For those not interested in reading all the details of our trip to Alaska aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship, please appreciate that this was a first-in-a-lifetime experience for Linda and me. It was an amazing, scenic, and educational trip, with an opportunity to meet many people from several countries and see sights we had never seen before. The only way I can get you to enjoy the fun that we had is to share this informative blog. More good news, I only share a few of my 750 photographs from our journey. Would we do this again? In September we will be on a cruise with Viking on the Danube, to see the sights of Eastern Europe. Stay tuned.
Our route to and from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to Alaska, USA, return, with onshore excursions in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, plus an onboard cruise detour to view Dawes Glacier.
Monday, June 17, 2024, arrive in Vancouver.
I woke at 3:00 am today to shower and pack the last few items. The Uber driver Gregorio advised us that he would arrive early so we waited outside at 4:20 am on a lovely warm morning. We have gone through a few stressful days with a need to attend to documents to fly from America to Canada, Canadian red tape to enter the country, and our Ruby Princess cruise with all their requirements. After trying to get ready, Linda and I realized we forgot to wear our compression hose on our flights to prevent a deep vein thrombosis. The good news is that we did not suffer that fate.
The Uber driver shared interesting personal details. He said his mother was 15 years old when he was born. He drives his Uber from midnight to 7:00 am to avoid heavy traffic. As I have experienced with other Uber drivers, I respect they never exceed the speed limit and ensure a safe drive for their passengers.
Adding to our travel excitement, we left home this past Saturday to drive north to Cascade, Wisconsin to attend a wedding. I doubt that you will find this remote spot on a map. We arrived to discover there was no Wi-Fi coverage. That was a later challenge to drive to Sheboygan, Wisconsin with no GPS initially, where we stayed in a resort hotel to enjoy the wedding reception, lunch, and dancing from 4:00 pm to midnight. There were 250 people in the church and again at the resort for lunch. The church, alongside a graveyard, celebrates weddings and funerals, but no regular services. This church was selected because the bride’s grandparents married in this church 72 years ago. The wedding couple spared no expense with an open bar, but we did not see anyone abusing the system by getting intoxicated. We bailed out at 10:00 pm to return to our hotel room because the noise from the band was blowing our eardrums to shreds.
We flew the Canadian airline WestJet, which codeshares with Delta Airlines. On our first flight from Milwaukee to the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, the pilot warned us it would be a turbulent flight. She said we would arrive late because instead of flying directly, we would detour north into Canada, go west, and then south into the Twin Cities. All of this is to avoid choppy weather. As it was, the flight was still quite bumpy at times.
Arriving in Minneapolis, we discovered an additional challenge. Our WestJet onward flight to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was not at the gate. Our scheduled plane left Las Vegas late the previous night as a red-eye flight, due to land in Minneapolis early today. The city experienced severe thunderstorms, and the flight was sent to Green Bay, Wisconsin to sit on the runway until the storm subsided in the Twin Cities. The flight finally arrived while we were waiting impatiently to depart, but the passengers had to deplane, and the plane was cleaned before we could board. The net result is that we were delayed two and a half hours.
As far as I can recall, the previous time that I flew was March 2023. The flying situation has changed in the interim. On the flight to Vancouver, if you wanted a meal, you had the choice of two box lunches at $10 each. No longer is food offered free as part of your flying experience. They did provide soft drinks and a choice of three light snacks. I ordered a Coke and peanuts but could not believe how tiny the packet was. I guess that the airlines are looking for more ways to cut costs. They threatened to charge for checked luggage, but we were not charged for our two flights.
Once at the airport, we took a taxi to our hotel, a 30-minute ride. Our first impressions are that this is a bustling city with many Tesla’s on the road, comparable to California. Our Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel is close to where the Ruby Princess will depart on Tuesday. We walked around the pier to get orientated for where to board the cruise ship. We had dinner at the hotel, and after a long day decided to relax in our room. On Vancouver time, we were up at 1:00 am so by 7:00 pm we decided that an early night might be welcome.
Tuesday, June 18, 2024, Vancouver, board Ruby Princess starting cruise Day 1.
Many years ago, I was in a hotel in Bengaluru (Bangalore) India. I had just arrived and still recovering from jet lag, woke early to shower finding no hot water. I later learned that no self-respecting Indian would wake at 6:00 am and consequently the hot water was not turned on until 8:00 am.
Here I am in the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel and at 6:00 am find there is no warm water for my shower. Admittedly we are on the 16th floor of a 32-story hotel, and I am not sure if the hot water is stored on the roof and has a long way to travel, but this was my first experience ever at a Marriott. I have stayed at many Marriotts in North America and internationally.
Linda and I went to the front desk to ask about the water situation. Apparently, the city had a leak in a steam pipe, and rather than shut the entire system down, they only shut the supply to the Marriott. I am still surprised that the Marriott did not alert its guests. The hotel placed a letter under our door later in the day to explain why the hot water shortage occurred. It was not corrected until 4:00 pm after we had departed.
Having risen early, I decided to walk to see where we were to board the Ruby Princess. Talking to some of the team in the boarding area, they showed me where to go to check our luggage with a strong recommendation to arrive early by 9:30 am, and to get in before the crowd arrived. Linda and I decided to start our walk from our hotel dragging our luggage at 9:00 am and got our luggage checked in without much of a wait. Later we stopped at a popular coffee chain, Tim Hortons, and enjoyed a breakfast sandwich and coffee.
