Victoria, BC

Ah, Victoria. This turned out to be a beautiful city and one that would be a pleasure to return to some day when we have more time. Everyone we met was very friendly.

Due to the time of our docking there would only be time for one formal excursion, but the late evening departure meant that we could spend a lot of time on our own. We chose to take a walking tour of the city that took us through residential neighborhoods, a magnificent park, and into the city center where it ended at the Parliament House and harbor. 

 

A little breezy as we started out along the shore.

 

Totems and long house at the museum.

As mentioned earlier, Fist Nation tribes were originally denied their cultural heritage. Potlatches were forbidden and tribes were displaced from the native lands. In the seventies, many totems were retrieved from where the tribes originally lived. It was an attempt to preserve that part of their culture, but many of these totems were badly deteriorated. A tribal chief, and skilled carver, began the task of faithfully recreating the more significant of those totems. A traditional long house was built to house the fabrication of the totems.

We explored Government Street where there were trendy shops and restaurants, and finally settled in at The Bard & Banker Pub, a repurposed historic bank building. Lunch and a flight of local craft beers were fantastic and left us in fine spirits (no pun intended) for the walk back to the ship.

 

The Bard & Banker Pub.

Government Street from Parliament House. Empress Hotel on right.

Barbara found a beach to comb on the way back. Sequim, WA in the background.

Since this was the last day on the ship, Barbara and Jocelyne spent the remainder of the afternoon making sure that none of the provided shipboard credits were left unspent. Each couple had $700 in credits and most of that was consumed at the Spa with massages and mani-pedis. The Regent Seven Seas cruises are all inclusive, and this relieves you of any thoughts of cost for any on-board services or tips. The credit also allows the occasional extravagance at dinner for premium wines, or perhaps to enjoy an evening Cuban cigar and cognac without worrying about your trip budget.

 

Jocelyne and Barbara after a session at the spa.

Toasting a wonderful cruise in one of the lounges before dinner.

Dinner on our last night was a return to the Signatures restaurant, one of two premium reservations only restaurants on board. Signatures specializes in French cuisine, while Prime 7 is a steak house. In addition to reservations, jackets were required for the gentlemen. Getting a bit dressed up was fitting for celebrating the completion of a very enjoyable cruise.

As a final note, I must highly recommend Regent Seven Seas cruises. This was my first cruise. I had resisted in the past because I just could not see how spending a week cooped up with two thousand people on a ship could be fun, let alone relaxing. The size of the Regent ships is much more reasonable. All the key amenities you expect such as live entertainment, fine dining, casual dining, a casino, spa, pool, etc. are there. There were 640 passengers and a crew of nearly 400. At no time did it feel crowded. At no time did we feel rushed. The crew at every level was very courteous and friendly. We had a marvelous time and left very relaxed and energized to return to the real world.

Prince Rupert, BC

We did not arrive in Prince Rupert, BC until early afternoon. That made for a short day, but it was educational. We opted for the cultural excursion (and Safeway market for cold medicine for Barbara) to the very well done history museum and First Nation’s presentation.

 

Randy observing the docking operation.

The dock was right downtown and an easy walk to the museum.

We had a nice tour of the museum and were then guided to the Long House nearby where we were given an oral description of the local First Nation’s traditions, particularly the Potlatch. The focus was on the Tsimshian people, of which there are fourteen tribes, or clans. Of interest, was learning that the early Russian settlers in this area coexisted with the indigenous people pretty well at first and there was a lucrative arrangement where the locals trapped the otters for pelts and sold them to the Russian traders. That lasted until the Russians tried to cut the locals out of the loop. They did not fair as well due to a lack of local knowledge, and eventually were driven off by the Tsimshian. There was a reconciliation of shorts, but then the western European settlers began infiltrating the Pacific Northwest. The new settlers in the area did not allow the Tsimshian and other nations to pursue their cultural heritage and did not allow the language to be taught or for the Potlatch ceremony to be held. While those restrictions were eventually eased, their original homeland had become a national park and they were not allowed to build a ceremonial long house on their original homeland. The park service has recently allowed the construction of a ceremonial long house for the purpose of holding annual Potlatch events, and this summer will be the first time these people have been allowed back to their homeland to celebrate this custom. The Tsimshian people giving this lecture were quite emotional about this opportunity.

Sorry there were no pictures.

Sitka, AK

The ship cast off at five in the evening and sailed south during the night. We awoke to the sound of the ship’s foghorn as we approached Baranof Island and Sitka harbor. It was a chilly and foggy morning. We had two sea excursions today, so we dressed warmly.

 

The cruise ship dock is a few miles out of downtown Sitka.

The operators of the first excursion (a sea raft tour) thought we needed to be dressed more appropriately and provided emersion suits, gloves and balaclavas. We had hoped the “raft” was a bit more seaworthy. It turns out that it was. It was an aluminum Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat or RIB. It was designed to carry six passengers and a captain at relatively high speeds. Since it is an open boat and sits low in the water, the suits were a welcome protection from the elements.

 

All dressed up and ready to go.

Odd seating, but once underway it was well suited for the application.

The fog was quite thick and we could only see a few yards beyond the boat. The captain was equipped with both local knowledge (he makes this trip four times a day during the season) and a modern GPS chartpotter. Off we went, and luckily the sea was mirror calm so we remained dry despite travelling at a good clip. The captain slowed for the occasional sea lion or otter, but continued on into the fog for some time.

Ahead of us the fog began to darken, and eventually a mist-shrouded rock island began to take form. With it came memories of numerous horror film scenes, and the only thing missing was a foghorn or strange background music. We circled the island and were treated to sightings of numerous otters and birds. The otters spend a good bit of time floating on their backs in the kelp beds. They can often be seen with otter pups resting on their mom’s belly as they float. We were not so lucky as to see pups on this trip though. We did see huge colorful starfish clinging to the rocks on the shoreline. We disturbed a Bald Eagle atop a prominent rock and caused him to take flight. Eagles are a very common sight all along the coast, but we never tired of seeing the majestic birds.

