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


twangster

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On 6/23/2018 at 6:25 PM, 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. ??

Heck no!  I just made Platinum on my last cruise and I’ve been on two RCLB Group Cruises and never felt left out!

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Day 4 - Skagway

I'm going to break today down into a couple of post to keep it manageable. 

We start the day deep in a fjord with mountains on both sides.  It's almost 6:30am and I start making my way up to the Peak-a-boo bridge to see where we are. It's been daylight outside for a few hours now.

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The solarium as I pass through it going forward. 

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With a number of Caribbean cruises in the past it always strikes me when I see the ship so close to land and mountains.  So very different from sailing in the open ocean - in a good way.

There are occasional waterfalls such as this one on both sides.

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I think I mentioned previously we would be following Radiance of the Seas from Juneau to Skagway.  Upon reaching the forward looking Peak-a-boo bridge sure enough there was Radiance right where she should be.   She's beginning her turn into Skagway since we've reached the end of this inlet.

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We will be moored right beside Radiance which is likely why we followed her up here - so she could take the first position while we turn, back in and take up the pier immediately behind her.  The town of Skagway is laid out before us.

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With Explorer tied up at the pier, we are now facing back in the direction we came with fantastic views of the mountains around us.

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Day 4 - Skagway  ...continued

Our excursion today has two parts, "Gold Rush Dogs" and "Klondike Summit".  Looks like our timed departure went to the dogs... (first)

Our driver tells us because we are extra special we get an extra unscheduled stop at the Skagway overlook.  You can see much more than this but my eyes were drawn to the ships in port.  Radiance to left, Explorer to the right. 

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We have a very brief stop here before we re-board the bus and head back into town.  Our next stop is "Gold Rush Dogs".  Upon arrival they have a gal singing music for us as we wait for our tour to start.

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The area is set up with several buildings designed to resemble the old town as it may have been in the late 1800's during the gold rush.

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We watch a short video to introduce us to the concept of sled dog races and a brief history of the Iditarod, a famous Alaskan dog sled race.  Here we learned a good deal about long distance dog sled racing including that it's open and equal to both sexes.  In fact for many years women have won the race, sometimes for many consecutive races year after year. Our guide at this point is an up and coming dog sled racer who has competed for 17 years in shorter races but is in training for long distance races like the Iditarod at over 1,000 miles.

She explains the various features of a typical Iditarod sled and how they provision for the race over various stops.  For example, the little black booties hanging in the background are good for 60 - 80 miles before they wear out but with 16 dogs (64 paws) and 1,049 miles it takes over one thousand dog booties to complete the race.  They can't carry all those booties, plus food plus supplies so provisions are staged as set by race rules. 

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Our next guide has competed in many long distance races and he continues the education with the sled dogs free to greet us.

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They appear to be at first glance just like any common pet and they are in fact kept after they retire as part of the family.

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After speaking and educating us more, it was time for a demonstration.  Normally these dogs run in an ideal temperature of around -10° so their summer conditioning runs are kept short, it is after all nearly 60° today.  Harnessed to a sled the dogs are eager to get to work.  You can tell they love this.

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Off they go like a drag racing car pulling away in a race. 

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They explain that much of dog sled racing is understanding the dogs. The mix of males and females, how certain dogs interact, some who want to play with each other while racing, some who like to fight, some who are lead dogs and some who just want to follow.  The art of dog sled racing is very much about knowing your team and managing dog drama as it plays out one race to the next.

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Finally it was time for the promised highlight - puppies!

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Five puppies were available for everyone to hold.

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With our overdose of cuteness complete, it was time for this portion of the excursion to continue.

I have a much better understanding now of the background of what was once the primary mode of transportation in Alaska.  I very much enjoyed this stop at "Gold Rush Dogs".

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Day 4 - Skagway, continued...

Klondike Summit

Back on our bus we head out of town towards the summit of White Pass.

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Whatever my expectations might have been, this part of Alaska is very lush and green.  You can see a line mid-mountain that is the train tracks for the White Pass Railroad.  Part of this is also the trail that gold rush stampeders in 1897-98 would have taken dozens of times to provision the required 2,000 pounds of supplies to enter the Yukon (Canada) and proceed towards the Klondike.  The railroad came later opening in 1900.

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Our driver gives us a great history lesson as he takes us up towards the summit.  We eventually reach the border with Canada.  Passports are required for this excursion because we are leaving the US and entering Canada.  As borders between countries go, this one is pretty remote.

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Soon after crossing into the Canada's Yukon we pulled over for a photo opportunity with some incredible vistas.

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Our chariot awaiting, it's time to head back.

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The border from the other side heading back into Alaska and the U.S.  Much of Alaska is remote and serviced by ferry or plane so Skagway is somewhat unique in that you can drive there (through Canada) from the lower 48 on this road.

Arriving back into the US there is welcome sign to greet us.

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Another excursion that has peaked my interest involves being driven to the summit (or taking the train one way) then riding bicycles down into Skagway.  We came across this excursion as we drove back down.  I just might have to try this one time despite our bus driver referring to them as bear food.

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Finally it was time to stop at US Customs since we had technically departed the country ever so briefly.

