Alaskan Cruise on MS Volendam

25^th June

A brief explanation as to how we ended up on a cruise. Our original plan was to put “Ernie” on a ferry from Vancouver to Skagway in Alaska and drive back thru British Columbia. After checking the internet the cost of this idea became horrendous. The idea of a cruise was investigated and was found to be very much cheaper than the ferry. Three days on the ferry, not including accommodation and food was US$1,000 dearer than the all expenses paid 7 night cruise. A no-brainer in the end! So, after shifting “Ernie” to his 7 day storage site, the taxi arrived on time and took us to the Sky Train. This was a brilliant light rail system high above suburbs and city which took us all the way to Canada Place and the cruise ship terminal. After checking in our two roll bags (looked a bit pathetic compared to the huge suitcases most people had), we went thru customs and immigration. This cruise is deemed to be in the USA. Eventually we boarded the Volendam, our home for the next 7 nights. We had chosen to book the cheapest cabin. We were pleasantly surprised at its comfort and size. We were unpacked by 1:30pm and the ship was not sailing until 5:00pm. We started exploring the ship and all its lounges, bars, restaurants, pools,

decks and theatres. Our first stop was for lunch, buffet style. Lots of choice, weight could be an issue here!! We have never been on a cruise before (apart from the Blue Lagoon in Fiji) so we had nothing to compare this ship to, but it seems very luxurious. We had an evacuation drill where we went to our life boat stations and the roll was called.

We also organised the hire of a jacket for the ‘formal’ dinner tomorrow night. The time flew and before we realized it we had cast off and were underway. The views of Vancouver city, Stanley Park and the bridge were great. We eventually ended up at the “Crows Nest” bar for a celebratory drink. All purchases are done on a card which is also your ID and door key. This could run away from us if we are not careful! The ship is very quiet and the shore slips by. All very pleasant. We have ‘open dining’, meaning we can dine at any time between 5:30pm and 9:00pm and are sat at tables of six with other people. This evening we sat with a family from California who were very interesting to talk to. It is a very social way to dine. The 4 course meal was lovely with lots of choices. Fortunately the portions are not too large which may help weight wise. We ended the night by catching some of the show in the main theatre. Our bed is very comfortable.

26^th June

We had a beautiful breakfast (this could be my downfall) again meeting new people at our table. We cruised all day today following the ‘Inside Passage’ between Vancouver Island and the mainland. The weather is beautiful and we sat on various decks in shorts and T-shirts enjoying the sunshine and watching the coast slipping passed. Most of the time we are very close to the land. Most of the staff are either Philippino or Indonesian and deliver polite and friendly service. If you lined the passengers up in order of age we would be about in the middle. There are many Brits and Aussies on board most on a combined Rock Mountaineer Train trip and this Alaskan cruise. 

We got into our ‘glad rags’ for the formal dinner and enjoyed the music (American Song Book) and a drink at one of the many lounges. We sat with a couple from England at a window table for an elegant dinner. All very pleasant. At 10:00pm we went to the main theatre for the show called ‘Listen to the Music’. It was a variety of songs, light opera, show tunes, ballads and even some ‘Queen’. The singing and the dancing were great and we were blown away by the lighting, and staging making use of a revolving stage. What a show!

27^th June

We dropped off some people to do an excursion up the Tracey Arm where we passed large lumps of ice off the glacier and saw several whales. The weather was still great and the channel narrowed. We had an early lunch just before docking at Juneau. This is the largest city we will visit (pop 34,000) and has no road access. They say there is only 3 ways to get to Juneau, boat, plane and birth canal! It is also the Alaskan State capital. (not Anchorage as you might think) We travelled by bus about 20kms to the Mendenhall Glacier. This was quite a sight. We took a 1 mile walk closer to the terminal face and the huge Nugget Waterfall.

Spectacular! Back in town we caught the Sky Tram up Mt Roberts for great aerial views of Juneau and the surrounding mountain ranges. We also saw some Bald Headed Eagles and a porcupine. In town we walked the shops and ended up in the famous Red Dog Saloon. The interior is exactly as it would have been during the gold rush days complete with sawdust on the floor. A hard case guy (Brian Gale) was singing old country songs. He also told stories of country artist and their songs. We stayed until he finished (and a couple of beers) at around 8:00pm. Back at the ship, we chose to eat at the casual buffet before watching the ship leave for our next port.

 

28^th June

When we rose we were tied up at our next port, Skagway. After breakfast we walked into the little town which is the gateway to the Yukon. Many of the buildings in the town are original but house the now familiar shops. (clothing, jewellery, souvenirs and Russian stuff) All very cute! After a quick lunch back on board we boarded the Mt White Pass train for a 3 hour trip. This railway is a spectacular ride up the engineering marvel to Mt White Pass and the USA/Canada border.