Now that we have been in Vancouver for a few hours, allow me to make some observations, and most of this will be by comparison to our life in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The very high-rise buildings are to be in awe of by the sheer numbers. The artwork displayed in and alongside the buildings is magnificent. By my estimate, most office buildings and residential units are at least thirty stories high, seemingly a few on each block. The number of Asians in this community is both noticeable and fascinating. Since a few wearing turbans are dominant, we see Sikhs who stand out. A few days later I asked a Sikh about the significance of the color of the turban. It is a fashion choice. Yesterday, outside our hotel, Palestinians were demonstrating about the war in Israel and Gaza. Frankly, we heard a woman with a loud hailer shouting, audible from our 16th floor, and frankly, I could not be bothered to go down and learn more. It is not a righteous war.
Sitting outside and drinking coffee on the sidewalk, I was fascinated by the bike lanes and the large number of cyclists, decidedly a popular way to commute in the city. Being in the center of a large city, the traffic volume is understandably significant, and the motorists are gracious drivers to give pedestrians and cyclists room to maneuver. All the traffic intersections have pedestrian crossings which operate frequently and are activated with a button.
After checking our luggage, that we would eventually find at our stateroom in the ship, we enjoyed our coffee, returned to the hotel to relax before checking out and making our way back to the ship. By the way, while checking our luggage we witnessed thousands of passengers leaving the ship after the end of their adventure, making their way to hotels, or wherever their final destination takes them.
It was great to unpack our suitcases and find a place for everything to help make the trip enjoyable. We have special connectors to plug into the electrical power supplies, to enable us to charge our iPhones, iPads, toothbrushes, and shavers. Everything is in place to make us comfortable. Since we were issued the medallion, we did not need credit cards or cash, and provided a wall safe to secure valuables.
In many ways I find the ship to be overwhelming. The number of crew members is more than amazing. Over lunch, I spoke to one server. He told me that he lives in Mumbai, India and is on his second five-month contract. He said he considers himself a newbie. As you look around, understanding that we were in one of five restaurants, the dedication to making everyone comfortable is more than outstanding. I am beginning to understand why people can get hooked on this form of travel and enjoy multiple excursions.
At our lunch table, we were seated with a mother, father, and older daughter from Brisbane, Australia, and two ladies from Taiwan. We had many interesting discussions covering several topics including customs in our respective countries.
As we cruise north along the Alaskan coast, we see mountains and forests. The ship cruises on what is known as “the inner passage” of Alaska. What is surprising are the small communities scattered along the shore. Seen from our ship, it is as if these homes do not have access to roads as they are not visible to us. At 10:30 at night it is still daylight out. I am not sure if or when the sun will set. I’m aware that in some parts and at times during the year, they have sunlight 24 hours a day.
The passengers on this ship are as varied as you might imagine. There are families with very young children with ages ranging from infant, child, preteen, teenager, to elderly, with a few requiring walkers, canes, or wheelchairs. The passengers are cosmopolitan from all corners of the globe.
We are assigned a concierge to take care of our needs. Hilario Delos Labrador Jr. proved exceedingly helpful by showing us a large television screen next to the elevators (lifts) that shows the ship layout with information available on each deck such as dining rooms, lounges, fitness rooms, etc. You log in with your medallion, it shows where you are on the ship and reveals a list of entertainment and restaurants by deck. In the evening, we saw one lady singing with the aid of a karaoke screen, and a man playing the piano while singing a medley of songs. There is no shortage of varied entertainment.
On our walk around the ship, we met David Lethin. He has a business in Ketchikan, Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour, and will be presenting about his life in Alaska. He stopped us noticing our accents and informed us that his daughter married a South African working in Ketchikan where they now live. He told us that the wedding was held in Stellenbosch (near Cape Town) on a wine estate and spent a few weeks touring South Africa including visiting the Kruger National Park to see animals in the wild.
Wednesday, June 19, 2024, Ruby Princess On Cruise Day 2: at sea
Overnight I was woken by the ship engines in full action. This did not last long because the ship was so quiet, but that event was noticeable. That got me thinking. We were warned to carry motion sickness medication with us, and so far, it has been smooth sailing and without reason to be concerned. Another surprise today was to wake up and not see land. Today was spent sailing north all day with no stops. Tomorrow, reaching Juneau, we have our first of our on-shore excursions.
Taking a shower today was interesting. As you might expect the shower is tiny with limited space to move. The task was accompanied successfully. We arranged for breakfast to be delivered to our room today. Our selection was noted on a sheet hung on our door last night. Each day we see why traveling like this can be addictive.
We received a list of 45 activities available in various time slots throughout the day and night. Dinner tonight is a formal occasion to show our fancy clothes. We did not get the memo before we left, implying that I would dress in my customary Denim Jeans!
My biggest frustration is that the ship’s internet is not working correctly, and I am not receiving any emails. Yesterday, on the advice of David Lethin, we purchased binoculars to observe birds and sea life at a distance as we travel or go onshore for excursions.
We had a healthy meal for lunch today consisting of fresh fruit. At noon the captain spoke to us over the intercom to announce details about our location, speed, and temperature, and that at 2:00 am tomorrow we will need to turn our clocks back one hour as we go through another time zone change. We had a Chinese family of five sitting at the table alongside, and they were all speaking so loudly and animated that it was difficult to hear what the captain had to say.
Earlier today we attended a function for people on their first cruise. Four crew members were introduced to us, including two South Africans. If you are counting, that is now three South African members of the crew.
