We have completed the northern portion of our journey. We have visited the Shetland Islands (adorable ponies!), then headed up to Iceland for visits to Reykjavik and Akureyri, and then headed back to the Orkney Islands of Scotland. We will be in the Scottish Highlands tomorrow! Click on the links below for reviews of each port!
Ya, sure, you betcha, we are in Norway! My grandmother was Norwegian; I have many fond memories growing up of making lefse, krumkake and fattigman. . .even more fond memories of eating the goodies! She never did manage to get any of us to eat lutefisk, however. I am looking forward to visiting the land of my ancestors.
Here are the links to my musings on our first two ports:
We’re off on another adventure! Yes, we are cruising again, but we will also be doing a train trip at the end of our back-to-back cruises. Our first stop is London and then on to Southampton to catch a 15-day cruise to Norway and Iceland which then loops back to Scotland and England. We then start an 8-day cruise to Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Rotterdam. We will disembark in Southampton and begin our train journey around England and Scotland.
Our flight on British Airways was completely uneventful; just the way we like it! We were both able to sleep for a few hours on the 9 hour flight. We landed at 12:30 pm GMT, which is 8 hours off of our normal PST. In other words, 4:30 am, Seattle time. We have found that the best way to adapt to a new time zone is to just “gut it out” and immediately adopt the new time schedule.
We had decided to stay near London Heathrow rather than staying in Southampton or staying in London. Why? We have been to London before and will be visiting it again later in our journey, so no reason to pay London prices for a hotel when in all likelihood, we would be too exhausted to do much sightseeing anyhow. We debated whether or not to spend the night in Southampton but decided not to. We will be spending a day in Southampton between the two cruises and so can do our sightseeing then. The bottom line was that we knew we would be tired when we got to London Heathrow and so it was easiest to just stay near the airport and find our way to the port after (hopefully) getting a good night’s sleep!
Going through immigration was a bit of a wait. They have separate sections for EU and non-EU passport holders. Most of their staff was assigned to the EU section so the rest of us had a long wait because there were only 3 agents. Eventually, the EU line went down and some of the staff was shifted to the non-EU side. After that, the line started to move and we were able to move on to customs. There are separate areas for those with items to declare and those that don’t. I guess the English are very trusting; the non-declare section was completely unstaffed!
Our next adventure was getting from the airport to the hotel. According to www.LondonToolkit.com, hotels are not allowed to run airport shuttles. So, there are several options to choose from to get to your hotel. Of course, you can always take a taxi. Though the hotel is literally across the street from the airport, it would cost about $20 to take a cab. I am cheap by nature, so taking a cab was our backup rather than our first choice. National Express runs a Hotel Hoppa bus for 5 £ per person, which is pretty economical. Most economical of all though are the city buses which are free from the airport to any of the surrounding airport hotels. Cool! Guess which option we chose?
Heathrow signage is excellent so we were quickly able to find where the buses were located and found which bus stop to wait at (there are over 30…). The bus we needed was already at the bus stop so we had no wait. The bus dropped us off about a block from our hotel. If you have read my previous blog posts, you know that my husband and I travel light – a carry-on sized bag and backpack each is all we bring, no matter how long the trip. This really pays off when you use public transportation. If we had brought full-sized suitcases, we would definitely have needed to take a cab. We stayed at the Radisson Blu Heathrow and would recommend it wholeheartedly. We were upgraded to a nicer room by the front desk agent, which was a nice added bonus. There are not many restaurants near the hotel but there was a McDonalds so we headed there for lunch. What can you say about a McDonald’s lunch? At least you know what you will be getting, although we have found that the menu can vary depending on which part of the world you are. The U.K. McDonalds still have McWraps; the Mickey D’s at home do not, so I treated myself to a Garlic-Mayo Wrap and a Toffee Latte. Clayton had his usual basic hamburgers and coffee. We really needed the caffeine!
Though the plan was to stay up until our usual bedtime, Clayton only made it until 6 pm; I made it until 7. Exhaustion caught up to us both; I slept in until after 6 am! We had a full English breakfast at the hotel and then caught the hotel hoppa bus back to Heathrow. We had debated on whether to take the train to the port, or take a bus. In order to take the train we would’ve had to take the tube (or train) in to Central London and then transfer to another train to get to Southampton. Instead, we chose to take the National Express bus. The hoppa bus to Heathrow was part of the ticket cost, or we would’ve just taken public transportation back to the airport to catch the bus to the port.
