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Glacier Bay (Alaska) Cruise review



 
 
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Old April 27th, 2004, 08:54 PM
D Ball
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Default Glacier Bay (Alaska) Cruise review

Here's Lee's Glacier Bay review...


Thanks for taking the time to read this. It's long, and it
took a while to
write, so I appreciate the audience.

Up to and through Day 8 is our journey from Fairbanks to
Anchorage. Day 9
really starts the Glacier Bay Cruise Line portion, so skip
to Day 9 if you
only want to read about the cruise.

Thanks for reading!!!!!


Alaska, August 7-22, 2002

The Explorers: Lee, age 39, husband,Barry, age 52. I (Lee)
have been on 5
cruises previously, Barry=b9s been on 3. This was a first
visit to Alaska
for both of us.

Day 1: Got a ride to Newark airport from a dear friend who
was kind enough
to drive us there pretty early in the morning - it=b9s about
a 60 mile trip,
but we made good time, and got there with no problems. We
were a little
apprehensive about the day=b9s travel. Since we used
American Airlines
frequent flyer miles for this trip, we weren=b9t really able
to choose a
great itinerary. It would take four flights to get us from
Newark to
Fairbanks, the last two on Alaskan Airlines, which I had
heard were
horrible for losing bags, delayed flights, etc. Amazingly,
all flights
were on time, all connections (Chicago, Denver, Seattle)
were made and our
bags were first off the carousel in Fairbanks. It was late
(after
midnight) when we finally arrived, but the shuttle from the
Bridgewater
Hotel was still running. Brought us right to the hotel
(downtown location)
and we collapsed in a heap.

Day 2: Breakfast buffet at the hotel (adequate but nothing
special) and
then wandered around downtown Fairbanks. Not a city that
caters to much
tourism, which was fine. Took a bus, in the afternoon, to
the Univ. of
Fairbanks museum which I had heard wonderful things about.
We opted to
upgrade our tickets to include the two-part show in a
different building.
Part one was a demonstration of Eskimo Olympics events, part
two was a
lecture on the Aurora Borealis. The show was great.
Unfortunately, the
museum had scheduling conflicts, so we had to choose between
the show we
saw, and a lecture on wolves that Barry really would have
liked to see.
Too bad they couldn=b9t schedule these things so visitors
wouldn=b9t have to
pick one or the other. Bussed back to town (bus drivers and
passengers
know each other by name), ate at a very popular Thai
restaurant, and
returned to the hotel.

Day 3: Opted to try another place for breakfast that was
listed in a =b3Best
Places to Eat in Fairbanks=b2 website. Called the Co-Op
Diner. Nothing
great. Walked over to the visitors center to see what the
best way to get
to the Tanana Valley State Fair would be. They called some
airport shuttle
service who brought us there for $7.00 - a bargain compared
to what a cab
would have charged. Our driver told us of his first winter
in Fairbanks
when he literally shattered the upholstery in his car when
he sat on it,
before it had warmed up. That=b9s COLD! The fair was lots of
fun. It had
your standard rides and midway stuff, some good food (and
the typical
stuff as well), and all your fair-type exhibits (quilts,
pies, veggies,
jams, clothing, livestock, etc.). Also saw the giant
cabbages (more on
this later). We were picked up at the fair by Affordable New
Car Rental
and transferred to their office to pick up our car for our
travels south.
Picked this company because they were just about half the
price of the big
names. Car was relatively new, but a cheapo brand (Daewoo).
Didn=b9t care as
long as the car ran, and got us to Anchorage. Got a pizza
from
Gambardellas - supposed to be the best in the interior, but
it was pretty
bad.

Fairbanks was a great town to ease our way into Alaskan
culture and
attitudes. Everyone was incredibly polite, helpful and
friendly. Weather
was cool and rainy (expected) and smoky, from some fires
burning hundreds
of miles away. Daylight was awesome. Sundown was 10:20 or
so, but darkness
wasn=b9t until closer to 11:30. Sun (lightness) again at
4:00am.

