The cruise part one.

We arrived at the port and went through all the security and passport control. Then we boarded the Holland America Line’s ship the “Koningsdam”. It was magnificent as these cruise ships are. We went through all the obligatory safety checks and found our muster station. We then just wandered around trying to get the feel of the place, later returning to the cabin to unpack. We needed to get some dhobing done so Val sorted out the clothes ready to give to the dhobi whallers in the morning. We then went to the restaurant for our meal. This is the first cruise where you have a choice of restaurant. On our previous cruises the main meal venue and time have been allocated. Aboard this ship there not, nevertheless we found a lovely restaurant, we were joined by another couple from our group and had a superb meal. After we’d eaten we had every intention of wandering around but we were both so tired we retired to our cabin and turned in. We realised just far west we were travelling for we entered yet another time zone and gained another hour.

Sunday 18th I was awake well before the alarm so I decided to get dressed, leave Val in bed and go and sit up top as we sailed along. I later returned to the cabin , sorry state room, with cup of tea then we went for breakfast. We then spent some time exploring the ship and sitting looking out to sea and we caught a glimpse of some whales.

Monday 19th We awoke to discover we were sailing up one of the straits of Alaska with wooded hills either side and a beautiful mist at sea level. The ship was slowly approaching Juneau. The ship had tried to show the Queen’s funeral but there were technical problems but we did manage to see some on the BBC News. We docked at Juneau and took a trip into town. Juneau is located in the Gatineau channel and Alaskan pan handle and is the second largest city in the USA by area and stands in the largest wilderness areas in the USA. Like most of these dockside tourist traps many shops were just tat, though Val did locate a Pandora shop so she bought some charms synonymous be  with Alaska. We continued to wander around then returned to the ship. We changed for dinner and went for a lovely meal. After we’d eaten we located customer service to sort out a few issues particularly with regards to the bureaucracy to be readmitted into Canada. The crew member was really helpful. We then went to the concert hall where we saw BBC Planet Earth 11 in concert, this was really cleverly choreographed and made wonderful entertainment.

Tuesday 20th we awoke to find ourselves in Skagway. We had breakfast then went for a run ashore. The municipality of Skagway has a population of only 1,240 (2020 census) It was a mining town in the days of the gold rush but now simply a tourist spot for cruise ships. It has the nickname “Gateway to the Klondike.”

It was a beautiful town really tiny but contains a wooden building purported to be the most photographed building in Alaska.