I never had Alaska in my Bucket List, but David did, and I’m so glad we were able to take this trip together only a few months before he passed away. I just finished writing it, and Zoe was able to help me upload it to David’s blog so that it could be sent out on July 29, 2024, one year after his passing. I can’t think of a better way to remember and honor him on this anniversary.

So here we go … After the anxious beginning when I almost lost my phone on an Uber ride from our hotel to the cruise ship terminal, I was reunited with it shortly before we set sail. So all was good as we left Vancouver and cruised the Queen Charlotte Sound in the late afternoon of May 11, 2023. There was lots of fanfare: music, dancing, air horns blasting, champagne and hors d’oeuvres being passed by crisply dressed ship stewards, and lots of picture-taking as the skyscrapers of Vancouver shrank and the forests along the sea loomed. We were busily looking for all kinds of wildlife — bears, whales, seals — just a few hours after our departure but also just lounging on chaises and soaking up the late afternoon sun.

We chose a smaller vessel to sail the Inner Passage of Alaska: the Italian-built Seabourn Odyssey that had 229 suites and could accommodate 400 guests. This ship was considerably smaller than the other big lines we saw in Vancouver: Carnival, Princess, Cunard, Celebrity — all carrying 2000 to 7000 passengers! The nice thing about our ship was that it could sail through narrow passageways where the behemoths like Royal Caribbean could not go. 

It was magical leaving Vancouver and sailing the three-mile stretch of the Seymour Narrow, north of Vancouver with strong tidal currents. We passed a myriad of islands, some with docks jutting out from green mounds scattered with cabins and homes and some stretches of verdant land, waterfalls, and forests.

We awoke the next morning, already moored. After breakfast we tendered in to Ketchikan, nicknamed the “canned salmon capital of the world” because that’s how the town started in 1885. The photos we’d always seen of the town were of the picturesque rainbow-colored shops on Creek Street, perched above the water on stilts. It actually looked a lot quainter from a distance.

David and I found it saccharine and touristy with its t-shirt and candle shops and retro-styled printed signs trying to evoke the feel of the 1800s. The other well-known part all tourists (including me) were hankering to see was the infamous red-light district, which flourished during the Gold Rush. That was a let-down, too. Still, parts of it, like famous Salmon Ladder sculpture at the end of the Creek Street boardwalk, were whimsical and artistic.

Every day The Odyssey offered multiple and varied activities like visits to Native American villages, cooking classes, rain forest walks, Zodiac rides to glaciers, whale watching trips, and other included or paid excursions. We had no trouble choosing incredible, interesting ones. We visited the Totem Bight State Park and the Totem Heritage Center to view the site of the Tlingit people who made Ketchikan their home for thousands of years. These sites contain the world’s largest collection of Native American totem poles.

After exploring Ketchikan, we boarded a chartered boat to discover Misty Fjords National Monument, a pristine treasure consisting of 2.3 million acres with lots of marine and coastal wildlife. The name was apt because there was a light spray of mist when slipping near one of the booming waterfalls. We luckily had binoculars with us and saw bald eagles, some of them nesting, a tall volcanic spire jutting from the sea (New Eddystone Rock), steep tree-lined slopes, plummeting waterfalls, and winding fjords that were carved by retreating glaciers. Towards the end we glimpsed a coastal brown bear and her cubs on a rocky beach and some seals playing in the water. But no whales.

Every night we had various dining options: The Restaurant for fine dining; the Patio, an outdoor poolside venue for pizzas and light fare; The Grill by Thomas Keller, which required a reservation and allowed only one dining experience there per cruise; the Bistro, a tiny section of eight café tables in the stern behind the main Seabourn Square. This is the hub of the ship,  where everyone gathers eventually to book excursions, check on ship happenings, enjoy cozy chairs that look out over the water, or have a cappuccino and pastry from the elaborate all-day coffee bar.

One highlight was dining in The Grill and enjoying some of Thomas Keller’s fabled dishes with some extraordinary wine.  We were told that Keller actually cooks on board some of the cruises, but he wasn’t on ours. Still, the dishes in the four-course menu were delicious. I started with a whole artichoke with garlic mayonnaise and then had rack of lamb, which I order whenever I can. David had a jumbo lump crab cake followed by halibut with a tangy apricot sauce. All sumptuous.

On our fourth day aboard the Odyssey, we passed beautiful snow-capped Mt. Edgecumbe, then arrived at Sitka and tendered into the town to explore. Sitka, the oldest city in Alaska, is affectionately deemed “the Paris of the Pacific” because of its growing wealth during the Gold Rush of 1897 to 1907 and its booming fur and timber business then. It’s a very picturesque town with a beautiful Russian Orthodox church and remnants of other Russian architecture (Sitka was sold to the US by Russia in 1867). The streets are lined with charming art galleries, cafes, and local shops, where I was happy to see several selling local jams, honey, and my favorite gift to purchase because it is small and can be carried in a carry-on bag: locally produced sea salt. And various flavors — some with lavender, some with garlic. What a find!

