Bucket List- Alaska Day 7 Skagway 阿拉斯加之旅 第七天 學院峽灣

Day 7 College Fjord

Time flies by without noticing it and today would be the last day of the cruise. We had a whale of time in the ship and we felt sad that we had to move on (even though we still had the cruise tour to follow). I’ve checked the schedule of today and knew that the ship will arrive College Fjord in the late afternoon. We had room service for breakfast (didn’t miss it this time) and then the rest of the morning was about running errand: do the laundry, pack the luggage, check out at the passengers service desk, get the disembarkation document for the train tomorrow, etc.

Room Service Breakfast- Croque Monsieur

 Ham-Cheese & Egg Breakfast Sandwich

Watermelon @ Room Service Breakfast

The busy morning has kept me from taking any of those scholarship ® at the sea classes or activities like culinary demonstration, art history @ the sea, Alaska naturalist lecture: the Awe-inspiring world of Alaskan Flora, magic class, greeting card creating class, etc. We didn’t even have time to have lunch as we were planning to finish most of the packing by 3pm before the ship got close to the College Fjord. We had afternoon tea instead of lunch. White gloves afternoon tea was served almost everyday in Sapphire and the quality of the food were decent- some were better than the afternoon tea that I had in LA!

Afternoon tea display at entrance

Very velvety strawberry shortcake and bittersweet chocolate roll

Afternoon tea @ Pacific Moon Dining Room @3:30pm

Pianist at afternoon tea

Sandra the naturalist was announcing around 4:30pm that the ship would approach the final scenic spot soon. We grabbed our binocular and be prepared for the view. Everyone I know who has been in College Fjord raved about this scenic cruise. College Fjord is located at the northern section of the Prince William Sound and it contains 5 tidewater glaciers, 5 large valley glaciers and a lot of small glaciers. A lot of the glaciers were named after those Ivy League colleges. I could imagine if it were a bright and sunny sky, the view would be spectacular. Unfortunately, we had a very cloudy sky with very thick low cloud. It was drizzling when we went out to the open deck area and the wind was bone-chilling cold.

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

We stayed in the bow for more than an hour to capture the view. Maybe because of the freezing temperature and the contrast from the warm-and-sunny-Glacier-Bay, I did not have the excitement when I saw the College Fjord and not intended to stay any longer on the deck. We headed back to our room and took a hot shower to defrost. We had our luggages placed outside of the room before dinner so that stewart would pick them up by 8pm. We had our last dinner with our neighbor Karry and Marilyn, saw the last magic tricks by Apollo and call off our last day of the cruise.

Poached Seafood and Avocado with Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette

Chilled Curried Pumpkin Cream Soup

Philadelphia Pepper Pot Soup with Chilli Dust

Mariner Style Black Mussels in White Wine Sauce

Grilled New York Cut Strip Steak with Green Peppercorn Sauce

Baked Alaska!!! Must Have!!

Rum Raisin Icecream

Deep Dish Apple Pie with Vanilla Icecream

Dept.of Health will come after disembarkation~

Dept. Health will check every since utensil!!

第七天 學院峽灣

快樂不知時日過, 瞬眼間已來到遊輪假期的最後一天. 雖然我們尚有陸上遊輪觀光團, 但還是覺得有點依依不捨的傷感感覺. 查看過今天的行程表, 知道遊船會在下午傍晚的時候抵達學院峽灣. 於是,我們在客房內吃過早餐後（今天終於吃到了!!）便開始了一連串的收拾任務如洗衣服，執拾行李，在遊客服務部退房，拿取離船的文件及明天登火車的證件等等．

繁忙的早上令我們無法參與任何的興趣班或活動，例如烹飪示範，藝術史班，阿拉斯加自然學班：阿拉斯加凜然的植物群，魔術班，節日卡手工藝班，等等．我們忙得不可開交，連吃中午飯的時間也沒有──因為我們想在下午3時船靠近學院峽灣前把行李都收拾好．事情安排妥當後，我們便到餐廳去用英式下午茶．藍寶石公主遊輪差不多每天都有供應英式下午茶，而且食物質素不錯──有些更超越了加州的一些下午茶餐廳．　　