As we started to make our way back to the harbor the fog and clouds began to clear. Mount Edgecomb began to be visible in the distance, and as we neared the dock the mountains on the outskirts of Sitka were quite clear.

 

Mt. Edgecomb, a dormant volcano.

Back safe and sound.

The sun came out and we enjoyed a nice outdoor lunch and a brief stroll through town before catching our second excursion of the day. 

It was to be a boat trip through the small islands and inlets surrounding Baranof Island and was to include some beach combing, which Barbara was looking forward to. It was a pleasant enough boat ride with fantastic scenery, but the beach combing was a bust. It was a very small area of barnacle-encrusted rock that did not offer much to do once you had soaked up the beauty of the immediately surrounding landscape. Tour operators are quite cautious about bears, and I imagine rightfully so. The result was we were not to venture off from the boats landing area. It was an expensive excursion and several of the passengers complained to the cruise staff on our return.

 

The extent of our beach.

 

The bag contained bear spray and a first aid kit, just in case.

When the boat returned for us they needed a little help with the ramp.

It was a great day, though, and we capped it off with another fine meal before retiring to our cabins. Tomorrow will be another sea day.

Compass Rose restaurant. Quite nice, and the staff is terrific.

Hoonah, AK

Our first port of call was Hoonah, AK. Hoonah is a small fishing village of perhaps seven hundred people. The village historically depended on fishing and a cannery for subsistence and income. The cannery had closed some years ago, but village leaders with forethought started developing tourism. That resulted in a community owned corporation that developed a modern cruise ship dock and welcome center. From that, other tour businesses such as whale watching and a monster zip line were developed. Now Hoonah offers a very nice full day visit where everything is done exceptionally well and all of the people are very cordial. I knew a zip line was offered when we initially pre-selected and reserved our excursions, but the zip lines I had seen in the past were pretty lame. Whoa, not this one! A forty-five minute drive to the top of the mountain is followed by a ninety second ride down the zip line. It looked great, but alas, we were already booked on two excursions that left no time for the zip line because of the long journey to the top. Next time.

Off the boat early.

Didn't get 100' before our first whale. Tricky to get a good shot.

Low tide as we walk to the whale watching boat.

Historic cannery, now retail spaces. Very nicely done.

Great day for a ride on the water.

Pretty typical sea lion pose.

We were happy to come across a whale, but ignore the great white finger fish.

Local raven "Crooked Foot" met us for lunch.

He was the only panhandler we met on the trip.

After lunch stroll before the bear watching hike.

Tlingit village of Hoonah, AK. Population 773. Ship had 640 passengers.

Great hike through Sitka Spruce forest.

 

Beautiful bear habitat, but no bears today.

Except this cool artwork along the trail.

Nice form, but no skips. Must be the stones, right?

Back on board to find many folks just hung by the pool today.

Post hike libation before dressing for dinner.

It was a fantastic day!

Hubbard Glacier

This was a sea day. We took advantage of the dinning and drinking opportunities, and generally enjoyed life aboard the ship. The highlight of the day was a visit to Hubbard Glacier.

The day started with breakfast for two.

Mid-day brought lunch with Jocelyne and Randy,

Around 1:30 we turned in towards the glacier; blessed with gorgeous weather.

Mariner is a relatively small ship, but not lacking in comforts.

Gorgeous day, but chilly wind.

Everyone moving forward for best view.

We got a bit closer than this, but ice kept us from a real close look.

Then it was south towards Hoonah, AK; our first stop.

 

Departure from Seward

The alarm sounded at six AM and light was already streaming in through the crack in the curtains. Does the sun every really go down up here at this time of year? Locals say yes, but only for a few hours. This pattern will follow us on our journey south, only returning to a semblance of normal in Victoria, BC.

 

Downtown Anchorage at six AM.

This is an all-inclusive cruise, so breakfast today starts with a nice buffet in hotel restaurant before the two-hour bus ride from Anchorage to Seward offering absolutely fantastic scenery. We had a humorous and informative driver who pointed out natural and historical sights along our way. 

Upon arrival in Seward we checked in and processed aboard. We were greeted by the crew and presented with a welcome glass of Champagne. Since our cabins were not yet ready we took a walking tour of our home for the upcoming week. I have never done a cruise before, so I did not know what to expect other than what I learned from episodes of Love Boat. I knew the Regent does a particularly good job, and I was not disappointed. Everything looked first class, and the size (640 passengers) seemed just right.

 

Welcome aboard glass of Champagne

It was announced that the cabins were ready for guests, so we went below to see what awaited us. Wow, iced Champagne, fresh fruit, and a refrigerator with sodas, beer, and ice. The marble bath and well appointed cabin comfortable sitting area opened on to a nice balcony with comfortable chairs. Our bags arrived, and the steward made it clear that if we needed anything at all we just needed to ask. Barbara asked for a bottle of Merlot, and it arrived within minutes. It was obvious that this was going to be a very nice week.

Jocelyne and Randy as we explored the SS Mariner in beautiful Seward

Pay no attention to the man behind the glass, Dorothy

The first order of business as the ship left the dock was the emergency briefing and drill. This was an important orientation, and attendance was taken, but our minds were on the Champagne back in the room.

 

Honey, does this vest make my stomach look big?

The potential occupants of Lifeboat 8

After finishing the bottle of Champagne, we enjoyed a nice buffet and retired to the observation lounge for drinks and enjoying the beautiful scenery as the ship transited the fjords enroute to the open sea and our journey south.