LIVE from the Edge - Alaska Dawes Glacier B2Bs May 24-June 7

[SerraG]

 

 

After our tour in Juneau, we high-tailed it to Luminae, without even stopping in our room, so we could have an actual dinner before they closed at 9pm.   While we may technically have met the dress code requirements, I’m not sure if they expected rain jackets when they wrote them!

 

After we were seated and Ciara took our order, Ross kindly took all of our extra gear back to our room.  The view from our table was astounding

 

 

 

 

We have a running gag with the sommelier, Melvin, that we try to order an Ultraviolet every night and he apologizes for not having the ingredients until we chose a different drink.  This might be funnier to us than it is to him.  We ended up ordering a Vanilla Mojito tonight, made with Zavala 23 Rum, Leblon Cachaca (what’s that?), Lime and Vanilla.

 

 

(Obviously we’d sucked quite a bit of this one down before I snapped a photo.  Oops!)  We really liked this drink, which is unsurprising because we like regular mojitos, but the vanilla really added a little something special.

 

 

 

Our amuse bouche was a cod fritter with cauliflower mash, tomato relish and squid ink dots.

 

 

It was pretty good.

 

We ended up splitting three starters.   

 

Fennel Soup with Lobster and Pomegranate seeds:

 

 

This was a little strange, especially biting into sour and crunchy pomegranate seeds, but I really enjoyed it.  There were a couple of large chunks of sweet lobster, which were delicious.

 

Salmon Sashimi with Radish and Passion Fruit and Chili:

 

 

It was fine. Very typical of standard salmon sashimi.  I’m not sure that there was actually any passion fruit in this.  Maybe in the sauce?

 

Smoked Trout with Hearts of Palm and Grapefruit

 

 

We liked this, perhaps a little better than the salmon.

 

For my main, I ordered the Celriac (celery root) Steak with Sautéed Arugula, Pine Nuts, Pecorino and Pickled Mushrooms.   

 

 

I don’t think there were any pine nuts on this nor picked mushrooms.  Instead, it was served with a delicious creamy sauce (maybe there was pecorino in that?), fried onions and peeled baby tomatoes.   Why are these dishes so different from the menu descriptions?  In any case, I loved this, but I’m a big fan of vegetables.

 

Ross ordered the Fresh Homemade Fettuccine with Calamari, Shrimp and Red Peppers.

 

 

This was not good.  The flavor was very odd, almost as if it was burned.  I think maybe there was too much smoked paprika or another spice.  In addition, some of the pieces of fettuccine were still stuck together as though it had been crowded or not stirred enough while cooking.

 

Ross sent it back and ordered the Confit Cod Loin with Curry Sauce, Coconut Rice and Squash.

 

 

 

The cod was served with its skin on top, which can be okay, except it was tough and seemed inedible.  In addition, it was full of bones.  Both Ross and I probably had 5 fish bones in 2 mouthfuls of food.  When our assistant waiter came by to ask how it was, we had to tell him we didn’t love it and that it was full of bones.  He seemed to indicate that it was supposed to be prepared that way, but I’ve had a lot of fish and I’m not so sure.  Has anyone else had this dish?

 

We decided to move on to dessert.  Ross ordered the Chocolate Caramel Custard with Pretzel Gelato.

 

 

This was good, but not great.  Very rich and chocolatey.  The pretzel gelato was excellent.

 

I had the Raspberry Licorice Cream with Make Granola and Chocolate Ice Cream.

 

The presentation was a little strange.  it was also very chocolate with a subtle licorice flavor.  The choice to top it with dill weed springs (?) was a strange one.  They were… out of place on this dessert.

Edited May 31 by SerraG

[Ergates The Ant]

I’m really enjoying your review, SerraG, but I can’t say I’m sorry I probably wont be dining in Luminae. The menus do not really appeal to me at all, I’d struggle most meals. We’ve only been to Alaska once, and would love to go back, mainly to see the wildlife.

[takemewithyou]

Oh my goodness!  We would be struggling on these meals.  Even the ones I think might be good are not !  We are looking at an S class…..I sure hope we could order from the Main Dining menu! 

Edited May 31 by takemewithyou

[Texed]

And we think Luminae is outstanding.  

[takemewithyou]

5 minutes ago, Texed said:

And we think Luminae is outstanding.  

Can you suggest some entrees that you feel are outstanding? Just trying to get some ideas on what to order.

[Texed]

41 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

Can you suggest some entrees that you feel are outstanding? Just trying to get some ideas on what to order.

