Juneau Evening

After coming back on board and relaxing of course we have to head up to Skywalkers for a drink and to say hi to Rock. We don't sail until 9 pm (all aboard at 8:30).  

We take the elevator up to Skywalkers and we are on the elevator with a bunch of the youth staff. They have all kinds of stuff with them, paints, glitter, button making stuff, and balloons. When we comment what is happening they tell us we have to head down to the Atrium  later.  

We are not very hungry after a late lunch of sushi so we have a few bites up in Skywalkers.  The drink today is Brezza Marina.

We decide to just grab a bite to eat in Horizon Court.  The theme tonight is Alaskan Themed Buffet.  It was lovely and just right for what we needed.  It is extra nice being up here as we drop the lines and start heading out.

Tonight's events include the following:

• Iditarod Champion Libby Riddles: Sled Dogs and Adventure (if you haven's seen Libby before make sure to see her presentation, it is excellent) 7:00 pm
• Evening Multimedia Trivia 7:00 pm
• Evening Game Show:  Are you Smarter than a Crew Member 8:00 pm
• Photo Raffle Draw 8;00 pm
• The Alaska String Band - Live music, world class photography, handmade Alaska native regalia, history, intrigue and insight into Alaska Living, all fro ma truly Alaskan Family - Princess Theater 8:15
• Dixieland Jazz Party with The Crown Princess Orchestra 8:30pm
• Klondike Festival - Join the Cruise Staff, Youth Staff and Party Band Icon for an Alaskan Klondike fun fair 9 pm

• Movie Focus - Princess Theater
• Evening Game Show - Blankety Blank 10:15
• Princess Popstar Heat - 10:30

There is a lot happening in the Atrium and it is fun to see all the kids and families enjoying themselves.

We are tired, and sore from the hike today.  

Bernie turns and says "hey you want to get changed and head up to the hot tub". "Great Idea" There is a reason I love this guy.

When we walk into the cabin there is a treat for us. Bernie had brought some boxes of Smarties for our friend Michael who is from South Africa and when we sent him a box, this is what he sent us as a thank you.

So we quickly change and head up to the aft hot tub but it is covered and closed.  Okay we head midship but one of them is closed there too and there are a bunch of kids in it. Okay then to the next one and again one is closed and a couple is in the other. Last hope is the one by the Lotus Pool - one is closed there too - but Eureka the other is open and there is no one in it and the pool is quiet too.

Excellent and perfect!  We relax and stare up at the sky and it is stunning.  

What a great day, what a great night.

Notes:

They are offering Princess EZCheck Program in Seattle. Deadline to put in your request for it is 4 pm tomorrow. Cost is $20 per person.

All Ashore in Juneau

Because the ship doesn't dock until 11 am the passengers are anxious to get off.  We hang back and relax in the cabin sitting on the balcony until things settle down and head ashore around 11;30 with no wait at all. 

Once ashore we turned left and started working towards town.  You will walk right past a bunch of booths selling every type of tour you may want.  

This bus will take you to and from Mendenhall Glacier

Cute house along Basin Street on the way to the start of the trail

There were a few city maps posted around and we could easily find where we had to continue thru town to sixth street, turn right and follow the signs.  

Quite easy to find, but note if you have a hard time climbing the road to the start of the trail don't do the hike cause this is nothing compared to the actual hike.

The total elevation to the tram is 1,760 feet and you have a darn good chance of encountering mud.  Even at the beginning of August it was quite muddy but locals were saying it had been raining quite a bit lately.  I know in the past when we have been here in May and June the locals said that there is often quite a bit of snow so we never tackled it.  

hot and sweaty at the top

Today it took us just under two hours to get to the top and that was with a few stops along the way to take pictures and enjoy some limited views.  

But the hike is excellent and a nice option.  So glad we brought water cause it was hot, and glad we brought bug spray as there were lots of mosquitos.  

Once at the top we were slammed with tons of people.  I believe there were four ships in port so this explains it.

picture taken from ship showing the top of the Tram

You can take the tram up to the top from Franklin street at a current cost of $33 per person for an all day pass.

We had read that the cost to take the tram down was $10 per person.  When we got to the center we asked about where to buy the tickets and was told all we had to do was spend $10 on food/drinks or from the gift shop and show the receipt.

We did buy some items in the gift shop, which is huge and a huge variety of products.

