Jump to content

Seeking Nanook. Serenade of the Seas Double Glacier! May 1 - May 8, 2022


twangster

Recommended Posts

After the next rain break I ventured along the nature trail into the forest.  There are more totem poles spaced out along the trail.

SR2205-132.jpg

SR2205-133.jpg

SR2205-134.jpg

Weather radar showed a larger line of showers heading our way so at this point I decided to start heading back.  It was about 20 - 25 minutes to the shuttle bus stop from here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Near the harbor I spotted some Eagles in the trees so naturally I had to stop and take some photos.

SR2205-136.jpg

SR2205-137.jpg

SR2205-138.jpg

SR2205-139.jpg

SR2205-140.jpg

SR2205-141.jpg

This stop threw off my timing and it started to rain down pretty good.  Fortunately I had my raincoat on but the last five minutes of this walk was pretty miserable.  Totally worth it to get some nice Eagle photos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The shuttle bus back to the ship was loading as I walked up so I hopped on.  

By this point it was raining pretty hard so a lot of people held back at the cruise terminal.  I took advantage of that to beat the crowds back on to the ship.

From my balcony I heard an incoming helicopter.  USCG was checking us out.  The rain had subsided.

SR2205-142.jpg

Across the water I could see the occasional water spout indicating whales were in the area.

SR2205-143.jpg

Of course Eagles were circling overhead as well.

SR2205-144.jpg

I also spotted this Harbor Seal poking around the docks of the local marina.

SR2205-145.jpg

SR2205-146.jpg

Juvenile Eagle.

SR2205-147.jpg

SR2205-148.jpg

Quite a few Eagles, to the point I stopped taking pictures.

SR2205-149.jpg

The seal over by the docks was still hanging around the area.

SR2205-150.jpg

The rain passed and the sun tried to poke through briefly.

SR2205-151.jpg

However that was short lived and another large wave of heavy rain moved in as we departed.  That pretty much ended any pictures.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day Four - Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier & Juneau

Last night the Captain announced we would return to the Pacific briefly before entering the Alaskan Inside Passage on our way to Tracy Arm and after that Juneau.  Our arrival to begin the trip into Tracy Arm would commence at 5am. 

This entrance off the Inside Passage is common to both Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm which is featured on many Seattle based cruises on Quantum and Ovation. 


SR2205-152.jpg

To the right or starboard is the way to Endicott Arm.

SR2205-153.jpg

We will be going straight and turning left into Tracy Arm.

SR2205-154.jpg

It was of course raining making picture taking not the best.

SR2205-155.jpg

As we turned I noted the distinct shape of another Royal Caribbean ship behind us.

SR2205-156.jpg

Radiance of the Seas.  I assumed Radiance would be heading into Endicott Arm. 

SR2205-157.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I set my time lapse on my balcony and headed forward to enjoy Tracy Arm

SR2205-158.jpg

It started raining pretty good and with the wind channeling down Tracy Arm towards us combined with our forward motion it was raining sideways.  At just 4°C the rain felt like ice pellets which explains the low turn out on the helipad.

SR2205-159.jpg

It was pretty miserable and cold.

SR2205-160.jpg

Despite that I was determined to photograph the experience. 

SR2205-161.jpg

SR2205-162.jpg

SR2205-163.jpg

SR2205-164.jpg

We turned deeper into the arm and continued on our way while the wind and rain was merciless.  

SR2205-165.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The thing about Alaska weather is that it can change in a heartbeat and thankfully today it did.

SR2205-166.jpg

SR2205-167.jpg

Plenty of waterfalls on both sides.

SR2205-168.jpg

SR2205-169.jpg

SR2205-170.jpg

SR2205-171.jpg

With the improved weather the helipad saw more guests.

SR2205-172.jpg

SR2205-173.jpg

Glaciers are cool and all but the sights in these arms is breathtaking.  It's not just about seeing a glacier, the trip up Tracy Arm is worth the price of admission on its own.

SR2205-174.jpg

SR2205-175.jpg

SR2205-176.jpg

SR2205-177.jpg

SR2205-178.jpg

SR2205-179.jpg

SR2205-180.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Juneau

More rain on and off.  I'll be back next week on a different ship so I decided to make a game day decision and stay on the ship for this visit.  It wasn't conducive to going up the Mt Roberts tramway today or even walking around in the rain.

SR2205-220.jpg

To be fair it didn't rain all day so I'm sure fellow guests have some awesome experiences today.

SR2205-221.jpg

We docked at the pier that uses shuttle buses for the short trip to the downtown transportation area.  

SR2205-222.jpg

SR2205-223.jpg

SR2205-224.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're scheduled to dock at that same Juneau dock area, when we are there on Radiance in a couple weeks. Only two ships in port that day, us and Ovation that comes later. Not sure why we are stuck so far out when there are a lot of empty berths, plus with gas prices running the shuttle buses must be expensive. I saw elsewhere online that there was a charge for those buses, if you didn't want to walk. I know you didn't get off, but did you hear from any of the other passengers that there was a fee? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, KathyC said:

We're scheduled to dock at that same Juneau dock area, when we are there on Radiance in a couple weeks. Only two ships in port that day, us and Ovation that comes later. Not sure why we are stuck so far out when there are a lot of empty berths, plus with gas prices running the shuttle buses must be expensive. I saw elsewhere online that there was a charge for those buses, if you didn't want to walk. I know you didn't get off, but did you hear from any of the other passengers that there was a fee? 

