Trying to make any advances ashore while working on a cruise ship is hard. My progress on revamping the Cruiser Friendly website has been slow. But I have a prototype of the new webpage and would really appreciate your feedback on the general look and appeal, colors, fonts, etc. I am going to have video clips and links to video sites; they are already produced and ready to go, I just need to finalize the graphics and layout. I will not sign off until I get feedback from those who count, you the user.

Take a look and let me know. I need honesty; I did not design the page so no feelings will be hurt. Feedback I have had so far is on the plus side: clean, easy to use, feels fresh. On the minus: colors are too light and hard to read; “Terry Breen” font doesn’t fit me; and needs more “cruisey” imagery either ships, destinations or things nautical.. So that gives you an idea of what people have already said. Please take a look and let me know.

Here is the link:
http://www.oguifugu.com/cruiser

Tracy Arm is one of the most beautiful fjords in Southeast Alaska known for its glacially carved valleys and deep blue icebergs this breath-taking waterway winds 30  miles before ending at spectacular Sawyer Glacier. The glacier is not terribly large but the steep terrain over which it flows down the mountain compacts the glacial ice making it very, very solid. Sawyer is a tidewater glacier, or a glacier that ends in the sea. Because of how compact it is, Sawyer is unusual in that the ice appears very, very blue and calves off very, very large pieces of ice. The deep blue color is created as all the colors of the spectrum are absorbs except blue which is able to escape the ice; the deeper the blue the more compressed the ice. The very compressed ice is also responsible for the huge chunks of ice that crack off the glacier producing inordinately large icebergs especially for the size of the glacier.  Many cruise ships no longer explore the entire length of the fjord, instead visitors can board smaller, faster boats that can zip right up to the glacier’s face. The combination of the glacier’s deep blue color and large icebergs makes it one of the most popular in Alaska.

Last week passengers on the Tracy Arm Fjords tour boat had the show of a lifetime. The boat was an acceptable distance away when the glacier where it stopped and positioned to watch the glacier. After a while it started to calve.  Normally one piece will fall, perhaps two, resulting in a thunderous boom, splash and wave. It is always exciting to see. Well, on August 8, 2011, passengers on the Tracy Arm Fjords tour boat saw the glacier calve but it did not stop. Huge pieces of ice crashed down causing more ice to fall and it just kept coming! The splash was so large it covered the boat. The following wave swamped the vessel sending chunks of ice up over the top decks. One lady fell and broke her leg. Were it not for the proper positioning of the boat it could have ended very badly.

Just goes to show you never can take Mother Nature for granted! The entire incident was captured on film. To see it (and I recommend that you do) go to the following YouTube link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-9foDzGKwg&feature=related

After a most enjoyable summer cruising the Inside Passage of Alaska with Captain McNeil on the Seven Seas Navigator, sadly for us he will be transferring to the Seven Seas Voyager effective next week. He leaves the Navigator on August 20th for a two week handover on the Voyager after which time he will be enjoying the sun of the Mediterranean. Taking the helm of the Voyager represents an exciting new challenge and Captain McNeil is eager to get to know his new ship. We will all sincerely miss him here and wish him the very best.