Back from cruise

Hello everyone

Sorry we haven't been in touch via e-mail much, but internet access on the ship was VERY expensive so I didn't bother with it and just used texts on the phone when I could - on some parts of the journey there was no signal in any case. In general, the sailing was no problem with fairly calm seas, especially on the way back to Vancouver where some parts of the water were as smooth as glass!! I've taken literally hundreds of photos!!

The cabins on the ship were actually quite spacious with plenty of hanging space for clothes - it really was just like a 5-star hotel (but with prices to match!!). You don't spend cash on board as it's all put onto your on board account then charged to your credit card at the end o the journey - so you need to be sitting down when you get the bill!!!!

Our trips off the ship were super - except for the weather when we got to Juneau, which was the most northerly point. We went to the Mendenhall Glacier which was lovely but when we got to the rainforest garden, all we really saw there was RAIN. It was also pretty cold. However, it all changed when we got to Ketchikan the next day. They say there that it you can see Deer Mountain then it's going to rain and if you can't see it, then it's actually raining. Well, we got there in brilliant sunshine and it stayed that way all day for both our tours, which was fantastic. As Ketchikan gets a lot of rainfall in a year, we were very lucky to get sunshine, and it wasn't too cold either.

The all day sail back to Vancouver was just brilliant. The sea was calm, the scenery was stunning and the sun shone through blue skies!! After doing some washing and ironing in the launderette, we stayed up on the sun deck almost all day and we now have tanned faces and arms!! Sunbathing on the deck on an Alaskan cruise was something we never thought we'd do.

Today (Saturday) we got back into Vancouver and immediately booked a tour up into Grouse Mountain and also a suspension bridge. Both were superb - I actually walked over the bridge and back again!! On Grouse Mountain they have two grizzly bears in the wildlife sanctuary, so that was a real bonus to see.

To night we are going to have a walk to find somewhere to eat - as if we've not eaten enough on the ship already!!! The food was out of this world on board.

Well, that's me briefly caught you up on what's happening here. We are off to Victoria in the morning via the ferry. I don't know if the hotel we're at will have wi-fi or not - if not, I'll not post another message till we get back to Vancouver again.