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

College Fjord

Sandra自然學家於下午4時30分廣播，說遊輪快將到達行程的最後一個景區．我們趕快去拿望遠鏡，準備欣賞景色．我們認識一些曾來到學院峽灣的朋友，他們對這峽灣有著高度的評價．學院峽灣是位於威廉王子海灣的北部，它包括了5個潮水冰川，5個山谷冰川及許多小型的冰川．許多的冰川是以名校的名字取名而成．我能想像在陽光普照的日子裡，學院峽灣的景色必定是如詩如畫般美．奈何今天的雲層又厚又低．我們在甲板的時候，外面還下著毛毛細雨，寒風刺骨．根本無法盡情地欣賞景色．

我們在船頭逗留了大概一個多小時．　可能是由於嚴寒的天氣，以及昨天溫和天氣，迷人景色的強烈對比下，我們對學院峽灣沒有起太大的興奮作用，也沒有打算再多留長一點時間．最後，我們回去洗熱水澡“解凍”；把行李於8時前放在門外，方便船員收拾；與Karry 及Marilyn吃最後的船上晚餐及看Apollo最後一次的魔術表現──就這樣，我們便結束了這遊輪旅程．

Bucket list- Alaska Day 6 Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve 阿拉斯加之旅 第六天 冰川灣國家公園

Day 6 Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve    

Second to the last day of the cruise is the highlight of my whole glacier cruise.  To me, Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway are a shallow taste of Alaska and I have been waiting for the glacier scenic tour for a~~~~ LONG time!!!!!  Glacier Bay was first declared as a national monument in 1925 by President Calvin Coolidge; and then in 1978, President Jimmy Carter has expanded the area of monument and created the Glacier Bay National Park.  In 1979, Glacier Bay became part of a binational UNESCO World Heritage site and as of today, only 6 cruises are authorized to provide cruise ship service in this prestigious Glacier Bay National Park (Princess, Holland America Inc, Norwegian cruise line, West travel inc, Carnival cruise line, and Crystal cruises).

I thought the ship will arrive glacier bay around 9-10 AM and we would have plenty of time to get ready for the paradise.  I’ve ordered the room service and have it delivered around 8:30-9 AM --thinking we could enjoy the room service before we head out.  Around 8:15 AM, National Park Rangers started the commentary of the nearby glaciers.  “Baam!!” I dropped everything and used my fastest speed to run to the back of the ship. While everyone rushed to the front for the gorgeous views, I found the views were equally gorgeous at the back of the ship.  And in fact at the back of the ship, there were long and relatively calm waves on the surface of the water and they added interesting lines in my photos.  Went back to the room around 9:30 AM and room service has left us a message stating no body was in the room during delivery and server has left already~ opps~~ I guess we were not having room service breakfast today~

According to the ranger, there are only 4 sunny day per month in Glacier bay and we had one out of the four~ Woo hoo~ Lucky!!  Even though I was told that glacier is best viewed under an overcast day (bright enough to see the glacier blue but not overly exposed to the sunlight), I still think that sunny sky has enhanced the whole presentation to another higher level.  I was speechless when I saw this jaw-dropping view.  To make it easier to imagine: Have you been or see the pictures of Bora Bora or Hawaii Maui?  I’ve seen my friends Helen and Stephen’s Bora Bora vacation pictures: blue sky with clear turquoise water enhanced by the light brown sand.  That is a tropical paradise.  Alaska is another paradise--but in a winter version: Blue sky with snow white mountain, clear and calm water reflecting light blue glacier. The overwhelming scene was just way beyond words could describe.  Maybe that’s why everybody was so quiet at the moment.

The ship sailed from the Bartlett Cove (where the rangers were picked up) through the Sitakaday Narrows, passed Willoughby and Drake Island, to the Lamplugh Glacier and Margerie Glacier.  The ship stayed in Lamplugh Glacier area for 45 minutes and slowly sailed toward the Margerie Glacier/ Tarr Inlet and stayed for an hour.  We were out in the open deck area for the whole time to appreciate the clean air, warm sun and gorgeous view in Margerie Glacier.  We saw iceberg calving from the Margerie Glacier-- not once, not twice, but 4 times. The iceberg calving sound was like a small thunder in the sky and like thunder-- you see the visual first before you hear the sound. 

Cruise route in Glacier Bay

Two eagle on the ice

Margerie Glacier

Margerie Glacier

Margerie Glacier

Iceberg calving from Margerie Glacier

Iceberg calving from Margerie Glacier

Even our stomach was growling around noon, we didn’t want to leave the deck as that will miss our viewing opportunity.  After debating for a while, we have decided to eat at a place that has a view.  Horizontal court - the buffet restaurant has a lot of tables with views but all were taken. (And plus, I’m not a big fans of the buffet food) We then went to the Alfredo’s pizzeria -- still full but we were lucky to have a seat that was close to the window.  We ordered the Tarantina pizza with bay shrimp, mussels, capers, basil...  Picture perfect scenes with freshly made pizza~ hm~it’s divine!

