Inside Passage to Juneau

My journey to Juneau via the Inside Passage while working on the American Cruise Lines ship American Constellation. Read more

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Trip start
May 29, 2023
Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
The New Adventure Begins!
May 29, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
The American Constellation has just begun its annual cruise to Juneau via the Inside Passage. See our ports of call here:
https://www.americancruiselines.com/cruises/ala….Read more
TravelerUr THE CrazyNancy
6/2/23Reply
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
Anacortes via Port Townsend
May 29, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 52 °F
Not on our itinerary today was an emergency stop in Port Townsend for a passenger who fell in the bathroom. The waiting EMS had a tough time getting his 374 pounds on a stretcher and across the gangway, but fortunately he only suffered a couple of broken ribs.

The only other events that happened today were a small, self-extinguishing fire when a thruster circuit exploded while docking at Port Townsend [not so good] and heavy winds that pushed us into Anacortes almost on time [not so bad].

All of that on Day 1. I'm almost afraid to see what tomorrow will bring. 😳Read more
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
Geocaching in Washington
May 30, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 50 °F
I'm working the noon to midnight shift, so before going on duty today I picked up my first geocache in Washington 😁. I wish I would've remembered caching sooner 🤦.

I also hit the local Safeway grocery store for a few unnecessary items before heading north, like granola and sugar free caramel candies 😋. Then I had a wonderful breakfast burrito before heading back to the ship.

We stayed docked all day, and this evening an electrician is attempting to fix the stern stabilizer that "didn't" catch on fire yesterday 🤞.Read more
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
Friday Harbor and Places North!
May 31, 2023, Coastal Waters Of Southeast Alaska And British Columbia ⋅ 🌙 59 °F
We left Anacortes at around 06:00, which put us in Friday Harbor around 08:00. This is a cute town, a village really, but everything is uphill from the pier, so I stayed on the ship except to find another geocache about 100 feet from where we docked 🤣.

When I left my room, I was pleasantly surprised to hear I had won Employee of the Cruise for our last 7-day trip. It comes with a stateroom for either the rest of this trip or for the next one. I like my small, solo accommodations--which are larger than my RV--so I gave the stateroom to a server.

While in Friday Harbor we learned that our guest--for whom we made the emergency stop two days ago--passed away after suffering a heart attack. I feel terrible for his partner and family, but I am very thankful he was not on the ship when it happened.

After filling our water tanks, we left Friday Harbor at 18:00 and sailed away into a glorious sunset. Luckily, the Captain didn't fall off the ship 😱.

Right now we're passing through Canadian waters in the Strait of Georgia almost due west of Vancouver 🛳️.

Next stop: Ketchikan, Alaska!Read more
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
Orcas!
June 1, 2023, Coastal Waters Of Southeast Alaska And British Columbia ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F
We've been underway for over a day now. One of my duties as a deckhand is to be helmsman, that is, I get to drive the boat (steer the ship's rudder). Otherwise, it's a bit boring. When I'm not at the helm, I'm doing laundry, checking the engine room for fires or anything else wrong, wiping down outdoor furniture, etc. I was pretty bored when all of the sudden there were orcas nearby! I ran to the bridge where I had stowed my good camera and was able to get a few shots, but the pictures don't do justice to the powerful grace of these awe-inspiring wonders.

We've had very good weather so far, but once we passed Port Hardy and the shelter of Vancouver Island, we were subjected to the Pacific swells rolling in. It made several crew and several more passengers ill for the few hours it lasted until we turned to the east of Calvert Island.

What a great trip so far!Read more
TravelerCoole pictures👍
6/2/23ReplyTranslate
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
30 NM Away
June 2, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F
I'm on Alaska time now and only 30 nautical miles away from our first port of call, Ketchikan!

Despite being so close, we won't dock until 05:30, so to kill some time and save some fuel, the Captain shut down our starboard (right) engine. Our port engine is running us at 5 knots with only 800 rpm. These things are beasts! While starboard is off, the engineer is going to change its secondary fuel filters. I'd like to see that, but not enough to stay awake for it 🤣.

It's been an overcast and sometimes rainy day, but the scenery was still magnificent. Around 21:00, we passed Green Island Lighthouse. See it here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/2KKZZ2f2qMdiumDS8

We'll be docked before I wake up in the morning. It has been a smooth and uneventful journey through the Inside Passage, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the cruise in Alaska.Read more
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
Ketchikan
June 3, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 46 °F
I walked the town this morning to collect two geocaches, get a couple of crepes for dinner (scrambled eggs with spinach, tomatoes, and onions, and goat cheese) and desert (Nutella!), eat reindeer sausage with eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast (yummy), and get soaking wet from the cold rain. Turns out, I walked right by the Harley-Davidson shop without even realizing 😱. Oh well. I didn't need to spend $100 in there anyway 🤣.

Bald eagles were everywhere, but alas, I am becoming immune to their majestic presence. There was also a gigantic raven who was very interested in our rubbish, and I in him. I hope the normal-sized pigeons help you understand how big this guy was! Under the dock, lion's mane jellyfish dotted the water, at times surrounded by moon jellyfish (almost clear) and little fish. It was a beautiful day despite the weather.Read more
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
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Wrangell
June 4, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 45 °F
I woke up just in time to help throw lines for our arrival in Wrangell at noon. The wind was whipping a cold rain straight into the bow, which stung my face, fogged my glasses, soaked my pants, and numbed my fingers. Fortunately, a deckhand who left for another ship forgot his rain jacket, so I had one to wear today. I was also thankful for my rubber boots that kept my feet warmer than they would've been in just the tennis shoes they gave me.