There are washrooms, a theater showing a movie that ran quite often, but we didn't partake.  There is a restaurant/bar and a small counter selling drinks/snacks.

Outside they had a big bird sanctuary where there was an eagle that had been shot at that now needs to be taken are of.  There was a volunteer there that explain all about the bird and answered questions. There was also a small information center and gift shop.  

There are numerous trails you can take from the top of the tram but again we were tired from the hike and just wanted air conditioning and food.

We had really no wait for the tram and while we waited the attendant there entertained us with drumming and singing.  He continued to talk about the area and drum and thank us for visiting the area.  This was lovely.

Oh I should add that no one every asked to see our receipt to see if we bought $10 worth of product. Not sure is this is normal or just a one off.

Mount Roberts Trail Information 

Once back in town we kept walking towards town.  We walked past Tracey's Crab Shack and thought about eating there but it wasn't cheap and the queue was long and you had to eat at a picnic table.  We just weren't up for that but it sure looked good.  But personally I would go to the Crab Shack on board that is $20 per person and get a ton more crab.

We walked thru town and ended up at Little Toyko restaurant for some sushi.  Some of the crew had recommended it and we did see quite a few crew there.  

The place was busy but we were sat at a booth.  Right away we noticed the prices are certainly higher than what we have to pay at home but that seems to be common here in Alaska.  The food was good, not great but filled our bellies.  
We ended up ordering the bento box cause it was quite reasonable in price.  We enjoyed it and I would go back if I had another Sushi craving.

After lunch we decided to walk around some more and took a look in some stores.  There is a pair of shoes that I bought at home from an Native store that I love that have a beautiful design.  Those shoes have worn out and since then and I saw the same brand in a window and went into see how much. But oh my they are about 50% more here than what I paid at home and in US dollar which is already at 25% more because of the exchange so we didn't buy.

Bernie had to stop and get his Alaskan Fudge.  We picked up a small box that contained three slices of fudge for a price of $25.  There are numerous fudge stores in Juneau and of course there are some in Skagway and Ketchikan too in case you need your fix.

It is now around 5 pm and we are ready to head back and have a shower.  But it has been a great day.

Juneau - Can You Say WHALES

It is so nice to wake and realize I don't have to rush to head ashore right away.  We don't actually dock until 11 am in Juneau.

Bernie dresses and heads out for coffees.  As I lay in bed around 6:30 I stare out the balcony window at the ocean. Ahhh what a beautiful sight.  

WOW what a beautiful sight is right, in the distance I can see Whales shooting air/water and whatever else they send out from their blowholes.  

I quickly throw on some socks and the robe (cause it is a little cool out there just for my PJs not to mention fellow passengers may not appreciate me in my PJs, or heck maybe they would).  

We are sailing thru Frederick Sound which is know for whales and boy they have not disappointed today.

You can see whales surfacing everywhere.  I am guessing I saw over 50 whales in that two hour period.

The best thing to do to see sea life is to get outside.  Sure your balcony will work, but if you can head out to the Promenade deck (please go dressed, this is why I didn't head down there, again the PJ thing).  

Scan the horizon left to right, right to left.  You will see the spray and keep your eyes peeled cause normally they surface, you see the fin, then if you are lucky they show their tail as they dive down. 

The Fin of two whales

Fin and the tail of two whales

you can see the whale on the right decided to show us his tail

Naturalist Michael Modzelewski is up on the bridge and you can hear his commentary by listening on your tv or up on the open decks.

When Bernie arrives with the coffees he is right out on the deck to enjoy the show too.  We go from taking pictures to looking thru binoculars to sipping our coffees and repeat. This is a great piece of entertainment that you won't see in any Princess Patter.

We can see there are a lot of people out on their balconies enjoying the show too.  The best was a three generation family with adjoining cabins a few decks down.  Three little boys around the ages of 5, 7 and 8 who were either brothers or cousins staring out and jumping up and down.  WHALES WHALES WHALES they screeched.  

While one ran to the balcony door and banged on Grampa's door yelling "Grampa Grampa Whales, Whales, come see". Okay everyone reading this a collective AHHHH is needed. What a special moment and what an extra special memory you are creating with your grandkids.

Then a few minutes later one boy hit the other and the little guy started crying.  Yup some things will never change.  Sorry did I ruin that Hallmark moment?

They are usually in pairs or more (the whales, sometimes the kids but now I am referring to whales) and what is even more exciting is if they breach. Jump up out of the water and splash back in.  And boy did we witness this!

