The Alaskan Cruise

August 2018
A 20-day adventure by Andrew Jerome
  • 19footprints
  • 3countries
  • 20days
  • 85photos
  • 1videos
  • 18.4kkilometers
  • 15.2kkilometers
  • Day 1

    Sydney to Vancouver via Los Angeles

    August 12, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    Today was an early start, although not a stressful one, as our flight to Los Angeles is confirmed. This means we didn't have the stress of staff travel! Our friend Damien let us keep our car in his garage, so after driving there, we only needed to hire an Uber for the rest of the journey to the airport.

    Fortunately for us, our flight on United Airlines was great. The aeroplane was only half full, meaning the majority of passengers had plenty of room to stretch out. We befriended the crew, who were good enough to give us champagne, pyjamas and comfort packs. This included the incredible Elisabeth - 84 years old, and has worked at United Airlines for 57 years.

    Due to our diabetes and vegetarianism, Ted and I got our meals early, but the second meal service seemed to take forever! Maybe it was because it was a day flight, but I was ready to eat my own arm off by the time they arrived. I managed to pass the time watching A Quiet Place, Black Panther and the third Maze Runner before we arrived in Los Angeles. Another one of the Flight Attendants, Vlad, offered to help us if we though about returning home on United as well (seriously considering it)!

    When we went through the LAX customs area, the queue was incredibly long but fortunately moved pretty quickly. Ted saw his friend Gaeton in the airport (another frequent traveller!) before we went outside to find our shuttle bus.

    We had booked the use of a day room before our late flight to Vancouver, but since we couldn't check in until 9am, we had a coffee and muffin in the bistro until then. Even though it was still early morning in LA, we had a well deserved sleep and shower. The flight times had changed, so we ended up leaving sooner than planned for the airport.

    I was starving by this time, so I bought a vegetarian burger before our Air Canada flight. The crew were similarly friendly, and fortunately our flight was not too long. Once we arrived in Vancouver, there was a long taxi queue before we could head off to our accommodation.

    We booked the place through the Mister B&B website and it ended up being wonderful. It is a converted room beneath a residence complete with kitchenette and bathroom. The hosts were not there, but it didn't matter as we had our own entryway. Ted and I were not very tired, so we walked down to the nearby eat street to see if anything was open.

    Fortunately for us there was a pizzeria still open which was just what we felt like. Despite the fact it was so late, we weren't really that tired and decided to go grocery shopping as well! Around 1.30am, we figured we should try to sleep since we had a full day in Vancouver the next day.
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  • Day 2

    Vancouver, British Columbia

    August 13, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Before going to bed, I took a sleeping tablet which I only ever use to combat jet leg, so I had an awesome sleep last night. We made breakfast in our room before walking down to the nearest train station. Fortunately for us, it takes you directly into town.

    Unfortunately for me though, all that sitting on an aeroplane yesterday meant my arch enemy sciatica came back. We tried to see the sights of the city but it took a lot longer than planned, as I often had to stop and rest.

    After arriving in the city, we first visited the Visitor Information Centre before heading to Stanley Park. It has been quite a few years since we visited Vancouver, and Ted was keen to see the totem poles that have made the Park famous.The surrounding parklands and lake were worth seeing too. Despite the pain I was in, it was worth seeing.

    I hadn't visited Granville Island before, so we managed to work out the transportation system and catch a bus there. Whilst there, we decided to treat ourselves, and went to a third story seafood restaurant overlooking the port. We were hoping for a novel way to return to our accommodation via boat, but since there wasn't such an option, decided to take the bus and train back instead.

    My sciatica was giving me all kinds of grief, so we relaxed back at our room before heading out to dinner. We like the Commercial Drive area very much - we couldn't see much last night, but during the day noticed the large number of pubs and restaurants in the area. For dinner, we headed to a cheap and cheerful Mexican restaurant named the Red Burrito.

