Viking Invades Alaska!

[Pushka]

Lying back on a lounge overlooking the ocean. Currently 1.30pm. Glass of wine. Killer whale and humpback whale just passed by. This is Alaska. Our first killer whale sighting.

 

[Pushka]

Mr P thinks he’s taken a photo of a Polar Bear. I’ve told him he needs to go to Specsavers.



He did however get this one.

 

[Justcruizing]

We have had a snaffu with boarding tomorrow. I’d worked out months ago that there was no allocated Berth for Viking tomorrow as there were too many ships in that day. Viking assured everyone they had it under control.

So it came as no surprise that 2 weeks ago Viking advised everyone of the embarkation issue. Viking will be at tender all day although it will Berth at 3am this morning then return to tender at 6am.

Viking advertises we can board at 11am and suites can access their cabins at 12 am and so on.

Because we have to exit Canada and then ‘enter’ USA as we board the ship, US immigration have told Viking they will not permit us to tender to get on the ship as that means we cross back into Canada to use the tender boat. Sigh.

So, Viking have organised a convention center hall for us to wait from 12noon until at least 4.30pm at which time the whole ship will go through immigration. We are supposed to depart at 5pm but it will be at least 9pm now. 900 passengers will board at the same time having gone through US immigration together, then want a meal, wait to get luggage, have muster drill and only then can we get going.

Not impressed. We will see how this all pans out tomorrow. Sunday, our time.

Not what you spend big bucks for with Viking!

 

[Justcruizing]

Ye Ha. Still waiting.

Just did FlyOverCanada which was fantastic.

We enjoyed it too while we were there this time last year.

 

[Justcruizing]

The first thing you see is the blow, then the noise, wait, then it’s back. If you are lucky it flutes the tail. We saw so many. Mum and baby, and two other adults.
Last two.

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You have been so lucky with the weather and also the wild life sightings. I don't want to think how much we spent on the whale sightseeing trips and didn't see nearly as many whales as this! Enjoying your blog very much.

 

[RooFlyer]

Mr P thinks he’s taken a photo of a Polar Bear. I’ve told him he needs to go to Specsavers.

You are right. Its a moose.

 

[Pushka]

Well, today was a birthday and wedding anniversary. We are in Valdez. We woke up to this.



A corker despite the weather forecast of rain.

We had a breakfast outside on the verandah with a stunning view then had booked a ship excursion to Kayak amongst the icebergs. We brought almost every warm item we had. But it was sunny and no breeze. We should not have worried. We were outfitted perfectly with wet gear, boots, marine dry bags, and life jackets. A crew member who was just gorgeous and from the UK accompanied us. We also had a great guide - told us his name was Bagel and he was maybe high twenties and just excellent.

The first group.



Soon we were kayaking amongst these.











Christina was the Viking host; she’s been on the ship since November and loves Aussies and she’s had a lot of them as she has completed Orion’s season in Australia then up through Asia into Alaska. She disembarks when we do; has 2 months break then has her next contract on Orion. She was perfectly made up - as she has permanent makeup. And she was delightful. She’s sharing her ride with Bagel, the leader so they were always in front.



She’s taking pictures of us and will share them later.

 

[Pushka]

MrP has some stunning ones which I’ll load up later.

The icebergs were a mixture of that gorgeous blue, and medial, lateral and terminal moraine. We remembered our uni Geography studies.





















The Glacier itself has been blocked from the icefields that feed it but this is not caused by climate change.

 

[tgh]

Congratulations on your birthday and also on the Matrimonial survival milestone
Hope you both had a fantastic day

 

[Pushka]

There is nothing supporting the left side of this arch and at any time this berg will separate from the right. We were told to keep away from it as it would swamp our kayaks but a canoe guy took his tourist canoe right through it.

 

[Pushka]

It was one of the best excursions we have ever done.

 

[Pushka]

We then walked back into Valdez and checked out a tourist shop we’d been told about. The place is packed with original Indian one off artefacts plus souvenir stuff. It was so quaint. They also have an authentic original American outfit for sale that is $150,000 USD, plus many ancient artefacts. I was allowed to take photos but they do not let people from certain countries take photos as they know there will be copies made of their work.

 

[Pushka]

Drive through ATM.



Now this is a fishing net.

 

[Pushka]

Congratulations on your birthday and also on the Matrimonial survival milestone
Hope you both had a fantastic day

It was magical this morning. Our breakfast.



We returned to our cabin around 2pm. Nice work Viking.
Anniversary and birthday.








It’s 4.30pm and snack bar Mamsens just opened. Oh my.

 

[Denali]

Happy Anniversary!

 

[VPS]

Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary. Stunning photos - I loved my Alaska cruise and brings back some great memories.

 

[ellen10]

Happy Anniversary and Birthday.
Your kayaking adventure looked fabulous and a beautiful way to celebrate those special milestones.

 

[Deno]

Great photos. Looked like an awesome time. Did you mention earlier that you got TSA pre check ?

 

[Justcruizing]

Love your photos and the weather looks to be pretty good for this time of year.

We didn't visit Valdez last year. Instead we did 2 one way cruises - Vancouver to Whitter on Coral Princess and Seward back to Vancouver on Celebrity Millennium. This way we saw Glacier Bay, College Fjord & Hubbard Glacier and most ports twice. It was a bucket list item for me and it lived up to expectations. I hope we will return one day. In the meantime, there are your photos....

 

[tinkybelle]

Hopefully Ill be on Seabournin August cant wait after seeing those pics!