Here are the shots of the pair of whales who breached and I was lucky enough to capture.

The show lasted for about two hours.  And I would of stayed longer, but my belly was calling for food and well I needed a shower too.  

We went down to the Dining Room for breakfast where Stefan was there again - boy did he even sleep from last night.  He sat at us right away at a table for two.  All around us people are talking about the amazing show of whales this morning.

Food was okay - I had the feature of scrambled eggs with asparagus.  I had ordered toast but it never came and I could not be bothered to ask for it cause I didn't want to wait.

Plus the constant banging of the servers cupboards/drawers from their stations was getting to me. Each time a door would bang behind me I would jump.  PLEASE Princess do something about this, it is so easy to get self closing non slamming doors now.  

It is another lovely day with a high stated to be 19C/67F but I believe it got warmer than that and we did encounter a light shower in the afternoon but nothing serious.

There is still a lot going on this morning before we arrive.

• Juneau highlights show 8:15 in Explorers
• Alaskan Close Encounters with Alaskan Wildlife in Princess Theater presented by Michael
• Zumba 9 am Club Fusion
• Bible Study 9 am
• The Art of Light Photography Class 9 am
• Table Tennis Tournament 9:30 am
• Morning Trivia 11:15

This afternoon had the following items in the Patter while we were docked in Juneau:

• Win Lose or Draw 12:30
• Movie Cinderella in Explorers 1:30
• Indoor Goofy Golf 3:15
• Happy Hour buy one get one for $1 4-5 pm
• Discover at Sea Trivia Discover Animal Planet 4:15

They are offering an experience in the Sanctuary for Tracy Arm, this is what it says:  Get cozy with a warm blanket, ear muffs, chowder, pastries, and more!  Special Glacier viewing packages available for Tracy arm between 7 am and 11 am.  See a Serenity Steward for details, reservations available through the Dine Line $60 per person.

Frame Blow Out Sale only $19.99 save 60% off on all 8 x 10 Burlwood Frames - photo gallery.

We head back to the cabin to gather our things and head out for a great day in Juneau.  We are docked almost at the furthest away spot from town.  But still relatively close.

Barb and Craig's Alaskan Cruise on the Coral Princess - Episode 3B

After Barb and Craig did their land tour of Alaskan they got to enjoy seven glorious days on the Coral Princess.  

They boarded in Whittier and sailed to Southbound to Vancouver, visiting Skagway, Ketchikan, and Juneau.

Here is the podcast.

June 5th Juneau

Bernie thowing Larry out of the Red Dog Saloon 

We are docking early today (6 am) but we have plans only at 8 am.  Our friend Larry from Orlando Florida is in town today for the start of his adventure.  But his is independent and not on a cruise ship.  Although we met Larry and his lovely wife Amy on a cruise ship many years ago we have kept in touch and sailed with them once more and have had them to our home when they sailed to Alaska.  Also last January they came to Fort Lauderdale to see us when we were on the Emerald.

We arranged to meet Larry at the pier and walk into town for breakfast and the Sandpiper.  It was a very yummy breakfast, but truly we just wanted to catch up with Larry.

After breakfast we walked around a bit, heading back towards to the pier.  It is wet with intermittent showers and cold because of the dampness.  So glad we did the Glacier hike last week as it would not of been fun today.

Larry drops off us off at the gangway around 11 am and we get back on and decide to stay on board for the remainder of our stay.  We leave at 3:30 and we are both tired.  Bernie heads back to the cabin and I head to the Atrium to find a quiet spot to read and enjoy a cup of tea to warm up.  But it is busy with activity as the gangway is here. 

I wander to the wheelhouse bar and curl up on a couch by a window.  I have the whole place to myself…. For about five minutes, when this couple come in and where do they sit?  But right beside me and then the women proceeds to get on her cell phone and phone friends and family.  And of course she can’t have a normal volume while talking!  I try to give that look, you know the look, but nope she didn’t get it.  After about five minutes I give up and wander out.

I meet up with Bernie and we head up to the Horizon Court for a light lunch and then I head to see Libby Riddles talk.  I know I have seen most of it, but it was a good show again, and make sure you check it out if you head up here. 

Mark is doing a lecture on whales but it is happening close to when we sail away and I want to see the sail away, so we pop in near the back of the Princess Theater until we set sail and then we head out to the Promenade Deck. 

