Zuiderdam Cruise Inside Passage to Alaska

Thursday, May 24th

Arrived in Vancouver to glorious weather.  Stayed at the Renaissance Hotel with a fabulous view of the harbour with it's backdrop of the Coast Mountain range, dusted with snow.  Vancouver is among the most beautifully located metropolises on earth.  Directly in front of our balcony were the pontooned floatplanes.  Great fun watching them take off and land virtually every five minutes.  I am sure Phil wanted to take the controls.  He did wear his floatplane hat.

We went for a lovely walk along the promenade with a terrific view of the harbour.

Friday, May 25th

Very energetic day.  Up early due to time change so set off for Stanley Park and walked the six mile paved path ringing the park with it's unimpeded views of English Bay and Burrard Inlet.  Saw the sculpture Girl in a Wetsuit on an offshore rock.

and a collection of Totem Poles.
Had a wonderful lunch at Corderos on the promenade.  Lovely summers day so asked for a table on the terrace overlooking some expensive "gin palaces".  Waited at the bar until our table was ready.  They ring a bell and then hoist the nautical flag you have been given.  Novel.

Saturday, May 26th

Up early again and watched our cruise boat the Zuiderdamm sail in at 6.30 a.m.

At 11 a.m. we checked out and made our way to the Cruise Ship Terminal at Canada Place.
We walked along the promenade for a close up view of our ship being prepared for our arrival.  Canada Place is a Vancouver landmark.  The roof's sail-like lines echo Canada's nautical roots and the "prow" extends well into the harbour.  Boarded at noon to our fabulous aft suite 5191 with wrap-around balcony.  Luxury, thank you Phil and happy birthday.

We spent on enjoyable afternoon in the sun watching the mesmerizing buzz of activity.
Floatplanes pulling themselves heavily into the sky and boats of all shapes and sizes criss-cross the spectacular mountain-backed harbour.

We set sail at 5 p.m. Sydney will disagree, Rio too, and San Francisco might demur, but it's hard to think of a city more beautiful than Vancouver when the sun shines.  Set between ocean and mountain, the city is scenically unrivalled, the waters of the Pacific bounding the downtown core, the peaks of the Coast Mountains rearing majestically in the near distance and the brilliant sun shining.  Off to eat now and then cocktails with the Captain.

Sunday, May 27th

Day 2 - At Sea.  Partly cloudy. 48 F / 9C

This way, that way, Portside, Starboard.  Saw a bear on the portside after running from the starboard side and five Orcas on the starboard side after running from the portside.

Formal evening tonight so we got dressed up but still didn't make the show - too jet lagged.  Sat with a lovely couple from Liverpool at dinner.

Very rough at sea overnight.

Monday, May 28th - Day 3

Sailed to Juneau and arrived 1 p.m.  Saw a humpback, orcas and dolphins on way.

Phil had dug deep and we set off to dog sled on the Mendenhall Glacier.  We had our special glacier boots on and were ready to go when the clouds came in and it was cancelled.  Too dangerous for a helicopter.  Very disappointing.  At least we got to drive thro' Juneau and with four ships in town and about 5,000 plus people we decided to go back to the boat and see if another trip was available.  We decided on the 5 Glacier Seaplane Exploration at 5 p.m.  Turned up to discover it was overbooked!  Too bad.  By now it is pouring with rain so we felt we had had a lucky escape as vis was bad.  Quickly headed back to the ship for happy hour ( 4 - 5 p.m) and drowned our sorrows.  Saw lots of Bald Eagles though in Juneau.

Tuesday, May 29th - Day 4

Went to bed last night before we left Juneau and woke at 6 a.m. to find we had already docked in Skagway.

Skagway is more attractive than Juneau.  Went for a walk along Boardway.  They try to keep the Gold Rush past alive here.  Skagway means "windy place".  Watched the White Pass Railroad depart from the Docks.

 

We then went on the Haines Eagle Preserve Float Adventure.  We sailed on the local ferry, Fairweather, captained by an attractive female who kindly pointed out mountain goats and eagles for us to see.  Haines boasts dramatic scenery and we floated on the Chilkat river for about 90 minutes.

The Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve is a 48,000 acre haven for the majestic birds.  In late autumn, the river flats become a buffet table for the world's largest gathering of eagles - about 4,000 which feast on the seasonal chum salmon run.  But we only saw ONE!

Wednesday, 30th May - Day 5 - Glacier Bay

Up very early to enjoy the rare beauty of this natural phenomenon.  The National Park Ranger Randy boarded at 6.15 a.m. and we went for the talk at 7.30 a.m.  In order to have the richest experience only two cruise ships are allowed in each day.  We arrived at Gloomy Knob at 8 a.m. and then travelled up the west side of Glacier Bay getting a good view of Reid Inlet (our first glacier).

Next to the north is the entrance to John Hopkins Glacier, very active in recent years and the outgoing stream of ice is often so thick that ships do not enter.  Our Captain decided the ice was too thick and did not want to damage the paintwork.

All day it poured with rain but lots of intrepid souls stood out on deck - us included.

Bitterly cold.

We then travelled up to Margerie Glacier.

Got really close to the Glacier and stayed for one hour waiting for signs of calving.  This is when bits of ice break off.  We were lucky enough to see more than four.

The Captain rotated the ship and we were able to stand on our balcony in total silence and watch the Glacier.  Awesome!

On leaving Glacier Bay we saw lots of humpback whales in the North Inian Pass.

Very rough at sea tonight.  Force 9 Gale!

Arrived in Ketchikan at 10 a.m.  Walked into town to visit the Creek St. Historic District.  Alaska's most notorious red-light district from1902 to 1954. Today the old houses built on a zigzagging boardwalk on pilings above Ketchikan Creek are lovely little shops.

We then went on the Misty Fjords Boat and Floatplane Adventure.

We sailed to Rudyard Bay, a relaxed 2 and half hour cruise

and saw Killer Whales (Sea Wolves) and lots of Bald Eagles on the way.

We then flew out in a seaplane.  This was a wise choice, allowing us to see the dramatic marine seascape in one direction and then getting up up for a higher vista on the other leg.

The view of Misty Fjords from a seaplane (De Hav. Otter) was truly spectacular.  Great landing next to our ship.

The Bald Eagle has landed and seen it all before.

Day 7 - at sea.  Friday, 1st June

Off to the Pinnacle Grill for lunch by private invitation with the Captain.

Distance so far 1,722 n.m.

Speed 13.6 kts

Sea State 5 (rough)

Final thoughts

I have to be honest and say a cruise wasn't necessarily our first holiday choice, we just thought if we are going to do a cruise we want it to be somewhere where there is a reason to do a cruise.  What impressed us was that all the places we went to in Alaska are accessible only by seaplane or boat.  Alaska is a very remote area.  Enjoying Alaska's natural wonders it's hard not to be amazed as you cruise into wilderness areas such as Glacier Bay because they are so spectacular.  It's absolutely beautiful.  The highlights were the glaciers and the whale-watching.  The ship sails right up to the wall of the glacier and you sit there watching large blocks of ice breaking off- calving it's called, and it's just stunning. And I was surprised how excited I was to see the killer whales, they are brilliant.  Watching them popping out of the sea was really quite emotional.