I am up early on cruises so I can see what is going on outside. I love sunrises and sunsets on the ocean. We entered Skagway early Friday morning. DH and I read Psalm 104 each morning before these excursions. It was particularly appropriate for Tracy Arm Fjord on Thursday and our train tour out of Skagway was also going to deliver majestic views. 
We were scheduled to meet our tour group at 7:30 a.m. so we were waiting in the line to disembark at 7:00 a.m. There was a bit of a wait before we were allowed to leave the ship, but we made the ¼ mile or so walk in short time and met our fellow passengers in a parking lot to meet our driver for Chilkoot tour. The driver asked to see our passports before we boarded the bus. Evidently, they have had problems in the past when passengers said they had their passports, but had left them on the ship. 
Chilkoot is the tour company, the tour we booked was called White Pass Summit Rail and Bus Excursion. I booked directly with Chilkoot, originally because I wanted to go on the seven hour Carcross tour. It was not available after Sept 1 and we ended up on the three hour train / bus combination. The train ride up to Fraser is the same for everyone, it is what you do after that which makes for the different tour combinations. Other CC friends took the longer tour with stops at Emerald Lake and to see the huskys. For our first visit (hopefully, not the last) visit to Skagway, I am happy with the length of our tour which allowed ample time for wandering around Skagway. 
We took a short bus ride in a decent 24 passenger van to the train and we boarded with other passengers who were also booked with Chilkoot. Here is our bus driver waving goodbye to us. He will now drive up to Fraser B.C. to pick us up in a little less than two hours. 
I loved the flowers on the carts as decoration. A great solution when the ground will be covered in snow in a couple of months. 
The White Pass Summit Railcars are all named. At the train shop they have Christmas ornament railcars with different names on them. I could not find the ornament with the name of our railcar on it so I bought a magnet instead. Yes, I can be that ____. Oh, and I purchased a super soft baby blue hooded jacket with a train for one grandson, a couple of ball caps, child book, and chocolate bars. The ball caps are sold on the train for $5 each. My husband bought one and we decided we needed another one for my Dad. Once we were in Canada, the staff on the train could not sell us anything so we went to the train shop in Skagway and they had the caps behind the counter. They are nice ball caps. 
Other cars on the train held passengers who were on the cruise ship excursion tours or those who booked directly purchasing a train tickets. There are several options that involve the train excursion. I am pleased we took the bus back as it afforded views we did not have from the train. 
Sit on the left side of the train when you board in Skagway. The vista views will be on the left as you head toward White Pass and Fraser, B.C. I believe everyone in our railcar was on a Chilkoot tour so we did not have tickets. There were hikers on other cars that we dropped off along the way. I presume they had tickets. 
You can stand in between the cars on short platforms to take photos. It got quite a bit cooler on the outside platform as we traveled farther into the mountains. The railcar was warm inside and it had a small serviceable restroom. One of our fellow passengers told me she was glad to have been warned before we went through a tunnel, because it went pitch black while she was in the restroom and she would have really been nervous had she not known we were in a tunnel. 
I spent most of my time outside the railcar to take pictures. It took me almost an hour to figure out to stand on the platform just behind the car for a little wind protection. Sherri was smarter than I. She had it figured out much sooner. 
There is a naturalist on board who shares information about the area and railroad along the way. It is about 1 3/4 hour train ride from Skagway to the White Pass Summit and to the Fraser Train Depot in British Columbia. The rail portion of the trip is about 28-miles and the journey back by bus allows for several photo opportunities at the Canadian border and other sites along the way. 
As we get closer to the Canadian border, the landscape has changed some and there are now views on both side of the train. About this point, those inside the train are hearing everyone must come inside the railcars for the Canadian customs officers. I was outside trying to get a camera shot and didn't realize they meant right now. 
Fraser, B.C. is a train stop and water house. The water house is the red building and was used for steam engines. Before we stopped, the Canadian Customs Officer walked through the train and looked at our passports. Shortly after we got off the train and either took pictures, boarded waiting buses, or found our way to the three stall bathroom. Of course, there was a line for the ladies. It wasn't too bad a wait and the bathroom was clean, although, the water was cold for hand washing. Not bad at all really. 
We had about a ten minute wait for our bus driver who had to drive through customs before picking us up. With the beautiful scenery we did not mind a bit. There were some mosquitoes and our friends from Washington were the only ones smart enough to bring mosquito repellant with them. I was surprised to have mosquitoes it such a cool climate. It could not have been much warmer than 50 degrees. The mosquitoes were more like gnats for me and I wasn't bitten so it was just a slight annoyance while we were waiting for our driver. 
From the train and on the drive back we saw the Bridal Veil Falls. On the ride back we stopped to get pictures near the bottom of the falls. Bridal Veil Falls are a beautiful waterfall that cascades 6,000 feet from the glaciers on Mt. Cleveland and Mt. Clifford. 
Back on the bus and we stop at a sight to view the Goat Lake Project. Goat Lake Project to Skagway. The 204-acre glacially fed lake has the winter storage necessary to sustain year-round hydro generation. Goat Lake became operational in 1997 and was connected with Haines via a 15-mile submarine cable in September 1998. This project allowed diesel-powered generators at both the Skagway and Haines plants to be quiet for the first time in nearly 80 years. Last stop on the tour is at an spot overlooking Skagway. This was the perfect wrap up for our tour before we were given a choice of being dropped off near the shops in Skagway or taken back to our ship. Everyone on our bus agreed to get off the bus in Skagway. 
We had lunch at a little place that was recommended by the bus driver. It was quaint but we were not impressed with the food. I did enjoy the shopping for the next couple of hours. There was a shower or two while we ate and shopped. 
At the end of our cruise I realized that the best shopping, meaning the best deals, were found in Skagway. I don't know if that is true all year round. We were one of the last cruises of the season so I expected better deals in Juneau and Ketchikan which can only be reached by sea or plane. Skagway has year round road access, so I guessed they might not be as likely to slash prices. Well, the town slims down to less than 900 after the tourist season and some of the shops close, so the pickings were fairly decent and I picked up a pillow for $3 less in Skagway than the same outlet store was selling it for in Ketchikan. 


