A Cruise To Be (Or Not To Be?) Eclipsed, Alaska August 15-22, 2017 Carnival vs Disney Cruise p. 7


THANK YOU so much!!! I really appreciate you taking the time to find this for me!

:thanks:


Great start! I look forward to your experience with a different cruise line in Alaska. And of course the DCL comparison.

Thanks!

I look forward to sharing our experiences in Alaska with everyone. I also can't wait to be able to experience a Disney cruise. I'm glad the Carnival was first.

::yes::


I always enjoy reading your trip reports. Alaska has always been a dream vacation of mine. I am excited to see how you liked the Carnival Cruise Line as Disney to Alaska is so expensive.

:wave2:

Good to see you again. Thanks for the kind words.

:thumbsup2


Great start. We are also looking at other options to Alaska as even with the onboard booking perks, Disney is still thousands more than the other lines.

For my family, the attraction was Alaska, the cruise was the means to see what we wanted to see. We knew we would be sacrificing some of the luxury and entertainment by not going with a Disney ship.

:sail:
 
Cabin 7178


Ship – Carnival Legend
Deck - 7
Stateroom # - 7178
Stateroom Category – 8K Balcony
Starboard or Port Side - Port

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes, mostly. First night heard banging from closets and bunk bed railing which we secured the next day. Once we heard some loud people out in the hallway returning to their cabin around 2 in the morning. I think just once we heard our neighbors.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - Yes


Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – No obstructions- see pictures below

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? – Extended balcony. Haven’t been on a regular balcony, so I can’t comment on the size difference.

Was wind a problem? - Sometimes

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - No

Any specific problems with this cabin? - No

Any other comments? – Why do all of the pictures of the cabin have an orange tint???


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There was a lot of closet space, with hangars and shelves, plus there was an additional small bureau in front of the queen bed with a couple of low shelves. I used this for my clothes.

We kept one suitcase under the bed and one standing upright in the closet which we used to drop in our dirty clothes.


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Safe and Fridge


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Balcony:


I expected to spend a lot more time out there, but I didn’t have a whole lot of morning time (a couple of early tours) and it was cool/wet/windy out there at times. Due to low visibility when we were close to land on a few days, there was not a lot to see.














View while docked in Seattle







Additional note: I am severely directionally challenged. It is a genetic issue passed on from my father's side of the family. I found the hallways leading to the cabins to be very confusing. I got lost on my way to our room. More than once. It got so bad that my family said they would not let me wander off alone. I guess that means they care!

:grouphug:
 
Wednesday, August 16


At Sea



Today we were at sea and we would spend half of the next day at sea, sailing towards Juneau.

I get very restless, so a day at sea is not a day at the beach for me. I want to be DOING something! There were a few activities during the day that interested us, but not many. There were even fewer things to amuse the boys.

We woke around 6 am to fairly rocking seas. We weren’t sea sick, but we all took a Bonine (non-drowsy Dramamine) just in case.


Our choices for breakfast were room service, the buffet on the Lido deck or Brunch at Sea in the dining room.


We chose brunch.


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I ordered the Eggs Benedict with Bacon, Mark had the Heurvos Rancheros and Hash, Nate had Blueberry Pancakes and Cheese Grits and Ben had the Eggs Benedict with Hash.









Food was good, but the room was shaking. We could hear rumbling and felt vibrations through the whole meal. Engine? Stabilizers?


At 9:15, after breakfast, we went to the theatre for a lecture on Alaska’s Glaciers, Volcanoes and Wildlife by Steve the ships naturalist. The lectures are videotaped and shown on the ships tv channel and we ended up watching it a bunch of times, mostly at night as we were going to sleep.






As we were passing by, on the way to the lecture, there was trivia in the Red Frog Pub. Trivia is in my blood- my brother owns a pub trivia company, my cousins and I write questions and content, we have won a few local trivia competitions. The few questions that I heard were super easy:


What city does Batman live in? Rocky Balboa? The Flintstones?


We couldn’t stop to play, but I knew I would be back to try another time.


After the lecture, we went back to the room, grabbed some stuff- books, binoculars, playing cards and we headed to the Lido deck to get a table so we could sit and watch the water.

At 11, Mark and I went down to the lobby area to watch a demonstration on making sushi. The chairs were all taken up, and I am short so I couldn’t see from the couches on that level, so we went up the stairs and we watched from there.








