Scenery and wildlife spotting

Two days in excellent Alaskan scenery - much more snow on the tops now, and frequent sightings of glaciers. In some places, there were ice floes in the water around the ship. The second day was spent on a local tour boat, so they were much closer to the water, the beaches and the glaciers. One glacier was calving - large chunks dropped into the water, forming ice floes. Wildlife spotted: orca whales, humpback whales, puffins, kittiwakes, dolphins, sea otters, harbour seals, sea lions.

The sea continues to be calm. The temperature is dropping but still in the low to mid teens.

Seaward marked the end of the first leg of the cruise. Embarkation was a little strange. Most guests had flown into Anchorage and then took the 5 hour train journey to Seaward, so everyone arrived together just after 17:00. They must have had a real rush to get into dinner.

The really good news is that TSH has been in touch with the travel agent and the arrangements for the return journey are confirmed. The luggage will be checked through from Hong Kong to Manchester. BA were wrong on the way out - both legs of the journey had been booked under the same reference and should have been treated as a whole. So BA will have to produce a refund for the extra bag fee. If this had not been arranged, TSH and Diva would almost certainly have missed their connection at Heathrow on the way home.

Comment of the day from a bus driver who was also a farmer from Missouri - 'my daughters and I are tighter than tics on a hound dog'. You really need her accent to get the full effect.