Our Cruise
Alaska May 27, 2007
The Infinity left Vancouver from the Ballantyne pier, (not Canada place), after a week in dry dock to correct a POD problem. That turned out be a plus because it gave them extra time to spiff things up before we got aboard. Everything was definately very clean and fresh looking. The Infinity is truly a beautiful ship.
The scenery was spectacular of course. That is what the inside passage is all about. Having balconys on opposite sides of the ship guaranteed us a good view of everything from our cabins.
Our first port was Ketchikan where 6 of us had chartered a seaplane for a flight to the Misty Fjords. This was scheduled for 1:30 so we had a leisurely morning on board then caught the ship's tender in to town about 10 am. The weather was a little bit cool with scattered light rain but not all that unpleasant. We did a little shopping and then had a very good lunch at Annabelles, a great old bar & Restaurant in the downtown area.
At 1:15 we met a van at the ship dock that took us the few blocks to where the seaplane was tied up. There we met Ryan of Alaska Seaplane Tours who was our pilot for the flight. We were soon on our way.
Ryan has been flying in and around the mountains and cloudy skys of Alaska for many years. We thought the weather looked a little iffy but as far as he was concerned it was a perfect day for a "flightseeing" tour of the Misty Fjords and the steep, rocky cliffs around them..
Then he treated us to a water landing on a remote lake on our way back. There were several bald eagles around diving for fish when we landed back at Ketchikan.
It was a beautiful clear day with partly cloudy skys whan we arrived at Juneau. This was the only place we were docked other than Vancouver on the whole trip.
We had a whale watching tour scheduled at 12:30 with Harv of Harv & Marv's whale watching.
Harv, actually Pete Nelson, turned out to be a very nice man. His dad picked us up near where we were docked and drove us out to the marina which is just past the entrance to the Mendenhall Glacier. Harv took us on spectacular tour of the waters around the Juneau area and showed us several whales, some bald eagles and some sea lions. The water was smooth and we all had a good time. We were joined here by the same couple that shared the seaplane ride with us who we had met on the Cruise Critic Board.
On the way back they took us by the Mendenhall Glacier to take some pictures.
Be sure to stop at the Red Dog Saloon before you leave Junea. We had a great time there on our way back to the ship. There was a very funny man on the piano that kept us all laughing the whole time we were there.
Our final stop on the cruise was the tiny little burg of Hoonah at Icy Straight Point. I understand that this area has been developed as a port by the cruise lines because it is in such a beautiful location. Only one ship is allowed in at a time. We tendered in and walked around the museum and the little shops in the old cannery building. The girls tossed chips of wood into a ceremonial fire for good luck. After that we took a bus ride into town and back. Then we rode on the top of the tender on the way back to the ship with the old cannery in the background.