After that we met the boys for lunch. This was one of the few times we ate at the buffet. Pizza was excellent. The food from Chopsticks was very good. I did not like how all the different stations for food were spread out, even in different rooms. I like to sample small amounts of everything offered, so I prefer a set-up where everything is at the same station.


After lunch, we found some seating on Deck 2 near a big window. We got some drinks: Mark and I split a mojito, the boys got a virgin pina colada and a strawberry daiquiri. We played a few rounds of Yahtzee- I had packed die and some score cards.


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Then we headed up to Deck 10- the boys found deck chairs for reading, Mark and I walked a few laps around the deck in the sun. There were whales in the area, I believe they were announced.

Back in the cabin, while we were getting ready for formal night dinner, my husband saw what he believes was an ocean sunfish (mola mola) but it was gone by the time I got out to the balcony.


**********************************************************

:offtopic:


Mola Mola- The ocean sunfish is the heaviest known bony fish in the world. Last summer, this fish was the subject of a profanity-laced, hilarious viral video when a couple of fishermen with very strong New England accents and very foul mouths were trying to figure out what they were seeing

“Jay, It’s a %@#$ baby wheel” “Or a tuner”


No picture from the cruise, but here is a photo of the one my son Nate saw on a whale watch he went on the week before our cruise- As part of his summer internship at a local Audubon center he got to do cool things like tidepooling at the beach and go on whale watches.





Hey, I think I saw part of an ocean sunfish (or a shark) this week. I live about 15 minutes from a beach where there have been reports of whales- humpbacks, minke and possibly a finback, feeding just offshore. I went to check it out yesterday. Within 5 minutes, I saw a whale breach, and I took about a dozen pictures of a whale on the surface. Then I noticed I didn’t have a memory card in my camera. AGAIN! The rest of the pictures I took of the whale were crap. I did get a couple of pictures of seals and then I saw a fin in the water. This was either a shark or more likely an ocean sunfish which is often mistaken for a shark.










***************************************************************************

It was formal night in the dining room. We arrived a few minutes after the doors had opened. There was a line to get in and they were handing out pagers. After about 5 minutes, our pager started speaking, so we went up to the check-in station. Along with everyone else, because all of the pagers were going off at once. The hostess told us that we were not being called, we needed to wait until the red lights started flashing.

Same thing happened on the last evening as well. This time, we knew that our table was not ready when the pager started talking, but others had the same reaction as before- heading up to the hostess desk and being told (rather brusquely) that they needed to wait until they got red lights. Perhaps they should be mentioning this when they hand them out!


The food we had tonight was very good.

But they label the "Appetizers" "Entrees" which screwed us up for most of the week because we normally consider entrees to be our main meal.



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A selection of Food Porn:



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Look! There’s Maine Lobster!


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Seared Striped Bass, I believe


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Ben ordered the lamb chop from the Steakhouse menu for an additional $20 charge


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Nate selected the fruit and cheese plate for dessert


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This melting chocolate cake was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!




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The hazelnut chocolate cake was meh.


Throughout the meal we heard crashing dishes a number of times. Like seriously, we heard plates or glasses breaking 6 or 7 times while we were eating. On subsequent evenings we hear occasional breakage, but nothing like this first night.


After dinner, we went back to our cabin and called it a night.


Next Up: Juneau What the Rainiest City in North America Is?
(Or: A Port In Any Storm)
 
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Another great report. Makes me feel like I just ate too much, just from reading it.

I love seeing sea life which is why the Alaskan cruise appeals to me, and why I'm so jealous that you live close to the ocean! Lake Ontario is lovely but it isn't as interesting as the open sea.
 


Loving your report! We live just a few hours south of Seattle in Astoria, Oregon. I dream of cruising out of
Seattle one day and just driving to the port!!
 
I get very restless, so a day at sea is not a day at the beach for me. I want to be DOING something! There were a few activities during the day that interested us, but not many. There were even fewer things to amuse the boys.
This concerns me because I have an 8 year old son (we are considering a cruise in 2019, so he would be 10) and having nothing to do on sea days would be miserable. I can sit and read a book all day but DS cannot. Did you see younger kids on the cruise and do you know if there are activities? (I realize your kids are not in that age range, so understand if it's not something you noticed)
 
Another great report. Makes me feel like I just ate too much, just from reading it.