For those who have never been on a cruise like this, in many ways it is made for millionaires. The numerous shops that will happily take your money for expensive jewelry, artwork, and assortments of gifts and trinkets, entice you to part with your well-earned funds. Naturally, you pay with your medallion!
This ship has 15 levels, most levels have cabins, and several levels have formal and informal restaurants. A variety of snacks, pastries, coffee, and tea plus of course alcoholic beverages are freely available. Almost anything you can imagine in a large city is available on the ship down to a library. Then too when you go for walks you find all manner of interesting places, and when you return to your stateroom it has been cleaned with fresh towels. The service goes over and beyond expectations.
One interesting feature of this cabin is that when you get up in the middle of the night for a bathroom break, there are sensors that turn on lights. I have one next to my bed so as I step on the floor, a low-level light is switched on. When I step into the closet area another light comes on. The bathroom has an on-off switch outside the door. I hope that this light intrusion does not disturb Linda’s sleep.
Back home we try to walk for an hour a day to get our 10,000 steps in covering a distance of 3 miles (5 Km). At 1:00 pm today, checking my statistics, I accomplished about half that goal. It should go without saying that with 3,400 passengers on board plus 1,400 crew members, activities on this ship feel crowded and hectically busy. To possibly repeat what I said earlier. I am fascinated by the representation of people from many parts of the world. Earlier I spoke to a crew member from the Ukraine. He tells me that due to the war he works aboard this ship. He says that his wife and children now live in Germany, speaking German, a language he cannot speak. As a side note, we have a young Ukrainian couple that moved into our condo complex recently.
It is worth mentioning that every activity is very well planned on this cruise. We have an app on our iPhones to verify what we have signed up for, and naturally, there are many other events you can attend. However, tours on land must be booked and paid for before departure. That said, we were advised additional tours are available, but this is of no interest to us.
There is no lack of entertainment on this ship. It started with dinner where we were seated with two other couples. One couple both worked for General Motors in the Toronto area. He for 53 years and she for 38 years. He lost his wife several years ago and they became a pair. She told us that in 2011 her daughter got married on this very ship, the only one with a chapel. They kept the wedding list to a dozen people, all close family members and friends. Her male accomplice was on his first cruise, and she has been on twenty cruises. The reason for not naming names is that the noise is so loud, that it is near impossible to learn and hear those details. Our server was a very tall lady from Serbia.
After a delicious dinner, at the recommendations of the couple sitting at our table, we attended a musical in the Ruby Princess Theater. It is the Broadway show Stardust. Fourteen men and women sang songs from the 50s, and 60s, accompanied by a band of six musicians. Aside from singing, the dancers changed costumes for nearly all their routines. What an impressive show. As remarkable is the size of the theater and the number of people attending, easily over a thousand in the audience.
In the earlier part of the day, we attended a presentation for people going on their first cruise. One senior manager, Loren Budd, Associate Hotel General Manager was introduced as having been with the Princess organization for 14 years. I made a point of talking to her because she is South African, lives in Bloemfontein, and cruises for four months on and two months off.
We attended another presentation today by David Lethin (mentioned earlier) who we met yesterday, the dad with a daughter who married a South African. He shared his life story of how he went from owning a fishing boat to converting it into a tour boat associated with the Princess Cruise Line. A riveting story of the danger on the high seas and how his boat kept getting ruined by the sea due to rough waters.
As we go to sleep tonight, when we wake in the morning, we need to set our clocks back one hour as we change time zones one more time.
Thursday, June 20, 2024, on Cruise Day 3, Juneau AK
At breakfast this morning our waiter told us that the 1,400 crew members come from 15 countries to support the 3,400 passengers giving us a total of 4,800 on board. Today we sat next to a couple, both involved in real estate, and been on more than ten cruises, including the Panama Canal, and the Greek Islands. They flew in from Ontario, Canada to board this ship.
While having a shower this morning it occurred to me that I am not particularly tall, and for anyone over 6 foot, they would need to stoop to get under the shower head. I mentioned that fact to our neighbors over breakfast and he commented “What if you are obese because the shower would hardly accommodate you?” They also commented that they had never been on a cruise before where there were so many small children. At dinner last night there was a table with eight children, and the adults sitting at a table alongside sang Happy Birthday to a ten-year-old.
We are now starting to see land at 10:00 am and plan to go on deck to get a better view.
One small concern is that I have not received any emails for the past few days. When we dock in Juneau and switch off the ship’s Wi-Fi, I suspect that I will be inundated with tons of junk mail.
Before disembarking, we had a pizza for lunch, and I had an ice crème in a cone. The pizza was delicious and served so hot that it could melt your teeth.
After leaving the ship we walked along the shopping district. Without any exaggeration, there must be at least thirty jewelry stores. With four cruise ships docked, it is easy to see that this is a tourist trap. All in all, this venture started on the wrong foot. We had to wait for our tour to begin at 3:00 pm. Our tour bus was small with only 38 passengers. When we started the drive the public address system on the bus did not work, and we were wondering why we took this, our first tour. But the situation improved.
Juneau is one of the most unique state capitals in the United States. Although Juneau isn’t an island, it is landlocked, and you can only get to it by air or sea.
We arrived at the Mendenhall Glacier and walked a third of a mile to the photo point. Later we walked a mile to see the waterfall up close. If nothing else apart from seeing all the beauty nature had to offer, we got in our fitness steps.
