Here's a trip report from my recent Alaskan cruise with my mother earlier this month. This was my first cruise, and also my first trip to Alaska. I definitely see myself coming back to Alaska, someday. Alaska's Inside Passage, is a mystical, spiritual, beautiful place. Cruising itself, was also a surprisingly pleasant, eye-opening experience. I probably won't be taking a cruise anytime soon, due to there being too many limitations inherent with cruising. This I will describe in more detail later on in this report.
For those of you who have never been on a cruise, here's a little about cruise ship life. I shared a suite with my mom. The cabin was nicely appointed, with a shower, head, seating area, and even our very own porthole looking out to sea (see left).
We were on a Celebrity cruise line, which, is a top-of-the-line (read expensive) cruise line. The clientele were mostly my mother's age. There were very few people my age in attendance, other than those accompanying their parents. This was a veritable floating hotel with glass elevators (see right), and private nooks from which to view glaciers (see right).
Below, leaving the protected bay of beautiful Vancouver for Alaska's Inside Passage
The most mind-blowing thing about this cruise vacation was seeing wild-life surrounding you while carrying on with everyday activities aboard the ship:For example:
- While contemplating the ocean view while in the sauna in our bathing suits, I spot the a group of humpback whales. This was a particularly zen-like experience.
Below, a view of Hubbard glacier from the cafeteria hall
This wouldn't be my only surprise encounter with wildlife from aboard the ship. Other moments:
- Running on the treadmill: watching as the cruise ship approached, and ultimately overran a sprinting pod of 30+ strong porpoises. I remember hoping that no porpoises were hurt.
- Jogging on the deck: stopping in awe at humpback whales.
- Eating lunch: running out to gawk at orcas alongside the ship. The image of the male orca's 6' high dorsal fin making its cyclic, mechanical slice through the calm waters has forever been burned into my memory.
Below, enjoying the sun in the Inside Passage
The other nutty thing about cruise life, is the incongruity of having all of this entertainment packed into a boat. It was like Disneyland, but afloat. There was a full scale two story amphitheater, inside of which one would have never suspected one was on a boat. There was an art gallery from which daily live auctions were held. A smoke filled casino straight out of Vegas, a state of the art gym, a saltwater whirlpool the size of a pool. Shops selling expensive diamond encrusted watches. Countless bars, restaurants, night clubs and even an Italian cafe to drink espressos.
Above, drinking a martini flight with Andrea (a friend I made on board the cruise)
If you enjoy gluttony, than cruise life is for you. There was a never-ending parade of food. My favorite meal of the day was breakfast, where I and my mom could eat al fresco on the stern of the ship.
Above, breakfast with my mom
Breakfast consisted of the usual eggs and bacon, but there were also nods towards Alaskan cuisine, such as smoked salmon, smoked trout and pickled herring. Catering to the Asian clientele was a Chinese rice porridge station and Japanese miso soup station.
Above, dinner
Dinner was my least favorite meal of the day, due to there being a strict dress code (formal wear-2 nights, semi-formal wear-1 night, jeans were never allowed). Also, by the middle of the week, I was becoming slightly stressed by always being seated with my mom's high-school classmates.
This Alaskan cruise also happened to be my mom's 40th high-school reunion. There were about 40 other former classmates and their families on board. At any rate, as on any extended boat trip, one eventually wants to get away from people, no matter how nice the company.
The shot I took of the top deck, above, looks straight out of a travel brochure
Earlier, I mentioned there were certain limitations to cruising. The biggest limitation is never being able to truly experience a place deeply. I always felt as though I was viewing Alaska behind a thick pane of glass. We stopped at 4 stops during the week long cruise. At each spot, one was limited to a few daylight hours to explore the spot. This prevented one from exploring beyond the touristy areas designed to ensnare cruisegoers. 
Above, salmon spawning in a stream
The first stop after a day at sea was Ketchikan, Alaska. On this particular stop, I chose to do a snorkeling excursion. The dive operation was Mountain Point Snorkeling. The water was warmer and clearer than in California. But the water that day was also more barren.
Below, a picture taken by Belinda Li of entering the water
We saw unfamiliar starfish, including the sunflower star, that is supposed to be the same as the ones in Monterey, but which seemed more fragile than the indestructible ones I've encountered in Monterey. I freedove to a depth of about 20 feet to watch a couple of wolf-eel for the first time. One wolf-eel was slithering out in the open and chomping away with its powerful jaws on a poor crab. To my surprise, the wolf eel had stripes. As I faced it on the bottom, it stopped chomping and stared back at me stupidly with its beady eyes. (Sorry, no photos, don't have an underwater camera yet).
Below, a picture taken by Belinda Li of myself free-diving
Below, a close up view of Mendenhall Glacier
I asked about scuba diving in Ketchikan. They don't take too many people scuba diving in Ketchikan due to the strong current in the passage. The tide comes twice daily in Alaska, and is famously strong, sweeping water up and down as much as 20 feet. The current I experienced that day was wickedly strong.
Another fun excursion was viewing the Mendenhall glacier (see above, and below). I took a detour from the main path to get as close to the glacier as I could. There were only a few people who got to witness the glacier from such close proximity. I nearly missed the bus on my way back, however, since I got detoured, and had to climb several steep rocks to get back on path.
At right and below, Mendenhall glacier up close
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, my mother's favorite excursion was salmon fishing off of Icy Strait Point. She was pretty excited about catching her Coho salmon (below). I caught two Coho salmon. The Coho salmon are famously tough. My first salmon had been bludgeoned in the head, but still beat furiously in the icebox for a good 15 minutes before expiring for good. I had to go inside the boat to escape the horror.
Below, Alaskans dressed in Tlingit costume at Icy Strait Point.
Juneau was my favorite stop. Juneau is a charming town that is accessible only by plane or boat, and is surrounded by an ice field and glaciers. It has the same bohemian, laid back spirit as Seattle (see below). There was one good coffee shop in which I enjoyed a very good caffe latte. I thoroughly enjoyed shopping for native American Tlingit inspired art. See here for an example. I bought two prints of orcas (my self-proclaimed totem animal), and one print of a harbor seal, which I intend to hang up on my walls. 
From Juneau, we also went on a whale watching and wildlife excursion, which I highly recommend, despite the price of $100/person. We ended up seeing porpoises, Stellar sea lions, humpbacks, and bald eagles. I was fascinated by seeing the Stellar sea lions, who are much larger than the sea lions we see here in Northern California, and whose voices, consequently, are much lower. Their calls sound more like growls, rather than barks. I learned from Seneca, the Juneau born naturalist on board, about the various behaviors of the species there, which is probably too boring to include here.
As we headed back to Vancouver, I tried to capture the magical mystical quality of the Inside Passage. Here is a view taken at sunset:
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