Iphone Photo Review Solstice Alaska 8/19-8/26

[twins_to_alaska]

3:15p Back on the balcony watching float planes. Bye Millennium!

 

 

4p We were invited to the helipad for sailaway. It was a great view.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[twins_to_alaska]

Millennium was long gone.

 

 

Sis wanted a picture of us together on the helipad.

 

 

Sailaway party ended at 5. Spent more time on our balcony enjoying the warmth and view. Perfect weather.

 

Luminae dinner at 7. Only presentable picture is the amuse-bouche, a salmon mousse. Microgreens were omnipresent. I had another delectable fork tender short rib with mashed potatoes and gravy.

 

 

I forgot to mention that the previous evening Marius had been tending the Michael's Club bar alone. He made me his own take on a mai tai with light rum, shaken, with ice. It was refreshing.

 

This evening Nichola was solo bartender. She made me a fuzzy navel.

 

To bed early as tomorrow was Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier. Tracy Arm unfortunately had too much ice this year even so late in the season. We were taking the catamaran excursion off the boat and had to meet at 7:20a in the Grand Epernay so a simple quick room service breakfast. We filled out the card and left hanging on our hallway door. Asked for 6-6:30 and Jose brought with the water about 6:15. I had rye toast, banana, and fruit yogurt, which turned out to be strawberry banana.

 

We had been invited to the helipad again for glacier viewing but as we would get lots closer we passed. Brent Nixon was providing commentary and one of the TV channels had a camera view of the helipad. It was announced several times that we were in Endicott Arm instead of Tracy Arm.

 

Mon Aug 22 Dawes Glacier in Endicott Arm

 

7:05 view from balcony.

 

 

Checked in at Grand Epernay. We were given stickers for #39 tender which frankly was pretty late. We didn't care as we were on a Celebrity excursion in Juneau and would be meeting our group for tendering in the Solstice Theater later in the day.

 

Grand Epernay had a good view with all the windows. Better than waiting in the theater. The captain made a slow turn of the ship.

 

We headed down the stairs enmasse to embark the catamaran. The enclosed downstairs area was full but after climbing the stairs to the second deck we were able to snag the last starboard seat which had a great view out the back. There was an open area on the back of the second deck and deck 3 was a smaller open platform which was only open when the boat wasn't moving.

 

8:07a

 

 

Allen Marine catamaran that looks like the one we were on (picture from JuneauEmpire). They also do whale watching excursions. We weren't this crowded. Plenty of room to walk around and after being at the glacier a while most folk went inside. It was *cold* at the glacier. I was bundled up with my polartec top, primaloft jacket, scarf, gloves, and windproof pants.

 

 

The catamaran had bathrooms, a snack bar (food, drink, alcohol), a naturalist. The crew were wonderful. Don't forget to bring cash or credit cards as you can't charge with your SeaPass. They sold post cards and smoked salmon. There was free hot chocolate which we didn't try and free donut holes, glazed and chocolate glazed, which we did. The donut holes were replenished until they ran out. I was surprised how long they lasted, especially given how many I consumed.

Edited August 31, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[twins_to_alaska]

...

Edited August 31, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[twins_to_alaska]

 

 

We lucked out and saw some calving before we left.

 

 

Me at the glacier. Calved ice in water on right.

 

 

Naturalist.

 

Edited August 31, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[twins_to_alaska]

We spent almost an hour at the glacier.

 

9:04a

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 1, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[reecesavage]

I have read many reviews on this forum, but I have never followed one as closely as your review. Your review is fantastic.

[twins_to_alaska]

Thanks, Reece. I'm encouraged to continue. :-)

[twins_to_alaska]

Our naturalist said we had a good day. As the cloud cover was higher up we could see more of the ice field high above as we cruised along. We stopped near a recently calved piece of ice.

 

 

A crew member reached over with a hatchet and chopped off a hunk.

On display at the snack bar. And there's our boat name, the St. Peter.

 

 

We went into the fjord near the Tidal Rapids and Fords Terror but the tides weren't right to go in.

 

 

I couldn't get enough of the lovely glacial water. The color reminded one of the Caribbean although not clear nor warm. This is an untouched photo.

 

 

 

We left Endicott Arm into Stephens Passage. As we got closer to Juneau power lines appeared on shore.

 

 

A crew member spotted whales! We had some slack time in the schedule before we had to rendezvous with Solstice so the captain headed over. Two humpbacks. My first whales! Got to see them blowing and then dive with great close views of their tail flukes. We waited and about 12 minutes later they resurfaced and dove again. 4 tails! I was using my binoculars so no pictures as I cared more about seeing my first whales than documenting. Later, the naturalist reported they were identified by their flukes, Salt and Pepper. juneauflukes dot org.