I love seeing sea life which is why the Alaskan cruise appeals to me, and why I'm so jealous that you live close to the ocean! Lake Ontario is lovely but it isn't as interesting as the open sea.

Thank you!

Sorry (not sorry) for the food pictures. You know I do it! But what a great excuse for weight gain-

"I have been watching what I eat. The problem is I am watching what everyone else is eating too. Seriously, reading so many trip reports with food porn that I am virtually gaining weight."

Amazingly, I didn't gain any weight on the cruise. I didn't deprive myself, but I was careful to choose lighter options for most of my meals, I skipped the rolls most nights and I tried not to go overboard :laughing: with desserts. I was concerned having two cruises in a months time, followed by a Food & Wine trip with youse guys. We will see how I do after the Fantasy cruise!

I just love the ocean and I'm so fortunate to live so close that we can just go when the mood hits us. The wildlife opportunities were my favorite thing about the cruise.

::yes::


Loving your report! We live just a few hours south of Seattle in Astoria, Oregon. I dream of cruising out of
Seattle one day and just driving to the port!!

Thank you!

That certainly relieves a bit of the expense of the trip if you don't need to fly.

A cruise was a great way to see parts of Alaska for the first time.

:boat:

This concerns me because I have an 8 year old son (we are considering a cruise in 2019, so he would be 10) and having nothing to do on sea days would be miserable. I can sit and read a book all day but DS cannot. Did you see younger kids on the cruise and do you know if there are activities? (I realize your kids are not in that age range, so understand if it's not something you noticed)

We saw lots of kids who were under 10 who seemed like they were having a great time. There were kids clubs for different age groups, but I don't know what they had for activities. Is your son the type who would go to organized 'tween activities? A lot of people were using the pools- I never went over to test the water. There was a basketball court, a small mini-golf course, ping-pong tables on our ship- most seem to have activities like that. Our ship had Dr. Seuss characters on board. There was a parade, and a breakfast dining opportunity, but we managed to miss all of that.

We never looked for (or saw) an arcade. Also don't know if there were video games in the 'tween room. I suspect yes.

My family shared an internet connection package, $72 if we purchased it before the cruise.

They had trivia several times a day. Sometimes it was general, other times themed ("Elton John and Billy Joel"). My husband and I went for the Harry Potter trivia and there were a lot of kids there.

My boys do not tend to socialize so YMMV.

:thumbsup2
 
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Thursday August 17- At Sea/Juneau, 2 pm to 10 pm


Clocks were set back an hour overnight. I woke around 5 am and made my way up to Lido deck to find coffee.

We had breakfast in the dining room on the Lido deck.

The boys went back to the room and Mark and I roamed around the ship a bit. We checked out the ship’s library.








Ben was worried because he only had one book to read during the trip. He enjoys non-fiction works, particularly on topics of history or politics. The book he was reading (for pleasure) was “Why Nations Fail”. The one he regretted leaving behind at home was Kissinger’s “Diplomacy”.

I searched the books on the shelves which I presume you could borrow and I was surprised to find a few that I thought he might be interested in. One about Lincoln, something else about the founding fathers and then a third, but I don't remember what that was. I grabbed them, but returned them on the last day since he didn’t end up needing another book.

There was some general knowledge trivia that morning in the Red Frog lounge area, so we went to check that out. Hearing the questions as we were walking by the previous day, I expected the content to be easy.

I was wrong.

The lounge was also packed, so we had to grab a piece of the floor across the hall. I couldn't really hear the questions well, so we left. We went up to the Lido Deck and found a table where we read, talked and watched the water.

We ate lunch in the main dining room.





I ordered the Caribbean Pepperpot soup and all of the guys ordered sushi.


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The soup was not good. It had absolutely no flavor.

The sushi was worse!

The rice was gummy, the cream cheese was gross and Mark said if he could have spit it out gracefully he would have.

I hate to waste food, but there was no way we could eat this. The waiter cleared away our plates but never asked why there was so much sushi left over.

The meals were a bit better, I think. Can’t really remember, except that Ben’s pasta was the best thing at the table. Mark got the swai nicoise, I don’t know why I don’t have a picture. I got the baguette with shrimp and crabmeat. I’m not sure what Nate got either- maybe the sandwich also.



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We didn’t stick around for dessert.



Next Up: Any Port in a Storm- Juneau What the Rainiest City in North America is?