We found our bus stop and had about an hour to wait. When it arrived, the bus was quite full. As a matter of fact, three poor souls were not allowed to board because there were no seats for them. I believe they were also going to take a cruise because they had cruise tags on their suitcases. I profoundly hope that they made their ship! I am not sure what the problem was with the ticketing system that allowed them to sell more tickets than there were seats on the bus. Anyhow, it turns out that it a train may have been a better option. There were 5 ships in port and there was also a football (aka soccer) game. The local team was playing and many a Londoner apparently decided to head to Southampton for the match. The traffic was absolutely horrendous. I kept myself entertained by looking at the signage along the road. It’s funny how our languages are so different. I was curious what a pollution control valve was. You turn the valve and pollution diminishes? When you passed the sign that said, “End of highway regulations”, could you just drive however you wanted? I personally wanted to take advantage of, “Free Recovery, Await Rescue”. And, I was very curious what the brightly painted “Gentleman’s Jolly” car was for!
We ended up getting to the coach station over a half-hour late. It really wasn’t that awful, but it was lunch time and Heather was hungry! A hungry Heather is a crabby Heather. We walked through the bus station and found the taxi queue. Another advantage to traveling light – while the rest of the people on the bus were slowly lugging their luggage through the bus station, we had quickly found a taxi while there were some available. Our cab driver was a friendly bloke and quickly delivered us to the QEII port where we got our first glimpse of the lovely JCL Jade.
Check-in was amazingly efficient, which made my hungry tummy very happy. After check-in we headed into the waiting area for the terminal. Passengers are boarded in groups, based on their arrival time. We were given passes for boarding group 21, but since we have cruised extensively with NCL in the past, were given priority (immediate) boarding. Hungry Heather even happier! We were the only people in the security check area so had no wait there. We got to the ship and headed immediately to the main dining room. The happy, perky employees that greet you on the ship always will try to herd you to the buffet, but we have learned through experience that it is a much more peaceful, relaxing start to a cruise to eat in the MDR (main dining room). We just bring our carry-ons with us rather than checking them in at the port. That way we don’t have to wait for our luggage to be delivered later in the day; we can unpack as soon as we get to our cabin.
After lunch we headed to our cabin to unpack and relax.
We booked a mini-suite for this cruise. It is basically like a regular balcony cabin; just a big bigger and has a bathtub rather than just a shower. The NCL Jade was just refurbished last spring and it is a beautiful ship. The décor is quite muted (especially by NCL standards!). Much of the ship is done in shades of green (jade, right?) and taupe. The balcony seems larger than those on the other ships we have sailed on recently. We do like to spend time on the balcony, so it is nice to have the extra space.
We spent some time exploring the ship, getting our bearings. The layout is quite similar to the NCL Star which we spent 53 days on last year, so it didn’t take long to get things figured out. We like the atrium of this ship much better than the NCL Sun, which we were on in May. Our fellow passengers definitely are skewed older this time. I expected more families because it is still summer. There are some, but not many younger people. There is a huge group from China (possibly 1/4 of the passengers onboard?), but most are from the U.K. Americans and Canadians seem to be few and far between!
We intended to go to the welcome aboard show but it wasn’t until 9 pm, and jetlag got the better of us. When we returned to our room after dinner, we found a notice to set our clocks ahead an hour, so when we went to bed at 9 pm, it was really 10 pm! I guess I needed to get caught up on our sleep because my husband woke me up at 8:30 the next morning. Fortunately, it is a sea day so we are not missing out by sleeping in.
The seas have been pretty rocky so there are barf bags strategically placed around the ship. We attended the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet and I attended a photography class. Other than that, we are relaxing.
Tomorrow? Bergen, Norway!
My major goal for this cruise was to see glaciers calving, eagles, bears and whales. Mission accomplished!
My last post was regarding glaciers; this one focuses on the cities we visited. And, I am happy to report that we saw an incredible amount of wildlife; more than on all of my previous Alaskan cruises combined!
If you are interested in pictures of eagles and whales, click on the link for Icy Strait Point. There are lots of bear pictures in my Sitka post (plus a few in my post on Skagway).
Now, on to planning our next adventures! We did book a few more cruises while on board. . .