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Day 4 - Skagway, continued...

Excursion complete and back in time for a beer and Windjammer lunch, we still had over six hours before "back on board" so we walked to town.

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The National Park Service owns much of this and between them and the town they've done a great job making it very easy and inviting to walk or you can take a $2 (each way) shuttle into town ($5 all day pass).

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The "A.B." building for the Arctic Brotherhood with something like 9,000 pieces of driftwood on it's face.

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Time to clear the tracks!  The size of this train snow plow should give you the idea of the winter conditions in the area.

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Skagway is rich in history but much of the population originally lived in tents during the gold rush.  The park service later moved some of these buildings from more remote locations into the main 'downtown' area.

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Walking back to the ship we meet Radiance one again.

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Finally back to Explorer.

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I love the one pic with The Brass Pic -- "House of Negotiable Affection"! What a euphemism! ?

If that picture of the bike ride you posted is at all representative of the overall experience -- DON'T DO IT!! That looks scarily like like the one I did on Maui from the summit of Mount Haleakala back down to sea level. See those little guard rails between the side of the road and the cliffs? Sure, the bike will be protected if you lose control, but if the ride requires the same kind of minimum speed going down that we had to maintain on the Maui ride, you'll be vaulted right over in any kind of collision! "Bear food" indeed! ?

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PSA for @Matt all my American friends.....Contrary to myths, legends, and popular beliefs, THIS IS NOT WHAT ALL OF CANADA LOOKS LIKE! ...

Hubby said there are usually way more igloos!

Sincerely, 

Stubborn Canadian Scorpio ?

4 hours ago, twangster said:

 

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Soon after crossing into the Canada's Yukon we pulled over for a photo opportunity with some incredible vistas.

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Day 4 - Skagway Departure

All aboard at 8 pm which makes for 12 1/2 hours in port.  Not bad.  On board the usual activities like rock climbing, mini golf, ping pong and even flowriding was taking place.

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We pulled out first leaving Radiance to follow us down the inlet towards our respective next ports of call.

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It was very windy with the narrow inlet acting like a wind tunnel but that didn't stop several of us from enjoying the breath taking scenery.

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It doesn't look like much in these pictures bit with the scenery slowly moving past and ever changing it's quite an experience you have to experience to understand.

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From the aft where it was much less windy.

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Once we left the Northern part of the inlet where it is more narrow the winds settled down and with sunset approaching there was some magnificent scenery unfolding.  As we sailed South I saw many glaciers in the distance including this hanging glacier as I sat in the Schooner Bar having a drink. 

9:37pm

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With that spotted it was time to head up, grab my good camera and venture outside on deck 12. 

11pm

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The sun had set officially around 10pm but it hung around just over the horizon for a while creating a dramatic sky.

11:01pm

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As we continued the angle of the sun caused it to fill this gap between peaks with orange light that made it look like lava filling the valley between mountains.

11:07pm

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The "lava flow" effect was getting bigger, or maybe the Kraken lava flows were catching up to me.

11:10pm

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The effect lasted a few more minutes before disappearing illustrating how sometimes you just need to be lucky and in the right place at the right time.  Despite being well past 'sunset' there was still a lot of light in the sky.

11:22pm

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11:24pm

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11:30pm

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11:41pm

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12:11am

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With that it was time for bed.  The glacier arrival was scheduled for 7am so I needed to get to bed.

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I set my alarm for 6am so I could grab a bite before our arrival at the glacier.  I found the ship deep within Endicott Arm slowly making our way towards the glacier.

It was raining and cold but despite the weather it was breathtaking.  Large chucks of ice floating past confirmed we were on the right path. 

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I tried the Peak-a-boo bridge area first but didn't like having the structure of the ship in my shots so I relocated to the helipad.

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Here I got the first hints at the Dawes glacier.  It was raining a good bit and my routine included wiping my lens dry, pointing the camera down to keep the rain off the lens before lifting it quickly to take some photos before repeating the cycle.  I had several layers on with my rain coat over them and gloves on.  With all that it was quite pleasant.

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Waterfalls frequently appeared on both sides of the ship. 

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We inched closer crawling slowly up Endicott Arm.

The sun was trying to break through.  It was just 7:45am so the sun hadn't been able to get very high in the sky or burn off any of the low ceiling hanging above us.

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From my spot on the bow I could see many small pieces of ice floating all around us.  Small is a relative word, they were still pretty big, more than you could stuff into a beer cooler.

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A senior officer joined us on the helipad and they began setting up a tent with hot chocolate and other drinks for purchase (Bloody Mary's, Mulled wine, etc).  I think that is the Staff Captain who began singing 'Auld Lang Syne'.  Just kidding, no singing, only an informative talk about the glacier.  Where we were at 6am this morning is where the glacier was 100 years ago. 

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Small trees are just beginning to grown in this section.  As the glacier retreats eventually moss and other early vegetation begins to grow.  After several life cycles of that a soil begins to form which is enough to support bigger vegetation which eventually leads to full sized trees decades after the glacier has receded.

