Well...I have to say that the Alaskan Cruise was certainly the
most spectacular thing I have ever experienced!!! With Chris
being in the Army 25 years and having been stationed in
Colorado and being able to travel the WEST...stationed 8
years in Europe and seeing the Alps and all...I gotta say,
ALASKA has all that scenery beat by a mile!!!

Most of these pictures are from Hubbard Glacier...
....photos 4 - 10...and again photos 21 -23. We actually
HEARD and saw the glacier "moving" and "berger bits"
falling into the sea! (We were told later in Juneau, by our
tour guide, that Alaskans refer to the small "icebergs"
that fall away from glaciers as "berger bits'...).

In picture 7  - if you look hard enough - you can see seals
basking on the berger bits! There were seals on most of
the larger floating ice pieces!!!

In Skagway we took the White Pass Scenic Railway and
Yukon Territory tour...WOW! Pictures 1, 2, 11 - 16...
(We saw bears and mountain goats in the Yukon territory!!!)
This was an 8 hour excursion - I wish my days at work would
pass as quickly!!! The weather was PERFECT!

In Juneau we ran into rain...and it was COLD!!! I am a cold
loving person - but I gotta say - I was even chilled to the
bone!

We took a whale watch with a salmon lunch on an island
at a lodge (Orca Point) and then a trip to Mendenhall Glacier
when returning to Juneau...There were whales EVERYWHERE
but the wind and driving rain (and I could swear it was
sleeting) kept us from really seeing anything or being able
to be on deck to enjoy the wildlife and take pictures...and
again lots of seals!!! (In hindsight, on our last day on the ship,
our Captain gave us quite an ORCA WATCH as we were
cruising back to Vancouver...I would have skipped the
whale watch in Juneau...).

As for Mendenhall Glacier - DO NOT MISS THAT! Even in the
rain it was SPECTACULAR!!! (Photos 17 - 20.) I did not know
that Juneau - as the capital of Alaska- has no roads leading
into it...You can only get to Juneau by boat or plane...

In Ketchikan we shopped and from what I heard all over the
ship - THIS WAS THE PLACE TO SHOP! I AGREE!!! You can get ANYTHING in Ketchikan! They had great deals cuz it was
pretty near the end of the Cruise season...

As for our ship...2500 passengers and 800 crew...GLASS
everywhere!!! The views were to die for! We had two formal
nights, but the other nights were basically VERY casual -
jeans, etc.

The first formal night we had a Champagne Reception with
the Captain - photo with Ma and Captain is number 24!
There are photographers EVERYWHERE with any kind of backdrops...Especially on the formal nights...Of course,
these photos cost - but they are worth it! There is so much
to fill your days...there was so much more we would have
LIKED to do!

We attended some lectures and slide shows about the
Yukon Gold Rush and now we understand the scene
on the non-vanity Alaskan License Plate...photo 25
...The Alaskan plate and the Yukon Territory plate!
And I feel educated knowing who
"Soapy Smith" was!!! LOL!

It is cold - DRESS WARM! Even on sunny days!

If anyone going on the GUY AND RALNA cruise in June 2007
has any questions about our trip...please feel free to
E-mail me at

MSLATVIA56@AOL.COM

SEE PHOTOS HERE