It never stopped raining today, and I didn't make it off the boat. Here are a few pictures of the dreary day, including one from underneath the dock.Read more
Traveler Beautiful!!!!
6/8/23Reply
Traveler Love this !!!
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Traveler Nice!
6/8/23Reply
TravelerYou are so amazing! Xxxooo Love your pics.
6/8/23Reply
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
Petersburg
June 5, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F
[My ship is in the satellite view of Petersburg here and in Google Maps! Too cool 😎!
https://goo.gl/maps/BRk9zVGC4MneG2h57]

I just couldn't get out of bed this morning in time to walk the town, but I did grab a geocache just off the dock in Wrangell before we left at noon.

We had an very nice cruise north through the Wrangell Narrows. We were able to take that route because we're so small; the ship's draft is only 9 feet (that's how deep our hull sits below the waterline).

The banks of the Narrows are lined with green and red buoys to mark the lane. "Keep red on your right upon return," so they say. But we're not returning. Our guest speaker says in Alaska, they use red on the northernmost part of a channel like the Narrows.

Anyway, the buoys use solar power to light up at night, and the result has caused it to be nicknamed "Christmas Tree Alley." It's a tight steer, so the Captain took control of the rudder for most of the time.

I hope to make it off the ship in the morning to walk the half-mile into Petersburg...and grab another geocache 🤞. This town seems to be even smaller than Wrangell, which was definitely smaller than Ketchikan. It's also getting colder. It's only 45°F right now 🥶! I don't think I brought enough clothes for Alaska.Read more
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
Heading to Glacier Bay
June 6, 2023, Coastal Waters Of Southeast Alaska And British Columbia ⋅ ⛅ 48 °F
Humpbacks today! And a bear!!

We left Petersburg around 13:30 with sea lions barking at us from the buoys as we began heading north toward Glacier Bay, where we should arrive in the morning. On the way we've seen several humpback whales and even a bear on the shoreline, as well as two waterfalls and a gorgeous sunset.

Oh, and I didn't make it off the boat this morning. Again, too tired. I don't sleep well and this job is exhausting. As interesting as it can be, a geocache isn't usually enough to get me out of bed. Fingers crossed for tomorrow, though 🤞🤞🤞!!Read more
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
Glacier Bay National Park
June 7, 2023, Coastal Waters Of Southeast Alaska And British Columbia ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F
Glacier Bay is more beautiful than words can begin to describe. We saw a coastal brown bear, humpback whales, bald eagles, mountain goats, and sea otters, which made the day absolutely unforgettable. I can't believe I saw both a goat and an otter with babies! But what flabbergasts me the most is that the bear looked at the whale.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story even though, yet again, they fail to capture the magnificence of nature.Read more
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
Arrived in Skagway
June 8, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
We spent about 22 hours underway to get from Glacier Bay to Skagway, arriving at 21:30 tonight. Different than usual, we had to tie up at the railroad dock. A couple of land slides next to the dock this past winter forced the larger ships, those with 20- to 30-foot drafts, to dock where we usually do. The worst thing about docking here is that, because of the damage the slides caused, we're not allowed to set up a gangway. Instead, we can only come and go from the ship via our launch, which takes two deck crew to operate (Third Mate and a deckhand, minimum). As you can probably imagine, many of the crew and lots of the guests are not happy about that.

Along the way, we saw Sentinel Island Lighthouse, lots of waterfalls, a herd of sea lions, and Eldred Rock Lighthouse. Not the tremendous wildlife viewing day we had yesterday, but beautiful nonetheless.

Visit these links for more info:
- Sentinel Island Lighthouse:
https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=826
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinel_Island_L…
- Eldred Rock Lighthouse:
https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=828
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldred_Rock_LightRead more
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
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A Few Hours In Skagway
June 9, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 46 °F
I felt very appreciative when the Excursions Director offered me a free trip on the sight-seeing railroad yesterday, but wasn't sure I would get to go until this morning. That definitely got me out of bed!

After grabbing a nearby geocache, I took the White Pass & Yukon Route narrow gauge, diesel engine railroad from Skagway to White Pass Summit and back again, followed by a quick tour of the town in a restored 1927 Mac "street car." I was only off the boat for about 4.5 hours, but it was nice to get away...even though it was before my 12-hour shift.

As for the rest of my day, noon to midnight, with no gangway to watch, no helm to man, and no anchor to check on, I basically did laundry and helped shuttle people back and forth from the boat to the harbor using the launch. [I didn't operate it; I just tied the boat off and helped load/unload.]

I've attached the history of the railroad from the pamphlet. It was interesting...and other than shopping and drinking, there's not a lot else to do when you find yourself in Skagway 🤣.Read more
Traveler Nice smile
8/25/23Reply
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
Haines
June 10, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 43 °F
We left Skagway this morning at 05:00 and arrived in Haines only two hours later. At 09:00 we had a fire drill, so any hopes I had of getting off the boat before work were shot. I didn't have any plans, actually. I just wanted to sleep, but oh well.

We left Haines tonight at 20:00 and are bound for our debarkation port in Juneau. While manning the helm this evening, a humpback popped up right in front of the boat, made two blows, then dove deep. The Captain had me veer away so we would be well away from where it looked like it was headed, and we didn't see it again. I would be devastated if we hit a whale, particularly if I was on the helm. It is so very difficult to see anything in time to avoid it, even when there is still a bit of light in the sky after midnight. I don't like driving at night.Read more
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Inside Passage to Juneau Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
End of the Voyage: Juneau
June 11, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 48 °F
Today, we finished our 14-day cruise from Seattle to Juneau, transiting the Inside Passage with zero storms, only a few hours of turbulent water, and lots of animals. It's been a whale 🐳 of a time 🤣.

Only by a series of misdirections do we find our true bearing. I hope you have found yours, but if you haven't, may you have an epic series of misdirections until you do!

✌️Read more
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Trip end
June 11, 2023