On a side note, a new voter initiative aimed at giving residents a respite from the influx of tour ships. A measure that would ban cruise ships with 250 or more passengers from docking in Juneau on Saturdays qualified for the October 1, 2024, municipal ballot, setting the stage for a debate about how much tourism is too much in a city that is experiencing first-hand the impacts of climate change. The measure would also ban ships on July 4, a day when locals flock to a downtown parade. More details here:
On the drive back the tour guide filled us in with interesting facts and figures. My first impression of Juneau was not that impressive since it did not seem to be a town or a village. In reality, it is very spread out with several schools and numerous businesses. Our home city of New Berlin, Wisconsin has a population of 41,000, a little bigger than Juneau, with a population of 32,000. Viewing both the glacier and waterfall was a treat.
We returned and had dinner in a different restaurant. I was interested to see that the lady allocating our seating had the name “Lindah.” I asked where she was from, she said Zimbabwe. I told her that my last visit to Harare was in 1986, and she responded that it was before she was born. Dinner was great as always and the couple next to us from Sydney, Australia. As always, we talk about many topics, including some of the crazy decisions made by politicians in our respective countries.
Tonight’s dinner was different in one aspect. It was not as crowded as normal. Our thinking is that with the first opportunity to disembark, many travelers were still on shore.
Update August 13, 2025. An Alaskan glacier is bursting. Can new barriers block the flood?
Juneau has built a Hesco barrier wall to try to protect neighborhoods from floodwaters pouring out of Mendenhall Glacier.
A basin full of icy meltwater perched above Juneau has broken through its glacial barrier and begun flooding down toward the Alaskan city, Juneau officials said Tuesday — the latest in what have become yearly outburst floods that hit this region.
As scientists flew by helicopter to assess the situation at what’s called Suicide Basin, Juneau officials warned residents to evacuate parts of the city that have been prone to repeated flooding. They predicted the peak floodwaters would arrive by Wednesday afternoon.
These floods, which began more than a decade ago, have become increasingly destructive in recent years and now pose a persistent summertime threat to residents who live along the Mendenhall River. In preparation for this year’s torrent, city officials worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others to build a massive wall of Hesco barriers along the river in flood-prone areas to try to prevent the kind of destruction that hit neighborhoods during the past two August floods.
Hesco barriers — cloth bags filled with dirt or sand and reinforced with a metal frame — were commonly used by the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan to fortify their bases. They have also long been used for flood control and act like giant sandbags.
The city warned approximately 1,000 households in Juneau in June about the need to evacuate, said Ryan O’Shaughnessy, emergency manager for the city and borough of Juneau, during a briefing about the flood on Tuesday morning.
The source of the floodwater is Suicide Basin, which abuts the Mendenhall Glacier that looms over Juneau, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists each year.
The glacier acts as a dam for the jumble of icebergs and meltwater in the basin. As it fills from ice melt and rainfall each summer, the pressure builds until the water reaches a tipping point, forcing its way out underneath the glacier and down toward the city below.
As the glacial flooding began this week, the Mendenhall River was already in a minor flood stage after heavy rains over the weekend and into Monday. That elevated level meant the Mendenhall River could surpass levels reached by previous floods, according to local officials.
“This will be a new record,” Nicole Ferrin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau, said during Tuesday’s briefing.
Ferrin said Mendenhall Lake — which sits below the glacier and releases water down to the river — could crest on Wednesday afternoon at 16.3 to 16.8 feet, surpassing the record set last year when the lake reached 15.9 feet.
Authorities also warned residents to stay away from the Hesco barrier wall, as well as bridges and other spots along the riverbank where people have convened to watch the flood.
Friday, June 21, 2024, on Cruise Day 4 Skagway
We went to sleep in Juneau last night as the ship was sailing. When we woke up this morning, we were in Skagway at 6:30 am with a departure time of 8:30 pm tonight. Skagway is about 100 miles (160 Km) northwest of Juneau. On our bus tour today, we will be leaving the US, into Canada, and back to the ship in American territory. We have been warned to have our passports handy. As it turned out, today was the best day of our onshore travel for many reasons.
The tour we signed up for begins at 3:00 pm. The tour company provided directions on where to meet the bus, including a map to make it easy to find. With very little to do, we left the cruise ship early to go into Skagway and to find the tour location. The only certainty is that it was not where they said we should meet. This was around 10:00 am, so we went into the store indicated on the map, and the owner reacted by saying “Oh no, not again.” He has redirected many people to the correct address. We found the tour office nearby. Since we were early, they recommended that we take a much longer and more detailed tour starting in a few minutes. We agreed, and naturally, there was an up-charge.
You may recall that with our tour yesterday, the tour guide had a disaster with his public address system, not so with Rebecca. On this tour, we crossed the border into Canada, and naturally on the return trip crossed back into the US. We had 32 people on our bus, and the ritual going into Canada saw an official come onto the bus, we each had to hold our passports in our hands near our faces, he checked to see if the photographs matched us, and was off the bus in a couple of minutes. Returning to the U.S. was even easier, we sat on the bus, officials scanned the bus to see if they could detect a dirty bomb, and again we were on our way in minutes without verifying passports.
Once Rebecca was on her way, the fun started. She was a mine of information. Skagway has a population of 1,600 increasing to 2,500 in the summer tourist season. They get about 10,000 tourists off the several cruise ships that arrive daily. The school is rated as one of the best in Alaska with a total of 38 students from grade 1 to 10. For those who follow American politics, Sarah Palin grew up in Skagway and left when she got to high school.