 
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Thursday August 17: Any Port in a Storm- Juneau What the Rainiest City in North America is?


Pulling into Juneau:


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I didn't know until our stop here that Juneau is the rainiest city in the United States! True to that, it was overcast/sprinkling/pouring throughout our visit. We lucked out and it was not too bad while we were at Mendenhall.


After reading reviews on Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic, we decided to book a combination whale watch and Mendenhall Glacier tour through Juneau Whale Watch. I booked it through their website in February and received an early booking discount. The cost was around $130 per person, not including gratuities to the transfer drivers or whale watch crew. I think a similar tour was $200 through Carnival.


Juneau Whale Watch


We got off the ship and met someone from the tour under the Mt. Robert’s Tramway. He pointed us to our bus and told us we would be going to the glacier and then would meet at the bus stop at 4:45 for transportation to the whale watch.


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We considered going up in the tram when our tour was over, but the top of the hill was under cloud cover when we got back.


It was raining on our drive over to the glacier, but it lightened up significantly while were there, sprinkling on and off.









We got off the bus and followed the signs to the Nugget Falls trail.

Shortly after starting on the path, there was a sign saying the trail was flooded out ahead.

We decided to continue on and make it as far as we could. We only encountered one small puddle that we had to hop over so I’m glad we didn’t let the sign turn us back.



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On our way back towards the visitor’s center we ran into this guy:


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Look, an animal that comes with his own toothpicks!


Here are a few pictures from the viewing spot


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I love this blue hue!


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Some kind of heron:


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We had a few minutes so we walked towards this creek and saw some salmon. At times people have seen bears but we didn’t have any encounters here.





It was time for the second part of our tour, whale watching from Auke Bay.

Next Up: The Whales Don't Care- They're Already Wet!
 
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We saw lots of kids who were under 10 who seemed like they were having a great time. There were kids clubs for different age groups, but I don't know what they had for activities. Is your son the type who would go to organized 'tween activities? A lot of people were using the pools- I never went over to test the water. There was a basketball court, a small mini-golf course, ping-pong tables on our ship- most seem to have activities like that. Our ship had Dr. Seuss characters on board. There was a parade, and a breakfast dining opportunity, but we managed to miss all of that.
Thanks for the info. Right now DS would probably join in, who knows in 2 years.

Ben was worried because he only had one book to read during the trip. He enjoys non-fiction works, particularly on topics of history or politics. The book he was reading (for pleasure) was “Why Nations Fail”. The one he regretted leaving behind at home was Kissinger’s “Diplomacy”.
Love that he's such a reader! I'm a huge reader and DH read quite a bit (though usually current events, news, etc) but DS is not. He says he hates to read and it's a chore to make him read 20 minutes a day. Hoping he'll develop a love for reading in the next couple years.
 
Thanks for the info. Right now DS would probably join in, who knows in 2 years.

Love that he's such a reader! I'm a huge reader and DH read quite a bit (though usually current events, news, etc) but DS is not. He says he hates to read and it's a chore to make him read 20 minutes a day. Hoping he'll develop a love for reading in the next couple years.

My older son did not enjoy reading until he was in high school. The first book he picked up and read willingly was Diary of a Wimpy kid when he was in middle school, but he couldn't convince me it was a real book. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series were his gateway books to enjoying reading, then it progressed to Game of Thrones and now he is reading a lot of adventure/nature themed books. The key is finding books in a topic of interest to him.

The Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Hunger Game Series are all collections that many young adult readers enjoy.

I hope and suspect your son will become an enthusiastic reader in the future.

:goodvibes
 
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The key is finding books that in a topic of interest.
So far the only books he's been interested in are "My Weird School" books and a wretched series called "The Fart Squad" :sad2: Harry Potter is too scary for him, he won't watch the movies or read the books. My niece was a reluctant reader at this age, now at 11 she reads Shakespeare. Fingers crossed he grows to like reading.
 
It has taken me a while to figure out that you had started trip report for your cruise. I can't wait to hear how the Fantasy trip turns out. I bet that you will notice a few differences.

This is the first time I have flown Delta across country, and I have to say, I am impressed!
That is great to hear that there are airlines out there that feed their passengers on long flights. We used to go to Hawaii a lot but one reason we stopped going was the flight. The seats got smaller and the food was almost non-existent. We used to get three meals on a flight to Hawaii from Chicago. Our last trip had just a sandwich for purchase and that had to last the entire 11 hour flight.

