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

[GregD]

Amazing photos as always. This is making me even more excited for my cruise in Norway with @Lovetocruise2002. Voom should be interesting since we will be around the same latitude, so photo uploads will be fun. Time to go play on lensrentals.com for some telephotos.

[twangster]

Day Six - Alaska Inside Passage on the Way to Ketchikan for a 2:45pm Arrival

I woke to find the ship still in the Pacific Ocean which was remarkably calm today.  Mountain vista on our port side.

After a few hours in the open Pacific we entered the Alaskan Inside Passage marked by this lighthouse.

Our calms seas turned into even smoother waters like sailing on a lake.

I was hoping to spot a bear or a moose on the shore but no such luck today.

Still it felt like at any moment one might appear.

[twangster]

The Inside Passage is so beautiful it's hard to capture in simple photos.

While there were not any whale sightings, there was plenty of bird and marine wildlife on both sides of the ships.

These little heads kept popping up to check us out.

Pretty much sums up how I spent most of my morning:

Looks like one too many guests wanted to board the buoy and that one sea lion was quite vocal trying to dissuade it. 

After much rain earlier in the cruise the blue skies were a welcome change.

Scenery everywhere.

[twangster]

More friends checking us out:

There a couple of US flagged cruise lines that operate in Alaska and Unicruise is one of them.

Lunch break outside in the Windjammer aft seating area of course.

The State of Alaska operates a set of ferries that has service between most of the coastal towns here in Southeast Alaska.  Absent of roads between communities these ferries are called the Alaska Marine Highway.

Here is one their ferries.

We did pass through a local rain cloud once or twice but for the most part this was our day.

Here is one of these errant rain clouds.

[twangster]

As I was taking pictures from my balcony a familiar aft end appeared in my viewfinder.

It's Quantum of the Seas on her inaugural five night Alaska cruise before she starts her regular seven night Alaska cruise season.

With the town berths filled she is using a new berth just outside of town that just recently became operational.

[twangster]

We continued sailing down the channel towards "downtown" Ketchikan.

It didn't take long for the sound of float planes to fill the air.  Ketchikan is known for them.

The Alaska ferry system has a shipyard here. 

Duck boat filled with excited cruise ship passengers.

I spotted two yellow hovercraft docked on the port side.

This is my excursion today.  The Blackbird Hovercraft Experience.

I was glad to see them coming to the cruise ship pier so we wouldn't have to take a bus to reach them.

 

[twangster]

Walking right off the ship and down to the excursion is a great way to go.

Our Captain gives us a mandatory USCG safety briefing and explains some of the features of our hovercraft.  

The skift fills with air and all the water is drained out of the cavity underneath us.  We are now floating on air, no longer a boat but more of a plane.

We skim across the harbor and into one of the many channels that are found throughout the area.

After a twenty ride or so we arrive at a black sand beach where our Captain does some fancy show of moves that have us skimming across the bay and sand sideways before we come in for a landing on the beach.

Here we get off into pouring rain.  It is Ketchikan after all.  There have a shelter near the forest and four mile hiking train for those inclined.

[twangster]

Part of the excursion includes an Eagle event where they throw frozen fish into the water as Eagles swoop down to collect them.

Of course the pouring rain was a bit of a damper. 

Soon enough the passing rain cloud moved on and it was much more enjoyable.

There were several all around us in the trees but there was definitely some dynamics going on with respect to who gets to eat first.

Watch and learn little one.  A juvenile Eagle was keeping an eye on me.  

It takes around five years for them to grow into the adult colors. 

[twangster]

We boarded the hovercraft to visit a point that is known for seals and while they were there, the seals were keeping their distance and in the water so not the best photo opportunity.

Instead these birds were a better target.

The ride back to town saw more sideways turns and maneuvering while skimming over water a just a few inches deep where regular boats don't dare sail.

With that our ride was complete and we returned to the cruise ship pier.

[Lovetocruise2002]

7 hours ago, Matt said:

I'm here for the photos

Me too! 