    Tomorrow we are planning to head to Whistler for the first time. There have been a lot of fires in the surrounding areas, so we've changed our return time to earlier in the day, as weather forecasts have put the area as smoky. Even so, we are looking forward to seeing somewhere new.
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  • Day 3

    Whistler, British Columbia

    August 14, 2018 in Canada ⋅ 🌫 22 °C

    We were both suffering a bit of jet lag last night so we ended up waking quite early. We received the news that we've been given an offer on our apartment back home we're trying to sell, meaning Ted had to find a place nearby to print out all the relevant documentation. Hopefully once it's all done, it will be one less thing to worry about!

    As we had our trip up to Whistler today, we took a pretty busy metro out to Burrard Station, where the buses depart from. The bus ride took about two hours but it was a pleasant enough journey. The decision we made to shorten our time in Whistler was a good one - the visibility on the way was quite poor, no doubt due to the surrounding fires.

    Once we arrived, the weather was otherwise pleasant. Even though the village wasn't affected, it wasn't easy to get a view of the surrounding mountains and scenery. Ted was keen on sending off the documents in regards to the property sale, so the first place we visited was the library. Fortunately the staff there were really helpful and were able to witness and send the documents for us.

    Whistler village reminded us a bit of Banff with all the shops and restaurants. We went to a local pub for lunch which was - unsurprisingly - full of Australians.There wasn't a lot of activities to do, but we didn't mind, as we just enjoyed being there. The only souvenir we bought was a T-Shirt, and we also had time to explore the nearby Olympic village area. As we were running out of things to do, we met up with our bus for the return trip home.

    The female driver ended up being a lot more friendly than the male driver we had this morning! Once we arrived back in Vancouver, we caught the metro back to Commercial Drive. Since the area has a great assortment of eating venues, we settled on the Libra Room for dinner. My only mistake was asking for the local beer which ended up being the fruity kind. Ugh!

    Tomorrow we have an early train ride to Seattle, which will be our departure point for the cruise. Therefore the highlight of our holiday is getting closer and closer!
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  • Day 4

    Seattle, Washington

    August 15, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today was our first early start since leaving Australia, as we had our 4+ hour train ride to Seattle. Since Uber doesn't seem to exist in Canada, I booked an early taxi online last night. The service (unlike Sydney) was extremely efficient and reliable, as the driver early and got us to the station in plenty of time.

    This was one of the first times we'd used a train in the USA for a long time, so we weren't 100% sure how to check in! Fortunately the staff were pretty good and the agent even put us in "business class" (just nicer seats in Economy)! Even though the train ride was long, the time seemed to go quickly. We went to the dining car and got some snacks and coffee for the trip, and there was also the occasional commentary along the way.

    Once arriving in Seattle, we waited for our bag and headed off to find the train to Capitol Hill. Even though I had printed directions, we still managed to get a bit confused and needed to ask for directions. Once we found the station though, getting to Capitol Hill was easy, as was the walk to our accommodation.

    As the accommodation in Seattle was pretty expensive, we decided to stay at an AirBnb. The neighborhood was great - somewhat grungy but with a lot of character too. The apartment however is different! It is a very quirky, grandma style apartment, owned by a showgirl with very eclectic tastes. Whether it was the pictures of the topless Hollywood starlets or the poster of Disney characters copulating, it will still an experience.

    Even more interesting was the resident house cat Kitty Paws. Maybe we misunderstood the apartment requirements but we didn't realise that we needed to change the kitty litter daily too! We put it all down to part of the experience, and headed out to enjoy the warm day.

    Ted was interested in finding a Cheesecake Factory and fortunately we found one. Ordering was a chore though as the menu is enormous! The food is always wonderful though, and Ted was really happy they had an artificial sweetener cheesecake too. We then headed towards the Pike Place Market, an area we hadn't seen before.

    I really liked the whole crazy atmosphere of the Market. It gave you a real feeling of a Seattle farmer's market, with a sense of history and nostalgia as well. I was interested in seeing the world's first Starbucks too which was only a few streets away. I'm always wanting to see anything that contributes to modern day history, even if it does serve the world's worst coffee!