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Having had that pointed out as we moved closer to the glacier you could see the difference in the vegetation.  Contrast this to the first picture in this post where you can see medium sized trees.

Finally we were close enough to the glacier where the rain wasn't spoiling the photos as much and you could clearly see the face of the glacier which is several hundred feet high.  Most of that is underwater and there is plenty of water below the ship so no worries about hitting anything, it's literally several hundred feet deep.

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Photo intensive post coming up. 

As much as I try by dumping picture after picture into this blog there are no words or mere photos that can adequately capture the beauty and how you feel when experiencing Alaska live.  This will serve as my feeble attempt because it was a pretty incredible morning.  Just understand these photos don't do it justice. 

I had a prime spot at the very front of the bow as we approached Dawes glacier.  I hardly noticed the rain.

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But it was time to let someone else have a turn.  Sharing is caring.  I made my way through the crowd and grabbed a shot of the glacier including my new best friends.

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I went back under the cover of deck 4 to get out of the rain so I could change to a different lens.

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There were more 'growlers' as the senior officer on the helipad called them when the chucks of ice (glacier) are a certain size.

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The blue color comes from hundreds of feet of ice compressing and squeezing the oxygen out of the ice.

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With the sun now coming and going it dramatically changed the colors of the glacier, growlers and cliff walls of Endicott Arm.  Here two different arms of this glacier meet.  Where the glacier has been rubbing down the wall of the rock face it grinds off pieces of rock that form the dark strips that can be seen on top of the glacier.

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Everywhere I turned there was something that caught my eye.

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We had reached our closest approach to the glacier at approximately 1 mile.  From here the Captain began to slowly turn the ship in a clockwise circle.  There isn't a bad spot to be, except maybe in the casino, the pub or a restroom.

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From here I ventured up to deck 12.

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A polar bear had emerged on the ship roaming around with the ship photographers.

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With the first 90° of a turn complete the ship was sideways across Endicott Arm and the views in direction we had come from was pretty impressive.

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As impressive as the glacier may be, I was equally impressed with the cliff faces of the rock walls of Endicott Arm surrounding the ship.  It was truly awe inspiring. 

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The deck 12 sun deck above the Sky Bar was a popular spot for a quick selfie.

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With that it was time to leave.  We began our departure back down into Endicott Arm.

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See, these photos and the clear awe being expressed are why I believe you have to see Alaska on a Radiance ship, Voyager class at the largest, because only those smaller ships can actually get to all these places. Can Ovation even go to this spot? If she can, can she get anywhere near as close without hitting the cliffs on either side while turning? And get you get nearly as much time with a good view when you'll be fighting with twice as many passengers to see it all?

Sure, Ovation is a cold-weather ship and has a lot more to offer on board, but when the goal is seeing all of that stuff not on the ship, I don't know if the potential trade-offs in the final experience are worth it.

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5 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

See, these photos and the clear awe being expressed are why I believe you have to see Alaska on a Radiance ship, Voyager class at the largest, because only those smaller ships can actually get to all these places. Can Ovation even go to this spot? If she can, can she get anywhere near as close without hitting the cliffs on either side while turning? And get you get nearly as much time with a good view when you'll be fighting with twice as many passengers to see it all?

Sure, Ovation is a cold-weather ship and has a lot more to offer on board, but when the goal is seeing all of that stuff not on the ship, I don't know if the potential trade-offs in the final experience are worth it.

For me helipad access is high on the list.  I suspect Ovation will do just fine.  Imagine North Star in Endicott Arm.  I wonder if they will sell tickets for that experience.

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Back in Stephen's Passage it was time for the Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise Photo!

Of course it was... raining.

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Fortunately it didn't last long and we were able to get some of the group who ventured out for the photo.  For some reason Matt asked me to take the photo.

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This is the point we drop off our pilot, at the same place we picked him up a few days ago.

Still no chair hogs.

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Here is our route so far:

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I'm writing this from the Viking Crown Lounge on day 6 but I've been distracted.  There have been dozens of whales passing on both sides.  An Orca just did a big jump right beside the ship creating a massive splash when it landed.  Just Wow.

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Day 6 - Sea Day

As we make our way down to Victoria we enjoy a typical sea day.

Studio B has been reserved for the Royal Caribbean Blog group cruise at 10am for an hour. 

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Matt was a trooper, out there for the bulk of it.  I ventured out after scoping and taking some pictures.  They didn't have my skate size so I ended in a skate just a tad bit small.  It worked but my shins were killing me.

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I've been hanging out in the Viking Crown Lounge on this whale watching excursion.  I just saw this awesome Orca to starboard.  It was swimming just under the surface yet I could see it's whole body.  Just Wow.

The pool deck is operating in normal mode, pools open (and heated), bars open, joggers jogging, hot tubs being enjoyed.  I'm sitting right above the outdoor TV screen so I've got the eyes of many on deck 11 staring straight at me. 

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Very flat seas today, it hardly feels like we are moving.

I could take this same picture on a sea day for any Caribbean cruise and it would be mostly the same - minus the whales. 

An amazing sea day plus I'm all caught up on this blog.  Phew.  Time for a Kraken and something.  (ok, maybe another one...)

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