Very Crowded Icy Strait Point

Carnival Panorama 18-Day Transpacific Cruise Long Beach to Yokohama

Icy Strait Point, Alaska -- Thursday, August 29, 2024

It has been a week on this cruise now. It feels a little long but we are still in good spirit even though we find that at our age we are not enjoying Carnival as much as we used to. We have come to know more people on the ship and even making friends with some. At breakfast, Hui Mei and Hank asked if we can have a Chinese Bible Study group so more people who don’t know English well enough can join us for a time of devotion. We have decided that starting tomorrow we will get together at 8:30 in Havana Bar and see how it goes on the next week of sea days.

We arrived at Icy Strait Point at around 7:00 before we even had breakfast so it was early and the ship stays until 4:00 before leaving for Japan. It’s cloudy but at least it did not rain when we got off at around 8:30. Panorama docked at the Wilderness Landing, our first time docking there. Which means we will have to take the gondolas to Adventure Landing on the other side so we could walk to the town of  Hoonah. We have always docked at Adventure Landing on our previous visits here. Well, at least we are docked instead of anchored like the Crystal ship that had to tender in.

 It was not crowded at that time and we got right on the gondolas. At Adventure Landing, a Royal Caribbean ship was docked there (I forgot the name of the ship, an older and smaller one.) 

Taking the complimentary gondola to Adventure Landing.

Reaching Adventure Landing side of the port.

Familiar sight.

The iconic whale sculpture.

Love walking along this trail. So picturesque and peaceful!

Started our walk on the Sea Walk to Hoonah.

We saw plenty of whales in the bay the first time we were here in 2017.

    We then walked the trail to Hoonah with the intension of just doing part of the walk only as son decided to walk all the way. While we were walking, we bumped into Mr. and Mrs. Ying, our subscribers on YouTube, and we stopped and talked for quite a while. Mrs. Ying just retired from her nursing career this month and this was their first cruise after retirement. Nice couple! After talking for a while we urged them to just go on walking to town before it starts raining. Then we saw Mr. and Mrs. Miao who came up to take pictures. We introduced ourselves and he recognized who I was. They have cruised 9 times last year, making them real experienced cruisers. After they went on their way, son came back from Hoonah, so we walked back to ISP pier. There were so many people with the three ships docked today. I have never seen so many people in ISP before!

Bumped into new friends Mr. and Mrs. Miao, as we were resting at this beautiful bluff. 

Walking back to port.

Looking back at the bluff.

Too bad we did not see any whales on this day.

    We just walked around a little inside the museum and the stores and then made our way back to the gondolas. The Salvation Army donut stand had a long line of customers waiting to buy their delicious treats.

Inside one of the stores.

    When we saw the line that wrapped around the gondola station, we decided that we should just take the trail back to Wilderness Landing and back on the ship. It was just people everywhere!

Long line at the gondola station at Adventure Landing.

Taking the trail back to Wilderness Landing.

A nice walk in the forest.

Wow! The crowds at Wilderness Landing.

    When we got near the ship we could see an ambulance and a police car parked right next to the ship. Somebody needed medical attention again. The policeman was hauling their luggage onto the police car. Certainly hope that these people are OK. There has been one medical emergency after another each of these days. For the next week, we hope that there’s no more medical situation that will be needed. We will be in the middle of the ocean with nothing around.

Ambulance and police car waiting.

    The ship left a little before 4:00 heading to Japan. We were the last ship leaving ISP out of the three and we were in no hurry. Tonight, we will set our clock an hour back. I think we will adjust the time every day in the next few days.

    Tonight’s dinner we also aimed at 7:00, and we all had the rib-eye steak as main. A good dinner to end the day. After dinner, we took our walk on deck 3, 4, and 5 before coming back for the night.

For video on this day, please click here.

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."  -- Hebrews 13:5

 

Rainy Day in Sitka

Carnival Panorama 18-Day Transpacific Cruise Long Beach to Yokohama

Sitka, Alaska -- Saturday, August 28, 2024

We were supposed to be in Endicott Arm yesterday but because of a medical emergency as we started entering the channel, the captain decided that we should turn around and head towards Juneau. The passenger was picked up by the Coast Guard about an hour away from Juneau. At first, the captain said he would take us to a channel that no cruise ship had been before, but after a while, he announced that the idea was scraped by the port authority. The rest of the day was treated like a regular day at sea. 

This would be our third time back in Sitka in the last 12 months and there is really not much we needed to do other than walking around town. Getting off the ship early makes it much easier to get on the shuttles without the long line, so we decided to start early anyway. We left the ship right when they were ready for passengers to get off.  Eurodam was docked next to us and their passengers got off before us so when we got to the shuttle stop there were already people getting on the bus. It was OK, we were in town in no time. 

Another rainy day ahead as we docked.

Hello, Eurodam! Good to see you again.

It has been raining since we got up and rained the whole morning but we decided to go ahead just so we don’t waste this port day. After getting off the bus, we walked over to the Totem Museum. On the way it reminded me so much of last year trips here on Cunard QE and all our travel companions whom we met on board. 

There were salmon swimming up the fish ladder at the Sitka Sound Science Center and it was quite a sight to see. 

workers were busy separating the salmon that came up the ladder

It was rainy and wet all the way to the Indian River where we were hoping to see salmons. The water was rushing and we couldn’t see any fish. But when we looked further, at the edge of the river bank, there were many salmon trying to swim upstream. They are quite smart. Instead of fighting the strong current, they took small ‘steps’ swimming upstreaming little by little at the edge of the river. What a struggle they had to go through to reach their destination. 

Salmon struggling along the edge of the river.

Then we took the trail back to the visitor center. What a beautiful walk with so much green plants and forest of beautiful trees. We also saw a bald eagle on a pile of woods on a sand bar. I swear, we even heard bear growling! LOL! It was definitely a nice walk if only it wasn’t wet and rainy. My feet were soaking wet but it was still an interesting experience. This was the first time out of our 11th times in Alaska that I thought a pair of waterproofed shoes should be in order.

Walking in the forest, not an everyday privilege for us.

St. Peter's by the Sea

Then we walked back to town, had a taste of the Black Cod Tips with rice, and the Russian dumplings. We looked for the seafood chowder stand but they were not opened for some reasons. Oh, well... next time!

Just a sample of the famous Black Cod Tips with rice at one of the food trucks in town.

Must have the Russian dumplings!

Where we got the dumplings.

Much quieter in town this time around with two ships in port.

We decided it was time for us to get back to the ship for lunch. There was a line for the shuttle bus but not too bad. We were the last ones to get on that first bus that came by. By then, the rain stopped and the ride back to port was a beautiful one.

Back at the cruise terminal.

Back on the ship, we enjoyed a late lunch at the Lido without the crowds. Then just relaxed in our cabin before the ship set sail again in the evening. We ended up having a late dinner at the dining room, which worked out fine for us. Usually, after 7:00, the dining room is quieter and the wait is not as long. 

Can't get tired of looking at this everchanging LED design. 

For video of this day, please click here.

""Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

I Corinthians 13: 6-8