View from ship

I recently went on one of those trips that people dream about all of their lives – I went on a cruise to Alaska.

Most of the cruises I have seen that go to Alaska go out of Vancouver. One of the reasons that we chose this particular cruise was that it left out of Seattle. I have been to Seattle a few times on my own, but my partner has never had the chance to go. We had a trip planned for Seattle and Portland, but it never happened due to illness – first on his part, and then on my part at the rescheduled time. So that trip was canceled all together.

Anyway… Cruising is probably not my favorite mode of travel. However, both my partner and I felt that there is probably not a better way to get to see Alaska than on a cruise. We got a suite on the ship that had its own private balcony as we expected to be spending a lot of time out there just taking in the scenery. Guess what – we did! The coastline of Alaska (and British Columbia) is spectacular, to say the least. We went on the second trip of the season for our ship (the Rhapsody of the Seas, from Royal Caribbean), which ran from May 31 – June 6. There was still lots of snow and ice everywhere. And it is a good time for viewing wildlife, especially the seals and the whales.

We left Seattle and cruised for a day and a half to get to our first destination, which was Juneau. We took an excursion in Juneau that included flying on a float plane from the harbor in Juneau, going over several of the glaciers, and then landing at the Taku Glacier Lodge for a salmon BBQ. First of all, it was my first time on a float plane. It was like gliding – so smooth and peaceful. Everyone had a window seat so there were no blocked views like you would get on a helicopter trip. Then there is the scenery. The Glaciers and rivers and mountains are so stunning. I could have stayed up there for much longer and been completely happy.

Black Bears at Taku Glacier Lodge

Then when we landed at the Lodge, we were literally facing a glacier. It was incredible. It turns out that it was 2 miles away, but it looked so close – like we could reach out and touch it. Then there was the salmon bake. It was quite good. The final stroke of fortune was the 3 black bears that were hanging around the lodge. It was a mama and 2 cubs. They were less than 20 feet away from us. When they took the stuff off the grill, the bears came down from their tree to see what was left. We were dining inside and right outside the window, the bear family was having its fun. I just love animals, especially bears, so this was a big treat!

Glacier as seen from Taku Glacier Lodge

After flying back from this trip, we walked around downtown Juneau a little. We saw the waterfront area, the strip of stores (that is basically the same group of stores that you will find at any port of call – jewelry, t-shirts, etc.), and walked by the Alaska state capitol. Like the Capitol Building in Honolulu, it is not very impressive. What was even less impressive to me was the town of Juneau. It is kind of dirty and run down. There were lots of beggars and street people hanging around everywhere we walked. That is honestly not something that I was expecting. If I ever do take a cruise to Alaska again, I will not be in any hurry to get back to Juneau. (I am sorry if I am offending someone with this – it is just not possible to like every area you visit, and this was one that I just did not like). Being the capital city of Alaska, I expected a lot more.

Downtown Skagway, AK

Back to the ship, and we cruised overnight to Skagway. Skagway was the complete opposite of Juneau. The town was spotlessly clean. The shops were interesting and unique. The scenery around Skagway is spectacular. The Downtown stretch of shops, restaurants and other businesses was very cool. Many of the businesses there are from around the year 1900. Another interesting thing we saw in Skagway was the rhubarb. There were rhubarb plants right along the sidewalks. Some of the stalks were like 4 or 5 feet long. Many people are probably not familiar with rhubarb. It is a fruit that grows a lot like celery. It has long stalks just like celery. The taste is actually pretty tart and the way most people that have had it eat it is in strawberry rhubarb pie. My partner and I love to eat raw rhubarb. The tartness is always very refreshing and enjoyable (though sometimes rhubarb can be very chewy and stringy – then it is not so enjoyable).

Rhubarb plants in Skagway

We took a side trip from Skagway that drive us up to White Pass and then over the border into the Yukon in Canada. While it was not my favorite “excursion” that I have done, that had nothing to do with the scenery. It was, again, quite spectacular. We saw a mountain goat with her baby on the side of one of the mountains. We were able to see the White Pass Railway below us. The mountains were still loaded with snow, which was actually starting to melt, so there were small waterfalls everywhere. I had never been in the Yukon before, so technically I can now say I have.

I would have no problem visiting Skagway again. It is a beautiful city that makes you feel like you are in the Old West of the US.

Ships in Port

The next stop on our cruise was Prince Rupert, BC in Canada. This was an extremely small, and in my opinion, very uninteresting town, on the BC coast. I would have much preferred stopping in Victoria or Ketchikan. Oh well. Next time I will know better.

Then we began our return to Seattle. I woke up the first morning after Prince Rupert, stepped out on the balcony, and saw my first whale in the wild. They are so spectacular. I sat on the balcony for much of the day hoping to see another whale or orca. Unfortunately, I never did. But it was still beautiful. The islands and mountains that dot the whole area of the Inside Passage are just stunningly beautiful. It goes on and on for miles and each mile seems more breathtaking than the previous one. This, to me, is what this cruise is all about – getting to see the spectacular natural setting of the Alaska and British Columbia coasts. If we had done nothing else during the cruise, this alone would have made it worth the trip!

To see some of my pictures from the cruise, click here.