The travelers<\/p><\/div>\n We spent the night in Vancouver and had an easy 15-minute walk to the ship the next day.\u00a0 It was a pleasant day, as it turned out one of the few days of our trip where rain was not a factor. \u00a0On board, we spend those first several hours exploring our magnificent ship, the Majestic Princess<\/strong>, with a capacity of 3,560 passengers.\u00a0 Alaska is often referred to as the \u201cLand of the Midnight Sun\u201d<\/strong> because it can get up to 22 hours of sunlight a day, however, as we were to learn, sometimes it gets no sun at all \u2013 like our first full day at sea \u2013 we got liquid sunshine, the kind for which this part of the world is known.\u00a0 I\u2019ve attached a photo from our first full day at sea that shows the visibility from our balcony \u2013 about 100 yards.\u00a0 But we weren\u2019t worried . . . yet; we had seven days on board and another three day of land tours, so we figured the clouds, fog and rain would eventually move along and we\u2019d be able to take in those amazing views that matched all the photos in the brochure. \u00a0And besides, we had a whole ship to explore.<\/p>\n So, while sailing to our first stop, Ketchikan<\/strong>, we found lots of things to do, lots of shows, lots of interesting lectures, lots of games, both in the casino and out, and fortunately, lots of bars to ensure we got our money\u2019s worth on our \u2018unlimited drink package\u2019 \u2013 a perk we thought we\u2019d be denied based on our predilection for alcohol consumption on previous cruises!<\/p>\n Chamber of Commerce photo of Ketchikan<\/p><\/div>\n Ketchikan the day we arrived<\/p><\/div>\n We woke up on Sunday morning docked in Ketchikan, a town of 13,000 that can only be reached by sea or air, no roads coming in or out.\u00a0 We schedule a morning tour of the city, which was quite interesting.\u00a0 Our guide was a young lady who was a native Alaskan of the Tlingit tribe<\/strong>, she was born and raised in Ketchikan and did a great job of walking us through the small downtown area and explaining everything we saw from the totem poles to the brothels.\u00a0 After our walk we stopped and had a beer at a local pub on the water and ran into the lead female singer from the show we saw on the boat the previous night.\u00a0 She sat and had a couple of beers with us and was most delightful.\u00a0 A mid-afternoon departure dictated that we get back on board early, so back on board we went and embarked for Juneau<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Juneau Chamber of Commerce photo<\/p><\/div>\n Juneau the day we arrived<\/p><\/div>\n ‘Geared up’ for the Mendenhall float trip<\/p><\/div>\n We woke up Tuesday morning as we cruised into downtown Juneau.\u00a0 We did a quick walk through town, to make sure we could locate the famous \u2018Red Dog Saloon\u2019<\/strong> for a cold one after our day at Mendenhall Glacier.\u00a0 We signed up for the Mendenhall Glacier float trip<\/strong> \u2013 assuming that we were going to \u2018float\u2019 up to, or at least in the vicinity of, Mendenhall Glacier.\u00a0 Not so fast, we did, indeed, see Mendenhall Glacier across Mendenhall Lake, but we were then told to \u2018gear up\u2019 and get in our raft.\u00a0 \u2018Gearing up\u2019 included putting on rain pants, rain boots, rain jacket, life preserver and getting in a rubber raft for 12 and float on Mendenhall Lake, AWAY from the Mendenhall Glacier to Mendenhall River and shoot the rapid (more of a float than a shoot) taking us further away from the Mendenhall Glacier.\u00a0 The float trip lasted for 15 hours . . . or so it seemed, while we froze our Mendenhall\u2019s off.\u00a0 Travel tip: Don\u2019t do the Mendenhall Glacier Float trip.<\/p>\n When we were mercifully finished, we went back into town and hit the \u2018Red Dog Saloon\u2019 and the \u2018Lucky Lady\u2019 Irish Pub, trying to wash the taste of that float ride from our minds.\u00a0 Thankfully we find that a few cocktails have us laughing at our river rafting experience.\u00a0 The only mediocre show in the ship\u2019s theater we\u2019ve seen, caps off our day to forget.<\/p>\n Next time: Part 2 \u2013 And the Hits Just Keep on Coming!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow Part 1 \u2013 Nowadays Getting There is Not Half the Fun! At a time when Covid is still dictating travel protocols, we chose to further complicate our cruise to Alaska by picking up our ship in Vancouver, … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/North-to-Alaska-300x148.jpg\")
<\/a> At a time when Covid is still dictating travel protocols, we chose to further complicate our cruise to Alaska by picking up our ship in Vancouver, Canada<\/strong>; thus making us enter a foreign country in order to get on a ship to sail to the United States!\u00a0 So, we ran the risk of not only having to be Covid-free to enter Canada and Covid-free to re-enter the United States, but having to be Covid-free to get on board the ship.\u00a0 Fortunately, the four of us, Bob & Jeannie Pacelli and Linda and I, studied diligently and passed all our requisite tests.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Vancouver-1-300x212.jpg\")
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