The Alaskan Jewel! Welcome Aboard….You don’t Exist!

[CruiseIreland]

Just caught up! Loving your review and writing style. Your photographs are fabulous. Keep it coming, please. Ken

[jenseib]

We have talked of going on a Alaskan cruise and then we all get the bug to swim in warm waters. I have totally enjoyed the review!!

 

This sounds so silly but I tend to be a little xmas obsessed. One of the musts is to watch the cute but cheesy Hallmark movies. It is called "Northpole: Open for Christmas". The little girl on there, she is very young is identical to your daughter.. You have to watch! I kept thinking who does this little girl look like, then when it was time to read more, bingo..

 

Looking forward to the pups up next.. I am more obsessed with dogs then Xmas. Ha!

 

Thanks! I hear you on the warm waters...especially if you do anything thinking or planning in the winter time. Warm always sounds good.

 

I know what show you are talking about. I watch those channels all the time too. She does resemble that girl. She probably would like to hear that too, so I'll have to tell her.

 

Pups coming up! :D

 

Just caught up! Loving your review and writing style. Your photographs are fabulous. Keep it coming, please. Ken

 

Thanks for reading along.

I am super slow at posting and I post a lot, but when I research for my own trip I like to read and see pictures to get a feel for everything, so in return I write what I like to read.

[jenseib]

As we made our way to the next area, Matt told us to line about around the fenced in areas on both sides.

klon66 by Jenseib, on Flickr

The dogs were in kennels and were going absolutely nuts. Just barking away and jumping all over the place……and then they were let out.

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They were so excited to see us and came up to us to pet them.

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What breed are sled dogs you may ask?.....mutts! They are all sorts of breeds together and not one breed at all. Most have been bred with other sled dogs to make for the best to adapt to the weather and endurance and climates.

klon71 by Jenseib, on Flickr

[jenseib]

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Then it was time to strap them in and get ready for a test run.

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They were really excited to run.

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That light colored dog in the back closest to the sled in this next picture is Apollo. He is super friendly and a complete spaz.

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See Matt knows how noisy these guys are and he wears headphones. LOL.

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[jenseib]

We were laughing at how they were all bucking around just ready to go.

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The girl was going to do the actual sled run driving.

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And off they went! They went about halfway around the circle just running like heck and barking away. She had to hold on for dear life…though she knew exactly what she was doing.

You can see after they stopped they were still barking away….except for Apollo who had to catch his breath a bit. He is still a young sled dog and hasn’t learned to pace himself.

Matt talked some more about sled racing and the dogs, etc.

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Apollo had caught his breath and was ready to go and we were all laughing so hard.

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And then one more time around the 2nd half of the track.

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[jenseib]

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Matt then pulled off the lead dog. I don’t remember her name anymore, but she has been doing this for several years. Notice how she is not panting. She knows how to pace herself and is calm. She listens to him when needed and directs the others.

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She was so sweet and calm after that burst of a run.

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And then Matt directed our attention to Apollo who loves to run but still hasn’t learned how to pace himself.

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It was pretty darn funny to see the difference. Apollo was panting and drooling all over the place.

It was then time for them to go back in their kennels. Matt told us that some people worry these dogs are not being treated well and made to pull the sleds. He pointed out how they all loved to get strapped in to pull and couldn’t wait to do it. These dogs are bred to do this. It’s in their blood and what they love to do. He also says they do not let them out to run freely as because they run a higher internal temperature they can overheat easily and their exercise each day in the summer is a few runs like this. Any more than that can be dangerous to the dogs. They really thrive in cold weather.

He had so much information and it was a joy to listen to everything he said and of course he was pretty funny too.

After the big dogs were put away, there was one more thing we had to do in this area……

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Puppies!!!!!

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[jenseib]

Of course they are so dang cute! Who wouldn’t want to hold and snuggle one. Matt did tell us we all would be scanned and the puppies accounted for before we left. No puppy smuggling allowed.

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Claire was in heaven and she was one of the first handed a puppy.

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Someone asked who the parents of the puppies were….Matt let us in on a secret….none of the dogs were the parents. He said the cruise lines advertise puppies so he has to have them there, so he borrowed them from someone else. LOL.

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Claire had to take in all that sweet puppy smell before handing him off to someone else.

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Of course then we got a bit of whining about how she needed a puppy at home….Yet she wants nothing to do with the grown dog we have. I personally am not a dog lover but I do think puppies are very cute….but then they grow up. So then I had to hear how it’s not fair that her mom doesn’t like dogs and she can’t wait till she is old enough to have her own place and she is going to have lots of dogs. That’s fine with me….I just won’t come visit. LOL.

Up next…..BRRRRRR!

[hawk1972]

I am enjoying your story. We went to Alaska on Princess in 2009 and would love to go back. I have kind of a dumb question. How do you remember all these details after so many months? Did you take detailed notes at the time or do you just have a good memory?

