Cruising Without a Stomach

I’ve never had much desire to go on a cruise and there are some things that have made it seem even less appealing such as occasionally having vertigo, occasionally getting seasick, and now having no stomach. My husband’s brother and sister-in-law, on the other hand, loved cruising and did it often. As they were nearing the end of their life, my husband started talking about using some of the inheritance money we would receive and doing a cruise in their memory. I couldn’t say “no”. On one of their cruises, they had received an upgrade to a Neptune Suite and Donna told Gary that she didn’t care if she had to wash dishes, that’s how they were cruising from then on. So, our plan was to cruise in a Neptune suite. My husband, Keith, even shared our plans with Gary and Donna before their death and they were very pleased to hear of our plans.

When Keith started talking about the cruise and doing the research, he was looking into Mediterranean cruises. I asked him why there and he started talking about all the ports. I told him all the ports were places we could go to on our own and that the only times I have been tempted by a cruise were when I saw pictures of Alaskan cruises, including those taken by Gary and Donna on their multiple trips. With Alaska, you can see places from the ship that you can’t see otherwise. Keith enjoys travel planning as a hobby and I usually just let him do it, often not knowing the details of where we’re going until we’re in the car on our way. But when I do offer input, he does listen, and he changed his course to planning an Alaskan cruise.

We started the conversation early in COVID, but wanted to wait till COVID “was over”. We were looking at going in May 2023, but it was January before Keith figured out exactly what he wanted to do and then it was no longer available, so we waited and went this year. The Holland America tour we ended up with went north from Vancouver with a week of land and then cruised south from Whittier, Alaska, for a week and ended back in Vancouver.

Day 1 – Friday, June 28, 2024 – Traveling from Kansas City to Vancouver

We flew into Vancouver a couple of days early. With a 1:50 flight out of Kansas City, we had planned to eat lunch at the airport, but didn’t allow enough time (still adjusting to the new KCI), so grabbed BBQ to go just before we boarded the plane. I’ve always enjoyed unsweetened iced tea, but it has 100% been my go-to drink post-gastrectomy. When flying, I look for bottles past security to get to take on the plane and then ask for a cup of ice during beverage service. I had checked a couple of places and they only had flavored or sweet tea. The BBQ place didn’t have tea in bottles either, but I was delighted to find they had it in the fountain. Knowing one cup wouldn’t be enough, I poured the tea into the Yeti cup I brought with me and got a refill. The only problem, there wasn’t room for the refill in the Yeti cup, so I was now balancing my carry-on, the food, and two drinks. I somehow survived without spilling and managed to eat the tasty burnt ends on the plane without making a huge mess. Success! I didn’t finish the overpriced burnt ends (airport pricing) but my husband finished them off after eating his meal, so no food was wasted.

Heading into Denver, we had quite a bit of turbulence and I wasn’t feeling great, but took a couple of tums and made it through. The landing was the roughest I recall ever experiencing. It was like the runway came faster than the pilot was expecting. My husband actually bumped his head on the seat in front of us.

I always pack lots of snacks when flying, making sure I have plenty even if we get delayed on the tarmac. It wasn’t until a year or so ago that I learned blue ice is permitted in carry-ons, as long as it is completely frozen. I have a small cooler bag that I put blue ice and cheese in. I can also fit one bottle of iced tea in it, if any had been available. Other snacks I pack include beef jerky, protein bars, and nuts. And of course, there’s the airline provided snacks. I don’t recall what all I ate, but I had enough to make it through. Even though we were a few minutes late leaving Denver, we arrived on time in Vancouver, landing at 6:19 local time. By the time we got our luggage and got to dinner, it was after 8, which meant it was after 10 Kansas City time.

By this time, it had been long enough since I had my last snack that I was hungry (yes, I experience hunger, it just feels different than it did when I had a stomach). Sometimes in the past I’ve had an issue where I’ve gotten too hungry and then basically couldn’t eat. Fortunately, 7 years post-gastrectomy, my body has adjusted more, and this wasn’t an issue. I was disappointed to learn that Canadians only do sweet tea and unsweet tea wasn’t an option.

After dinner, we went to the hotel room and were in bed by 10:30.