As of right now, we will be cruising Northern Europe and traveling around England and Scotland (via train) in August and September. In 2018 we are spending a few weeks in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before heading to Hong Kong to catch a cruise to China and Japan. We will fly from Tokyo to New Orleans to catch another cruise that will take us through the Panama Canal and back home to Seattle. Finally (for now) we will embark on a back-to-back cruise that leaves from Miami (December of 2018) and goes through the Panama Canal, down the coast of South America and “around the horn”, ending up in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
If anyone has any suggestions of tour companies that you would recommend for any of our travels, please leave a comment or email me at TravelsWithHeather@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading about our Alaskan adventure!
Heather
One of the determining factors of choosing this cruise was that there were three days of glacier visits! First up was Sawyer Glacier. Even though the glacier visits were not sequential, I am lumping them together in one post and will post information on our port visits later. First up was Sawyer Glacier. 
If you were up bright and early (and we were), the ship sailed up Endicott Arm to Dawes Glacier at approximately 5:30 am. We were scheduled to go through Tracy Arm but it was apparently too icy for us to do that. This is a common occurrence from what I understand. The last time we sailed here we were able to see two icebergs that calved from underwater, aka “shooters”. I posted a link to a video of this in a previous blog post.
Endicott arm is a narrow fjord with steep mountains on both sides. The closer you get to the glacier, the more ice you see floating in the water. Some of the ice is white, some shades of blue. The water in the fjord is a beautiful jade green. The weather was cloudy. I have heard that glacial ice is more blue when the sky is cloudy; I don’t know if that is true or not. We sat on our balcony and watched the beautiful scenery. I absolutely love glaciers and icebergs. I took numerous pictures of the ice formations as we sailed by. I was not able to spy any wildlife; that would have been a bonus!
The captain stopped the ship well shy of the glacier. There would be no chance to see any calving; we were way too far away. If this was going to be our only glacier visit, I would’ve felt ripped off. He rotated the ship 360â° so everyone could view the glacier and suggested that everyone have the zoom on their camera ready so they could get some photographs. I was glad to have a good zoom! And, I was glad that we would be seeing other glaciers. I sincerely hope that we can get closer to some of the glaciers in Glacier Bay.
I took many more ice pictures on the way back out of Endicott Arm. We continued on to Juneau. Along the way I spotted (very briefly) a few whales (though I don’t have any pictures to prove it!
Glacier Bay
Next up: Glacier Bay. We entered Glacier Bay at 6:00 am. The weather forecast was for a warm (60â°F) and sunny day. The weather forecast was way off! It was pouring down rain; the rain came down in sheets.
We thought we should sit in the observation lounge in order to take advantage of the large viewing area. I am always on the lookout for whales and other marine life so wanted to be able to see a panoramic view We brought our binoculars and camera so that we would be ready for any exciting views that came our way. The only thing we were able to see were sheets of rain. To add to the excitement, there was a leak in the roof directly over where I was seated. We decided that the view from our balcony would be much better. At least the doors are covered so you can see something other than raindrops!
We hung out on our balcony until we got cold, then decided to find a chair on deck 7 (one floor above the atrium). We were able to score good seats right by the window and like our balcony doors, the windows were covered so we could see out of them. The scenery was spectacular, despite the lousy weather. The mountains had more snow because it is still relatively early in the year and there were pockets of fog surrounding some of the peaks. We spotted a seal, but no whales.
Our first glacier stop was Margerie Glacier; the showstopper of Glacier Bay. There are 1045 glaciers located here; 50 are named. The captain stopped here for an hour; after a half-hour he rotated the ship so the other side could view the glacier. At that point we returned to our cabin since it was located on the “glacier” side. We were able to see the glacier calve several times. I am posting a small sampling of my pictures; I took nearly one hundred! I kept trying to capture the colors and beauty of what I was seeing (an impossible task). I so love the sensory experience of the glaciers. Not only is it amazingly beautiful, but I also love the sounds of calving as well as the “snap, crackle and pop” of the icebergs in the water.
The ranger also pointed out Grand Pacific Glacier. This one is covered in dirt and debris so not nearly as beautiful as Margerie.
We stopped briefly at the Lamplugh Glacier. As before, the captain rotated the ship so both sides could enjoy the glacier. This was a much smaller glacier but we were able to get a little closer to it. Of course, I took some more glacier pics! No calving here, but the blues in the ice were spectacular.
