Cruise: Seattle to Alaska - Aug 10-17, 2014

For our 30th wedding anniversary, BB and I booked a cruise (my first) leaving Seattle Washington, then heading up Puget Sound, then out to sea for a day toward Alaska, then cruising the Tracy Arm, then onto Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan AK, then to Victoria BC, then back to Seattle.  See the graphic below for our cruise map.

Our itinerary for the week sail was:

• Sunday 8/10/14:  Board at Seattle- Cruise up Puget Sound
• Monday 8/11/14:  At Sea toward the Tracy Arm
• Tuesday 8/12/14:  Scenic Cruising up the Tracy Arm
• Wednesday 8/13/14:  Juneau, AK
• Thursday 8/14/14:  Sitka, AK
• Friday 8/15/14:  Ketchikan, AK
• Saturday 8/16/14:  Victoria, BC
• Sunday 8/17/14:  Return to Seattle

We sailed on the ms Amsterdam, a part of the Holland America Cruise Line.  This ship was built in Italy during 2000, has a gross tonnage of over 62,000 tons, with a crew of 600+ carrying over 1,300 passengers.  Here's a picture from the Holland America web site of the ms Amsterdam:

ms Amsterdam

I thought this was a pretty big ship, but on our cruise, we saw several cruise ships which were much bigger.

Departure went relatively smoothly.  We checked into this large warehouse building and got in line with the other passengers.

  I overheard one passenger remark that this reminded him of in-processing at a military base.  Perhaps so, but there were no drill sergeants yelling at you.  It reminded me of the old college registration lines.

After checking in and finding our stateroom, we had a nice dinner with a fruity drink, then retired to our veranda to watch the departure.

It's a Tough Life, (but somebody has to do it)

Seattle in our Rear View Mirror

The Promenade Deck

Main Clock in the Ship's Foyer

Picture of the ship before Boarding

Weather on the departure was beautiful, and we had a beautiful Perigee Moon our first evening out.

Perigee Moon over the Water

Unfortunately on Monday, while at sea toward the Tracy Arm,

the weather turned sour and foggy, and the seas grew rougher, and BB spent the day seasick.  Not a fun way to spend your anniversary, but she survived like a trooper and with every anti-sea-sickness remedy we could find, felt much better the next morning when we transited into the Tracy Arm and calmer seas.

Our ship, while large to me, was perfectly suited for a cruise up the narrow Tracy Arm.  During the transit, we saw beautiful mountains, waterfalls everywhere, and at the head of the Tracy Arm, the impressive Sawyer Glacier.  

Here are some pictures from our transit up and down the Tracy Arm:

Interesting Boundary between Seawater and Glacial Melt at the Mouth of Tracy Arm

Mountains in this area abound with ice fields and glaciers

Pictures of the Sawyer Glacier

Ice floes resulting from the glacier "Calving"

On our way Out

Waterfalls are Everywhere

From the Tracy Arm, we headed north to Juneau AK.  While in Juneau, we took a tour bus to see a temperate rainforest, took a tour of the Mendenhall Glacier, then took a trip on a gondola to the top of the mountain overlooking Juneau.  Juneau is a busy, bustling city, and given that there were at least three other cruise ships there at the same time, was crowded with tourists like us.  Too many people for our taste, but we're glad we went. Here are some pictures from our Juneau stop:

Tramway up Mount Roberts

Terrace's Cruise Ship in Port

Totem in Temperate Rainforest Tour

Juneau from the Ship's Dining Room

Cruise Ships in Juneau from the Tramway up Mt Roberts

View of the Juneau Harbor from Mt Roberts

BB at the Mendenhall Glacier

Mendenhall Glacier from the Visitors Center

Temperate Rainforest Tour

While in Juneau, BB found out that one of our good friends Terrace Allebach was on another cruise and happened to be in Juneau at the same time.  

BB and Terrace in Juneau

BB and Terrace met up for a quick hug and visit.  We were headed south and Terrace was headed north, but it was great to see her.

Terrace's Ship in Juneau with the Tender Moving Passengers

Terrace was sailing on the Holland American Line as well, and for her Juneau shore excursions, she used the ship tenders to move folks off the boat to the shore and back.  

From Juneau, we sailed to Sitka, AK.  Sitka is much smaller than Juneau, and given it's Russian heritage and history, was a fascinating place to visit.  While in Sitka, we toured a Native American Cultural center and totem park, saw a great native american dance presentation, and was able to walk around the delightful city of Sitka.  Here are some pictures from Sitka:

Cruise Ships already in Sitka upon Arrival (Princess Lines)

Sitka Harbor

Tenders took us from our ship to land and back

Lutheran church in Sitka

Totems at the Native American Culture Center

Native American Dancers

Pictures of the Russian Orthodox Church in the center of Sitka

Harbor scenes in Sitka

Tenders for transport to and from shore

Leaving Sitka

From Sitka, we travelled south toward Ketchikan, AK, to arrive on Friday.  While in Ketchikan, BB and  I took an excursion on another smaller boat up to explore the Misty Fjords National Monument.  This beautiful part of the world was set aside as a perpetual wilderness area for future generations by President Jimmy Carter in 1978.  Here are some pictures from our trip into the Misty Fjords (it was an extremely clear day - rare for Ketchikan; it was hard to find any mist at all - but we weren't complaining).

Bald Eagle Surveying his Domain

Our tour boat for this trip

Edgecomb Rock

Cruise Ships in Ketchikan

Dinner on board as we left Ketchikan

Our vessel "ms Amsterdam"

Native American Pictographs (sunburst symbol on rock)

Downtown Ketchikan

From Ketchikan, we sailed toward Victoria, British Columbia.  BB and I honeymooned in Vancouver BC 30 years ago, and took a ferry over to Victoria to see the sights then.  Since this was day 6 of a 7-day cruise, we were beginning to get a little tired of the whole thing, and given the fact that we were only going to be in Victoria BC a short time, we opted to stay on board the ship.

We left Victoria around midnight for our final jump back into Seattle and the end of the cruise.  The final leg was completely shrouded in fog, and it was foggy when we arrived back in Seattle to disembark on Sunday August 17, 2014.

Foggy arrival back in Seattle

Another cruise liner comes in from the fog

Back at our original berth in Seattle

It was an interesting trip and BB and I enjoyed ourselves.  Will we take another cruise?  We're not sure.

This trip completes the West coast portion of our Great Clockwise Tour.  From here, we will head east to visit friends in Montana, cousins in Calgary Canada, then head east through Canada to visit our friends Fred and Mary Anne Hoff whom we met at the Tombstone Territories RV Park in Arizona, in their home in Vermont.

Look out Fred and Mary Anne - those crazy Texans are beginning to head your way!

Oh - what's that you say?  What happened to Henri during our cruise?  Well, Mr. Henri Buiscuit Northcutt spent his week at the "Paradice Pet Lodge" in Woodinville, WA, getting daily walks, massages, doggie smoothies, and play time with new friends; all in his own private suite.  He tried to tell us when we picked him up today that it was terrible, but I think maybe he exaggerated just a little.  He's curled up in his bed right now and seems no worse for the wear.

So stay tuned.  We'll update as we go along.