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Showing posts from 2014

At the Glacier

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The scenery is very pristine and clean, it looks like the mountains are just sitting on top of the water as we sailed along.  The closer we were to the glacier, the bigger the chunks of ice.  We were giving Jared a hard time about being all bundled up in hoodie and blanket, but truthfully, it was cold.   The waterfall coming down the crevasse was really beautiful and probably would have been really refreshing to drink.  Alas, we could not get off the boat to find out. The trees in this area are more shrubby than tall – perhaps because there is little topsoil left and the cold reflecting from the glacier.    So in an attempt to prove he is brave, Jared appeared on the balcony shirtless and smiling!  Truly, it was cold.  I had to go inside to warm up!

Dinner time

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Here we are, our first night at dinner.  Our meal time was 8:30, just a tad too late to be eating, so we were able to have it changed to 5:30 which worked out much better for us all.  The food and service were exemplary and our servers really excellent!  I guess when you are catering to kids you need to have really good people skills!

Glacier

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Our first stop (we didn't get off the boat) was at Tracy Arm Fjord to see the glacier.  I wondered if it actually had a name so I checked on Wikipedia and this is the information I gleaned: Tracy Arm is a fjord in Alaska near Juneau (outlet at 57° 46' 40" N 133° 37' 0" W). It is named after the Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Franklin Tracy . It is located about 45 miles (72 km) south of Juneau and 70 miles (110 km) north of Petersburg, Alaska , off of Holkham Bay and adjacent to Stephens Passage within the Tongass National Forest . Tracy Arm is the heart of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, designated by the United States Congress in 1980. Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness contains 653,179 acres (2,643.32 km 2 ) and consists of two deep and narrow fjords: Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm. Both fjords are over 30 miles (48 km) long and one-fifth of their area is covered in ice. During the summer, the fjords have considerable floa

Tracy Arm and Glaciers

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Our first stop the day after leaving Vancouver was Tracy Arm and the site of the Glacier we were to see.  The scenery was beautiful and rugged.  The ocean was so calm that we could hear the swish swish of the wake from our ship.  As we neared the glacier chunks of ice began to appear in the water, gradually multiplying and getting larger.

Sailing sailing, over the ocean blue

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  And then we saw our first whale.  The top of the hump was about all I got, I was so dazzled by seeing them and one actually breached right behind us, it was so entrancing I forgot about taking photos!  The water was so calm it was easy to make out the whales backs and see them blowing. 

while waiting for our rooms....

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The first photo shows the chandelier in the atrium lobby; it was handcrafted by the world renowned  glass sculptor, Dale Chihuly, to compliment the Wonder's Art Nouveau design.  The chandelier features open free-formed shape drops from the ceiling along an elaborate metal armature that welcomes each passenger on board as they pass through the main atrium lobby on deck 3 during embarkation. Second photo – ho hum, still waiting for our rooms.  Third is one of the theatres where we saw some really great shows and the 4th photo...here's.......Mickey!  That very well known mouse who made Walt Disney famous!

Departure party

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As you can tell from the first three pictures, all the Disney characters made an entrance and danced up a storm on deck 9.  However, I noticed it wasn't just the kids who were front and center being entertained, the adults were just as enthused.  My grandkids found some comfortable deck chairs and we sat on them watching Vancouver disappear from view.

Leaving Vancouver

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  There are two pictures of the back of the boat (aft?) I must brush up on seafaring terminology.....you will see the name, Disney Wonder.  Then there is a close up of the back with poor Donald painting the back and either Huey, Dewey or Louie trying to cut the rope!  Just prior to our departure, the other cruise ship tied up on the opposite berth left – a Norwegian Cruise Line.  Once we lost sight of it going out of Vancouver we didn't see it again.  Perhaps it was going to Hawaii!  The last photo is the Norwegian ship going full steam away and we are about to go under Lions Gate bridge at Stanley Park.

Canada Place and the Cruise ship dock

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  Sorry, these photos are a slightly mixed up.  However, the ones above are taken just as the ship is getting ready to set sail from Vancouver.  It's amazing how quickly people are loaded aboard.  You go in a group number and as soon as you enter the ship, you are welcomed by the crew and free to move around, except we had to wait til after 1:30 to go to our cabins as the crew needed the time to make up the cabins as the people who had just disembarked the previous cruise had only left that day.  We went up to deck 9 where some of the kids had already found the swimming pool.  What a glorious sunny day to leave Vancouver and sail under Lions Gate bridge! 

On board the ship

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  These photos are of some of the children's areas.  Dependent on the age of the child, they could go into specific rooms.  The younger children wore a wristband and were signed in and out by their parent or guardian while the older kids could come and go on their own.  Each area had supervised activities aimed specifically at the age of the child.  There were age appropriate programs and events. 

Inside the ship

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  The photo of the circle with what looks like two parts of an anchor has a meaning.  The blue half indicates 'aft' and the red 'forward', it helped discover which way to turn when you reached our floor (7) as there were several elevator areas along the lengths of the hallways.   See photo of hallway – I always got it mixed up and ended up at the wrong end!  Third photo is of my cabin.  I had an inside room but when you consider you only go in to sleep it didn't bother me not having a balcony or window cabin.  Besides, I had the most delightful Philipino man – Jayson – as my room porter.  He always had a smile and called me 'darling'!  (Mainly I think because he couldn't always remember my name!)  (See him in photo that turned out a little blurry).  These porters make up each room twice daily, morning and before you retire for the night.  A towel and facecloth animal were usually sitting at the bottom of your bed waiting t

Alaska Cruise

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  I recently went on a Disney Cruise with some of my family.  We left Vancouver Canada on the 18th of August and sailed to Tracy Arm as our first stop to view the Glacier.  Although we couldn't get as close as we would have liked (seals on ice flows – and it is illegal to disturb them) we did get some very good photos.  We then sailed to Skagway where we spent a day, then on the return south we stopped for another day in Juneau and also Ketchikan.  We saw whales and seals along the way.  The weather was fantastic and the seas were calm.  This map shows the places we sailed to.  

Headed north

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Well, our "snowbird" winter escape has come to an end and we are turned in a northerly direction. In the photos we are traveling through some of the Arizona dessert regions and then into the corner of California and Nevada. This region is really hot and dry. Today the temperature is supposed to be around 40 C. Yesterday when we stopped at a big box store, Tracy warned us that we could not buy anymore heavy stuff. He is worried about the suspension! I'm more worried about hitting the border....Sigh, I know I am way over my allotment for the year....probably for the next couple of years. LOL We should be home within the next few days and hopefully well into spring. See you all then! Sandy, Tracy and Joanne