    As the sale of our apartment is still ongoing, we needed to find a library in Capitol Hill to send off some more documents. We bought some groceries before heading back to our apartment for a night out. We settled on a local venue called C.C. Attles which was a relaxed bear bar. Tomorrow we catch up with our friends Stephen and Woody from Fort Lauderdale who will be joining us on the cruise.
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  • Day 5

    Seattle, Washington

    August 16, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    After a surprisingly decent sleep (even with the cat wandering around), we had breakfast and made plans for the day. It started with the ever exciting chore of doing laundry, which wasn't made easy considering I didn't have enough quarters (what I thought were quarters were actually Canadian coins). I ran around trying to find a business that was open, which was easier said than done since most weren't (so unlike Sydney). Eventually I found a cafe that was operating in an otherwise sleepy neighborhood.

    We aren't used to living with a cat - much less a smelly one! - so changing kitty litter is something of a new experience for us. We headed off to the library to print some last minute documents, only to find it still wasn't open, and decided instead to catch up with Woody and Stephen who arrived late last night and are staying in a hotel nearby.

    It was really good to see them - we met several years back in Montreal, and have similarly caught up with them at their place in Fort Lauderdale. We had arranged to visit the Boeing factory with them in nearby Everett, so we organised an Uber for the trip there.

    Being in aviation, Ted and I were both interested in seeing the factory, and were happy that the Florida boys were similarly keen. The tour itself was very interesting but to be honest, it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I thought it would involve looking through aeroplanes, but it was more about observing the enormous workshops from above. It was still worth a visit and I was happy to buy a Boeing T-Shirt in the souvenir shop. The only downside was the closure of the observation deck, but it was still an enjoyable experience.

    After catching an Uber back to Capitol Hill, the Florida boys recommended getting some lunch in the street near our apartment. We settled on a cheap Mexican venue before we each headed back to our respective accommodations to relax. We were all interested in catching up for a drink in the evening too.

    The guys came to meet us at our apartment first for a drink before heading out. We again went to C.C. Attles for a few drinks before heading back around midnight. Our cruise starts tomorrow!
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  • Day 6

    At sea

    August 17, 2018, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    After a pretty good sleep, Ted and I packed up the rest of our things for our cruise today. After breakfast and a coffee at the cafe I discovered around the corner, we called an Uber to drop us off at the cruise ship terminal. The Uber driver needed to go around a few times since he didn't seem familiar with where to take us, but between the three of us, we figured it out eventually.

    The Florida boys ended up staying out later last night after they found another bar nearby. They messaged us to join them but we were already asleep by that stage. The check-in process at the port was actually quite speedy but as the agents kept calling out "passports out please", we remembered the boys telling us they couldn't bring them as they weren't yet ready. Even though the cruise ship company had told them they only needed ID, we wondered if they would make it onboard! And with no data roaming on our phones, we couldn't contact them to check.

    After boarding, Ted and I went to get a buffet lunch in the restaurant first. We ended up seeing the guys in the dining room afterwards, which was a relief! After taking some time to explore the ship, we then each had to go to our own muster stations (ours was in the theatre) to watch a surprisingly entertaining evacuation video. Ted and I then went for a snooze before going upstairs for a sailaway mai tai from the top deck.

    As there was an LGBTQ meet-up tonight, we planned to go with the guys to meet any other similar people onboard. There is a tour company named "Pied Piper" that has an organised tour of LGBTQ travelers, so we thought some may turn up. We found out later they had their own function at the same time but it didn't matter - we met Andy and Craig from Wales, Mike and Patrick from Vancouver, and Chris and Andrew from Orlando. We are all a similar age, and the ten of us got along very well.

    So far, the cruise has been great as we were lucky to meet some wonderful people the first night. We're looking forward to what lies ahead!
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  • Day 7

    At sea

    August 18, 2018 ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Crossing all these time zones seems to be confusing our Iphones - when we checked the time in our darkened cabin this morning, it claimed it was 1pm (even though it was 8am). Today was our first ship day, so we tried to make the most of the resources the ship has. Breakfast this morning was pretty mediocre, so hopefully this isn't a representation of all the food on this cruise!