[vampiress]

this is great!

 

now i want to go on an Alaskan cruise

[jenseib]

I am enjoying your story. We went to Alaska on Princess in 2009 and would love to go back. I have kind of a dumb question. How do you remember all these details after so many months? Did you take detailed notes at the time or do you just have a good memory?

 

thanks!

I used to take notes on trips, but i really never have time much anymore so I just go by memory. Being that I take a lot of pictures (even more than I post here), they usually trigger my memory for most parts. I might mix up some of the timing, but for the most part everything is pretty much how it happened.

 

this is great!

 

now i want to go on an Alaskan cruise

 

Thanks

 

I swear everytime I update, I want to plan another one too.

[jenseib]

While others were enjoying puppy love, I went off in search of the bathrooms.

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By then it was time to meet back up with the group and Goldbeard and head to the next destination…..the 40 below room. We were given coats to wear.

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I kept telling Claire not to wear the hood on this coat, but she kept putting it back on. EWWWW!

We were led into the room and left in there for a short time.

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Let’s just say, 40 below is cold!

Skip said he didn’t think it was too bad, and for a very short time it wouldn’t be, but we were in there longer than I liked.

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[jenseib]

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After that, we headed outside and each family got a piece of wood and a marker. We got to stake our claim! We could write whatever we wanted on them and then nail them on a building.

As we were hammering ours, I spotted this Disney one. LOL.

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And here is ours.

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And then it was time to head back to the bus. There were 2 buses and we were supposed to get on the right one for our group, but I swear I saw some of our group go on the other one and then of course when they did a head count they were off. But they seemed to get it all figured out in the end.

On the way back into town, Goldbeard told us his real name….Chris. He said he is a professional traveler and he moves around to where he finds work. In the winter he had been in Mexico as a cook and he had 2 options for this winter he was debating over. He said he knew his lifestyle wasn’t for everyone but for someone his age (I believe he was the same age as my son, 26), it worked well for him and he got to see so many new places already in his lifetime. I can see how this would not be for everyone but it did sound interesting and for some the perfect way to see the world and make a living at the same time.

Soon we were back in town. We had a choice to get off the bus in town or go back near the ship. We chose to get off in town. I still had a mission. I wanted some Alaskan crab legs! I knew one place that sold them and planned to head there, but Skip said we should ask Goldbeard what he recommended and he told us of a spot he said was his favorite and we set off for that place.

On the way we could smell a popcorn place and Claire loves popcorn so we headed in to get a bag and I got some caramel corn for Skip as well.

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It was right next to the town’s only grocery store.

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[jenseib]

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I was going to just go for 1 crab leg. They are expensive, but that wasn’t the reason really. I just didn’t need to eat more than one leg, however Skip told me if I was going to eat crab I should eat the whole pound. OK then, I will. Now Claire used to like crab legs but got sick a few years ago and the last thing she had eaten was crab. It wasn’t the cause of her being sick, but she remembers it and now won’t eat them. Skip thinks they are nothing special and way too much work so he doesn’t eat them….so I was going to be eating this pound myself.

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We made our order and then waited. They had the Gold Rush rootbeer there too.

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[jenseib]

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Soon our order was ready. Skip got fish and fries…Claire got fries.

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And then there’s the crab!

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It was very good but it took me a while to get it all out. And my fingers were pretty sore afterwards because King crab has those pokey legs. LOL. Skip and Claire always tease me at how long it takes for me to crack and eat crab and this time was no different. I was very full when we were done. I really could have done with just one leg and been fine. ‘

This place also had a Dungeness crab special that was all you can eat and so many people there were getting that and going to town on it. It was really a good deal too, but I was happy with my king crab and didn’t need an all you can eat portion.

After I was finished up we decided what to do next. We still had a little more time till we had to be back at the ship. Skip was ready to head back but I wanted to go pick up a few more t-shirts. Claire decided she would head back with Skip, so we separated and I headed down to the road with the shops and they headed towards the ship.

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[jenseib]

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Since I had been in the store earlier today and I knew what I wanted and where it was, my shopping trip was pretty fast, though the lines were now a bit longer than this morning.

I then made my way back to the ship.

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I was looking for seals but I never saw one. Of course I heard from others that one had been playing right there most of the day and he was out in the open for all to see and fairly close.

As I got closer to the ship I stopped and went through my backpack for some reason. I don’t remember why, but I was looking for something and taking a break as the line to get on the ship looked pretty darn long. My phone rang and it was Skip. He had seen me coming and wondered why I had stopped. He said Florentina was waiting for me so she could escort us all back onto the ship. Oh, ok, I will be right on my way then.

