twangster

I have an app that can remove wires and mesh fences.  
I hope you don't mind I modified your photo.  
 

 

We took the free shuttle into town and then took a 20 minute walk to the Raptor center. We wanted to get there early to avoid the crowds and were almost the only ones there when we arrived.
This was well worth the $15 admission. We were able to see multiple bald eagles up close and learned a lot about the birds. This is a great center and they rehab and release a lot of birds. The ones you can take photos of are not able to be released.
There was also a short nature trail that lran along a river up to a small waterfall.

We left tbe raptor center just as the first tour bus arrived. Mission accomplished!
We the walked over to the Sitka National Historic Park. There is a visitors center with lots of information on the native amaricans who lived in the area before the Russians and then Americans came.
 There are some easy walking trails that show lots of different torem poles and different topography along the way. You can walk all the way out to the site of a battle between the native amaricans and the Russians.
We came in from the back side so we ended the hike at the visitors center. This was highly enjoyable as we got to see some really pretty forrest areas as well as river and coastal areas all in one relatively short hike.

We then walked back into town passed the docks.
We ate at a pretty good place for burgers or halibut fish and chips.
There was some cool architecture and shopping in town as well as some good street food options.
We shopped a while and then went up to the castle before getting the shuttle back.
My app tracked us at 6 miles walked for the day.
Total cost for thus excursion was $30 for the Raptor center, plus lunch.

Waiting to depart it Sitka. We are taking the shuttle into town and doing a do it yourself tour.
Here are some pictures of the Alaskan coast as we came in to Sitka. The last one is the port.

Plus Sorrento's is right next door if you feel like a slice. 🍕
So much to love about this class.  

Welcome to the message boards!
When a ship has an actual Starbucks dedicated or standalone venue the drink package doesn't work there.
When a ship offers Starbucks branded coffee beans at the onboard coffee venue such as cafe Promenade or in the Windjammer then the "Starbucks" coffee is included in the drink package.
Yes, it is confusing, but think of a retail store like Target that has a Starbucks inside the Target.  It's an actual Starbucks location but inside of Target.   That is an example of the type of Starbucks venue not included with the drink package when you are on a ship that has an actual Starbucks venue on the ship. 

It looks like one of those ad hoc shows where the cast just do whatever they feel like in that moment as opposed to a choreographed production like "Ice Games".

I've heard a number of people express confusion about "The Gift", an original Royal Caribbean production that runs on Anthem of the Seas.
On board Anthem on channel 14 they run a series of short clips about various things Royal Caribbean.  One of those short clips talks to The Gift and explains the story line.
The Gift is about a family.  The father is a simple man who runs a tug boat.  He and his wife created a beautiful little life with their two children.  The mother passes away leaving the family lost and torn apart.   
The father has lost his way and becomes detached from life and his children.  
The daughter is an adventure seeker.  A young lady looking to live her life but with her father having become disengaged from his children she is left to only dream of her adventures through books and in her mind, detached from her family.
The son is a tinkerer who loves mechanical things and taking things apart.  In the face of losing his mother who gave him direction but now with only his father who is vacant he too is detached from life and from his the family.
The Gift is a story about this family, alive but not living, stuck in their way having lost their matriarch and their journey on stage starting at this point in the story.
The mother in the spirit world sees her family struggling, torn and detached.  She sends her family a gift in the material world.  There is nothing in the gift but it turns the family's life upside down and leads to a series of events that play out on stage in the spirit world.  
The rest of the cast of The Gift live in the spirit world.  Looking closely you will see their makeup is pale and ghost like compared to the father and his children.  They are storytellers in the spirit world helping each member of the family through a series of journeys to find themselves, playing out their dreams, waking them up and re-engaging them with life and back into a family.
Once you understand the plot of the story it makes a lot of sense watching The Gift as it is presented on stage.  It's actually a pretty interesting production with good music and strong production talent.  

I confirmed with a crewmember this morning that it was a medical emergency and that the helicopter did not land but used the winch to load the passenger.
 

Hmmm.  This class has a winchpad.  They can't take the weight of a helicopter landing on them, it wasn't designed for that.  

Thanks for this info, Brian.  I didn't realize they had halted the aerial part of the show(s).  Lack of riggers was the reason (at least, that's what they told us) that they stopped those lovely centrum aerial shows on the Vision class a few years ago.  I got to see exactly 1 before they stopped having them.  It's a shame...that's a big dimension of the Anthem shows that is now missing.

We were lucky on one cruise the ship had to get back to Baltimore quicker then usual (it was the Lady G and i don't remember why) so we were able sail up the Chesapeake in the day time. It was amazing to see the Bay Bridge Tunnel. Vehicles disappearing from sight them reappearing, 

Completely uninformed opinion here....but I am guessing that it must be quite an emergency for them to send a helicopter to the ship.  #1, they are never that far from land on an Alaska itin and #2 what @twangster said about the ability of a helicopter to land on the ship.  An aerial recovery is incredibly difficult and dangerous.  I pray everyone is ok.

Hmmm.  This class has a winchpad.  They can't take the weight of a helicopter landing on them, it wasn't designed for that.  

Repeating the same exercise, Carnival Legend entered territorial water around 10pm last night for an 8am arrival at the Baltimore terminal.   
A 10 hour transit but they may have adjusted speed to make the 8am arrival rather than being bound by maximum attainable speed.

