Excited guests from all over the USA and Canada were joyfully greeted at the port of Seattle by many of our Cruise Specialists agents and staff. Our group was allowed early embarkation in order to attend a welcome party in the Crow’s Nest. Each of our guests received a wonderful array of gifts for the voyage – tote bags, water bottles, unique pins and a notebook. Drinks and smiles flowed as we met our guests - and for some, they also got to meet their agents for the first time too. We later bid the Seattle team a fond farewell and Westerdam slipped out into the Puget Sound and headed north.
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We started the journey with a day of scenic cruising through the Inside Passage. It was quite lumpy but as Captain Eric van der Wal said, it was a lot calmer than the Outside Passage! Day 1 included a 15-minute welcome from the Captain and the main officers in the World Stage followed by a “Dressy” night.
Ketchikan
Our first port was Ketchikan. An exciting start for Keith and myself as it is our first all Alaskan cruise. We conducted our first Cruise Specialists exclusive excursion: “Wilderness Cruise & Silverking Lodge Seafood Feast Welcome Lunch" on Grant Island. A short bus ride took us to board a small speed boat at Clover Pass. On our way to the island, we paused for the guide to throw fish into the river whilst we sat in awe of huge bald eagles swooping down to get them. A great photo opportunity! Once on the island we walked up a sloping boardwalk into the giant, moss covered majestic trees of the serene Tongass rain forest. Getting up close to the huge Sequoia and Red Cedar made for spectacular photos. After this short walk we were awarded with a seafood broil. A big pot of crab legs, shrimp, mussels, clams, sausage, potatoes and corn was upturned onto a newspaper covered table for us all to dive into. We made short work of that for sure!
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After getting back to the pier we could wander the town past various jewelry and souvenir stores. A must-see is the pretty, historic Creek Street area, once part of Ketchikan’s red-light district during the gold rush era. Dolly’s House, a former bordello, is a museum today. The street of houses is on a boardwalk mounted on stilts as the authorities back in the early 1900s wouldn't allow these businesses in or on Ketchikan. Amusingly, “Married Man’s Trail” winds up into the forest behind for a fast escape of raids!
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Due to this being a 28-day voyage, we could have a whole day visit here whilst the three other ships in port today left much earlier.
Sitka
Next port was Sitka on the island of Baranof - the oldest Alaskan city and once called New Archangel when it was the capital of Russian America. Sitka still shows a Russian influence and St. Michael's the Archangel Orthodox church dominates the main street. A nice surprise were the food vans selling Kettle Corn and Crab sandwiches. However, all that came after we had two great sites to visit on our Cruise Specialists tour with an extremely knowledgeable and witty guide/driver Sadie from Fairbanks. Our first stop was the Alaska Raptor Center where we were able to see huge Bald Eagles at close quarters. Some that were able to be healed and put back into the wild were recovering in a huge open vented building, whilst mesh-covered windows shielded them from onlooking humans in their beautiful natural habitat. Every effort is made that they have no human interaction so they can be safe back in the wild. There are other birds in smaller enclosures that have been too badly injured and will live out their lives there being well looked after.
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Seven miles out of town is a repurposed pulp mill called the Fortress of the Bear. A huge outdoor complex refuge for some Black bears and massive Brown bears. Their stories can be found on the internet but due to their individual histories, they live there at the refuge. Our whole group was in total awe of seeing these amazing and clearly very happy animals from a safe distance!
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Sea days - we all love a sea day, and we have been blessed with calm waters and seeing the occasional whale playing in the distance as we travelled further north today. A day for relaxing, catching up on messages, playing games, going to the spa, listening to talks, cooking, cocktails or indulging in today's special Indonesian lunch in the Lido. Something for everyone on a sea day! The main dining room has had a different fish entree every evening. These dishes have included Rockfish, Salmon, Halibut, shrimp and Alaskan Cod and of course chowder and crab cakes! We don't cook fish much at home, so the fish meals are very much looked forward to.
Valdez
We took our Cruise Specialists guests on an excursion to Thompson Pass & Worthington Glacier after tendering into Valdez. What a treat that beautiful day was. We visited a fish hatchery, then drove up through the Thompson Pass where we were able to stop and take lots of photos at loads of places including Keystone Canyon, the Lowe River, Worthington Glacier, Bridal Veil Falls and a super group shot at Horsetail Falls. We also learned a lot about the Trans-Alaska Pipeline as our driver’s grandfather had been one of the 70,000 workers involved with the multi-year project.
