On September 18, 2002, on the first rainy day in several months, my husband, Dick, and I left Sparta, TN for a 7-day cruise through the Inside Passage of Alaska. Our friends, Grace and Al, and Larry and Penny joined us. At 6:30AM, we boarded a plane in Nashville for Dallas, TX and then on to Vancouver, Canada. After many security checks and much waiting, we walked up the gangplank of the Carnival Spirit "Fun Ship" around 2:00PM and prepared ourselves to sail. The following is my journal:
DAY 1 9/18/02 Vancouver
After boarding, we made our way with some apprehension to the 6th deck, towards the bow. Surprisingly, our luggage was waiting outside the doors to our room. We entered our inside cabin and immediately decided that it was more than adequate with its nice bathroom, mega storage, TV, telephone, and king sized bed. Since we had had little to eat that day (airlines no longer serve meals!), we then headed for the Lido Deck on the 9th level, stern, and were greeted with LOTS of food of every description. There was Chinese, a deli with pastrami and corned beef, pizza, and several other choices. Our plan was to have a snack and then go to dinner at our appointed time of 5:45. Once we started eating, however, we couldn't stop!
When we FINALLY finished, we returned to our cabin to unpack and get settled. We then began our exploration of the huge ship, 10 decks high, and marvelled at its extravagant beauty. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner, and since we were still full, we passed on the dining room and opted for a later dinner on the Lido Deck, where the evening choices were even more diverse. After dinner, we went outside and enjoyed the evening air and before long, the ship set sail and we bid farewell to Vancouver. It was early to bed that night after a very long day.
DAY 2 9/19/02 Day At Sea
After a good night's sleep, we arose around 7:00 to discover that a front had come through during the night and it was pouring rain. The sea was VERY rough and when we headed up for breakfast, we could feel every swell! Late in the morning, I got really seasick, headed for the cabin, and lost my wonderful breakfast. Dick called the infirmary and help arrived with pills and gingerale. Seems that there were a large number of "sickies" that morning. I slept for about an hour and when I woke up, I was fine and remained fine throughout the rest of the cruise. I am the one who assured others that you NEVER get seasick on a cruise ship. On my only previous cruise, we never sailed the northern sea in a storm..................
Of course, I managed to get well in time to have a huge pastrami on rye for lunch as we headed towards the Inside Passage. We were beginning to learn our way around the ship, and as the seas calmed, we explored the various decks, the three pools with hot tubs, the casino, and the ship stores. For several hours we saw nothing but water, and then suddenly, snow topped mountains began to appear. That evening, we dined on a choice of baked ham, grilled salmon, and steaks-to-order and then went to the show; a medley of show tunes performed by the band and singers and dancers. When the show was over, we went out on deck to find that we had entered the Inside Passage and looked forward to the sights we would see the next morning.
DAY 3 9/20/02 Juneau
I got up at 7:00 and headed up to the Lido Deck where I was greeted by an AWESOME sight.........snow-capped mountains, rising up out of the mist! I wanted to just stand out there and look and take pictures forever. One by one the others arrived and we wandered inside to eat; AGAIN. The clouds began to gather and it turned colder, but not too cold to go out on deck and enjoy the view. About mid-morning, the humpbacks started swimming alongside the ship. What a sight! We had all seen them on TV many times, but there is just nothing like seeing them first hand...........
After a stroll through the stores, looking for a birthday present for ME (it was my 62nd birthday), we ate lunch and prepared for our 2:00 docking in Juneau. It is quite amazing how they manuever such a huge ship into the dock. I had never realized that Juneau, the capital of Alaska, is inaccessible except by boat or plane. There are NO roads in or out of the city. We had signed up for a trip to the Mendenhall Glacier, followed by a salmon bake. The bus driver was very informative, and gave us an overview of the city while driving us to Mendenhall. The city itself did not impress me, and I sure wouldn't want to live there.............
Mendenhall Glacier was truly spectacular! I have always heard glaciers described as "rivers of ice", but until you see one up close, you have no idea of its beauty. This particular one flows 12 miles down-valley from its source in the Juneau Icefield. Moving only a few feet a day, it takes about 80 years to make the full trip. We stayed there about two hours and then returned to the bus to head to the salmon bake. The salmon was grilled over large beds of charcoal and served under tent-like shelters (a good thing as it was raining once again). In spite of the drizzly, cool weather, it was very enjoyable. At 10:00 that night, the ship departed Juneau and headed into Glacier Bay.
DAY 4 9/21/02 Glacier Bay
I arose at 7:00 and went on deck to find a cold, rainy day with 27mph. winds. After a delicious and filling breakfast, we bundled up and headed outside onto the Deck 10 bow. The ship progressed up an inlet which is only accessible to cruiseships during the month of Sept., towards the John Hopkins Glacier. It was not long before we were so engrossed in the scenery that we forgot that we were freezing. We stayed outside for almost two hours, taking in the beauty. We discovered that glaciers "groan" as they make their slow journey downward. We even got to see glacial calving; large pieces of ice falling away and floating off. There is just NO way to descibe glaciers to someone who has not seen them "up close and personal".
