Needs to wake up super early to catch a 3.5 hours bus ride from Vancouver to Seattle..  and then catch a 36 hour Coast starlight train ride from Seattle to LA. We have done this train ride before and totally enjoyed it

During dinner, they are playing the last waltz in the dinning car and that suddenly puts everyone in the mood…. The wonderful wait staff decided to perform the waltz for us…. We are over the moon😍

We did not plan anything today, just relax and get ready for tomorrow’s epic train ride… So this morning we checked out the famous Stanley Park and it’s seawall

The walk this morning helped us racked in 8500+ steps.. Yeepee

Whistler is a famous ski resort here and it’s only 1:45 hours away from Vancouver via Epic rides bus..Whistler is known for its skiing and snowboarding in the winter and mountain biking and hiking in the summer.

The drive there was scenic

We lucked out and reserved a hotel that’s within walking distance from the Port and they let us check in at 9 am in the morning 👍

Granville Island is a very very small island and full of charm….

Nothing much to report today…. Regular final day before cruise end events….looking forward to Vancouver tomorrow and the next phase of our extended trip… 3 days in Vancouver and then bus/train ride home to Los Angeles

We have been blessed with great weather so far until today..but all is good

This port is also a revisit, so we are going to take it very easy today….. Nothing planned except a crab feast at the famous George Inlet Lodge

First we visit the Historic creek street to see the picturesque wooden buildings that stand on stilts above Ketchikan Creek.

So on the way to George Inlet Lodge which is 16 miles away, we were surprised with a orca sighting by the bay as well as couple of gorgeous waterfalls

To think that  we are in the salmon capital of the world and did not eat salmon… No regrets though… We will come back for the crabs…..

Juneau is the the capital of alaska… We have been here once more than a decade ago and it did not changed much, the old town, the Mendenhall Glacier and the crazy tourism

We went for a whale watch excursion this time and it’s very cool…. To experience the environment that whales lives and fed

The Port of Skagway has train tracks right along with it

Skagway was a key important town during the Klondike gold rush(1896-1899)… We are going to retrace the steps via the white pass Yukon gold rush train which climbs from sea level to 3000 feet in just 20 miles

Afterwards, the train unload us right in the middle of the small town of Skagway and thats when we felt the bitter coldness and windyness of the town…. The coldest we have experienced since we arrived in Alaska 14 days ago

They brought in some 5 week old Iditarod puppies to the ship and it almost cost a stampede at the piazza

So today we are going to visit our 4th Alaska national park and this time we do not even need to leave the ship… The ship bring us to the park, even the rangers comes to our ship “the pirate way” (through small boat and via ladders)

They gave talks and commentaries and also  let us stamp our national park passport

So happy to be back on the ship again since  last October… 7 months break from the endless horizon view

Today is technically a sea day but it’s a scenic cruise sea day…. We are checking out and getting close to Hubbard Glacier and can hear the ice caving…