I feel bad I haven't checked in lately but we've just been busy, busy, busy! Mark and Peter make fun of my social schedule. Here are a few photos I've been wanting to post.

Joanna on our whale watch excursion



Whale Tail!



Hubbard Glacier calving this morning



John our Cruise Director and his lovely wife Lynsey, our Social Hostess

Perfect ending to a perfect trip. Good times, good friends, good food, great scenery & unforgettable memories. Now go home & get some rest & start planning your next adventures.

Safe Journey to all MUSHERS.

Hello, MUSHers! Thrilled that everyone is having a fabulous time. Lapped up every detail in your seamails. Though we'll be missing out on the wonderful camaraderie of such a big group of LCTers, it's a great preview of things to come for those of us on the same itinerary Sept 13. Thank you very much for sharing your experiences! Wishing all of you a safe trip home or wherever your journey takes you.

P.S. How was the embarkation at Canada Place? It would be great to know how early you were there and what the lines/wait were like.

Joanna,
This is getting scary...First the Tab and now I see we have almost identical haircuts and color!!!!Ye gads!
Lynn

Gosh Andrea, the calving picture was fantastic!! Being on the bow of the ship was awesome but dummy me got cold and went in so I missed the coolest group photo ever taken in the history of LCT!!

You are NEVER going to believe this. We have to stay another day on MUSH. There is a problem with one of the propeller engines (or something like that - Marc?) and we are only able to cruise at 7 knots per hour. We will not get into Whittier until 8:00 pm tomorrow night. We will stay on the ship tomorrow and disembark on Thursday.

My little group led by ChatKat will not be able to go to Denali. I think we're just going to stay an extra night in Anchorage.

I think we're all okay with everything, but I feel bad for anyone who is waiting in Anchorage thinking they are going to be able to embark tomorrow.

WOW, Andrea's news can be fortune and misfortune. How wonderful to have one more day on the Mariner!!! But rescheduling all those hotel and airline reservations. This would be one of those double edged swords. Enjoy your extra day, MUSHers.

Good news, bad news! Sorry for those who had post cruise plans or for those who had planned to embark in Anchorage. However, one extra night on-board can be a very good thing for those who want to stay on Mariner one more day - free.

Please let us know the details of the problems Mariner is experiencing.

Like Denise mentioned, Good news, bad news. Staying on board one extra night sounds wonderful for some. sorry for those who had to cancel or change their plans. Enjoy your last day on Mush!

Nancy

Captain just told us that we probably won't arrive until midnight now. He has requested a tug to travel along side us, "just in case". We are going through some rough seas now but they are like no other seas I have experienced. It is almost like riding a bucking bronco. The elevators are bouncing up and down as well and are make a clanging racket. So far, we are not queasy.

We will keep you updated!

Spiderman?? This somehow sound more like Nick Fury!! Now I know who Marc really works for!!


Nick Fury - S.H.I.E.L.D

To add to Karen's post, we hopefully will be getting into some calmer waters soon. Tug is along side us, although I haven't seen it yet. It was a pretty bouncy night, with lots of creeking and noise, but we slep amazingly well. Maybe all the extra wine!
Yesterday was really amazing out on the bow of the ship - we were so close to the glacier. The photographer took a great group photo.
Our flight wasn't until midnight tomorrow, so I think we are ok, although we won't get our day at Alyeska. Everyone is working really hard to help people and get them rebooked and rescheduled, and to keep us happy and entertained. Captain has been keeping us updated as we go.

My group applauded when they heard the announcement of one more night on the ship - good attitudes I'd say?? It is rocking and rolling but everyone has been so understanding of the situation. We had planned to spend one day, night and another day in Anchorage so looks like we'll have hospitality room at the Hilton 9/7 and we go out on our scheduled 9/7 flight at 9:30 PM- soooooo one more fun day, dinner, no complaints here! Joanna - I think a tug is pulling or guiding us - I am not good on the techie details

Obviously JoAnn did not log out!!!! Above from Joanna

Karen, David and I are all sitting here in sea day mode. Coast Guard Helicopter is along side. We don't have any details about that one. Most of us are here in Club.com.

My lesson is not to book non-refundable arrangements again. Our group lost money big time on our Denali trip, although, we did know the risks. But we had solid flight arrangements while others are scrambling. And we had the right rooms at the right hotel because we were able to get our hotel to extend an extra night to us. Hopefully, we will get to Whittier in time.

The other good thing is everyone is excited by an extra sea day and the staff is being really accomodating.

I echo what everybody above has been saying - our trip to Denali will have to be cancelled unfortunately, but we get another night aboard the Mariner so how bad can things be??

I am concerned, however, about how potentially serious this might be and what it might mean for future cruises. The next cruise after us is likely to be cancelled. I'm in particular worried however about the Grand Circle Pacific that's supposed to be happening in 2 wks.

If the problem with the pod is something that requires a dry-dock, not sure how many segments of the GCP might need to be cancelled .... :( Particularly worries me because I'm on one of those segments next year!

However, those of us aboard are in generally good spirits and taking things as they come. We're trying to live up to the spirit of LCT!

Masaki

Please keep us informed of your progress. Hope the seas calm down.

We are on the Grand Circle leaving from Vancouver on Sept.13. Sure hope it isn't something that requires a dry dock!