Day 4: Up pretty early, breakfast at the hotel buffet again,
then packed
up the car and headed south on the Parks Highway (I thought
it was named
this because of the parks along the way, but found out it
was named after
someone with the last name Parks - who knew???). Didn=b9t
stop, that I can
remember, until we got to Denali Cabins (not to be mistaken
with Denali
River Cabins), about 8 miles south of the park entrance.
Unloaded our
stuff into our very compact quarters (prep for boat cabin),
grabbed a bite
at McKinley Creek Cafe, a few miles farther south, had them
pack us
lunches for the next day, bought some of their incredible
baked goods, and
drove back up to the park entrance. Headed to the Denali
Nat=b9l Park
visitors center, and timed our arrival perfectly to jump on
a bus to visit
the sled dog demo area. Barry and I have a Siberian Husky,
so seeing these
Alaskan Huskies was a treat. The demo was short, but there
was ample time
for us to visit the dogs (lots of petting) and the 8 week
old puppies.
Back to the visitor=b9s center, then drove our own car out
to the 15 mile
point - as far as private vehicles are allowed. Took a
hike/walk loop that
started at the end of that parking lot - a nice stroll. Then
drove back to
the park entrance, stopping occasionally to view wildlife
and scenery (the
mountain was not out). Left the park and went to the Perch
(about 10 miles
south of the park entrance) for dinner. Okay meal, nothing
special. Back
to the cabins and early to bed - getting up early for our
park shuttle
bus.

Day 5: Up and out by 6:00am for our 6:30 green =b3shuttle=b2
bus into the park
We reserved ahead to go into Eielson - 65 miles in.While we
were getting
ready, I discovered that the carpeting in the cabin was
soaking wet, and
that my daypack had been sitting on the wet carpet all
night, so my
waistbelt and the bottom of the pack were kinda soggy, which
I was not at
all thrilled about. Dealt with it later. Boarded the bus and
had a great
trip out to Eielson. Forecast was for rain, but the sky was
looking pretty
good. Drivers - I guess it=b9s a luck of the draw thing. Our
driver (Lee
McKelvey) was really terrific - a young man from Belfast
city. We all kept
our eyes open for wildlife and saw a lot. The driver stopped
whenever we
asked, and had an incredible wealth of info which he shared
with us during
the long ride (4 hours in). As luck would have it, the
mountain was
out!!!! We got a few short glimpses of her, and then there
she was, base
to summit! Truly a magnificent sight. Amazingly, the tan
=b3tour=b2 busses
turned around just one mile before this great view, even
though there was
space to turn around at this great lookout. On a day like
this one was, to
not drive the extra mile to give the passengers a look is
just shameful.
So, in addition to seeing the mountain, we saw too many griz
to count,
caribou, dall sheep (very far) and moose - the big 4, as
they=b9re called.
Once we got to Eielson, we had the opportunity to jump on
another bus to
Wonder Lake, another 10 miles in. So, we did that and hung
out there for a
while. Then we started back to Eielson on foot, and walked a
few miles
back until we flagged down a bus. Once back at Eielson, we
took a short
hike and explored the exhibits. Bus ride back was pretty
uneventful. The
driver was a dud - not sure if they always gab a lot on the
way out, and
then not at all on the way back, or if this guy was just
personality
deprived. He did stop for some wildlife viewing, but
didn=b9t have too much
to contribute. Went north of the park for dinner (to that
horribly
congested area where all the hotels are clustered, including
the Princess
Denali Lodge and their bazillion busses), back tot he cabin,
and to the
motel office, to request a room change. Got a different
cabin, twice the
size and very comfortable.

