USA Today Logo New York Times Logo Outside Magazine Logo Conde Nast Traveler Logo National Geographic Traveler
Create your Trip Journal [click here]

Birthday Alaska Cruise!

By : Julia Kocubinski
Trip Begins August 25, 2011
Trip Ends September 2, 2011

A birthday gift to my mom and me! We decided to celebrate our 30th and 60th birthdays with a small-ship cruise to Alaska. What an amazing adventure! It was the perfect mix of our interests, and such a fun way to ring in those big birthdays.
See my photos : Alaskan Adventure!
August 25, 2011
Top

Juneau

We flew today from Missoula, MT to Juneau. The Juneau airport reminded me a lot of our hometown airport, small, quaint and fully functional. My mom and I were on one of our many mother-daughter trips that we have taken over the years. We have been to Guatemala, the Galapagos, a this time we were heading to Alaska for a week on the small 21 passenger yacht, the Safari Quest. But this time, we were celebrating big birthdays - my 30th and her 60th. We chose the trip right in between our birthdays, the last week of August. I had heard the weather was generally pretty favorable, and the wildlife abundant.

After arriving and taking a taxi to our hotel, we set out to wander the streets of Juneau. It really is a small town, and quite amazing that this was the capital of such a large state. To think, there are no roads connecting Juneau to the rest of the state, and all the official state business takes place here. We covered most of the central part of town in a few hours, including ducking our heads into a couple shops and deciding where we wanted to eat the next day. There were a couple large cruise ships in port so the city was a bustling, but it quickly quieted down as they departed late in the day. We had a delicious crab soup at the crab shack on the pier, and made our way back to our hotel for dinner.

August 26, 2011
Top

Exploring Juneau and Embarkation!

We woke this morning to a much quieter Juneau. There were no ships in port this morning, so we wandered the deserted streets and found a place to have breakfast. We dropped our bags off with the representatives from American Safari Cruises and contemplated our day. It was raining, but not terribly hard so we decided to go for a walk/hike up the hill behind Juneau to the tram station at the top of the hill. As we took off and started heading up, I quickly realized that the rain was much more significant than I had originally thought. The trail was really slippery and full of big muddy puddles. We were about halfway up when I realized we either had to turn back then to make our meeting time in town, or keep going to catch the tram. The trail was so slippery, I was more worried about the walk down than keeping up the steep trail to the top. It was not easy, and I think my mom was pretty annoyed with me making her hike to the top, but the tram ride down was definitely worth it, and we had plenty of time to relax in town and get cleaned up before meeting up with our fellow travelers.

We all met in a room and were taken by Vanessa, our expedition leader, across the street to our home for the next week, the Safari Quest. We were welcomed onboard by the entire staff - all nine of them, and then had a few moments to see our cabin. It was small for the two of us, but very comfortable and nice. Besides, we were not there to hang out in our cabin, we were there to see Alaska up-close! We came back to the main bar/lounge/sitting area and began to meet the rest of the travelers on the cruise. They were almost all couples, with a few family/friend combinations. I was the youngest on the cruise, but everyone certainly seemed young at heart! After a safety briefing followed but appetizers and drinks, we set off motoring out of the port. I could already tell I was going to enjoy this group, both the fellow guests and the staff. There was an wonderful mix of people, ranging from 30 - 80, all wanting to see wildlife, glaciers, and all that Alaska has to offer!

August 27, 2011
Top

Dawes Glacier and Frederick Sound

We spent the night quietly anchored in quiet little bay called Wood's Spit, just south of Juneau, and woke this this morning to our first adventure. We were motoring up Endicott Arm towards Dawes Glacier. As we got closer the the glacier, we had to move slowly due to all the ice flowing off the glacier. Our captain weaved in and out of the ice and got us about two miles from the glacier. We set off on the skiffs to explore the canyon walls, waterfalls and to get us closer to the glacier. After about half an hour of exploration we noticed that the Quest was still slowly making its way towards the glacier. We got back on and jumped in our kayaks for our first day of paddling. We were able to approach the glacier in the silent kayaks. Well, silent except for the sound of our kayak crashing through chunks of ice, and the occasional massive calving of the Glacier. I have seen glaciers in Patagonia and Antarctica, but Dawes still impressed! It was beautiful blue, and calving like crazy! We even got a visit or two from a curious little seal, popping its head up between the icebergs. Vanessa was an amazing kayak guide, taking us through some of the coolest ice flows I have kayaked in and safely returned us to our boat.

