Category: Travel

The ship slowed down to almost a full stop. No wait it did stop. It’s our first clue that we’re getting close to our Juneau Alaska Port. How immense is this area? So quiet if you can weed out boat and ship noise. The first excursion off our ship onto another excursion boat. And off they go. Probably to see whales and other sea life. dmc

Kinda stunning, no? Looks like a mini avalanche happened between two of those peaks. We’re about 30 miles south of Juneau, full stop in Stephen’s Passage.

Thought we were paused for whale and/or some other wildlife watching, then…

… this vessel came over and tied up midship…

… picked up a bunch of passengers headed off to an excursion. And we’re underway again.

What to do on a foggy day at sea? Well, how about the thermal spa after breakfast. Then an enlightening live presentation about whales and how changes in the food web have led to their decline, and the work to help them recover.

Buffet lunch on the lido deck, then we ducked into the ship’s library to kill some time before a presentation about the Iditarod. Did you know the Alaskan Husky was in danger of dying out before the Iditarod race brought them into the sport? They’re well cared for and all they wanna do is run.

Whooped after the busy day, we caught a nice nap before our 5:00 “dressy” dinner reservation. It’s tradition on Holland America Lines to wear orange on the formal night. Why orange? It’s inspired by the large, orange-accented celebrations that take place in the Netherlands to honor the royal House of Orange-Nassau.

Btw, we found Johnny’s golden fiddle on deck 7.

The saying goes that pictures don’t capture the true beauty of what the photographer is seeing. It’s true. Rugged, drastic, subtle, immense, massive, majestic, are just some of the words so far. dmc

At VanDusen gardens, it’s pollinating season. We discovered many species of pollinators, but this one stood out. Bigger than a honey bee but smaller than a bumble bee. What stood out was its beautiful colors. I was practically nose to nose with it. dmc

Current location, at 10:30am PST

Thermal Spa is the ticket for melting all the muscle soreness and pain away from the beginning of this trip. Warm thermal chairs and a super jetted hot tub is available as an upgrade which we’re glad we took.

So far the food has been good. First dinner in main dining was an Alaskan crab, scallop and shrimp cocktail, veal piccata, and a native Alaskan berry tart. I’m all about tasting the local flavors and supporting the small businesses that made them. dmc