Our final glacier visit was to Hubbard Glacier. We cruised through Yakutat Bay towards the glacier and were supposed to arrive at 10:00 am. The cruise director came over the intercom around 10 to let us know that due to icy conditions near the glacier and fog in the area, we would not be able to view the glacier. The captain decided it was not safe. This would have been a huge bummer if we had not already seen three other glaciers. Hubbard is a really spectacular glacier because it is extremely active, so lots of calving activity. I must admit, this is the glacier I was most looking forward to seeing. I guess now we have another reason to come back to Alaska!
This will be an entirely different cruise for us than the last one since we have been to Alaska multiple times. I love planning for visits to exotic locations but every few years, get an itch to experience the beauty of Alaska. For many this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip; for us, Alaska is in our back yard and the easiest place to cruise to from Seattle. The draw for this cruise was its length (two weeks) and the different ports of call from the typical week-long Seattle cruise.
The cruise started in San Francisco. We always like to arrive at least a day early just in case there are any problems. We had been to San Francisco less than a year ago so decided one day was sufficient. Our flight was a bright and early one; we had to be at SeaTac airport in time for a 6:57 am flight. Rather than inconvenience a family member we used Lyft to get to the airport. The flight was smooth; we arrived a bit early. Since we had carried on our bags we were able to head directly to the BART station and catch the next train in to San Francisco.
Our hotel was within walking distance from Embarcadero Station. It was only about 9:30 am so we knew it was too early to check in but figured we could drop our bags off and then do some sightseeing. The woman checking us in to the hotel gave off the aura of someone that had been up all night. She told us she didn’t think any rooms were available yet and wanted to know if we had called ahead to let them know that we would arrive early in the day; that if we had they would have held a room for us overnight. We had not done so; I assumed that if we wanted a room overnight that we would have to pay for two nights lodging rather than one, right? Anyhow, after that she wanted to know if we wanted to put our bags in our room or just check them. What? She had just told us there were no rooms ready yet. We obviously wanted to put our belongings in our room so she gave us our keys.
We decided to get some breakfast and walk along the waterfront. Our hotel was located by the Bay Bridge and so near the Ferry Building. We grabbed a bite at a restaurant there. It reminded me a bit of Pike Place Market in Seattle but a bit more upscale. The weather was sunny but a bit brisk; I was glad I had brought a jacket! We walked to Pier 39 which was about a mile and a half from where we started. We like people watching and this is a great spot to do it. It is also a fun place to watch the sea lions; there were plenty lounging in the sun, barking away. We decided to ride the streetcar back to the hotel. Since we had downloaded the Muni app we could prepay our ticket ($2.25 per person). If you plan on using public transportation (including cable cars) around San Francisco, it is a great idea to use this app (Muni Mobile) and buy a day pass. If we planned on riding the cable cars, we would have purchased the one-day pass for $21. One ride on a cable car costs $7 so if you plan on taking a few rides, the one-day pass is definitely the way to go.
Our main activity for the day was the Alcatraz At Night Tour. I have wanted to see Alcatraz but my husband wasn’t as excited about it so we have not visited on previous trips. This time around, he agreed to go. If you want to take this tour (or any day tour of the island as well) you must book it in advance. The tour left at 5:55 pm; you needed to be at the pier at least 30 minutes ahead of time. There was a scale-model of the island that gave you a preview of its layout.
The boat trip to the island took about 15 minutes. It was a windy day so the ride was a bit rocky. It was also quite cold; if you take this tour, be sure to bring a jacket. The boat drops you at the dock where prisoners arrived (it is the only dock on the island). We were split into three groups; each group had a ranger that gave you some information about the island as you walked up the hill. Be aware that the walk to the prison is comparable to walking up 13 flights of stairs. There is a tram available for those with mobility issues.
The original island of Alcatraz is not the current one. It was named by a Spanish explorer that saw pelicans on the island. He was unfamiliar with this type of bird so named the island Alcatraz, which apparently means strange birds. When the English explored the area they used the name for the current island and made it a military installation. For many years that was the island’s main purpose; to guard San Francisco harbor. It turns out that no one ever tried to invade it so went from being a fort to being a military prison. It became a prison for the “worst of the worst” in the 1930’s. Alcatraz Prison was closed down in 1963. During the 70’s it was occupied for 19 months by Native American protestors. As you pull up to the dock you can see the signs that remain from the occupation.