Day 6: Didn=b9t rush this morning. Packed up and headed
south towards
Anchorage. Ate a late breakfast in Cantwell (pretty good -
it=b9s on your
right once you pass the post office). Drove to Talkeetna and
shopped
around for a few hours. Don=b9t think we bought anything.
Continued south to
Wasilla where we stopped for dinner at a friend/acquaintance
of mine who I
had met last May (2001) when both of the choirs we sing with
performed at
Carnegie Hall. Karen sat next to me for rehearsals and we
stood together
for the performance - and really hit it off. So, it was fun
to get
together again, after such a fleeting meeting in NYC. Got to
meet the kids
and husband, too. Before dinner, we toured her
=b3compound=b2. It=b9s a family
farm - enough produce to eat and a decent amount to sell.
Her parents have
a house on the property and they=b9re in the middle of
building another
house for his parents. A nice set-up. Well, Karen=b9s nephew
grows giant
cabbages on the property. In fact, he won last year at the
official Alaska
State Fair! So, we got a preview of this year=b9s crop. If
you haven=b9t seen
these, all I can say is wow! They still had 2 weeks of
growing before
they=b9d be picked and they were already huge. Last year, I
think Seth won
with a 92 pounder. The record is around 101 lbs., I think.
Not sure how he
fared this year. After dinner and visiting, it was back in
the car for the
last leg into Anchorage. Couldn=b9t have been easier to get
to the hotel. We
didn=b9t have to make a turn. We chose the Voyager Hotel in
Anchorage. It=b9s
a smaller boutique hotel, but the location is excellent
(across the street
from the much more expensive Captain Cook), the room was
huge and very
comfortable. I would highly recommend this hotel to
Anchorage visitors.

Day 7: Wandered the streets of Anchorage, shopping and
exploring. Then,
since we still had the car, we headed out of town on the
Seward Highway to
Girdwood. It was a great drive with lots of beautiful
scenery and places
to pull over to look around (saw streams with salmon making
their way back
upstream to their natal spot). Kept going south until we
came to the
Whittier Tunnel - and decided to go through, just so we
could get a
glimpse of Prince William Sound. It was an expensive tunnel
($12?) but fun
- it=b9s one way, so every half-hour it closes for one
direction, opens for
the other, and when a train goes through, everyone has to
wait. You kind
of staddle the tracks as you drive through. The tunnel=b9s
claim to fame is
something like it=b9s the longest mountain tunnel or
something. Once we were
through, there wasn=b9t much to see, so we got an ice cream,
and headed back
- didn=b9t want to miss our half-hour opportunity to go
through, otherwise
we would have had to wait. Back to Anchorage and a stop at
the laundromat
for a quick load, dropped off the rental car and were
shuttled back to our
hotel. Fantastic dinner at Sack=b9s Cafe. This was, by far,
our best meal
of the trip. Definitely try this place if you want to try
some interesting
and innovative flavor combinations. Terrific.

Day 8: Up early and to the airport for our flight to Sitka
(via Juneau).
Flight was delayed leaving Fairbanks so we waited 4 hours to
finally
leave. Since it was a continuing flight, we weren=b9t
concerned about
missing a connection in Juneau, so we just relaxed and dealt
with the
delay. Met some fellow Wilderness Discoverer passengers in
the gate area,
so that was nice. Finally got to Sitka at probably about 2
or 3pm. Were
met at the airport by a Glacier Bay Tours person who
directed us to a
shuttle bus. We had been informed a few days before leaving
home, that we
had been relocated in Sitka from a downtown hotel to a b&b
because of some
convention in town that had reserved all rooms. This
didn=b9t seem to be too
much of a problem when we got the news, but became an issue
when we were
driven to the location, which was pretty darn far out of
town - incredibly
inconvenient since we were carless. Nice guy that he was,
our shuttle
driver waited for us (coincidently, the folks we met in the
airport had
also been assigned to this b&b), and drove us back to town
once we dumped
our suitcases in our rooms, met the b&b owner, etc. Gave him
a nice tip.
The rest of the day was spent in downtown Sitka, shopping,
sightseeing,
dining. Getting a cab back to the b&b took effort, but one
finally showed
up, after repeated calls. Not a huge expense, but one that I
don=b9t think
should have been ours, after Glacier Bay Tours had moved us,
without our
consent or wishes, to an inconvenient location. (I did not
mention it to
the crew - wasn=b9t their doing, but it was mentioned on the
comment card,
which will hopefully find its way into the hands of someone
who might have
a say in this type of thing). Back to the house, met the
third couple
that was staying at the b&b who were on our cruise. Very
pleasant folks,
all.