Day 2 - Saturday, June 29, 2024 - Vancouver (Chinatown, Gastown, and North Vancouver)

After breakfast at the hotel, we took the SkyTrain into town and then a bus into Chinatown. We arrived about 10:30 for an 11:00 Wok Around Chinatown tour. Since we had time to kill, we wandered around a little, but then about 10:50 tried to find where we were supposed to be and couldn’t find it. A couple of text messages and a phone call, and we finally met up with the guide and the rest of the group a little after 11. The four-hour tour included learning about Chinatown and eating along the way. I wasn’t quite sure how it was all going to work out because if we were eating every 20 minutes, for instance, I likely wouldn’t be able to eat that much or that often as I usually need an hour or so between times of eating. While the guide was going over the schedule at the lovely Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, we learned that the stops were going to include BBQ, a couple of bakeries for a surprise pastry (which turned out to be an apple tart), a lemon custard, and then finishing up with a dim sum lunch. We had not understood the dim sum to all be at one place, so that adjusted my expectations and also let me know that we weren’t getting a full lunch until likely after 2:00.

As always, I had snacks with me and as it was approaching 11:30, I had a debate with myself of whether to eat a snack or not as I still wasn’t clear on how long it would be to the first food stop. I decided to have a few nuts and I’m glad I did. We toured the garden and then had a first tea (hot tea) stop and then went down the road to Chinatown BBQ. We stayed outside while our tour guide went inside and then brought out two different types of roasted pork, one savory and one sweet BBQ. My snack had been light enough that I had no problem eating both pork dishes. It was just a sampling, so had no issue with being full.

The next stop was New Town bakery where the guide brought out delicious apple tarts. I wasn’t sure that I should, but I ate the whole thing and fortunately, didn’t regret it later. We then went to the Chinese museum. We didn’t have time to tour the museum, but the guide told us about the Chinese immigration to Canada, including that of his family.

Next stop was the Chinatown Story Telling Centre where we learned even more about early Chinese in Canada and learned that up until World War II, the Chinese were considered residents, not citizens and it wasn’t until after the War when some volunteered to fight for Canada that they were granted citizenship. A stop at an herbal medicine shop and then to The Boss bakery where we had the lemon custard. This time, I chose to just have a few bites of Keith’s.

After a brief stop at a shop that sells family worship supplies and explain that custom, we went to the oldest Chinese tea shop in Vancouver and sampled both hot tea and iced tea. The iced tea was flavored and sweetened with honey but wasn’t too bad. Thought about making a purchase, but the group was waiting, so I didn’t.

Next up was the Dim Sum lunch. Our guide had preordered 10-12 different dishes. I was able to sample all except the last one which came after I was already full. Some of the dishes were ones I have had previously when I’ve had Dim Sum and some were new.

After Chinatown, we went to Gastown and walked around, checking out various shops and the famous Steam Clock.

Since I have a need to drink between meals to stay hydrated, I pretty much carry a drink with me all the time. In the morning, it’s water and then I switch to tea at lunch. With not having unsweetened iced tea available, I made hot tea in the hotel room and refrigerated it overnight (using the bottle that I had managed to purchase in the Denver airport), so it was cold in the morning. I filled my Yeti cup with ice and water in the morning, and then when the water was gone, switched to the tea. That made it through most of the afternoon. I had run out of ice, but still had tea when I saw a Subway in the SkyTram station and asked if I could get some ice and was able to return my tea to iced tea. We took the SeaBus to North Vancouver for dinner.

 

Day 3 – Sunday, June 30, 2024 – Vancouver

The land portion of our Holland America tour officially started on Sunday, but all that meant was we had to change hotels. The new hotel was at the airport, so we delivered our luggage to the hotel in the morning and then went back into the city on the SkyTrain. We rode the aqua bus along False Creek, explored the shore, and then ended up at Granville Island where we visited the shops in the Public Market and the Artisan District. We went to a seafood restaurant for dinner and shared a lobster tail, jumbo prawns, oysters, ahi tuna poke, 1/2 Dungeness crab and potatoes. My husband, of course, ate the majority, but I sampled everything except the oysters and the ahi tuna poke, neither of which I care for.

