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May 4-8, 2019 we were on the Carnival Fantasy in Porthole Cabin M14. We decided on the porthole sub-category of an inside cabin to have some natural light. Porthole cabins are not too common, but if a ship has them then they are a great buy. I decided on M14 after quite a bit of research. Apparently, the porthole cabins going toward the bow and are next a 90 degree turn in the hallway are bigger than the other porthole cabins. I can confirm that this is indeed the case. I picked the Main Deck (aka Deck 5) since we would have cabins above and below us.

For what I paid, this cabin was great. Was it perfect, no, but it was just dandy for a 5 day cruise.

Cabin Positives: Plenty of space to move around. King size bed. Towards the end of the hall, so no noisy people walking by. Big shower for an inside/porthole. Huge ledge to the portholes that can work as a reading nook.

Cabin Negatives: No couch or love seat, and no table. When the thrusters were being used to dock, we could feel it and hear it. No foot bar in the shower to shave.

Our cabin steward did a wonderful job. We only want cabin service in the morning and he did just that. I told him that as long as I have plenty of bath towels, then we did not need turn down service. We always had 5 new bath towels every morning in addition to whatever we had left from the day before. My other 1st day requests were ice daily, a blanket, and 2 extra pillows. I like my pillows.

The big question after a cruise is: Would I book this cabin again? Maybe. If we have early port arrivals or late port departures, then I would not book this cabin due to the thruster noise. Normal port times like 8am to 5pm, then I would absolutely book M14 again.

#CarnivalCruise

Walt and I drove to Mobile, Alabama today for one night pre-cruise (and 2 post cruise). Tomorrow we will embark on our first Carnival cruise on board the Fantasy. On our drive here I called the hotel to make sure we could check in early. We booked the Park and Cruise package at The Battle House Renaissance Hotel in Downtown Mobile for our pre-cruise stay. The hotel is a few blocks from the cruise terminal and our package includes parking for the duration of the cruise, shuttle to and from the ship, and a 20% discount for lunch or dinner on our arrival day. There is also free internet included. We went with this package over parking at the port since it was cheaper overall.

So, we checked into the hotel around 2:30pm and were up in our room within a few minutes. This historic hotel is gorgeous (check out the Facebook page for more pictures). We have a king room with an incredible bathroom. There is a fridge and safe in the room. So, let’s see the room…

As you can see the hotel is beautiful. After taking lots of pictures we wandered down Dauphin Street to Wintzell’s Oyster House. We got the sampler plate of oysters and some scallops. Yum. This was worth the long walk and we saw some cool and weird buildings along the way.

We are calling it a night rather early, and are excited to board the Carnival Fantasy tomorrow.

We debarked the ship 2 weeks ago, so it is about time that I posted about our experience on Holland America’s Zaandam.

I consider myself a laidback traveler.  When things go awry, I adjust to it quickly and make the best out of a situation.  I don’t have a bunch of pet peeves in life.  I also don’t need to be entertained or made to feel special in order to have a spectacular vacation.  I am well organized with my 1.5” binder and have contingency plans for just about anything that does not go according to Plan A.  My goal for holidays is to relax, have some beer, wine, and the occasional frozen cocktail, read my Kindle, and spend quality time with Walt.  There, that is me in a nutshell.

Embarkation:  We arrived at Pier 91 in Seattle at 11:15am.  I found a porter with a cart and gave him our 2 big duffle bags and a nice tip.  Since we gave our luggage to the porter, we did not have to stand in the luggage drop off line in the terminal.  So, we went through security, up the escalators, and into the check-in line.  By 11:40 we were sitting in the big room waiting for our letter to be called.  Boarding was a little late since the ship was getting a deep clean from the Noro outbreak on the previous cruise.  We boarded the ship at 12:30pm and went to the lower level of the dining room for lunch.  By the time we were done the cabins were ready and our luggage was waiting for us.  So, overall I give embarkation an A.

