Grizzly Bear Adventure Caps Amazing Four-Week Alaska Cruise

Day 27, 2024 Ultimate Alaska

Friday, July 5, 2024; Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada

Cruises should stop more often in Prince Rupert, Canada. It’s a nice deep-water port in British Columbia and fulfills the requirement that ships stop in a non-U.S. port when sailing round trip from Seattle. Typically cruise ships stop in Victoria, but Prince Rupert is a great alternative.

Prince Rupert has the added benefit of offering an opportunity to (safely) see grizzly bears in the wild. We took full advantage today, and got the bonus of another extraordinary day of whale sightings.

About 100 of us on the Westerdam signed up months ago for Prince Rupert Adventure Tour’s private grizzly bear tour. At one time, Holland America offered a shore excursion on this same boat, but apparently our private bookings already had filled the vessel so the cruise company had to cancel its excursion.

It took us a little more than an hour to reach the Khutzeymateen Valley amid a web of inlets. Tall mountains surrounded us, and the dense woods stretched to the mostly rocky shore. Occasional breaks in the rocks offer bears the opportunity to search for food, which at this time of year consists greatly of grasses and their roots.

The 110,000 acres are protected as a result of an agreement between the Tsimshian First Nation and the government of British Columbia, signed in 1994 at the urging of Queen Elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip (also the head of the World Wildlife Fund at the time).

As we headed up the main inlet, our guides warned us to be quiet, especially when on the multi-level outer decks.

Our first grizzly sighting came with a lone young bear digging in the sand at the water’s edge. The bear, ignoring the large yellow boat, moved slowly back into the grass and munched its way along the shore. We sat there 20 minutes or more – long enough for everyone to get an opportunity to take their fill of photos.

Eventually we moved on to find another grizzly bear in similar grass on the opposite shore. A bit later a third bear wandered into view.

On our way to the Khutzeymateen Valley, we came upon some orca whales – not as common as humpbacks in the area, so we stopped to watch the black-and-white “killer” whales for a while.

During our return journey, humpbacks entertained us.

And finally, bald eagles offered a display of soaring and swooping. As it turns out, the crew was offering them some food. I think this occurs on each day’s tours, so the birds were perhaps accustomed to entertaining the passengers. By now I had figured out my camera’s tracking feature and had plenty of time to get a few great shots.

Meanwhile, the boat’s captain and crew had been taking their own photos, enhanced by their daily experience and superb camera equipment. They airdropped some of the best to those of us with iPhones and posted them for everyone on their Facebook page. (I limited myself to my own photos here.)

Back in Prince Rupert, we only had about 30 minutes to shop before rejoining the ship. Elaine made the trek up the hill to Safeway on a – successful – hunt for our favorite Maltesers malted milk balls. As followers of my blog know, we generally only find them in British commonwealth countries.

Tomorrow is our last day, with lots of activities planned for the final sea day. It’s always sad to see all the suitcases in the hallway and know the cruise is about to end. But I have the pleasure of knowing that I’ll see many of the crew when I rejoin the ship the first of September to cruise to Japan. In fact, my stateroom for that cruise is just down the hall so I’ll have the same attendants.

My sister Eloise and I are spending two days in Seattle after disembarking on Sunday – because I mistakenly booked our flights to Arkansas on the wrong day. We are taking advantage of this error by spending Sunday with good friends and taking a road trip on Monday to Oregon, so Eloise can visit her last state.

Eight weeks from now I’ll be back in Seattle to reboard the Westerdam for a 53-day Majestic Japan cruise. Stay tuned!