We were welcomed on board with a hot drink - with or without a shot of something extra to warm us up - and then we sat down for our amazing three course lunch. Warm soup, delicious gourmet meal, and beautiful desert. And this was only lunch! The afternoon was spent onboard as we motored through Frederick Sound, looking as always for wildlife. The bridge was always open to visitors, and I found I spent quite a lot of time here, conversing with other passengers and the crew. Vanessa gave us a brief lecture on whales so we were prepared for what we would see the rest of the week. We anchored in a quiet little cove near Admiralty Island and indulged in another incredible meal. I could tell already I was going to have to either cut back on some of the food, or start doing laps up and down the stairs so I could enjoy all these amazing meals!

August 28, 2011
Top

Red Bluff Bay and Paddle Boarding in Takatz Inlet

This morning we woke and during breakfast, we motored towards Baranof Island where we spotted our first bear! As we were entering Red Bluff Bay through this tiny little entrance, Vanessa suggested we go out on the forward deck as we approached. It was a great place to spot wildlife and to see our captain at his finest - maneuvering the Quest through an entrance that seemed only a few feet wider than the ship! As we were watching, Vanessa pointed to the right shore, saying that they sometimes see a bear on that shoreline. Sure enough, out walks our first brown bear! We stopped and watched him wander the shore line, stop and look at us and eventually wander back into the woods. As we got into Red Bluff Bay, we jumped in our kayaks and headed towards the salmon stream. The first couple kayaks quickly spotted a couple small bears up the stream a ways, but by the time we got there, they had disappeared. We did see about 25 eagles all perched in one tree, kayaked for over an hour, and then decided to paddle up stream a ways to see where the bears had been. As we were paddling, we saw salmon jumping all around us. It was incredible how many there were. Literally thousands and thousands pouring up the stream. We looked below us in the water, and realized that there were so many, you couldn't see the bottom of the stream, just the backs of all the fish. It was incredible! Unfortunately, we were eventually summoned back to the cruise, as it was time for lunch and time to head towards our next adventure. Already I was blown away by the wildlife we had seen, and it was only our second day!

We noticed that we were moving a little slow, and were told that due to the rough waters we were motoring a bit slower. I tend to get really sick on water so the waves were killing me. I luckily had plenty of outside deck time where I could get fresh air, watch for whales and relax. This afternoon we anchored in Takatz Inlet, which was truly one of the most beautiful places I have seen. The water was perfectly still, and reflected the surrounding forest and mountains like a mirror. I had noticed a stand-up paddle board onboard and asked Vanessa about it. I had only been on one once, so was a bit nervous about jumping on knowing how cold the water below me was, but I figured I would not find a more beautiful and calm spot to try out my SUP skills. Mom jumped on the skiff with Vanessa and I slowly stepped onto the paddle board. It was much easier than I thought, and within a few minutes, I was paddling all around the shoreline. Below me were beautiful sea creatures - jelly fish, star fish, sun fish…. and so many more that I can't name. After about an hour of exploring, I got back on board and waited for mom to return. She had seen even more sea creatures. Vanessa is an amazing guide and knew just where to go to find all the best stuff. Another delicious dinner and a few glasses of wine later, I was fast asleep. I might be the youngest on board, but I am still one of the earliest to go to bed!

August 29, 2011
Top

Hike to Lake Eva

Mom and I woke earlier than usual this morning and got in a kayak to explore a little more of the inlet together. We headed out towards the opening and saw a few mink running around on shore, tons of star and sun fish. The best thing about this inlet though, was the coloring. The rocks along the shore are nearly black, and covered with this incredible green moss. The reflection was again, perfect. Words really can't describe how beautiful it all was. And the complete silence of the inlet, with just the two of us, the kayak paddle, and the occasional fellow traveler saying hello as they kayaked by.