Cabin:  We originally book a category H obstructed ocean view on the lower promenade deck.  6 weeks before embarkation there was a sale for the vista suite guarantee at the same price we paid for our HH.  Even though we would lose the beverage package and one night at Pinnacle Grill, we jumped on the guarantee.  We were assigned AA6205 on the Verandah Deck.  This location was ideal.  We were near the aft stairs and elevators and there is a public deck on deck 6 aft that very few people know about.  There are also stairs there that go all the up to Lido.

The cabin itself was very nice.  During the dry dock in April, the bathrooms were remodeled and are very modern.  The bedding and couch were also modernized.  The new cocktail table is huge and heavy.  We did a little rearranging to make the space work for us.  Surprisingly, the desk and side tables were not updated.  So, those are dated while the rest of the room is modern.  The cabin has ample storage, so we had no issue putting all of our stuff up.

The balcony was a very nice size with two chairs and two ottomans.  The table however was tiny.  There is no way to have breakfast on the balcony since the table top was the size of a dinner plate.  We considered moving the giant coffee table out there, but it was really heavy.

The big thing to keep in mind if you book a Vista Suite is that it is the size of a regular balcony and that you are simply getting double points for booking it.  On ships that do not have a balcony/verandah category this is a good deal.  If the ship has regular balconies/verandahs, then I would not book this category.  The Signature Suites and up are true suites.

The final part of the cabin portion of the review is the cabin steward.  Holland America provides 2 cabins stewards and they are responsible for multiple cabins.  We had July and his assistant David.  July and I just never clicked.  He did his job and did it well.  Where we didn’t click was with my schedule.  The first week he wanted to clean our cabin in the afternoon and I like to hang out in the cabin in the afternoon.  By day 8 he figured that out and started coming in the morning.  Also, I do open dining so I don’t have to keep a schedule.  Apparently that was an issue for him too.  David, the assistant, was wonderful and figured us out rather quickly.  So, the not clicking part is not important, but just odd for me.

Ship:  I love the classic styling of the Zaandam.  It’s a mid-size ship with 1400 passengers and has a ton of public space.  The ship is easy to get around due to the size.  Mix and The Crow’s Nest are great bars with fantastic servers.  One of my favorite activities on the ship was Sip & Savor at 5pm in Mix.  S&S has $5 glasses of wine each evening – one white and one red – and gourmet appetizers.  Andy, our cruise director came to most of them and was delightful.  Happy Hour was from 4-5pm in the Crow’s Nest and Ocean Bar, but we only made it to one of those.

There were other activities on board that we never made it to, that I feel I should mention.  Holland America has partnered with America’s Test Kitchen and has cooking demonstrations and classes during the cruise.  I heard wonderful things from my fellow cruisers about that.  There are also Microsoft classes to help you with Windows 10, digital photography, and other things.  I saw many wine tastings and pub crawls throughout the cruise too.

The one issue I had with the ship was the carpet replacement that was happening throughout the cruise.  I understand that carpet needs to be replaced occasionally, but the ship was in dry dock in April.  Why was this not done in April.  The problem I had with the carpet installation is that the adhesive gave me headaches.  I did write about this in my survey and suggested that carpet installation only be done while in port.  Most people would be off the ship and the impact would be less.  They should not be doing this on sea days.

Food:  We utilized all of the dining options on the Zaandam, so I will break this down by venue.

The Pinnacle Grill is awesome!  We went there 3 times for dinner, 5 times for lunch, and once as the pop up Sel de Mer.  Lunch at Pinnacle is $10 per person and the best $10 you will spend on the ship.  A few of the dinner offerings are also on the lunch menu and then some unique items.  Go to the Pinnacle for lunch and get the Fudge Brownie with Coffee Gelato for dessert.  The brownie is so good that I had it 5 times.  Dinner at Pinnacle is also excellent.  I had King Crab, Filet Mignon, and Ribeye Steak for my three entrees.  Yum oh yum.  The chefs at Pinnacle know how to perfectly cook a steak.  Our other dinner in there was Sel de Mer.  Honestly, I didn’t care for the menu choices.  The escargot was outstanding, but everything else was forgettable.  I wish Holland would bring Le Cirque back and get rid of Sel de Mer.