There is little doubt that the glaciers and waterfalls that dot the landscape make for beautiful scenery, and we had numerous stops to photograph the splendor. We drove up the Klondike Highway to explore the British Columbia Tormented Valley. We saw both the Pitchfork and Bridal Valley Falls.
We traveled parallel to the historic White Pass Trail to the 3,292-foot (1,000-meter) summit. Along this glacier carved valley, we saw glaciers, thundering waterfalls, majestic mountain vistas and pristine wilderness. Once at the summit, we descended into the daunting Tormented Valley in British Columbia, Canada.
In several of Rebecca’s stories, she frequently referred to “the lower 48.” A British couple sitting behind us could take it no longer and asked Rebecca to explain. The United States consists of 50 States, Hawaii, Alaska, and “the contiguous lower 48 States.” As locals we clearly understand the term, but it is a challenge for visitors. That provided another light-hearted moment.
Skagway was known as the toughest town on Earth during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-99.
We had an interesting discussion with one of our waiters over dinner this evening. Allow me to set the scene. In April 1986, while living in Johannesburg, South Africa, I was contracted to present Just in Time manufacturing principles in Harare, Zimbabwe. The company who invited me warned me they were not allowed to pay me for my services rendered so they would use a barter system. They would provide airplane tickets for Linda and me to fly from Harare to Johannesburg, to London, to New York, and back again. To sweeten the deal, they provided first-class tickets.
Naturally, we started the journey a few months later from Johannesburg and trashed the Harare to Johannesburg leg for both journeys. If that were an arrangement today, and since we did not initially board the Harare to Johannesburg leg, our trip would automatically be canceled. One notable experience I had on that trip was visiting a client company that I worked with who had a black manager. I was amazed because, in my consulting career in South Africa, I had never come across any company with a black manager during the apartheid years.
So why is this relevant? Last night when we checked in for dinner Lindah (correct spelling) from Zimbabwe took care of us. This evening, we had a long conversation with a black Zimbabwean gentleman Elvis Somelier. Stating his color is relevant to better understand the situation. He is married with a six-year-old son. Living in Zimbabwe he has no means of earning a living, and working on board a cruise ship for six months of the year allows him to send money to his wife to feed them and to pay for his son’s schooling. We had a lengthy conversation about the political and economic situation as it exists today. Princess Cruises pays for his flights to and from Zimbabwe. As we heard many times, Princess takes care of their crew members.
If it is relevant, when I was at the University of Cape Town in 1964 era, I was studying with the son of Ian Smith, the President of Zimbabwe (known as Southern Rhodesia at the time). Ian gave way to Robert Mugabe when black rule started on 17 April 1980.
Saturday, June 22, 2024, on Cruise Day 5 Dawes Glacier
Today was a unique day since after lunch we relaxed in our room for the very first time. The early morning was taken up viewing the magnificent Dawes Glacier and surrounding areas and having an early breakfast.
To get the best view of the glacier we took the elevator to the 15th level, walked up steps to get even higher outside, and photographed relentlessly. The ship traveled up the waterway to where the glacier ended, very slowly, taking a couple of hours. The scenery along the way was magnificent, featuring occasional small waterfalls. The rock formations bore witness to how the glaciers had carved away the rock. Once we were at the most dramatic point where the glacier met the waterway, the ship turned around slowly, giving everyone a perfect view of the glacier, and headed to resume our journey to Ketchikan tomorrow morning.
I had time to observe the waiters on this ship. To say that they earn their money is an understatement. From the moment they take your orders, they are on the run. They run to submit the orders in the kitchen, they run to all the other tables handing in their menu selections, and trust me that is done very professionally and not rushed, but then run to the kitchen to collect the meal that you are going to enjoy, course by course for all the patrons, bringing it to your table with flair.
Our cabin steward, Hilario, told us that he only got five hours sleep last night, and I can certainly believe him. They freshen our rooms a few times a day, as soon as they see that we are out of our room. He makes our beds, tidies up the bathroom, replaces the towels if we leave them on the floor, a signal that we are requesting new ones, and empties our two trash cans. All that and he always has a smile on his face with a cheerful disposition. As part of our fare, we are assured that all personnel receive a gratuity, but we handed him a personal tip before we finally left the ship.
Each room has a thermostat that we can adjust to our liking any time of the day or night. We have two separate single beds in our room, which are very comfortable. The bathroom is tiny, and the strangest sensation for me is standing so close to the mirror when I shave. We have two electrical outlets in our room, and I hooked up both with an adaptor so that we can charge our iPhone, iPad, watches, and toothbrushes, and any other electrical devices.
We will be on an early morning tour when we get back to Vancouver on Tuesday, and plans are already in place for our luggage to be collected the night before we dock, and to have it in the terminal building on the dock so that we can drag them to the hotel for storage before the sightseeing bus tour of Vancouver. Similarly, we arranged to get off the ship early tomorrow morning because we have an early morning tour in Ketchikan.
I probably wrote about this before, but it more than amazes me how much expensive shopping you can do on board the ship. You can purchase expensive jewelry, artwork, and clothing, and get your photographs professionally taken and even framed if you wish. The daily list of entertainment must number 50 in different time slots.
It is a fact that cruising is a novelty for us, and with hindsight, we made a few errors along the way. The biggest was arranging the land tours with an “outside” company. Had we known at the time that the Princess Cruise Line could have organized those for us, it would have been better coordinated. The reality is that the third-party company was quicker in notifying what tours were available and being novices made tour arrangements with them.
