What to Pack

I found a website that has a pretty comprehensive list of things to consider when your are packing for an Alaskan cruise.  Many of the items are common sense and what you would bring where ever you were traveling.  But, it is a good check list to remind you of items.  You can click here for the list.

It includes lists for men, women and kids as well as a general list of "essential" items.

Rhapsody of the Seas

The ship we will be traveling on to Alaska is the Rhapsody of the Seas. It has eleven decks, eight pools/whirlpools and 8 bars and lounges. If you haven't seen the ship or the staterooms, click here for pictures of and information on our ship.

What we may see on the Cruise!

Japan Tsunami: Flotsam Debris Reaches U.S. West Coast

PORT ANGELES, Wash. -- Some debris from the March tsunami in Japan has reached the West Coast. The float was displayed at a Tuesday night presentation at Peninsula College by Seattle oceanographers Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Jim Ingraham, consultants who produce the "Beachcombers Alert" newsletter.

Tons of debris from Japan will likely begin washing ashore in about a year, from California to southern Alaska, they said. Items that wash up may include portions of houses, boats, ships, furniture, portions of cars and just about anything else that floats, he said. That could include parts of human bodies, Ebbesmeyer said. Athletic shoes act as floats.

Flotsam in a current travels an average of 7 mph, but it can move as much as 20 mph if it has a large area exposed to the wind, Ebbesmeyer said. The latest float sits well atop the water, has a shallow draft and is lightweight. Similar floats have been found on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.  Models show currents could pull some Japanese tsunami debris into the Strait of Juan de Fuca as far as Port Townsend.

"All debris should be treated with a great reverence and respect," Ebbesmeyer said.  If the debris has any kind of identifiable marking, such as numbers or Japanese writing, it may be traceable, Ebbesmeyer said. Families in Japan are waiting to hear of any items that may have been associated with their loved ones.

Ebbesmeyer is retired from a career that included tracking icebergs, the 1989 Exxon Valdes oil spill and Puget Sound currents that affect sewage outflows. He wrote the 2009 book, "Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How a Man's Obsession with runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science."

Ingram has retired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where he created computer models of ocean currents.

Source: Huffington Post, December 18, 2011, online.

We may see more than beautiful scenery on our cruise!

Facts about Alaska

Did you know this about Alaska?

•  In 1867 United States Secretary of State William H. Seward offered Russia $7,200,000, or two cents per acre, for Alaska
•  Alaska officially became the 49th state on January 3, 1959
•  Nearly one-third of Alaska lies within the Arctic Circle
•  Alaska is a geographical marvel. When a scale map of Alaska is superimposed on a map of the 48 lower states, Alaska extends from coast to coast
•  Alaska's name is based on the Eskimo word Alakshak meaning great lands or peninsula

For more facts click here.

Source: 50States.com

Juneau - Sun Calendar

Thanks to Colleen for finding the website that provides sunrise and sunset times for Juneau, Alaska.  As she noted in her email, we will have 17 1/2 hours of sunshine when we are there on July 15, 2012.

The sun will rise at 4:17 AM and the sun will set at 9:49 PM for a total of 17 hours, 31 minutes and 58 seconds of sunlight.  Remember, we will also have dawn and dusk.  So, it will be "light" for about 19 hours while we are in Juneau.  This will be pretty much true for the entire cruise.

Click here to view the Sun Calendar.

In addition, Colleen shared a URL for information on the Land of the Midnight Sun.  This is all such interesting information.

Also of note, Juneau is in the Alaskan Time Zone which is three hours earlier than Chicago.

Seattle Video

This is a commercial video showing the highlights of Seattle.

Watch more Seattle videos at tripfilms.com