After exploring the quaint town, we boarded a van and drove to the Tongos Rain Forest, where we met a naturalist who guided us on a 2 to 3 mile hike, sharing her knowledge of its history and the flora and fauna there. We enjoyed lovely mountain views and then descended to Starrigavin Creek and a boardwalk through a marsh estuary and bird-viewing area, and then into the Tongos rainforest to learn about trees, frogs, mushrooms, flowers, and animals there.

Day 5 was a cruising day as we navigated the icy waters of Glacier Bay, discovered by John Muir in 1879 and made an International World Heritage Site in 1924. The two arms of Glacier Bay are comprised of more than 50 named glaciers and dozens more that are unnamed. Some of the 50 can move forward three to six feet per day. Cruise ship, sightseeing, and private vessel traffic within Glacier Bay is strictly regulated. We felt blessed that our small ship was allowed in; had we been on an enormous Celebrity-like ship, we would have been out of luck. Even commercial fishermen are prohibited from these waters to protect the humpback whales, which feed in these glacial waters.

Disenchantment Bay (such a negative name for such an awe-inspiring natural wonder) is the entryway to the Hubbard Glacier, North America’s biggest tidewater glacier. That term was new to me, but I learned that if a glacier is fed by enough snow so that it flows out of the mountains and all the way to sea, it is termed a tidewater glacier. The Hubbard Glacier is still advancing, not retreating (only about 12% of the world’s glaciers are thickening), has a vast 40-foot ghostly face and is seven miles wide.

This was the expedition we had been waiting for! We donned our bright blue water- and cold-proof jackets that Seabourn had given us at the beginning of the cruise, boarded one of the ship’s four or five rubber Zodiacs with a very knowledgeable guide, and motored into the ice floe-filled waters to get up close views of the calving glacier, the gigantic icebergs, and the enormous colonies of sea lions and seals camping out on the glacier. We couldn’t have been more thrilled with this experience. The ice floes were sapphire blue, the color of pure glacier ice. I had to Google the reason, even after the naturalist explained why: “the red (long wavelengths) part of white light is absorbed by ice and the blue (short wavelengths) light is transmitted and scattered.” I was still left scratching my head, but the sheer brightness and beauty of the blue icebergs was mesmerizing.

We had to carefully navigate among the large and small floating chunks of blue ice to get closer to the glacier, but of course rules prohibited us from getting too close. For one reason, there was a lot of calving that we could hear before we saw: the thunderous breaking of masses of ice from the glacier face and tumbling or sliding into the water — a booming avalanche of sight and sound. The other reason we had to keep our distance was to leave the seals and sea lions undisturbed. There was plenty to see, though, and we could hear and smell them almost before we could see them clearly. They bark, grunt, and growl non-stop and their fishy, ammonia stench is overpowering. We were lucky enough to enjoy watching many of the seals dive and glide around our boat, seemingly enjoying our company as much as we enjoyed theirs.

The days are so full of nature and adventure that it’s nice to have the evenings on board to relax, dine, and be entertained. By midway through the cruise we had explored every nook and cranny of the vessel. I usually had a morning cappuccino and a cinnamon roll at the Espresso Bar even before the main dining room, the Colonnade, opened for breakfast with its vast buffet of everything from lox and bagels to pancakes and made-to-order omelets. If we finished our excursion in the late afternoon, we could have tea in The Club, which morphed into a dance club with live music in the late evening (something I never experienced because I was usually in bed by 10). The Sky Bar was stunning and contemporary. With its panoramic water views, it was one of our favorite places to have a proper gin and tonic and a canapé before dinner. The Observation Bar was just as stunning and beautifully appointed, but there were also cozy nooks to linger and sip a glass of wine.

After we had enjoyed our night of dining at the Thomas Keller Grill, we usually enjoyed the rather elaborate and unhurried gourmet meals at The Restaurant. We could eat alone at a romantic two-top by a window and watch the sea or we could join others that we had met and liked for a dinner with lively conversation and laughs. We tried the little Bistro one night and enjoyed some good French food. And once when the weather was very nice, we sat under heaters at The Patio and had pizza and pasta. We tried them all. For lunch we all dined in the Colonnade (both indoors in the dining room and outdoors on the deck) at the lavish buffets (sometimes with regionally-themed food) and cooking stations that prepared dishes on the spot such as grilled meats and sautés.

