Cruising Alaska on the Norwegian Star
< Continued from page 2
Day 6 of Norwegian Star Cruise - Glacier Bay
When we woke up this morning, we were floating in Glacier Bay. At about 8:00 AM, a ranger from Glacier Bay National Park came over the PA system to describe the bay and point out the glaciers. It is an absolutely beautiful place.
When there was a particularly lovely glacier, the captain would turn the boat around (very slowly) so that the other side of the ship could see it.
We spent most of the day in our cabin, looking at the glaciers and trying to spot whales and seals. We spotted some humpback whales, but they were much farther away than when we were in Juneau.
Enjoyed three wonderful meals, with dessert and free ice cream.
The entertainment this evening was a large woman singer, who called herself The Chocolate Goddess. She was absolutely wonderful, very entertaining. Her last song was ?I?m Glad to be an American? and the crowd stood up and went wild, even most of the foreigners.
It was another good day!
Day 7 - Ketchikan
We had to meet our excursion group at 7:15 AM, so it was an early morning. The ship did not dock this time, so we had to get into tender boats that took us to the streets of Ketchikan. From there, a motor coach (which is just a fancy bus) took us through the city of 14,000 to the edge of Tongas Forest. We hopped on a huge yellow rubber boat and were driven an island where we would meet our tour guide. We saw some bald eagles high up in trees along the way, and we saw a huge eagle?s nest.
Our guide took us on a mile hike through the forest and it was awesome.
We didn?t see any other wildlife (except slugs), since the furry things on the island hear the boats coming and scurry away. We had really wanted to see a brown bear, but that was not to be.
We returned to the ship about noon. Just in time for another meal!
After a nap, we went to a Disembarkation Briefing. We will have to go through customs in Seattle, so there was a lot that we needed to know.
Some other things that you can do on the ship ? go to the Internet Café, where I am now, to check email, etc. There is also a Java Café where they serve specialty coffees.
That evening, we attended a wonderful show called Cirque Asia. It was the same dance company that we have been seeing all week. This was the best show ever. They did the most incredible acrobatics ? which were all amazing enough. But remember, this was all done on a moving ship!
The Chocoholic Buffet was scheduled for 11:30 PM, and we were just too tuckered out to stay up for it!
Day 8 - Victoria
We had a leisurely day, since we would not dock in Victoria until 6:00 this evening.
As always, we enjoyed three squares! (I am going to really miss not having dessert twice a day!)
Watched the ?Magic Show? with Shawn Farquhar. It wasn?t really magic, but card tricks. He was really entertaining. He was so funny, and nice, too. He had his 3 year old daughter come up and help with one of the tricks, and she was so darling.
Then we went to ?Who Wants to Be a Bazillionaire??, with audience participants.
Then we played ?Five Game Bingo Bonanza? (as if Double Power Bingo wasn?t exciting enough?). We lost again, and decided to hang up our bingo cards.
We rested up since tonight will be a late night, and enjoyed the view from our cabin.
There are activities going on all day long that you can go to (even a napkin-folding demonstration ? which we did not go to). It reminds me of church camp; except the food is better and I got to share my cabin with a boy!
At 5:00, we enjoyed a BBQ on deck 12 ? poolside. Then we disembarked and walked a few blocks to our motor coach (bus). We enjoyed a tour of Victoria, British Columbia. It is a beautiful city!
We ended up at Butchart Gardens which is absolutely breath-taking. It is acres and acres of beautiful plants and flowers. At sundown, we were treated to a fireworks display that was choreographed to music. It was unbelievable. The fireworks were animated, not just rockets that go up in the air. They made designs and would spin and ?walk? and shoot straight across. Wow.
We came back to the ship about midnight and finished packing for the trip home.
Day 9 ? Seattle
We had to put our luggage outside our door the night before so they could carry it down for us. We kept just our carry-on bag with us. At 8:15 AM, we met our tour guide down in the theatre and, since we had been in Canada, we had to claim our luggage and go through customs. That went pretty smoothly.
Our motor coach (bus) was waiting for us and took us on a 3-hour tour of Seattle. It was really interesting. We got to stop at the locks and see a ship being lowered into the ocean. We saw a lot more of the area than we did the first couple of days when we were on foot. The tour guide dropped us off at the airport around noon.