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The town of Valdez itself (population approx. 4,000) has a great visitor center with some impressive stuffed bears, a lovely library – where one of our couples met the mayor. The interesting museum shows a short film and details of the 9.2 earthquake in 1964 amongst other things. As a consequence of that disaster, the town was completely moved four miles west to where it is located today.
We have been so lucky with weather and on our next day at sea, Captain Eric van de Wal took us the closest to the glacier in the College Fjord that he has ever been.
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That day, we also attended a presentation by Bettyann (the Cruise and Travel Director). We really enjoy her port talks and lectures. We also attended the Mariners’ Wine Tasting event held with Phillipe, the Cellarmaster. I have to say that the Riesling “with hints of petrol” was a bit wild to say the least! A costume party ensued in the Lido area in the evening. The Captain went in a Polar Bear onesie whilst his cute, petite wife was a Bee! The following day Father’s Day was celebrated with a brunch in the main dining room, and the shops and spa, etc., had special events to honor the many dads on board.
Dutch Harbor
Dutch Harbor was the next port and the only one that we had previously been to in Alaska. Last time we turned right and walked out to a marina containing massive crab pots. This time we turned left and walked to a different marina where the famous ships from a program “The Deadliest Catch” are moored. From there we walked up Bunker Hill. It was a rough one-mile track but well worth it for the views and being amongst nesting eagles. We saw more Bald Eagles in Dutch Harbor than we have seen anywhere in the world. They were anywhere strong enough to take them! The parents were nudging huge “babies” off of lamp posts, old trees and nests to encourage them to fly.
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We could have stayed there all day, but we had a six-mile walk to get back to Westerdam, so we headed back and saw Arctic Ground Squirrels playing amongst the debris of WWll iron bunker frames and the many beautiful wildflowers. I never thought that I would say “I have enough pictures of eagles”!
Nome
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Their motto is “There's no place like Nome” - there certainly isn't! We explored the town and its unusual shops, and we even visited the hospital (they have a great cafeteria in there!). I was taken aback by the fur pelt shops - not sure who is allowed to buy those anymore, but intriguing to look at. Some of our guests who went out of town saw Musk Ox - we will have to look for those next time!
Arctic Circle
Friday 20th June, Summer Solstice - the headlining part of the cruise! At 7:30am, the excitement began as the Captain announced that the bow was open and we were entering the beautifully calm and sunny Arctic Circle, enhanced by a solitary walrus on a small iceberg who performed for photos. Great excitement ensued all morning and a special photograph was taken of everyone on deck which later made various news channels. Shortly after leaving the Arctic Circle, we passed the Diomede Islands, separated by a distance of two miles and the International Date Line. With a 20-hour time difference, it was already “tomorrow” on the larger Russian-owned Big Diomede Island; the smaller one five miles from the ship, Little Diomede Island, Alaska, was in our time zone “today”. The American island has about 80 military personnel and families on it but according to the web, no one is on the Russian one, although we are led to believe that there are some Inuit people living there. Who knows? But totally fascinating.
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During the next three sea days, the ship was alive with conversations about the fabulous hospitality of the people of Nome, the Iditarod races, the Arctic Circle and those intriguing Diomede Islands. There were also Mariners’ lunches, our very successful Cruise Specialists cocktail party and of course our Chat Times. Flower arranging, trivia, bingo, scavenger hunts, shipboard games, lectures and the infamous Blue Nose swim where the Captain, officers, crew and passengers all jumped in the pool - most (including the Captain) were fully dressed!
Kodiak
Our next port was Kodiak - a tender port with a tricky platform on shoreside, so tender tickets were not required, but as always, the super helpful crew are there come rain or shine to assist everyone of every capability. They hold out arms for stability and even carry shopping bags for people struggling along. Once ashore, we chose to explore the town with its harbor full of fishing vessels.
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We called into a delightful local indoor craft market and then a pretty blue and white Orthodox church before walking out across the bridge to an island originally inhabited by the Alutiiq people. It’s called Near Island - although it was about a three-mile walk from the ship! As we reached the island there was a sign saying “Bear sighting 06/04” - that's ok I said, that was April. As we went into the dense forest, we remembered that was June 4 - not April 6!! Oops - just a couple of weeks ago! We were fine until we heard a crashing in the trees! Fortunately, it was an eagle diving in for a snack and not a bear. It made us jump though. On the next little island we came across a dilapidated vehicle - goodness knows how that got there - but it clearly didn't make it back!