Day 9: Decided the night before, to share a cab into town
with the third
couple - they had arrived in town too late last night to
wander around,
and wanted the chance to shop and see the place before
meeting up with the
tour. So, instead, this morning, the b&b owner offered (hard
to refuse,
and be polite) to take us (all 6) to a favorite spot of
hers, where we did
a short nature walk/hike, which was very pleasant. Then, she
drove us
around an area even farther from town, for more sightseeing.
By that time,
couple 3 were very anxious to get into town, us less so,
since we had had
the opportunity the day before. Finally, she brought us to
town (saved on
the cab fare anyway), we had a quick lunch, then met up with
the rest of
our boat-mates at the Tlingit Cultural Center (not the real
name of the
place, but that was what it was) where we were treated to a
Tlingit dance,
drum, song exhibition. Beautiful building, and very
enjoyable show. After
the show, we boarded the buses, and visited a few other
Sitka sites,
including the Alaska Raptor Rehab Center, Totem Park (one
more place, I
think...but can=b9t remember), then finally to the boat for
boarding (our
bags were supposedly being picked up at the b&b and would
magically appear
in our cabin). With such a small capacity, boarding was a
breeze. We were
checked in by Jessie, the purser, who informed us that we
had been
upgraded to a bigger, higher level cabin on the =b3300=b2
deck. Woohoo! We
were escorted to our cabin by one of the Naturalists on
board (Mark) who
took a lot of time showing us around, how things worked (PA,
=b3multi-purpose=b2 room, etc.), then left us to settle in.
The room was tiny.
I will never, ever, ever complain about any ship=b9s cabin
size ever again
(don=b9t think I have actually have ever complained about
that). Total space
was 8x11. The bed was really wide - wider than it really
needed to be, and
took up all but about 2 feet of the width at the far end of
the cabin. It
was two beds, pushed together, but was very comfortable.
Small nightstand
was on one side of the bed. Nice big picture window that
opened, which was
nice when the cabin got steamy from showers. As you enter
the cabin,
there=b9s a very small closet to the right with lots of
hangars and two
drawers. We used that pretty much for hanging our outerwear,
and some
sweats, and left the extra blanket and life preservers in
there as well.
Our suitcases stowed out of the way under the bed, but we
had no place to
unpack, so we had to pull them out almost daily for
clothing, and stuff.
Beyond the closet on the right wall was a corner sink with
medicine
cabinet, which was big enough for us to unlpack all that
kind of stuff. On
the left wall, as you enter, was the =b3multi-purpose=b2
room - your typical
marine head with toilet/shower all in one. You draw the
curtain in front
of the toilet for showering, tuck it back otherwise.
Remarkably, towels,
tp stayed dry. The system worked really well, and the shower
itself was
great. We were summoned to the top (4th) deck for our intro
talk, where we
were introduced to the crew (crew of 23). Lucky for us, only
55 passengers
on our cruise. We were also asked to pick an entree for
dinner at this
time. A brief kayaking lesson was given (how to put on your
spray skirt,
life vest, etc.). The main reason we chose this boat over
the Cruise West
offerings or some of the other small ships, was because this
one featured
a fleet of sea kayaks on board. Couldn=b9t wait to paddle
around and
explore. Okay...after the intro talk, we went down to the
dining
room/lounge (midships to forward on deck 2) where there were
yummy fresh
cookies - something we became accustomed to all week. Then,
it was muster
(yes, even on these little boats), settling in, and back
downstairs for
cocktail hour and dinner. Ship left port at probably 6:00pm
or so.
Anchored in Shultz Bay that evening.

