I took my first Alaska Cruise on Holland America’s Oosterdam in July 2010 with Michael W. Smith and friends. What led me to blog about my adventure now is my husband and I are going on our first Alaska cruise together this July, also with Michael w. Smith and friends. See a pattern here? We are excited to go on this adventure together.
I was lucky to have a non-stop flight to Seattle. I loved the seeing Mt. Rainier from the plane. That was the highlight of the long flight. I had never been to Seattle before, so I enjoyed seeing some of the city. Top things to see in Seattle, the Space Needle and Pike Place Market!! I can’t wait to see them again. There are even more places and things to see this time around.
The itinerary of the cruise was the inside passage, Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and Victoria, Canada. I loved all the ports!! Alaska is one of the most beautiful states. Cruising through Glacier Bay and getting to see glaciers all around me was breathtaking. I could hear them calving at times. I took so many pictures I couldn’t help myself. The first port was Juneau where I saw the majestic Mendenhall Glacier. That is a must see in Juneau. I loved the Salmon bake. The food was delicious and started my love of Salmon. My cabin mate, Amy, and I panned for gold and seen a waterfall as well. Later in the day, I met up with Jill for our excursion, which was an amazing helicopter ride where you landed on a glacier at a dog sled camp. I loved getting to mush with these beautiful dogs. I treasure my picture with them. The next port was Sitka, where I loved the boat ride with amazing nature all around us. A big highlight was seeing all the sea otters swimming in large groups. They are so fun to watch!! I did another boat ride in Ketchikan, where the scenery was beautiful with the mountains and waterfalls. I never tired of seeing this beauty. The last port was Victoria, Canada, where I went on my first Orca Whale Watching experience. I loved that they put the sonar in the water so we could hear them. It turned out the orcas were very active that evening!! What an awesome last excursion on the cruise!! I highly recommend going on an Alaska Cruise!!
