Days 1 & 2: Vancouver & at Sea
    Day 3: Ketchikan
    Day 4: Juneau
    Day 5 : Skagway
    Day 6: Glacier Bay
    Day 7: Prince William Sound & College Fjord
    Day 8: Whittier to Whitehorse

Click on each photo to greatly enlarge it.

Thursday, July 1: when I looked at the GPS map on the TV at 03:45 we were just passing Hoonah - time to get out and start watching for whales! I said on my talk from the bridge last night that I'd be on deck looking for whales at 04:00 this morning, and there were people there to talk to me - I love enthusiastic passengers! The first hour (around Hoonah) was slow, but there were several humpbacks at Point Adolphus and many at the mouth of Glacier Bay.

As usual in this area, it was impossible to say what the day was going to bring. Weather forecasts really mean nothing. A few of us stayed under a canopy while we watched for whales, but by about 4:30 the rain quit.

A large Canada Day cake was set up outside Horizon Court when I went down for coffee at 05:30. After a few cups of coffee I realized that the "cake" was made out of cardboard - but it looked nice anyway.

The further we sailed into Glacier Bay, the better the weather looked.

As we neared the glaciers, the clouds once again parted for us!

Another amazing day at John Hopkins Glacier!

By 9am drink sales seemed fairly brisk - hey, it's noon somewhere!

The Norwegian Pearl sails out of Tarr Inlet as we enter.

The Margerie Glacier has clearly been calving a lot in recent days - there was a lot of ice both in the water and stranded on the beach by the falling tide.

There are some very impressive cliffs along Tarr Inlet in particular.

Up close and personal with Margerie.

As the captain swung the ship so that the folks on starboard side balconies could see the glacier, many folks were down at the seafood buffet and a few were in the swimming pools and hot tubs.

NPS Ranger Emma on deck after doing the first segment of her bridge presentations.

The boat coming to take the NPS rangers off got a bit distracted by some humpback whales.

Bye-bye, Rangers Emma and Kevin - thanks!

Passing Cape Spencer and its lighthouse at 5:30, we headed out into the Gulf of Alaska, which so far is very calm.

This was our second and final formal night - classical music and portrait photographers are part of that. I had an 8pm dinner reservation with a family that I'd been spending a lot of time with. I find that the more I cruise, the more I enjoy formal nights, but for people who don't feel like getting dressed up, Horizon Court is available for dining.

The production show tonight was "Dance". I went to the 10:15 show (there was also an 8:15 show), and it was excellent as always. I always wonder where they store these elaborate sets on a ship with limited space.

To Day 7: Prince William Sound & College Fjord