griffon Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 My wife and I are both theme park enthusiasts, but after getting married last year we decided to do something different and go on a cruise to Alaska for our honeymoon. It was sort of a compromise for us because I wanted to go somewhere scenic, and she was more interested in the whole concept of floating hotels, so we eventually came to the agreement that taking a cruise into near freezing temperatures right at the start of summer was a great idea. Neither of us had been to any part of the West Coast (ever), so we also spent a couple days in Seattle before and after the cruise and really loved that area, despite the lack of coasters. I'm still learning a lot about photography and took a few thousand pictures on the trip. I've had some time recently to go through all of them and do a little editing with the better ones, so I figured I would share a few since I have not seen an Alaska trip report on here. We spent the first day cruising and getting used to life on the boat, which I thought was cool for the most part. From what I understand, a cruise to Alaska is very different from a warm-weather cruise. It's very quiet and low key, and there was definitely not a party-like atmosphere like many people would expect on a cruise. It worked out very nice for a honeymoon, but I talked with several other people who expected something different and were disappointed. For our situation, it was great. The second day we arrived in Juneau, Alaska where we went straight for the closest thing to a theme park we could find: the zip line tour, which is promoted as "Alaska's biggest thrill adventure." To say it was thrilling would be an understatement, but it was a really awesome and scenic area. Zip line POV. Scenery was awesome. Now if only they would build a 300 foot version of Boulderdash in this area, everyone would visit Alaska We also hiked across some makeshift bridges It was a pretty cool feeling to go flying through the trees just dangling by a harness They taught us several techniques for how to control your speed. This one is for slowing down, which I never used because I never got going very fast No coasters in Alaska - only ziplines in the rainforest This was the scenery outside for the entire first day so needless to say we stayed inside most of the time. That would change once we got to Alaska But the interior had some nice details The outside pools and rock climbing walls were closed almost the entire time because it was 40 degrees and windy. At times I was the only one on the deck taking pictures. Our ship was one of the smallest that Royal Caribbean operates, so that means no flow riders or golf courses. Seattle was cloudy and cold when we left, but still scenic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piers Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Your pictures are really good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffon Posted March 21, 2009 Author Share Posted March 21, 2009 The next couple days we spent in Juneau and Skagway, Alaska which were really awesome towns - especially Skagway. The small scale and local atmosphere were really unique. We went up to the top of Mt. Roberts in Juneau where there was still snow on the ground and people were skiing. The next day in Skagway we went to see the first glacier of the trip. Some local scenery around Skagway, which, again was the coolest town I've ever been to This is the train they use to clear the snow drifts from the railroad in the spring Hello, Canada Later in the day we took a side trip to the Canadian Yukon, which was also spectacular. More scenery around Skagway And we saw some huge whales off in the distance, but this is as close as we got to them. It was cool because the wildlife wasn't even supposed to be part of the excursion On the way back we stopped to check out the sealion orgy There were many seagulls around all the glaciers that we visited Davidson glacier in the distance The canoe was a little more work than I expected, but the glacier was awesome, and we got pretty close to it For the glacier tour we arrived in this little inlet where we then had to ride a bus, hike a mile through the woods, and then paddle a canoe over a mile to get to the glacier I thought the trees were very interesting Overlook Scenery around Juneau. Unfortunately we didn't see much sun the entire time Welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffon Posted March 21, 2009 Author Share Posted March 21, 2009 The next couple days we spent on the ship sailing along the coast of Alaska and British Columbia. I chose to hang out with the icebergs in shorts, which was even more awesome Scenery around Dawes Glacier I wish we had the option to do this, it looked like a lot of fun Close up of texture of the glacier This was the largest chunk of ice that fell off, as we were leaving More global warming Global Warming in action. It was awesome to watch the glaciers calving, but the sound it made was the coolest part. Considering the glacier was fairly active, we got pretty close to it. Some of the cruise staff ventured out into the water to get some chunks of ice to make a sculpture. Approaching Dawes glacier in Southeast Alaska. It was cold There were other glaciers within the mountains that surrounded the whole area Iceberg This is where the small cruise ship worked to our advantage. We were able to navigate around icebergs and rock formations en route to an awesome glacier Finally, some light to work with Sunrise at 4AM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffon Posted March 21, 2009 Author Share Posted March 21, 2009 For the rest of the trip we stopped in Prince Rupert, British Columbia for a day, and then headed back to Seattle for a couple days before flying home. Our last day in Seattle was mostly sunny and clear, so we visited the Space Needle and spent some time on the waterfront and in some of the local parks. The