There is a watchtower near the dock. It turns out that it was built for a movie and was left there after the filming. It was never used to guard prisoners from escaping! We passed by a building that was used for recreation for the guards. Did you know that the guards and their families lived on the island? Their children took a boat to school every day and returned in the afternoons. By the time they got home from school, the prisoners were locked up and so many of them never actually saw a prisoner in all of the years they lived there.
When you reach the top of the hill, you enter the prison. You walk through the same area the prisoners did when they arrived. They were given their clothing and then showered. There were 4 things provided every prisoner: shelter, food, clothing and medical attention. Everything else was a privilege that had to be earned by good behavior, including the privilege of working. From here on, we listened to an audio tour with the provided headset.
Unlike the prison cells of today, the prisoners each had his own cell. They were definitely “step-savers”! All prisoners were locked in their cells from 4:30 onward. Those that had a more difficult time following the rules were locked in a separate area 24/7 (D Block) and were only allowed out once per week to shower. There are pictures posted of some of the more infamous prisoners, including the Birdman of Alcatraz. A side note from a ranger (not part of the regular tour info): the Birdman liked to mix urine and feces and toss the “cocktail” at the guards as they walked past. I will let my pictures tell the story of life in the prison.
Apparently not all of the prisoners wanted to work. Those that did not were put in a special “cage” that was just big enough for them to stand up in. It held them upright for the 7 hours that they would normally be working.
The views from the prison are spectacular (not that the prisoners enjoyed them!). It is said that on a clear night that the prisoners could hear the sounds of revelry from across the bay; that it was particularly difficult for them to hear other people enjoying their lives when their own lives were so dismal. It was an interesting tour and if you are at all interested in the mystique of Alcatraz, I highly recommend it.
We took the 8:40 boat back to San Francisco and caught a streetcar back to Pier 1. From there we walked the few blocks to our hotel. The Bay Bridge is really beautiful at night. The bridge is lit up and cycles through different “light shows”.
Embarkation Day!
Although we were only a mile or so from the pier, we decided to take a cab to make it easy on ourselves. Our check-in time for the cruise was 9:30 am so we headed out a bit earlier, arriving before 9 am. Unlike every other cruise we have taken, we were not allowed to enter the port building so had to line up outside. Since we were so early, we were second in line. There were about 100 new crew members waiting to enter as well. At about 9 am, the crew members were called in in groups of 10 to have their passports checked and to go through their own check-in. I assumed that as soon as the crew was processed that we would be called in. It was not to be; the woman guarding the door told us that we would not be allowed to enter until 10:30! What was NCL thinking? Why have assigned check-in times starting at 9:30 but now allow anyone in the building until 10:30? Oh, well! We waited, and waited, and waited. This was the most disorganized system that we have experienced. The porters were wandering around, picking up suitcases here and there. Since the door to the port building was wide open, everyone thought that they could enter it. The woman guarding the door kept telling people that they needed to find a porter for their luggage, and then they would have to join the extremely long line that had formed behind us. She directed some people to the area where you were supposed to drop your luggage off (at the other end of the building); others she told to stand along the wall and hope to find a porter wandering by. Those people that were standing along the wall often waited for 20 minutes or so before giving up; by then, all of the porters were located where they should have been originally.
At 10:25, a new group of people showed up in matching uniforms. Obviously, these were the people that would be completing our check-in. I was pretty impressed that they would be all set to get to work in 5 minutes. And, they weren’t. . .we waited outside another 20 minutes before being allowed to enter the building.
Despite being virtually at the front of the line, a family was allowed to enter first. It was an older man with a young wife and small child. Not only were they allowed in front of those of us that had been waiting (by then) 2 hours, they had a case of juice (a no-no to bring liquids with you on NCL) and a ginormous suitcase (besides the ones that the porters had already taken). They were escorted inside while the rest of us waited. Finally, we were told that we could enter the building. As we were walking through the doors, a man tried to cut in the line. I told him in no uncertain terms to get to the back of the line. He apparently thought I was being rude; he made some comment to me insinuating that I was being unreasonable. After all, the ship didn’t leave until 5 pm; why was I in such a hurry to get onboard? Yeah, after two hours of standing in the cold, I wasn’t too happy that he should be able to jump in front of the hundreds of people that had been waiting!
