MS Ryndam - ALASKA

M.S.Ryndam Cruise ship of the Holland America Line. 1200 berths, 550 crew, 55,000 tons

7 day cruise out of Vancouver to Alaska, May 15 -22, 2009.

Well here we are on day three of the cruise on board this floating holiday camp. Since Friday evening we are been ploughing North at 18 knots. Passed under Vancouver’s Lions Gate bridge in reasonable weather but ever since the ‘clag’ descended. Cloud and light rain with visibility of only a few hundred metres, temperatures of 6 degrees (sea temperature 9 degrees). We steamed in between lots of islands but saw little, just some flashing lights at night.

  

However Sunday the cloud lifted and although the snow covered mountains are still in cloud we can see the shore and the tree covered lower slopes. In an hour we will tie up at Juneau the state capital of Alaska (not Anchorage, this knowledge could win you a trivial pursuits question). We even took a photo outside of Sarah Palin’s Governors residence. Juneau cannot be reached by road - sea or air only.

On board we have everything in the food line at hand including several casual buffets and also fine restaurant dinning all with a huge variety of fare. After all these temptations we have decided not to use the lifts and since we are on deck 4 with most of the action on deck 8, or drinks in the crows nest on deck 12 there are lots of stairs to climb. There is also the promenade deck , four times round for a mile walk. We have been to one of the two formal dinners and I think we looked pretty elegant (Joanna) and smart (David). Afterwards a late night drinking and dancing in the Crows Nest lounge which, by day, has a great view ahead.

   

Yesterday at Juneau we took a bus to the Mendenhall glacier (you have to pronounce glacier the American way – ‘glaysher’ around here if you want to be understood). Although we thought we were old hands at viewing glaciers the setting with the ice tumbling into a lake was impressive and we made a long walk near the lake and ------- saw a bear grazing on some fresh grass shoots, it was a black bear, but not black, in fact it’s a cinnamon coloured black bear. We have been told that there lots of them about (yeah right, as we waited on Vancouver Island for ages with no show) but one yesterday and two today from the train has made up for it. The time to really see lots is when the salmon are running in the fall apparently.

Now on day three we are about 1000 miles from Vancouver at latitude 59 North, in fact today we made it to the 60 th parallel on a mountain train ride up from our second port of call Skagway. Today the sun came out for a brilliant day although with a strong wind. The latitude means very long daylight starting before 4 am, our cabin has a window so we know but are not tempted to get up! Apart from the train ride on a line, built to take gold miners over the Rockies to the gold rich Yukon, there is not much to the place except as a main street with all building in the appropriate 1900 style and filled with souvenirs for the crowds off the cruise ships. And cruise ships there are, with 5 ships in the docks and over 5,000 passengers crowding the souvenir shops.

 

 

On board it’s a cashless society with a card linked to our credit card - but beware, no tipping but US$11 per person per day charged to the card, all items have a 15% tax added even my favourite Alaska amber beer at US$4.75. We have avoided the casino and most of the shops plus organising our own trips on shore rather than booking them on board. However we do seem to make it up with drinks in piano bar, discovery bar,ocean bar, crows nest, and with meals.

The highlight of the cruise was the ship passing up the long and very narrow Tracy Inlet in bright sunlight with towering rock walls very close on either side and a couple of glaciers at the head. Such an impressive fiord and no mean task to navigate the ship up round and out even with it’s bow thrusters and twin variable pitch propellers.  Sat out and sunbathed on deck to see it all.

Third port of call was Ketchikan once a large salmon canning centre, but still important for fishing, access only by boat or seaplane.  Again lots of cruise ships in small place but behind and above the town streams and woods with Spring leaves in the sunshine. Bald eagles soaring above the trees, impressive in flight their hair do is not so great closer up.

And so as our cruise is coming to an end we have been impressed by the wild west cost of British Columbia and Alaska with so many islands and inlets with deep waters close inshore, fir trees from waters edge to the snow line, seen bears, bald eagles, racoons, whales  and tumbling streams with trees sporting their spring leaves. Isolated communities serviced by ship or sea plane only.  For us also an introduction to life on a cruise ship, so easy to settle into with everything found for you.