Jan

Talking with Lynsay and she said a specialist is flying in to Whittier to access the situation and hopefully fix it. It is sounding more and more like the cruise which should have begun today will be cancelled all together since the Asian Pacific cruise begins in 1 week. Having the ship ready for that is primary concern.

Keep thinking about the fact that our MUSH week won out by ONE VOTE! We could all be those hanging out in Anchorage if not for that one vote.

We'll let you know if we hear any more.

Dang.......did it again! Olivia must not have signed out. Above posting was by Marcie not Olivia.

Thanks for the update. My TA had not heard anything yet, but is calling Regent.

Jan

Hi, Jan

Have you also been reading the other thread, MUSH Limping Home, in the Chat/MUSH section?

I do feel sorry for those expecting to begin their cruise today. :(

Hi Eileen

Yes, I saw that one as well. Sounds like they are having an unexpected end to their trip.

I just hope they can fix it before Sept 13 when we are supposed to leave from Vancouver. Sounds like this week's cruise might be cancelled.

My TA is trying to find out if Regent has any plans yet.

Jan

We're still limping along very slowly; but the heavy winds have diminished. Everyone is in great spirits (after all, a bonus day on the ship is something to celebrate). The food & beverage people are frantically working on new menus for today. After six this evening the bars will be open for complimentary before-dinner drinks (yippee, glug, glug, glug...). If we then manage to find our way to the dining room, we'll see what interesting menus they came up with. Yikes, it's almost time for lunch - it's been a couple of hours since I last ate - I fear that I may collapse from hunger any minute. Cheers, Fred

Glad to read that everyone is SAFE and enjoying an extra day/night on Mariner, but I sure hate to read the ship has been damaged for those on the upcoming cruises.

Wishing you all a safe arrival in Anchorage! Terribly disappointing for those who are waiting to embark.

I hope the Mariner is up and running smoothly again very soon!

Take care and please post some updates when you are able.

My TA just called me with the latest from Regent.

Regent says the repair team will be in Whittier when the ship arrives and they are optimistic about getting it fixed.

As of right now, nothing has been cancelled. They told my TA that they will make decision about future cruises by 2:00pm tomorrow. I am assuming that is 2:00pm eastern time.

Jan

Marvelous photos! What a wild ending to this cruise. I think it was Marcie who said y'all were one vote away from being the folks waiting on the dock at Whittier to board today...yikes. Those poor folks.

What an ending! I'm sure y'all will enjoy this evening and hope that everyone's travel plans fall into place easily.

I feel for the folks who arrived in Whittier not knowing! Last yr., we did air and hotel in Vancouver independently and would not have known of a problem. However, Vancouver and Whittier couldn't be more different!!!

Did any of the Denali group have independent insurance to cover it? Ouch!

That's good to know, Jan. Fingers crossed that all will work out well. Thank you for getting us the latest word.

As of now, the operators in Denali have been relatively nice - Kathy and Andi have been working furiously to have them understand things from "our" point of view and be understanding about the situation. There's a good chance they'll make us whole. And if not, travel insurance will. And if not, I'm confident that Regent will.

Masaki

I've been so busy enjoying the cruise (and the extra day) that this is the first chance I've had to post.

It has been a wonderful cruise and the best thing about it was meeting all the great people from LCT. Tom.

We are whole! The Grand Denali and Alaska RR refunded our non-refundable payments in full and we were talking big bucks!

We are all booked on a tour tomorrow from the ship as a group and are staying one extra night on Mariner and two in Anchorage instead of two in Denali and one in Anchorage.

All is fine. The waters are again calm and we are slowly making our way to Whittier, where we expect to arrive between 11pm and midnight.

We have divided and conquered the situation and Masaki and Andrea are working to make Friday a full day for the group.

This has been a great trip.

JoAnn did not write the above....I did. JoAnn forgot to sign off.

So glad that things are working out for you all. Can't wait to see the photos at the end of the trip.
Let us know when the ship docks.

Busy morning making calls to Anchorage hotel, cancel vans etc - long lazy lunch in LV and power nap - plans to meet in Observation Lounge at 6 PM for a cocktail - farewell dinner in CR with Marcie/Tom, Kimmi/John, Karen/Mark Carla/Frank - this was a perfect "extra" day and has not been a problem for us - we had planned to fly out tomorrow night - would I prefer tonight on Mariner vs Anchorage hotel??? YES!!!!A great cruise and meeting so many new LCT faces has been very special - the food has been excellent - Fjords can not come soon enough - JOANNA not JoAnn

Glad you guys are all having such a wonderful time and that post cruise plans are being resolved. Not a fun situation for those on this week's Alaskan cruise. I am sailing the Mariner in October and I certainly hope the problem gets resolved.

Good to hear Masaki; looking forward to your whole report on cruise et.al.; you spoiled me 2 ys ago with your fabulous report on NE/Canada cruise!! (which we followed you by 1 week.)

Hope everything goes well from hereon!

Editing to say: I didn't see Andi's post about AK RR and Grande Denali making refunds - great news!

Good to hear everything has worked out for everyone!

Wishing you smoothe sailing from hereonin!

Andi, glad to hear that y'all aren't out the money. Sounds like everybody is having a ball and being well taken care of.

What a great attitude everyone has.
Now if I can only figure out who is posting under who's name??!!??!
Hang in there.
Lynn