Note to self: Alaska looks really, really cold in May. lol

1 hour ago, GregD said:

Amazing photos as always. This is making me even more excited for my cruise in Norway with @Lovetocruise2002. Voom should be interesting since we will be around the same latitude, so photo uploads will be fun. Time to go play on lensrentals.com for some telephotos.

I was thinking the same. The fjords should look amazing!  These photos are making me rethink what I will need to pack for clothes. All I can say is that I better not lose my luggage this time.  I don't think I will get by as well as I did in March if that happens....

[GregD]

17 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Me too! 

Note to self: Alaska looks really, really cold in May. lol

I was thinking the same. The fjords should look amazing!  These photos are making me rethink what I will need to pack for clothes. All I can say is that I better not lose my luggage this time.  I don't think I will get by as well as I did in March if that happens....

At least it shouldn't be this

[twangster]

After the excursion I ventured through town over to the Creek Street area.

After a little shopping it was back to the ship.

[twangster]

Sunset while we were still at the pier.

Sliver of a moon tonight.

At 9:30pm it was time to say farewell to Ketchikan.

[twangster]

Day Six - Sea Day/British Columbia Inside Passage

Morning finds us in Hecate Sound.

Whales abound.  I stepped onto my balcony and they were evrywhere around us.

There was a pack of a dozen or more that appeared to be working together by taking turns breaching.

These large splashes were all over.

Others were more solitary just doing their own thing.

[twangster]

After breakfast I ventured forward.

I see a ship on the horizon that looks very familiar.

Quantum of the Seas on her way back to Seattle.

A few whales but not like earlier.

Beautiful day crossing Queen Charlotte Sound.

Voom has improved considerably.

[Matt]

My question is did we find Nanook yet and is she okay?

[CruisingNewb]

@twangsterThank you so much for sharing!  My family is now more excited than ever for our upcoming cruise thanks to you!

[smokeybandit]

On 5/7/2022 at 7:23 AM, Matt said:

I'm here for the photos

At this rate there won't be any photos left for us to take in a couple weeks

[twangster]

More to come, will finish up from hotel.  

[Matt]

2 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

At this rate there won't be any photos left for us to take in a couple weeks

Copy and paste. Easiest live blog of my career!

[twangster]

Around noon we were halfway across Queen Charlotte Sound and I was happy to see we had turned.  Earlier in the morning when we were heading towards the open Pacific I was wondering if we weren't taking the Inside Passage.

Around 4pm we were entering the Inside Passage.

[twangster]

We were once again following a HAL ship in the Inside Passage.

USCG also taking the Inside Passage.

It rained at times or was overcast.

It was snowing at elevation.

Wet and too cold for rock climbing.

However at times it was sunny.

I spent a good bit of time outside looking for wildlife.

Approaching the narrowest part of the passage and by camera is making it look brighter than it was really. 

HAL about to enter the narrows.

Around 9:15pm here.

At this point it was pretty dark and it was impossible to see wildlife if there was any.

[twangster]

Near midnight we were passing Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

Cell service if you have Canada in your cell plan.

[twangster]

Day Eight - Vancouver

Just after sunrise we were approaching Vancouver.

Lions Gate bridge in the distance.

I was having breakfast as we passed under the bridge.

With that we were back in Vancouver Harbor.

[twangster]

Debarking was pretty chaotic.

Self-Assist was supposed to leave 7:30am to 8:00am.  We were tied up at the pier by 7am so I thought we might be early but that was a mistake.

With no announcements most people including myself assumed debarking has commenced so half of the ship and myself headed down to deck 5 at 7:50am.

We weren't leaving yet.  Canada CBSA (their version of CBP) hadn't cleared the ship or made an appearance yet.

I was directed into the theater with three or four hundred others. I did see a crew member with a list of 50 or 60 guests from foreign nations where they were required to handover their passports at the beginning of the cruise.  CBSA finally appeared and commenced dealing with those more exotic guests that required VISAs or other processing. 

Finally closer to 8:40am we were allowed to begin leaving.  That was a slow process with so many guests now jamned onto deck 5.  It was made worse by non-self-assist guests who decided to leave despite not having their luggage tags called.  

Vancouver uses cranes to load and unload given the tidal changes so luggage loading and unloading is very slow.  The problem is now the terminal was clogged with these folks who had another hour or two to wait for their luggage.  They stood around making the line for us self-assist folks very slow moving.  