 

Day 4 – Monday, July 1, 2024

Being at the airport hotel, it didn’t make sense to go into town to do anything Monday morning even though our flight wasn’t until almost 2:00. We had to have our checked luggage ready to be picked up at 9am and then we just hung out in the room until about 11 at which time we headed over to check in. It was a long walk through all the airlines and we didn’t think we were ever going to get to Air North, but we finally did. Keith had read very good things about a restaurant in the airport so our plan was to go there for lunch, but it turns out it is in the international terminal which we couldn’t access, so we settled on a pub in our terminal. There was a couple and sister from our group that we had talked to as we were checking in that were sitting at a large table and they invited us to join them. Food wasn’t spectacular but sufficient.

The flight to Whitehorse in the Yukon was about 2 ½ hours. A little into the flight, I decided it was snack time and had one of my protein bars. Shortly after I finished it, they came through with complimentary sandwiches. It’s been a long time since I was served more than just a little snack on a plane and especially wasn’t expecting a sandwich at 3:00 in the afternoon. If I had known it was coming, I would have held off on the protein bar, but was able to eat a lot of it (especially the meat and cheese). It was followed by a warm chocolate chip cookie which I could manage only a few bites of. We were only in Whitehorse long enough to go to the bathroom and get some instruction before turning around and loading the plane for the 1-ish hour flight to Dawson City.

After we checked into our room in Dawson City, we made our way to a Jamaican restaurant that had only been open a few months. Keith likes Jamaican food more than I do, but it wasn’t bad. Many of the restaurants that we might have chosen to go to were closed on Monday.

We were sad to learn that a wildfire had broken out on Sunday in Denali National Park, right across the river from the hotel where we were scheduled to stay Wednesday and Thursday nights. As part of fighting the fire, they had cut power and water to the hotel. I can’t imagine what it was like for the people that were there; apparently, they were using port-a-potties and the restrooms on the bus. Not sure what they were doing for food with no electricity and no water. We were hopeful that it would reopen by Wednesday, but suspecting that it wouldn’t.

 

Day 5 – Tuesday, July 2, 2024 – Dawson City

Dawson City is a town of less than 1,500 in the Yukon. It feels like you are stepping back in time with the buildings mostly being unchanged from the time of the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1800s. The only paved road is the main highway, the rest are dirt roads and there are boardwalks instead of sidewalks. With light rain on and off, we had to be careful to avoid the mud and water holes, especially where the boardwalks were missing. We rode the ferry across the Yukon River and at the urging of one of the workers, stepped off so we could say we were at mile marker 0 on the Top of the World Highway. We walked around checking out the town and joined our group for a tour of Klondike Mining Company Dredge No. 4, the largest wooden hulled bucket lined dredge in North America, which was in use 1912-1959.

After dinner, we joined four other members of our tour group at the popular cancan show at Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall. It was fun getting to know other members of our group better. With over 20 hours of daylight, we walked around the town a little more before heading back to the hotel.

 

Day 6 – Wednesday, July 3, 2024 – Fairbanks, Alaska

This is the day we were supposed to fly to Fairbanks and then take a bus to Denali. We had learned on Tuesday that we would be spending the time originally scheduled in Denali in Fairbanks instead. Obviously disappointed, but what we had been expecting ever since we heard about the fire.

This was the earliest start to the day to this point of the trip. I’m not a morning person, so I wasn’t thrilled that we had to have our luggage set out by 7am. Because there’s not a terminal at the airport, we checked in with the airline representatives at the hotel. By 8am, we were on the bus to the airport. Since we were flying from Dawson City to Fairbanks, Alaska, this was an international flight. Security was done by manually inspecting our carry-on bags on a folding table and quickly scanning us with handheld wands. Many of the airline/airport employees had multiple jobs as we saw the same people checking us in at the hotel, doing security, and guiding the airplane on the ground.

We were to our hotel in Fairbanks by 11am, ate lunch in the hotel restaurant, and then took the shuttle to Pioneer Park, which opened in 1967 to celebrate the centennial of the Alaska Purchase. It looked like a nearly 50-year-old park that could use some tender loving care but was still enjoyable. The thing I found the most interesting was The Harding Car which was the train car President Harding rode in when he came to Alaska in 1923 to drive the Golden Spike for the Alaska Railroad.