Skagway

Saturday, September 4 – Juneau 
I booked our tour privately with Harv and Marv. We were scheduled to meet at 9:00 a.m. , not too far from where the Spirit docks at the pier. At the beginning of this review I mentioned my two main objectives of our Alaskan Cruise were to see whales and a bald eagle. Our tour in Juneau met both of those objectives. It was also a spectacularly beautiful day and we were reminded of this fact several times. 
There was a little golf cart like shuttle that would run people from the bottom of the ship stairs to the pier exit. We hoofed it and made it to the parking lot just before 9:00 a.m. to meet are fellow CC’ers who were also cruising with Harv and Marv. 
Harv and Marv had two boats going out that morning and both passenger groups were on the bus. I was surprised that of all the passengers on both tour groups were connected to our CC roll call. The six passengers on our boat included the same two couples we were with on the Tracy Arm Fjord and White Pass train excursions. They were great couples so we were happy to have found our way to the same tours. It also gives you a bit of confidence that you are making some good shore excursion choices. 
After meeting with our driver from Harv and Marv, we headed into Juneau. Our driver pointed out notable sights as we passed through Juneau headed to Auke Bay. The other group also included a couple of CC’ers from our roll call. Do you see a connection developing? 
Alright everyone, what is the capital of Alaska? No, it’s not Anchorage, although, we heard there have been efforts to move the capital there. We were told that Juneau is often cold and rainy. We were so blessed to have gorgeous weather for early September in Juneau. 
Our first stop was a roadside access point with parking overlooking a field and hiking trails that lead up toward Mendenhall Glacier. When the driver asked if anyone wanted to get out and take a few pictures, I hopped up to exit the bus and our new friend Will from Oregon laughed and said, “She would take a picture of a rock.” ;-> If it is an Alaskan rock, he is absolutely correct! ;-> 
Trivia: Mendenall is not this glacier’s first name. What was the first name of the Mendenhall glacier? 
The marina was about 5 – 10 minutes further and we had the chance to use the bathroom before getting on the boat. The boats are well taken care of and have a bathroom on board, but most of the ladies opted to use the marina facilities before getting on the small and comfortable boat. 
I took over 700 pictures during this tour. I have a picture review on the CC board located here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1270083 The majority of our whale watching was a splash with countless blows from the humpback whales. At times I had to choose between watching and taking a picture. The lungs on a humpback are about the size of a Volkswagon bug and they can stay under for 45 minutes. You need a good bit of time, at least a couple of hours, to have an opportunity to see the whales. 
The various whale watching tour operators stay in touch over the radio so that when a pod is spotted, the other boats can head that way or go another direction if there are already too many boats in that area. One of the larger double deck boats was next to an active pod of whales, so that option allows a greater number of people to have a view. The smaller boats can maneuver better and cover more ground in a shorter period of time affording a greater opportunity to see more than one active pod of whales in an area. 
We saw more than twenty humpbacks on the boat trip in Juneau. Sometimes it was the pectoral fin in the air or the back with or without the fluke. The pectoral fin on a humpback is longer than that of all other species of whales, measuring one-third the whale's body length, or approximately twelve to fifteen feet. Humpbacks will often roll onto their side or back and slowly slap the water's surface with one fin or both fins simultaneously. We saw this behavior quite a bit on our whale watching tour. 
Regardless of which whale tour option you may choose, the NOAA regulations are the same. There is a maximum of two vessels allowed in the 300- to 600-foot Stand-by zone at any one time. Only one vessel at a time may be within 100 to 300 feet of the whale. When one vessel is within 300 feet of a whale, up to 2 other vessels can be in the Stand-by Zone at least 300 feet from the whale; any additional vessels should remain outside the Stand-by Zone. If more than one vessel is within 600 feet, the vessel within 300 feet should limit its time to 15 minutes in close approach to whales. The boats are not allowed to approach within 100 feet of whales. If whales approach within 100 feet of your vessel, the engines are put in neutral and are not re-engaged until the whales are a safe distance. 
It’s not just any fluke. Whale flukes are unique like fingerprints. Jay Beedle our boat captain and tour guide writes a weekly whale feature for the Juneau Empire newspaper. He has named many of the whales that frequent Auke Bay and working with the NOAA has connected his personal names for the whales with the Seak #. He has a wealth of information about the specific whales we saw on our tour. 
It was a wonderful day in creation. I wanted to see whales and eagles and I saw both on this tour. Captain Jay repeatedly told us that our experience was not typical of Juneau weather. The fabulous weather combined with numerous whale sightings is not a guarantee. I was so thrilled with the experience, I want to go back to Juneau and take this tour again, expanded if possible. After more than two hours on the water, it was time to head back to the marina. I would have loved more time, but we had to be back on the ship by 2:30. With our wonderful Captain Jay (Marv) and the incredible weather, this was (with close competition) my favorite to tour of our Alaskan cruise. Our driver gave our bus, now the two tour groups combined again, the option of stopping at Mendenhall, going to town, or going back to the shop. Our group agreed to stop at Mendenhall for 30 minutes and then half of us were dropped off by the shopping in town and the rest went to the pier. 
There was not much time at Mendenhall and our group all went different ways. Some went on the 10 minute walk that might have bears, we took pictures, and some went to the visitor center. 
Walking back to the parking lot, I saw a park ranger pointing out something in the trees. Due to the distance, I barely saw something the size of baseball in the top of a tree that is set back into the forest past the white canopy tents near the parking lot. We located the bald eagle using the zoom lenses on our cameras and took a dozen pictures. I must have spent 10 minutes with the bald eagle and then it was time to go. We got out to buy a couple of things in town and then walked back to the pier. It was about a 10 minute walk, not bad. 
Juneau was a fabulous day and we enjoyed every minute. 