Typical day aboard Wilderness Discoverer: 6:30 am wake-up
announcement
comes right into your room. Breakfast is at 7:00am - buffet
with some egg
dish, pancakes or french toast, potatoes, meat. Check the
day=b9s schedule
on the dry erase board, pick your dinner entree (choice of
either seafood
or other - menu is posted in the morning).With the exception
of our full
day in Skagway, we were pretty much on the water. Sea
kayaking/hiking/skiff rides in the morning/afternoon
(depending on which
day - 3 times total), cruising in the morning/afternoon,
lunch served at
12:30 (family style - usually a crock of soup and platter of
sandwiches),
3:00 was cookie time - always fresh and always different.
6:00 was
cocktail hour with the hors d=b9oeuvre of the day (mussels
marinara, shrimp
cocktail, smoked salmon, veggie eggrolls, etc.), dinner at
7:30, nature
lecture at 8:30, and usually bed by 10:00pm.

Day 10: Spent the morning anchored in a Deep Bay on the
northwest end of
Baranoff island. Very protected waters - perfect for a first
paddle (we
are somewhat experienced, but this was a first for most of
the
passengers). This was a group paddle - we all kind of stayed
together and
explored the shoreline, looking for bear, mostly. We did see
many eagles,
a few harbor seals, and lots of other birds. Back on board,
we travelled
through Peril Strait in the afternoon, watching a humpack
lunge feeding in
Hoonah Sound, harbor seals eating and dog salmon breaching.

Day 11: Glacier Bay - Stopped early in the day at Bartlett
Cove to explore
Glacier Bay Lodge and surrounds. Took a brief mile-long
nature walk,
looked at the exhibit in the lodge (very nice) and headed
back to the
boat. Our ranger, Jessica, boarded at this time, and the
rest of the day
was spent visiting the west fork of Glacier Bay. First stop
was at South
Marble Island for a great look at a sea bird rookery (saw
puffins) and a
Stellar sea lion haulout. In the afternoon, we explored the
west arm where
Lamplugh, Johns Hopkins, Marjerie and Grand Pacific glaciers
are. As we
approached Lamplugh (during dinner, actually) Barry and I
ran up on deck
with a few other lucky ones, and saw a tremendous calving.
Couldn=b9t
believe how loud it was! Went back downstairs and finished
dessert, then
everyone piled up on deck for the rest of the evening. There
were some
smaller calvings, but nothing like the one that so very few
of us
witnessed, so we were lucky. Left Tarr Inlet almost in
complete darkness,
so it was very slow going for the captain, dodging bergs.
One of the
mates, or deck hands was manning the spotlight as we worked
our way back
into open water. Dropped our ranger off early in the
morning.

Day 12: Cruising and kayaking. After dropping off Ranger
Jessica, we
headed down through Icy Strait. Morning was spent whale
watching - a large
pod of humpbacks (nine were counted) were spotted off of
Point Adolphus.
Also saw Harbor porpoise, Stellar sea lions, gulls and bald
eagles. As we
headed out, two whales breached right off the bow. Headed to
Idaho Inlet
fo an afternoon in the kayaks for an unsupervised paddle.
Spotted sea
otters on the way. Night was spent underway.

Day 13: Skagway. Got off the boat at about 7:45 and boarded
a few
streetcar tour busses for a quick nickel-tour of Skagway
(included in our
package). The, most of us boarded the White Pass/Yukon Route
narrow gauge
train for a pretty scenic, beautiful ride into the Yukon
Territory
(purchased the excursion on the boat - same price if we had
bought it
directly on our own). It was an overcast day (to say the
least) so vistas
weren=b9t great, but getting up into the clouds was pretty
cool. It was a
great couple of hours - very enjoyable. Once we were off the
train, Barry
left for his hike to Lower Dewey Lake and I hit the stores.
Actually found
some really nice deals in Skagway. Wish I had bought more
there, because
the only other shopping opportunity I had left was Juneau,
which I thought
was awful. After a long day on land, we were glad to return
to our boat.
Just got our pictures back, and Barry took a great one of
the harbor, with
the mega ships and our little one in the same shot, for
perspective. Left
Skagway and headed south down Lynn Canal, the longet fjord
in North
America, passing the town of Haines, Eldred Lighthouse and
another sea
lion haulout.

