Our first Alaskan cruise, our first cruise with my wife’s family (we have sailed with my son and his wife before), first cruise on the Breakaway Plus class and first cruise where I wore long pants every day.
We called on Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria, BC (our foreign port.) The port times were shorter than in the Caribbean, and this was the first time we returned from excursions directly to the ship (with time to spare, but not a lot.)
We sailed on the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour boat, the Aleutian Ballad, in Ketchikan. It was a fun and educational tour on a boat famous for being hit by a rogue wave on Season 2 of Deadliest Catch.
In Juneau, we went whale watching (successfully) and then visited Mendenhall Glacier. This was the shortest port call ever, since in the afternoon, the ship sailed up Endicott Arm to visit Dawes Glacier, a most impressive sight. This was our first visit to a fjord.
In Skagway, we rode the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway, a narrow gauge rail line built to help miners reach the gold in the Alaskan Gold Rush. It was completed in record time, the year after the Gold Rush had died out. It’s a beautiful route through the mountains.
In Victoria, we went whale watching again, and were successful again. This was an interesting day, since we didn’t reach port until 4pm, and were in port until 10pm, the latest port call I think we’ve ever had.
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