23th May 2003 25th May 2003

24th May 2003 - Juneau

It rained again most of today, but we got some photos anyway. Juneau mostly exists to fleece tourists, and it seems to work. Lots of shops selling jewelery or souvenirs, or both. The population triples each day in summer when the big cruise ships come in.

4:30pm: We boarded the MV Wilderness Adventurer (the one on the right in the fifth photo) and were led to our cabin (309 om the sun deck, one deck below the bridge). It's about 11 x 10 ft and contains a queen bed (two singles put together), a cupboard, a wardrobe, a sink and a bathroom. The only place for our suitcases is under the bed, and because the cupboard and wardrobe are tiny, most of our clothes stay in the suitcases. The bathroom contains a toilet and shower, with the shower curtain between the two. It's small enough that you could sit on the tiolet and have a shower ...

5:30pm: We all gather in the dining room for the welcome briefing. This is where we're told the routine for the next week. Breakfast will be at 7:00am, activities will start at 8:00. Lunch at 12:30, afternoon activities at 2:00, cocktail hour at 6:00 and dinner at 7:00pm. Don't they realise we're on holiday?

7:00pm: As we sit down to our first meal on board, we set sail. It would have been nice to have observed the departure from the upper decks, but obviously they want to keep us out of the way. The food is very good though, and we hope this continues for the rest of the cruise (it does).