Travel Photos of Alaska and Inland Passage

Alaska

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We took a cruise up the coast of Western Canada and Alaska in the summer of year 2001 aboard the Princess cruiseliner Sea Princess. We embarked from Vancouver, British Columbia, sailed up to the Alaskan towns of Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway, and disembarked at Seward. We also sailed into the magnificent Glacier Bay National Park. It was interesting to note that at this latitude and in month of July, the sun doesn't set until around 11:30 or midnight.
Bald eagles were a common sight in the Alaskan skies. This was the first time we saw them in the wild.

Ketchikan was the first Alaskan city (village is more like it) that we stopped at. The downtown street was lined with gift and souvenir shops that cater to the cruise ship tourists.

There were Internet cafes packed with people in both Ketchikan and Skagway. Even in these remote Alaskan towns you're not too far away from the Internet.
Back on board that night, we enjoyed the festive and patriotic decor of Independence Day.

It was also interesting to note that by U.S. maritime law, cruise ships are not allowed to embark and disembark from American ports unless they are manned by American crewmen. Hence, this Princess cruiseliner, with primarily British officers and a very international crew, was required to embark from a Canadian port and disembark at an American port. Much of the cruise was up through Inland Passage, which is a body of water between the Canadian and Alaskan continental coast and continuous line of offshore islands. As a result, the seas in the Inland Passage were relatively calm compared to the open ocean.

Juneau with a population of around 30,000, and capital of Alaska was our next stop. Blue skies and mild weather greeted us there. It was interesting that due to the surrounding geography, Juneau is accessible only by sea or air. It was also interesting that Juneau is located 5 time zones away from the Aleutian Islands, the western-most part of the State of Alaska.

While in Juneau, we took a helicopter tour to a nearby glacier. Views of the desolate and snow-covered mountains and icefields were awesome. Standing on top of the glacier ice, it was somewhat surprising to know that the air temperature was nearly 70 degrees Fahrenheit during this day in July.

Below are some pictures taken on the glacier.

An icefield
A crevasse can be hundreds or even thousands of feet deep. You wouldn't want to fall in one. A lack of oxygen causes some of the ice in a crevasse to show a bluish color.

After a night of sailing across some rather rough seas in the Gulf of Alaska, we pulled into Glacier Bay National Park. Massive glaciers seemed to be pouring into the bay. We were hoping to see chunks of ice break off the glaciers and form icebergs. But, all we saw were relatively small chunks of ice break off and form ice floes in the bay. The views of the bay were spectacular nonetheless.

We took a cruise up the coast of Western Canada and Alaska in the summer of year 2001 aboard the Princess cruiseliner Sea Princess. We embarked from Vancouver, British Columbia, sailed up to the Alaskan towns of Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway, and disembarked at Seward. We also sailed into the magnificent Glacier Bay National Park. It was interesting to note that at this latitude and in month of July, the sun doesn't set until around 11:30 or midnight. Bald eagles were a common sight in the Alaskan skies. This was the first time we saw them in the wild. Ketchikan was the first Alaskan city (village is more like it) that we stopped at. The downtown street was lined with gift and souvenir shops that cater to the cruise ship tourists. There were Internet cafes packed with people in both Ketchikan and Skagway. Even in these remote Alaskan towns you're not too far away from the Internet. Back on board that night, we enjoyed the festive and patriotic decor of Independence Day. It was also interesting to note that by U.S. maritime law, cruise ships are not allowed to embark and disembark from American ports unless they are manned by American crewmen. Hence, this Princess cruiseliner, with primarily British officers and a very international crew, was required to embark from a Canadian port and disembark at an American port. Much of the cruise was up through Inland Passage, which is a body of water between the Canadian and Alaskan continental coast and continuous line of offshore islands. As a result, the seas in the Inland Passage were relatively calm compared to the open ocean. Juneau with a population of around 30,000, and capital of Alaska was our next stop. Blue skies and mild weather greeted us there. It was interesting that due to the surrounding geography, Juneau is accessible only by sea or air. It was also interesting that Juneau is located 5 time zones away from the Aleutian Islands, the western-most part of the State of Alaska. While in Juneau, we took a helicopter tour to a nearby glacier. Views of the desolate and snow-covered mountains and icefields were awesome. Standing on top of the glacier ice, it was somewhat surprising to know that the air temperature was nearly 70 degrees Fahrenheit during this day in July. Below are some pictures taken on the glacier.

An icefield	A crevasse can be hundreds or even thousands of feet deep. You wouldn't want to fall in one.	A lack of oxygen causes some of the ice in a crevasse to show a bluish color.

		After a night of sailing across some rather rough seas in the Gulf of Alaska, we pulled into Glacier Bay National Park. Massive glaciers seemed to be pouring into the bay. We were hoping to see chunks of ice break off the glaciers and form icebergs. But, all we saw were relatively small chunks of ice break off and form ice floes in the bay. The views of the bay were spectacular nonetheless.