 

A quick note on my binoculars. I wrestled with real camera or better binoculars than I owned and decided on binoculars. I didn't regret my decision. I did some research on birdforum dot net and ended up with a pair of Sightron Blue Sky II 8x32. They were a light enough weight for me and form made them easy to grasp with my hands. And under $200.

 

A crew member brought around samples of the smoked salmon (atop crackers) they were selling on board.

Edited September 1, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[Ladytee47]

This has been a wonderful Review!! I don't leave until next June but your review puts me right there NOW!:D I love it! Very detail is what I like to read and it gets me prepared on what to expect and what I would like to do.

 

Thanks again for this review

Ladytee

Alaska June 2017

[twins_to_alaska]

Thanks, Ladytee. We booked 11.5 months ahead and it was a long wait! Hope you have a great time next year.

 

In 2016 Solstice had been taking turns tendering in Juneau, alternating with Nieuw Amsterdam. The schedules are at claalaska dot com. From the horizontal menu select "Alaska Cruise Schedules" and year.

Then you can select your city or the berth codes. For Juneau, AMP is Anchor - Marine Park, i.e. tendering. They've been working on a new dock that can fit a Solstice class ship so perhaps no need to tender in 2017.

 

Our week was tendering. The catamaran returns to the ship. You have to reboard and then tender again to get to shore. That's why we were given tender #39 when we checked in for the catamaran tour. We weren't available to get in line for a number as we were on the catamaran when they were given out. If you're in a suite you have priority tendering to shore, no priority return tendering. Celebrity excursions also get their own tender numbers.

 

1:20p In sight of Juneau. This and the following photo are taken from the first enclosed deck of St. Peter so there are reflections from the window.

 

It had been cloudy all day which was better than the original forecast of rain. As time progressed the rain start was pushed to late afternoon and then early evening and then 8p. High temp was 63. So don't despair if you originally have rain in your forecast... of course, it could go the opposite way.

 

 

1:35p We had a good view of our cabin as we approached.

 

 

We filed off the catmaran and back onto Solstice. Luminae had closed for lunch so sis and I headed up to Oceanview Cafe. We didn't have to meet our excursion group until 2:45p in the Solstice Theater for our 3:30p excursion. I had chosen the later excursion - two times offered - to ensure time for lunch.

 

Lots of choices in Oceanview. I settled mostly on protein. Pork loin, sliced turkey breast, salmon, tuna salad, blue cheese - we loved their cheese platters with as much blue cheese as you cared to eat. I rounded it out with some salad greens and potato salad. We found a seat on port side, facing town, and were eating by 1:55p.

 

Partly eaten lunch. When I'm hungry I forget to photograph first... tonight's dinner I remembered!

 

 

We finished off with a little ice cream, which is free in Oceanview. They change the flavors. Sis had some peanut butter ice cream the first sea day and it wasn't available today. You can ask for a half scoop. And if what they scoop is too big you can ask them to make it smaller as we did.

 

The windows in Oceanview are tinted blue. We could see our of our tenders.

 

Edited September 1, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[twins_to_alaska]

We had time to go back to the cabin. As it was port side it also had a wonderful view of Juneau. You can see one of the tenders at the dock next to the blue covered gangway. It's a floating dock that moves up and down with the tides which can vary by 18-20 feet! A pretty convenient location.

 

 

The other ships in port. Solstice's dock when not tendered was the far one to the right. They run a shuttle if you don't want to walk.

 

 

Looking down we can see our missing tender boats.

 

 

The Mount Roberts Tramway was visible. You don't want to go up if you can't see the top! Sis had done on her previous trip.

 

 

I'll plug another website juneauharborwebcam dot com.

Give it time to load. Live view and they pan the camera back and forth regularly.

 

At 2:25p we headed to the Solstice Theater where we signed in and got our tender sticker which I think was #29. Several excursion groups were there and we sat and waited until our number was called about 3:15p. A just in time tendering. They loaded all the excursions onto the tender first and then those who had been waiting with regular tender ticket numbers. I asked the gentlemen behind us and if I remember correctly they were up to #22 at that point.

 

They really pack folk into the tenders. There are uncovered seats upstairs which they were using and there are even a few fold down seats facing the 'wrong way'. It was 130-150 for tender capacity.

Edited September 1, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[twins_to_alaska]

It's under 10 minutes to tender. We were near the door so got off quickly. Excursion groups had signs and were gathering their members like a hen her chicks. Very organized. I had time to take a photo of Solstice.

 

3:27p

 

We had our own shuttle bus. Walk at Mendenhall followed by whale watch. I selected this excursion as run by Gastineau Guiding and they get terrific reviews. Small groups. We had 17 and expected 19 but after waiting a few minutes the decision was to leave without them.

