The Cruise……..

Our embarkation on this Sunday provided us with a beautiful, warm, sunny day.  As we and 2000 others boarded the Oosterdam, we were greeted at every turn by a smiling member of the crew.

After our luggage was delivered to our cabin and the mandatory safety drill was completed, we relaxed as we cruised though Puget Sound and the Juan de Fuca Strait, and looked forward to our first dinner at sea.

Monday - a day at sea.  As we cruised Northwest with Vancouver Island off our starboard in the distance, we walked around familiarizing ourselves with the layout of the ship, and "forced" ourselves to relax on this overcast day, a perfect day for using the gym, reading and rest.

Tuesday - we awakened to bright sunshine, the clocks being turned back an hour as we entered the Alaskan time zone, with land to the East.  Very soon afterwards we were entirely socked in with fog and being entertained by the mournful sound of the fog horn.

As the weatherman correctly predicted, the fog lifted just as we approached the entrance to Tracy Arm. With the warmth of the sun, and little wind, it was very pleasant to spend time out on the bow of our ship.

Wednesday - awakened to a sunny day, docked in Juneau.  As we have no 'booked' excursions, we wait for those who have to disembark before we leave our ship to explore this, our first port of call. Juneau is Alaska's Capitol City, the second largest municipality in area in the U.S.,  totally isolated from the rest of the country by road and only accessible by sea or air.

Thursday -  Just after dawn we anchor in Crescent Bay and we are awakened to the tenders being lowered to take us into the town of Sitka, founded by Russian pioneers.  

The day was glorious, warm and sunny, which according to the local residents, was cause for celebration and this kind of day was few and far between.  After walking the main streets, and going to the library to attempt to log on to the Internet (frustratingly slow), we returned to the ship to relax in the warmth of the sun 

until the ship lifted its anchor for the overnight cruise to Ketchikan.

Friday - with overnight weather predictions of a cool, wet day, we awoke to fog which soon burned off revealing the waterfront of Ketchikan, a small community, known as the Salmon Capitol of the World.

After walking  around the commercial area, much of it built on pilings over the water since when the town was first settled there was little land before the mountains rose close to the shore.  Many of the former bars a bawdy houses have now been converted into respectable businesses and residences.  

We returned to our ship to indulge in a freshly caught salmon bake  for lunch and then basked in the warm sunshine during our early afternoon departure  which will take us to Victoria, BC, tomorrow evening - our last port before returning to Seattle on Sunday morning where we will then fly home for a brief rest, before departing on our next adventure to visit family in Canada and England in early September.