Vision just left Baltimore.  marinetraffic.com recorded her track.
Looks like she started moving around 19:25 UTC or 15:25 EDT, 3:25pm EDT.

She made the Chesapeake Bay bridge at around 4:10 UTC or roughly midnight EDT.

She was just about to leave, or had left territorial water somewhere around 05:30 UTC, 1:30am EDT. (rough estimate based on scale of map)

Hmmm.  This class has a winchpad.  They can't take the weight of a helicopter landing on them, it wasn't designed for that.  

Must be a medical emergency because a Coast Guard helicopter just came right past our cabin and landed on the bow helipad. This is almost 11 pm ship time.
 

It us 10 pm ship time and the sun is just now setting. We roll back 1 hour tonight to line up with Alaska time. 
We have been blessed with outstanding weather so far, hopefully our luck will hold.
Sitka tomorrow.

MDR review - night 2 "A Taste of France"
I ordered the French onion soup, the beef tenderloin and the warm apple cobbler.
My wife ordered the Caesar salad, the Spring pea and asparagus risotto, and the cheese plate.
I enjoyed everything that I ordered. The beef tenderloin is my favorite thing from the old menu and it was just as good as I remember. My wife enjoyed her salad and the risotto but felt that the cheese plate was lackluster.
Service was good but I definitely notice that both nights, the waiters and assistants were very busy. There was little time for any interaction. They were friendly, but noticeably rushed. It didn't affect any service,  but I could see how it could. We are on MTD dining, but that is what we typically do so the comparison is still valid.
We will see how the rest of the nights go.

I've heard a number of people express confusion about "The Gift", an original Royal Caribbean production that runs on Anthem of the Seas.
On board Anthem on channel 14 they run a series of short clips about various things Royal Caribbean.  One of those short clips talks to The Gift and explains the story line.
The Gift is about a family.  The father is a simple man who runs a tug boat.  He and his wife created a beautiful little life with their two children.  The mother passes away leaving the family lost and torn apart.   
The father has lost his way and becomes detached from life and his children.  
The daughter is an adventure seeker.  A young lady looking to live her life but with her father having become disengaged from his children she is left to only dream of her adventures through books and in her mind, detached from her family.
The son is a tinkerer who loves mechanical things and taking things apart.  In the face of losing his mother who gave him direction but now with only his father who is vacant he too is detached from life and from his the family.
The Gift is a story about this family, alive but not living, stuck in their way having lost their matriarch and their journey on stage starting at this point in the story.
The mother in the spirit world sees her family struggling, torn and detached.  She sends her family a gift in the material world.  There is nothing in the gift but it turns the family's life upside down and leads to a series of events that play out on stage in the spirit world.  
The rest of the cast of The Gift live in the spirit world.  Looking closely you will see their makeup is pale and ghost like compared to the father and his children.  They are storytellers in the spirit world helping each member of the family through a series of journeys to find themselves, playing out their dreams, waking them up and re-engaging them with life and back into a family.
Once you understand the plot of the story it makes a lot of sense watching The Gift as it is presented on stage.  It's actually a pretty interesting production with good music and strong production talent.  

I've heard a number of people express confusion about "The Gift", an original Royal Caribbean production that runs on Anthem of the Seas.
On board Anthem on channel 14 they run a series of short clips about various things Royal Caribbean.  One of those short clips talks to The Gift and explains the story line.
The Gift is about a family.  The father is a simple man who runs a tug boat.  He and his wife created a beautiful little life with their two children.  The mother passes away leaving the family lost and torn apart.   
The father has lost his way and becomes detached from life and his children.  
The daughter is an adventure seeker.  A young lady looking to live her life but with her father having become disengaged from his children she is left to only dream of her adventures through books and in her mind, detached from her family.
The son is a tinkerer who loves mechanical things and taking things apart.  In the face of losing his mother who gave him direction but now with only his father who is vacant he too is detached from life and from his the family.
The Gift is a story about this family, alive but not living, stuck in their way having lost their matriarch and their journey on stage starting at this point in the story.
The mother in the spirit world sees her family struggling, torn and detached.  She sends her family a gift in the material world.  There is nothing in the gift but it turns the family's life upside down and leads to a series of events that play out on stage in the spirit world.  
The rest of the cast of The Gift live in the spirit world.  Looking closely you will see their makeup is pale and ghost like compared to the father and his children.  They are storytellers in the spirit world helping each member of the family through a series of journeys to find themselves, playing out their dreams, waking them up and re-engaging them with life and back into a family.
Once you understand the plot of the story it makes a lot of sense watching The Gift as it is presented on stage.  It's actually a pretty interesting production with good music and strong production talent.  

There are two aspects of CBP.  Customs and Immigration.  The stuff you acquire and bring into the country is a matter of customs policy.  Your citizenship and the ability to enter the US or come home is a matter of Immigration.  
CBP handles both customs and immigration but in the case of a first stop into the US on a cruise CBP is more focused on immigration matters as opposed to customs which for a cruiser would be handled on the final return into the US at the final port of call.  
In my example of Symphony stopping in Port Canaveral we did not have to bring all of out stuff off the ship to meet with CBP since CBP was focused on immigration for this first entry for the ship into the US.  They may have asked customs related questions just to see if someone is bringing excess money or purchases but we were not required to pack our stuff and show it to CBP in Port Canaveral.    
When we arrived in Miami the next day it was more like arriving back after a normal US cruise.