An Alaskan adventure we won't soon forget - cruise and land tour - June 25 - July 7

[jmele999]

Day 2 - Hubbard Glacier

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jmele999]

Day 2 - Hubbard Glacier

 

And here are some of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

And as we approached the glacier, the water started to change color.

 

 

And here is a sneak peek of the glacier.

 

[jmele999]

Day 2 - Hubbard Glacier

 

And here it is - Hubbard Glacier. It is the largest tidewater glacier in North America measuring 76 miles long and plunges 1,200 feet into the depths of the bay. It its 40 stories high. It often expels icebergs the size of 10-story buildings-imagine the splash!

 

It is huge and pictures cannot show how beautiful it is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent about 2 hours in the bay and the ship did a 360 degree turn so that everyone could enjoy the glacier. It was a great afternoon.

[languages1]

I am so excited about our trip and as the days get closer more excited.

 

 

Your pictures are just breathtaking

[melodyesch]

What an awesome review! Your pictures are amazing and I can't wait to see more!

[Sauer-kraut]

I am sorry to see that the shower curtains have been changed out from the ones that had the 'boning' in them that helped them stay away from the body! I thought that was an ingenious design.

 

Loved the SUN we had balcony 8060 and it was a great location! She is a special ship...I hope they never remove her Observation Lounge.

[laurabegorrah]

Day 2 - Hubbard Glacier

 

 

I opened the thread to this page, my screen framed up just the "Hubbard Glacier" header and this first pic of the floating ice. And my first thought was "....and this is all that's left of the glacier" lol

[jmele999]

I opened the thread to this page, my screen framed up just the "Hubbard Glacier" header and this first pic of the floating ice. And my first thought was "....and this is all that's left of the glacier" lol

 

That was funny. Fortunately, we got to see more than a chunk of ice floating around.

[MandyMommyof2]

Oh my word!!! This has by far been one of my most favorite Alaska reviews!!! :D Love everything about it. Your pictures are fabulous!!! I have a Canon Rebel t3i and I am very intimidated by it. For our cruise last week on the Getaway, I purchased an Olympus Tough 860 and was very satisfied with the images we took. Alaska is on our list of places to cruise! Reading this has made me want to nix my plans of the Getaway or Escape next summer. I am such a planner too!!! It kills my family when we travel, but how much do they enjoy just getting to sit back and see all the sites!! :cool: So the observation deck, is this exclusive to the Sun? Or do all the ships that sail Alaska have this? I am a bit intimidated when I look at the routes, I guess because I don't know what each offers and it seemed more easier to me to fly into Seattle and back out of. You have my mind churning once again ;) Thank you so much for taking the time to write this and for sharing your memories with us:D Can't wait for more!!!

[jmele999]

Oh my word!!! This has by far been one of my most favorite Alaska reviews!!! :D Love everything about it. Your pictures are fabulous!!! I have a Canon Rebel t3i and I am very intimidated by it. For our cruise last week on the Getaway, I purchased an Olympus Tough 860 and was very satisfied with the images we took. Alaska is on our list of places to cruise! Reading this has made me want to nix my plans of the Getaway or Escape next summer. I am such a planner too!!! It kills my family when we travel, but how much do they enjoy just getting to sit back and see all the sites!! :cool: So the observation deck, is this exclusive to the Sun? Or do all the ships that sail Alaska have this? I am a bit intimidated when I look at the routes, I guess because I don't know what each offers and it seemed more easier to me to fly into Seattle and back out of. You have my mind churning once again ;) Thank you so much for taking the time to write this and for sharing your memories with us:D Can't wait for more!!!

 

Thanks. All of the ships currently sailing Alaska have an observation-type lounge. On the Jewel and Pearl, the lounge is called Spinnaker. People tend to prefer the lounge on the Sun because it has an outside area while the Jewel and the Pearl do not.

[jmele999]

Day 2 - Hubbard Glacier

 

After leaving Hubbard Glacier, we (DP and I) said goodbye to our family and friends and headed to the martini tasting, which was scheduled for 4:00 pm, but were running a few minutes late. It has become a tradition for us to attend the first, and maybe the second, martini tasting of every cruise as they are a great bargain - six 3 oz martinis for $15. However, we were very disappointed with this tasting. First of all, the event was not well attended. And we were served all six martinis at once. Typically, they serve one martini at a time, followed by a description of the martini we were tasting.

 

 

Despite a disappointing tasting, we were still enjoying the beautiful scenery an hour after leaving the glacier.

 

 

 

Next - dinner at Le Bistro

[jmele999]

Day 2 - Dinner at Le Bistro

 

Le Bistro is, without a doubt, our favorite restaurant onboard and as such we wanted everyone in our group to experience this wonderful restaurant. In the morning we contacted the concierge, Patrick, to help us with a reservation for 8 at 6:00 pm. As you can imagine this can be difficult because it was also dress up or not night so a lot of people pick that night to eat at a speciality restaurant. As it has been our experience, concierges are great and Patrick was able to get us in.

 

Before dinner we stopped by the atrium to take some group pictures, and surprisingly we managed to do all of the pictures in 10 minutes. Dinner at Le Bistro was everything we expected and more. Everyone in our group was very impressed not only with the food, but also with the service. Our waitress, Lizette, went our of her way to please my DMIL, and throughout the night she kept saying that "whatever mama wants, mama gets". She was great! Here are some pictures of the menu and the dishes served at Le Bistro - hope you are not hungry.

