We departed June 25th on Delta via JFK to Vancouver for a 15 night cruise to Seward. We stayed 1 night at The Fairmont Waterfront, right across the street from the cruise terminal. Monday June 26th Embarkation. Early morning walk along the waterfront. Had coffee & croissant at the Fairmont Pacific Rim and walked around the city for an hour or so. After check-out, we wheeled our cases across the street to the cruise terminal. There were other cruises leaving same day, so it was a bit confusing, but we found the Seabourn bag drop-off & were directed by one of the greeters to the secure area and departure salon ‘upstairs’ . Seems she thought we were on the Disney Cruise as Seabourn was downstairs! Bit of a dilemma because it was a secure area there was not supposed to be any return! Managed to overcome that issue & found the right area. Went through US Immigration without much delay & were directed to the Seabourn waiting area. Seabourn had opted for passenger registration onboard & had clearly got their sums wrong as when we arrived the waiting area was full & they were only allowing one row at a time to board, and there were a good 8 rows before us! Took about 90 minutes, but once onboard registration was pretty quick, and then up to the Colonnade for lunch! The Captain, Tim Roberts, was new to us, but Jan, our Cruise director, was a familiar face. Usual wait for suites to be ready & then the safety drill before sail away at 17:00 hours. We were in Suite 810. Tuesday June 27th, Cruising Queen Charlotte Sound, aka a Sea Day. Day to get acclimatized, and start of Team Trivia. Wednesday June 28th, Ketchikan, Alaska ‘The Salmon Capital of the World‘. Founded in 1885 Ketchikan is Alsaka’s first and southeastern-most town. Famous for the rollicking brothels along the raised boardwalk that is Creek Street, it is also a treasury of Native American culture, housing the World’s largest collection of Native totem poles. For more information visit http://visit-ketchikan.com/. The weather was OK, if a bit chilly with a high of 65F. We had booked the Misty Fjords National Monument by Seaplane tour. We were picked-up at the dock & bused to the seaplane base on the outskirts of Ketchikan - about a 10 minute ride including the highlights of Ketchikan. We were put into groups of 10 based on our combined weight and allocated a plane. Each passenger had a window seat with one person sat up front with the pilot. The scenery is amazing but one minor gripe was that the you could practically only see out of the side you were sat at and, as the plane made a circular route so that we didn’t return the same way, only those on the right hand side got to view the granite peaks in all their majesty. Because it was calm, our pilot arranged for us to land on a freshwater lake rather than on the fjord - a treat apparently as lake landings are limited. It was flat calm so most of us climbed out onto the floats to take pictures. I got to sit up front on the way back which provided good viewing but was more cramped than in the rear, so juggling cameras was a bit tricky. We were bused back to the ship and following lunch we decided to hike up Deer Mountain, Ketchikan‘s iconic backdrop. We had been advised to take a taxi to the trailhead, but thinking that was for wimps we decided to walk. We should have heeded the advice, it is a long (1.5 mile), steep, winding road, so if you decide to do it, take a taxi or the bus! From the trailhead it is a winding 5.5 mile roundtrip to the top with an elevation gain of 2,600ft. It is a mile to the first overlook (good views across the Tongass Narrows), & a further mile to the second overlook (views over cruise terminal). I understand better views are beyond this point, at the peak, but we turned back at the second overlook, as we were inundated with flies and we wanted to take in Creek Street on the way back to the ship. In all including the walk to/from the town it was a strenuous 7 mile round trip. Thursday June 29th, Rudyerd Bay, Misty Fjords. Seabourn described the day as follows: “Your ship will slowly thread the 100-mile Behm Canal to scenic Rudyerd Bay, from where optional guided Zodiac excursions will be launched from the ship’s Marina, for viewing scenery and wildlife up close from sea level.” The reality was that it was basically a day at sea except for 10 hours the ship was anchored in a narrow channel, the scenery was not particularly inspiring and we saw no wildlife. If you hadn’t booked a Ventures tour, you were stuck on the ship all day. Also, because Seabourn didn‘t have the clearances, all zodiac trips for the entire cruise were cancelled and replaced by local catamarans. We had signed up for kayaking at 3:30. Seabourn provided dry suits and help was on hand to get dressed. We kayaked about a mile up the channel, saw no wildlife & then were transferred to the attendant zodiac for the return to the ship. It was so bad that we cancelled the second kayaking excursion that we had booked for July 2nd. All in all I thought it was a completely wasted day, although I believe those on the catamaran had a better experience. Friday June 30th , Wrangell. In Wrangell we had booked the Wild Bears of Annan tour ($399 per person). This was a 5 hour tour to the Annan Bear and Wildlife Observatory. It was supposed to be a half hour jet-boat ride to the trailhead but our boat managed to pick up debris in the engine inlet meaning we had to stop a couple of times to dislodge it & so it took closer to an hour. Once at the trailhead it was about a ½ mile, 20 minute walk to the Observatory. In the season (July 5th - August 25th), numbers at the Observatory are limited to 60 per day and time spent on the viewing deck is limited so everyone gets a chance to observe the