We awoke on our first day well before the scheduled 7:00AM ship’s wake-up call due to the anticipation and we were not disappointed. The ship was surrounded by dozens of waterfalls tumbling down 3,000-foot cliffs and hundreds of floating blue blocks of ice. Those blocks of blue ice would soon become full-fledged icebergs. 

We were on Cruise West’s Spirit of Discovery. The journey had begun 26 hours earlier with a less grueling than imagined 12-hour journey from the Midwest to Juneau.  At the Goldbelt Hotel there were people to help with anything we needed until boarding the ship that evening, including several excursions available before boarding time.

We explored Juneau in the morning but found most shops closed, apparently because there were no large cruise ships in port. Later four big ships came in and all the shops were open and the streets very much alive with teeming crowds of people just off the ships. We tried to run a few last-minute errands in town but had no luck; we later found out that the locals go to the big mall out by the airport to do their shopping. The downtown area is really a series of government buildings (Juneau is the state capital) and tourist shops. The town is situated on a deep-water harbor and at the base of a 4,000 ft. mountain. Walk along the waterfront and you can see one of the big cruise ships up close and personal or commercial fishing boats bringing in their daily catch.

We stopped for lunch -- the local specials are salmon and halibut, the two predominant fish in the area, and cod. The halibut was fresh and delicious.

In the afternoon we joined a group of 11 for a 1-1/2 hour rainforest nature hike in the Tongas Rainforest. It is the largest temperate rainforest in the world, spanning some17 million acres. The hike takes us to a rock beach at low tide and we spot our first pair of Bald Eagles soaring above the trees. Their nest is almost 200 ft. up in the treetops. When we return from the hike our bags have already been transferred to the ship, and our ship is waiting. The Captain himself boards our bus and personally checks our I.D.’s. He is Captain Rob Earle and he has been sailing with Cruise West for 12 years now, starting as a deckhand.

On board, after a quick safety briefing, we have our first dinner. The seating is open. On the menu tonight are a creamy mushroom tarragon soup, a salad of wild greens with candied pecans and goat cheese, and a main course of prime rib or baked salmon. There is also a vegetarian offer nightly and tonight’s is grilled portobello with risotto and fresh asparagus. Tasting is encouraged so we try a small portion of the vegetarian special along with our prime rib. No matter the dessert, every night we ordered it a la mode” and the staff was happy to accommodate. Also available at any time is steak or chicken breast. The kitchen is staffed by four people headed by Chef Bob Ward, with 17 years in the restaurant business the last 9 with Cruise West. We toured the galley and were surprised by its spaciousness compared to many cruise ships. One of the biggest adjustments a chef has to make, according to Bob, is that gas cooking is not allowed by regulations so even the large ships are required to cook with electricity.

Back in the lounge we are assigned in groups of 8 for the small boats known as DIBs for our wildlife excursions. (DIB stands for Demery Inflatable Boat, similar to a Zodiac.) We are given a briefing about the itinerary we will be following but it is pretty vague -- the officers are watching weather and keeping in touch with other boats on wildlife sightings to adjust the schedule based on changing conditions. Birders are already excited, writing in their journals that they have spotted Bald Eagles, Marbled Murrelets, Pigeon Guillemots, Surf Scoters, and Mew Gulls.

It is getting quite late and yet you would not know that unless you looked at a clock. In the summer here there are 17 hours of light each day. We are always to bed before it gets dark (around 2:00AM)!

Our first full day begins with cruising Stephan’s Passage to Tracy Arm. We have a hard time describing the sights all around us.  We are traveling down a fjord (defined as a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea between steep slopes). Fjords are dug out of the earth by glaciers over time. We are surrounded by sheer cliffs on either side towering to an average height of 2,500 feet. The water depth here is some 800 ft. Dozens of waterfalls cascade down the sheer cliffs. The ice in the water around us is turning to larger and larger blocks of ice as we travel closer to the glacier. The channel grows narrower; it is obvious that no big cruise ship could maneuver here.