One of the things that we had been looking forward to, as well as time at Denali National Park, was an excursion from Denali, flying north of the Arctic Circle to Coldfoot, Alaska, home to the world's northernmost truck stop. When our plans got changed, Keith was able to get us rebooked on the same excursion out of Fairbanks Wednesday evening. Wednesday afternoon, we got a phone call that because of the weather, they couldn’t fly into Coldfoot. They had a flight earlier in the day that couldn’t land and had to turn back. They then offered us a flight to Fort Yukon, Alaska, a native community, still north of the Arctic Circle, so we took it. There was no truck stop or place to buy souvenirs, but we were greeted by a local woman who took us on a tour around town. Fort Yukon (Gwichyaa Zhee in the Gwich'in language), with a population of less than 500, is far from any highway and over 100 river miles from “civilization”. The residents are largely self-sufficient as it is so expensive to have anything shipped in. We stopped outside our guide’s parent’s house where we were greeted by her father and her four-year-old son. Both were a delight as her father shared more about their family history, and her son was a 4-year-old giving everyone a hug and making you smile.

 

Day 7 – Thursday, July 4, 2024 – Fairbanks, Alaska

We found out the night before that Holland America had put together a free all-day excursion to try to make up for the itinerary change. It was going to include gold panning, lunch, and a riverboat ride. However, there would not be a refund if we had already booked another excursion (which we had) and the meet time was 9:30 which was earlier than we wanted to do with our late night the night before, so we stuck with our original plan. I slept in and didn’t get up until almost 10. I felt well-rested when I got up and was glad I let myself sleep late. I decided to skip breakfast (most days I’ve had a pack of granola bars) and we headed to lunch a little after 11.

For lunch I had a crab burger (crab cake on a bun) and Keith had reindeer sausage. Both were good. Then we headed back to the hotel where our guide picked us up for the excursion. It was only us and a boy with his grandparents. I enjoyed the boy’s excitement around everything and asking lots of questions. The guide was great with him. We went to the University of Alaska Museum of the North, a culture and history museum, and then on to the University of Alaska Large Animal Research Station, my favorite part of the day. We saw musk ox, the only animal that is still around and not changed since the ice age, up close. We also saw reindeer, but the guide wasn’t able to get them to come as close for viewing. Final stop was North Pole, Alaska, and the Santa Claus House, a year-around Christmas store with Santa. As expected, they get lots of mail addressed to Santa and answer them with a North Pole postmark. The kid with us was pretty excited to go there.

Day 8 - Friday, July 5, 2024

It wasn’t until Thursday afternoon after our excursion that we found out how we were getting from Fairbanks to Anchorage since we weren’t supposed to be in Fairbanks. We were supposed to be in Denali and taking the train from Denali. The good news was that the rail service had reopened and we were able to take the train from Cantwell Station (a little south of Denali) to Anchorage. The bad news is we had to be in the lobby of the hotel, with our luggage, at 5:30 a.m. to board a bus for a 3 hour ride as we needed to be at Cantwell Station by 9:30 to make sure we were there when the train arrived. The train arrived about 9:50 and we were on our way for the 7-hour train ride to Anchorage by 10:00.

There were two domed cars on the train, each seated 88 passengers. Since it was the first trip with passengers after the railroad had reopened, our group of 41 were the only ones on the train and were split between the two cars, so we had lots of room to move around and could easily move from side to side to have the best view. The picture taking wasn’t as great as it could have been as it was raining part of the time, so we were dealing with water on the windows. We did have the back car, so we were able to step out on the platform to take pictures from three directions and not deal with the windows, but did have to battle the wind.

We had lunch on the train. Each train car had a full kitchen downstairs under the domed car. I had a BLTO (onion) with lots of bacon. I had brought plenty of snacks with me, but thought the salmon dip on the menu looked good, so ordered that later in the afternoon as my snack.

 

Day 9 - Saturday, July 6, 2024 – Anchorage, Alaska

We took a trolley around Anchorage in the morning and learned a little about its history, and specifically the 1964 earthquake.  We went to Earthquake Park where we stood on the fault line and you could actually see the ripples left behind from the earthquake. There are still homes underneath the ground that were sucked into the earth.

For lunch, we shared a 3 item appetizer with garlic shrimp, calamari, and salmon dip. After lunch, we took a shuttle to the Native American Heritage Center. They had some nice exhibits and we were quite impressed that the natives demonstrating the dancing were all young people, some still in high school. We also spent quite a bit of time wandering around shops today.