The sixth day of our cruise found us in the Inian Islands, known as the gatekeepers of the northern entrance to the Inside Passage. These remote islands, between Cross Sound and Icy Strait, have a powerful tidal pull because they are caught in the strong currents of the Pacific Ocean. This water is known as the “laundry chute” because of its dangerous, narrow passage between islands. As we cruised leisurely along the rocky coastline, we enjoyed searching the rugged shores for and spotting several creatures like Sitka brown bears, sea lions, black-tailed deer, and bald eagles. Naturalists and biologists were always on deck with us, happy to answer questions, point out animals or birds and explain their habits. Humpback whales populate these waters, making the area ideal for scientific research.

There was much to do on the little island of Chichagof, where we docked. That morning we chose to explore Icy Strait Point, a tiny community of local Tlingit tribes settled to extoll their culture and history to visitors. We strolled the streets of the hamlet that boasts a restored 1912 cannery detailing the entire salmon canning method with colorful illustrations, photographs and replicas of the intricate process. There are also shops selling locally made goods and crafts and a Tlingit Heritage Center offering live performances — dancing, singing, and storytelling — from native inhabitants. Some Seabourn guests also chose to explore the wild side of the Island in ATVs in search of brown coastal bears and other wildlife. Others walked the shoreline to the little village of Hoonah to view its beautiful totem pole collection and galleries highlighting vibrant Native American art.

But the highlight for us was the afternoon whale-watching trip in Zodiacs to view humpback whales. These magnificent creatures can be up to 50 feet long, and some of the ones we saw seemed close to that size. One whale we saw had a calf in tow, and we learned that females produce only one calf every two or three years on average. These whales have dark black bodies, slightly humped backs, and very long pectoral fins with scalloped edges. When they breach, their white tail flukes make a graceful slap, a way of communicating with other whales.  Although they look dangerous, they are naturally very gentle and non-aggressive and only become violent when threatened. Watching the antics of these beautiful animals was one of the highpoints of our trip.

We woke up the next morning in the little Alaskan gem, Haines, where we anchored all day. David decided to spend the day on board reading and writing, but I was eager to explore Haines, which was founded in 1879 when the first European settlers arrived; the town grew considerably in the Klondike gold rush of 1899 when miners journeyed there for supplies and equipment. Haines has the largest concentration of bald eagles in the world, and we weren’t disappointed because we saw them flying majestically and perching everywhere.

I spent several hours in the warm sunshine, walking through Haines, discovering art galleries selling local pottery, wooden bowls, and even locally produced sea salt, which I am always on watch for. Unfortunately, The Hammer Museum was closed, or I would surely have visited it! I walked up the hill to Fort Seward, a US Army post built in 1903 but closed in 1946. The fort is intact with three rows of white-framed buildings (originally a clinic, a school, etc.) forming the three sides of a square, the fourth side empty except for a beautiful unblocked view of the harbor. The grassy field in the center of the square has some interesting sculptures and signage describing the history.

We spent the next day at sea, cruising the 90-mile long Lynn Canal, which connects Skagway and Haines to Juneau and the rest of the Inside Passage. We learned this is a very important passageway because of its 2000-foot depth (one of the deepest fjords in the world) and capacity to carry cruise ships, cargo boats, and ferries.

Cruising days are lovely to have from time to time because they allow us to decompress and enjoy doing nothing except what we want: maybe working out an hour in the fitness center on an elliptical machine as we gaze at the passing scenery, perhaps having a deep-tissue massage at the spa, or maybe just finding a deck chair or cozy seat in Seabourn Square to read and drink hot chocolate.

But at the end of the day we had a beautiful finale with musical performances, gourmet canapés, champagne and cocktails, and the whole crew marching in to say goodbye. It was followed by a stunning sunset — a lovely way to end our fantastic cruise.

We arrived the next morning to our final destination: Juneau, Alaska’s capital, which (and I did not know this before) is accessible solely by sea and air because of the extremely rocky mountains that surround the city. Because we had an afternoon flight to Anchorage to continue our Alaskan adventure to Denali, we were able to spend the morning at the majestic Mendenhall Glacier, hiking to its stunning Nugget Waterfall at the terminus of the glacier on an icy and rocky trail along the banks of Mendenhall Lake before heading to the airport.

For me, this was one of the most spectacular sights we’d seen on our trip. The glacier, over 13 miles long and with an edifice of 4000 feet, has been retreating for almost 400 years. It can be viewed at a distance from a massive deck on the Visitor’s Center or up close from one of the trails through the Tongos forest, with the foaming white Nugget Falls on the face of the glacier plunging into the lake. Icebergs occasionally calve into the lake, and they look like blue sapphires floating in the icy lake.

The Mendenhall Glacier was a stunning way to end our Alaskan cruise. Although we were sad to disembark the elegance and comfort of our vessel and leave behind the enriching excursions that had been so effortlessly enjoyed, we were excited for the next part of our Alaskan adventure: our independent journey to and exploration of Denali National Park. Stay tuned for more on that segment.