Alfredo's Pizzeria

Alfredo's Pizzeria

Tarantina Pizza

After lunch we went back to the deck to spot for wildlife-- especially the whale.  It was such a beautiful warm weather and everyone was enjoying the sun bath on the deck.  “Look at the humpback whale on the port side of the ship!” Someone screamed around 2:30 PM and everyone ran to the right side of the ship. We saw a humpback whale flipping in the clear blue water~!!   The whale knew that everyone was trying to take pictures of him and he kept flipping at the same spot.  We then inspected the shore area with our binocular and found that there were a lot of seals laying on one of the beach.  Like human, wildlife like to enjoy the beautiful weather and sun bathing on the land-- and the number of the seals were too many to quantify that it looked like a lot of italian sausage laying on the beach when we looked with our naked eyes. 

Sun bathing~

LOOK!! Humpback Whale!!

Humpback Whale Flipping

Humpback Whale Flipping

Humpback Whale Flipping

Humpback Whale Flipping

After dropping off the rangers at the Bartlett Cove, left the Glacier Bay National Park and entered the Gulf of Alaska, the weather has changed dramatically.  It was cold and windy and Sandra the naturalist had reminded us that wildlife spotting would be minimal beyond this point.  She suggested us to go back to the indoor area if necessary.  We then went back to the room and put on our swimming suits for the jacuzzi-- we sat in the hot-tub and watched the Pink concern at the “Movie under the stars”. Around 5:30 PM, we went back to our room and get ready for the formal night dinner tonight.

Crab, Scallop and Shrimp Salad Duo of Caviar

Roasted Tomato Cream Soup

Broiled Lobster Tail and King Prawns with Lemon Butter

Broiled Lobster Tail and King Prawns Before De-shell

Great food, spotted wildlife, watched iceberg calved, funny magic show by Apollo..I thought what we have seen and done today had made the whole trip so worth it already!  Today was the climax of the trip and the precious memories were something money can’t buy!

 

Amaretto Icecream

第六天 冰川灣國家公園

遊輪旅程來到最後的兩天而今天是整個遊輪旅程的高潮. 對我來說, 克奇坎, 朱諾,及史凱威只是阿拉斯加的入門景點, 我對這冰川景區遊覽行程已期代已久了. 在1925年, 總統卡爾文·柯立芝把冰川灣定立為國家保護區; 在1978年, 總統吉米·卡特把保護區的範圍擴大並成立冰川灣國家公園. 於1979年, 冰川灣國家公園被聯合國教育科學及文化局認定為世界遺產之一; 時至今日, 美國只有六艘遊輪有資格在這國家公園提供遊輪服務.　(Princess遊輪, Holland America Inc遊輪, Norwegian 遊輪, West travel inc遊輪, Carnival遊輪, 及 Crystal遊輪)

我還以為遊輪會大約在早上9-10時抵達冰川灣而我們會有很多時間去預備及迎接這人間天堂．　我還定了客房送餐服務──心想我們大可先在房內用餐然後再出發．我預約好送餐服務會在早上8:30-9時把早餐送到，但是大約在早上8時15分， 護林員便開始廣播介紹附近的冰川．“澎！”我立即把所有東西都放下，用最快的速度跑到船的後方．當所有人都擠在船頭看風景時，我卻在船尾欣賞美景．　我亦 發覺船尾的風景不會輸給船頭．當船頭乘風破浪，濺起水花時，船尾的海浪卻相對的平靜──平靜的海浪線亦為我的照片構圖起了結構性的作用．當回到房間時，客 房送餐服務員留下口訊說由於無人應門的關係，早餐已送回廚房．噢噢噢～我想我們今天早上是無法享用客房用餐的服務了．