 

A short drive over to Mendenhall. We parked in a parking lot with big buses and some other shuttles. This tour did not go to the visitor center. You could leave some belongings on the shuttle if desired. They had ponchos but it wasn't raining. There were 'deluxe' (our guide's adjective) porta potties and we used them. {My grandmother's rule #3 when traveling. #1 If you don't know, ask. #2 Find the Johns.} Quite clean. Sis and I took turns holding each other's stuff. I always travel with hand sanitizer but there was some in the potty. Ravens were strutting around. They're huge compared to the crows here in Baltimore. We have Ravens as well but of the sports variety. No hissing. Despite living here since 1984 my team is still the New England Patriots. They do deserve some hissing.

 

At this point we split into two groups. I feel horrid as I don't remember our guide's name. He was the one who stayed with us for the whale watch. The other was driving that day as well as guiding. Our group had a couple, a family of 4 from the Bahamas with two teenagers, and us. The others set off first.

 

Gastineau has permission to use some of the trails that are closed due to bear activity. Our guide carried bear deterrent. It was a pleasant walk through a very wet, green, landscape.

 

 

Lots of mushrooms.

 

 

Boulder, erratic, left by retreating glacier and our guide, bear deterrent in hand.

 

 

Ground cover.

 

 

Map. We were headed down to the lake edge. Moraine Ecology and Steep Creek trails.

 

Edited September 1, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[twins_to_alaska]

We saw a local small squirrel. After the lake a hare. No bears but signs of bear activity.

 

Following our guide. The forest was fairly young with many small trees.

 

 

Lichen and the state tree, the sitka spruce. From alaskanature dot com.

The leaves and branches, or the essential oils, can be used to brew spruce beer. In survival situations spruce needles can be directly ingested or boiled into a tea, replacing large amounts of vitamin C. Spruce can be used as a preventative measure for scurvy in an environment where meat is the only prominent food source. Water is stored in a spruce's needles, providing hikers with an alternative water source in emergency situations.

 

4:39p Lake edge. Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls.

 

 

Sis was disappointed we didn't have time for Nugget Falls. She doesn't remember why they didn't make that walk when they visited - they were in Juneau several days. You can't do everything during the short port stops.

 

You can just make out people - diminutive specks on the beach near the base of the falls.

 

 

Mendenhall Glacier.

 

 

Me at the glacier showing my faulty memory. My sticker says group 40. I really do believe they were only boarding regular tender tickets low 20s on our tender.

 

 

We only spent about 10 minutes at the lake. Enough time to walk up and down the beach, take photos, ask questions, see the people kayaking toward the glacier. If you want more glacier time then this isn't the excursion for you. As we'd done the catamaran excursion I was ok with the short time. My main emphasis in Juneau was whales.

Edited September 1, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[twins_to_alaska]

The driver guide departed to reposition the shuttle and we consolidated into one group.

 

Lupine.

 

 

More mushrooms.

 

 

Steep Creek viewing platform. Sockeye salmon.

 

 

 

Expired fish.

 

 

Here's a picture of the viewing platform over the creek from fs dot usda dot gov.

 

 

The shuttle met us right near the viewing platform and we settled in for the 10 minute drive to Auke Bay. Water and snacks - granola bar, nuts, fruit leather, mini peppermint patty - were provided. I think on the way to Mendenhall as I remember them emphasizing that no food could be taken off the shuttle due to the bears.

[donaldsc]

I have read a few of your posts and looked at some of your photos. Words can not describe the level of detail of your cruise description and the number of pictures that you have posted.

 

DON

[twins_to_alaska]

On the drive I checked the forecast. Rain now starting at 8p. Yeah!! I'd carried my rain jacket and pants in my backpack all day just in case.

 

 

We arrived at Auke Bay where yet more porta potties awaited. We were strongly encouraged to use them. The small boat has a head (bathroom) but it sounded difficult to get into/out of/use. It was behind a hatch so I never saw it. Use the porta potties on the pier! They were well maintained.

 

I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the boat. Just our group (with 5 or 6 youngsters), guide, and captain, so only 19 folk onboard.

 

Gastineau's guiding website is stepintoaslaska dot com.

They have a 58 second youtube video of a whale tour - search for "Discover Alaska'a Whales Video"

 

Here's some pictures from that video. Open deck space out front for 5 or 6 at a time. You don't know where the whales are going to appear always and I was up at the front when I heard they saw a terrific breach off the back.

 

 

Comfortable U shaped bench inside. Wide windows.

 

 

The windows slide up and out of the way when you get to the whale area so you can take pictures inside the boat if it's raining without getting wet! How cool is that? Our guide operated the windows. Folk sitting in front had to get up and out of the way during the lifting/closing.

