The Alaskan Jewel! Welcome Aboard….You don’t Exist! updated 12/13/2015 - Page 14 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Oh how cool that you saw the Time Bandit - I've seen a few episodes of the Deadliest Catch and also recognised the name of it straightaway. Doesn't sound like it was the greatest start to the day for Skip with the reminder about what happened to his rain gear...
I remember on your other Alaskan cruise you guys saw one of the boats and I showed the picture to Skip and that got him started on thinking about Alaska!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Dinner looked great! How cool to see the Time Bandit!
It was pretty cool.
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Originally Posted by xwewhisper
Looks like a chilly morning but glad you guys were able to get a nice hot breakfast! I love those adorable little jams they have
It actually wasn't too cold. Just more drizzly. But the weather was in the high 60's.
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Originally Posted by Pris
You've just got to love those men and their packing techniques!! DH shopped for ages for something for our Norway trip. Of course, I tried to get him to do it in the winter when the stores were stocked, but no, he had to wait until spring when the stocks were depleted! Your breakfast looked quite yummy. Hopefully Skip is able to find something to wear at the outlet store. I do love shopping in there.
Skip would rather be stabbed in the eye than shop, and when I tell him he needs something he thinks I am crazy. The problem also is he has gained a lot of weight over the last couple of years...but he doesn't see it and thinks I am shrinking all his close.
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Originally Posted by Cam22
Cool start to your morning! Ketchikan is such a charming place.
It is such a neat town.
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Originally Posted by jimmymac
Really enjoying these reports. The pix continue to be great. Looking forward to the next chapter as Ketchikan is a very photogenic town imho
Thanks.
I agree. I wish we could have stayed longer to check out more in the area.
We made our way to the Outlet store and there was a rack of coats outside. They were only 19.99 for the basic sizes and if you went for the bigger ones it was just a few dollars more. They were perfect for the Alaskan weather as they weren’t too heavy, had hoods and were waterproof. We browsed them but Skip decided a hat would work better. I really liked the jackets, but didn’t need one for today so I said I would come back after the tour and possibly buy one for myself.
We went in and browsed around while Skip searched for a hat.
Perfect for the weather as it was waterproof. Like I said, it was raining, but it was more of a drizzle most of the time and surely didn’t dampen our spirits.
We headed back out and found the person holding our tour sign and they pointed to another guy further down and told us to go to him…so we did.
I hadn’t noticed till after I got home that there was a starfish on it.
We later learned that the tide goes in and out 4 times a day in many parts of Alaska and the water levels change quite drastically. That was interesting to learn.
Another really neat thing to see is all the float planes. We saw so many taking off and landing. It’s just not something you see every day and we were really impressed with it.
The Aleutian Ballad was only on 1 season of the Deadliest Catch I believe…and that was season 2. I don’t think Skip actually had started watching it at that point (the show has been going on for many more years than I was aware of).
They of course had to convert it to carry people on it and it has stadium seating.
We boarded and the bottom looked pretty full so we headed upstairs. I was kind of surprised how full it was as we hadn’t shopped for very long at all and were told it would be another half hour before we could board and that ½ hour was not even up yet. I do know they were carrying people from several ships though too.
We found a seat next to another family right along the railing on top and watched as a few more people boarded.
This gal does all the booking and organizing. She doesn’t come on the boat with us. They teased that she gets sea sick and told a story of how sick she got once….but then in fairness they said they were out in the open ocean, a place the tour does not go to.
Captain Terry talked to us a bit about the tour and how things would work and also a bit about the ship and how it was converted, etc. Sorry, the point and shoot camera would not focus past the net.
Chief doesn’t normally do these tours…though I think he did in the past. I am not sure why he doesn’t anymore, but he was filling in for a guy who had to go to a funeral. He said he got the call and was immediately on a plane to help out. He was such a nice guy and very passionate about fishing. He also told us he is not married…..been engaged a few times, but in reality he is married to the sea.
They had some college girls helping out too. They offered coats to anyone who needed an extra coat. Skip grabbed one, but Claire and I didn’t. The gal did tell us that being up top was much colder once we started moving. I later realized those downstairs were blocked from wind and had heaters. We had a heater too, but because we weren’t blocked from the wind it was a little chillier….but not too bad.
I'm glad Skip was able to get a hat. We have a couple of jackets and coats from Alaska. We were lucky and were rain free on both of our visits to Ketchikan. It's a fun town to wander around in and shop.
I remember hearing all about the four tides as well, and that shocked me, especially as we never heard a mention of it on our first Alaskan cruise. I hope you guys don't get too cold out on that excursion.
I'm glad Skip was able to get a hat. We have a couple of jackets and coats from Alaska. We were lucky and were rain free on both of our visits to Ketchikan. It's a fun town to wander around in and shop.
That's nice. I really couldn't complain about the weather though as it didn't constantly rain and when it did it wasn't a hard rain.
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Originally Posted by chezp
I remember hearing all about the four tides as well, and that shocked me, especially as we never heard a mention of it on our first Alaskan cruise. I hope you guys don't get too cold out on that excursion.
It wasn't too cold. When the boat was moving it was a bit breezy but not that bad and we were lucky with the temps being in the higher 60's that day too.
The travel time to the first destination was going to be about 30-40 minutes. We were invited to look around the boat as they had pots and other fishing equipment for us to look at. They also have a smoking section for those that need to know that…it’s on the very back of the ship.
We also were given the history of this boat and how it was almost lost at sea…twice. This little boat has gone through a lot and was still salvageable both times.
We going to be heading into protected waters. I believe this was a tribe’s area and you have to have permission to go here (or at least fish) and this tour group has permission. It was a very peaceful ride.
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FINALLY had a chance to read through your TR and get caught up!
It's fun realizing you were just 3 weeks behind us.
I should've been taking notes on things I wanted to comment on, but didn't. The things I remember - you had the Chicago mix at Nuts on Clark. That combo of caramel and cheddar is famous. Nuts on Clark is pretty good, but the best Chicago popcorn place is Garretts. They do mail order too.
LOVED the pictures from the Chihuly gardens. I've seen several exhibitions of his work, and also have a few books of his things. My dream is to own just a small piece, but even those are $$$$$.
We had a bad experience on NCL 10 years ago, and that's the last time we did a cruise other than DCL. Your initial experience on embarkation day is not making me rethink that....
It does sound like everyone is enjoying their time - and I agree, one of the best parts of cruising it that on sea days, there is something for everyone. We often split up during the day. Our only rule is that we eat dinner together each evening.
You were at the same slip that the Wonder was in Ketchikan. I recognize all the scenery - and even the shop! We thought about one of those Alaska jackets, as the price seemed unbelieveable. But in the end we decided to pass, as we all had packed rain gear from home. (but it didn't say Alaska! )
Looking forward to reliving the rest of our vacation through your TR - and seeing some of the other port excursion options!
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Doesn't sound like it was the greatest start to the day for Skip with the reminder about what happened to his rain gear... 
Your breakfast looked quite yummy. Hopefully Skip is able to find something to wear at the outlet store. I do love shopping in there.
PassPorter Guide Author
The things I remember - you had the Chicago mix at Nuts on Clark. That combo of caramel and cheddar is famous. Nuts on Clark is pretty good, but the best Chicago popcorn place is Garretts. They do mail order too.
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