For supper, we split a pound of Alaskan King Crab legs. We had seen them on the menu other places for $100-$130 for one to one and a half pounds. The $80 price tonight seemed like a bargain. It wasn’t until we placed the order that I realized I’m not sure that I’ve ever had them before, being much more familiar with snow crab, I basically ate one of the four pieces (although it was one of the two bigger ones) and Keith ate the rest. I did enjoy it.

 

Day 10 – Sunday, July 7, 2024 – Boarded Ship

On Sunday, we took a train from Anchorage to Whittier where we would catch the cruise ship, Nieuw Amsterdam. We had to report to the hotel lobby at 11:30 a.m. for a 11:45 departure by bus to the train station. The 2-3 hour train to Whittier was scheduled for a 12:45 departure. This schedule made figuring out lunch a bit of a challenge. We could get lunch or a snack on the train, but knew it would be a late lunch. We opted to eat a big late breakfast before boarding the train. In the interest of time and convenience, we ate breakfast at the hotel which was too expensive for a not very good breakfast buffet, but it was food that should succeed in holding us over.

While it was another glass domed train, on this train, the seats were at tables as opposed to the earlier train we had taken. We also had assigned seating; I was glad we were headed forward instead of backward. The train was late, so we didn’t depart until after 1:00. I decided to order the Alaska smoked salmon chowder in a bread bowl. The service/kitchen was very slow, unlike what it had been on our previous train ride. I didn’t eat a snack because I had ordered lunch. It was getting close to 2:30 and still no chowder. They were actually starting to come through with tickets for beverages and asking people to close out their tabs so they would be done before arriving at our destination. They weren’t delivering the ones with food that hadn’t been delivered because they didn’t want us to pay for something we didn’t have, but that told me I wasn’t the only one wondering if it was going to arrive. I was getting hungry. I was thinking very seriously about going ahead and having a snack I had brought, but wasn’t sure if I should or not. About that time, fortunately before I got a snack out, the chowder finally arrived. I’m glad I hadn’t eaten the snack as I wouldn’t have been able to eat the chowder if I had. It was good; not necessarily worth the wait.

Less than an hour later, we arrived at our ship. Going through security went smoothly. I wasn’t allowed to take my bottle of tea onto the ship, but I was able to pour it into my Yeti cup. The concern was the plastic bottle, not the liquid. That just meant I only had one bottle to refill for the rest of the trip instead of two as I had also packed one in my checked luggage. The information we had been sent said that any food taken on board the ship (both initially and returning from ports) had to be factory sealed. I had spent quite a bit of time before the trip evaluating my snacks and figuring out what I had to do to be able to have snacks during the land portion of the trip, unopened packages when we boarded the ship, ziplock bags to put them in for an excursion, but not putting too much in because I wouldn’t be able to bring it back on to the ship, etc. That was all wasted stress as I didn’t make a point of discarding any open packages from the first week of travel and I was never questioned about any of them, both in my carry-on and in my checked luggage. I presume that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be different a different time, but on this trip, it was a non-issue.

As I said before, we had a Neptune suite which was a nice roomy suite with a large balcony. There were some special perks that came with the Neptune suite, the best of which was the Neptune Lounge which was right across the hall from our room. They cycled through about three menus of snacks (morning, afternoon, and evening) so there was always food available. We probably could have made a meal of the offerings there, but we never did. It did work well for many of my snacks. And the best part was there was always unsweetened iced tea in the afternoon and evening!

We ate dinner in the main dining room (which we did most nights). One of the additional perks of the Neptune Suite was priority seating, so we never had to wait and always were seated at a nice table fairly close to the windows. When you ordered, you ordered everything at once, including dessert. They expected each person to order an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. That is obviously too much food for me, but I decided since we were paying for it anyway (meals are included), I might as well get my own appetizer and dessert even though I may only eat a few bites. Keith and I both got to sample two desserts instead of having to agree and share one like we usually do. This first night, I had French onion soup and rainbow trout.  We had chocolate fudge brownie cheesecake and a hot fudge sundae for dessert. It was fun to have a couple of bites of each. Room service was also included, and I ordered cheese and nuts one evening for a snack.

 

Day 11 – Monday, July 8, 2024 – Hubbard Glacier

Today was spent at sea, cruising south. We arrived at Yakutat Bay, home to Hubbard Glacier late afternoon. Knowing the cruise ship wasn’t allowed near this Glacier, we booked an excursion where we got on a smaller boat and were allowed within about a half mile of the glacier. One of the few glaciers that is still advancing, Hubbard Glacier is 6 miles wide and 400’ high. Because of the size, it felt we were closer than we were. While we were there, the glacier was very active. We saw (and heard) several calvings, where ice falls from the glacier into the water.