 

 

Another good youtube video - search for "July 3 2013 Rainforest Whales Tour"

 

The captains are in contact and it was the end of the day so had a good idea where to go to see some humpbacks. There were 3 large outboard motors so the boat moved fast.

 

The serious photographers had their cameras ready. Could my IPhone SE even capture a fluke?

 

6:12p Yes!

 

[twins_to_alaska]

Sis out front. There's a lot of waiting involved in whale watching. She only used her binoculars. I mostly used my binoculars. I took the whale pictures over 10 minutes, mostly curious if they'd come out.

 

 

Whale spouting with Mendenhall in background.

 

 

Another tail.

 

 

We were treated to a breach, spyhopping, tail slapping, spouting, dives, flukes. No bubble net feeding unfortunately. We motored to several locations. Boats would quickly converge and surround the whales as if the boats were bubble feeding.

 

7:22p On way back they stop to see the Steller sea lions on the buoy.

 

 

Got to see an eagle up close as well.

 

 

By 7:40 we were back at the pier. Sis and I were amused at this sign there.

 

Edited September 1, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[twins_to_alaska]

hi Don,

 

I saw your post my first page... wasn't sure if the tone was critical or not. I hope not. The pictures are hosted elsewhere so not taking up space on cruisecritic. I figure folk can look or not if interested... not like a relative sitting you down to 1.5 hours of their Galapagos photos (real cameras) with comprehensive commentary... and Dad, they were fantastic and I enjoyed every minute, really!

Edited September 1, 2016 by twins_to_alaska

[Disnyfan2]

Hi Twins in Alaska

 

Really enjoying your review. Look forward to it every day. I was interested in the Gastineau tour myself for next year. The description made it sound like you can walk on the glacier but I dont see that in your review. Can you clarify how clse you got. You pictures are awesome.

[twins_to_alaska]

hi Disnyfan2,

 

Across the lake was as close as we got. Gastineau Guiding has several different tours. We did Celebrity JU63 - Alaska's Whales, Galciers & Rainforest Trails.

 

It sounds like you're interested in their private Mendenhall Glacier Day Hike?

[twins_to_alaska]

8:09p Back at the pier. Solstice lit up.

 

 

The tender line looked long but moved quickly. The family behind us had paddled on Mendenhall Lake. Although they were from CT they had been surprised by how cold they got. We were hankering for hot food. Heard folk mentioning they were planning to grab a bite in Oceanview Cafe instead of changing into smart casual.

 

8:31p Back on Solstice in the security line.

 

 

Luminae was open so we popped up to the cabin, changed clothes, brushed our hair, and headed back downstrairs.

 

Menu.

 

 

O'Neil didn't know the crab type - which matters when one of you is from Baltimore (Chesapeake blue crab rocks!) or Seattle (Dungeness) - so he inquired of the chef. Alaskan king crab, of course. As a novel ingredient for us, in a crabcake, we split it.

 

 

The aioli was tasty, the crabcake not terribly flavorful. Come to Faidley's Seafood in Lexington Market if you want a traditional Baltimore one.

 

Sis had the chestnut tortellini. Said divine although heavier sauce than expected.

 

 

I had the lamb but requested no marinated cucumber. The chef nestled it on what my sis tells me are fava beans. This initiated discussion of favism, a severe reaction to eating fava beans. I would have been happy with just the sausages and fava beans, doubled or tripled.

 

 

We split the dark chocolate mousse atop the short bread, no cherry marshmallows and no mandarin gel. No picture, either, as it was devoured immediately. See patty1955's Dinner Day 2 review which also shows the lamb as originally intended... with fava beans although not mentioned in menu.

 

9:45p It had been a long day and our Skagway excursion was meeting 7:20a so we skipped Michael's Club in favor of early bed.

[LPCKG]

What a wonderful review! Thank you for posting so many pictures and great tips. We are thinking of doing the off ship catamaran excursion too. It's Benin really helpful to see how that works on a practical level.

[clambake43]

Great review! We are sailing on the Solstice (for the second time) in a little over two weeks (Tahitian Treasures--Hawaii to Australia) and so excited to see all the pictures to remind me what a great ship she is. We did Alaska on the Millennium back in 2008 and had the worst weather. After seeing your pictures, might have to return there. Question for you...when we were on the Solstice before we loved the Molecular Bar (was mid ship and near where they had art shows etc). I know they have done away with that and was wondering what's in it's place. I know you didn't frequent the bar scene as your sister wasn't into that but thought you might know. Thanks! BTW...we are in a sky suite and I can't wait!

Edited September 1, 2016 by clambake43

[PhillyTravelBug]

What a review!! Impressive.

[twins_to_alaska]

Doing a search on cruisecritic looks like the World Class bar replaced the Molecular bar.

 

This post from Nov 2015 has menu.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2283009

Edited September 1, 2016 by twins_to_alaska