    We spent most of the morning relaxing by the heated (and kid free) pool. Ted was feeling a bit sick, so he went back to the room to recover. I went to trivia as it's something I usually enjoy. Unfortunately this time I didn't because there seemed to be an abundance of people who decided to shout out the answers. I hate when a good competition is ruined!

    Steve brought some walkie talkies on the cruise so we had a way of communicating whilst on board. Unfortunately they didn't work as planned but we still managed to meet up for cards. Some girls nearby recommended we drink some espresso martinis, so we tried a few. However it ended up being a few too many as they were a lot more potent than they seemed!

    We ended up having dinner at the buffet later in the evening, and then eight of us (sans the Canadians) went to see a Circus De Soleil type show. We haven't seen any shows on the cruise yet and we definitely enjoyed it. As we were leaving the show, the staff at the Quasar Bar roped people inside to the silent disco. We'd never been to one before and it was great. Although I had to remind Ted to take his headphones off so he'd stop yelling at the wait staff!

    Our group later went for drinks at the bar. Since arriving we haven't seen anyone from the "Pied Piper" tour and we're starting to wonder if they're actually on board!
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  • Day 8

    Ketchikan, Alaska

    August 19, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today we visited our first port of call on our cruise - the town of Ketchikan. Our boat arrived at about 7.00am, although we went to the buffet breakfast before disembarking. Ketchikan is not a very big town and we didn't have any specific plans, so we went out to explore on our own.

    The weather was surprisingly fine, and a very pleasant day. Finding wifi was impossible though - everywhere requires a password (obviously to stop tourists from using it for free!), so we decided to finally buy a SIM card.

    We walked along the famous Creek Road with its colourful buildings, but they were generally either a shop, a restaurant, or a former brothel. One amazing sight was a nearby river which seemed to be bursting with salmon. We'd never seen so many fish congregate in one area before.

    We were pretty interested in the local cannabis shop, which is clearly a new thing for us. It was very interesting - we really didn't know anything about it, and seeing a lot of their products and the wide range available was something new. For me personally, learning about the different medicinal reasons too was an eye opener.

    Around the middle of the day, we went back to the cruise ship and had lunch with Stephen and Woody before heading up to the sun deck for our departure from Ketchikan. We ended up enjoying the jacuzzi with beers in the adults pool section before going to dinner.

    One of the highlights was seeing some humpback whales on the side of the boat. We tried to see them from the dining room after dinner, but it made more sense to get the better view from the top deck. As you can imagine, this was very popular with everyone, and we were very lucky to see a whole school of them very close to the boat,

    Later in the evening, we went to the Martini Bar with the friends we have made so far on the cruise. We have been very fortunate to meet some great people, meaning the cruise has really gone very well so far.
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  • Day 9

    Juneau, Alaska

    August 20, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We were greeted this morning with scenery right outside our window, as the cruise ship passed along the Inside Passage on the way to Juneau. This was just one of the reasons why we'd chosen a balcony room for this cruise. The scenery was worth the cost alone, and we could still enjoy it from the dining room.

    I had been feeling sick during some the night - probably from the espresso martinis! - which continued through some of the morning. The day was actually really warm which made me regret wearing a singlet, under the naive assumption that Alaska would be cold. We disembarked the boat with Woody and Stephen for the short walk into town.

    The town of Juneau was actually quite pleasant, and larger than Ketchikan. I had read previously on the internet that there was a public bus that would take us to the Mendenhall Glacier. As it turned out, the drivers at the bus station were far from helpful providing information about routes or which bus to catch. We even tried using Uber but it didn't seem to exist here.

    I went into a nearby Four Points Sheraton hotel where the concierge was a lot more helpful - he told me about a shuttle bus that cost about $40, went there in half the time and had more frequent schedules. The amount of extra money was worth it, so we took this option instead. We were glad we did - the trip was quick and the driver provided some great commentary.