Much of this mess was at the hands of CBSA but the ship didn't help by not making any announcements.  Hopefully once they remember how to cruise again they'll begin making announcements on future cruises.

[twangster]

My day involved taking a bus from Vancouver to Seattle.  

There were some bus lines that had service from the Canada Place but I booked Amtrak from the Pacific Central train station hoping the train would be operational by this cruise.  The train is currently shut down so Amtrak is running a bus.  This is just the second week for the bus service to operate.

Between the CDC and Health Canada both governments have made it impossible to operate a cross border train.  The bus was easier to get going.  Not long ago Canada had a testing requirement that applied to all crew on the train which made it difficult to meet the protocol requirements.  A single bus driver as the sole crew member was easier to get approved by both countries.  

With nearly three hours to kill I walked the 1.4 miles to the train station.  I was there by 9:35am so still two hours to kill.

The bus ride from Vancouver to Seattle was $43 which isn't bad for the distance involved.  A taxi from SeaTac airport in Seattle to downtown is all of that.  

The bus reaches the border where we all get off, collect our luggage, go inside and meet with CBP.    Luggage goes through x-ray for an agriculture inspection.  We all board the bus again and leave for the 100 mile trip to Seattle.  

With a day in between my next cruise it was a relaxing way to get to Seattle that didn't involve Vancouver airport or needing to take a test since the CDC has decided that the virus can only fly in airplanes and land borders don't need testing.

For future cruises from Vancouver I'll definitely look at flights to Seattle that can be much easier to source and are cheaper than flights to Vancouver.

They think the train may begin to operate later this month and it is apparently very scenic.   

So this was a successful trial as a means to get between Seattle and Vancouver.

My bus took me to the train station downtown Seattle so it was easy to get to my downtown Seattle hotel.  It cost $2.25 for the Link light rail train in Seattle for the two stops lugging my luggage or I would have walked the 0.8 miles.

[twangster]

On a side note on the bus ride I overheard a couple who were also on Serenade.  They were telling another passenger that it was too early and there were no whales to be seen yet.

Honestly I saw more whales from Serenade on this cruise compared to six other Alaska cruises.

It just goes to show you have to be very careful listening to past guests comments and user reviews.  I can't count the number of whales I saw from the ship without taking an excursion.   Granted many of them were not up close like you'll see from a whale watching excursion but there were plenty of whales to be seen on this cruise and my photos didn't catch most of them.  

 

[twangster]

23 hours ago, Matt said:

My question is did we find Nanook yet and is she okay?

No bears!  I was really hoping to see a bear or moose from the ship.  It would have made the ultimate wildlife cruise but alas I'll have to go again to see if I can find a descendant or distant cousin of Nanook.

[Matt]

10 hours ago, twangster said:

Debarking was pretty chaotic.

That sounds similar to what Radiance of the Seas had to deal with when she got back the other day. Allie told me she was still on the ship at 10am and they hadn't called her luggage tag number yet.

[CruiseMom82]

17 minutes ago, Matt said:

That sounds similar to what Radiance of the Seas had to deal with when she got back the other day. Allie told me she was still on the ship at 10am and they hadn't called her luggage tag number yet.

Any idea if the situation would be better if taking a RC excursion on disembarkation day? We are scheduled to take one that lasts 5 to 6 hours and finishes at the airport, even though we are not personally flying out until the next morning. You would think they would prioritize getting those people off the ship.

[Matt]

1 hour ago, CruiseMom82 said:

Any idea if the situation would be better if taking a RC excursion on disembarkation day? We are scheduled to take one that lasts 5 to 6 hours and finishes at the airport, even though we are not personally flying out until the next morning. You would think they would prioritize getting those people off the ship.

From what it sounds like from @twangster, the issue are the Canadian authorities clearing the ship and getting luggage off the ship.

That creates the log jam.

My hope is as the season progresses, they get their act together.

[twangster]

2 hours ago, CruiseMom82 said:

Any idea if the situation would be better if taking a RC excursion on disembarkation day? We are scheduled to take one that lasts 5 to 6 hours and finishes at the airport, even though we are not personally flying out until the next morning. You would think they would prioritize getting those people off the ship.