We ate dinner in Canaletto 3 times as well.  Canaletto is a good bargain at $15 per person if you want to get away from the insanity of the main dining room or the buffet (on this cruise the buffet was more crowded than usual at dinner).  The regular menu is decent Italian fare and then there are specialty dishes each night.  I am a HUGE fan of osso bucco.  The osso bucco special was excellent.  The tiramisu was phenomenal, so get that.  Canaletto will never be the mom and pop Italian restaurant that you love, but the food is good and the atmosphere is pleasant.  Since it is inside of the Lido buffet, you do get to people watch a bit.  Every 10-15 minutes someone tries to walk in with a plate of buffet food thinking it is part of the buffet seating.  They always look confused.

We ate in the Main Dining Room for breakfast on several occasions, dinner twice, and lunch on embarkation day.  I have to say that breakfast service was much better than open dining for dinner.  Dinner was slow and drink refills were difficult to come by.  It was also loud during dinner and difficult to have a conversation with Walt.  I guess that is why we only went there 2 out of the 14 days.  Our plan was to go 9 evenings, but after 2 we booked a couple more nights at Canaletto and did Lido 5 times for dinner.  Breakfast in the Main Dining Rooms was wonderful and the options were great.

The Lido Marketplace/Buffet was small on this ship and didn’t always open when it was supposed to in the mornings.  The food itself was good, and I could usually find something I liked.  The carving stations at lunch and dinner were the best I have had on any cruise line or ship.  I ate lots of sandwiches from the carving station.  Cooked to order eggs were excellent in the mornings, and the bacon was always crispy…just the way I like it.

We only did Room Service one morning.  They were on time and the food was hot.  The warming trays under the plates do a great job keeping the food at the correct temperature.

Pools:  I went swimming twice in the aft outdoor pool and enjoyed the hot tub once.  The ship needs hot tubs that are next to the outdoor pool.  The pools are heated for Alaska, so the issue is getting out of the pools into the cooler air temperature.  At Hubbard Glacier I did the Polar Bear Plunge along with 63 other passengers.  It was fun, but chilly getting out of the pool.  Since this was an Alaskan cruise, there were no chair hogs near the pools (they were hogging tables in the Lido Marketplace for hours at a time).

Debarkation:  We decided to utilize Port Valet.  Port Valet means that you put your checked luggage for your flights outside your cabin before midnight the final evening and pick them up when you arrive at your final destination.  There is paperwork to fill out early in the cruise and if approved, you pay Holland America any luggage fees and following the instructions on the approval paperwork.  Oh, and you can be over the weight limit!!!!!!!  YES!  No fees for overweight bags.  So, that’s what we did.  Debarkation the next morning was a breeze.  We left the ship at 8:30am and were waiting outside for our ride by 8:45am.  When we got to our home airport our luggage was on the carousel.  Now I can recommend Port Valet. It was great being able to go straight to security at SeaTac…you get your boarding pass with all your Port Valet stuff.

Overall:  So overall this was an amazing trip.  There is no other mainstream cruise line that does a 14 day itinerary to Alaska…just Holland America.  The ports were fantastic, the breweries were a dream, and the ship was lovely.  Taking a chance on the guarantee vista suite was the best decision I made for this cruise.  While you do not need a balcony for Alaska (or any cruise), the balcony sure made the entire voyage even more enjoyable.  I loved the scenic cruising and glacier viewing from my own space.

If you are thinking about an Alaskan cruise, I recommend that you look at Holland America’s 14 day Alaskan itinerary round trip out of Seattle.