We purchased City Passes for $80* per person (*$76 with AAA discount!) which gave us 2 admissions to the Space Needle, plus visits to Seattle Aquarium, Pacific Science Center and IMAX (or Chihuly Glass), Pop Culture Museum (or Woodland Park Zoo) and a 1-hour boat tour around Seattle Harbor- we did everything except the cruise- We had been on a boat for the past week! The passes were valid for 9 days, I think, so we were able to use them on both ends of our cruis
That is a real bargain. :)

The boys are surprised by a vicious Alaskan Blind Bear attack!
I love those pictures. :) They will be fun to look at years from now.

About a month before the trip, Mark booked a reservation to the ship’s specialty steakhouse for the arrival night of the cruise. I didn’t really think it was necessary, and I am very frugal (cheap) so I didn’t want to spend the extra $20* per person when I’m sure we could find something to eat in the main dining room. But Nate loves steak, and the boys really wanted to do this.

It seems like the food was inconsistent on this cruise. Sometimes it was good, and sometimes it wasn't. Did you have to have reservations for the dinner service?

*I found out when the bill came that it was actually $35 per person. ACK!
I am with you on this one. I hate up-charges at restaurants and will usually only order things that are included in the original price.

I look forward to sharing our experiences in Alaska with everyone. I also can't wait to be able to experience a Disney cruise. I'm glad the Carnival was first.
I would guess that you learned a few helpful things for your Disney cruise.

I expected to spend a lot more time out there, but I didn’t have a whole lot of morning time (a couple of early tours) and it was cool/wet/windy out there at times. Due to low visibility when we were close to land on a few days, there was not a lot to see.
The ocean is rather boring when all you see is water. Did your room usually face land? That is the side that I would want.

I get very restless, so a day at sea is not a day at the beach for me. I want to be DOING something!
I feel the same way. I can't wait to hear if the Disney cruise had a lot more things to do than this one.

Here are a few pictures from the viewing spot
I love these pictures. Were there signs that global warming was melting the glaciers?
 
It has taken me a while to figure out that you had started trip report for your cruise. I can't wait to hear how the Fantasy trip turns out. I bet that you will notice a few differences.

That is great to hear that there are airlines out there that feed their passengers on long flights. We used to go to Hawaii a lot but one reason we stopped going was the flight. The seats got smaller and the food was almost non-existent. We used to get three meals on a flight to Hawaii from Chicago. Our last trip had just a sandwich for purchase and that had to last the entire 11 hour flight.

That is a real bargain. :)

I love those pictures. :) They will be fun to look at years from now.

I am with you on this one. I hate up-charges at restaurants and will usually only order things that are included in the original price.

I would guess that you learned a few helpful things for your Disney cruise.

The ocean is rather boring when all you see is water. Did your room usually face land? That is the side that I would want.

I feel the same way. I can't wait to hear if the Disney cruise had a lot more things to do than this one.

I love these pictures. Were there signs that global warming was melting the glaciers?

I was surprised we were offered meals. I didn't know in advance. We had purchased breakfast and Ben turned down the meal offered. Never turn down "free" food.

I'm glad we did the city pass. That way we had lots to do to choose from and I didn't have to weigh the pros and cons of paying admission to those places.

Sometimes we could see land sometimes sea from our balcony. We didn't spend nearly the amount of time I thought we would out there

I love the pictures of my boys with the bear. So much!!!!

There were definite signs of climate change impacting Mendenhall glacier. The area we walked on was covered with ice less than 100 years ago and the glacier has receded miles since it was discovered.

#globalwarmingnotahoax
#duh
#thereisnoplanetB
 
Omg where have I been!! Only found this report this morning and spent a lovely lazy time lying in bed reading from the start while the boys were at football. Great photos. Away to eat breakfast now that all the food porn photos have made me hungry :)
 
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Sorry I’m late Dee but happy to find your Alaskan cruise trip report.
I appreciate all your details in hopes of one day taking my DH on an Alaskan cruise.
I love how close you were to the Space Needle and the Pass sounds like great deal.
Your pictures with Mt Rainier in the distance were beautiful. Growing up my parents had a painting of Mt Rainier that I loved so much.
The pictures of your sons and the bear are priceless :rotfl:
 
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Did I not put a link to this report in my anniversary trip report? I know I debated about writing it.


