Alaska trip: Cruise portion

So i read a blog where the girl just got back from an Alaskan cruise.  And this reminded me that i never shared the photos from the cruise portion of our bucket list anniversary trip.  You know, it's only over a year later...i think it's about time.  I broke down and bought a DSLR camera for this trip, and it was well worth the cost and the lugging around of it for the photos.  They're not in order, because it's a rainy, dreary day, my coffee hasn't yet kicked in, and i'm lazy. The stops on the cruise portion were Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juno, and Ketchikan.  We didn't do any extra excursions because we opted for the more expensive land portion, but we did rent a car in Skagway and drive to the Yukon.  Okay, enjoy! 

 

Hell yes, this is why we have the DSLR.  This was the closest we got to a bald eagle, it was just chilling by the ships in Juno's port.

Creek Street, Ketchikan.

Glacier Bay.  The best advice we got was to be on the port side of the ship, and then getting a balcony was a must.  We literally did not leave our balcony on that day.  This was the only day that was rainy and overcast, and as we entered the bay we could hardly see anything at all.  I had no idea how close we were to the glaciers and was disappointed that the day was going to be a bust.  Thankfully, the fog cleared and we were able to progress. 

The blue ice was amazing.  We got to see some calving (when a chunk breaks off into the water).

And this guy!  How stinking cute!  The naturalist on board said there was a seal on the port side, and when we went out he was directly in front of our balcony, which was in the middle of the ship.  We thought he'd be something we were approaching, and have time to focus the camera, but nope.  He was right there, and we zip zipped right by.  Again, the DSLR was quick enough to take the shot before he was just a tiny blip in the expansive water.

The glaciers aren't all beautiful crisp blues, but most are.  Also note the people huddled and bundled on the bridge outside.  We were glad to have our own private space and be able to go back inside once we got too cold.  It was freezing right here, i mean, you're pretty much on top of a glacier, but it was also raining.  I had on every layer of clothing that i could, gloves, and my hood up.

More glaciers.

We thought this was going to be the closest we got to a bald eagle, but see picture number 1.

This shot of another cruise ship gives a good sense of the height of the glaciers. 


Mendenhall Glacier, Juno.  We took a quick ride out to see the glacier and then had lunch at Tracy's Crab Shack which was on the Food Channel.


Emerald Lake, called such for it's gorgeous green water.  We rented a car in Skagway and drove into the Yukon on our own.  We watch a lot of Gold Rush, and the boyfriend had images of just chancing upon some gold.  Seriously.


This guy just moseyed on out into the street, and did not care that there were cars.  I was concerned that even though we were in a car that we shouldn't get too close.  I mean, it's still a bear.  There were books for sale titled "Don't Get Eaten" for goodness sake. 

We considered ourselves extremely lucky that we were able to see the amount of wildlife we did, especially with the moose babies we saw in Fairbanks and the bear and caribou we saw during our tour in Denali.  This was truly an amazing trip, and an anniversary that we will never forget.

More people opt for the cruise portion than the land portion since it's more affordable, so please share with me your experiences if you've gone.  But. If someone was going to ask me for my opinion, i wholeheartedly encourage you to go all out if you can and really experience the interior of Alaska, too.

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