Today was a morning on the ship then docking in Victoria, BC, Canada.  Due to the Jones Act, we had to make one port visit outside the United States.  The Jones Act prohibits cruise ships of a non-US registry from embarking and debarking from a US port unless the itinerary contains a foreign port.  The Jones Act much more than cruise ships, but more detail is for another post.  So, we were required to stop in Canada to meet an archaic law.

We spent the morning photographing the ship and then had lunch with Sandy and Brian (met through Cruise Critic) at the Pinnacle Grill.  Lunch at the Pinnacle Grill on Holland America is one of the best values at sea.  The menu includes a few of the evening entrees, and everything is outstanding.  For $10 per person it is worth doing at least one time.  The Beef Tenderloin on the lunch menu is outstanding, so I had it twice.  Oh, and the crab cake appetizers?  By the end of the cruise I was ordering a double order of these delicious treats.  My favorite dessert on Holland America is the Fudge Brownie with Coffee Gelato (mine without the Gelato) that is only served at lunch at the Pinnacle.  I had it 5 times on this cruise, so I think you would say that I like it.

Our scheduled time for Victoria was 1pm to 11pm.  And sure enough, we were allowed off the ship at 1pm.  Walt and I were still having lunch at Pinnacle, so we finished up and wandered back to our cabin to get ready to go ashore.

We left the ship around 2pm, picked up a map with suggested walking paths, then asked at the visitor kiosk outside the gift shop for a little more help with the directions to get out of the port area.  We decided to walk to town since it was about a 30 minute walk.  Along the way we crossed paths with Jeanie and Harry (also from Cruise Critic) and walked to town with them.

It’s a pretty walk along the waterfront.  We saw Fisherman’s Wharf with all their pretty houseboats, shops, and restaurants.  This is half way to downtown and there are public restrooms here if you need one.  We also passed the Parliament Building, the museum (closed on Sunday and it was Sunday), The Empress Hotel, and more waterfront areas.  The walk is generally flat and pretty.  The Empress is very pretty inside and out, but finding the restroom was an adventure.  It’s an old hotel, so things are tucked away.  I think if we are in Victoria again, I would like to have a drink in their magnificent bar.  It’s pricey, but very elegant.

We decided since it was a warm day to go have a couple of beers and went to Darcy’s Pub on Wharf Street.  The four of us enjoyed some local beers and a basket of parmesan garlic fries.  I stuck to just one beer since it was hot and we planned to walk back to the ship.  After an hour we parted ways with our friends and start our stroll back to the ship.

Besides having a cocktail at the Empress Hotel, I think next time I will arrange a private tour to see more of the area.  I do not regret not going to Butchart Gardens.  I love flowers, but the distance from port and the short amount of time you get at the gardens did not make it seem worth it to me.  Plus, “everyone” goes there, so it’s a zoo right?

As a Jones Act stop for an Alaskan cruise Victoria is very nice.  Even if your stop is short, get off the ship and check it out.  Unless you have a mobility issue, you can easily walk to downtown.  The Zaandam also offered shuttle service for around $15 per person to downtown.

Ah Sitka, our last Alaskan port on our 14 day itinerary.  Our number one priority today was to drop off 2 packages at the post office.  There are two post offices in Sitka.  One is downtown, a block away from the shuttle drop off (opens at 8:30am).  The other is 1 mile away on Saw Mill Blvd near the Raptor Center (opens at 9:30am).  We did not know about the downtown location, so we hiked out to the main post office on Saw Mill.  If you are like me and buy too many souvenirs, then mail them home.  I insured both boxes for $150 each and they should arrive after we get home.

After our jaunt to the post office, we crossed the street and caught the city bus, The Ride, blue line out to the Fortress of the Bears.  We let the driver know where we were going and purchased day passes.  Adults 18-59 day pass is $5 and 60+ or 17- are $3.  If you are a senior it is cheaper to buy the day pass than paying $2 per ride.  The Ride was a great and inexpensive way to get around Sitka.   Keep in mind that the blue line picks up at the tourist spots every 60 minutes.  Not a lot of cruisers take the city bus.