 

Day 12 – Tuesday, July 9, 2024 – Glacier Bay

We spent much of the day in Glacier Bay. Although there are more glaciers here, they were not active like Hubbard was and we were farther away, so they weren’t near as interesting. We did also see a few whales, but I never got a good luck at them.

For our time in Glacier Bay National Park, we were joined on the ship by park rangers, an Alaska Native Voices Cultural Ambassador, and Alaska Geographic representatives who brought books, maps and items to sell. The only thing I bought was a couple of postcards.

 

Day 13 – Wednesday, July 10, 2024 – Skagway, Alaska

We arrived in Skagway overnight and had to get up early for a 7:30 a.m. excursion. This was a day I was thankful I had brought granola bars with me as I didn’t want to take the extra time to have breakfast on the ship, but instead just eat on the way to our destination. The dock in Skagway isn’t open to the public because of mudslides, so we left the ship via a tender boat and then took a bus to our White Pass Rail & Klondike Highway excursion. We rode a narrow gauge train on tracks which were laid in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush to White Pass and into the Canadian Yukon. Once again, it was rainy and foggy and much of the time the “beautiful canyon” was full of fog. The little glimpses we did see looked nice. We then took a bus back down to Skagway. We walked around town the rest of our time, including having lunch, sharing fish and chips and one king crab leg. It was another town, like Dawson City, that made you feel like you were back in time to the 1800s and the time of the gold rush.

 

Day 14 – Thursday, July 11, 2024 – Juneau, Alaska

We had a later excursion time than yesterday, so had breakfast on the ship before disembarking for our excursion which was a float plane ride over the Juneau Icefield. We saw several glaciers from the air, but since it was another cloudy day, many of the pictures look like they were taken in black and white, but it was still cool to see from the air.

For lunch, I decided to take a break from the seafood I was having nearly every meal, but still get something I can’t get at home, and enjoyed a reindeer sausage corn dog. It was pretty good. After lunch we checked out the Alaska State Capitol building (we had visited the Hawaii Capitol last year, so it seemed fitting to see the Alaska one too). We then rode the Goldbelt Tram up 1,800 feet which gave a nice view of Juneau.

We ate supper back on the ship. Our cruise package included one specialty dining experience and we had selected to have it tonight at the Pinnacle Grille. This is one of the meals when I had to get over wasting food and just enjoy the experience and the food in small portions. I had a few spoonfuls of lobster bisque, a tasting of Keith’s Clothesline Candied Bacon, and a small filet and lobster tail for my entree. At home, I would have just eaten one and taken the other for lunch the next day, but here I had a few bites of each. I finished the meal with a few bites of my Key lime pie and of Keith’s chocolate souffle.

 

Day 15 – Friday, July 12, 2024 – Ketchikan, Alaska

We were due in Ketchikan at 11 and had an excursion at 12:15, so we went to the buffet when it opened at 11 for an early lunch. They were slow opening and we impatiently waited along with many other passengers. After about 15 minutes, the people on our side of the ship learned that a portion of the buffet on the opposite side of the deck was open and had been for some time. So, we all went over there to get our food.

The Bear Encounter by Land and Sea excursion was the one I was most looking forward to, but also the one we were the most concerned about. It was a 4-5 hour excursion and the website said, “Bears have an acute sense of smell; do not wear strong scent or bring food of any kind.” Even though the website also said a light snack was included, we weren’t sure when the snack would be, if it would be the right type of food for me, and if it would be enough to satisfy my needs over that long of period. While I’m usually comfortable sneaking food in where not “allowed”, I don’t have that same comfort level when bears are involved. My husband, being the great planner and very concerned about me, took it upon himself and had multiple conversations with the cruise company who also talked to the excursion company both before and during the cruise. The excursion involved a 40 minute bus ride, followed by an hour long boat ride to the place where we would then walk down a path to see black bears. We were told we could take food on the bus and boat and then we could leave our bag on the boat for the hour or so spent at Neets Bay Bear Observatory, so we decided to go ahead and do the encounter.

