Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Finally, We Were Able to Cruise Again - Alaska Inside Passage July 10-17, 2022

 



It's been 3 years since we have been on a cruise. During the pandemic, cruising was not possible.  My husband is now 82 years old and we made a last minute decision to do a 7 day cruise of the Inside Passage of Alaska from Seattle and back.  We had never been to Alaska so we looked forward to this cruise.


 

Lots of uploading of information in advance using electronic apps was required.  Covid-19 vaccination records, Passports, Health Questionnaires and we had to have a negative Covid-19 test result within 72 hours of departure.  

The airfares were too high so we drove 3300 miles to and from Seattle from our home in Albuquerque.  It was a nice trip through the American Southwest and Northwest, a bonus vacation.  We enjoyed seeing the Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls, Idaho with its beautiful Shoshone Falls Park

 







We dined at Elevation 486 in Twin Falls on the edge of the Snake River Canyon. 




 

We boarded our ship, the MS Westerdam, on July 10th from Seattle, WA.  Our first port was Juneau, the Capital of Alaska, only accessible by sea or air.  We sailed next to see the Hubbard Glacier where I took an excursion boat up to within a half mile of the glacier. Got to see the impressive glacier with much calving (break away ice from the glacier into the sea).  

 


Our ship lost power to one of it's two azipods there and we had a shortened stop in Sitka and we did not stop in Ketchikan or Victoria, BC.  Here is a video of what we did see:




 
 
 
On our way back to Albuquerque, we visited Zion National Park and Page, AZ where I drove to Antelope Point to check out the fast disappearing Lake Powell:



Glad we made the trip.  Always nice to be back home.