bobmacliberty

Thanks Maryann. I hope you have a great cruise next week!

They just called an Alpha-Alpha-Alpha for a cabin down the hall from me. Hopefully nothing serious.

We didn’t see any salmon in the ladder, but we did see several dead fish along the edge of the creek. Either they didn’t make it upstream, or they washed back downstream after they spawned. There were also a couple of seals in the creek catching fish.

The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli. IMG_9347.MOV

I expected a poor Internet connection. What I didn’t expect was constant disconnects from the ship’s Wi-Fi, meaning the Royal app won’t work and I need to constantly log back in. I don’t think that’s satellite related.

This still sounds a little too judgmental to my sensitive ears. I suggest instead calling it the time of year with non-summer like conditions.

You would think so, but not in Kentucky. 🤣

Wi-Fi on this ship sucks. That is all.

The gondola ticket DOES include the tribal dance presentation. We did not go. It was offered twice but we weren’t proactive enough to plan around those times.

The good news at Juneau is that the rain almost completely stopped while at the visitor center and the clouds/fog cleared enough for us to take the short hikes to both photo point and Nugget Falls. We also spent a few minutes reading about glaciers in the visitor center, which was educational. The Mendenhall Glacier has receded a LOT in the last several decades. We got back to the port area around noon and decided to go to the Red Dog Saloon for lunch and a duck fart (Google it). They had a fun piano player there who was playing while we ate. We did some shopping, dodging the rain between stores, and found a few nice things in a native owned art store. Everywhere you looked, there was water steaming down the surrounding mountains.

So…Juneau. Overall, weather made this a pretty crappy port. Still, we were able to enjoy ourselves a bit. We decided to visit the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and see what happens. We don’t like large group tours and especially getting on a bus with 50 other people. We figured that we’d taxi there and back, on our own timing, and probably for just a few bucks more than the shuttles. We got off the ship in a literal downpour with high winds. As a result, the port was a little chaotic. There was no obvious place to get a taxi and the 2 people that we talked to (who were selling shuttle/tour tix) said that taxis are few and far between. We ended up purchasing tickets for the “blue bus” shuttle to the visitor center. We walked to the bottom of the tram where we were to look for a man in a bright orange hat to board the bus. The bus leaves every 30 minutes at the top and bottom of the hour. We saw the bus driving away as we reached the boarding point. This is what we saw while waiting under a building overhang. IMG_9330.MOV Several taxis came and went while we waited but I think they were all going to the airport. When we finally got on the bus, all of the seats were soaked and all windows were fogged over. The driver gave what was probably nice tour commentary (“off to the right you’ll see a building with columns…”) but we couldn’t see a thing. Coming back was worse. A large crowd gathered under a small tent area waiting for the return shuttle. It became clear that there were more people waiting than seats on the bus. As the bus appeared, people walked out of the tent area into the pouring rain and jockeyed for position where the bus would stop. Everyone stood in heavy rain while we waited for the bus to empty. No line, and no one there to keep people organized. Everyone was eventually able to board with many people standing in the aisle for the 20-25 minute trip. I actually would have preferred standing as this was a painted school bus where Iiterally couldn’t get my knees behind the seat in front of me. Not at all adjusted to accommodate grown ups. I imagine that the Blue Bus is much better in normal weather. And I heard that all excursions were cancelled which probably added more crowds to the visitor center. Still, I don’t think we’ll be using the Blue Bus again. The competitor Glacier Express seemed to have more busses running (two came while we waited for our return bus) and fewer people on each bus.

I think a whale watching tour would be the way to go at ISP. We’ve done whale watching tours in Hawaii, including one with a mother, her calve, and 2 males that were following her. The mother was teaching the baby how to breach and we had many breaches to photograph. I was in heaven. We therefore chose to skip a whale tour here. Ignore the background in these photos and pretend they’re in Alaska, not Hawaii. 😉

Good morning from the northwest corner of Graham Island, BC. We’re traveling south to Victoria on the ocean side of the island. There is a noticeable difference as compared to our northbound trip to Ketchikan earlier in the week in the Hecate Strait on the east side of the island. That felt like cruising up a wide river. The waves today don’t appear to be large but they are long and rolling, cause the ship to roll a fair bit. Time for coffee. More to come…

Pics from the gondola. It’s a 2 part system. The first part is free and goes to the NCL dock. Kinda like a sky ride at an amusement park that takes you from one part of the park to another. The second part goes to the top of the mountain. Bears are the real deal here. So is fishing.

Icy Strait Point was just a so so port for us. We walked around the port area and decided to pay $50pp to ride the gondola to the top of the mountain. Nothing up there but a couple of view points, so it was a quick round trip. It started to rain just as we started down. The ferry passing the ship just before we disembarked. Must be very strange living in a place where you need a ferry or seaplane to get anywhere. Pics from the port area.

Finally tried my first rum old fashioned. Didn’t really like it at first since the taste was very different from a bourbon old fashioned. It grew on me though the more I sipped it.

Internet has been pretty bad and there’s little cell service for the last couple of days. I’ll post pics from ISP and Juneau when I can. Juneau started out miserably with rain and strong winds. Everyone was soaked. We made it to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and the rain miraculously let up for a couple of hours. By the time we caught the bus back to the port area, it was pouring rain again. We had lunch and a duck fart at the Red Dog Saloon. Pics to follow, eventually.

Ugh.

Good morning from rainy Juneau, Alaska. It appears that our weather luck may have run out. Forecast calls for weather all day. Yuck. Our plan was to take a taxi to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and hike a trail or 2 while there. We’re reevaluating. We need more coffee before making a final decision. I’ve got pictures from our day at ISP yesterday that I will post shortly.

Cruise hack…Get a glass of lemonade at Windjammer during lunch and bring it back to your cabin and put it in the fridge. Bring the lemonade with you to a bar at happy hour. Have the bartender fill a glass with ice, add a couple of shots of Bourbon and a shot of Chambord, and then add the lemonade to fill the glass. You now have a delicious Raspberry Bourbon Lemonade, even though it’s not something they can usually make. Cheers!

One of the kids there said it was cold while waiting, but was warm when riding. I’m guessing the water is heated?

I don’t think I posted this here but I know many of you will appreciate it. This is a Kraken Painkiller in the Two70 Lounge to start yesterday’s happy hour. Incredible views from the Two70 Lounge. It has become one of our favorite places on the ship. Cheers!

As we pulled up to the pier, we passed the newer NCL pier and the gondola. We may take a round trip on the gondola to check out the view from the top. Views to the north look pretty good. Not so much with views to the south. Floriders are on the wave, no matter the temperature. I thought the first guy was crazy but at least he had on a wet suit. Another guy showed up just wearing board shorts. Brrrrrr IMG_9296.MOV

Good morning from somewhere near Hoonah, Alaska. We expect to dock at Icy Strait Point around 10:00 and the gangway should be open to passengers around 10:30. Weather forecast for today is low 50s with off and on light room. Not as nice as the great weather that we’ve been having, but better than the continuous rain that had previously been forecasted. Since this was a last minute port addition, we have no plans. We previously had booked a ship’s excursion called In Alaska’s Wildest Kitchen, but decided not to rebook. We’ll wander around the port area and enjoy the ship. More to come…

Our youngest daughter has red hair. Neither of us do, nor do any of our parents or any of our siblings. Yet my sister also has a red headed son. There’s a recessive gene in there somewhere.