One of the most common ways to visit Alaska is by Cruise
Ship, and to end our Alaskan tour we were cruising.
Celebrity Cruise Line, Millennium.
The weather changed the day we were due to embark, we woke
up to a dull, rainy day. We had a short drive from Anchorage to Seward on the
Kenai Peninsula. Even in the rain the scenery was wonderful. I had planned to
visit the town of Seward and explore it prior to getting on the ship; due to
depart at 20.00. But by the time we go to Seward the rain was torrential – so
we just dropped off the car at the ferry terminal and ran into the large dock
side building that was being used as a check in area, joined the Q and got on.
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| 7 Night Alaska Southern Cruise, Celebrity Millennium |
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7 Night Alaska Southern Cruise, Celebrity Millennium
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7 Night Alaska Southern Cruise, Celebrity Millennium
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We were boarding Celebrity Millennium- with a bit of
trepidation- as our last cruising experience had not been a positive one.
But straight away this was a different experience. The crew greeted us with Champagne and it was
a pleasant surprise to explore the ship, without being bombarded with a hard sell ‘special
offers’.
In the evening, at meal time we were extremely happy when we were
guided to our table, for two, situated at the back of the dining room, with the most
spectacular outlook over the ocean; we settled down to enjoy this experience.
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7 Night Alaska Southern Cruise, Celebrity Millennium |
The first 'stop' was The Hubbard Glacier,
on The Gulf of
Alaska. The ship enterd Yakutat Bay at 13.00 - it did not stop but went as close as it could to the face of the Hubbard Glacier. We could not go very close as the Glacier had calved the day prior to
our visit and the sea was full of 100s of small ice bergs. During the time at
Glacier Bay we were allowed onto the ships Helipad, the crew were there to hand out blankets and served Hot Chocolate - with Rum or your choice of liquor if wanted, and in a 'Souvenir Mug' if desired.
7 Night Alaska Southern Cruise, Celebrity Millennium
The next day we docked at Juneau – this is the Capital of
Alaska.
The town is not accessible by road- none lead in or out of the city,
this was OK as we arrived by ship! The ships
docks are in the town, and it is an easy walk into the town center. The day was very wet. As we walked along the jetty there were Bald Eagles on each vantage point, on the look out for the plentiful Salmon in the river! they didn't mind the wet day.
I had booked cycle hire with Cycle Alaska for 10:00. We walked
to the hire shop, but it was closed! I had forgotten it was Sunday and people
were obviously having a late start. Eventually, after quite a long wait - we got the bikes and headed out on the cycle
track to the Mendenhall Glacier and the Mendenhall Lake.
At the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center the BBC were there filming, so that was unexpected. Weather-wise, It was a really dreadful day, pelting down
with rain all morning. We did enjoy the cycle but were very bedraggled when we returned the bikes at about
15.00 and headed for our cabin to change into some warm, dry clothes.
For the evening I had booked one of the ships activities; ‘The
Evening Whale Quest’. Again the weather did impact upon this activity and the
bus journey to the jetty in Auke Bay was long due to a mud slip caused by the
rain. I don’t know if our late arrival affected the tour, provided by Allen
Marine Tours. The crew were not very engaging and the tour was very short. We did see a Whale in the distance, but saw
more Killer Whales than Humpbacks.
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| Juneau |
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| Juneau |
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| Mendenhall Glacier |
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| 7 Night Alaska Southern Cruise, Celebrity Millennium |
The next port was Skagway. Again I had pre booked a cycle tour, this time with the Sockeye Cycle company. ( this is also the firm used by the Cruises) We met them at their office in the town of
Skagway. We then took the White Pass and Yukon train up the mountain and met one of the staff from Sockeye – he had the bikes- We then spent the day cycling along
the most spectacular Klondike highway. Stopped for lunch and cycled on, almost
to the Alaskan Highway. We cycled back to Skagway, downhill all the way- having
had a wonderful day out. We were not rushed, did everything at our own pace and
I really recommend this company. Back in Skagway we even
had time to call in at the Red Onion Saloon and meet the 'Ladies' in there and few other bars before it was
time to get back on the ship at 20:30.
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| Red Onion Saloon |
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| Skagway |
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| Sockeye Cycle Company Skagway |
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| Skagway |
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| Skagway |
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| Sockeye Cycle Company Skagway |
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| Sockeye Cycle Company Skagway |
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| Sockeye Cycle Company Skagway |
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| Sockeye Cycle Company Skagway |
Icy Straight Point was next, I had not been able to find out
much about this port – that’s because it’s was a canning plant but is now a ‘purpose built’ tourist place for the
Cruise Ships. So I was a bit sceptical about what we would find.
I had booked
the activities through the cruise company. I was due to do an ATV tour, but as
we had been so disappointed with the Whale watching in Juneau, we swapped this to
a morning cruise. This time it was a very small vessel, with a good skipper. We
saw lots of Humpback Whales, and Killer Whales up close.
Icy Straight Point is famous for the Zip Line, and we did
it.
So despite my reservations Icy Straight was a really fun place and we had
another memorable day.
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| Icy Straight Point |
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| Icy Straight Point |
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| Icy Straight Point |
Our final port was Ketchikan, the rainiest place in Alaska-
and as where ever we go it rains- I was expecting rain. The morning we docked
the sun was shining brightly and stayed like that all day. We had booked to go
out on Zodiac inflatable’s in the early morning and hire a car in the
afternoon. The Zodiacs were good fun and we saw Bald Eagles, Seals and Whales. The
in the afternoon went to Totem Bight State Park – we were the only people
there. Then drove to Herring Cove where we watched Black Bears catching Salmon
in the river. It was a magical day.
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| Black Bear at Ketchikan |
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| Totem Bright Park |
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| Totem Bight Park |
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| Totem Bight Park |
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| Totem Bight Park |
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| 7 Night Alaska Southern Cruise, Celebrity Millennium |
The next day was a full day at sea as we headed towards Vancouver,
we enjoyed the rest after an active week. On the last evening Killer Whales
swam next to the ship, whilst Dolphins followed the ships wake, putting on a perfect
performance for the diners.
We cruised with Celebrity and they met all of our needs. The
crew were great, attentive and friendly but not overbearing. The food was just incredible. The Martini
Bar and ‘silent disco’ were fun.
Overall, this was an amazing holiday. Alaska surprised us
with its wilderness and wildlife every day, the weather was mixed but did not
detract from any experience or stop us doing anything. For me it is a ‘Once in
a Lifetime’ destination just because there are so many places I want to visit.
But to end all I can say is ‘Alaska is Amazing!’
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