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Explorer Alaska 6/22/18 - 7 Nights RCLBlog Group Cruise!


twangster

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My son was exhausted from his early flight and coming from the East coast the 3 hour difference caught up to him so he went to bed.  I saw the makings of a sunset through the overcast and found the deck 4 outer decks the only place to catch it.

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It was very cool and we had a strong wind so they closed the upper decks and helipad access.  I grabbed this photo of the pool deck as I sought places to capture the sunset.

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Since I have the drink package my route between photo locations somehow included a bar along the path.  Here is the Promenade as I made my way back down to deck 4.

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I am trying a new camera this cruise and decided to push the limits a bit to see what I could away with.  This is a 1/3 second shutter speed trying to create some motion blur in the waves while hoping for a clear and steady picture of the ship.  I think it turned out pretty good.

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Same trick looking aft.

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As the sun continued to set there were some lovely pastel colors presented in the mountains surrounding us on both sides of this passage between Canada to our North and America to our South.  Combined with varying levels of cloud coverage it was very pretty.  This was shortly after 9pm.

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Back inside I happened across "The Tavern" in the Boleros area on other ships.  This is kind of a sports bar at times but also used for things like Karaoke.

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To the pub for a beer and some pub music.

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I ventured back outside and again did some experimenting with my camera.  By this point the moon was out and combined with gaps in the cloud coverage it created some dramatic scenes.

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I ran into the @cookingyo s at the Schooner Bar and sat with them for a while.  It was getting late and time for bed so I hopped in an elevator and made my way back to my cabin.  Saturday already.

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Day one complete.

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1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

That or they have the wrong cruise line. ? DCL actually does do that for you if you stay at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando Airport (but you leave your luggage inside the room).

Explorer tags on them.  I wonder if they are down at guest services asking about their lost luggage. 

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1 minute ago, twangster said:

Sony A7 III.  I made the switch as a long time Nikon shooter.  Still getting used to it, but liking it so far.

I'm a Nikon guy, I thought that they have the best cameras for photography, but looking at these pictures... I'm not so sure now! Glad you're liking it.

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3 hours ago, twangster said:

Group Cruise Lava Flow Meet Up!

Viking Crown Lounge

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Is that @crzycatldy5 there on the right? Face looks a lot like her profile pic.

 

2 hours ago, twangster said:

I am trying a new camera this cruise and decided to push the limits a bit to see what I could away with.  This is a 1/3 second shutter speed trying to create some motion blur in the waves while hoping for a clear and steady picture of the ship.  I think it turned out pretty good.

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2 hours ago, twangster said:

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2 hours ago, twangster said:

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smh. "Pretty good", he says. Sir, those are not merely "pretty good", those are stunning and gorgeous!

 

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6 hours ago, mworkman said:

Great photo's Twangster bot! ? We will have to wait to make diamond level before we join any group cruises, as we would like to have access  to the same locations that you and Matt have.   It would be weird to have us peaking through the doors where were not allowed. ??

Actually both Matt and I are very careful to be inclusive.  My son isn't Diamond.  I haven't even stepped foot in the Diamond lounge yet.  Most people on this GC aren't diamond.  

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Day 2 - Sea Day

I awoke to my son making some noise in the cabin.  His Eastern based internal clock was ticking.  He, having crashed early the night before was ready to go earlier than I was.  It was before 6am PT. 

Today is a sea day so lots of time to do sea day type things.  Breakfast in the Windjammer opened at 6:30am so we headed up there just after opening time.  After breakfast we explored the ship.  I wanted to get some more helipad pictures away from port and at sea:

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I walked around various outside decks in search of wildlife.  In the distance a couple of times I saw some whales but they were too far away to try to take pictures. 

Afternoon brought us back up to the Viking Crown Lounge (Dizzy's) for a Royal Caribbean Blog event with free drinks!

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At this event we got to have our cake and eat it too!

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This led directly into the pub crawl, which began at the... Pub.

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The pub on this ship is different from other pubs in the fleet.  The bar area sits very near the entrance and it consumes a lot of floor space.

