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| The Alaska Eight! |
It would be an understatement to say we're fond of Alaska. We've enjoyed seeing it on cruises and by land more times than we can recall. We even enjoyed spending time there during the winter (actually it was March) a few years back.
Earlier this summer we were talking and agreed that it didn't look like we would be going to Alaska this year. Well.........things can change quickly, especially when the deals get just too good to turn down. That's exactly what happened! One day when Beth was scouring the Vacations to Go (her website of choice for cruise deals), she discovered that Norwegian was offering 7-day Alaska cruises at deals that were just too good to turn down. What made them even more appealing was that we were already going to be on the west coast. The next thing we knew we were booked on not one, not two but three back-to-back Alaskan cruises on the Norwegian Jade. It was exciting to know we would actually be going to Alaska in 2025, and then it got even better!
We began spreading the word to some of Beth's family. Debbie (Beth's sister) was the first to join us. Shortly thereafter Cindy (Beth's other sister) decided to join us. In January we had enjoyed cruising the Panama Canal with Beth's cousin Brian and his wife M'liss. They were now on board. Finally, Beth's cousin Shelly (Brian's sister) and her husband Kenny committed. We now had a group of eight for an Alaskan adventure.
Debbie was with us for all three cruises, Cindy, Shelly and Kenny were with us for the first two cruises. Brian and M'liss spent some time on land, as well as checking off a few "bucket list" fishing adventures for Halibut and Salmon before joining us for the middle cruise. Don't worry, there is no quiz at the end on who went, how they were related or for how many cruises they were with us.
Normally our travels are by ourselves. It was a real treat to be joined by family, some of who were visiting Alaska for the first time. We were excited for them to see and experience the Alaska that we have fallen in love with over the years. The cruise itineraries for the three cruises were somewhat similar, but each cruise had some unique things that made all three extra special.
I've blogged about most of the places we've visited previously, so for this blog I'm going to focus more on a few of the family adventures......and what great adventures they were!
Cruise Itineraries:
August 25-September 1 Vancouver, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Hubbard Glacier
September 1-8 Whittier, Hubbard Glacier, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Inside Passage, Vancouver
September 8-16 Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Victoria British Columbia, Seattle
Ketchikan-August 27.
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| Me, Beth, Debbie, Cindy, Shelly and Kenny on bear patrol! |
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| A mom and two cubs were looking for salmon in the stream. |
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| Debbie and Shelly at the beach after the bear hunt. |
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| Debbie, Shelly and Kenny did some exploring on their own. Beth, Cindy and I opted for an adventure that took us out of Skagway for a float (not white water) trip down the glacial river. |
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| Designer boots were included in the price |
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| One of the many days of our three-week adventure where it was "shorts weather" |
Whittier-September 1
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| The first week cruise ended in Whittier. Shelly was so excited about seeing her brother (Brian) and sister-in-law M'liss that she put on her best set of antlers! |
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| The Whittier Marina |
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| We did a great boat tour from Whittier that got us up close to 26 glaciers. |
Phillips Cruises 26 Glacier Tour (Highly Recommend)
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| Raise your hand if you see a glacier! |
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| Cindy with a chunk of Glacier Ice. It (the ice, not Cindy) is estimated to be around 400 years old |
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| A sneak peek at Shelly and Kenny's 2025 Christmas Card Photo??? |
Icy Strait Point-September 3
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| We arrived at sunrise.................... |
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| didn't depart until sunset.......... |
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| and had a whale of a good day! |
Juneau-September 4
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| While visiting Juneau we booked a tour that took us to Mendenhall Glacier and then whale watching. |
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| The Alaska Eight at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor's Center |
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| Searching for Humpback Whales..... |
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| We found sea lions that kept us entertained jockeying for a place to rest on the channel marker. |
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| We were also fortunate enough to be close to a Humpback Whale who decided to put on a little show for us. |
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| We booked a full day private excursion that took us from Skagway to Canada's Yukon Territory. |
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| Our guide knew where there was a blueberry patch along the drive. Most of the blueberries had been picked by a combination of other tourists and bears, but we did manage to find a few, while we also kept a watchful eye out for bears. |
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| We traveled near the gold rush trail that brought thousands of prospectors to Alaska from 1894-1906. They didn't have the good fortune of having the Yukon Swinging Bridge to help them across. That's Debbie making her way across the bridge. |
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| The early version of the Canadian Mounties tried to maintain law, order and safety during the gold rush. Can you spot the real Mounties and the wanna be's? I think Brian (back row, far right) wins the prize for looking most like a real Mountie. |
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| We traveled as far north as Carcross. This is Emerald Lake which is located near Carcross. |
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| We made a brief stop at a "beach" on the way back to Skagway. |
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| The Alaska Eight in a formal picture as cruise #2 came to an end. |
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| The second cruise ended in Vancouver. We said good bye to Cindy, Brian, M'liss, Kenny and Shelly. Beth and I did a little walking around with Kenny and Shelly before we rejoined Debbie on the Norwegian Jade for cruise #3. |
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| Our third cruise was a little more laid back, although we had another great week. We all enjoyed the Great Alaska Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan........ |
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| and sharing a Klondike Doughboy in Skagway. We're very grateful that we were able to make it to Alaska in 2025. It's a magical place, especially when you can share the adventure with family! |
The third cruise ended in Seattle. Beth, Debbie and I flew back to Florida for a very special occasion. On September 24 Beth's mom (NaNa) turned 97! About ten years ago I started telling her that when she turned 100 I was going to take her skydiving................I'm starting to get a little nervous about making that commitment!
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| The Birthday Girl with her children! |
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| There was plenty of cake, ice cream and a whole lot of singing! |
