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.

Ponzi and I played casual all the way through the evening, though we did miss another opportunity for group trivia and bingo. I’ve got a few more cruise tips to add to my list, and I think Ponzi’s got a few of her own. Holland America still strikes me as one of the better cruise companies around – in Alaska or otherwise. Being able to connect to the Internet in the middle of the day is nice, too – thanks, Pluggd!

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.

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.

I guess Alaska loves tourists – given the amount of primping and priming the cruise shopping director is giving us through the ship’s closed-network video channel. Ponzi can’t wait to hit the shops, if only to find a totem pole “face” that we can hang on our wall at home. She’s also looking forward to finding a few tanzanite pieces. I think I’m spelling that correctly? I guess it’s a gem that’s native to the area. Maybe I can convince her to go panning for gold at some point during this trip? I did it once in Colorado when I was a kid, turning up a gold flake or two (planted for the kiddies, no doubt).

Thanks again to Pluggd for giving us the opportunity to get online during this cruise on Holland America’s Oosterdam!

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.

For $1k, I’ll give you a week’s worth of coverage in my blog (here). I’ll be uploading experiences and photos every single day – with YOUR link appended to the end of every single entry (which also includes the week’s impending Lockergnome reports). “Our Cruise Internet connectivity is sponsored by YOUR COMPANY.” Hey, I really want to get online out there – and I’d be crazy if I didn’t at least extend this sponsorship opportunity to everybody. $1k for a week’s worth of links that’ll live on forever.

It’s all about the Alaskan Cruise next week!

Sponsor Our Cruise Connectivity