bluejay555

15 hours ago, jerseygirlinAZ said:

 

That is so awesome!  I thought we were pretty lucky with how close we got considering the ice, but WOW!!!  Your pics are amazing!

Thank you! ♥️

Oh wait- I do have a video.  Late in the afternoon as we were exiting the fjord, a bunch of porpoises started playing right beside the ship.  

I can’t find any other pictures from this day, so I guess I didn’t get the towel animal.
 Oh well, that’s a wrap!  

I wish we would have gotten tickets for the excursion that takes you close to the glacier.  We could see that there were seals out there but couldn’t get a good look from the ship.  I also heard the excursion went to a waterfall and another arm of the fjord.  It was close to our cruise date when we tried to buy it and I couldn’t find it online.  I figured it was sold out…but then I heard it wasn’t, but in an odd spot on the website?  Anyway, from what I’ve heard from others, it was worth every penny.  So if you’re doing this cruise, definitely look into it!

Tracy Arm Fjord was GORGEOUS.  We had a beautiful day for it, and the captain came on and said we got the closest to Sawyer glacier that they’ve been able to all season!  There is usually ice in the way.  

After getting coffee, I went up on deck 10 to check out the views.  The fog burned off as it got later.  

it became very crowded outside, and impossible to get good viewing, so we spent most of the day on our balcony.  

I'm going to come back and finish this review today.  Tracy Arm Fjord is next! 

10 hours ago, Tennessee Rose said:

I've never seen the crafting sessions. Is there a charge for this, where is it held, and is it a different type of craft each day? Is it only on sea days, or one every day? I think I'd love to try this! Just never saw it before. My cruise buddy and I went to Alaska on Legend back in 2017. I believe it was my favorite cruise!

No charge!  It was in the atrium every sea day at 9am.  Although now that I think about it, it was offered on one of the port days as well.  We made the journal, the embroidery, a felt keychain that had to be sewn, and a beaded bracelet.  Everything was alaska themed, even the bracelet- it had gold beads to symbolize gold nuggets.  And then there were 2 days of coloring, which consisted of a few printed out coloring pages and colored pencils.  

Looks like a great cruise, I'm enjoying all your pictures!  

28 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

The rock slide picture is really good from that angle - Mother Nature has her own plans 😀 

Thanks!  And yes, she always does!  I'm just thankful we didn't have to tender in.  

22 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

We printed one on metal DH took of a bear cub on our first trip - it's one of my favorite pictures,  welcomes me home every time I go through front door.

Fracture does a great job w/glass prints. https://fractureme.com/?utm_medium=sms&utm_source=attentive&utm_campaign=Prime-Sale-7.10.23&externalId=uId02

 

Love that!!  Thanks for the link 🙂 

52 minutes ago, crazycatlady82 said:

This excursion looks great! Was it through carnival or a private company? 

Yes it was through Carnival!  

This is the rock slide that caused us to have to dock in the industrial area instead of the cruise ship area.  

Found another duck!  

We had a mishap 😂 but that’s a wrap on Skagway!  Next up is Tracy Arm Fjord!

40 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Thank you for posting and allowing us to come along! We LOVE Alaska and have been blessed to go more than once each season a couple years. We go in May to open the season and Sept to close it out; both unique, both incredibly beautiful as your pictures remind me.

The Baby Breach picture is special - you should crop it and do a large metal or glass print - it will be stunning. Good job!!

Your family is lovely and looks like they had a great time. I'm excited to read the rest of your adventures. 

Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

Here's AK from a different CCL ship I was on a couple months ago.

 

Loved your review.  Your pictures are so nice!  May looks like a neat time to experience Alaska...everything has a wintery feel.  Thanks for taking the time to look through my review 🙂 I would love to have the whale picture printed professionally, great idea!  

Wonderful review!  I really enjoyed all your pictures and descriptions.  How nice that you go twice every season.  

I highly highly highly recommend this excursion!  
 

It was cold and misting rain but that seemed appropriate for the setting.  Sunshine would have been out of place.  
 

After the trip, they had food and hot chocolate and coffee set up for us.  It was picnic style and a nice touch.  It was Caesar chicken wraps, chips, and a cookie.  
 

So far we had been on a shuttle, a ferry, and from here we got on an old school bus to ride for an hour to the launching spot for our float trip on the Chilkat River.  Luckily our tour guide was amazing and full of the most interesting stories and made the time pass quickly.  He was a young man who had graduated college and wanted to play in the wilderness a couple years before entering the soul sucking corporate world 😂 He told us how he and a college buddy live in an old bus in a little community with others living in tents and cars, and they have no electricity, and just live to go rafting and hiking and stuff.  Ahh to be young and adventurous!

There were 15 of us total. They gave us boots and life jackets and took us down to the water to board 3 rafts.  

The water was glacier melt and this beautiful green/gray color.  The pictures do not do the scenery justice. Period.  It was absolutely breathtaking here and this was the kids’ favorite excursion. 

We’re talking bucket list stuff here- rafting on glacier melt in the middle of nowhere Alaska surrounded by bald eagles.  

We’re in Skagway!

We had to dock at the industrial side of the pier and weren’t allowed to walk beyond the ship.  We had to be shuttled to the end of the pier.  Kind of annoying unless Buddy the Elf is your shuttle driver! 😂😂

It was a very short ride and we found our excursion group, which was a float trip through an eagle preserve.  We had to take the fast ferry to Haines.  The fast ferry is a 45 min ride, and if you drove to Haines by land it would take 7 hours (according to our guide).  We had to walk down that big gangway to get to the ferry.  It was basically the same style as our whale watching boat.  We saw a whale on the way to Haines and one on the way back.  Maybe the same one? lol  At that point we were losing our enthusiasm for jumping up and trying to catch a glimpse.  They were becoming like squirrels to us.  They’re everywhere 😂 (mostly kidding) 

Haines was really quaint, and our guide took us around the town.  I was a little confused where Fort Seward ended and Haines began but they seem like sort of the same place.  

We just got off the Miracle and they do have one.  Here is the menu 🙂 

So that’s a wrap for Juneau!  Tomorrow is Skagway.

After this, we were ready to head back to the ship.  This is the first time we had cell service since San Francisco, and we got a call that our 10 yr old labradoodle had gotten very sick at the kennel and was in the veterinary hospital.  We were so grateful to my in-laws for taking care of everything for us.  It helped ease our minds, and be able to enjoy the rest of our trip!  *and I can update that she is home with us and hopefully on the mend.  She has an infection in her liver and refuses all food except for baked chicken that is hand-fed to her, and she takes 9 pills a day!  (Oh and she will accept marshmallows too, so that’s a good sign 😉 ) 

At the top, there is a restaurant, gift shop, and a hiking trail.  We walked a little bit down the path but it was really muddy so we turned back.  

After this we decided to try another adventure and take the tram up the mountain.  It’s located right near the pier and it really wasn’t crowded.  I think we paid $50 per person to ride, and your tickets are good all day to go up and down as many times as you want.  

It gave a different perspective of Juneau!

The whole tour was 3 hours and it was over before we knew it.  But that gave us time to explore Juneau!  We walked through town and bought some souvenirs, then ended up at Red Dog Saloon for lunch and a drink.  This is a must-see in Juneau!  It kind of takes you back to the old days- we were lucky to get a table because it was packed!  Notice the floor is sawdust 😂

It was cold and sprinkling rain but that didn’t stop us.  This was SUCH a once in a lifetime experience!