Absent of any announcements people with booked excursions were also milling about near the theater inquiring about their excursion.  The problem is one the ship loses control of the situation it's such a crowded mess they can't prioritize anyone.

[AshleyDillo]

2 hours ago, CruiseMom82 said:

Any idea if the situation would be better if taking a RC excursion on disembarkation day? We are scheduled to take one that lasts 5 to 6 hours and finishes at the airport, even though we are not personally flying out until the next morning. You would think they would prioritize getting those people off the ship.

Usually the ones with the excursions have a designated meeting spot. So at least you'll be together with your group, but nothing to say you would be prioritized.  I will say that the post-cruise excursions with airport dropoff tend to be very, very conservative when it comes to their cutoff time for flights, so there's usually a lot of wiggle room for the actual excursion to leave later.

[twangster]

51 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

Usually the ones with the excursions have a designated meeting spot. So at least you'll be together with your group, but nothing to say you would be prioritized.  I will say that the post-cruise excursions with airport dropoff tend to be very, very conservative when it comes to their cutoff time for flights, so there's usually a lot of wiggle room for the actual excursion to leave later.

I think designated meetings are after customs clearance required to exit the terminal.  The meeting points are usually near the buses in the underground area.  Ship excursion crew can't leave the ship and go through the customs and immigration process so excursions aren't escorted off the ship.

[CruiseMom82]

I see thank you both, that is very helpful. It is my first cruise as I said we are flying out the next day, so I’m not too concerned about missing the flight. But I would hate for our excursion to be curtailed as it looks to be really interesting.

[twangster]

14 minutes ago, CruiseMom82 said:

I see thank you both, that is very helpful. It is my first cruise as I said we are flying out the next day, so I’m not too concerned about missing the flight. But I would hate for our excursion to be curtailed as it looks to be really interesting.

If you booked it through Royal they won't leave without you.  Just be patient and watch the monitors on the ship that indicate how the process is progressing.

Ship booked excursions will be assigned a luggage tag number for each group.  Just understand the times are not absolute since the timing is dictated by Canada customs.

 

[AshleyDillo]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

I think designated meetings are after customs clearance required to exit the terminal.  The meeting points are usually near the buses in the underground area.  Ship excursion crew can't leave the ship and go through the customs and immigration process so excursions aren't escorted off the ship.

The one time I've done one (not in Vancouver, of course) we all congregated in the area specified by the departure paper..in this case it's showing luggage tag 3 is waiting in the Tropical Theater. We got stickers for our particular excursion and then when they called the luggage tag we all filed out of the theater and down off the ship to pick up luggage and then took it to the excursion meeting location off the ship. They did give us all the information we needed to know what to do prior to disembarking via a shore excursion ticket and letter, so @CruiseMom82 if you don't get something similar by the last night of the sailing, go ahead and ask onboard for some direction so you know for sure where you are supposed to go.

[CruiseMom82]

Sounds great! I’ll let y’all know how it goes : )

[KathyC]

On 5/9/2022 at 9:01 PM, CruiseMom82 said:

Sounds great! I’ll let y’all know how it goes : )

We're doing that a week from tomorrow, getting off Radiance in Vancouver, taking an all day ship excursion that brings us to the airport.  We have an evening flight, so also not concerned about getting there too late.  I'll try to remember to come back and let you know how it went.  If I forget, ping me and I'll get the notification. 

[KathyC]

On 5/9/2022 at 1:17 PM, CruiseMom82 said:

I see thank you both, that is very helpful. It is my first cruise as I said we are flying out the next day, so I’m not too concerned about missing the flight. But I would hate for our excursion to be curtailed as it looks to be really interesting.

We were assigned tag #1 and were the third group to leave the ship.  Self assist first, then the pinnacles/suite guests second.  You are given a sticker to put on your jacket.  Exit the ship when your number is called (our designated waiting area was in our cabin), gather your bags from the giant terminal, go through customs and walk your bags to the bus area.  We saw a few people holding excursion signs, and you can always ask one of them for help.