I am not sure that I can make this remark frequently enough. The scenery along this entire cruise and on the onshore tours is more than magnificent, so very different from where we live, and different to our travels around America, Europe, or South Africa. This is truly a unique experience.
With my relaxing afternoon and having time to kill, I decided to go to the medical center and say hello to more South Africans. The receptionist is South African, and since this is their busy time, I could only speak to one South African doctor from Kimberly. I asked why he took this job, but he said it is a long story and with patients to care for would not go into detail. Reading the notices, I did see that if you require medical services, there is a charge, and the medications prescribed are extra. One lady came for help with a bad cold, and another with a sore tooth. A third lady had a pain in her wrist, I could not hear the details, but the receptionist said they could not help her.
The restrictions on this cruise are many. Linda and I paid for one internet connection each. We elected to link it to our iPhones. We could have requested additional connections, but the cost was prohibitive. As it is, the cost of one internet connection each is bundled in with expensive dessert and alcohol treats, and thus far we have not had any. There is only so much food and drink that any person can consume.
As l look outside at 3:30 in the afternoon, it is a cloudy day, with the waterway reflecting that somber mood.
Dinner tonight was interesting. Our lady server was from Serbia, and we could discuss our September 2024 Viking River Cruise along the Danube that will take us to two Serbian cities. Our gentleman server was from Zimbabwe, and he had lived for a time in Somerset West outside Cape Town. I sat next to two women from Huston, Texas who were ardent Trump supporters, clearly understanding that global warming is a hoax, and it is all China’s fault. We had two women from The Netherlands. I tried to see if I could communicate with them using my Afrikaans, but the experiment did not go well. Finally, we had two women from Canada, but they sat too far from us, so we could not communicate. If you are keeping score, I was the only male with seven women at the dinner table.
We arranged to be the first to exit the ship in the morning, or we would miss our tour.
Sunday, June 23, 2024, on Cruise Day 6 Ketchikan
The good news is that we arrived on the mainland or island safely, got to our tour office, and started our tour on time. Our tour guide was Cindy, and as with other tour guides is a mine of information to keep all 38 passengers well informed. If I am allowed one complaint and criticism. We sat close to twelve foreigners, and some could not speak English. Whoever was able to translate into their language carried out a running commentary that at times drowned out Cindy’s presentation over the public address system.
Cindy was originally from Colorado. She and her husband elected to live in Ketchikan, and I am guessing as a retirement activity to have this job touring with a small bus.
I am not sure that I realized that Alaska only became part of the United States on January 3, 1959, as the 49th State. They beat Hawaii which became a state a year later.
Ketchikan has a population of 14,000. In the cruising season, they get 10,000 visitors a day. The weather condition today is interesting in that it is 57 F (14 C) once we start our tour. Back home in Wisconsin that temperature would have us dressing warmly, but in Ketchikan we felt very comfortable without the need for warm jackets. Ketchikan gets 12 feet (3.6 meters) of rain annually, but we lucked out with no rain today. Annual snow totals 37 feet (11 meters), and the average water temperature around the island is 56 F (13 C).
Ketchikan is on an island, 35 miles (56 Km) wide by 55 miles (88 Km) long. We missed the summer solstice by two days when they experienced 17.5 hours of daylight. Winter averages 7 hours of daylight. If you are in luck, you can see orcas (killer whales), gray and humpback whales, sea lions, seals, doll’s porpoises, etc. Ketchikan has 5 species of salmon: King (Chinook), Silver (Coho), Pink (Humpie), Red (Sockeye), and Chum (Dog). We were not that lucky and saw no whales or fish.
Nineteen percent of Ketchikan residents are of Native ancestry: Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. The totem poles commemorate events, ancestry, or a person. Ketchikan has more than 80 poles, the largest collection in the world. The name Ketchikan comes from the Tlingit word “Kitschk-Hin” meaning “spread wings of a prostrate eagle.” We were able to take photographs of several totem poles and saw one youngster being taught how to create a totem pole.
Ketchikan has the highest postal zip code number in the U.S. 99950!
Since we had to rise and shine early this morning to catch our ride to land, we did not have time for breakfast. After our tour, and back in Ketchikan, we elected to find a restaurant, or more accurately a pub for lunch. There was a long line outside the 108 Tap, so we had to wait patiently and talk to other people in line. What was interesting is that as people exited the pub, they all had the identical reaction, “Wow the food is fantastic.”
We were seated at the bar and ordered a Cowboy Burger with fries and an on-tap beer. It was served on a bun, with two patties, and other fixings. The customer comments were valid, it was a delicious treat. Maybe I should not comment since as enjoyable as the meal was, the bill was an expensive shock, obviously benefiting from the cruise traffic. After walking around town, and taking pictures, we decided to return to the Ruby Princess and relax in the sun until the ship was ready to set sail in the late afternoon.
Monday, June 24, 2024, on Cruise Day 7 at sea
We woke up this morning after extra hours of sleep because overnight we had to turn our clocks back one hour with a time zone change as we got nearer to Vancouver. We sail all day today and arrive in port early tomorrow. We have an arrangement where we place our luggage outside our rooms tonight and will find it in the terminal building in the morning. One more time this will need to be a rush because we need to drag our suitcases from the terminal to our hotel and make it in time for our tour of Vancouver. Today should be a relaxing day aboard the cruise ship.
Today in my shower, and again now as I write, is the first time I have experienced our ship rolling and swaying along the route. If it was much worse, I can understand why people suffer from motion sickness, but in fairness it was not that bad, just noticeable since this is the first time we have experienced swaying on our seventh day.