When I met up with them Florentina walked us right to the front of the line and let us in. Now that was a nice perk. We didn’t know this was an option in the other ports. In Ketchikan we had no need for it though as we got on at a time when no one else was in line. In Juneau the line was long, but we hung back till it got smaller and since we had been returned late from the excursion maybe Florentina was already back onboard. Or we just never saw her. Skip felt guilty doing this, but I told him it was a perk for staying in the suite and if she was offering than we might as well take advantage of it.

Back on the ship, I went back to the room to drop off the shopping bag and Skip and Claire headed out to deck 7 to find our “friend” and watch the late comers with him.

Up next…..Wow, that’s late!

[iceman2a]

I love your review and pictures! A return to Alaska is at the top of my cruise list.... but it keeps getting bumped down! I love coming back here every few days to catch up!

[jenseib]

I love your review and pictures! A return to Alaska is at the top of my cruise list.... but it keeps getting bumped down! I love coming back here every few days to catch up!

 

It's on our list to go back too. We really enjoyed it so much.

[jenseib]

I dropped my things off in the room and then returned back to deck 7 to join my family. In reality I thought we would be already starting on our way, but we weren’t and the gangway was still out. Skip told me they had just seen a lady run to the ship and everyone applauded but it appeared we were still waiting for some more. I took a few pictures as we waited.

 

kfe49 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I thought I had taken a picture of the water to show how high the tide had risen but I can’t find it now. But it was up at least 6-8 feet from this morning.

 

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A few other stragglers came back and we clapped again….but still waited.

So we stood there and chatted with our buddy. We just couldn’t believe someone was this late. All aboard is 30 minutes before your sail time. We are now at and a little past the sail time. Why on earth would you chance being this late. We could see a few people waiting by the gangway checking their watches and talking on walkie talkies. The forklift driver was there waiting and had turned it off because he had been sitting there so long.

 

Finally way down past the railroad station we could see some people coming. One started running and the other guy did the fake run, but was really a walk. After a bit he totally stopped that. People on the ship were hooting and hollering, booing and cheering. It was pretty funny. The first of the 2 ran most of the way and made it back to the ship. I assume he was a teenaged son. The dad walked pretty much the whole entire way and it’s not a short walk. I kept saying if that was me I would at least do the fake run the whole way back to show I was putting in an effort.

The forklift driver started up the tractor and the guy moved a little faster for a few seconds then slowed down again. Then the forklift driver started revving up the engine over and over to let this guy know he better hurry up. He did not. He walked at a snail’s pace the rest of the way. I couldn’t believe how rude this was. So of course as he rounds the corner towards the gangway people start hollering at him…I may have hollered too. LOL. Something about buying a watch if I remember correctly. Hahaha.

 

This guy must’ve just taken his last step off the gangway and the forklift driver had already had it lifted and backed away.

 

With all that fun over with now, we just watched as we sailed away.

 

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And then we headed back to the room for a bit. Snacks were waiting.

 

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Edited December 12, 2015 by jenseib

[jenseib]

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We loved these cookies and Claire and I had one each. We figured we would have more later. For some odd reason later in the evening when we came back to the room and planned to have some for a snack, Melony had already removed them. I am not sure why as any other nonperishable snack had been always left in the room till we were done with them. This made Claire mad and I wasn’t too happy about that either, but it wasn’t like we were going to starve to death.

Claire headed to the kids club for a little bit and Skip went off on his own. I took in the scenery.

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[jenseib]

I then picked up Claire from the kids club and we ended up running into Skip.

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So we all sat down at the bar in the atrium and ordered a drink.

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[jenseib]

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YUM!

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My favorite…the Mango Meltdown.

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[jenseib]

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There is a Carlos Bakery case right next to this bar. The treats do cost, so we never did get anything from there. They looked good, but we ate so much junk as it was that we didn’t need anything extra.

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Then back outside to enjoy the weather and the views.

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[jenseib]

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Up next…a not so great dinner with a fabulous view!

[jenseib]

Enjoying the views!!!

Every so often I would play with the settings on the point and shoot camera. Remember I had only just bought this camera a few days before the trip. This setting does a high definition of sorts and it was pretty cool with the dramatic effects it would give.

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Relaxing on the balcony. I actually think I dozed off for a bit too.

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[jenseib]

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It was time to get ready for dinner.

Tonight we were eating at Moderno, which is a Brazilian steakhouse. It has a small salad bar and then the servers come around with skewers of meats. How could you go wrong with that? I think there were 25 different meats listed to choose from. We already know Claire is a lover of steak so I figured this would be highlight.

We were seated right away and ironically it was one of the 2 tables we always seated at for lunch or breakfast when we would go here for those meals.

I wasn’t paying too much attention, talking away and all of a sudden I looked up and said OH MY GOD!!!!!!

The lady at the table behind us says “You just looked out the window didn’t you?” Yes I did.

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Let me just say this picture does not do this justice in the least bit. We were so close to this mountain it was unreal and it was so bright and colorful. Just draw dropping beauty.

skag138 by Jenseib, on Flickr