THE WEATHER IN SKAGWAY WAS TERRIBLE; cold, windy and wet. We have been in Skagway several times, even camped for a few nights, so no biggie. Nevertheless, we went ashore to stretch our legs and see what had changed.
Skagway storefronts today
Gold Rush Skagway
Skagway, for you folks from the “Lower 48,” was the jumping off point for prospectors taking the Chilkoot Pass to the Yukon gold fields. The list of provisions required is staggering, almost as staggering as it would be to carry them (in several stages) over the pass. Most of the “men who moil for gold” ended up broke. The winners were the shop owners, brothel keepers and their “women of negotiable affection.”
"There are strange things done in the midnight sun By the men who moil for gold"
Don't Leave Home Without It
A Woman of Negotiable Affection
The weather in Juneau was even worse, if possible, and this time we didn’t even go ashore. We had camped here for a week just opposite the Mendenhall Glacier in 2007 so we had already seen the best of Juneau. Although the weather improved marginally, we stayed aboard in Ketchikan, having “just” visited in 2018.
Along the Inside Passage
We thought the Grand Finale of the cruise would be the famous Inside Passage but again it was blustery and cold. We spent a couple of hours shivering on deck with little to show but a few hundred sooty shearwaters and a single Humpback Whale who seemed to be waving good-bye.
That's All, Folks!
For some unknown reason Holland America gave us a non-refundable onboard credit of $400, which would have gone unused had Connie not noticed when she checked our account. With no shore excursions remaining, that meant we would have to spend it on food or drink or spa services. We opted for second-rate massages that would have been greatly over-priced had we paid for them but were a nice finishing touch on the cruise.