Anyhow, we rode the escalator up to the second floor of the port building. The “special family” was going through the one security line. That big old suitcase that they brought wouldn’t fit through the scanner. So, we had to wait until the security folks could figure out a way to get it through. They eventually did and screening could continue for the rest of us po’ folks. On the upside, the guy that did our check-in was extremely efficient. He said that the check-in crew had been flown up from San Pedro; NCL rarely sails out of San Francisco so they brought in a crew from elsewhere. NCL has recently implemented a new tiered loyalty system. We are “Platinum Plus” and as such are supposed to have our own boarding area. Those that are in the suites have their own area as well; they are boarded first. Then, Platinum, then everyone else. There was no special area set up for Platinum guests and the employees of the port had no idea what to do with us, so we ended up sitting in the area with the suite guests. As such we were boarded first. Cool! So far the day had been a bit of a cluster mess; maybe things were starting to turn around!
Since we got on board early, we knew that our cabin would not be ready, but decided to see if we could drop our bags in our room before heading to lunch. The hallway was closed off but the doors weren’t locked so we went ahead and dropped off our stuff before heading to the main dining room. The onboard staff always tries to send everyone to the buffet, but those in the know go to the MDR (Main Dining Room) for a more relaxing start to their cruise. We had a very nice lunch, once we found the dining room. So many of the crew was new that we were given incorrect directions by several crew members before finding the spot. The trick is that you have to go up a level, go to the aft of the ship, and then go back down a level to get there. It is not apparent on the ship’s map that you can’t directly access the restaurant, so we experienced the “grand tour” of the ship unintentionally before finding food!
Muster drill was at 4:30; sailaway at 5 pm. I took some more pictures of Alcatraz as we passed by, and quite a few pictures as we sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge. It was awfully cold and windy on the balcony but I really, really wanted to enjoy going under that bridge. We had a small coast guard ship accompanying us through the harbor. There was an armed guard at the front of the boat. At one point we crossed paths with a tour boat. The coast guard ship turned around, cut off the other boat, and kept the gun trained on them until we passed!
Our next day was a sea day. The ship was really rocking all day due to rough seas. There were barf bags strategically placed around the ship. I have never seen that before. I won’t bore you with the details of our day; sea days are all about relaxation. I found myself getting quite sleepy; I think it was the motion of the ship. Rocking back and forth all day apparently makes me drowsy!
Astoria, Oregon
We have driven through Astoria many times so were not too excited about visiting here. Not that there is anything wrong with Astoria; it is a quaint town located at the mouth of the Columbia River. You need to keep in mind that we are from Seattle and have visited most of the ports on this cruise before, so if I seem unenthusiastic, it isn’t because the ports aren’t interesting; it is that they are familiar. We try to see the places through the eyes of our fellow passengers. If you were from Arizona, I imagine it would be pretty exciting to see all of the trees and water. And, how often do you look out of your cabin to see logs stacked up? Astoria was named after John Jacob Astor in 1811 (though he never actually visited here!). His American Fur Trading Company founded Fort Astoria (the original one; it was later moved). Astoria is most famous for the Astoria Column and for being the place where “The Goonies” was filmed. We didn’t see either place on our visit.
Some of the excursions the cruise line was pushing were those that visited the Oregon Coast (Seaside and Cannon Beach) as well as those touring a couple of the local historic forts (Fort Stevens & Fort Clatsop). These are all places that we have visited so we decided to just walk through town. The “Freestyle Daily” (NCL’s daily newsletter) advertised a shuttle to town for $6/person. We were not sure how far from town we would be docked so tentatively planned on taking the shuttle.
When we disembarked, there was a tent set up by the local chamber of commerce. We asked how far it was to walk to town and found out that it was only a mile to a mile and a half, depending on how far along the waterfront you wanted to walk before cutting over to the commercial district. We decided to save our $12 and walk! There is a lovely river walk along the Columbia and if you are able to walk on a flat, paved road, is definitely the way to go. It is very picturesque. I took quite a few photos along the way. Come to find out there is also a trolley that runs along the River Walk. It only costs $1 one-way and takes you to the same place that the $6 shuttle does.
We walked as far as the Maritime Museum ($14 admission) but opted not to tour the museum. Instead, we cut over a couple of blocks and headed to the commercial district. We quickly walked through town. We weren’t too tempted by the gift shops because the items for sale were quite similar to those that we can buy at home. We stopped for coffee at Mickey D’s and then walked back to the River Walk and returned to the ship. Altogether we were off the ship for about 3 hours; most of it was spent walking. It was nice to stretch our legs and see some pretty scenery. Though it was a cloudy day, we didn’t get rained on. We will be at sea for a day and then will be in Ketchikan. It is supposed to rain in Ketchikan, but then again, it almost always rains there!