    The glacier was definitely a worthwhile day trip. We managed to get some great photos without too many tourists getting in the way too. The walk to the glacier was interesting - it was on a raised walkway mainly due to bear activity. And sure enough, we walked past a mother bear and her cubs. Unfortunately they aren't exactly outgoing animals as they stayed behind a group of trees and bushes. Despite best efforts to get a photo of them, we weren't so lucky!

    We then walked to nearby Nugget Falls which, despite the sign saying the walk was over half an hour, we did in 10 minutes. The waterfall was worth seeing, as it also provided a closer viewpoint of the nearby glacier. It was a relief that we found a way to see them both as I was feeling guilty that my original plan didn't work!

    We then caught the shuttle bus back, where the driver offered to drive us all the way back to our cruise ship. Unfortunately for me, I was interested in seeing more of Juneau and maybe going up the funicular, but I didn't want to be the difficult one in the group. The four of us ended up having an early dinner on the back deck of the ship before relaxing in our rooms.

    As I was walking around the ship later that night, there were people talking about the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights. I was really interested in seeing them, as I missed the opportunity to see them when I visited northern Finland 20 years ago. After walking around on the top deck in the cold for a while, we were then told they might not come out until 2am. Realising it could have been a pointless venture, I went back to the room, but kept the curtains open all night just in case!
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  • Day 10

    Skagway, Alaska

    August 21, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    The novelty of having all these buffet breakfasts has worn off, as today I was craving only porridge. I didn't think I'd ever get sick of all the sauteed mushrooms and baked potatoes but I guess you can have too much of a good thing! At breakfast I spoke to a gentleman who confirmed that the Northern Lights didn't end up appearing last night, so at least I didn't wait up all night to see nothing.

    Most of our group had plans in Skagway but since most of them were so expensive, Ted and I decided to walk around and see what we could find. The most popular option seemed to be the train tour but it was way too pricey. After a short walk into town, we looked around the area just to check out what was available.

    We signed up for a walking tour with the Tourist Information office which seemed to be the only thing on offer. After some more exploring, we found a tour company that offered bus tours to the same Yukon territory where the train went. It seemed like a great option so we signed up for it.

    As we needed our passports for the tour, I had to return to our cabin to get them. I think I misjudged how long it would take, as I ended up running most of the way. Just as I reached the gangplank, I was then told it was only for disembarking - I needed to use another one further away! (Our ship was coincidentally also the furthest one away too). After saying "excuse me" and "sorry" enough times, I managed to finally make it to the bus pick up area, totally puffed out, but with our passports in hand!

    The tour ended up being better than expected, particularly since Alaska again turned on a beautiful day. Despite all my running, the bus tour left late anyway. The majority of the passengers were Aussies and our driver Beverly was really engaging. Firstly we did a quick tour of the town, where she was happy to point out many houses of, as she put it, "negotiable affection"! We then headed along the Klondike Highway towards the White Pass Summit.

    Some of the highlights included the Tormented Valley, Summit Lake and Lake Tutshi, as well as the Yukon Suspension Bridge. At the latter, we had a comfort stop as well as buying coffee and some dill pickle chips (not likely to find them elsewhere in the world)! The fact we have 20-22 hours of daylight here makes the days seem even better.

    Apparently there have been a lot of bushfires here in Alaska too, but it certainly didn't impact our day in any way. It's hard to say whether the bus ride is better than the train since we haven't done both, but we were very happy we did this. I'm pretty sure it was better than our walking tour of Skagway would have been! :-)

    Whilst we were in town, we went to the Skagway Pub for lunch. I had fish tacos, which were pretty small servings. The beer was good though. As the afternoon continued, some clouds rolled in and, for the first time ever on this holiday, we had some wind and rain. It didn't matter though - Ted and I were already walking back to the ship so it didn't ruin our day in any way!

    After having a snooze, we caught up with Stephen and Woody for dinner before heading off to our favourite venue on the ship, the Martini Bar. We even managed to meet some of the travellers from the Pied Piper group there too. After a great day, we all went up to the Sky Lounge for some dancing and drinking before heading off to bed.
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