Posting for David (englishusa)

Just a few


Fluke


And another




In the middle of a "group blow"

Nice stalk, Kim!

Wow - that is one cruise I wish I could take again but I'm not sure about it being on Navigator.

Betty: Sure brings back great memories, especially from Alaska on to Osaka.

Lee - I would be ready to repeat that cruise in a heartbeat. And this time we would both have "new" knees and could walk. My favorite photo that David sent is the "group blow". I can't remember seeing anything even close to that.

Awesome whale photos - boy howdy were you guys ever fortunate to get such a show!!

We've done Alaska 3 times, and would go again in a heartbeat, but sorry - not on the Navigator.

Those are great whale photos. "The group blow" is something. Thanks for posting them, Betty!

Sorry I am not the photographer David is so I am glad Betty has posted his pictures. Today we went out on the Whale Quest and hit the bonanza with nine whales that were in a bubble net. Incredible to see them jump up to catch the fish and then one by one flip their flukes. We saw whales on and off for three hours. The weather was gray and rainy most of the day but no one seemed to mind as the wildlife sightings were abundant. I met the Estes too and they saw bears as they were walking a path close to the Mendenhall Glacier. We agreed that each day has held something new and interesting. We anxiously look forward to the next day as this has been a spectacular trip.

All I can say about those pix is WOW. I've been to Alaska 3 times (twice on Navigator Lee, and it was great, but I did not cross to Japan), and did whale watching excursions on all of them. Never did I see such a show of tails and humps at the same time, and that group "blow", just phenomenal.
Usually, we were lucky to see one tail or blow for a photo.

If our master lct lens man Ken could see them now, he would be impressed and envious! But he and Ngaire are enroute to Africa for another BK adventure.

David, bet you were not bored on this day! And your wife must have been over the top excited! Thank you for sharing, and thanks to Betty for bringing them to us. Lol, Susan, who needs sunshine on a day like this in Alaska?

With all the whales plus bears, you all are really hitting the motherload on animal sightings. How great for you cruisers!!

Ketchikan won't be so crowded today as Juneau was! Only 1 other ship, the Radiance o/t Seas, which is supposed to get in soon... an hour before the Nav does and will probably block the webcam. As both ships are coming from the north, I won't get to see them sailing up into view. Oh, there's the Radiance now. I think.Can only see small section of the bow, but doesn't look like the Nav.

Edit: Adding that the Radiance's "big booty" isn't blocking the view entirely and we should get a partial Nav stalk!

I was hoping for the slightly closer parking space. Have a great time!

Look at this other webcam I found! Cool!

AMAZING pics of the whales. That group blow one should be in National Geographic. I have seen a lot of whales but never anything like that.

I agree Rachel. I've seen lots off Cape Cod, but not like that.

Better lighting for the webcam this afternoon.

Fantastic pictures Love the "group blow" I've never seen anything like that Thanks for posting them Betty

Amazing day in Ketchikan. Yes we were fortunate that there was only one of the ship the Radiance of the Seas in port. We virtually have seen them most every day. They tower over the Navigator and carry about 2500 guests, 5 times what we are. Really makes you appreciate the smaller ship. In the morning the sun was shining and we took a nice walk up to Salmon Falls along the creek where we saw tons of salmon. As we walked back along the boardwalk out came the rain. In the afternoon we took the Neets Bay Bear Watch by Floatplane and again what a bonanza. The sun was shining brightly as we saw several large males, a smaller female and the coup de grace - a mother with two baby cubs. She came out to grab a salmon to feed her little ones and as a larger male approached she chased the little ones up a tree. The sight of them scooting up the tree was so fun to watch. She proceeded to eat the fish herself. It was hard to tear ourselves away when we had to return to the floatplane. The flight was beautiful over the Tongass National Forest and our pilot flew over the Navigator upon our return. We had an excellent dinner last evening in Sette Mari. It is interesting to watch the chefs individually prepare dishes. Today the sun is shining brightly as we are at sea.

Susan, What a great day you had in Ketchikan. I bet those cubs were fun to watch. Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Kim, Great stalking!!

Today is a glorious sunny day in Victoria. We took the Orca Whale tour and we were blessed with two large pods of Orcas with several young ones playing, slapping, lying on their backs, and a few breeches. The guide estimated we had 80 whales around the boat. There were two research vessels in the area including one that has a black lab named Tucker in a lifevest sniffing whale poop. We have had the most memorable trip. Mother nature certainly has been very generous with all our animal sightings.

Yeah, Susan, you have really had great luck with the animals. The bear cubs must have been so fun to watch. That's amazing you got to see them. Alice and I did that Orca tour before our first Alaska cruise. Loved it! We took a sea plane over from Vancouver. Went to Butchart Gardens, too. Did you have time for that as well?

No unfortunately we only got to see the Orcas. We are getting ready to depart. Tomorrow is Astoria. Then Sunday at sea.

Tea-Time Team Trivia is a lot of fun and extremely competitive. We have "won" 5 times out of 8. But some of those were tied. 15 teams competing yesterday. Immigration today in Astoria went very smoothly. Very pleasant immigration officers.

I agree with David. The immigration process was amazingly organized and efficient. Lest we miss a meal we opted out of tours today because they all conflicted with our coveted lunch in Compass Rose. Instead we took the shuttle into town and walked around, checked out the local microbreweries and walked the mile and a half back to claim our daily exercise. It is a very quaint town of 10,000 people. Has remained the same population since 1930. We spoke to several who had taken the Mount St. Helens tour, which they said was very interesting. Great looking dinner tonight - my favorite dover sole but also beef wellington and lobster tail. What to do?

Oh, Susan, what a tough decision!! Thanks for posting.

David, congrats on your trivia wins.

Such decisions. Cruising can be so difficult!

Just left Crew Capers. They have a very talented crew on the Navigator and quite a few new songs, dances, and costumes. Always a wonderful way to end the cruise.

Ironically my friend, Dee, found an article in the New York Times about the dog we saw out on the research vessel when we were orca watching.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/u...todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120902

Your cruise sounds like it has been a wonderful journey, Susan. And away from the Texas heat too! Thanks for taking us along.

Great pictures. And a fascinating article about the whale scat-sniffing dog!

Priscilla

Priscilla,
I would say it was almost a perfect trip, but then AA had to spoil all the fun. We got on the plane, deplaned, got on the plane a second time, deplaned, back and forth from 11 a.m. until 4:30 when they finally cancelled and rescheduled for tomorrow. So we are at the Radisson in San Francisco and up at 4 a.m. tomorrow for the shuttle back to the airport for what we hope will be an uneventful day. Much better that it happened on the way home than en route to the ship, although my son has to lose a precious vacation day.

Too bad about your cancelled flight, Susan. I can only hope that you and your family enjoyed a nice meal last night to make-up for a frustrating airport day. As you said, at least it happened at the end of your cruise!!