With a relaxing day, what will be greater than an opportunity to eat? When I am at home, I estimate that I have one or two beers a month, and closer to two or three on the hot monthly days of summer. On this cruise, I have had one a day, and always selected a Blue Moon, normally served with a wedge of orange on the top of the glass. What a way to change a habit.
Somewhere along the line, we were told that the 3,500 passengers hail from 57 countries.
With time to spare, we decided to use the laundry. To wash one load, get laundry detergent, and use the dryer cost us less than $10. We will dock tomorrow with clean clothes. Total time about 90 minutes, with time to read and relax. In truth, we had a disaster. We took the laundry out of the washer, placed it in the dryer, and waited. There was a sign to say the drying process takes 40 to 45 minutes. There is a light showing that the drying is in process. After 45 minutes, Linda checked to see how dry the laundry was, only to discover it was still damp. We had not pressed the start button! We waited another 45 minutes for the laundry to dry.
When we get up from our table in the dining room, the tablecloth and napkins are all removed and put in a container to be laundered and ironed. I asked one of the team members about this activity and she assured me that they launder and iron 24 hours a day.
For a late lunch today we ate a pizza, and I ordered one of the specialty ice creams. Mostly it was very fancy around the outside of the glass that one could not eat, but the vanilla ice crème was tasty.
The evening was an amazing success. First, we had dinner, then a show. We were greeted by Elvis, a waiter from Zimbabwe who we spoke to a couple of evenings ago. He introduced us to a colleague of his, also a Zimbabwean, who lives in Hermanus, Western Cape, near Cape Town. It was so good to be able to learn more about their lives, and dreams for their wives and children, and the price they needed to pay to earn a living being so far from their families for months at a time. Travel has certainly helped them to be very wise and to have a positive outlook on life, and to help effectively parent their children.
We attended a fantastic show in the theatre, one comparable to Broadway or Las Vegas. It was their final goodbye show playing to a packed house. From there we enjoyed a couple from Ireland singing several Irish songs, in a pub setting, and again so entertaining.
It will be sad to leave the cruise ship in the morning after a thoroughly enjoyable week. We certainly met a cross-section of people, either sitting with our table at mealtime or even at adjoining tables, all willing to share their stories and experiences with us.
Tuesday, June 25, 2024, Ruby Princess Cruise, day 8, arrive back in Vancouver.
Getting 3500 people off a ship is no easy feat, but Princess had this well-organized. Everyone was allocated to a group and given various time slots over 90 minutes. We got through passport control in a heartbeat, collected the luggage that was removed from the ship for us, and staged it in the terminal, where we could drag it to the nearby Marriott Hotel.
There is more information. Based on our experience of getting on and off the ship for the various tours, we were well aware that the gangplanks were steep, and many with small steps making the task of getting our heavy luggage off the ship a challenge, so we elected to have the crew take our luggage to the terminal building. Late last night we added luggage tags and stored them outside our cabin ready for transport. In the morning the first of many groups were allowed to disembark together with their luggage. I watched in awe as many passengers had cases much bigger than ours. When our time came to disembark, I was amazed to see that the gangplank was a smooth surface, making dragging your luggage a simple task. The joys of being a novice on a cruise.
We were up and ready to leave the ship by 7:00 am but were only slotted at 8:15. Checking in at the hotel is at 4:00 pm. They had a room ready for us, so we unpacked in leisure and waited for 11:00 am for our Vancouver tour. Last night I packed all our chargers for our watch and other devices, so we had time to fully charge these devices by the time we left our room. Tomorrow we will have an early start to get a bus ride to the ferry and Vancouver Island.
When we visited Toronto, and now again in Vancouver, it is impressive how the cities require builders to include artwork to help beautify the buildings, the surroundings, and the community. In addition, most buildings have gardens on their roofs, helping with the ecology, and supporting environmental contributions. I too am amazed at seeing the tall trees on some roofs and have no idea how the roots are supported to allow such tall trees. I have no idea how deep the soil is on the roof. The United States has so much to learn from the Canadians.
With our tour of Vancouver, both yesterday and today, apparently the population is three million people. The number of high rises for offices, apartments, and condominiums seems never-ending. We did not see suburban life with single occupancy residences. Downtown we did see several motor vehicle dealers selling Maserati, Bentleys, Ferraris, BMW, Tesla, as well as Chevrolet, Ford, and Chrysler products. I get the impression that there are wealthy people in Vancouver.
One sad reality of Vancouver, like other major cities in the U. S., is the number of homeless people sleeping on the streets. This is not a common site where we live because the homeless will freeze to death in our harsh winters. The homeless certainly exist in Milwaukee but most are housed. The weather is less extreme on the west coast.
The Cactus Club Café is without any doubt the largest restaurant by number of patrons that I have ever eaten in. The food was outstanding, and the company was great. It was so wonderful sharing stories of our experiences moving to a new country. We could also boast about how well our children and grandchildren have done in a new country.
If I have any regrets about today, it is that the tour was so informative, and I am sorry that we had to leave so soon without getting several more days to enjoy this wonderful city. It does not help to say that this is not my first visit to Vancouver. I was on a business trip. It was the same old routine, fly in, visit the client company, enjoy a meal or two with them, and fly home, and not see any of the city. We will need to find a reason to visit Vancouver again.
One more time it was early to rise, take a quick shower, pack our bags, and cross the street to meet the bus that will take us to the terminal to get us to the ferry for the crossing from the mainland to Victoria on Vancouver Island.
