Juneau - Can You Say WHALES

It is so nice to wake and realize I don't have to rush to head ashore right away.  We don't actually dock until 11 am in Juneau.

Bernie dresses and heads out for coffees.  As I lay in bed around 6:30 I stare out the balcony window at the ocean. Ahhh what a beautiful sight.  

WOW what a beautiful sight is right, in the distance I can see Whales shooting air/water and whatever else they send out from their blowholes.  

I quickly throw on some socks and the robe (cause it is a little cool out there just for my PJs not to mention fellow passengers may not appreciate me in my PJs, or heck maybe they would).  

We are sailing thru Frederick Sound which is know for whales and boy they have not disappointed today.

You can see whales surfacing everywhere.  I am guessing I saw over 50 whales in that two hour period.

The best thing to do to see sea life is to get outside.  Sure your balcony will work, but if you can head out to the Promenade deck (please go dressed, this is why I didn't head down there, again the PJ thing).  

Scan the horizon left to right, right to left.  You will see the spray and keep your eyes peeled cause normally they surface, you see the fin, then if you are lucky they show their tail as they dive down. 

The Fin of two whales

Fin and the tail of two whales

you can see the whale on the right decided to show us his tail

Naturalist Michael Modzelewski is up on the bridge and you can hear his commentary by listening on your tv or up on the open decks.

When Bernie arrives with the coffees he is right out on the deck to enjoy the show too.  We go from taking pictures to looking thru binoculars to sipping our coffees and repeat. This is a great piece of entertainment that you won't see in any Princess Patter.

We can see there are a lot of people out on their balconies enjoying the show too.  The best was a three generation family with adjoining cabins a few decks down.  Three little boys around the ages of 5, 7 and 8 who were either brothers or cousins staring out and jumping up and down.  WHALES WHALES WHALES they screeched.  

While one ran to the balcony door and banged on Grampa's door yelling "Grampa Grampa Whales, Whales, come see". Okay everyone reading this a collective AHHHH is needed. What a special moment and what an extra special memory you are creating with your grandkids.

Then a few minutes later one boy hit the other and the little guy started crying.  Yup some things will never change.  Sorry did I ruin that Hallmark moment?

They are usually in pairs or more (the whales, sometimes the kids but now I am referring to whales) and what is even more exciting is if they breach. Jump up out of the water and splash back in.  And boy did we witness this!

Here are the shots of the pair of whales who breached and I was lucky enough to capture.

The show lasted for about two hours.  And I would of stayed longer, but my belly was calling for food and well I needed a shower too.  

We went down to the Dining Room for breakfast where Stefan was there again - boy did he even sleep from last night.  He sat at us right away at a table for two.  All around us people are talking about the amazing show of whales this morning.

Food was okay - I had the feature of scrambled eggs with asparagus.  I had ordered toast but it never came and I could not be bothered to ask for it cause I didn't want to wait.

Plus the constant banging of the servers cupboards/drawers from their stations was getting to me. Each time a door would bang behind me I would jump.  PLEASE Princess do something about this, it is so easy to get self closing non slamming doors now.  

It is another lovely day with a high stated to be 19C/67F but I believe it got warmer than that and we did encounter a light shower in the afternoon but nothing serious.

There is still a lot going on this morning before we arrive.

• Juneau highlights show 8:15 in Explorers
• Alaskan Close Encounters with Alaskan Wildlife in Princess Theater presented by Michael
• Zumba 9 am Club Fusion
• Bible Study 9 am
• The Art of Light Photography Class 9 am
• Table Tennis Tournament 9:30 am
• Morning Trivia 11:15

This afternoon had the following items in the Patter while we were docked in Juneau:

• Win Lose or Draw 12:30
• Movie Cinderella in Explorers 1:30
• Indoor Goofy Golf 3:15
• Happy Hour buy one get one for $1 4-5 pm
• Discover at Sea Trivia Discover Animal Planet 4:15

They are offering an experience in the Sanctuary for Tracy Arm, this is what it says:  Get cozy with a warm blanket, ear muffs, chowder, pastries, and more!  Special Glacier viewing packages available for Tracy arm between 7 am and 11 am.  See a Serenity Steward for details, reservations available through the Dine Line $60 per person.

Frame Blow Out Sale only $19.99 save 60% off on all 8 x 10 Burlwood Frames - photo gallery.

We head back to the cabin to gather our things and head out for a great day in Juneau.  We are docked almost at the furthest away spot from town.  But still relatively close.