Day 14: This morning we cruised Tracy Arm Fjord/Terror
Wilderness Area -
amazingly gorgeous. Spent quite a bit of time parked in
front of South
Sawyer and Sawyer Glacier. As we turned away from South
Sawyer, I walked
the perimeter of the boat until I was aft, again looking at
the glacier
the whole time (stuff always happens when you turn away).
Well, again
there were just a few of us who were still watching, and
again only we got
to see another big calving. Barry missed this one,
unfortunately. Paddle
this afternoon in our most challenging conditions yet, in
Sanford Cove.
Still pretty tame water, but it was a less protected area,
and there were
icebergs to paddle to (not too close), which was fun.

Day 15: Docked in Juneau at about 8:30am, off at 8:45 or so.
Bags we
brought down to the lounge. They would be transferred for us
to airport,
hotel, ferry...wherever we were going. So, that was nice. I
was thinking
we=b9d have to go all the way out to our hotel by the
airport, check in,
leave our bags and then come all the way back to town. Very
convenient to
let them deal with it all. Raining like crazy in Juneau, but
that didn=b9t
stop us. We shopped, literally, all day. None of the
sightseeing
attractions would be worth it on this day, because the
weather was awful.
Lunched at Twisted Fish, which was very good. Dinner at El
Sombrero.
Unfortunately, we waited until Juneau to buy many of the
things we wanted
to get for people at home, and for us. Wish we had bought in
Skagway or
Sitka instead. Found lots of rip-offs in Juneau, including
one particular
store that had obviously peeled place-of-origin labes off of
merchandise -
when asked, they claimed the stuff was Alaskan made. When we
asked where
the Made in Alaska label was, the story changed - now the
stuff was
Canadian. We left...then decided to go back and ask for a
business
card...maybe let the Chamber of Commerce know. Well, they
didn=b9t have a
card, and...big surprise, the story changed again! The stuff
was made in
the Orient. No kidding!!!!! Back to the hotel really early
(Frontier
Suites - Airport. Free shuttle).

Day 16: Got up at 3:00am to be picked up at 4:15am for a
6:00am flight. We
were beat. Amazingly, all three legs of our journey home
were on time, our
limo driver awaited us at baggage claim in Newark, and we
were home around
1:00am.