When we were getting ready to get off the boat, we learned that boat was leaving us and another boat would be coming to pick us up when we were done at the observation area, but the guide assured us that bringing our bags and snacks on the trail was no problem. So basically, all that worry for nothing!

As we walked the trail to Neets Bay Hatchery and the observation area, the guide pointed out scratches on the trees that were from bears. We had heard that groups weren’t seeing bears because the salmon weren’t spawning yet and that’s what attracts the bears. We waited about an hour and didn’t see anything besides bald eagles and some other birds when some in our group saw a bear. Keith looked and saw just a glimpse before it went back into the woods, by the time I looked, it was gone. And then 10 minutes later, it was time to go.

We figured our group had seen just enough to not get the $100 credit they give if you don’t see a bear because they are that confident you will see one. We were pleased to find out we each received the credit after all. It didn’t change the disappointment in not seeing them, but at least we got a small compensation for our 5 hours spent to see no bear.

When we got back on the boat, we were given the provided snack of a choice of a selection of salty snacks, along with a bottle of water. I’m glad I had brought my own snack which I ate part of on the way.

When we got back to town, we wandered around Ketchikan a little and checked out Creek Street before getting back on the ship.

 

Day 16 – Saturday, July 13, 2024 – Cruising the Inside Passage

Today was spent on the water, cruising the inside passage, We did see one thing we hadn’t seen the entire trip…the sun! The water actually looked blue today, the rest of the trip it had been basically gray. We spent quite a bit of time on the bow looking for humpback whales and orcas. There was definitely activity, but I didn’t get any good looks.

We went to one of the other premium dining restaurants for supper as we had some nonrefundable ship credits to use up.

 

Day 17 – Sunday, July 14, 2024 – Vancouver

We arrived at the port in Vancouver early in the morning and had to be off the ship by 9 am, so no sleeping in. Rather than taking the time to go to a restaurant for breakfast and have to get up that much earlier, we chose to have room service delivered to the room.

After disembarking the ship, we headed to the Vancouver Aquarium where we enjoyed a sea lion show and other animals.

 

Day 18 – Monday, July 15, 2024 – Traveling home

With a flight scheduled to depart Vancouver at 12:40 pm, we didn’t do anything besides have breakfast and go to the airport Monday morning. We thought today we would be able to have lunch at the place at the airport that Keith had wanted to at the beginning of the trip, only to learn that flights to the US are out of their own terminal instead of the International Terminal. So, we ate standard airport food.

We were supposed to arrive in Denver at 4:38 pm and Kansas City at 8:43 pm. Our flight left Vancouver on time, but when we got to Denver, we had to circle the airport as it was closed for weather. The pilot warned us that we may have to divert to a different airport as we had a limited amount of fuel. And sure enough, a few minutes later, we were on our way to Rapid City, South Dakota. The Denver airport reopened about the time we landed in Rapid City, but by this time, our flight crew had reached their limit, so couldn’t return the plane to Denver. We had to disembark in Rapid City and wait for a new crew to arrive from Denver. But, before we could go to a gate, they had to call in airport employees that had already went home for the day, so we got to sit on the plane. When we finally got off, we were thrilled that the one restaurant in the airport was open, so we could get something for supper. I’m not sure, but I think they may have also been called in to reopen. With very limited staff, they did a good job of trying to keep up with all the business. Unanticipated instances like this is why I overpack snacks while flying, but the reality is I hadn’t overpacked for this trip home as much as I probably should have. If we hadn’t been able to get off the plane or if the restaurant hadn’t been open, I think I would have been in distress mode, but fortunately that didn’t happen. We finally had a new plane and were headed back to Denver. We landed about midnight. The motel shuttle had stopped running for the day, so we had to get a taxi. We got to our motel room about 1 am, with no toiletries or clean clothes for the next day.

 

Day 19 – Tuesday, July 16, 2024 - Traveling Home Day 2

It was a short night as we had to be on the motel shuttle back to the airport at 7:30 am for our rescheduled flight. Everything was on schedule today. My eldest had been going to pick us up at the airport on Monday night, but couldn’t get off work to do so on Tuesday. When we were getting ready to leave Rapid City Monday night, I had posted on Facebook about our flight adventures and asked if anyone wanted to pick us up and one of our friends volunteered, so we didn’t have to take a taxi home from the airport. It felt good to be home when we finally got there.