Our day at sea was better because we had turned the clocks back one hour last night. One extra hour of sleep is always welcomed. Many of the Neptune guests came to breakfast for a change, so the room filled up quickly. Megan, the manager, had his hands full accommodating the group, but he is one of the rare managers that dig in and help out. It is not beneath him to help with the bussing and re-setting the tables. Breakfast for us was seamless.
The weather was totally different from what we enjoyed yesterday. It was 57 degrees with 80% humidity. The winds were 6.6 mph with smooth seas but very overcast skies. Downright gloomy would be the best word for it.
At one point in the morning, the Zaandam was across from the city of Ketchikan, but further away traveling in the Inside Passage. The ship's speed was 12 knots, more or less. The scenery was much the same as yesterday but with far less sun. Even though it was not printed in the itinerary, the bow was opened for the few brave folks that desired to brave the cold and watch the waters for wildlife.
The Captain mentioned in his noon talk that we had gone 662 nautical miles from Vancouver with another 237 nautical miles to teach Sitka. We were currently sailing the Clarence Strait with Snow Passage and Sumner Strait yet to come. Truthfully, it all looked the same as yesterday without the numerous animal sightings. The Captain added that we would be turning out to open seas by dinnertime and stressed the importance of being careful moving about the ship. He mentioned that increased motion would be caused by increasing winds and produced 6 -7 foot seas. He was right on with his predictions.
At 12:30pm, we had the first and only sighting of a small humpback whale spouting near the distant shoreline. There was a light drizzle at this point, and we realized it sure made it uncomfortable for us. We did see a few sea otters as they floated by the ship at 12;30pm. There were more bird sightings and Stellar seals seen laying on some low-laying islets. Beside some gulls, there were sea birds such as cormorants, and some ducks.
In the meantime, we got a letter last night with information concerning the shuttles in some upcoming ports. Our first stop will be Sitka, where there will be a bus transfer to the city. Unless we had booked a tour, we would have to get tender tickets or go off of the ship later. We were here in April of this year while on the Grand World cruise, and we did not have a problem with the transfer.
Valdez will require tendering and the guests have been urged to get tender tickets by appointment. Those with priority tendering will get separate directions.
Kodiak Island was tendering with similar instructions like the port of Valdez.
Homer is another tender port, but for President's Club members, we are given a complimentary shuttle.
Anchorage is a docked port, so no tickets needed. There will be a shuttle to the downtown area of Anchorage and will operate for two days. We are glad to have all of this info ahead of time, so we can figure our timing onshore even better.
Around 2:30pm, we ordered a room service lunch with one Caesar chicken salad, a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a shared club sandwich. It was about then that we saw the Stellar sea lions laying all over small islets along the way. There were plenty of seabirds around them as well as cormorants. Then we saw a few sea otters, just like the ones we saw in Glacier Bay.
The drizzle had turned into a light rain, so we were forced to go back inside. It did not last long, but rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. We knew this lucky streak would not last for long.
Dinner time came quickly, so we headed off to the dining room by 7:30pm. It has been so cool there, we decided to leave on our vests and jacket . Most everyone had a type of cover-up so we were not out of place. It seems that the menu has been a repeat of the 7-day cruises so far. Liberty confirmed our suspicions. Starters were the salmon salad, one without the salmon. The fish was good I was told. Mains were one turkey dinner and one chili rellenos plate - a nice change. One of us had the vanilla raspberry swirl ice cream...only one scoop.
A vocalist, Mark Kopitzke, was the singer performing in the show lounge tonight. The ship was beginning to roll by 9pm, and the best place for us was in our room. By the time we get up tomorrow, we will be docked in Valdez, a first-time visit for us.
Bill & Mary Ann