The pastas are wonderful.  Our entire group thought the filet was better than Fine Cut's filet,  The lamb is great.  We loved several different fish entrees.  I am not that crazy about lobster.  But, the poached lobster was very good.

 

If we didn't see something on the menu that caught our eye, we would ask our waiter for his suggestion.  He was always "right on".  😋

Edited May 31 by Texed

[takemewithyou]

8 minutes ago, Texed said:

The pastas are wonderful.  Our entire group thought the filet was better than Fine Cut's filet,  The lamb is great.  We loved several different fish entrees.  I am not that crazy about lobster.  But, the poached lobster was very good.

 

If we didn't see something on the menu that caught our eye, we would ask our waiter for his suggestion.  He was always "right on".  😋

Thanks for your suggestions.  Keeping that all in mind 😀

 

[SerraG]

57 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

Can you suggest some entrees that you feel are outstanding? Just trying to get some ideas on what to order.

 

There are also some classic items that are always available such as Caesar Salad, French Onion Soup, Steak and Salmon.

[takemewithyou]

1 minute ago, SerraG said:

 

There are also some classic items that are always available such as Caesar Salad, French Onion Soup, Steak and Salmon.

Are those on the Luminae menu?  
I know they used to be available on the MDR menu?

I don’t think I have  seen any chicken on the menus you posted.

Is there a chicken that is always available?

[SerraG]

3 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

Are those on the Luminae menu?  
I know they used to be available on the MDR menu?

I don’t think I have  seen any chicken on the menus you posted.

Is there a chicken that is always available?

 

They are not printed on the Luminae menu, but our waiter recited the list to us on the first night and said they would always be available.  

[Stem to Stern]

1 hour ago, takemewithyou said:

We are looking at an S class…..I sure hope we could order from the Main Dining menu! 

Yes.  You can.  You won’t be disappointed.  We love Luminae on S-class ships.

[SerraG]

We had an early excursion on the White Pass Railroad in Skagway this morning.  We had done the railway many years before and found it well worth it.  If you haven’t taken the train, I would definitely recommend  booking one o the many iterations of this excursion.  This time we upgraded to the Luxury Club Car.

 

 

This car is the caboose and has fewer passengers, plush seats, an extra large viewing platform and snacks, in addition to a personal tour guide  Our guide was named Katie and she was excellent, telling us about the history of the railway, the gold rush and notifying us all of the important photo opportunities before we actually got to them.

 

 

 

Breakfast of salmon spread, yogurt with berries, mini quiches and fruit kabobs:

 

 

Our route went from Skagway to White Pass Summit in British Columbia, Canada.  Other routes may go farther along the line and the original track went all the way to Whitehorse, Yukon, but Katie said it had not been maintained that far north.

 

 

We spent some time on the back platform which had a fun view of the tracks and scenery.

 

 

 

 

The brakeman came for a visit.  Hope everything looks okay! 🙂

 

 

The train actually crosses over the bridge in the upper right side of the picture!  Yikes!

 

 

But not this one!

 

 

This was an old stretch of track that was replaced as more modern trains become to heavy for it. 

 

We learned that most of the mountains have rounded tops from being under the pressure of the glaciers.  The spiked peaks, such as in the Sawtooth Range in the photo below, were the only land that stuck up above the sheet of ice.

 

There are two tunnels along the path and when we went through them, we discovered that the luxury club car was the only one with interior lighting.

 

 

We even had a bathroom, although it was a “pump” toilet which I’d never used before.

 

 

At the summit, the train does a loop and then heads back to Skagway.   Here, in warmer weather, is a lake, but we could just see large puddles of melted glacier blue ice water peaking through.

 

 

 

A few more photos of the mountainous terrain.  It is unbelievable to think about what an engineering marvel the building of this railway was - up these mountains and even through the snow and in the dark days of an Alaskan winter.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 1 by SerraG

[hcat]

great photos..nicely spaced  out,  interesting info..all well done.

looks like a very nice trip so far!

 

our friends are flying to Vancouver tonight..sailing to Alaska Sunday

.not sure which ship or what excursions they have planned!

[SoberDogLover]

How did you manage the upgrade? We have that tour booked in two weeks. The club car would be perfect for my husband.

[SerraG]

58 minutes ago, SoberDogLover said:

How did you manage the upgrade? We have that tour booked in two weeks. The club car would be perfect for my husband.

It was listed with the other tours on the website. We snagged it pretty early.   If you don’t see it, it might already be sold out for your sailing? 

[Octavias]

On 5/28/2024 at 6:18 PM, SerraG said:

For breakfast, we went to Cafe al Bacio.

