wordell1

After a busy day yesterday we entered the Endicott Arms glacier area at 5am this morning. I positioned us at the bridge wings outside the Solarium. It was COLD and windy out there but worth it to get good shots. We were able to duck into the Solarium to warm up occasionally. I told my wife that next time we do this, we would do it from the Solarium hot tubs.

I cannot recommend the White Pass Railway enough. I have read a few reviews and all I can say is that they did not do it justice, I doubt this one will either. The views were spectacular. We started in Canada at 2800 ft elevation and ended back in Skagway at zero. At the summit it was cold and foggy with plenty of snow on the ground. As we got lower, large valleys open up with spectacular views. I took lots of pictures and will try to post a few to do it justice.

We had a long day with the 2 excursions. We started the day with a RC excursion. White pass railway and Skagway highlights. I actually picked this only because the normal railway excursions were sold out. This one started on a bus which brought us through town and to the cemetery with a history of the town along the way. At the cemetery was a path up to a waterfall that was worth doing, although it was a very steep walk. We got a good history of the town and of the Gold Rush. The bus then took us along the river all the way to the Canadian side of the railway. We then boarded the train to ride back to Skagway.

it's plenty warm in the ship. The pool area and Solarium are actually a little too warm for me. Ovation was definitely designed to be a cold weather ship. We have been lucky on weather so far. It was cold (low 50s) and windy today in Skagway, but no rain.

It has been similar thus week on Ovation. No Mexican or Carribean and replaced by Asia and USA.

It's been on each night on our current Ovation cruise. For the record, it was not very well thought out in my opinion.

Just pulled into Skagway. Norwegian Dawn and Celebrity Millennium also docked. I was on Millennium 20 years ago - she was big at the time!

Woke up early today (6am) and these are a few shots from our balcony as we head towards Skagway. I am ignoring @Mattadvice and doing 2 excursions. We are doing the White pass railway at 8am and the dog sled excursion at 2.

Dinner last night was "A Taste of Asia" I had the chicken and cabbage dumplings, theshrimp pad thai, and the royal chocolate cake. I missed taking a picture of the dumplings. My wife had the spring rolls, the teriyaki salmon, and vanilla ice cream. Again, the food was really good. No complaints on anything. The restaurant was less busy tonight, maybe people tired from the excursions or just didn't like the menu. There are alot of Asians on this cruise. There is a large group from Malaysia on a tour.

Wow, that is awesome. I will humbly accept any help or advice on photography you wish to give.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

One thing I see as a definite improvement on Ovation (all of Quantum class?) Is the pub. The Amber Oak pub is typical of the pubs on Royal ships, with 2 notable improvements. The biggest is that there is food! One of the great features of a good pub is the ability to get pub food while you drink. Most pubs on Royal do nit have even a basket of pretzels available. The second is TV's. I was able to watch the Premier league FA cup final this morning. Ovation doesn't have a Playmakers so the pub makes a good substitute. We went around lunch for a few beers and had some of the appetizers. Both were good and only cost $4. This is the pulled pork nachos and pretzels.

Bumper cars are fun! I really liked the SeaPlex. It's really a great feature of the Quantum class. This ship is really well designed for Alaska cruises with lots of indoor space that stll have great views. As I am writing this, we are lounging on a 2 person chair/bed in the Solarium.

I would bring everyone to the earlier time. Worst case, they make you wait. I would be surprised if that happened.

Late sunset tonight. View from. Our balcony. There is also a full moon. It's definitely the main point of the cruise, but we have had great views since leaving port.