Day 175 Fri July 7, 2023 Prince Rupert, Canada 8-8:00

 Day 175 Fri July 7, 2023  Prince Rupert, Canada 8-8:00

Beautiful to see the sail in. Ten minute walk uphill to town. Adventure Tours Excursions runs several boat tours.It rains 220 days a year.  No excursions are on sale in town.

Prince Rupert is centrally located on the Inside Passage.  The Inside Passage is a route of sheltered waters along the coast from Vancouver, British Columbia to Skagway, Alaska.  

HELPFUL HINTS Dress in weather-appropriate clothing. Wear flat comfortable walking shoes with non-slip soles.

PLEASE NOTE This tour includes about five minutes of walking with a ramp at the dock that can be steep at low tide. 

                                            Favorite photo of the day

                                            This looked like a training practice.

                                            Mike and Dee

Day 174 Thur July 6, 2023 Ketchikan, Alaska 12-10:00

 Day 174 Thur July 6, 2023  Ketchikan, Alaska 12-10:00

Public bus is superb.  Downtown shuttle is free and runs on 15 min intervals.  Rainiest town in US.  Salmon capital of the world.  Visit Creek St.  Totem poles. Ward Cove.  Totem Bight.  Saxman Park.

Visitor Center opposite berth 2, a low-slung green building.  Another is opposite berth 3.Pick up free walking Tour Map.  Ride the funicula that operates from midway on Creek St to the West Coast Fox Lodge.  $2 all day round trips.

KTN-080 Lumberjack Show  2:10 

Drive 30 min. to the Lumberjack Show venue or walk 15 min to the Lumberjack Show Venue.  The  Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show is usually 1 hour filled with action, excitement and laughs. 

The Lumberjack Show offers up to 12 different events reflecting  southeast Alaska’s rich logging history.  Seven-pound axes, six-foot razor sharp saws, tree climbing gaffs, and souped up chainsaws are all part of the show.  Axes fly through the air, men free fall from tall trees, and men run atop spinning logs floating in the water.   

                                            Popular destination for cruise ships.  

                                            The Rock is a monument to Ketchikan's heritage.  The figures are representative of the city's history.  A fisherman, a minor, a frontierswoman, a Native drummer, a logger and a bush pilot.  Chief Johnson, a Tlingit, symbolizes that his people were the first to make their home in Ketchikan, Alaska.

                                            The announcer

                                            The Totems

                                            The Lumberjack

Day 173 Wed July 5, 2023 Sitka, Alaska 12-10:00

Day 173 Wed July 5, 2023 Sitka, Alaska 12-10:00  Easy walking distance.  Public transport Red route along Halibut Point Road takes one hour.  Blue route along Sawmill Creek Rd takes one hour. and Green Route through town and over the bridge is 30 minutes.  

Views of sail in are beautiful.  A beautiful, picturesque fishing village has Russian charm and is clean.  Mt Edgecomb, a dormant volcano, is in the background and the harbor has tiny islands like jewels.  

Visitor info (8-5:00) available from the visitors’ desk at Harrigan Centennial Hall, near Crescent Harbor, one block from the O’Connell Bridge.  Three cultures: Tlingit Indian, Russian and American.  

SIT-025 Alaska Bears and Silver Bay Homestead Experience  3.5 hours 12:15-3:45

The boat is a heated expedition vessel that has inside seating with a restroom.  Drive to Fortress of the Bear, (30 mins.)  Site visit/45 minutes.  Cruise through Silver Bay to remote Alaskan homestead/(1 hour).  Site visit/35 min.  Return cruise to Silver Bay Dock/25 min.  Drive back to the Sitka Visitor Center/15 min.  

Fortress of the Bear is an educational bear rescue center located in Sitka, Alaska.  Orphaned bears come from all over the state and are relocated in zoos and sancturaries internationally.  The enclosures mimic the bears’ natural environment.  A brown bear breezeway allows the two groups to watch one another.  The bears will have more room and can physically interact with each other.  The black bear cub climbing frame will include varying levels, tunnels, tire bridges, swinging toys, and even bear-sized hammocks.  The food prep area needs some improvements.  The bears enjoy fresh fish from the local fish processing plants. The two grocery stores in town donate produce.  Food for the bears is cleaned and weighed each day.   

I enjoyed the time we spent with the bears.  There were older bears that weren't too active.  There was also a 5 year old bear that was playing in the water and having a great time.