Omg where have I been!! Only found this report this morning and spent a lovely lazy time lying in bed reading from the start while the boys were at football. Great photos. Away to eat breakfast now that all the food porn photos have made me hungry :)

Glad you could enjoy a few quiet moments catching up. Thank you!

:goodvibes


Sorry I’m late Dee but happy to find your Alaskan cruise trip report.
I appreciate all your details in hopes of one day taking my DH on an Alaskan cruise.
I love how close you were to the Space Needle and the Pass sounds like great deal.
Your pictures with Mt Rainier in the distance were beautiful. Growing up my parents had a painting of Mt Rainier that I loved so much.
The pictures of your sons and the bear are priceless :rotfl:

Thanks for reading.

Alaska was a dream trip for Nate and a bucket list trip for us.

We really enjoyed our time in Seattle and being in the center of it all was important for us being able to enjoy all of the stuff on the City Pass. Our hotel was fantastic and in a great location, but it wasn't cheap!!!

We were glad to be able to see Mt. Rainier so clearly. It was funny when Nate spotted it and told us to look much higher than we thought we should be looking!

:magnify:
 
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Whale Summer


I live about 10 minutes from the ocean. There is whale watch tour company the next town over from me. Over the winter I purchased Groupon discounts so I could go out and “practice” whale watching and taking pictures.

The four of us went out on a very hot afternoon in July. We saw a whale almost immediately, before entering the open water, but the ship moved on when it dove. The weather turned and the seas got a bit choppy so the captain was not comfortable going out to the ledge where they usually go. We spent the next three hours trolling around a group of islands not finding whales. About 20 minutes before we had to return, we finally spotted a couple of fin whales swimming together.

Even though we did have the guaranteed sighting, the company gave us passes to return this season, so we went back in early August. We had much better sightings, 3 species of whales (humpback including a mom and baby, finback and minke) and two species of porpoise.

Then the following week, Nate went on another whale watch as part of his internship.

The Whale Watch in Alaska was one of the highlights of our Alaska tour, as well as seeing a number of whales at various distances from the cruise ship

The fun with whales was not over when we returned from the trip.

In mid-September at a nearby beach, whales have been spotted feeding just 50-100 feet offshore. Friends of mine and the local media reported about this unusual occurence. I have gone a few times to see if I could see the whales. The first time I went, I saw a whale just offshore and excitedly took a few pictures. Then I looked down at my camera, and once again, I had failed to put in a memory card at a crucial moment. Once I realized my mistake, and put in a card, the rest of the pictures I took were crap! But it does give you an idea of how close to shore the whales were.





I did see seals and also a large fin in the water (not a whale, either belonging to a shark or more likely a mola mola)









Fins to the Right!



Here is an amazing collage of pictures that was shared on Facebook:


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The Whales Don't Care- They're Already Wet!





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It was raining pretty hard on our ride over to the marina and it was still raining as we got off the bus and walked to the dock. I saw a couple of bald eagles on posts. I snapped a picture with my waterproof camera, but I was moving so it came out blurry.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see the eagles when our boat returned to the marina after the whale watch.

After boarding the boat, we were directed to the seating area inside the boat where Captain Eddie and crew members Emma and Emily briefed us and talked about whales we would be seeing.

ETA: Emily (or Emma) (or Jennifer or Heather, not sure which) said that she follows the whale migration pattern: She spends summers working on a whale boat in Alaska and winter months working on a whale boat in Hawaii. NICE!!!

It was still raining as we motored out to the viewing spot, but the crew told us “Whales don't care. They are already wet.”

Once we stopped, the crew gave us the ok to go up onto the top deck, which was covered, to look for whales. It was kind of cramped up there, probably because most people wanted to stay under the roof so they wouldn’t get wet. I am short and had some trouble finding a good spot where I didn’t get boxed in. I am guessing that on a drier day, it would be easier for people to spread out and move around because there would be more people at the rails.


We kept watch and soon saw a spout


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Thar She Blows!


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At one point a baby whale breached (propelled itself out of the water), but I missed the photo op. Too bad, since it would have been a great shot with the land showing behind.

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The coolest thing we saw was one whale performing flipper slaps, slamming giant fins in the water to stir up or stun the fish it was feeding upon.


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Touchdown!


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On the way back to the marina, one of the deckhands came around and shared her fantastic pictures via Air Drop


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