We have been up since six and have eaten at the early breakfast buffet which is set up every morning from 6 to 9 with juice, pastries, fresh fruit, hot and cold cereal, and fresh yogurt. A coffee/tea/cocoa station is available 24/7.  We decide to go to the regular breakfast anyway at 7:30AM for the special of Banana French Toast.

This morning we take our first adventure in the DIBs, to explore the icebergs that are all around us now. We get close enough to touch one. They are a brilliant Windex-blue. This color is due to the light refracting out from the crystals formed by years of pressure in the glacier from which the icebergs are born. Icebergs have 90% of their mass below the water line. Our exploration leader and DIB driver decide to go around a bend where they had never been and we discovered a spectacular waterfall with many different levels winding its way in and out of some patches of snow.

We get back to the boat and kick back in the lounge waiting for the lunch call. Everyday for lunch and dinner the galley whips up a different type of specialty bread. Today for dessert is cannoli. We had ours a la mode

After lunch we get all the way up to two glaciers, Sawyer and South Sawyer. We were afraid that the ice could get too thick to make it up this far but the Glacier God’s were shining on us today. The only signs of civilization we saw were two small boats near the glacier. We watch for glacier “calving” where big or small pieces of glacier fall into the water creating icebergs. There is a tremendous cracking and thundering sound when this happens.

We visited the bridge where Capt. Rob was on duty along with 1^st mate Chris. The ship has an open bridge policy. They had all the expected modern navigational equipment, but occasionally have a hard time using it due to the tall cliffs surrounding us. “There is no substitute for first hand experience and familiarity with the area,” says Capt. Rob.

We stop at “Hole in the Wall” waterfall, which comes cascading over a cliff. The boat inches closer and closer into the falling water, and two crew members appear with pitchers and raingear. They lean into the cascading water to see who can collect the most in their pitcher. A winner is declared and the water quickly winds up on their heads.

Earlier, one of the DIBs had brought back a large chunk of ice, which becomes the subject of a “bergy bits” competition to see who can guess the closest as to when it will melt completely away.

All of the activity has left us with quite an appetite. On the menu tonight are curry egg bread, sweet potato ginger soup, Mediterranean mushroom salad, and either rack of lamb or halibut baked in a cream sauce with cheddar cheese. We learned that rather than buy wine by the glass we could buy it by the bottle and they would put our cabin number on it and make it available for all meals.

As if there had not been enough action for one day, we managed to make sightings of a harbor seal, brown bear, wolves, and mountain goats, and more birds. 

We are up early again. The nightly handouts we receive tell us there will be a lot of opportunities for wildlife sightings. We will explore the Bay of Pillars and Kulu Island in the morning and cruise Baranoff Island and Chatham Straight in the afternoon. Timing is critical as we need to hit the water at low tide to explore intertidal pools. In the pools we find Sunflower Star, Ochre Sea Star, Dogwinkle, Whelk, Frilled Anemone, Gumboot Chiton, Lined Chiton, Plate Limpet, Acorn Barnacles, Thatched Barnacles, Strawberry Anemone, Mossy Chiton, and Kelp Crab. 

This afternoon there is a tour to the Alaska Raptor Center which is a hospital/nursing home for Raptors (hawks, eagles, and owls). Those birds that cannot be released to the wild are kept here for educational purposes. There are 25 full time resident birds. We move then to Sitka National Historic Park where there is a great cultural and historical museum and an artist-in- residence program. Today we see weaver Teri Rofkar working on a blanket under commission, she has already invested 1,000 hours into the piece. Next we see wood carver Tommy Joseph who is working on a totem pole. He is using traditional wood carver tools and techniques to “tell the story” of the totem.

Back at the ship is a surprise -- Chef Bob has found some Dungeness Crabs in town that are offered along with steak for dinner. After dinner the crew put on a little improv show for us in the lounge. Today: a Brown Bear, Steller’s Sea Lion and Harbor Porpoise.

