Karen and I have been wanting to take an Alaska Cruise for the past 20 years, but we always came up with some reason why we just could not do it each year. This year however, is our 25th anniversary and we decided that there will always be reasons not to go and decided to make the sacrifices necessary and go. So, toward the end of 2016 planning starting coming together to make this happen.

We decided on the Carnival cruise line because they offered an 8 day cruise at the beginning of May through the inside passage with an additional stop at the Tracy Arm Fjord. Karen had learned that this was a spectacular location and we wanted it on the list, so with the cruise booked by the end of 2016, all we had to do was wait. The cruise took place from April 30th to May 8th 2017. What follows is our adventure!

Let me preface by saying that as a photographer whose primary affection is wildlife, I would not recommend a cruise ship as the first choice for seeing the most wildlife. You have little control over your time and are at the mercy of the ship’s captain, excursion leaders, and other factors. That does not however mean that a cruise is not worth the time and money. If for no other reason, it does give you access to many places you would not feasibly be able to get to on a single vacation. Additionally you will quite possibly see places you will want to return to in the future to spend more time for a more in-depth visit. So, if you like, think of it as a scouting trip for a future wildlife-intensive trip.

Now, on with the story…

Our cruise began in the city of Vancouver Canada. With a desire to try something new,  we tried something old. Rather than staying in a well-known chain hotel, we opted to stay at a hotel called the Victorian. This hotel goes back to the days of the 1898 Gold Rush. Of course it has been updated but still maintains the charm of the late 1800s. Truly a slice of history and comfortable to boot. How many hotels can say they have been in operation in the same location for over 100 years? This hotel gets my seal of approval.

The hotel is located in the part of Vancouver called “gastown”. This is the historic old part of Vancouver which is now “hip” with the young urbanites. I found that I myself am no longer “hip”. I was not 100% comfortable walking around this part of town in the evening with a few thousand dollars of camera equipment around my neck, but we had no problems what-so-ever. Because of my own misgivings I probably missed out on a few interesting street shots, but that’s life. Still, it was an interesting visit.

We arrived in Vancouver the night before our departure date in order to allow for any flight delays. So after a good night’s rest, we got up and spent the morning exploring the Vancouver seawall area which leads down to Stanley Park, a massive area of which we only touched the edge. This would be a great place to come back and spend more time. On the plus side, our exercise bands recorded a record number of steps this day! Mine said I walked over 10 miles that day! What follows are some scenes we witnessed around the park and seawall prior to boarding our ship.

Starting out at Vancouver Harbor we saw many ships and sea planes moving about.

The harbor was also full of colorful boats. Again, you can tell from the boats that interesting people live here.

The city skyline made for an interesting backdrop behind the boats docked in the harbor.

Once we got into the park proper, we found many interesting things. The first we came across was a selection of totem poles. I learned later while in Ketchikan that totem poles, rather than being idols which were worshiped, were more like story books. When the pole was raised, the maker of the pole would tell the story. The faces represent the characters int he story. These stories could be historical in nature or much like fairy tales, told to children to teach moral and safety lessons.

I was able to catch Karen here as she was making photos of the poles.

Another point of interest in the park is Brockton Point Lighthouse which was built in 1914. You can read more about the lighthouse <here>. Also, as you can tell from the following two photographs, taken a mere 15 minutes apart, the weather changes pretty rapidly here.

And of course, we found a few birds to photograph. Karen got the best shot of the bald eagle that flew over us. I won’t use the excuse that I only had my wide-angle lens with me because that would just be petty.  😉

Another big landmark here is the Lions Gate Bridge which is a pretty magnificent sight. It opened in 1938 and the name comes from the twin peaks on the North Vancouver side of the harbor called the Lions. Notice the rock that looks like it has someone seated. That is a sculpture of a mermaid. Unfortunately we were running out of time and had to head to our ship before getting that far.

On the way back to get our bags at the hotel, there were several flights of stairs and I got to do my not-so-famous Rocky impression after “running” the stairs. (Editor’s note: By “running” he means moving faster than normal walking speed.)

Vancouver Harbor is a beautiful site and Stanley Park is a treat you must visit if you are in the area. For us, it was time to head to the ship, the Carnival Legend. We had several hours of TSA, Customs, and loading procedures to get through.

Once we finally made it on board, the time came to shove off and leave the land behind. From our stateroom balcony we waved goodbye to Canada and set sail for Alaska and the inside passage.

A few last glimpses of Vancouver. Pulling out of the harbor we passed under the aforementioned Lions Gate Bridge and you can see North Vancouver in the background.

After the bridge, we passed by West Vancouver, set at the foot of beautiful mountains.

As we were leaving the bay, we got a glimpse of the West Lion peak, which is one of the peaks the bridge was named after, rising up behind West Vancouver, which also appeared to be having a local carnival.

Goodbye Canada…

As we set sail for our first full day at sea, we watched in awe as God painted the sky the most beautiful oranges and reds at sunset! This would be a common occurrence most every night of the cruise.

Day two is a full day at sea as we make our way towards the Tracy Arm Fjord!

Stay tuned for part two, coming soon as I process through the 6000+ photos taken between the two of us.

All words and photos copyright 2017 MHampton Photography
Equipment used: Canon 5DS-R, Canon 7DmII, Canon T6S, and various Canon lenses