Alaska on Cunard's Queen Elizabeth

  A cloudy morning in Ketchikan, and it looks like it may have rained overnight. After a light breakfast I head off the ship to meet Wild Wolf tours for the Hike and Totem tour. I found their information on the Ketchikan Tourist board site. There were only 3 of us on the tour, and our guide Patty was retired from the Forest Service, so of course was a wealth of information on the ecosystem of the area. We drove to the end of the road (only 35 miles of road here!) and walked along the Lunch Creek trail. A very pretty trail in the temperate rain forest. Somewhat similar to home forests but slightly different trees and much more moss and standing water. Lots of skunk cabbage and wild flowers, the berries aren't ready yet. In late summer when the salmon are spawning in the stream there are bear in the area, and further in the forest there are wolves, but today was very peaceful and quiet and no animals. On the way back we stopped at Totem Bight park to look at the totems and clan house...

  We pulled into our berth in Sitka about 7am. No fog this morning so it's bright and sunny. The cruise dock in Sitka is about a 15 minute shuttle ride north of town. This terminal is new and it's now much easier for the larger ships to visit Sitka. In the past ships had to anchor and tender in (some of the smaller cruise ships still do.) I had booked a "Taste of Sitka" walking tour that I found on the Sitka Tourist board site. We met at 9am where the shuttle dropped us off. There were 6 of us and our guide Bob , an 85 year old doing this because he loves Sitka. A real character with great stories. His wife is a mix of Tlingit, Aleutian and Russian so he had a great grasp of the history of the area. He also introduced us to some of the local products - devils club salve, chocolate, smoked sea salt and smoked salmon. The tour lasted 3 hours and was only $40.00 each. Highly recommended. Sitka really has a spectacular setting with mountains and a volcano surrounding, and...

 An early morning arrival to our first port of call. The early morning fog keeps drifting through then drifting away. Another beautiful day that starts off coolish and ends up quite hot, about 20C. This is a relatively new cruise port built by Alaska natives. Because there was no town here to begin with, it has a more rustic outdoor vibe. It's a lovely setting in the forest at the foot of a mountain. There are docks for 2 ships. You can either take a 15 minute nature trail or a 4 minute gondola ride to the outpost with restaurants and shops and the old cannery now a museum. There are trails along the beach or into the forest, or you can walk or take a shuttle into the town of Hoonah another 1 1/2 miles.  After checking out the outpost, I did the Mountain Gondola, new this year. An incredible view from the top on a clear day like today. At the moment there isn't much at the top unless you're doing the zipline, but there are plans to build more faculties.  Because it was so...

 This is my 4th Alaska Cruise, and my 3rd time to Glacier Bay. For the first time I'm seeing it on a sunny day! I had no idea how incredibly beautiful the surroundings are. Once the early morning fog lifted, for the rest of the day we had a backdrop of snow caped peaks. As we entered the more sheltered waters of Glacier Bay we spotted quite a few blows from whales, then their tails as they dove. Also lots of otters floating on their backs. The park rangers provided commentary for most of the afternoon. The pictures give a much better idea than my words can! The Commodores lounge at the top and front of the ship was the perfect spot to have a drink and enjoy the view. Which we did before and after dinner. The sun isn't setting until after 10pm

 I woke very early as sunrise is about 4am. The drapes were open so I could lie in bed and doze, waking every so often to look out at the sunrise. About 7am we entered fog, and the fog remained until early afternoon. By that time we were well out in Hecate Straight, so not much land in sight. A brisk wind but not much swell. Cold on deck though with the combination of our speed and the wind. We had a nice lazy day with breakfast in the cabin, then I did some line dancing and attended 2 fascinating lectures. The first was about the wildlife of Alaska, and the 2nd was Kenton Cool talking about the history of Everest and the 16 times he's climbed it. We had fish and chips in the dining room for lunch, then I had an opportunity to see some of the various cabins. The suites are incredible of course, but even the inside cabins are a good size and look very comfortable. I took some time to read, relax, walk around the ship and have a power nap before getting ready for our first Gala night...

  We had a truly spectacular day for our sail-away from Vancouver Harbour. The first day that truly felt like summer this year. Embarkation was a bit of a trial, as you have to head down into the cruise terminal, then take an elevator up and walk through the parking lot to drop off your bags. Then up another elevator, and walk through to the Convention centre for check-in. Then, back outside, down an escalator and back into the cruise terminal for security, customs and emigration. Finally walk through several more corridors until you reach the gangplank! It's no wonder I saw so many people getting wheelchair assistance!! Once onboard all was wonderful. The Queen Elizabeth is such a beautiful classic ship. So many lovely traditional touches including the grand staircases, art deco inlaid wood and 2 story library. Our balcony cabin is spacious and well appointed with lots of storage. The balcony is quite large. We are in a Club Balcony. There is no difference in the cabin, but the wo...