During breakfast, we headed off along the coast of Baranof island, looking for more wildlife. We have already had quite a few whale sightings already, but I was still waiting for that "OMG" moment. I would get it, soon enough. This afternoon, we anchored and got to put our feet back on the ground. It didn't really occur to me that we had spent so much time on board already, but hadn't touched the ground since we left Juneau! We got to shore, gathered up as a group, and headed off in two groups (fast and slow) towards Lake Eva. The slower group went with Vanessa and took their time, stopping to talk about all that they were seeing. I, needing a little more exercise, wanted to head off with JD in the faster group. Mom agreed, so off we went. However, about half a mile in, we came across a nice little crossing…. covered in knee-deep water. No one hesitated, we all just started taking off our shoes, rolling up our pants (or even taking them off as one woman did!) and we walked across the "creek". Apparently it had rained a bunch, and it was an extremely high tide, so the water was higher than they had ever seen. Some guests might have been out of their element, but I think the fear of being left behind in extreme bear country was enough to make everyone start taking off their shoes. The rest of the hike was along the creek, complete with tons of salmon. The edge of the creek was littered with salmon remains, discarded by bears. Everyone kept close together, the guts quietly scaring each of us just a bit. We got to the lake, which was a beautiful lake surrounded by trees, and pretty quickly turned back. The added time to cross through the water was enough to put us a little behind schedule. As we got back to the shore, and into the skiffs, our captain called us on the radios that he had spotted a mama bear with two cubs on the shore just around the corner from us. We crawled quietly around the corner, and had a front row viewing of the bear and her cubs. They wandered slowly along the shore, stopping occasionally to look at us, the cubs playing and rolling in the grass. After over half an hour of watching them, they slowly wandered off into the woods. What a show they put on! They never startled or changed their plan, just wandering and playing along the shore line. Absolutely amazing! This is what I had come to Alaska to see!

We motored on tonight, and a few people were murmuring about the slow pace we seemed to be keeping. Apparently, one of the engines was down, and the poor engineer and captain were working like mad to get it fixed. Luckily, the Safari Spirit had a part for us and stashed it behind a sign where we were planning on anchoring for the night. My mom stayed up that night and watched as the captain dropped anchor, and the first mate and engineer zoomed to shore to get the part.

August 30, 2011
Top

A Whale of a Day!

This morning we decided to go on a skiff ride with Vanessa before breakfast. It was just three of us and our naturalist guide, so we were able to see quite a lot, including another brown bear wandering along the shore. He gave us quite the show, and the kayakers were able to get pretty close to him. As we ate breakfast, we were heading back out to go north towards Glacier Bay. A fellow ship radioed our captain to tell him that there were a pod of humpbacks just ahead of us. And they were bubble netting! There were at least twenty of them and they would swim around in circles while letting out air - small bubbles. The bubbles would look like a net rising to the surface and essentially corral the fish. Then the remaining whales would swim straight up with their mouths open and eat. We witnessed this by a dozen or more humpbacks coming above the surface, mouths' wide open all at the same time. Then they would blow air out repeatedly as they cooled back off. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Amazing how they all work together to each like this. We even were able to put the underwater microphone below the surface and listen to them communicating. We saw whales breaching off in the distance. This was our "OMG" moment. My Alaska cruise could have ended right then and there, and I would have been more than ecstatic!. After a couple hours watching this pod, they began moving south, and we were heading north so we parted with the whales and headed out into the more open channel. Unfortunately, the part that the Safari Spirit had left on shore for us the night before was not the right part, so we were still motoring a little slower today. It was a beautiful day though, so most people took advantage and sat on the upper decks, looking for more whales. And whales did we see! They were everywhere! The scenery and sky were both beautiful, so I took the opportunity to work out on the top deck, did some yoga with some of the other passengers, all while keeping my eye on the horizon looking for whales.

As we were motoring along, our captain told us that we would be getting a special delivery from Juneau - the part needed to fix the engine! It was to be delivered by float plane somewhere along the channel. Sure enough, as the plane approached, the captain called over the speaker that it was landing and we all went out to watch it land, watch JD take the skiff to meet it, and cheered as the pilot delivered the precious box! With a victory lap around the boat, JD returned with the bolt - literally one bolt - that was needed to fix the engine. By dinner, we were up and running full power again!

That evening, we had yet another amazing dinner, and the crew surprised my mom and I with a special birthday cake made for each of us! And they presented it to us in full, silly, costumes. It was hilarious, and a verb special way to ring in our birthdays!