The Golden has come into port – docked around noon.  I take a few pics of her and then watch as we set sail away from Juneau.

As we pass the hatchery on the port side we see a few eagles in the trees.  I am looking for sheep as this is a good spot for them, near Sheep Creek but nope didn’t see any.  Good chance to catch some whales too this evening but I am afraid we will be in a dinner then.

Tonight is also the Captain Circle Party – they are only have one party!  Wow some sailings we get two parties for two nights!  Tonight is also a formal night and Irma insists we head to the International Dining room to eat and Bernie just loves Irma so I guess we are going there after the party. 

No production show tonight but there is an illusionist performing that we had on the last voyage.  Not sure if we will be going or not.  Also Brett is doing his tv theme trivia tonight too, not sure if it is the same as last voyage or not.  With so many back to back travellers I would be surprised if it is.

Juneau

It is another early docking but we are not in a real rush to get off and head to the International Dining room for breakfast.  We had a great meal and got to speak with Irma again.  Need a high protein diet so that we have the energy this am for our hike.

Hey and guess what we turn on the morning show and our Jasper Moosejaw is on again.  He is comfortable with Brett.  Guess he is in good hands.

We head ashore just after 9 am and walk towards town and the main bus depot.  We are planning on taking local transit to the Mendenhall Glacier, but I did notice that the price for the local shuttles to the Glacier have gone up considerably.  They are now at $8 each way per person.  Still a reasonable cost considering the ship charges $40 per person and you only get a short time at the glacier.  But since we promote transit as transit drivers we decided to take transit.  The cost is $2 per person each way but you should be aware that the bus drops you about 1.5 miles from the visitor center.  But it is level and an easy walk.

We catch the 10:05 bus, you can take either the #3 or #4 bus and it takes about 45 minutes.  Note you can also take these same buses to Costco and the mall.  We arrive at the visitor center around 11:20 after walking in.  Oh and boy oh boy is it HOT, and I mean HOT.  When we dressed we both decided to wear pants and long sleeve t shirts, and we dragged along jackets.  In the end we were so hot we wish we would of worn t shirts and shorts and forget about the jacket.

We take the Trail of Time (about half a mile) to the East Glacier Trail and start heading up.  According to their info the East Glacier Trail is a 3 mile loop that is challenging with rocks, gravel and stairs.  It is definitely for those that are physically fit.  We don’t come across too many people but a few and a few tours.  We later read up on the Princess tours and the tour to the glacier with a guided trail hike that we did is $99 per person.  Our cost was $4 each person, but unguided.

We loved the hike, we had great views of the Glaciers and the mountains.  We didn’t see any bears but there were warnings.  We did see quite a few birds, a squirrel and a few eagles.  When we took a short hike up Nugget Falls trail we came across some bear scat and decided we would stick to the East Glacier Trail.

We went up to the lookout point and sat there for a bit drinking our water we brought.

this was our rest stop

In all the trail we took, took about 2 hours to do but we did it rather fast as we hike a lot.  We made our way back to the Visitor Center where you can enter for a $3 fee and learn more about the Glacier.  I encourage you to go as we learned a lot here and the guides were very helpful.

Bernie decided to head down to the Steep Creek Trail which is easy and I wanted to head to Nugget falls to take some pictures.  Even though it was later in the day we noticed there are quite a few people here.  A lot of the local high school students are here after school, or maybe they are skipping school.  They are enjoying the water.  Yes they are swimming, in fact a lot of people are swimming.  They told me it was nice but I think I will pass.

We walk back to the main road to catch the bus back to town.  It was very nice riding the bus and chatting with many of the locals.  A great experience I would highly recommend.

We get off at the Federal Building because we had heard of a great sushi restaurant that is right across the street from the Federal Building.  We had great sushi, but they also have some Chinese food items too.

We walk back to the pier, about 30 minutes and get back on board.  I did glance over at the table after the security screening and yes they were taking note of wine/alcohol brought on and they were charging the $15 corkage fee for those bringing wine on.

Back in the cabin and we are relaxing our bodies.  We are sore after about 18 km of walking (around 11 miles).

We are going to meet Peter for drinks in Wheelhouse around 9:30 and then we are going to go and see the Production Show “Do You Wanna Dance”.  It will be an early night.

A link to Mendenhall Glacier site  http://www.fs.usda.gov/tongass/