Alaska Cruise-Tour, 28 May to 8 June 2011

[reservoir88]

Just 5 more photos before moving on to Skagway

#51
Main shopping Street of Juneau

#52
Stalls offering all kinds of trips and activities

#53
Back to the ship after the day's activities

As we were having dinner around 8.30 pm the Captain suddenly announced that there was a spectacular sunset. One of the best he had seen. It would have been disrespectful to our table mates as well as to the dinner for us to rush to our cabin to get our cameras and go on deck to shoot.. After dinner, around 9.30 pm, went up to the deck with the cameras but only managed to get the reflected rays of the already set sun.

#54

#55

On to Skagway, next

 

[Alpc]

I have to ask this - Were we in the same ship?!?!? Hahahaha... I seriously can't remember hearing that announcement!

I think that must be the day which I had a very hard time keeping my eyes open during dinner - after not having enough sleep for a couple of days (long story, not going to rehash on the reasons), I finally hit the bed immediately and got knock out till the next morning.

 

[Tachyon]

I was on the Golden Princess in May.

My photos were posted here:

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/threads/909372-Tachyon-Alaska

and here:

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/threads/912522-Tachyon-Glacier-Bay-National-Park

 

[reservoir88]

I have to ask this - Were we in the same ship?!?!? Hahahaha... I seriously can't remember hearing that announcement!

I think that must be the day which I had a very hard time keeping my eyes open during dinner - after not having enough sleep for a couple of days (long story, not going to rehash on the reasons), I finally hit the bed immediately and got knock out till the next morning.

You can't hear the announcements in the room. Only in the public areas.

 

[reservoir88]

I was on the Golden Princess in May.

My photos were posted here:

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/threads/909372-Tachyon-Alaska

and here:

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/threads/912522-Tachyon-Glacier-Bay-National-Park

Hi Tachyon, tks for stopping by. You have some nice moody pictures.

 

[reservoir88]

Skagway has an official population of less than 900. Most of the people and businesses magically appear during the tourist season to service the cruise ships.

It was the point from which gold prospectors leave for inland Yukon (in Canada) goldfields to look for gold in the in the late 1890s. The famous White Pass and Yukon Route Railway was built in the 1900s to service the industry. The route starts from Skagway at sea level and climbs to almost 3,000 ft up the mountains in Yukon. Along the route one can see great scenery.

Many tours were on offer that involved rides up and down different lengths of the route. We selected one that took you by coach up a point called Caribou Crossing where we had lunch. Then the coach took us down to Fraser at 2,767 ft where we boarded the train back to Skagway. Along the way up because of the good weather we stopped at a few places to take in the panoramic views and photos.

#56
On arrival at Skagway a train was waiting by the dock for those takingit up.

#57
First stop on the way up

#58

#59
Probably participants of another conducted activity

#60
Another spot along the way up

 

[Alpc]

You can't hear the announcements in the room. Only in the public areas.

Actually you could get the announcements in the room - switch to channel 49 on the TV (Note: only on Princess, not sure about other cruise lines). If they announce it in public area, it will be heard in this channel as it's their webcam and public announcement channel. Took me awhile to find out about it, and unfortunately, it also means you have to do a quick turn up of volume when someone is speaking (as they were always too soft) and turn it down when it becomes music (as they were always too loud)... Gets to a point that I just left it loud when I am in the cabin during the day (which does not happens a lot, I tend to move around the ship rather than staying in the cabin) - and stand in the balcony using my camera as a binoculars and search the view for any glimpse!!!

I remember every day I would see a lot of people standing in the wind on their balconies with binoculars and some with cameras, searching for wildlife... Have to say, I did this myself occasionally as well - it was much easier to do it at balcony than on the promenade deck or the higher floors as I could pop in and out to regulate the exposure to the wind for those body parts that could not be protected by the jacket(s). Once I took to the deck and tried to stay at the front, so that could get good view of the area we are moving to - Had to get back inside the ship as it was just too cold due to the strong cold wind.

