Once the Mariner docked at Whittier (I have to confirm that as the guide books point out, there is absolutely nothing there), we took the Grandview Train into Anchorage (these tickets need to be purchased from the Mariner Tour Office or as a pre ordered excursion; this latter choice is preferable as apparently it sells out). It is a very relaxing and scenic way to come into Anchorage…you get to see a lot of country side coming in and the conductor provides narration of points of interest. No bears sighted, unfortunately, but definitely another sighting of a majestic Bald Eagle in [View Full Entry]

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Arrival into the highlight of the cruise happens mid morning, and this time around we had to wait for a Celebrity Ship to exit the area before proceeding. Radisson picks up two local Tglingits to assist Terry with the narration and actually perform a small ceremony in honor of the glacier. The staggering size and sheer mass of the glacier is almost undescribable. In the daylight we had (it was partly cloudy) certain parts it looked like Oz to me (it glittered a particular way when the faint sunlight hit it), or a very stylized ice version of Manhattan (the tall [View Full Entry]

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For our stop in Sitka, we decided to do what is one of the most reasonably priced tour in the entire Alaska catalog, the City Tour. Personally speaking, the city tour is worth the price of admission; in fact you get to see a lot and one would feel that another hour would be very well used. The City Tour (conducted on a School Bus) includes the Raptor Center, a stop at the National Park, a performance of the New Archangel Russian Dancers and at the Orthodox Church. I felt that I could spend another hour at the raptor center alone….it [View Full Entry]

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Skagway is the most charming of all the cities, the little boomtown that could still manages to stay alive, 150 or so years later. Period buildings are still up, board sidewalks, with the classic frontier look. Unfortunately as it is with most ports on Alaska, it is over run with the ubiquitous “shops” that “cater” to the cruisers. Frankly, the store I found the most interesting was the shop that catered to the ships crews…if you ever wonder what sort of things would make them “feel at home” just stop in and have a lot…it is categorized by r [View Full Entry]

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Under cloudy skies and gliding in on tranquil waters, the Mariner made its way into Tracy Arm. The thing that you notice right away are the dramatic fjords and the stillness of the milk green waters. The exposed granite is stark, and the bits of landscape is very lush and green, occasionally broken up by a waterfall and the crackling of a piece of ice in the water. Of course, one of the big attractions here is the sighting of the glaciers. Even if you are a glacier neophytes, you quickly come to discern the difference between a regular snowmass and [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Juneau short of the noon hour. The weather in Juneau is what we had expected, which was dark, and wet. There was a lot of mega ship activity in this port as well, namely by Celebrity and Princess. Our big excursion here was the outing with Captain Larry, from Orca Enterprises. We crossed the street into the two story strip mall that faced the docks and checked into the Orca Enterprises locale. Our group was small but all eager to go whale watching. Once all passengers had assembled, we were taken to the parking lot across the street [View Full Entry]

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Our second day of cruising and our first port of call was Ketchikan, Alaska. Ketchikan is billed as the rainest city in the U.S. and I was expecting misty weather, but you wouldn’t know that was the case when we docked in the morning and it was clear blue skies! Even the locals admitted amazement and were clearly happy to have this rare break in their usual weather. Ketichikan is one busy port, however…there was a bit of traffic jam, 5 other ships, all mega liners, were coming in that day as well (Holland America had THREE ships come through while [View Full Entry]

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Once the ship sails out of Vancouver, it makes its way up the Inner Passage. As one leaves Vancouver and its environs, all one can see and admire are miles upon miles of pristine wilderness and coastlines…at times I felt as if I was a 17th century explorer on the prow of the ship, looking upon these new lands for the first time. The good weather followed us up through the inner passage, making it a very enjoyable day at sea. RSSC had Terry Breen onboard, and she is a definite asset to the RSSC cruise experience. She is very personable [View Full Entry]

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The following chronicles our Alaksa Northbound cruise on the m/s RSSC Mariner. Hence, a lot of RSSC Mariner references are made in the course of the narration. We decided to fly up one day ahead of sail away, in order to explore Vancouver, B.C. a bit. Our Air Canada flight was uneventful and we had clear weather all the way up. Upon arrival, I was duly impressed with the Vancouver International Airport facilities…our gate was at the far end of the terminal and in order to get through customs we had to walk through an exhibit that mimicked the local [View Full Entry]

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