Anchorage
Anchorage was an overnight stop with a frequent shuttle bus provided into the Egan Center in the city. Holland America sponsors and owns many transport services in Anchorage as part of their cruisetour operations. We were yet again blessed with another beautiful sunny day, and we met people all over the city, shopping and having food together - apparently, a Halibut Sandwich is a must have here!
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We followed a couple of trails - one was painted bears, one was about planets and the other extensive trail took us to loads of fantastic murals. Our favorite being the truly fabulous 400 ft x 50 ft "Whaling Wall" depicting life-size Humpback and Beluga whales with other native Alaskan sea life.
Day 2, due to limited bus space, we saw our Cruise Specialists guests off on tour to the Alaska Native Heritage Center for an active cultural experience and then to Potters Marsh Wildlife Refuge where they saw moose.
Keith and I walked to the Alaskan railway and Stickleback Creek where there were whole families wading into the river fishing. Then around to see Captain Cook admiring his inlet and down to the coast before heading back through a lovely long park which in different sections contained a formal rose garden, a beautiful modern war memorial and a huge steam train named Gypsy Rose after a burlesque dancer!
That evening we had a group of four very lively young men on stage Clog dancing. Very much enjoyed by everyone but exhausting to watch!!
Back to sea for three days - the first was started with a Q & A session with the captain. The first topic was “why has the TV system not been working?” Apparently, it is a satellite issue, not the ship’s fault. He dealt with all issues very well of course. Other highlights that day were a fashion show where some of our glamorous guests participated and “Walk for a Cause” in aid of Alaskan Parks. The day came to a close with a special Dutch Night menu in the restaurants and a traditional Orange party.
Chat time that day was lively too - lots of guests dropped by to share stories of the visit to Anchorage and the tour to Potters Marsh. We shared ours too to show our “family” that we hadn't wasted our day without them!
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Day 2 at sea was another of the highlights of the cruise - Glacier Bay. Fortunately, the weather and ice were favorable for our journey, so we picked up the National Park Rangers and were entertained by their commentaries, their information desk, their Alaska Geographic Park Store and various other activities. We sailed along through icebergs of all sizes to the Margerie Glacier right up near the Canadian border, where the captain did a 360-degree turn so that we could all take pictures and immerse ourselves in the wonders of this beautiful National Park of Tlingit origin. We were also lucky enough to see some bears on a beach, goats on the mountainside and numerous sea otters and birds.
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Day 3 at sea - we travelled up the Yakutat Bay to Disenchantment Bay and Hubbard Glacier, where we sheltered in behind Haenke Island whilst some passengers took a tour in small private boats to get nearer to the glacier. We enjoyed narration on all public speakers and on the bow TV Channel from a different National Park Ranger on board today.
Haines
In the small town of Haines, they provided a shuttle up to the Main Street for those who wanted it, as it was a bit hilly. We were glad of the 15-minute walk to the museum after three days at sea!
We gathered with our excited Cruise Specialists guests at noon to go on a "White Pass Summit Scenic Railway and Skagway" tour. The journey began with a bus transfer that took longer to get everyone on the bus than it did to drive to the ferry! The catamaran took us up the Chilkoot Inlet where we were greeted by four other huge ships. Their presence didn’t impede on our excursion as we went directly to the train (via another short bus ride). We had a packed lunch box and were soon heading for the hills on the narrow-gauge vintage railroad following the trail of the Klondike Gold Rush pioneers. It took two years to build starting in 1898 and links Skagway to Whitehorse, traversing narrow ledges, wooden trestle and steel span bridges and some very dark tunnels! It is an International Historic Civil Engineering landmark and the journey delights everyone at every turn with magnificent panoramic views, waterfalls and glaciers up to the 2,865-foot elevation to a turnaround area in Canada! Throughout the journey we were entertained by a wonderful narration by one of the train guards. She was full of little stories of life back in the 1900s as men passed this way in search of fortune and facts about things she was pointing out to us. Everyone got a great view, because if you were on the “best viewing” side going up – you were on the other side coming down! Even the young lady on the return ferry later in the day was full of great facts about how the valleys are created due to the Isothermic process and the weight of the ice on the earth’s crust! It was a truly wonderful day, and we all had a favorite part when talking about it later.
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Juneau
Juneau – the capital of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel on Douglas Island. It is a busy town but not at all like any other throbbing capital that I have been to! The bustling boardwalk is filled with kiosks selling trips to Mendenhall Glacier, fishing trips, whale watching, helicopter and seaplane rides. We walked around the city taking in the sights from the governor’s house and the courthouse to Overstreet Park where there is a magnificent full-size Humpback Whale fountain and the not to be missed Red Dog Saloon! On our way back to the ship, we were enticed by a kiosk saying “Guaranteed whale sightings” – and before we knew it, we were on a guided bus tour out of town to a marina and onto a small boat heading out into Auke Bay. We were skeptical about actually seeing whales – BUT!! We saw a mum (Flame) and her baby spouting, breaching and waving their tails for us and were quite happy with that sighting until the pilot whizzed us across to another area where there was a pod of whales bubble fishing!!