The service provided by the ferry company was outstanding. We were met outside our hotel by a full-size luxury bus, driven via a few other hotels to collect additional passengers, and driven to the Vancouver Bus Depot at Tsawwassen. More passengers boarded the bus, and we set off for the ferry. The bus drove onto the ferry, and we alighted. At the end of the cruise, we got back on the bus and were driven to Victoria Swartz Bay Terminal from where we walked to our hotel, Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour.
What do you think of when you think ferry? The full-size luxury bus that took us to the ferry was the first onto the ferry, together with two other full-size luxury buses, and four 18-wheeler trucks all on deck two, with a large fleet of 358 cars on deck three, plus bicycles and motorcycles. That does not count the walk-on passengers. Our guide said the ferry is part of the national interstate highway system. It is a 90-minute crossing, running every two hours, but hourly in peak season. Passengers congregate on decks five and six where they have coffee shops, and edible treats, all for a price. They issued an alert that one motorist had left their car engine running!
As you experienced while flying, we had similar instructions on what to do in the unlikely event of a mishap on board the ferry where we might have to don life jackets. We took a short walk on the deck, but with a light drizzle and gusty wind, went back inside to sit in comfort. Did I say comfort? The large contingent of young children made sure the noise levels were kept to a maximum volume. When we left the ferry, we got on the same bus where I stored my backpack, and got dropped near our hotel that required a short walk, dragging our suitcases behind us.
Since we were on a luxury full size bus, it more that amazes me how the driver can thread his way through the streets. As with the situation in Wisconsin at this time of the year, there are roadworks and barrels all over the roads, making driving especially challenging.
Thursday, June 27, 2024, Victoria, Vancouver Marriott Inner Harbour Hotel
After a great night’s sleep, we woke to a healthy meal of oatmeal with a delightful waitress Miki at the hotel. I asked her why she was born on the Island, and she said her parents were hippies and they moved here. I must say she had a delightful personality. The weather forecast was for rain, but it did not look too ominous. It did not rain.
What may sound a bit unusual is what do you think of when you think Island? Vancouver Island is a metropolis, fantastic tall buildings, lots of construction taking place, umpteen shops, roads being repaired, and everything you may expect in any big city. The island is 456 km (283 miles) in length, 100 km (62 miles) in width at its widest point, and 32,100 square kilometers (12,400 square miles) in total area, while the majority of 31,285 square kilometers (12,079 square miles) is land.
Our driver, Jim, strongly recommended the soup and ice crème that we enjoyed and spent money purchasing a few items. Jim also told us that the family treats the employees extremely well. They have a relationship with the local university in that all students studying horticulture have an opportunity to get practical experience within the gardens. Frankly, I could never put into words the magnificence of the gardens, and I took over 100 photographs, so some will need to speak for themselves.
Brian was gracious to show us more sites around Victoria, rounding off a perfect day.
Back in the hotel, we started the packing process for our journey home. Naturally, we checked on our flights.
Friday, June 28, 2024, Victoria to home
We had a rude awakening at 3:00 am today. Our TV switched on in our hotel room to thank us for staying in the hotel and wishing us luck on our onward journey. That got me out of bed, switched it off, and got back to sleep. Yet again, another unique experience.
Today we got up early to shower, and pack, with plans to check out the hotel at Noon, to find a place nearby for a light breakfast. We selected Starbucks.
We walked around the city looking for items to purchase, but out of luck, we saved more money. Back to the hotel to relax until checkout time, now to find a light lunch, and then into the taxi.
The taxi arrived at 12:20 pm to drive us to the airport, despite the plan that we leave at 1:00 pm. That was not a problem, however. We have a short flight to Seattle, where we will need to go through U.S. customs, then our onward flight to Milwaukee on Alaska Airlines for our first-ever flight with them. We will only arrive home at or after midnight and then get a taxi or Uber home.
The airport in Victoria looks new, it is large, but only has 15 gates, one of the smallest airports that we have been in for a long time. My only complaint may be that the public address system is very loud and of course all announcements are in both English and French. Facilities such as the restrooms are great.
I have been to the airport in Seattle, Washington on several occasions, but it was always fly in, collect your luggage, pick up a rental car, and then depart. This time we flew in from Canada, went through U.S. customs and passport control, and had to change terminals. The airport is enormous. I made the mistake of asking a customer service representative to verify the gate where our Alaska Airlines flight would take off. He sent us to the wrong terminal and gate, so we saw a lot more of this airport than we had planned to.
Our flight home to Milwaukee was uneventful, other than the occasional turbulence. Linda had the window seat, and I was stuck in the middle seat. I was interested to see that the guy next to me, on the aisle seat, was reviewing his plans to do a tour of the Mississippi River. I could not fathom why he would do that tour on his own. I later discovered that his wife was sitting on the aisle seat on the other side—so they had both selected to sit alongside each other in comfort.
When we arrived in Milwaukee it was pouring with rain. We called for an Uber to take us home. The sidewalk was a mass of people since another aircraft or two had arrived at the same time, and the need for taxis. Uber, and Lyft drivers were greater than the supply of drivers. After a 15-minute wait, we were on our way.
We only got to bed at 2:30 am. On reflection, we truly had a fantastic vacation. As I commented at the opening, we are planning for our next trip in late August to Eastern Europe with Viking River Cruises, on the Danube. Do I recommend this form of vacation, going on a cruise? Without any doubt, a resounding YES! Thank you for reading.