holland_america

We never actually pulled up to a port yesterday. Hubbard glacier was to be admired from afar – and admired, it was. I’ll cover the experience in tonight’s Lockergnome report – an afternoon that will be forever etched in memory. I never thought something in nature could be so… naturally amazing. I spend my life looking for artificial creations and virtual pleasures, so this formation of snow and ice was a breath of fresh air (literally). I enjoyed watching it for well over three hours – without once thinking of the time, without once feeling bored or restless. I will return one day, mark my words.

Read more on Hubbard Glacier…

You aggitatin’ my dots? Turns out, Holland America is blocking Skype – wholesale. I went to download the VoIP client, only to be met with a message (on Skype.com) saying that it was blocked. I can only assume they’re blocking Skype traffic, too – considering they charge (no joke) over $7 per minute for voice calls from your room phone. It ain’t cheap to communicate on a cruise ship. I’ve got Google Talk installed, so I might try dialing through that in a few minutes – assuming they’re not going to cut in on the call. So much for recording a conversation with Pluggd from sea.

Read more on Blocking Skype…

Today marks the first day we’ll be stepping off the ship. We’re in Juneau, Alaska – ready to embark on our first dogsledding adventure! I hope to have a few good photos from that excursion. We haven’t quite yet docked for the day, though the views outside our stateroom window have been absolutely amazing. It’s been like watching a long, scrolling postcard from the time we woke up a few hours ago until now. It’s true what they say – the landscape is pretty amazing. The weather is pretty temperate right now, too – haven’t seen a single iceberg float by. I’m a little disappointed that we won’t be touching the Arctic Ocean before turning around and heading back south. It would’ve been “cool” to say that I had been there.

Read more on Do you know Juneau?…

As I mentioned a few days ago, Ponzi and I are taking an Alaskan cruise next week. Normally, this would mean we’d be cut off from civilization – but our Holland America liner is Internet-enabled! That’s the good news: a cruise with connectivity. The bad news? It’s rather expensive. I received Internet package rates from our travel agent today, and if I calculated the numbers properly – I’m going to be incommunicado unless I can find a sponsor.

Read more on Sponsor Our Cruise Connectivity…