bears up close. As we were just out of season no such limits were in place and there must have been 40 - 50 people there at the same time, which didn’t allow for a pleasant experience. It also rained heavily which didn’t help the situation, although I did then manage to get down to the lower open viewing area. On the plus side we did see some bears, and Bald Eagles! Caveat: We were the second group and I believe the earlier group had a better experience. Seabourn also offered a Ventures Exclusive 7 hour version of the tour limited to 10 persons for $699, but we thought that a bit too excessive. Would I do it again? - only in season! For more information visit: http://www.wrangell.com/visitorservices/anan-bear-and-wildlife-observatory Saturday July 1st, Glacier Bay. The weather was miserable but spotted a killer whale and the glacier was pretty spectacular - calving frequently. Park Rangers came aboard and provided a running commentary on the history of Glacier Bay and what we were witnessing. Saw several sea otters & bald eagles. Sunday July 2nd, Scenic Cruising Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier. Ended-up being anchored several miles from the glacier as there was too much sea ice to make it any further. Can’t blame Seabourn for that but we were glad we had cancelled our kayaking. A local catamaran, chartered to replace the cancelled zodiak tours, was late arriving as it had to go the long way round to reach us. Those that did the catamaran seemed to enjoy it. Again if you hadn’t booked a Seabourn Venture tour you were stuck on the ship for 10 hours. In all, a bit of a dead-loss day - however a sole bear was spotted on the shore & one group of kayakers got a close-up look. The day ended on a high note as we had the pleasure of being invited to dine with Captain Roberts this evening. Monday July 3rd, Haines. Very scenic, because all the towns are on the coast they all have great mountainous backdrops. The weather was good (high of 58 and sunny) so we hiked along the Battery Point trail in the morning. From the cruise dock it was about 1 ½ miles to the trailhead and another 1 ½ miles to Battery Point. We didn’t quite make it to Battery Point as Gwyn got a ‘bit windy’ going through the woods (fear of bears!) beyond Kalgaya Point. Spotted several Bald Eagles. In the afternoon we walked around the town. A Native American dance troupe performed dances for us as we were readying to leave. Tuesday July 4th, Juneau - Alaska’s capital, unreachable by road, founded as a mining camp by Joe Juneau in 1880. Designated as the capital in 1906, replacing the previous capital Sitka. We arrived on Independence Day and several large ships were in port. To top it off, it was raining. We went ashore and booked a local shuttle tour to the Mendenhall Glacier at one of the tour kiosks at the pier. I think it was $30 each. As the main roads were closed for the July 4th parade, we had to walk several blocks to the bus, which was no big deal and we got to see some of the parade along the route. It’s about a 30 minute ride and the buses run every 20 minutes or so & you can jump on any bus back. There are several walking trails and an extensive visitor center. We didn’t stay too long because of the weather opting for the shortest route to the waterfall & glacier. Definitely worth the trip. Wednesday July 5th, Sitka, Alaska‘s first capital. An active village of the Tingit people for 10,000 years it was forcefully taken by Alexander Baranov and claimed for Russia. It was renamed New Archangel and served as the capital of Russian America until the purchase of Alaska in 1867. We arrived to brilliant sunshine. We rented bicycles from Yellow Jersey Bike Shop for $25/day, and cycled southeast along Sawmill Creek Blvd., stopping at a local bakery for a picnic snack. We stopped at the Thimbleberry Lake-Heart Lake Trail & leaving the bikes at the trailhead we hiked the 1.7 miles to the lake - we could have taken the bikes but we would have had to carry them in places (ie I would have had to carry them both). A group of local youths were taking advantage of the weather to swim in Heart Lake. After this we continued our cycle to ‘the end of the paved road‘, stopping at Whale Park to have our picnic while hoping to spot whales & other sea life - wrong time of year. On returning to Sitka we took a short trip into Sitka National Historic Park to view some of the totem poles, and after returning the bikes took a short walk around the town. We definitely lucked out with the weather as we were told it was only the 3rd day they’d seen the sun since January! We liked Sitka. For more info visit www.alaska.org/destination/sitka/trails Thursday July 6th was a sea day and on the 7th we disembarked in Seward. As we had a self drive tour to Denali from Anchorage planned, we were in no rush (we couldn’t check in until the afternoon & we had arranged to pick up a car from the airport at 6pm) so we were going to take the 9 hour Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise & Transfer to Anchorage, however on learning that it wasn’t a Seabourn exclusive tour, and reading some less than favorable reviews, we opted for a direct coach transfer to Anchorage. We were dropped at The Hotel Captain Cook where Seabourn had a hospitality room set-up, with refreshments and food, for those with later flights and where those of us that were staying in Anchorage had to wait for our luggage (all the luggage was trucked separately and didn’t accompany us on the coach. It worked really well for us as we left some hand luggage at the hospitality room & took a walk around Anchorage. When we returned our luggage was there. As it turned out the hotel we had booked (The Voyager Inn http://thevoyagerinn.com ) was