Hello, all! It has been awhile since I last posted. We have taken a few months “off” from travel (rough life, right?) but are gearing up for our next adventure. Today was a “trial packing day” for our 2-week Alaska cruise that embarks on the 15th. I am happy to report that I can fit all of my clothes and camera equipment in a carry-on and a backpack. Woo-hoo! It is actually a bit tougher packing for two weeks in Alaska than it was for two months in the Middle East and Asia. Obviously, the clothes for Alaska are a bit heavier than the others. We have much more proficient with our packing; we are both able to meet our goal of traveling with just a carry-on each.
We leave bright and early next Sunday to fly to San Francisco. We always like to fly to our departure port at least a day early, just in case there are any issues. We have booked the Alcatraz at Night Tour for that evening. I have been to San Francisco quite a few times, but never been to Alcatraz so am really looking forward to it. We board the NCL Sun on Monday and start heading north. This will be my 6th cruise to Alaska; it is one of my favorite places. Our itinerary is as follows: Astoria, Ketchikan, Sawyer Glacier, Glacier Bay, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Hubbard Glacier, Sitka, Prince Rupert, Nanaimo and Vancouver, BC. The best part of the trip is having three days looking at glaciers! The last time we were in Alaska, we were privileged to see what the naturalist on board called a “shooter” – a glacier calving from under the water. I was able to get a short film clip of it: Calving Glacier. I am hoping to see lots of whales, eagles, and bears. . .wish me luck! I bought a new pair of binoculars to assist me in my search for wildlife.
I will be blogging about our adventures, of course! Check back between May 15th and 29th to read all about it.
Heather
Hard to believe, but our trip of a lifetime has ended. But the good news is that there will be many more trips of a lifetime ahead!
Here are links to my posts on Hong Kong, as well as a summary of what we will do differently next time:
And last, but not least, a page that has links to all of my information about this trip (from planning to completion) all in one convenient location:
Heather
We arrived early to port; our scheduled arrival was 7 pm but we were docked shortly after 3 pm. As promised, this is an industrial port. It was pouring down rain, so not much was visible.
On the port side of the ship (where our cabin is located) we could see some empty container ships as well as some little fishing boats. We decided to go down to deck 7 to watch the ship pull into port and to people watch. People were anxious to get off the ship but the landing process seemed to take extra-long. We always laugh when they announce that the ship has not cleared local immigration; that seems to mean that the gangway isn’t ready or the photographers are not in place. I don’t think it actually has anything to do with local officials.
While everyone waited for clearance, the captain reiterated that this is a port where there is nothing to see. In order to get to the port exit, people would need to walk 15 to 20 minutes. And, when you got there, there would likely be no taxis. We had already decided not to get off the ship and to request reimbursement for our visas. We were also standing near the port lecturer, Peter Croyle, who reiterated what the captain had said to the passengers he was chatting with.
As we were waiting, a small round boat appeared in front of us (there was a square area between two piers). The boat looked to be about 10-12 feet in diameter (it was perfectly round) and was crammed full of people (at least 12). The people had on helmets. It was the strangest sight! We wondered where they could be going because there was only about 2 feet of clearance under the pier. One man was standing up using a single paddle to propel the “boat”. As they approached the pier, he gave a verbal warning and everyone ducked (now we understood what the helmets were for!). He propelled them under the pier to the other side. Everyone on deck clapped and cheered when they reappeared. They continued under one more pier and disappeared around the corner.
Peter said that those round boats are very common here (it is the only place in the world that uses them) and they are actually more like a big basket than a boat. Some have motors on them but most use the single oar for propulsion. We saw many more of these while docked, but most only had one or two people on them. It was such a strange sight to see so many people crammed into such a small space.
People were so antsy to set foot in Vietnam that when finally clearance occurred, they were streaming off the ship. They walked to the end of the pier and were perhaps expecting taxis for hire, but of course, there were not any there! I wonder how many walked to the port gate and were disappointed to find that no taxis were waiting there, either. It was dark by now, so I am not sure what they would expect to see anyhow! My guess is that most walked out and then ended up walking back. There was a small building that I think had some shop stalls set up. The shopkeepers probably made a killing since this was the first shopping opportunity that people had.
