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Cruise Review: Spirit of Discovery - Alaska

Alaska's Whales & Wilderness - May 2008

Juneau

We started out with Juneau. We flew in last night and when we woke up this morning we were able to see the small ship pull in alongside the massive floating hotels, such as the Princess Cruise Line. We met the group of people that we were going to be on the ship with at 4 o’clock that afternoon which gave us time to go shopping or sight seeing in the morning. Besides for shopping, there is Glacier Gardens, which is similar to beautiful botanical gardens that are off the beaten path. There are also helicopter rides to the glaciers surrounding Juneau. It is absolutely beautiful, though a little cloudy which makes me nervous about what it will be like when we get on the open ocean. I hope that it is nice and at least a little bit sunny.

Tracy Arm

Today we sailed into Tracy Arm and witnessed glaciers calving along with a bunch of wildlife. The whales would not stop putting on a show for us, starting with a tail fluke and gradually it turned into pectoral slaps (slapping of the flippers) and eventually breaching, where the whale comes completely out of the water by using its fluke. It was great having a small ship because we actually got a chance to stop the ship and just sit there watching the whales play around for and unlimited amount of time. It was nice not have a definite schedule as to where we have to be at a certain time.

Fredrick Sound and Chatham Strait

This was another great opportunity to inspect the marine wildlife. We focused most of the day on this activity. We also focused on trying to find bears along the coastline. For what sounds like a very boring day, it was full of interest and wildlife. We came inches away from one of the cliffs, so close that I could almost touch it while leaning over the side of the ship. It was absolutely incredible. We continued adventuring around, stopping to watch the wildlife, and just taking breathtaking pictures.

Sitka

This was our port day, the only day where we actually came into a real town/city. This was exciting because it gave us a chance to do whatever we wanted to do. We could shop, hike, take a tour, and take a shore excursion like kayaking. It was incredible. I decided to go shopping in the morning and then I grouped up with a couple of people from the ship and we went on a 12-mile hike. There are more hikes that are shorter than this one, but it was absolutely magnificent. We were told that there might be bears somewhere along the trail, but each person we came across said that they had seen no wildlife, with the exception of birds, and a very friendly dog that got my pants dirty. It was a great time to stretch my legs after being on the ship for 2 days.

Exploration Cruising

Today we did something similar to the other days at sea. We basically wondered the seas waiting to see wildlife, and if we came across it we stopped. It was during dinner that I witnessed a whale breaching outside of the dinning room window. About 15 to 20 passengers actually left dinner, went up to the bow and stood there watching this whale breach. It must have been playing around for about 25 minutes before the mother came along and took the child away. The pair came towards the ship, and right before it got to the bow, it did a magnificent dive with the fluke and everything, only feet away from the ship. It was incredible. So incredible in fact that the captain was on the bow with us taking pictures with his high-tech camera. It was one of the most breath-taking experiences of my life. The great part of it is that the dinning room kept my food warm, so after I finished watching the whales, I went back to the dinning room and continued eating.

Icy Strait/Bartlett Cove

Today we got to go to Glacier Bay National Park at Bartlett Cove. This is another great opportunity to get off the ship. The ship is docked from morning to night, so you are able to get on and off the ship as much as you like. I went with a group of 5 other people on a hike. There are two different hikes that are suggested besides the nature walk with the park ranger. One of the trails is a short 1-2 mile hike along the river. This is a beautiful hike and usually swamped with wildlife. The group that went on this hike came back and told us that they saw two black bears (at a very safe distance). I decided to go on the Lake hike, which we were told was very intensive, strenuous, and long. The trail was not very distinct, but to me that made it fun. There are arrows along the trees to point what direction to go in, but other than that, you follow the path as much as possible, but sometimes it goes straight through a huge puddle of mud and water, so a detour is necessary. This was an incredible hike, both rewarding at the end, and beautiful. One girl actually went swimming in the lake…. incredible!

Glacier Bay National Park

Today we woke up right in from of the glaciers. It was incredible. I think we were ¾ of a mile away from the face of the glacier. It was so magnificent and gigantic. It was incredible to see the seals sitting on the ice. We nicknamed them orca sausages, because the look likes links of sausage lying on pieces of ice. It is really sad that today is our last day because you start to get to know the people that you are sailing with. You never want the trip to end!

Juneau

Today we arrived back in Juneau and thus ended our trip. There is a lot to do there, including Glacier Gardens, the museum, the excursions that the ship offers, or just plain shopping.

Overall, it was an absolutely fabulous trip and I would do it in a heartbeat. I thoroughly enjoyed my time and wish it could have lasted longer than it did.
The ship had, excellent fresh food, attentive staff, good mixture of on board lectures and interesting fellow passengers. The cabins were comfortable, clean good storage, not large but definitely comfortable.

Marc and Josie, Vero Beach