next morning we flew back to VA and that was about it. It was a great trip overall, and last year was very busy for us, so we didn't get a chance to do many theme parks. This year we have plans to hit some new parks, so hopefully I will have more coaster photos in 09. Thanks for checking out the photos. Hope you enjoyed the photos And finally, we spent some time at Kerry park which had my favorite views The iconic Space Needle, which was actually very nice at the top Mt. Rainier is awesome. I want one of these on the East Coast We visited the aquarium to kill some time Back in Seattle on a very nice day The following day we spent at sea navigating through narrow passages. The weather in this area was mostly cloudy and rainy This would be a cool place to live More mountains In Prince Rupert we took a flight tour in one of these sweet planes and landed in the middle of nowhere Scenery around Prince Rupert lets go fishin Welcome to Canada, again I'm not sure what this thing is called, but it seems to have a personality Favorite shot of the boat Sunsets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goliath513 Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I did this exact same cruise in July/August 2005. We were on the "Vision of the Seas" instead, which is identical to "Rhapsody of the Seas" which you went on. Despite being an older, smaller ship, I still had a great time. I can only imagine what it would be like on one of the newer ones! I did not get to do the zip-line excursion because they were all full. On one of our excursions, we had a tour guide who was from my hometown and graduated from my high school. Your glacier pictures remind me of when our ship went to Hubbard Glacier and I observed it from the comfort of one of the jacuzzis on the main pool deck! This was my all time favorite non-coaster related vacation to date! Here is a picture of the pool deck on Vision to show how similar the two ships are. Sorry for the blurryness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffon Posted March 21, 2009 Author Share Posted March 21, 2009 That's cool, I knew some of the ships were similar but your picture looks more similar than I thought. The big glacier we went to was the Dawes - which we didn't even realize until after the fact because the water leading to the one we were supposed to see was iced over, and our ship changed course to go to this one instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Some absolutely stunning pictures there! That looks like an amazing cruise to do! Really unique with some incredible scenery and wildlife Dave "Oh and congrats on the marriage!" Wilson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congrats on the marriage! Incredible trip. Incredible pics. Incredible report. Thanks so much for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the ghost Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I've done this cruise twice. Once on the Serenade of the Seas and one on the Diamond Princess. It was awesome both times, and both cruise lines and ships were awesome. Alaska is so beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillerman1 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Your photos are unbelievably amazing! I would LOVE to do this cruise. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
printersdevil78 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I've always wanted to both see Seattle (which I'm hoping to do next year) and take an Alaskan cruise. Your photos look like the best of both. Thanks and congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenA07 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 That looks like it was a great trip, amazing look up there. I had given some thought about doing an Alaskan cruise for the honeymoon but decided on the Caribbean instead. I still want to do the Alaskan trip sometime though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasCoaster Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Great TR! Looks like a bit of editing went into the pictures and the scenery is just amazing. I hope to take a cruise to Alaska someday, are there are excursions I shouldn't miss out on? Congrats on the marriage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffon Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 Thanks for the comments, it's really cool to have this many photos to look back on, especially since it's been a few months now. Even though we stayed busy most of the time, a lot of people were taking this as a very relaxing vacation and sort of did the whole thing at a slow pace which is why I say it is a different kind of cruise. I think if I go on another one it will be to somewhere warm and with a small group of friends. And again, I really thought Seattle was awesome. Looks like a really cool place to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedarpointfangirl Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Wow, awesome pics!! Some of my family has been trying to get together and do an Alaskan cruise. Hopefully we can all get the time together next year and do it. It looks amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberskara Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Amazing photos-- if I were you I would so blow those up and frame them in my house! Thanks for sharing. PS You guys look like you were made for eachother! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
65skylark Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 You have some terrific pictures there. I have always wanted to do an Alaskan cruise. Thanks for sharing you trip with us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texashorns82492 Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 You have some wonderful shots! I'd love to go on an Alaskan cruise eventually. Thanks for the great TR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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