When we got off the blue line bus, we walked around the bend maybe 200 yards to the entrance of The Fortress of the Bears.  There are 6 bears, 4 Brown and 2 Black in the three enclosures.  The bears are fascinating to watch and the volunteers provided a bunch of information.  If you are not part of a tour group, then go into the “Admission and Gift Shop” to purchase your tickets for $10 each.

 

If you are adding this up in your head, for 2 people we have spent $30 to see the bears.  Oh, and an hour was plenty of time to walk to the entrance, pay, see the bears, use the restrooms, buy a hat & magnet, and walk back to the bus stop with 15 minutes to spare.  If we had not gone to the post office we would have done the raptor center or the Sitka National Heritage Park.  But since we running a little behind schedule, we decided to take the bus back to town and have lunch.

Across the street from the shuttle and bus drop off is a great restaurant.  The Bayview Pub is on the 2^nd floor and actually has a nice view of the small boat harbor.  There are a bunch of Alaska beers, but I settled on the Spruce Tip Ale from Baranof Brewery in Sitka.  Spruce tip beers are very unique and quite tasty.  I had the Fried Calamari appetizer with French Fries for lunch.  The calamari was soft and yummy with a nice light batter.  It comes with either tartar sauce or a sriracha aioli.  I highly recommend the aioli and ask for extra for the fries.

After lunch we headed back to the ship with one last stop at the shops at the pier.  I picked up a few more pairs of Alaskan made socks (check the labels and make sure you are buying items made in Alaska and not China).  At the crab restaurant I was allowed to pick up one of the Dungeness Crabs from the tank.  Of course Walt took pictures.  The crab’s pinchers were huge, but the young man working there showed me how to pick it up correctly.  I was surprised at how many people were scared to pick one up.  You only live once and it cost nothing, so pick up a crab and have an adventure.

Note:  Baranof Brewery’s website states that they open at 2pm.  We found out from our fellow cruisers that they open at 11am in the summer.  I recommend calling the breweries with hours that do not work with your port time to verify their hours.  We had wanted to go to the brewery, but with it being an hour away from the shuttle stop and the last shuttle being at 3pm, it logistically did not seem possible.  There is a bus stop on the blue line near the raptor center…not far from the brewery or the main post office.

Most of the morning we were at sea traveling from Kodiak to Hubbard Glacier.  We approached the bay around noon, and shortly after that was the Polar Bear Plunge.  I had decided weeks ago that I would do the plunge.  I arrived early to the aft outdoor pool to get some towels and a table close to the pool ladder.  Fortunately it was a sunny day, but a little cool.  I wore my sweats over my bikini to stay warm until it was time to plunge.

We had 65 people do the plunge, so it was split into two groups.  I was in the 2^nd group and all together we jumped into the pool.  I expected a chilling experience, but the pool was heated to a nice 82 degrees.  So, the true polar part was getting out of the pool into the cool breeze.  Air temp was mid 50’s with wind.  I am happy that I did the plunge and have a certificate to prove that I did it.

After a quick hot shower we grabbed lunch from the Lido, then headed back to our balcony for bay and Hubbard Glacier viewing.  With partly cloudy skies near the glacier, it was fantastic for viewing.  It calved a few times and I was able to catch that with my camera.  The key is glacier photography is when you hear the thunder look for falling snow.  Hubbard Glacier is growing 80 feet per year, so it is very active with calving.  I saw it happen 4 times from the balcony.

In the bay keep a sharp eye out for seals.  We saw a few on the floating ice posing for our cameras.  My tip for Hubbard Glacier, or any glacier, is to keep your binoculars around your neck to look for wildlife and keep your camera on the entire time.  With my camera on, I could easily capture pictures quickly.  Yes, it drained my battery.  But, I had my backup battery fully charged and ready to go.  If you are like me and have a DSLR type camera, make sure you have the telephoto on it at all times.  It takes too much time to switch back and forth.  I took my wider shots from the aft deck on 6 as we headed out of the bay.