Oh, and they only announce it in areas that don't have any activities - in order not to disrupt the activities. So, not all public areas have announcements - perhaps only the morning and evening ones done by Dan as the activities were not started...

 

[reservoir88]

Still on the way up

#61

#62

#63

#64

#65

 

[oracle0711]

#65 is simply beautiful.. it is like marking a journey to paradise.

 

[reservoir88]

#65 is simply beautiful.. it is like marking a journey to paradise.

Tks, for viewing, Oracle0711. Will post more this evening.

 

[reservoir88]

#66

#67
Last stop before lunch - Emerald Lake

#68
We finally arrive at a place called Caribou Crossing. Seems to me its just a stop specially built to provide lunch and some diversion for the tourists whilst waiting for the return trip

#69
Apart from fake facades made of wood

#70
there were other fake props, in this case wagons

 

[Jedi R]

Very nice series... Would love to go there some day.

 

[reservoir88]

#71
There was also a husky dog kennel

#72
and tourists can pay for a ride on dog sled

#73
Dogs resting before dragging the next sled of tourists

#74
Kua Simi? What you looking at?

#75
Educational Material

 

[reservoir88]

Very nice series... Would love to go there some day.

Thanks, Jedi R.

 

[reservoir88]

After lunch we visited Carcross where we could get our passports stamped with the Yukon, Canada stamp.

#76
Carcross Desert

#77
Frontier town

#78

#79

#80

 

[reservoir88]

We continued our journey by coach back to Fraser, in British Columbia, Canada where we boarded the White Pass & Yukon Route train which would take us back to Skagway.

#81
Our train at Fraser

#82
Lake Bernard next to the train station, still partially frozen

#83
Genial assistant train conductor

#84
Off we go,

#85
Initial part of the journey took us through grounds covered with thick layers of snow just starting to melt

 

[SK1968]

#57
First stop on the way up

#65

#67
Last stop before lunch - Emerald Lake

These are nice too

 

[reservoir88]

At the front and back of each train there are open sided platforms from where you could take pictures of the scenery as the train chugs along

#86
View from train

#87
Tried to take picture of our train going onto this bridge but murphy's law got in the way. So can only be content with the view after the train passed.

#88
Our train making its way round the mountain side

#89
Another view from train

#90
And another

 

[reservoir88]

We finally arrived back at Skagway where we alighted at the town centre.

#91
Skagway Street

#92
Red Onion Saloon - the most exclusive bordello during the gold rush. Now a bar and restaurant

#93
Came across this pleasant park on the way back to the ship

#94
Various signs and graffitti at the cliff-face facing the port. Probably painted by crew of ships that stopped here. Wonder who did the skull.

#95
Post sunset at Skagway

Tommorrow we sail into Glacier Bay.

 

[reservoir88]

Glacier Bay is an USA national park and a world heritage site. It is not a bay in the usual sense. It is more of a fiord created when sheets of ice, that flowed down mountains, retreated leaving deep gorges which became filled with sea water. According to the guides given out, just 250 years ago, this place was all glacier and no bay. A massive sheet of ice roughly 100 miles long and thousands of feet deep was supposed to have occupied the entire area. Today the the ice have retreated north but sheets of ice still occupy inlets up the bay. These are the different glacier flows within the bay and given names such as Lamplugh glacier, John Hopkins glacier, Margerie glacier, etc. I could see 7 such glaciers from the map. "They flow from tall coastal mountains to the sea, and calve great shards of ice that bejewel cold waters with diamond like bergs". We would view some of these glaciers from the comfort of our ship.

This was touted as the highlight of the cruise and one can understand why. This is a place that you could not reach other than by ship or air. We were still blessed with good weather with the sun out. We were fortunate enough to be able to view a glacier calving i.e. the process where great chunks of ice drop off from the glacier.


#96
Sailing in the bay

#97

#98
An ice berg from the glacier

#99
Waters bejewelled with "diamond like bergs"

#100
Diamonds?