Triple Denali and Noordam Southbound 2022

It was strange to sail into Ketchikan in the daylight.  Normally we have arrived early in the morning after an overnight sailing. Cruising down the channel there was lots to see including the NCL port at Ward Cove which is just north of town but not as far as Totem Bight State Park.  It was also cool to see the shipyard where the Alaska State Ferry Columbia was in dry dock and the Matanuska was moored.   In town the Grand Princess and the Westerdam were moored facing north while the Queen Elizabeth faced south.  At just before 11am we  gently slid into our mooring position in the remaining berth at the southern position across the pier from the Outlet shop and Kettle corn vendor.   It took 15 or 20 minutes for the mooring and clearance process to complete and we made our way off the ship.  We found our zip line excursion meeting point.  Once all had assembled, we boarded a motor coach for the 1/2 hour drive south to t...

  We     woke up to a cloudy and misty Juneau where the Noordam was berthed right next     the Mt. Roberts tram.     After breakfast we purchased tram tickets and rode up the tram to look around.     Afterwards, we caught our shuttle out to Auk Bay for our whale watching trip.     While waiting for our boat, I spotted a pair of eagles and took some great photos of them.   Out on the whale watching boat, we saw 5 humpback whales in three different locations.  Katie also got to assist our guide check a crab pot for an invasive species of green crab.  None were found.  Upon our return to the dock, we saw a seal and another pair of eagles. After being returned to the cruise ship pier, we shopped a bit before reboarding.   We finished up our day watching the BBC Earth film on Alaska which was accompanied by the Lincoln Center Musicians. It was really good!   Tomorrow in Ketchikan is our last p...

  It felt a little strange to wake up in Skagway just a month after we previously visited the city on the Quantum of the Seas.     The Noordam has the primo docking spot closest to downtown and at the end of Broadway Street where all the tourist shops are located. We ate a leisurely breakfast and made our way off the ship to pick up our Musher Camp tickets at the M&M ticket booth.     Interestingly, the shuttle picked us up at the Klondike National Historic Park and took us back to the Noordam where we transferred shuttles to a larger shuttle. Patrick was our guide and driver all day.   The musher camp is located about 30 minutes from town.  An enterprising entrepreneur figured out that he could establish a place where sled dogs could live during the summer, get their social and physical training needs met during the off season by pulling tourists around 7 days a week.  Then in the winter, the dogs would go back to the interior and p...

  Today could be summarized in two words:     Glacier Bay.     All day, Glacier Bay.     We were awakened just before 8am with our CD announcing that the US National Park Rangers would be shortly boarding the Noordam.     I got up, quickly dressed and snapped a few pictures of their boxy aluminum craft alongside our ship.     I gathered up cameras, binoculars, and batteries and ate a quick breakfast.     The egg station servers already had my name and egg order memorized from the day before. That's attention to one's customer!   I first made my way to the Crow's Nest, got my National Parks Book stamped, and then entered the bow area via deck 4.  I remained there for the next 3 hours taking pictures and absorbing the grandeur. After a quick lunch it was more of the same for 4 hours.  After a brief 4pm Ranger slide show, we sat out on the open deck on Deck 9 (Lido) and watched hundreds of sea lions a...

  After a very restful night's sleep, we ate breakfast in the Lido before we dropped Katie off at Club Hal (she really likes it!). We watched the shore excursion presentation (not well attended) and booked a few excursions in Juneau & Ketchikan to use up our extensive onboard credit. Afterwards Jeremy, our cruise director, did a good EXC presentation on the Iditarod (not well attended).     A biologist did a marine mammal talk but we missed it due to our participation in a Mariner wine tasting.   At the end of the wine tasting we arrived at  the Hubbard Glacier and hovered for an hour with the starboard side facing the glacier.  A small aluminum excursion boat came up alongside and those tour participants boarded it.  Then we rotated 180° and the port side faced the glacier for an hour.  The little tour boat returned and soon we were back underway.   Tonight we ate in the main dining room as it was the meal commemorati...

  Since we had a late departure from our     hotel The Captain Cook at noon, we took a 9am one hour trolley tour that was very interesting.     Highlights were a a stop at earthquake park and the Lake Spenard seaplane area.   Even though we were scheduled to be picked up at 12 noon, the bus didn't arrive until 12:45pm which was supposed to be our train departure time.  So we departed at 1pm for the 2.5 hour trip.     It was super scenic with some sightings of Dall sheep and lots of waterfalls.  Lunch was available and our refillable souvenir soda bottles from yesterday could be used.  Additionally, HAL staff checked us in (under two minutes for us as I had preloaded all the required info into their app).    The final part of the trip was passing through a mile long tunnel which opened up into the port of Whittier.  This port was created in WWII as a secret port and the tunnel provided addition...

  To state that today was a fabulous transition day would be an understatement.     We boarded the shuttle to the train station at 8:30am with our luggage still waiting outside our room.     Would it make it to Anchorage?   We were assigned seats 19a,b,&c in the first car (Kenai) after the single diesel engine.  Three other cars were behind us. Because a man was scheduled to be sitting in seat d, Noah, the onboard tour guide moved us to row 21 & 22 where we could spread out. But the man never showed up.  The skies were blue and the train left around 9am.   We were treated to scenic views the entire time!  Denali peeked out various times throughout the trip, and we counted seven moose sightings.  Noah played various games with us for prizes and provided commentary as well.  Isaiah was our bartender and he kept us in liquids.   At one point we were held up for the Star train heading north on ...

  Friday was our free day and we packed a lot into it with a really nice surprise mid day.   We started the day by getting our Covid tests which we passed.  We then caught the shuttle over to the National park visitor center for our granddaughter to receive her Jr. Ranger award.  After we got off the bus I remembered that I forgot my backpack on the shuttle. I made a quick phone call to the front desk and it was retrieved.  After our granddaughter's award ceremony, we took a shuttle back to the McKinley Chalet, retrieved my backpack, and got on a return shuttle back to the visitor center.   At the visitor center we started the line for the bus to the sled dog demonstration as we learned it was wise to be early for the first pickup.  At 1:10pm we departed for the short 5 minute drive to the kennel area.  We entered the kennel area and suddenly I heard my name being called.  It was our friends Lynda and Terry who w...

  On this first full day in Denali, we caught the 9:40am TWT014 tour.     I had heard stories of how the tours were done using old school buses, and this was no exception.     However, the seats were covered in a comfortable fabric and there was air conditioning.     It turned out to be a very comfortable ride for the day.     Our driver and guide was Mary Jane.     She was excellent with lots of background information from her over 20 years of doing this.       We had no sooner passed the visitor center when there was a mama moose along side the road.  Mary brought the bus to a quick stop and trained her video camera on the moose and broadcast her video on drop down screens located throughout the bus.     The road is paved to a river crossing just past the Savage River Ranger station. The remainder of the road is compact gravel and very smooth with the last 20 ish miles one lane.   Along...