3 Hikes

Over the last couple of weeks I have gone on a few hikes in different areas Skagway, and Juneau.

The first was in Skagway and went to the waterfall. The waterfall is man made to provide the water supply to the city.

The first 30 min of the hike is a steep uphill, which finally reaches the lake area which comes from the overflow of the waterfall.

After the lake we followed a pipe that led to the waterfall.

The waterfall had a small access platform that you could stand on and look down to the bottom of the falls, and there was another area you could get a good view, but it was sketchy because there wasn't much between you and the cliffs.

The walk back was much easier as it was all downhill.

After we got back we went to Glacial Smoothies, because as we all know, if you put glacial in front of your name it makes it way better.

Tracy Arm Fjord

Our ship goes into the Tracy Arm Fjord early in the morning on the day we go to Juneau.

This day we had very good weather, very sunny, so the pictures came out nice.





On the way towards the glacier that is at the end of the fjord, there are many large icebergs that the ship needs to dodge around.

Depending on the time and amount of ice in the area we can only get so close before we have to turn around and head for Juneau.

Seattle Space Needle

Last time in Seattle I went and did some of the touristy stuff in Seattle.

First we went to the Space Needle, which was built for the world's fair a while ago.

Riding the Monorail, back into downtown.

The view from my window as we sailed away.

White Pass Railway

Pictures from the White Pass Railway tour.

This railway goes through the mountains into the Yukon Teritory, and was built to replace the old trail that was used by the early people who travled to the Klondike during the gold rush.

Riding the Lifeboats

Today we had a lifeboat drill.

Not like the regular boat drills we have, this time we had to actually get into the lifeboat.

It was interesting in the sense that I have never had to do this.

We loaded in from deck 1 and then went for a short ride around the harbour. My view wasn't very good as the lifeboats have a upper and lower seating area, and I was below. But this was a better spot as it was protected from the cold Skagway winds.

One thing that I have wondered about is that these lifeboats are supposed to fit 150 people. We didn't have all 150 people that are assigned to the boat today as some had to work, but we still had most of them, and it was a very tight fit.
But for the same size lifeboat for the guests I wonder if they will really be able to fit 150 "american" sized guests.

One thing I know for sure is that we wont be able to fit them along with their walkers, wheelchairs, and scooters.

Week with the parents

Last weeks cruise my parents came to cruise with me.

It was cool to have them on board to see what I do on the ship and to share some of the things I see while working on a cruise ship.

The weather we had was the best it could have been, no rain, and mostly sunny every day.

We went to all of the restaurants on the ship, finishing with the specialty restaurant. Which is always a amazing meal.

We also went on a tour in Skagway, on the White Pass Railway which was the path to the Klondike region of the Yukon. More on that to follow.

It was great to have my parents on the cruise and it was at the best time, as it rained both days since they left.

Biking to the Alaskan Brewery

The Alaskan Brewery is located in Juneau, a short way out of town.

A friend an I used bikes from the ship and planned to head to the brewery shortly after lunch.

But after seeing the state of the ships bikes we had to do some repairing to get the bikes functional. Including pumping up the long flat tires, and fixing the seats.

Once we got under way all we had to do was figure out exactly where the place was.

We did find it with only a small detour the wrong way, some signs to help would have been useful.

The Alaskan Brewery makes many different types of beer, Alaskan Amber being the most popular and the first they made.

We were able to sample all 10 types they had available that day.
Different types are made all throughout the year, and employees of the company can try their

hand at making their own brew, and if it is popular in the tastings it may be made for sale.

We arrived at around 4:30 with the place closing at 6pm so we had a a fair amount of time to spend at the brewery, but it was a good time to arrive as it was after the large groups of cruise tours were gone.

The ride their and back was nice in itself, with views of the mountains and waterline, and we saw a few eagles on the way as well.

I will be going back again this summer for more fun at the Brewery.

Half way through.

Well here we are again.

Its been 3 months since I signed on to this current ship. So just another 3 months to go until I go home.

Which is good because after a long contract of sailing around the world and going to amazing places, I really can use a nice relaxing vacation.

Deadliest Catch

The Deadliest Catch is a TV show on the discovery channel, that follows the Alaskan king crab fisherman in the Bering sea.

I have watched it in the past, and I had a chance to go on a tour on one of the ships from the second season of the show. The ship was called the Aleutian Ballad.


The ship was converted a few years back so it could take passengers out to sea and give them an idea of how things are done on a ship.

A view from the wheelhouse.

The crab pots full with tasty king crab. The operators of the tour have a catch and release deal with a local native tribe, because in normal Alaskan waters you cant catch any crab except in a very controlled season.

We were able to touch and hold the crab that were brought up from the sea.

And take funny pictures.

One of the best parts of the tour that I didn't expect was the eagles. The tour operators are allowed to feed the eagles, something that other tours in Alaskan waters can't do.


This was really cool. There were over 2 dozen eagles all flying mere feet from the ship and grabbing the fish. I got some awesome pictures and videos.


I had never seen so many eagles in one place before.

And it was really cool to see them do their swoop and grab from the water thing.

We were also able to see some of the other things that are caught from the waters, like prawns, other types of crab, and even octopus.

The people who ran the tour were really great and overall it was one of the best tours I have ever done.

Hubbard Glacier

The Hubbard Glacier is another of the places we only went to the one time.



It was interesting to watch our ship sail in through the icebergs.

And when we got closer they were all around us.

We got fairly close to the glacier. We were able to see large chunks of ice fall off the end into the water, but you had to be lucky to catch them with the camera, because you would see the splash before you hear the sound.

Icy Strait Point, and the Worlds longest zipline

We only stop the one time in Icy Strait Point. which is a very small town, but very nice and there is lots of wildlife to see in the area.

Including large ravens that were eager to steal some of the fries from my fish and chips, but weren't as daring as some crows or other birds you see in cities.



We also saw plenty of eagles




And even a few whales.

But the main attraction in the town was the worlds longest zipline. Which is over 5,300 feet long. I was lucky enough to get on one of the first tours going down the zipline that day

On the ride down there are great views of the surrounding areas, including our ship at the bottom of the mountain, and you can reach speeds of up to 60mph. I took a video of the first half then switched to pictures.

It was a exciting ride down, and even being the longest in the world it was over in just under 90 seconds.


After the zipline, and then lunch we walked down the path into town and came across a really small bar, that was pointed out on the ride up the mountain, which was apparently put in a travel magazine as the friendliest in America. It was called the Office Bar.

Wile there wasn't much to see inside it did turn out to be run by very friendly people, and as crew they gave us our first drink free.

They also gave us a good deal on the beer glasses with the logo on it that we used, which made a good souvenir.

First few days in Alaksa

Our first stop was in Ketchikan, where we went for burgers at a small shack that is said to have one of the best burgers in Alaska, and because it was closed on Sundays which is the day we would be in the town every other time this was our only chance.

The burger did live up to my expectations and so did the fries and milkshake.

We were also lucky this first day as Ketchikan is supposed to be one of the wettest places in North America but it was nice and sunny this day.

Our second day was in Juneau which is the capital of Alaska.

We went to another small place to eat that also has a reputation of great food.

This one was Tracy's Crab Shack.

I ordered the #1 combo: Small crab bisque, 3 crab cakes, and 1 huge king crab leg.

All of it was very tasty and I know I will be going back many times this summer.

Our last of the 3 towns we will be going to this summer is Skagway, which is the smallest of the 3 towns. Its basically a one street town.

This town is known for the White Pass Railway, which is a steep climb up the mountain, and heads into the Yukon. And was built during the Klondike gold rush.

I didn't go on the train tour this time but I will soon.