At 5:45 AM the ship PA system announces humpback whale sightings. The observation deck quickly fills with passengers in various states of dress. After breakfast and after a bear safety lecture we board the DIBs for a day of exploration in Icy Straights. We followed a narrow game trail and saw many piles of bear scat making us think back to our bear lesson and one group does encounter a bear (without incident).

Back at the ship lunch is a barbecue on the top deck with hamburgers, ribs, and salmon.

This afternoon we cruise again for wildlife and the PA is running steady with sighting announcements. There is a hush all over the ship as the Captain tries to sneak up on a bear we have sighted along the shoreline, then the bear scampers back into the woods. Today’s “catch” includes Steller’s Sea Lion, Red Squirrel, Brown Bear, Mink, and Harbor Porpoise.

The next morning we visit Elfin Cove, with 20 full-time residents. (In summer the population swells to 250.) Both sport and commercial fishing thrive here. There are no cars and no roads. There is a boardwalk system for walking. You will never see a big ship here.

The afternoon is dedicated to searching for wildlife in the wilderness of Northern Icy Strait. We spot Humpbacks, Sea Lion, Sea Otters, Porpoise, and Brown Bear.

We cruise on to the Glacier Bay Lodge and Visitors Center where we disembark to walk a mile on a nature trail and see a presentation by a park ranger about the birds of Glacier Bay. When we return to the ship we notice that Cruise West’s Spirit of ’98 is docked next to us. The interior looks turn-of -the-century Victorian and was used in a scene in Kevin Costner's movie Wyatt Earp.  The ’98 cruises the Inside Passage with a few more port stops and a little less wilderness time.

At the head of Glacier Bay we stop to watch three glaciers which calve for us. Lunch is delayed because we have just sighted a pair of wolves on shore, a brown and a grey. Wolf sightings are rare. They prance into the woods and a pair of blacks appears. After lunch it’s back to the observation deck as two moose have been spotted wandering along shore. We stop to get closer as moose are also a rare sighting here. It is a mother and her 1-year-old offspring. Next is a huge black bear. Finally as if on cue are several breaching Humpbacks. Most of the crew and guests stop everything to watch this spectacle.

Also spotted today are Harbor Seals, Mountain Goats, and Steller sea lions. Birders have a banner day and found their total sightings for the trip now included Bald Eagles, Marbled Murrelets, Pigeon Guillemots, Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Mew Gulls, Arctic Terns, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Pelagic Cormorants, Tufted Puffin, Horned Puffin, Harlequin Ducks, Black Oystercatcher, Common Loon, Goldeneye, Mergensers, Kingfisher, Pelagic Cormorant, Ravens, Steller’s Blue Jay, Great Blue Heron, NW Crows, Herring Gull, Common Murres, Arctic Loon, Common Loon, American Robin, Ravens, Varied Thrush, and Ancient Murrelets, Rufous Hummingbird,  Black-legged Kittiwakes, and Double-crested Cormorants.

Tonight is the Captains farewell dinner where the crew of 23 is officially introduced to us. We take time to toast them for the great job they did with friendliness and professionalism.  They are an integral part of our cruise experience.

Dinner entrees are Tournedos Diable or oven-roasted scampi. The menu says “Colossal Prawns” and when they arrived they seemed to be as big as my hand.

After dinner we retire to the lounge to view a slide show prepared by our exploration leaders … with over 300 photos of our journey this week. The disc is available to passengers for $15, which is donated to a non-profit bear-preservation organization in Alaska.

On our last day we pull into Juneau as we are finishing our blueberry pancakes.  We are off the ship by 9:00 AM and back to the hotel where we will spend one more night before catching our plane in the early morning. As our plane will be stopping in Ketchikan we are reminded of the story our flight attendant told us as we were headed toward Alaska about her plane in Ketchikan where passengers were told they would have to deplane because there was a cargo of $1,000,000 worth of Gooey Duck clams, which had to take priority over the passengers. It goes to show the Alaskan people know where their bread is buttered. Can you imagine trying to tell a client why you missed the meeting?

 -- Scott Linde
--Doug Linde

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