Last runs through Alaska

My final 5 weeks on the ship after Dad and Jane left included the repositioning cruise to Alaska and then 3 one week runs out of Seattle. I can't say that I am overly disappointed that I am not going to be in Alaska this summer. The only run which wasn't a true disappointment from a crew perspective was the first run which was the reposition. During this 10 day cruise we had regular port days and times ~ meaning that we were in port for more than 5 hours. Once we got to Seattle, the itinerary changed and even though we had one more port day, the time we had off in port was significantly shorter and as a result, we didn't get much time to enjoy anything... Embarkation day was on Friday and we finished up around 4pm. From there we went like a bat out of hell to get up to Sitka and tender for the day. We left at a reasonable hour ~ 6pm, but out departure from Juneau was 3pm and Ketchikan was 1pm with a crew all aboard at 11:30 am. Yes, that meant no Burger Queen for me... How utterly disappointing. Once we left to head to Victoria, we arrived there at 7pm, only to leave again at midnight. So in my humble opinion, the itinerary blew...

Needless to say I didn't get out much during the final weeks, but I did manage to find an amazing shoe store in Juneau and now I am cursing myself for not discovering it earlier! How could that be??? I am now in love with 2 pairs of shoes that they didn't have in my size and I will need to find them online I think. Zappos here I come!

The other good part of my final weeks on the ship was the return of Ms. Conny. I had seen her about a year ago when I was on the ship visiting Akis, however she was uber busy taking on the Hotel Director's role and we didn't get much of a chance to hang out. She was back and in the role of Revenue Manager so we had plenty of time to sip martinis, visit the crew bar, eat healthy occassionally and dine out in Victoria on my weekly outings.

That said, my favourite part about this itinerary is the approach to the Hubbard Glacier. Captain Kafetzis is quite good at taking us into the glacier and getting a close look. Here are some of my favourite pictures this season, both in the approach through the ice and once we arrived at the glacier.







The Millenium ~ we were only at the glacier with her once, but you can appreciate how big it is when you compare it to the ship!

You also can see how big the chunks of ice are.... This is our tender which holds 150 people and the ice showing is almost as long as the tender.