I have now been to both Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay.  My preference is Hubbard since it is much more active.  I know people say you have to pick an itinerary with Glacier Bay, but honestly you don’t “have” to do that.  Glacier Bay is impressive with the number of glaciers, but if you want to see calving you have a much better chance to see that at Hubbard.

Our plan for the day was to explore Kodiak on foot and see the sites.  Those sites are the Russian Orthodox Church, the Baranof Museum, Kodiak Brewery, and the small boat harbors.  We hiked the mile from the ship to the visitor center (free shuttle will also take you there from the ship).  Once there we met a skipper of a private charter fishing boat offer a 3 hour wildlife tour on his boat.  Maximum of 6 people and $160 each.

This beat the ship’s excursion of a similar size and duration for $290 each, so off we went to an ATM to get the cash to do it.  There were 2 other couples with us and it was fantastic.  We saw puffins, seals, sea otters, sea lions, eagles, and various other birds.  The water was so clear and calm that you could see the giant kelp, which is also pretty amazing.  The three hours went by quickly and the skipper offered to drop us off anywhere in town.

We opted to go to the post office, to pick up some priority mail boxes.  I have been buying too many shirts and hoodies at the various breweries.  After that it was on to Kodiak Brewing Company to taste more local craft brews and buy yet another hoodie.  I had two beers with one of them being a Porter aged in a bourbon barrel.  That added some really interesting notes to the porter and I am becoming a huge fan of porters and stouts that are aged in wine and liquor barrels.

After that it was back to the shuttle stop at the visitor center to catch a ride back to the ship.  Early morning shuttles are an issue for this port.  We ended up walking to town because the bus driver would not leave until the bus was full or 7:30am which ever came first.  Our cruise director told us that shuttles would start running at 7am.  With all aboard being 1:30pm, we did not want to waste 30+ minutes waiting on a stubborn driver.

Overall Kodiak is a stunning island and if you get the chance to visit, you should absolutely do it.  There are very few cruise itineraries that go there, so it is a true Alaskan town and there are no jewelry store row like the more developed cruise ports.

Homer is an interesting port that is not the tourist trap like the more southerly ports in Alaska.  Homer is a fishing town and a mecca for RV’ers apparently.  The cruise ship docked at the end of the spit, about 6 miles from the actual town of Homer.  The end of the spit has the small boat docks, the big ship dock, and the coast guard.  There are also restaurants, charters, and stores at the end of the spit.  The ship provides a free shuttle to the businesses at the end of the spit, but the shuttle to town is $15.95 per person via the ship.  I believe there is an independent trolley that leaves from the free shuttle stop at the restaurants on the spit to town for $15 per person.

We took the shuttle to town and went to Two Sisters bakery for some coffee and yummy pastries.  We checked out the beach and estuaries before going to the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center for a free restroom break.

We started our hike back to the ship with a couple of stops along the way.  First up was the Homer Brewery for a couple of pints.  Their China Poot Porter was amazing.  Next stop was Grace Ridge Brewery.  The visitor center told me that the opened at 4pm, but that is not correct.  They open at noon every day.  I told the owners what the visitor center told us and they immediately called to make sure they are telling people the correct information.  Grace Ridge Brewery only has their winter hours on the website, so there was no way to know their Summer hours without calling or stumbling upon them.  At this stop I had a stout.

Next was our long hike back to the ship on the spit.  The ship didn’t look too far away when we started, but 5 miles later we were both tired and hungry.  A quick note on the path, it is paved and level but there are no bathrooms for close to 5 miles.  This could be an issue if you just drank 2 beers.  Thank goodness for all those years of hiking and not having a shy bladder.  We ended up taking the shuttle from the spit stores back to the ship.  Tired and hungry, we went up to lido.