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Remarkably the beer is just as cold and it drinks the same so we went with it.  There may be slightly more bar seating in this layout but less room in the rest of the pub to listen to entertainers and such.

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Matt scoping:

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After complimentary drinks at Dizzy's, I was close to seeing exactly how this next picture of Matt and Annette captured:

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Yet off we went to the Schooner Bar.

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Next up, R Bar.

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Rut Roh. Shooters in play.

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Shooter round two... Fireball!

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Time to head up to the Skybar. Elevator for 80 please... maybe two (or three).  How many blog readers can you squeeze into an elevator?

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Okay I've gotta come clean here.  Mrs Cookingyo:  I didn't actually see Cookingyo eat pickles on the Adventure of the Seas.  (You had to be there).

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Before we knew it it was 4:37pm when Matt realized it was Diamond happy hour.  Enough said. #nodrinkpackage

Formal night approaching the pub crawl was unofficially over. 

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Formal night.

Dinner in the MDR was the Duck.  Both my son and I had it.  (Sorry BigDuckRon).  Great service and food.

It was a very pleasant night and my son and I enjoyed a whiskey on the helipad after dinner.  Soon after his Eastern based clock caught up to him again and he went down for the night. 

I wasn't ready for bed just yet and visited the Schooner Bar for some piano music. Did you notice out the windows how light it is?

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Official sunset this far North (approaching the Canada-Alaska border) was at 10:31pm PT.  While still overcast with cloud cover it was bizarre having such long days to enjoy the ship after dinner.

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13 hours ago, mworkman said:

Great photo's Twangster bot! ? We will have to wait to make diamond level before we join any group cruises, as we would like to have access  to the same locations that you and Matt have.   It would be weird to have us peaking through the doors where were not allowed. ??

 

7 hours ago, twangster said:

Actually both Matt and I are very careful to be inclusive.  My son isn't Diamond.  I haven't even stepped foot in the Diamond lounge yet.  Most people on this GC aren't diamond.  

And being there as a non-Diamond has got to be better than being stuck at home as a non-diamond ? 

@twangster it looks like a blast so far ?

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Ok... Since I wanted to try something different I was thinking Caribbean on an oasis class.  Hubby is now saying , no, Alaska world be better....arghhh.  we may have to take 2020 off to save for 2021 lol.  The trip so far looks beautiful (cold but beautiful) and I can't wait to see Alaska!  Jane

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7 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said:

Ok... Since I wanted to try something different I was thinking Caribbean on an oasis class.  Hubby is now saying , no, Alaska world be better....arghhh.  we may have to take 2020 off to save for 2021 lol.  The trip so far looks beautiful (cold but beautiful) and I can't wait to see Alaska!  Jane

Loved Alaska, still in my books as top cruise.

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3 minutes ago, CGTLH said:

Loved Alaska, still in my books as top cruise.

What sailing did you do?  One way or round trip?  Did you do excursions?  I'm trying to figure out if people like two cheaper cruises to Alaska at different times or do one huge expensive one. Jeff (my husband) also mentioned maybe a Nordic cruise instead... Wondering if anybody (@doc kris) can compare the 2.  Jane

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8 hours ago, twangster said:

Actually both Matt and I are very careful to be inclusive.  My son isn't Diamond.  I haven't even stepped foot in the Diamond lounge yet.  Most people on this GC aren't diamond.  

We are so excited to be Diamond for the Anthem group cruise!  For us, it's not about being able to get into the Diamond Lounge & such, but that we can skip the drink package.  ?  But it will be nice to be able to go to the special lounge in the morning, and any other areas for breakfast & lunch that isn't normally open to us. Too bad our kids will only be Platinum...can't come with!  

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Just now, mom2mybugs said:

What sailing did you do?  One way or round trip?  Did you do excursions?  I'm trying to figure out if people like two cheaper cruises to Alaska at different times or do one huge expensive one. Jeff (my husband) also mentioned maybe a Nordic cruise instead... Wondering if anybody (@doc kris) can compare the 2.  Jane

Radiance, south bound with pre cruise land tour (8B). Land part was was essentially flying into Fairbanks and taking the train down to Anchorage. At that point we seperated from the land group and instead of taking a bus to Seward we booked last minute on the train.

