Today's port of call aboard the Regent Mariner was Kodiak, Alaska. Kodiak is actually an archipelago that covers about 5,000 square miles. Glaciers carved out these islands thousands of years ago. Native inhabitants are said to have lived here for over 8,000 years. Russian explorers joined them in the late 1700s. (Photo courtesy of the Official Kodiak Visitors Guide.)Kodiak is nicknamed the Emerald Isle and you’ll understand why when you visit. The islands are covered with trees and grasses and moss and everything is such a vivid green! It’s gorgeous! In addition to the plant life, this is an animal lover’s haven as its home to Kodiak brown bear, red fox, weasel, black-tailed deer, beaver and more. You’ll see all over 200 species of birds here and other creatures, such as sea otters and whales.
We had really looked forward to this stop because my husband is a photographer and we had plans to rent a car, do some hiking in the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge and capture nature on film (or more accurately, in digital pixels!). Unfortunately, it rained and rained and rained… really, a total downpour. We took it in stride though; we know the weather in Alaska is unpredictable, especially this time of year.
We put on our rain gear and walked around Kodiak on our own. Other guests either took one of Regent’s shore excursions or hailed a cab for a tour of their own. It was a disappointment, but we’re just looking at it as one more reason that we’ll have to get back to Alaska sooner rather than later. Next time, we’ll try to do a flight-seeing tour and get closer to some bears.
Many guests were restless due to the rain but the crew and social staff, including cruise director Barry Hopkins, planned many activities to make sure everyone enjoyed the day despite the rain. Afternoon tea was served in the Horizon Lounge and many enjoyed the before-dinner caviar bar in the Observation Lounge.
Departing from Kodiak was quite interesting. By this time, the weather was very bad. The storm was blowing in with a vengeance, so Captain Philippe Fichet Delavault had to make the decision to leave port a bit early and try to outrun the worst of it. He also changed our route so we’d sail above Kodiak and take refuge between the mainland and the island. We watched as the local port captain tried repeatedly to jump back onto the pilot boat so he could return to Kodiak after helping Captain Philippe sail the Mariner out of port. After many, many nail-biting tries, the Captain Philippe decided it was too dangerous and the Mariner backtracked and sailed back into Kodiak harbor. The pilot boat captain was then able to jump back onto his own boat and the Mariner turned and left the harbor on its own.
At this point, the ship is rocking and rolling. My husband and I had never experienced heavy seas, so we really weren’t sure if this was going to be a big deal or not. However, when we saw the crew shrink-wrapping a curio cabinet to a support column on Deck 5, take art off the walls and remove all chairs and tables from the balconies and decks, we sort of had a hint that things could get funky. (I had to get a photo of the shrink-wrapped curio cabinet. This tells you what a well-run ship the Mariner is. No detail is overlooked... even during a storm!)
This evening we were invited to a cocktail party to celebrate the beginning of our participation in Le Cordon Bleu cooking workshop. The party was held in the Connoisseur Club on Deck 6. Despite the rocky seas, we went and enjoyed meeting all our new “classmates.” The Connoisseur Club is a lovely room, complete with a fireplace and humidor. It's quite homey and definitely a great place to curl up in one of the armchairs to read a good book.
Tomorrow is the first of four consecutive sea days and we'll begin our culinary training with Le Cordon Bleu workshop.Photo credits (top to bottom): First photo courtesy of the Official Kodiak Visitors Guide. All other photos by Leonard Hospidor.
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