We enjoyed a scenic ride on Silver Bay and had an enjoyable visit at the Silver Bay Homestead.  I really liked the S'mores we made over a camp fire. It's been while since I made S'mores.  It was a great day and the weather was lovely for the first time in a long time.  

                                            Eagle

                                            Dam overflow

                                            Salmon pens

Day 172, Tues July 4, 2023 Cruise Hubbard Glacier

 Day 172, Tues July 4, 2023 Cruise Hubbard Glacier, located in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and in Kluane National Park and Reserve.  It is 76 miles long and is advancing.  The Hubbard Glacier has continued to advance for about a century.  The ice at the foot of the glacier is about 400 years old.  The glacier has icebergs break off, they can be the size of a ten-story building. 

Unfortunately we did not have a good experience.  It was foggy and there was too much of an ice field so we couldn't get close.  One more disappointment in a very long list.  I have pictures of other ships in the ice field but our captain stopped at seven miles out.  

Day 171 Mon July 3, 2023 Seward, Alaska 8-5:00

 Day 171 Mon July 3, 2023  Seward, Alaska 8-5:00

Dock to downtown is one mile.  City operates a complimentary shuttle from 8 - 6:00 PM.  Scenic views.  Best tour companies are Kenai Fjords tours and Major Marine.  A $5 a day shuttle bus runs from the cruise dock to the tour boat docks, USA SeaLife Center

Resurrection Bay Cruise (SWD-008) or book private tour from boat docks.

July 03, 2023

Port: Seward Tour Length: Full-Day (NOT Approximately 6.5  hours) /5 hours 11:45-4:45 Tour Price $299.00 Your World $224.25 Unlimited $149.00

Tour Description Admire the glorious natural beauty while cruising through the Resurrection Bay fjord. Expect to see sea lions, orcas, countless birds and perhaps even whales. NO WHALES. Behold massive Bear Glacier from an iceberg-dotted lake that often attracts kayakers.

Watch for wildlife while cruising the sheltered waters of Resurrection Bay, a deep fjord on the Kenai Peninsula. The first governor of Russian Alaska named the bay for its calm waters after finding refuge there when sailing during a violent storm. The serenity enhances the natural beauty of this wild landscape, which couldn’t be more majestic. As you skirt along the rugged coastline, you will likely pass large bird rookeries NO and a very few colonies of sea lions. Other commonly spotted wildlife includes NO orcas, NO Dall’s porpoise  and few seals. You may even see a number of NO humpback whales breaching the water’s surface as they feed using an ingenious communal method known as bubble-netting. The ship’s captain will provide commentary of the natural spectacles that you are bound to witness. (Worthless jibber.)  Bear Glacier is one of them. The longest glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park, it terminates into a lake that is usually dotted with icebergs.

Resurrection Bay is located at Caines Head.  Fort McGilvray is situated 650 feet above sea level.  The United States Armed Forces constructed the fortification in order to defend against the possible invasion by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.  The bay remains ice-free in winter and is easily navigable.  It is considered the “gateway to the Kenai Fjords” as many water taxis, kayak tours, anglers and recreational boaters use the bay to access Kenai Fjords National Park.   

This excursion was a huge disappointment.  It rained hard for about an hour.  I was so bored I wanted to cry.

HELPFUL HINT Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

PLEASE NOTE

Total time cruising is 5 hours. There are steps and a ramp. Toilet onboard. This tour is not wheelchair accessible. Please note that this tour is not exclusive to Oceania guests.

                                            Eagle to the left of center

                                                    Puffins

                                        This is a spot where salmon spawn.  We think the buildings are for fishermen.

                                            Old metal door from WWII

                                                    Near the spot where salmon spawn.

                                                    Sea Lions

                                        Our ship is the baby ship.  

                                            Sea Lions

                                                Eagle in tree near the center

June 26 to July 2. Lots of sea days.

 Day 164 Mon June 26, 2023  Cruise Pacific

Day 1645Tues June 27, 2023  Cruise Pacific

Day 166Wed June 28, 2023 Cruise Bering Sea and Cross International Date Line

Day 167 Thur June 29, 2023 Cruise Bering Sea

Day 168  Dutch Harbor (Aleutian Islands) Alaska  No excursions.  We went in on the tender and took pictures of the Deadliest Catch fishing vessels.  Then we got back on the tender and returned to the ship.

Day 169 Saturday, July 1, 2023  Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Day 170 Sun July 2, 2023 Kodiak, Alaska 9-6:00  This port was canceled because the seas were so rough on 7/1, we had to crawl along.  

                                            Deadliest Catch fishing vessels