August 31, 2011
Top

Glacier Bay and the Polar Bear Plunge

Emily, the ranger from Glacier Bay National Park, joined us onboard for breakfast. She was to be our guest for the next couple days while we were in the park. The sky was partly cloudy, but we could still see many of the far off peaks that we were heading towards. We spent some time around the Marble Islands viewing the sea lions sunning themselves and all the birds that call these islands home, including some puffins! We were afraid it was too late in the season, but they stuck around for a little longer for us.

This afternoon, we anchored in front of Lamplugh Glacier and split into groups. We had a few options today, so we chose to take the skiff out towards Johns Hopkins Glacier, which was incredibly huge! The ice chunks made its slow go, and we were still miles from the glacier, but it was worth seeing. Then we went for a hike along the side of Lumplaugh. This glacier had a river poring out from under it into the ocean, with amazing acoustics surrounding the mouth of the river. The hike was beautiful and a bit of a climb, but we welcomed the exercise. Then when we got back to the yacht, we threw on our swimsuits and jumped in among the icebergs for our glacier plunge! It was cold, refreshing, and a blast. We had nearly every person on our cruise do the plunge, including our first mate. We found out later that evening that we had the most plungers of any group the staff could remember! I was proud of our adventurous ship-mates for taking the plunge!

As it was starting to get dark, we made our way towards Margerie Glacier. It was calving as we were approaching,and we sat there for a bit watching it in near-silence. Then, we saw the biggest, most magnificent calving I have ever seen. It matched what you see on the Discovery Channel! It was huge chunk of ice, that broke off from the entire face, and all plunged straight down into the ocean below, causing a big wave that reached us in seconds. We of course were at a safe distance. Vanessa even admitted that it was one of the biggest callings she had seen in all her years working up there. I couldn't believe our luck! This was truly an amazing day, filled with a little bit of everything.

September 1, 2011
Top

Sunshine Over Glacier Bay!

Today is our last full day on the cruise, but we were not about to let a moment go by without fun and adventure. We woke early and went for a quiet, beautiful kayak. We were completely on our own, just ten of us paddling up this inlet. We were surrounded by some of the most amazing mountains I have ever seen, and there was not a cloud in the sky. I could not believe our luck! After a couple hours of paddling, we looked behind us and there was our boat, coming to pick us up. We loaded up and headed toward the ranger station. The other half of the boat had done a skiff ride and saw four bears, a mother and three cubs, playing on the shore. I was so sad to miss this bear sighting, but the calm and serene paddle that morning was hard to beat.

Emily gave us a tour of the visitor center and half mile or so walk to show us what the surrounding forrest was like. She was a great guide, and was completely blown away by our perfectly sunny day. She has been up there for a few seasons, and said this was one of the only fully sunny days she had ever seen in Glacier Bay! I thought we were lucky, but didn't realize just how lucky we were to have that great weather and to see the entire mountain peaks surrounding the bay.

As we started heading back towards Juneau, we had the afternoon to again sit, relax, hang on the top deck in the sun. I was in the bridge talking with JD, the first mate, when I looked out and spotted something black. He got out the binoculars and realized it was a pod of orcas! We spent over an hour just hanging out with a dozen or more orcas and their babies as they played, explored and wandered their way through the water around us. This completed our trip! What else could we ask for?

This evening, we had a special cocktail hour to honor a couple milestone anniversaries being celebrated onboard. Our captain Shawn also came out and thanked us for the understanding and cooperation as they worked to fix the engine. He assured us that no part of our experience was missed by the engine. We just got to our sleeping areas a bit later than normal, but always were anchored before we went to bed, so it didn''t affect us at all. After dinner we watched a slide show of all the photos Vanessa and JD had taken during the cruise, and each got our own copy of them all, including a map of our route and a daily itinerary to take home with us.

September 2, 2011
Top

Back to Juneau

We woke early this morning to motor back into Juneau. It was raining and grey, and you could barely see much of the town as we arrived to the port. But, we had spectacular weather during our trip, with only minimal rain. Upon disembarkation, we grabbed our stuff, headed to the airport and caught our flight back home in the afternoon. Our crew was amazing on this yacht. Not a single complaint. Each one was more than willing to go out of their way to be sure each person had the trip of a lifetime. And I think most of my fellow passengers would agree, this was truly an amazing experience for us all!

1-5 of 100 imagesMy Travel Photo Album


Share