I think the only option people had for tours the next day were the ones through NCL. There were about 30 or so buses lined up the next morning. There were 3 possible tours, each location about an hour or so from port. But, people were so anxious to see something on this godawful cruise that they paid $69 per person for a visa and at least $69 per person to take a ship’s tour. We will be coming back to Asia in the near future so did not want to waste the money. We really don’t like being in large groups of people for tours, so for us, it was not worth the money or hassle.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that our Skyroam worked fairly well here in Chan May. Since we are in the middle of nowhere, we assumed we would have no service. Instead, we have been able to get on-line without using any of the ship’s usuriously priced internet minutes. We are currently sitting out on our balcony, watching the ship’s crew perform their lifeboat drills. This seems to consist of the lifeboats going in circles on the port side of the ship while someone yells directions at them.
I am sure that the crew is happy that most of the passengers are off the ship today.
We only have a few more days until we reach Hong Kong. We still have the port of Sanya, but since won’t be getting off the ship, I don’t know if I will have anything more to post. I suppose that will depend on if there is anything interesting going on in port that is visible from the ship! If not, I will be making one more post when we get home about what went well and what will be done differently in the future (my “Lessons Learned” post).
Actually, oh dang, Da Nang would rhyme better! Yesterday, we were supposed to drop anchor in Nha Trang (it is a tender port). Did you notice I said “supposed to” rather than “dropped anchor”?
After days and days at sea, I was really looking forward to getting off the ship. One of the main reasons we had booked this cruise was to see Vietnam. I had booked a cyclo tour (pedicab) of the city. We were arriving at 8 am and would leave at 5 pm so I had told everyone in our group to get the first tender possible and meet on the dock (start time for the tour was 9 am).
Up until now, we have had amazing weather and sea conditions. The night before we were to dock in Nha Trang, that all changed. The waves were up to 18 feet which was enough to set the boat to rocking. In our cabin, we kept hearing creaking noises as well as cabinets opening and closing (they did not latch). This kept us awake much of the night as well as the anticipation of getting up early to get off the ship (I rarely sleep as well when I know I have to get up early in the morning).
When we got up the next day the seas were still very rocky. We had breakfast and returned to our cabin to wait until it was time to get in line for the tender. At around 7 am, the captain came over the loudspeaker to announce that we would not be stopping in Nha Trang; the sea conditions were too dangerous for tenders to run. Dang!
We decided to stop by guest services to see about getting our money refunded for our Vietnam visas. Since we had decided not to get off the ship in Chan May (nothing to see or do near the port) we had no use for the visas. The guest services rep said that it would not be a problem and that we would see the money refunded to our account by the next day (not too surprisingly, it is now the next day and no refund has appeared). Next up, a walk around the promenade deck. Due to the wave conditions, it was more like a drunken jag around the decks. We made one lap and decided to give it up; it was just too hard to walk. The motion of the ship at either end was significantly more noticeable than in the middle, making us very glad that we did not have a suite (most are located all the way fore or aft). I also emailed the tour company to let them know we would not be able to go on the tour today. I requested a refund, but due to the late notice, we will not receive one. Of the three companies that we prepaid for tours, one has promised a partial refund (less than 50%), one a full refund and one no refund.
Since it was supposed to be a port day there were very few activities planned onboard. And, since the weather was bad, the people that normally lay out in the sun had nothing to do, either. All of the public areas of the ship were overrun with people. Apparently, there was a “protest” of sorts as well – people hauled out their empty suitcases and congregated together. I assume the message was, “let me off the ship!”. Who knows. By the way, about 10% of passengers did indeed leave the ship in Singapore rather than doing an 11-day slow boat to China cruise.
It was a very, very long day.
We will be docking in Chan May tonight and will be there until tomorrow evening. As I mentioned earlier, there are no sights to see there. Taxis don’t even visit the docks hoping to pick up passengers. It is an industrial port and at least an hour away from anything worth visiting. Essentially, a person would need to take an NCL tour or stay on board; we are opting to stay on board.
There is one more port stop after Chan May – Sanya, China. From the research I had done pre-cruise, I had found very little to do there unless you want to go to the beach. This is another port where your only option is an NCL tour so we will stay onboard again.
Only 4 more days until Hong Kong!!!
travelswithheather 