Did plenty of excursions, none booked with the ship for the cruise part. On the land tour did I think three.

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Day 3 Morning - Entering Frederick Sound

On our way for a noon arrival into Juneau we have entered Frederick Sound. Weather is typical Alaska weather, rainy and cold.

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Still very beautiful though.  The mountains, even shrouded in clouds, have a beauty to them.  We approached the Kake pilot station to pickup our local pilot who will stay on board for a few days and assist the bridge safely navigate.

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Here is the pilot in the bridge:

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Our progress so far...

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A lot of whales mostly in the distance.  Some seals popped up close to the ship but they are fast it's hard to get pictures of them.  Since we are doing a whale watching tour in Juneau later today I'm not spending a lot of effort trying to get many photos right now.

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Day 3 - Juneau

We had a noon arrival scheduled so we spent the morning sailing up the channel towards Juneau enjoying rain wrapped mountains on both sides of the ship.  The temperature in the mid-50s wasn't too bad but the light rain made it feel colder than it was.

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We joined a number of ships already in port including Radiance of the Seas and a Silverseas ship (Silver Spirit) at the main pier with a Seabourne ship at anchor (tendering).  A Princess ship was in port.

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Our excursion would depart shortly after the ship's arrival in Juneau so we visited the Windjammer when they opened at 11am then got ready to depart as soon as we were given the all clear.  

Today we would be doing a two part excursion.  The first part was whale watching by boat followed by a short hike in the rainforest to Mendenhall Glacier.  We boarded a bus for a 20 minute ride to Auke Bay. 

Here we boarded the Navigator!  No, not the Navigator of the Seas, but a small whale watching boat named Navigator.

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Before leaving the marina area we were treated to dozens or Bald Eagles sitting, flying, fishing and just hanging out all around us.

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Our guide tells us a lot of people get this next bird confused with something else but it is still a Bald Eagle, just a juvenile bird who will get it's white head after a few seasons.

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Captain Jen and our guide Jamie took us out away from land where we saw more Eagles.

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It didn't take long before Captain Jen spotted the first whale.

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This is apparently Sasha.  Each whale has distinctive markings on their fluke and the boat carries a book with pictures of each fluke they use to identify them.

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Both our guide and Captain spend the winters in Hawaii and summer in Alaska following the whales.  They breed and reproduce near Hawaii then migrate to Alaska each summer to feed.

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We zoomed off on a 20 minute boat ride to another area, listening to radio chatter from various other whale watching boats.  In this next area the water is hundreds of feet deep and whales swim right next to the shore where it isn't shallow.  The mountains rise hundreds of feet above us so you can imagine the steep, shear cliff walls plunging down underwater into the depths.

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There was a group of several whales swimming with each other, various spouts of water every time they came up for air.    There must have been six or seven in close proximity.  Possibly some juvenile whales and their family on their first trip to Alaska.

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There are many types of whale watching boats.  This next one was similar to the size of boat I took last year. 

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I spotted several Royal Caribbean jackets from the logo shop on board Explorer on this particular boat.  It was likely another RC excursion.  

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With only a dozen on our small boat it made for better viewing oportinities and being smaller and more agile Captain Jen was able to quickly maneuver us for the best photo angles.

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The main takeaway from following your blogs and scopes so far....if we ever venture to Alaska (which Hubby says we will now after watching your scopes),

I'll be booking an inside cabin because 1) there are way too many hours of daylight there 2) need to use the money for excursions instead. 

But then the balcony would give awesome views....Hmmm...

Beautiful pics @twangster!

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55 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I'll be booking an inside cabin because 1) there are way too many hours of daylight there 2) need to use the money for excursions instead. 

But then the balcony would give awesome views....Hmmm...

Beautiful pics @twangster!

Out of all itineraries I've looked at and heard about on the podcasts, Alaska is just about the only one where I consistently hear that a balcony is all but mandatory. Yes, you can do an inside or even an ocean view and just take advantage of outside public spaces to see everything; but if those get crowded you'll be wanting the privacy of that balcony to take it all in.