 

 

 

 

Bouillabaisse - my favorite dish at Le Bistro

 

 

 

[jmele999]

Day 2 - Pure Variety Production Show

 

After dinner we went to pure variety production show - an evening of songs and dance by the Norwegian Sun production cast. For me, it was just ok, but others in my group really enjoyed it.

 

After a trip to the casino we went to bed early in anticipation of our first port - Icy Strait Point.

 

 

[jmele999]

Before going on to day 3, here is the list of excursions offered by NCL.

 

 

 

 

[jmele999]

Day 3 - Icy Strait Point

 

 

 

[jmele999]

Day 3 - Icy Strait Point

 

As usual I was up by 6:00 am and went out to the balcony to find a Holland America ship sailing near us. I love the way this picture came out.

 

 

It was a sunny and surprisingly warm day so that I decided to put on shorts and take a picture like I was on a Caribbean cruise.

 

 

Then I decided to go to the great outdoors (Deck 12, aft) to take some pictures, and this is what I saw in the distance.

 

 

 

You cannot imagine how excited I got to see Mount McKinley again.

 

[jmele999]

Day 3 - Icy Strait point

We were supposed to be in port from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, but we arrived early and by 8:00 am guests were allowed to tender to Icy Strait Point. We were really looking forward to riding on one of the lifeboats as we have never been on one them before. The lifeboat was very spacious and more comfortable than I had imagined.

 

 

We did not have any plans for Icy Strait Point that morning while DFIL and two of his friends went on the whale watching NCL-sponsored excursion ($175 per person). We enjoyed a relaxed breakfast at the great outdoor buffet, and went ashore around 10:30 am. The tender ride was about 5 minutes.

 

 

 

Once in port we walked around the dock and took a half-mile hike around the nature trail. It is a very nice walk.

 

 

The nature trail ends at the beach where we had a chance to take some great pictures.

 

 

Edited July 18, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

Day 3 - Icy Strait Point.

 

More pictures from the beach.

 

 

 

At first we did not know what the construction was about, but later found out that they are building a new dock so that ships can dock.

 

 

 

The longest zip-line in the world is located at Icy Strait Point.

 

[jmele999]

Day 3 - Icy Strait Point

 

Just a few more pictures from our nature trail hike/walk.

 

 

 

 

We shopped around at some of the local shops, met up with the rest of our group after their whale watching excursion, and went back onboard around 1:30 pm. They said that the whale watching excursion was good, but that it was difficult to take pictures because it was crowded.

[jenseib]

I am loving all the pictures and hearing about your days.

Excellent review!

[zlacruising]

Day 3 - Icy Strait Point

 

Just a few more pictures from our nature trail hike/walk.

 

 

 

 

We shopped around at some of the local shops, met up with the rest of our group after their whale watching excursion, and went back onboard around 1:30 pm. They said that the whale watching excursion was good, but that it was difficult to take pictures because it was crowded.

 

This is a great review!!!

 

Deb

[languages1]

Awsome review

[jmele999]

Day 3 - Icy Strait Point

 

After returning to the ship around 1:30, we put a bottle of champagne on ice to celebrate our anniversary. DP had given me a greeting card earlier that day.

 

 

 

All of us went to find a place for lunch and discovered that in the afternoon they have pasta and pizza in Moderno. They also have a nice selection of deli meats, soups, salads and cheeses. Everything was very good.

 

 

 

With our belly full, we all decided to take a nap. Nothing better than taking a nap in the afternoon while on a cruise. As the last guests were arriving back onboard, DP and I celebrated our anniversary.

 

[jmele999]

Day 3 - Happy hour Alaskan style with a Canadian twist.

 

Today was also Canada Day, and we decided to go to the observation day where they were having happy hour specials and also a celebration for Canada Day.

 

 

Here is the happy hour menu - all drinks on the list are $6.95 and the location of the bars offering happy hour changes daily.

 

 

Cheers to our Canadian friends as they celebrate Canada Day. Canada Day marks the joining of the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada into a federation of four provinces (the Province of Canada being divided, in the process, into Ontario and Quebec) on July 1, 1867. Canada became a kingdom in its own right on that date, called the Dominion of Canada, but the British parliament and Cabinet kept limited rights of political control over the new country that were shed by stages over the years until the last vestiges were surrendered in 1982, when the Constitution Act patriated the Canadian constitution.

 

 

During the celebration they played the Canadian national anthem and we played trivia games based on Canadian history. How did we do? - we correctly answered 50% of the questions.

[jmele999]

Day 3 - Dinner at Four Seasons

 

For dinner we decided to go to the Four Seasons restaurant because some of us were wearing shorts and they don't allow shorts during dinner at the Seven Seas restaurant. Also because it was 7:00 pm and the restaurant was busy, our party of 8 could not sit together and we had to settle for two tables.

 

I am not sure if this is new in the complementary restaurants, but your drink order is not taken by your waiter/waitress anymore. Now there is a crew member going around the restaurant taking drink orders.

 

Here are some pictures of our dinner. The red snapper with gumbo was great - could have used a little bit more cajun spices, but who I am to complain about cajun seasoning when we are in Alaska.

 

 

 

 

 

My tiramisu was light and not too sweet, DP really enjoyed the chocolate raspberry torte.