Day 6 of Norwegian Star Cruise - Glacier Bay
When we woke up this morning, we were floating in Glacier Bay. At about 8:00 AM, a ranger from Glacier Bay National Park came over the PA system to describe the bay and point out the glaciers. It is an absolutely beautiful place.
When there was a particularly lovely glacier, the captain would turn the boat around (very slowly) so that the other side of the ship could see it.
We spent most of the day in our cabin, looking at the glaciers and trying to spot whales and seals. We spotted some humpback whales, but they were much farther away than when we were in Juneau.
Enjoyed three wonderful meals, with dessert and free ice cream.
The entertainment this evening was a large woman singer, who called herself The Chocolate Goddess. She was absolutely wonderful, very entertaining. Her last song was ?I?m Glad to be an American? and the crowd stood up and went wild, even most of the foreigners.
It was another good day!
Day 7 - Ketchikan
We had to meet our excursion group at 7:15 AM, so it was an early morning. The ship did not dock this time, so we had to get into tender boats that took us to the streets of Ketchikan. From there, a motor coach (which is just a fancy bus) took us through the city of 14,000 to the edge of Tongas Forest. We hopped on a huge yellow rubber boat and were driven an island where we would meet our tour guide. We saw some bald eagles high up in trees along the way, and we saw a huge eagle?s nest.
Our guide took us on a mile hike through the forest and it was awesome.
We didn?t see any other wildlife (except slugs), since the furry things on the island hear the boats coming and scurry away. We had really wanted to see a brown bear, but that was not to be.
We returned to the ship about noon. Just in time for another meal!
After a nap, we went to a Disembarkation Briefing. We will have to go through customs in Seattle, so there was a lot that we needed to know.
Some other things that you can do on the ship ? go to the Internet Café, where I am now, to check email, etc. There is also a Java Café where they serve specialty coffees.
That evening, we attended a wonderful show called Cirque Asia. It was the same dance company that we have been seeing all week. This was the best show ever. They did the most incredible acrobatics ? which were all amazing enough. But remember, this was all done on a moving ship!
The Chocoholic Buffet was scheduled for 11:30 PM, and we were just too tuckered out to stay up for it!
Day 8 - Victoria
We had a leisurely day, since we would not dock in Victoria until 6:00 this evening.
As always, we enjoyed three squares! (I am going to really miss not having dessert twice a day!)
Watched the ?Magic Show? with Shawn Farquhar. It wasn?t really magic, but card tricks. He was really entertaining. He was so funny, and nice, too. He had his 3 year old daughter come up and help with one of the tricks, and she was so darling.
Then we went to ?Who Wants to Be a Bazillionaire??, with audience participants.
Then we played ?Five Game Bingo Bonanza? (as if Double Power Bingo wasn?t exciting enough?). We lost again, and decided to hang up our bingo cards.
We rested up since tonight will be a late night, and enjoyed the view from our cabin.
There are activities going on all day long that you can go to (even a napkin-folding demonstration ? which we did not go to). It reminds me of church camp; except the food is better and I got to share my cabin with a boy!
At 5:00, we enjoyed a BBQ on deck 12 ? poolside. Then we disembarked and walked a few blocks to our motor coach (bus). We enjoyed a tour of Victoria, British Columbia. It is a beautiful city!
We ended up at Butchart Gardens which is absolutely breath-taking. It is acres and acres of beautiful plants and flowers. At sundown, we were treated to a fireworks display that was choreographed to music. It was unbelievable. The fireworks were animated, not just rockets that go up in the air. They made designs and would spin and ?walk? and shoot straight across. Wow.
We came back to the ship about midnight and finished packing for the trip home.
Day 9 ? Seattle
We had to put our luggage outside our door the night before so they could carry it down for us. We kept just our carry-on bag with us. At 8:15 AM, we met our tour guide down in the theatre and, since we had been in Canada, we had to claim our luggage and go through customs. That went pretty smoothly.
Our motor coach (bus) was waiting for us and took us on a 3-hour tour of Seattle. It was really interesting. We got to stop at the locks and see a ship being lowered into the ocean. We saw a lot more of the area than we did the first couple of days when we were on foot. The tour guide dropped us off at the airport around noon.
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