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Even the naturalist on board was excited about seeing that thrilling event as the sun was setting over Sentinel Island lighthouse and those magical creatures. Unfortunately, due to our whale watching we missed the Canada Day celebration on board. The chefs of Westerdam had created a special evening menu and decorated the Lido dining area for all guests. We got back at 9:30pm in time for the late meal at 10pm – another first for us eating in the Lido at that time of night!
After all the excitement of the past two days we had a scenic cruising day along the Endicott Arm to the Dawes Glacier. There were chunks of ice flowing past as we headed up to the thick sparkling blue glacier and once again, we were allowed out onto the bow for better viewing and stunning photos. Our group still wanted to meet up at Chat Time, so we met them and chatted about all of our recent adventures in Juneau. The rest of the day people went about the usual activities before the eagerly awaited Captain’s Ball! Although this special event is just a “dressy” night and not actually a formal night, it was lovely to see so many people dressed to enjoy the evening’s elegance.
Wrangell
Our penultimate port of Wrangell was approached with caution by many as the Captain had to tender us into a small harbor out of town and the town only had two small buses to ferry people into the delightful little town. Once again, we walked in and decided to walk up to the Mt. Dewey Trail. It said that it was about a mile along boardwalks and wooden steps. That seemed ok but by the time we got to the top – it was up 500 slippery wooden steps and boardwalk! Not for the fainthearted but we were rewarded by a great view before gingerly heading back down those slippery steps!
In the town they were preparing for the 4th of July party the following day. It looks like they were going to have stalls and a big lumberjack show, shame we missed that but we loved the town with its painted bears, local children selling homemade crafts and the many unique totem poles. We loved the one at the library depicting a person holding a book called “Totem Carving for Dummies”! I was interested to learn more about the totem poles. Firstly, that once they are created, they are never touched again, not moved, renovated or repainted. Secondly, that there are some totem poles called Shaming Poles. Those depict individuals or groups for wrongdoings or unpaid debts. These are traditionally made to mock the person/s intended and are not very flattering! These fish ones were unusual too.
Prince Rupert
Our last port was Prince Rupert, Canada. Funny to think that we celebrated Canada Day in the U.S. and then American Independence Day in Canada! Here in Prince Rupert a large number of our Cruise Specialists guests joined us for a great outing – “Bear Necessities and Farewell Lunch”. We were taken for a tour around in two trolley buses led by Larry and Keith. These guys were full of jovial stories about their much-loved hometown. The day was as bright and jolly as they were, and it lifted our spirits for what was our last day together. We were dropped off at a beautiful family run Mediterranean restaurant called Arabisk. The owners greeted us at the door in traditional dress with their sons and staff giving us a champagne welcome. The tables were decorated with red, white and blue sparkles (thank you Heather!) and then the feast began!!! There was a buffet of sumptuous rice dishes, salads and Mediterranean breads and dips and the whole thing was brought to a climax with the arrival of grilled beef, lamb, chicken and pineapples on huge skewers carved at the table by the sons of the owners. Each meat had been prepared with a special recipe by each son. What a treat! We were all given a small disc Green “Yes please” on one side, Red “No thank you” on the other. The guys kept coming around until we all admitted defeat - and that’s some good going to hungry cruisers!! We waddled out with full tummies and huge smiles as a result of a fantastic end to a wonderful cruise together and a great 4th of July to add to our memory bank. It was a 45-minute walk back to the town, which would have been much needed after that feast, but fortunately the trolley buses picked us up again and we headed back to the pier via notable places in the town like the Pacific Mariners Memorial Park and the Sunken Gardens Park. We went for a walk along the shoreline but I’m guessing most people went back for a nap! Bless them!
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And there we are – one last day at sea – we were touched at how many people came to see us at Chat Time. They were all super lovely and all the sad goodbyes were overtaken by the knowledge that we all had a wonderful, unforgettable time in Alaska. It was an honor and a privilege to share our first time there with you all.
Every cruise is an adventure and every port a new story – we are looking forward to you being part of our next chapter!
Affectionately,
Susie and Keith, Cruise Specialists Voyage Hosts
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