Juneau

Sunday, September 5 – Ketchikan 
We did not book any tours for Ketchikan. The Spirit was scheduled to be in port from 7:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. so there was not a lot of time. I had heard about the salmon running on Creek Street and with a little shopping, the salmon were our objective for the day. 
As usual, I was out on that balcony before 7:00 a.m. The first thing I noticed was the runway outside our balcony door. Runway, you ask? Yes, runway and what appeared to be a major thoroughfare for boats and planes. I’m talking about sea planes, but wow, it’s quite an experience to have a dozen planes taking off outside your window, especially when there is nothing but water next to your balcony. Inside the cabin it wasn’t loud. On our video camera I have a shot of an Alaska Airlines plane landing at a runway on land within our sight, at the same time a 12+ passenger sea plane was taking off parallel to our ship in between the Spirit and the Alaska Airlines plane. It doesn’t match the splendor of the scenery of our prior ports, but it was an interesting experience. 
There was a light steady rain when we got off the ship. The ship is in the town of Ketchikan so you can’t help but find the shops. 
I had a few things to people to pick small things up for, and I enjoyed browsing as we found our way to Creek Street. We went into one shop near Creek Street with a variety of items produced by Alaskan artists. Most were out of my price range, but we enjoyed looking. 
Less than an hour of shopping and walking in the rain we made our way to Creek Street. I wondered if we would see a lot of fish. We did and they were jumping. We only went about 2/3 of the way through the Creek Street shops up to the bridge. Later we learned that just past that bridge is a salmon ladder where we could have seen even more salmon jumping. 
After about an hour of watching salmon and shopping in the shops along the creek, we headed back toward the pier. I shopped up to the last 15 minutes before we were supposed to board. It was cool enough that an ungloved hand was looking for shelter. Once onboard we enjoyed a DOD and had lunch in the MDR. Ketchikan did not match the experience we had in Skagway and Juneau, but even with the rain it was worth getting off the ship and checking out the shops and Creek Street. 


Ketchikan

We loved the balcony and the separate dressing area.  I don't think we ever heard anyone while inside the cabin.

Our sweet daughter in law had offered to pick us up and take us to the airport, but once I learned how early we would be off the ship, I did not want her to have to pull our two year old grandson out and fight rush hour traffic so early in the morning.We wandered around a bit and then headed back to the room to get the sign for the Cruise Critic Carnival Spirit Roll Call Meet and Greet.

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