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.

Sunday Morning May 26

It is a day at sea and we are sailing up between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia.  This is some of the most beautiful scenery ever.  Since I am up so darn early (5 am, which is really sleeping in for us since we wake normally at 3:30 for work) I quietly get dressed so I don’t wake Bernie and head out.  I walk the promenade deck and just stare and the views. 

After awhile I know I need some food so I head up to the Horizon Court and grab a small bite.  A bit of Musselix, half a bagel and fresh fruit. 

Around 6:30 I head down to deck five to the coffee bar and curly up in a chair near the window and read.  The coffee bar on this ship doesn’t open until 7 am and the staff here are just setting things up.  But around 6:45 the bartender says I can get you your beverage now if you wish.  I buy a new coffee card $29 plus 15% gratuity $4.35 total of $33.35 which gives you 15 espresso beverages.

Bernie comes and meets me and he gets his tea and then heads upstairs to get his breakfast.  On this ship the dining room serving lunch and breakfast is the International Dining room that is normally the Traditional Dining room at the aft of the ship.  Princess is smart they have set up a person on deck 5 and deck 6 near the dining rooms there to direct passengers to the dining room that is open for breakfast – smart thinking Princess.  And trust me there were a lot of people looking.

Seas are so calm, in fact I swear we are docked it is so calm.  Weather is lovely, sunny and clear, and cool but not cold, but if you head outside you do need a jacket as the sea breeze sends a shiver down your spine.  But really you couldn’t ask for better weather.

Lots of things going on around the ship this morning.  There is a Welcome to Princess gathering so people can learn about the loyalty program and that is followed by Future Cruise Presentation.  Goofy Golf Putting in the atrium where you had to put around the elevators, then past the future cruise desk, then into the library.  Looks like they had fun.

I attended Zumba led by Walter and boy was that fun and very crowded!  Worked up a good sweat.  Now it is time to shower then head to Mark’s first lecture on Glaciers All Around.

Mark Harris’ lecture on glaciers was very popular and I learned a lot. 

We are both hungry, it is 2 pm and we haven’t eaten for about 8 hours so we head up to the Horizon Court for bite.  And I wander around the ship afterwards, stopping to watch the last hour of the movie Big which is showing up on the pool deck.  The warm sun on my face is very calming and I am struggling to keep my eyes open.  The weather is perfect, the seas are so very calm that the sun is reflecting off it and blinds us. 

We see quite a bit of wildlife today, a huge school of dolphins played at the bow of the ship.  This morning there was a pod of whales, not sure which kind of whale because they were too far away.  Then this afternoon just looking from our cabin we see about four separate pods of whales in the distance.  We follow them with our eyes and just enjoy their majesty. 

With so many first time cruisers on board a lot of people are lost or trying to figure things out, but the staff are very helpful and many of the seasoned passengers are assisting too. 

We have a great cabin steward (Sherwin) who is very attentive.  A light was flickering in the bathroom and within an hour of telling him it was fixed.  

Today for activities they had the wooden horse racing, slot tournament, Gemstones Around the World lecture, Bingo, Cruise Long Scavenger Hunt, another Zumba class (I popped my head in and again it was packed), golf chipping, line dance class, the movie Argo, carpet bowling and a medical professional get together. 

Tonight is formal night (but we are not dressing up but will head to Horizon Court instead).  Events tonight are a LGBT gathering, Captains Welcome Aboard Party, Majority Rules Trivia, Princess Popstar, and the Production Show tonight is I Got the Music.  What is odd is there is nothing in Explorer’s Lounge except for U2 and then a James Brown Concert. 

I am back in the cabin and it is around 6:30 and I am relaxing while Bernie decided to head up to Skywalkers for a drink at the Platinum/Elite Lounge.  Tonight’s Drink is the Chairman of the Board served with Smoked Salmon with Toast Points.

Tonight we put our clocks back an hour and we dock in Ketchikan early but we leave at 2 pm.  We don’t have any set plans in any of the ports but because it is a short day tomorrow we are just going to walk around.