Alaska May 2023 Northbound Celebrity Cruises

4/6/2024 12:42:38 PM Link |  | Add comment

Our 12th Trip to the Great Land - the 49th State - and each time it gets better. This time we had the best whale experience which we shared with my siblings. It was a breathtaking, once in a lifetime (one could hope for another just like it, I suppose!) experience watching a humpback whale jump and play and toss around in Resurrection Bay, Seward Alaska. Although humpbacks do enter the bay, it's unusual for them to stay and 'perform' for near an hour - in fact, it may have gone on even longer, but our excursion ship had places to go so after 45 minutes, we sadly moved on. The whale breached over and over and over and we left with breathtaking photos of his adventures.

We began our cruise in Vancouver on the Celebrity Millennium - traveled with two sisters and their spouses - both couples 1st time in Alaska and that made it even more fun for me. We headed northbound to Seward - which is our favorite itinerary, especially in the springtime. Our stops included Ketchikan, Skagway (where we took the White Pass and Yukon Railway up into gold country), Juneau to explore the rapidly shrinking Mendenhall Glacier, to Icy Strait Point for yet another whale adventure (I am glad we had this one first - it wasn't nearly as exciting as the one to come, in Seward!), and into Yakutat Bay to see Hubbard Glacier. 

At the end of our trip, we had hoped to take the Alaska Railroad up to Anchorage but due to the risk of landslides on the tracks, we had to scramble to find a car to rent that would hold 6 adults and a lot of luggage. Sorry to miss the train, but our drive up was great as we drove the Turnagin Arm / Seward Highway and stopped at many of the pullouts along the highway.

Another night in Anchorage before heading back to Detroit. This vacation was loaded with awesome adventures, and the best part was sharing it with my sisters and their husbands. Here are some photos!

Margaret Pecar Fallone / mfallone@aol.com