There's never been a fee before when I've docked here.  

Maybe they were thinking Skagway where there is a bus service that does a loop to a few places beyond just "downtown" and the cruise pier.  That service does have a nominal fee.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, BeachGal said:

Just stunning, and so much snow.  Both times I've been to Alaska have been in August, and although the scenery is still incredible, it is much more summer-like. I might have to rethink my next visit there for the start of the season.

There is no bad time to visit Alaska but there are two reasons why I like the early season.  The first are the longer days since the longest day of the year is June 21.  In Alaska that is amplified so days are really long in the early cruise season compared to August or September.   The second reason are the snow capped mountains that are more photogenic in the early cruise season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day Five - Hubbard Glacier

After departing Juneau at 7:30pm we spent most of our time in the Inside passage in darker hours.  This morning we find ourselves back in the Pacific Ocean on our way North to Hubbard Glacier with an 11am schedule arrival.

Our progress:

SR2205-227.jpg

Weather report:

Overcast with periods of rain.

SR2205-228.jpg

Voom has been pretty slow on this sailings.  Here are some speed tests:

May 2

SR2205-225.jpg

May 3

SR2205-226.jpg
 

May 5

SR2205-229.jpg

 Obviously we have something more than zero upstream bandwidth but not much more than zero.  

I compress my pictures down to around 300kB-400kB each and if I get greedy by trying to upload more than three at a time they fail.  Sometimes like this morning I can only upload two at a time. 

This is normal for Alaska Voom.  The geostationary satellites are positioned over the equator which works okay from the Caribbean but this far North it becomes a challenge.  Combined with rain and overcast conditions makes for a bad satellite internet experience.  

We still have several hours until we get to Hubbard Glacier so I'll be off to breakfast soon before gathering my gear to get ready for Hubbard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/2/2022 at 6:00 PM, twangster said:

Suite Lounge drink menu for the nightly cocktail happy hour in the Concierge Club.

SR2205-54.jpg

I guess they didn’t get the memo that this list is no longer used on most of the ships suite lounge. We have been on 6 ships since the restart with no list in view. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hubbard Glacier

As we approached we were treated to increasing blue skies. 

SR2205-230.jpg

There were still some lines of rain clouds we had to push through but the approach to Yakutat Bay is slow and takes time so a few lines of rain didn't concern me.

SR2205-231.jpg

In the distance i could begin to see Hubbard Glacier.

SR2205-232.jpg

SR2205-233.jpg

The blue skies in the distance near Hubbard were a welcome sight.

SR2205-234.jpg

SR2205-235.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always considered Hubbard Glacier to be one the premier tidewater glaciers in Alaska.

Once we past the rain the crowds began to form.

SR2205-236.jpg

SR2205-237.jpg

The scale of Hubbard Glacier and the mountains behind the glacier make it seem like it takes a long time to approach but that's only because it is pretty massive and farther than it looks.

SR2205-238.jpg

On each side of the entrance to Yakutat Bay are soaring mountains.

SR2205-239.jpg

SR2205-240.jpg

SR2205-241.jpg

SR2205-242.jpg

SR2205-243.jpg

SR2205-244.jpg

SR2205-245.jpg

SR2205-246.jpg

SR2205-247.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The face of the glacier soars 350' above the waterline so it's taller than you might think from a distance.

SR2205-248.jpg

The entire area beyond the glacier itself is breathtakingly beautiful.

SR2205-249.jpg

SR2205-250.jpg

SR2205-251.jpg

SR2205-252.jpg

SR2205-253.jpg

On this occasion Captain Stig kept the bow towards the glacier with only small turns to port or starboard.  On other occasions the Captains have done complete circles.  So if you are thinking about staying in your balcony you might rethink that plan.

SR2205-254.jpg

There was minor calving but it wasn't as dramatic as it has been before.

SR2205-255.jpg

Nonetheless you could hear the glacier creak and moan with almost a thunder like sound.

SR2205-256.jpg

SR2205-257.jpg

SR2205-258.jpg

As we inched closer we sailed through fields of ice from sections of the glacier that have recently broken free.

SR2205-259.jpg

Some of the bergy bits are quite large.

SR2205-260.jpg

SR2205-261.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After our time at Hubbard Glacier we started sailing South down the Alaskan coast towards our next stop in Ketchikan.

I've always enjoyed this stretch due to the near continuous mountains that line the coast.  From my first Alaskan cruise I've always had fond memories of this area.

It started with a rainbow.

SR2205-309.jpg

Continuing down the coast there were some clouds between us and the coast but there were these occasional break in the clouds where you could see the mountain ranges that line the coast.

SR2205-310.jpg

SR2205-311.jpg

SR2205-312.jpg

There was some not so fair weather between us and Mount Fairweather.

SR2205-313.jpg

SR2205-314.jpg

There were still whales arounds us.  Right after a dinner break I stepped onto my balcony for a crystal clear view of an Orca very close to the ship before I had my camera setup.  It didn't stop with that, there were many all around at times.

SR2205-315.jpg

Sunset was just after 8:30pm tonight and here in the open Pacific is was pretty great with some clouds to make it just a little dramatic.

SR2205-316.jpg

SR2205-317.jpg

SR2205-318.jpg

SR2205-319.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...