The track is very steep and winds up the valley to the pass at 2888ft. The carriages are old and restored and the engines were restored diesels from the 50’s. Unfortunately this was not the day they used the steam engine. The train follows the trail the gold miners used to get to the Yukon and the Klondike. Boy, conditions must have been harsh. They say that if you stepped off the trail it could be 6 hours before there was a gap to rejoin the queue of miners heading to the gold fields. Great trip with spectacular views.

 Back to our favourite Ocean bar for pre dinner drinks and enjoyed the music. We sailed for our next stop at 7:30pm. The show tonight was a magician who, frustratingly, kept making his assistant disappear. 

29^th June

When we went up for breakfast we were at the entrance to Glacier Bay where we picked up the National Park Rangers. We cruised passed high mountains and many of the 50 glaciers in these sheltered coves before arriving at the head of the bay and the Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers. The Grand Pacific flows very slowly so was covered in rocks unlike the spectular Margerie which travels at 7mt/day.

The ship nudged closer and closer to this glacier with its 75mt high terminal face towering above us. Every so often huge chucks of ice crashed into the sea. The ship was surrounded by this floating ice, some like mini icebergs. After about an hour we left this area and sail to the Lamplugh Glacier. This glacier does not travel as fast as the Margerie Glacier but the terminal face was still spectacular. The ship did slow pirouettes on the spot with views in every direction of glaciers and the Fairweather Mountains.

We sat on deck in the sunshine and ate lunch admiring the views. We headed back down the bay and eventually dropped off the Park Rangers who had provided a commentary.

This is the second ‘formal night’ so back into the glad rags for pre-drinks at the Ocean Bar. We were amazed to see a whale close to the ship do its tail thing.  Unfortunately our fellow dinners were not as interesting as previous nights and Val got stuck with a ‘know-it-all’ Aussie farmer. The food was great though. I had surf and turf (steak and a lobster tail). The musical show in the theatre was again beautifully staged, costumed and performed. It was a story of good verses evil cleverly using different songs.  These shows are twice a night at 8:00pm and 10:00pm and are only 40 minutes long.

30^th June

When we went outside we were cruising up a very narrow harbour and at 10:00am we arrived at Ketchikan. This is known as Alaska’s first city. We had no trips planned for today and had a nice walk around the small frontier style town with many of the original buildings, including a whole street built out over a creek.

We saw a couple of the huge Bald Eagles sitting the trees. Tourism is the main income now but in the past logging and fishing has been the main industries. This town was the most crowded we have encountered as there are 4 cruise ships in. The weather is still overcast but fine. Ketchikan has rain on 322 days of the year but luckily we are here on one of the 34 dry days. This town had the Alaskan feel that we had expected. At around 6:00pm we set sail for Vancouver in lovely sunshine. At dinner we were treated to a great sunset. The show was a comedian. He was good but his acted was a bit limited as there were children near the front. Who would bring children to a 10:00pm comedy show??

1^st July – Canada Day

The first part of the day was spent well out from the land but the weather was still calm and overcast. We went to another cooking demonstration at 11:00am. These are very professionally done in a small theatre set up for these shows including overhead cameras so you can see into the pans etc. 

After lunch the sun came out just as we entered the Inside Passage. This is the long channel between Vancouver Island and the rest of British Columbia. We sat on deck reading and leaping to our feet with our binoculars to spot dolphins, Orcas and the odd whale. At times the channel gets very narrow and a very strong tide pushes the ship about. We had pre dinner drinks with some English people we had meet earlier and ended up going to dinner with them. The show tonight was “Dancing with the Stars”. Some passengers have been training with the professional dancers in the crew. The dancing was a bit weak but the whole show was quite entertaining. Back in our state room we packed our roll bags and put them outside for collection.

2^nd July

We had an early breakfast as our disembarkation time was 8:20am. Everyone is assigned different times and the whole customs and collecting of luggage was very organised. There was a place to store our bags so we were able to have a walk and we strolled up to the main CBD then down to Gastown where the steam clock is, before heading along the waterfront towards Stanley Park We sat and watched the many float planes landing and taking off. We had visited Vancouver with Lynne and Paul about 8 years ago so did not feel we had to spend much time in the city. Back to the Sky Train and the trip to our camp. Our mail had arrived from our forwarding service including our vehicle registration. A great relief to have it! There was also an overdue parking fine for Gary, which we will extract from him later! After unpacking and lunch we drove to the nearest Wal-mart for supplies and changed sites to a quieter spot away from the motorway. Val did a huge wash and we are all set to start the second part of our adventure tomorrow. The camp pool is open now and it was great to cool off in. We have really enjoyed our cruise experience. It was great value for money but it will be a few years before we would consider going on another. Perhaps when we get to Florida.