Bering Strait to Alaska - Seward . you "otter" be here

After eight days at sea, and with two of them being the same date, we were so confused about whether it was Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.  Each day we lost one hour: one minute it was 1.59pm, then it suddenly became 3pm.  At first, this was not a problem, but by the end of this week we were all waking at 4am as if it was the middle of the day!!!

Finally, a port day.  No words can describe the buzz we felt as we walked out on deck and the sun rose from behind the snow-capped mountains that surrounded us.  Silently the ship broke the glass-like water as we glided into port…. Hello Alaska…

Seward is normally visited as a turnaround port, and as we sailed in, we were welcomed by the bright lights of the Celebrity Millennium who had already arrived. The small cruise terminal was a hive of activity as their passengers disembarked and searched for their luggage...  

Very well organised staff welcomed and directed you, depending on where and what you were doing.  With immigration being on board we were corralled into Legends, and in groups of 50, herded through the Vista lounge for our mandatory face to face immigration.

Major Marine supplied a shuttle to and from the port for their tours.

Today’s tour was an 8.5-Hour Northwestern Fjord Cruise that travels deep into Kenai Fjords National Park.

The early morning weather was a little bleak and visibility was low. All-day there was the constant threat of rain, and at times the threat became reality. Once onboard our boat, the Viewfinder, we headed out into Resurrection Bay passing a few playful Otter’s frolicking around us. Diving for food then laying back floating on water as if working on their tans.

We cruised up to a lot of the little islands and rocky outcrops for a closeup view of the wild and sea life that frequent those spots…  Puffins with their bright orange beaks, Murree’s that resemble small penguins, and Sea Lions lounging on rock faces as if they did not have a care in the world.  Cutest are the Harbour Seals lying on ice floats looking up at you with their little quizzical faces.

The stars, and the hardest to capture on film, were the whales. Uncooperative and unpredictable, we waited in earnest for a spout of water and hoped that it was followed by a breach or at least a tail wave. A lot of tours start off as Whale watching and soon became Whale waiting. 

Travelling along the coast, around the islands and up the fjords, we were lucky to have several whale sightings.  After a few unsuccessful attempts at trying to photograph them, I decided to just sit back and enjoy the show ….  As they came to the surface you realised just how big these creatures are, and although you just want to be able to get up close and personal, they could cause a lot of damage if they popped us just a little too close. 

The scenery was magnificent as we passed by many glaciers.  Some perched high on the mountain and then those which cascaded down to sea level.

 The highlight was the Northwestern Glacier.  Surrounded by ice floats our captain edged his way closer and closer to the glacier.  As if there was some divine intervention, the moment we arrived the rain stopped, the wind dropped and the sun peaked out.  With the motors turned off our boat drifted in a silence that was only broken with the gunfire sound of cracking ice, and on a couple of occasions, culminated with a display of ice tumbling into the sea.  In shades of amazing blue and white, the ice had the texture of Styrofoam. Mesmerized, all you could do was stare. I am sure that I have that glacier photographed from every possible angle.

Being our halfway point we dragged ourselves away to head back to Seward.  On the way back we passed more wildlife, and like all tours, there is always this one special extra place they want to take you to. A cliff face covered with many waterfalls all eventually spilling into the water below. Although we were in Alaska it was like a scene out of Blue Hawaii...

Time was tight in Seward, and after the tour, we raced to get back to the ship.
We were puzzled by the fact that several passengers were walking in the opposite direction, away from the ship.  After the third group, we decided to ask why… apparently, the amount of supplies that were to be loaded onto the ship was underestimated, so we had a couple of extra hours in port.

Some pretty proud amateur fisherman showing off their catch of the day

The forklift drivers sped around the dock like a Benny Hill comedy skit; the only thing missing was that music that always goes with it.  Finally, as the last gangway was moved away, and to the applause of the passengers, the drivers waved and we dropped our lines and headed off for our next port of call.

What a wonderful introduction to Alaska, and to what we have in store with the rest of Alaska.

And so it is “Sea La Vie” from the beautiful Sun Princess.