes land. That is the floating dock that they use.
Dogsledding ON the Mendenhall Glacier is on the calendar for today! We got our glacier boots on and hopped in the helicopter to fly to the top.
Mendenhall Glacier...
Dog camp. They stay up there year round with about 200 dogs. Interesting fact, they have to send 1700 pounds of dog poop down with the chopper every day!
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes!
More puppies!
Our ride is here!
We have done this in Colorado before, but this was quite different. I'm glad that we did it. We almost didn't because we thought, been there done that. Boy were we wrong!
Back to the ship just in time for a fantastic meal and sunset!
It's just crazy that we are finished with dinner and this is the view! The sun didn't go down until about 10-11pm.
Drinking grasshoppers on the back deck...
We arrived in Skagway at 7am the net day. It's so nice when we afternoon excursions, this was not one of those ports! We departed the ship at 7:40 for our excursion. We took a ride on the Scenic White Pass Railroad in Canada and went to the Yukon Suspension Bridge. This was a very different train ride. It basically goes along the path that original settlers carved out of the mountain. The scenery is very dramatic from the side of the mountains.
I have recently acquired a new fear of heights. Where it is coming from I have no idea. I have verbalized my fears only recently and have spoken to a few people that feel the same way as they have gotten older. Just what I needed, something else to contend with! Anyway, this was going to be a challenge. I'm so glad that I didn't see it before we got here because I probably would have lost sleep.
I never could let go of the fence! Like if the whole bridge were to break apart, I could hang on until it whipped me to the side of the mountain. I know. It took all I had to take the picture looking down.
I can now say I've been on a suspension bridge. There really is something delightful about overcoming a fear and pushing yourself to do things you wouldn't normally do.
By the way, the view was worth the queasy stomach.
Yes, it does really look that scary!
We had bison chili for lunch! I didn't care for it. David ate his bowl. lol
A stop along the way back...
The town of Skagway, jewelry stores and souvenir shops...
David was real happy about shopping.
All of the cruise ships paint their logos/signs on this wall at the port. It was cute in theory, but kind of tacky.
7 hours later, back on the ship.
It was so nice to get back to the comforts of the ship to enjoy lunch with a view. We ate lunch at the pool deck just about everyday. There are no restaurants that can compete.
That night we celebrated David's birthday after dinner and a show.
In Ketchikan, we went on a boat to see the Misty Fjords...in the rain.
This native american was making jewelry on the boat.
Yep, not just cold, but wet and cold!
The sky did clear and the fjords were amazing!
But warmed up nicely!
Arriving in Vancouver...
Alaska was beautiful. Picture do not even come close to doing it justice. I would go back and I would cruise it again!
Every night there were chocolates on the pillow and everyday was a different quote about traveling. I loved this because I would read the packet and think how true!
One of my favorites,
"A voyage is not just a journey. It's a period of time when the impossible can happen."
I have witness this first hand.