That said, I think if the ship had a panoramic ocean view room available, I'd probably book one of those instead so I could enjoy the sweeping views without freezing my buns off when the weather turns colder, as it's wont to do. And then use the public spaces for less-crowded or warmer times of day.

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16 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

Out of all itineraries I've looked at and heard about on the podcasts, Alaska is just about the only one where I consistently hear that a balcony is all but mandatory.

Yes...I've heard the same....I just don't like the late, late sunset and the 3am sunrise!

I told Hubby this is in the 10 year plan, lol so perhaps by then I won't feel the need to sleep as much! ?

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25 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Yes...I've heard the same....I just don't like the late, late sunset and the 3am sunrise!

I told Hubby this is in the 10 year plan, lol so perhaps by then I won't feel the need to sleep as much! ?

I don't think I could live long enough to care about a 3AM sunrise! Although Alaska is on our bucket list.

1 hour ago, Skigoofy said:

Amazing pictures!

Thought my next cruise would be to the warm Caribbean.... I think it needs to be to Alaska instead. The eagles did it.

Bald and juvenile eagles can be seen from time to time over the Manasquan Reservoir in New Jersey. Let me know if that makes you want to come here and we will make you feel welcome!?? 

  @twangster --cannot say it enough...you are AWESOME!

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Day 3 - Juneau, continued

Part 2 - Mendenhall Glacier

Part two of our tour brings us to a hike in the forest to the Mendenhall Glacier.  You can drive closer but part of our Photo Safari included this 1 mile hike.

Southeast Alaska has is home to some rain forests and is very lush.

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Our first peak at the glacier comes just before reaching the official visitors center.

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There is another hike you can take to the waterfall but that wasn't part of our plan today.

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Here is the visitors center.

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From here it is a short walk down to the lake.

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There are plenty of wildflowers in this area just to attest to how lush this part of Alaska is.

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There are small nature walks you can take.

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Part of this is an elevated boardwalk where you can sometimes catch a bear eating Salmon when they are running later in the summer.  Here is the view of such a stream from the boardwalk.  No bears today but our guide pointed out evidence of recent bear activity.

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Back to the port area here is Radiance of the Seas up close.

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Compared to the earlier photos you can see how it is cleared up a bit.  It's hard to capture detail and sight of the mountains rising up above the ships.  You have to see it.

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Here is Radiance pulling out just before we do.

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Finally our turn we pulled and started following Radiance to Skagway tomorrow.  Here is the sunset at 10:30pm over Juneau as we sail South away.

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6 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Out of all itineraries I've looked at and heard about on the podcasts, Alaska is just about the only one where I consistently hear that a balcony is all but mandatory. Yes, you can do an inside or even an ocean view and just take advantage of outside public spaces to see everything; but if those get crowded you'll be wanting the privacy of that balcony to take it all in.

That said, I think if the ship had a panoramic ocean view room available, I'd probably book one of those instead so I could enjoy the sweeping views without freezing my buns off when the weather turns colder, as it's wont to do. And then use the public spaces for less-crowded or warmer times of day.

We had a panoramic ocean view 2 weeks ago. It was amazing! BB294E37-91B1-40F7-BF3D-A2BAB10BE3C7.thumb.jpeg.833c43bd789f0309eac1f7736d32f392.jpegF0CC3AEA-2D64-4895-8DD6-FBA33569DD2B.thumb.jpeg.65cbf962360c5dc068182469afe9be10.jpegDC911FAC-9D39-4225-B881-16D12F6EA85F.thumb.jpeg.262cfecd74ac823b6c47fdc97cb4a61a.jpeg

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Day 3  - Night

It's easy to forget when you are on an Alaskan cruise that RCI still does the regular cruise stuff.  Walking inside after taking pictures on deck 4 where it is still light outside after 10pm I decided to get a beer in the pub.  Suddenly it's The 70's Dance Party Night and I'm out of place in my outdoor multi-layer outfit.

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Meanwhile this is what I just came from outside on deck 4:

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Welcome to Alaskan cruising.

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