We spent the remainder of the morning inside visiting and planning the rest of our day. Around noon we headed for our favorite deck......the Lido Deck......for lunch. While we were eating, a strange thing happened; the wind and rain stopped and the SUN broke through the clouds! Seems that they only have a day or two a month in these parts as fine as this. Grace and I even took a dip in one of the pools and lounged in the hot tub. We stayed outside through the entire trip up to Grand Pacific Glacier, another awesome sight, where the sun warmed our bodies and the view warmed our hearts. That night, we entered the Lynn Canal and headed for Skagway.
DAY 5 9/22/02 Skagway
We were on the deck bright and early to watch our approach into Skagway Inlet, a narrow waterway with snow-capped mountains surrounding both it and the small town of Skagway. I kept thinking that it looked like a picture postcard or something I had seen in National Geographic magazine. It took quite a while for the ship to maneuver through the channel and sidle up to the dock. Finally we were ready to disembark and head for the White Pass and Yukon Railway for our train ride to the White Pass Summit. We walked the short distance to the train, 10 parlor cars pulled by three engines, and boarded for the almost three hour ride.
As we moved slowly along the tracks, climbing steadily, the view became more and more magnificent. The conifer woods became thicker as we left town, passed the Gold Rush Cemetery, and climbed into the Sawtooth Mountains. We saw occasional waterfalls off in the distance, and Dick even caught a glimpse of a black bear. We crossed several deep gorges on wooden trestle bridges and went through two tunnels in Tunnel Mountain. As we approached the peak and saw less trees and more craggy rock, we began to see mountain goats picking their way along rocky trails. The trip down from the 2,865ft. summit was no less spectacular.............
Back in Skagway, we headed to town to do some shopping. Skagway's population goes from about 15,000 in the summer to only 1,200 or so in the winter. It is a small town of quaint shops, several of which we checked out as we walked up one side and down the other through the center of town. It is surrounded by beautiful snow-capped mountains on three sides. While standing there, I felt like I was on the set of the TV show, "Northern Exposure", and expected to see a moose cross the street any minute. We checked out a couple of restaurants, but decided to return to the ship for lunch and prepare for our 3:00 departure.
DAY 6 9/23/02 Ketchikan
We sailed all night and arrived in Ketchikan around 11:00AM. We were expecting to see "a small fishing village" as described in the brochures, but instead we saw a large, bustling salmon-fishing port. There were MANY boats of all sizes and types, both docked and in the water. All of the homes were very large and were scattered up in the hills surrounding the town. Ketchikan is Alaska's southernmost city and they receive an average of 155" of rain a year. Fortunately, it was NOT raining while we were there...................
After lunch (wouldn't want to miss THAT), we left the ship and shopped the nearby stores. Merchandise seemed to be priced higher here than in the other two ports. I did find a Five and Dime Store where I was able to purchase Alaskan stickers and die cuts and other supplies for my scrapbooking hobby. My next project when this website is completed will be my Alaska scrapbook. We returned to the ship quite early, went out on deck, and enjoyed watching the boats and floatplanes and especially, the eagles. They are so majestic as they soar through the air and land in the trees on shore. Around 7:00, we left Ketchikan and headed towards the Inside Passage once again to begin our return to Vancouver and then, home.
DAY 7 9/24/02 Day At Sea
We were out in the open seas once again when we headed up to "you-know-where" for "you-know-what" the next to the last morning. There were no rough seas this time, though; it was a beautiful day! About mid-morning, the ship naturalist told everyone to head out on deck, and there we found a sight to behold. There were white-sided Pacific dolphins EVERYWHERE! They were swimming along with the ship, enjoying the pressure waves, playing like children at the beach. We watched them for almost two hours, trying to snap pictures and getting mostly seascapes. They were on both sides of the ship; from the bow to the stern. Everyone was smiling and enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime experience..........
That afternoon as we continued along the Inside Passage, we sailed right into a pod of Orca Whales. What amazing creatures they are! There were a dozen or so, circling around a small boat that we hoped was full of whale watchers. They put on a real show for us as we passed by, and gave us one more wonderful memory to take home with us. Later in the afternoon, we went to our cabins and packed our things. That evening after a delicious seafood dinner in the main dining room and a show featuring an excellent comedian, we headed to bed, sad that it was almost over and thankful that we were able to enjoy such a wonderful week.
DAY 8 9/25/02 Vancouver
We had to get up at 6:00 on our last morning so that we could have a good breakfast before setting off from Vancouver to Chicago to Nashville and home. It would be another very long day like the first. When we got up on deck, we were greeted by the most beautiful sunrise, welcoming us back to Vancouver. The weather was mild and the atmosphere thoughtful as we prepared to leave the ship that had been our home for seven wonder-filled days. The ship was leaving that very night for a cruise to Hawaii and 18 lucky passengers were going on with her. If all goes well. I will be on that ship, going to Hawaii next year.
Song: "Northern Exposure soundtrack"