Glacier Bay Tours Summary: Did we enjoy small ship
cruising? Absolutely -
we=b9ll do it again. Was it worth the premium price? Not
sure. The crew was
amazing, especially Beth, the lead naturalist/=b2cruise
director=b2, Kitta,
our bartender (knew all of our names by the second day),
Mark, another
naturalist, our Captain Joel, the stewards - all great.
Rooms were all
made up in the 45 minutes or so we were all eating
breakfast. Turn-down
service during dinner - complete with pillow mints. No towel
animals,
however. Food was disappointing with a few exceptions. One
night we had a
buffet dinner with chicken, ribs and Dungeness CRABS - all
you can eat!
These were amazing! You on those big ships, you can keep
your lobster
night (lobsters aren=b9t even trapped in Alaska). I=b9ll
take the crabs.
Yummmmm. Fresh cookies daily were a treat. But, the galley
needed help.
Everything else was the worst I=b9ve had on a ship
(including Carnival!!!!)
At the end of the cruise, we all signed an address exchange
sheet which we
all got copies of, along with a little newsletter recapping
the trip. That
was nice. If the boat had been full to capacity, it would
have been
miserably crowded. Fortunately, with only 55 passengers, we
had enough
room to be comfortable. But, who=b9s to say that next time
we book, it won=b9t
be a full boat.There was one large group from Texas that
kind of kept to
themselves, a family of four (two really young kids - I love
kids, but
this cruise is completely inappropriate for them, as there
is really
nothing to keep them occupied - these kids were bored beyond
belief, and
understandably had some behavioural problems as a result)
who pretty much
kept to themselves (I don=b9t think anyone wanted to sit
with them and their
loud kids at meals), grandparents, son-in-law and two
slightly older kids,
who also kept to themselves (their choice). The rest of us
got to know
each other pretty well. Sitting with different people every
night did get
kind of old, though. Got tired of the =b3what=b9s your name,
where are you
from, what do you do=b2 thing. My first taste of
=b3freestyle=b2 and I didn=b9t
like it much. But with only 55 passengers, you kind of have
to meet
everyone - more like summer camp than a cruise. Suggested
tipping was
$15-20 per person per day. Could be paid in cash or added to
your account.
No credit cards were taken for on-board expenses until it
was time to
settle up, at the end of the cruise. Dress was totally
beyond casual. You
can=b9t be more casual. Jeans, flannels, sweats, fleece,
sweaters were the
uniform. One day, I wore a black sweater with my jeans, put
on some blush
and lipstick, and everyone commented on how =b3dressed up=b2
I was. Pretty
funny. I love getting dressed up on big ships, but this was
fun for a
change. Smoking on board was almost non-existent. The
outside aft section
of deck three was the only approved smoking area on the
boat, and that was
used only by one fellow who enjoyed a pipe a couple of times
a day. Other
than that, no one smoked, which was great. Glacier Bay
Cruises has alos,
apparently, been hit by the Norwalk (Norfolk?) virus that
had hit HAL so
hard this summer. It seems the virus was running rampant
throughout the
state. We wer given an info sheet on the virus, and were
asked to wash our
hands often, and to use one of those hand sanitizers also
(was supplied in
our cabin). Two folks did become ill, and were quarantined
for 24 hours,
but it was inconclusive what it was they suffered from, as
their symptoms
did not match, entirely, the ones that the virus sufferers
did experience.
Alaska in General: We fell in love with this state. Everyone
we met was
polite, helpful, friendly, genuine. It was really
refreshing. The air
smelled so clean, so good, I couldn=b9t inhale enough into
my lungs. They
should bottle that stuff. Weather was as I was expecting -
would have
liked a few more days with at least a little sun, but I
can=b9t complain -
we saw =b3the mountain=b2 and we are lucky for that. We=b9re
already thinking
about our next trip tot he 49th state. This time, I think
we=b9ll head to
the Kenai and Kodiak Island, maybe do a Prince William Sound
cruise
(definitely on a small ship). We saw many big ships in the
distance and
parked next to us in port. But, we didn=b9t see any in the
narrow, pristine
passages we navigated - I don=b9t think the big ship
passengers can even
believe what they miss, being so far away. Having a captain
literally stop
the boat for 45 minutes, to watch whales=b9 flukes as they
dive, resurface
in 5 minutes, breath for a few minutes, lunge feed,
sometimes breach, and
dive again. Stuff that only happens on a small ship. Loved
it.

That about wraps it up. Probably way more info than you
needed, but I=b9m a
detail oriented person - can=b9t help myself. Hope you
enjoyed my review.
Thanks for reading. Let me know if you have any questions or
comments.

Thanks!

Lee
  #2  
Old April 27th, 2004, 09:19 PM
Annie Mooney Neves
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Posts: n/a
Default Glacier Bay (Alaska) Cruise review

Wow, Lee! What a nice read after sitting outside on a hot day.
{moment of reflection}
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I'm forwarding this
to My Big Guy -- he's talking about going to Alaska next year, and this
may be the ticket.

==Annie by the Bay

  #3  
Old April 28th, 2004, 03:30 PM
Lee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Glacier Bay (Alaska) Cruise review

Annie Mooney Neves wrote in message ...
Wow, Lee! What a nice read after sitting outside on a hot day.
{moment of reflection}
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I'm forwarding this
to My Big Guy -- he's talking about going to Alaska next year, and this
may be the ticket.

==Annie by the Bay


Thanks for reading it. Hope the trip works out for you.

Lee
 




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