My sister (Debi), my Mom (Barbara), and I went on a cruise to Alaska in May to celebrate our Mom’s 80th birthday! We travelled with Holland America (out of Seattle) and had a great week touring Southeast Alaska. The weather was as expected with some rainy times and some sunny times - our day in Glacier Bay (which was one of the highlights of the trip) turned out to be a very nice, sunny day. Here is the itinerary, map of where we went, and a layout of the ship.

Saturday, May 9th - Day 1. We boarded in Seattle, next door to Elliott Bay Marina. When we got into the elevator, we looked down and thought “what a great idea!” (each day they swap out the mat on the floor to indicate what day it is). The elevators on the sides of the ship have glass windows - we tried to ride in those ones whenever we could!

Shortly before we pushed away from the dock, we went up to Deck 11 to the Tamarind Bar where we had a great view out the window. While there, we saw some people we knew on the ship! How surprising!

Sunday, May 10 - Day 2. We started out the day with a Mother’s Day Brunch in the Pinnacle Grill. What a treat!

Traveling on the west side of Vancouver Island proved to be a sporty ride, even in a large cruise ship! It was rocky enough that we were holding on to things while walking. Many on the ship were seasick. Luckily, the 3 of us handled it just fine.

Around 10 am:

Around noon:

The ship’s pool, around 3:30 pm:

Here’s a view riding in the elevator!

Monday, May 11 - Day 3. We travelled through Stephens Passage, and, lucky us, we saw whales! A couple of them were quite close to the ship!

After a lunch in the main dining room, we docked in Juneau. We walked around town for a while, then had an excursion - an Alaskan Salmon Bake.

Tuesday, May 12 - Day 4. This was the day we visited Glacier Bay National Park. What a beautiful place it is! And, the weather really cooperated and cleared up for us.

Rangers from Glacier Bay National Park came aboard our ship in the morning and left in the afternoon. Here’s a video showing how they get on and off the ship, while we were underway. Impressive!

After Glacier Bay we visited Icy Strait Point. The area had many fun/interesting things to do, including a zipline. For most of our time here we spent on an excursion - Seafood Feast & Tribal Experience. The dinner was very good, but very rushed. The tribal experience was entertaining with a few young adults putting on a show with singing and dancing where they shared information about tribal life. There was an amazing sunset when we walked back to the ship.

Wednesday, May 13th - Day 5. This was our day to visit Sitka. We had no excursions planned so we spent time walking around the town and shops. Debi and I made the trek to Harbor Mountain Brewery. I had a very yummy sour there!

Thursday, May 14th - Day 6. This was our day to visit Ketchikan. While there we had an excursion - Totem Bight State Park & Ketchikan Highlights. The highlights part of the day was a bus tour of the town. It was a great way to see some of the town and learn about their history.

At Totem Bight State Park we did a walking tour and learned about the many totem poles there. It was interesting to hear the story behind many of them.

Back on the ship for the afternoon/evening.

At dinner they brought a dessert and sang to Mom for her birthday (which was on May 25th)!

Friday, May 15th - Day 7. We spent the day at sea, making our way to Victoria, BC in the evening. We weren’t planning to get off the ship in Victoria as we were only there from 8pm-midnight, the cruise ship terminal isn’t real close to the town, and we have been to Victoria many times in the past. But, I found a grocery store within walking distance so Debi and I made the trek so I could pick up our favorite chips (that we have been unable to find anywhere we have looked for them in the US - so we always stock up when we go to BC)!