 

Anchorage is a port of call that very few cruise ships make.  Due to the tides, most ships call on Seward or Whittier, but the 14 day through Holland America calls on Anchorage from 8am to 9pm.  In the morning we took the free shuttle to downtown to do a little wandering and shopping.  We went to the Alaskan Mint where we bought some of their new 2018 coins and a few other things.  Alaskan Mint is family owned and they are wonderful with their vast amount of knowledge.  Besides coins, they have Native Alaskan art, ulu knives that are much better than the ones you find in souvenir shops, and estate jewelry.

I normally don’t talk about specific stores, but this one, Alaskan Mint, is just special.  The family is happy to share their knowledge of everything in the store as well as Anchorage.  I am not a jewelry person, and the lady helping us mention that to me, but wanted to explain one of their interesting stones.  Basically, no pressure and they understand each person that walks through their door.

After the mint we wandered around taking pictures of all the flower beds and hanging baskets that decorate the area for summer.  The last time we were in Anchorage was the end of August when fall foliage was beginning and all the flowers were dying.  This time the flowers were spectacular (check out the Facebook page for all the pictures). Then off on the shuttle back to the ship for a quick lunch.

The afternoon we did the excursion The Big Swig through the ship.  If you have time in Anchorage and love craft brews, definitely reach out to Brian at www.bigswigtours.com.  We went to three breweries in the Anchorage area:  King Street, Midnight Sun, and Resolution.  The tour at King Street was fantastic and we had 7 beer samples during out time there.  Next up was Midnight Sun where we had appetizers and 4 different beers.  In the brewery they have a fun sockeye salmon tap (think the size of a fish).  I didn’t care for the berry flavored beer that came out of it, but it was fun.  The appetizers were huge and the beer was awesome up in the tap room.  Brian gave us 15 minutes to shop at the gift shop, so I ended up with a sweatshirt and Passion Town t-shirt.  Midnight Sun has some very humorous beer names and artwork. Finally it was off to Resolution for another 4 tastings at a very small craft brewery.  I am partial to porters and theirs did not disappoint.

So, a sweatshirt, 2 t-shirts, and a bunch of stickers later we got back on the ship.  For a three hour tour, this is a fantastic option in Anchorage.

I love the feeling of adrenaline pumping, so I booked us on the 5000+ foot long Zip Rider in Icy Strait, Alaska.  Our meet up time was 8:50am, so we wandered around the old cannery buildings and museum for an hour before heading out on our adventure.

It is a 40 minute ride to the top of the mountain on a school bus with a large section of the drive on a dirt road.  After the ride there is a 5 minute hike down the mountain to the Zip Rider.  The hike is down a steep dirt road, so if you have any mobility issues, this is not the excursion for you.  Also, if you chicken out, you have to hike back up the steep road to the bus.  Fair warning there…and they do not tell you any of this ahead of time.

The Zip Rider is a seated zip line with controlled speed and breaking. It’s a fun ride down and I had my Olympus Tough TG-Tracker recording the entire way.  The zip rider gets up to 60mph on the top half and the chairs spin side to side.  Just stick an arm out to turn yourself.  After the ride they showed us our pictures available for purchase, but we decided to skip that.  I made sure to point my camera at myself during the ride and at Walt when he came down.  So, two screen shots and I have my pictures for no extra charge.

Next up was some more souvenir shopping and BEER!  We went to the Crab House bar and I had the Baranof Spruce Tip beer.  It’s a nice Amber infused with spruce needles.  I had a spruce tip beer years ago at the local Haines, AK brewery and enjoyed it.  Baranof did not disappoint.  Next up was an Irish style stout for me and Halibut Fish and Chips.  With all of this beer, I had to eat something.

We ended our day walking on the stone beach back to the pier looking for sea creatures.  We saw lots of mussels, clams, and barnacles.  We also found a Princess cruise line ship card for one of their passengers from the week prior.  This is why I use a lanyard.