跟 據護林員的數據表示，冰川灣在一個月內只有四天是天朗氣清的日子而我們就幸運地在冰川灣裡有這晴朗的一天．雖然護林員說欣賞冰川的最好天氣是陰天的時候 （有足夠的光能夠看到冰川，但不會有太多陽光令人覺得刺眼或一片發白）－但我仍然覺得天朗氣清好陽光的日子能令整個冰川灣的感官享受提昇至另一個更高的層 次．當我看到這令人讚嘆不絕的湖光山色時我頓然覺得無言以對．怎樣的美景？讓我具體一點的解釋：你有看過或遊覽過夏威夷的茂宜島或大溪地的波拉波拉島嗎？ 我看過我朋Helen及Stephen在 波拉波拉島旅遊的照片：海藍色的天空，淺棕色的細沙襯托著綠松石的海水．這是熱帶地區的天堂．阿拉斯加也是另一個人間天堂──但是是以冬天的形式來表達． 藍天配白色的雪山，又清又平靜的海水反映著淺藍色的冰川．這震撼性的畫面是筆墨無法形容的．全場鴉雀無聲亦可能是因為這個原因．

遊輪由巴特利特灣Bartlett Cove（護林員在這處登船）Sitakaday Narrows， 威洛比島及德雷克島後進 入Lamplugh冰川及Margerie冰川的範圍．遊輪逗留了45分鐘在Lamplugh冰川的海域，然後慢駛到Margerie Glacier/ Tarr Inlet，再停留在此約一小時． 我們全時間都逗留在甲板上享受那清新的空氣溫暖的陽光及綺麗的Margerie冰川湖光山色. 我們看到冰山裂開,冰塊掉入海中. 我們不只看到1次2次這情景,我們總共看到了4次冰裂. 冰山裂開的聲音就有如打雷的時候, 轟隆轟隆的響. 也像行雷閃電一般,你會先看到景像,再聽到聲音.

 

大概中午的時候,我們的肚子已咕嚕咕嚕的響,但是我們還是不大願意離開甲板-因為這樣會剝削了我們觀景的機會.  我們掙扎了一會後, 還是決定要先際過五贓廟後才繼續觀景, 但我們只會到有窗景的餐廳用膳.  Horizontal court –自助餐餐廳, 有很多有窗景的檯但全都被佔用了. (而且我們對自助餐的興趣不大) 我們到 Alfredo’s pizzeria 批薩餅餐廳—雖然餐廳都是滿座,但我們幸運地被安排到坐在近窗邊的位置.  我們點了 Tarantina pizza:有海灣蝦, 青口, 卡珀斯, 羅勒/九層塔... 新鮮焗製的批薩配完美的風光景色~ 簡直是神級的享受!!

午飯過後,我們返回甲板上去捕捉野生動物的出現-特別是想看到鯨魚的蹤影. 由於天朗氣清, 氣溫溫和的關係, 很多人都聚集在甲板上享受著日光浴. “快來看船右側的座頭鯨~!!!” 有人大約在下午2時30分叫道. 所有人到立刻奔跑到船的右邊. 我們看到一隻巨大的座頭鯨在船的附近翻轉. 鯨魚可能自知是主角,有人要替他拍照,所以他不停在原地翻轉. 看到鯨魚後, 我們便用望遠鏡去探索一下船附近肉眼不能看見的地方. 我們發現有很多的海豹在附近的一個海灘上. 像人類一樣, 它們也享受著溫和的天氣,躺在沙灘上享受著日光浴. 海豹的數量難以估計—只知道有很多. 若果用肉眼離遠來看, 會看到像一堆意大利香腸在沙灘上滾動.

Horizontal court –自助餐餐廳的窗景

Horizontal court –自助餐餐廳的窗景

下午遊輪駛回巴特利特灣Bartlett Cove讓護林員下船, 然後遊輪便駛出冰川灣國家公園,駛向阿拉斯加灣. 當船離開了冰川灣時,天氣便急速驟變. 氣溫便得寒冷,風速便得凌厲. 自然學家Sandra告訴我們說我們已進入了這個不多自然生物出沒的港口, 若果覺得寒冷的話,還是不要浪費體力在此, 盡早回室內吧. 於是我們便回房換上泳衣到按摩池去. 我們一邊在”星光下的電影院”看the Pink的演唱會, 一邊寫意地浸按摩池.  大概在下午 5時30分,我們便回去梳洗,準備今晚的晚宴.

美酒佳餚, 看到野生動物的蹤跡, 見證了聞名的冰山裂開, 看過Apollo的精彩魔術表現.. 我相信我們今天所見所聞, 所做所感受到的已令此行值回票價了!! 今天是這遊輪假期的高潮. 這難忘的經歷是錢不能換取到的~!!