right across the road, and managed by the Captain Cook. It was basic but clean, had a happy hour, included breakfast and parking was just across the street. And, we took advantage of the Seabourn shuttle to the airport to collect our rental car. A Moose even crossed the road on the way to the airport. Saturday July 8th, Anchorage to Talkeetna, a drive of 114 miles. We had planned on stopping en route but the weather was miserable. We did think about hiking to a waterfall but decided it was too wet. We had booked The Museum Apartment (managed by The Talkeetna Roadhouse www.talketnaroadhouse.com) for 1 night. It was basic but had a private bathroom and separate kitchen. Talkeetna was pretty busy with a local craft fair going on despite the weather. It was too wet for me to look around so we promised to return on the morning. We had dinner at The Wildflower Café . It was full when we arrived so the hostess took our phone number & promised to call us when a table came free. As we were staying just around the corner we went back to our room & within 10 minutes she called us! Can’t ask for better than that. Good food, drink & service - Gwyn had the best salmon ever! Sunday July 9th, Talkeetna to Denali - 154 miles. Sunday morning we took a walk down to the river which was really swollen & bought some breakfast pastries at the Talkeetna Roadhouse Bakery, and Gwyn returned to the craft fair as promised to buy some cards from a local artist. Then it was back on the road to Denali. We stopped at both the South & North Overlooks off of Hwy 3 (the George Parks Highway), but the top of Denali was covered in cloud. On the drive we spotted a moose, & a black bear (ambling across the road in the rear view mirror). After turning onto the Park Highway we went to the park headquarters (first on the right) to get oriented and make a reservation for a bus tour the following day. The Park Road stretches 92 miles but vehicular access is restricted to shuttle buses beyond the Savage River Bridge (13.8 miles). Options are to hike or cycle into the Park, buy a hop-on/hop-off ticket on the shuttle buses, or take a guided shuttle bus tour. We opted to take the Tundra Wilderness Tour to Mile 62, Stony Overlook, at a cost of $136 each. For more information on tour buses visit: https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/bus-tours.htm. We then drove to the Savage River Bridge & hiked the 2-mile Savage River Loop Trail, an easy walk along the river. We had made reservations for 2 nights at The Denali Park Hotel, Milepost 247, Healy - approximately 12 miles past the Park Highway. It’s more a motel than a hotel but the room was clean & had a fridge & coffeemaker, the reception area is in an old railway car, and the staff were very nice. Requesting a dinner recommendation they pointed us to The Black Diamond Restaurant just along the road, which turned out to be at the golf club. Good food, good service and good prices. We planned to return in the morning for breakfast but didn’t have time before our bus tour. Monday July 10th, Denali. We had booked a 9 am tour so we headed off early to the Park, stopping on the way for a coffee & muffin. It was a bit chaotic as several tours were leaving at the same time as well as regular shuttle buses, but we ‘found’ the right line & boarded our bus. The regular shuttle buses are like old school buses, but the tour buses are a bit more comfortable. Our bus was new and had drop-down tv screens linked to a camera mounted on the front of the bus. When wildlife was spotted the tour guide could zoom-in the camera & display the picture on our screens. This came in handy when a female grizzly & two cubs were spotted way-off in the distance. All buses stop when wildlife is spotted and the tour included several scheduled stops along the way. Our guide was fantastic, really enthusiastic and kept everyone‘s attention focused on the Park. We were also provided with a packed lunch and water. We were glad that we had chosen the tour but if we went back we would probably opt for the hop-on/hop-off shuttle & hike a bit. We were both a bit wary of hiking this first time (bears!), but now that we know a bit more about the park we would be more confident. After the tour we walked over to the Main Visitor Center, watched the park film and looked around the exhibits. For dinner we got a take-out pizza in Denali Village and ate in our room - the restaurant was full and we didn’t feel like waiting for a table. Tuesday July 11th, Denali to Anchorage & flight home. We had an 8:10pm flight home from Anchorage (Delta via Atlanta) so had the whole day to drive back to the airport - which as it happened we needed. We stopped in Denali Village for breakfast and walked around the shops. We bought some limited edition animal prints at The Shane Lamb Gallery, and some t-shirts & souvenirs for folks back home. We stopped at the overlooks on the way back to Anchorage, arriving at the airport at 6:00 pm, to return the car. It was quite a walk from the car rental area to the terminal and it had been a long day, so by the time we boarded we were ready for a rest. The weather was good & the scenery from the plane was stunning. Would we do it all again? We would definitely go back to Alaska, it is a fascinating State, and the scenery is awesome. However, we probably wouldn’t do another cruise - unless it went to Kodiak. We also wouldn’t rush back to Denali - we both thought that there would be more wildlife, but Denali is in fact a desert and cannot support large animal populations. Surprisingly there didn’t appear to be many birds - and few if any bald eagles as the rivers do not support large fish stocks. There is a population of Golden Eagles which prey on ground squirrels and such.