 

 

Ross ordered a cappuccino

 

 

And I ordered a latte.  After a minute or two, I looked over at Ross’s cup and saw a very obvious lipstick stain on the rim.  I pointed it to him and he asked “Did you take a drink of my cappuccino?”

 

“No, sorry.  I don’t think so.”

 

I reviewed the photo I had taken before we had drunk from either of our cups.  The lipstick stain was there before either of us had taken a sip.  Oh no.  That seems so gross.

 

We flagged our server down. (No small feat in the extremely busy cafe.)  She was sufficiently horrified on our behalf and quickly took the drink away and replaced it with a fresh one.  

 

We chatted for a bit until Eden Cafe opened, which we wanted to try out for lunch.    Eden is such a great space!

 

 

 

There are salads and desserts on a self-service bar in the cafe area. 

 

 

If you want a sandwich, you have to order it from a separate counter.

 

Ross got a Spinach Roquefort Salad with craisins which was delicious. I got a Chicken & Ancient Grain Salad which was good, although it was supposed to come with farro and barley and I’m pretty sure it only had barley.

 

Ross also ordered a Prime Rib Sandwich ($11 up-charge) because I had read that it was just fabulous.

 

 

It was _not_ fabulous..  The meat was well done and therefore dry, but the biggest sin in my book was that they had almost certainly spread Miracle Whip on the roll.  The Miracle Whip contrasted poorly with the salty taste of the meat.  Why wouldn’t you use some sort of horseradish aioli, even just plain mayonnaise as the spread?  Ross said he wouldn’t eat it again even if it was free.  

 

He went back and got a Reuben Panini (free), along with a pecan chocolate chip cookie and a slice of chocolate cake.

 

 

The panini was by far the better sandwich.   It was really creamy and salty .  If you like a Reuben, this would be a great choice.   The cake was average and the cookie was slightly above average.  It had a pleasant chewy-crispy texture and I really appreciated the sprinkled pecans on the top.

 

Around this time, I discovered that my WhatsApp service had finally been restored. YAY!

 

The lovely guitarist, Roberta, was bock in Eden to play some more music which was lovely too.

 

In chair testing news, Ross reports that this one would be a good chair to make someone sit in while you interrogate them for a suspected crime.

 

 

And this is the one you should choose if you just want to slide right back out and onto the floor.

 

 

We made our way to the upper floor of Eden for a Cruise Critic meetup with @relay for life and another member.  Our roll call wasn’t super active, so I wasn’t too surprised that it was a small gathering, but those of us who made it had fun.  RelayForLife was a wealth of info about Alaska and cruising in general.

 

Later we joined an origami activity which was held in Eden.  It was okay.  The instructor tried to teach us how to make a simple hat and bird, but she struggled to explain what she was doing and people had trouble seeing her tiny square of paper.

 

We ordered a Planter from Eden’s cocktail menu.

 

 

The garnishes were not as described, but it was sweet and fresh tasting with a subtle spice element.  It might have been better with the lime that was in the photo, but we would order this again.  [Cocktail Rating: 7/10]

 

We then went to the club and played some 80’s Music Trivia (we were terrible) and regular trivia (better at that, but didn’t win).   The club was crowded, and many groups were reserving seats so we ended up on the top back.  Many people didn’t have chairs.   I much prefer the Sky Lounge (not on E class ships) for trivia.  Note:  The cicada is _not_ the loudest animal.  lol.

 

 

I enjoyed meeting you guys (and Marilynn).  Sorry I had to leave early.  I was having a particularly nasty hot flash that just would not quit.  Thanks also for this fabulous review! 

[SerraG]

1 hour ago, Octavias said:

I enjoyed meeting you guys (and Marilynn).  Sorry I had to leave early.  I was having a particularly nasty hot flash that just would not quit.  Thanks also for this fabulous review! 

 

It was great to meet you too!  It's fun to be able to put a face to a cruise critic username!  🙂 I hope you felt better quickly!  Our meeting broke up shortly after you left, so you did not miss anything.  

[SerraG]

 

 

 

Our guide from our train car suggested we eat at the Skagway Fish Co. so we headed there immediately after we got off the train.

 

 

 

There was already quite a line to even put our names on the waiting list.  We waited about 15 minutes for a table.  There was a pretty nice outdoor area where we could wait and the weather was lovely. 

 

 

 

 

Ross order a Spruce Tip Beer that we had heard about on our Juneau Food Tour, but not been able to try.

 

The beer was better than expected.  A little bitter, but refreshing.  I am not much of a beer drinker, but it didn’t seem that different from beer made from hops to me.

 

These are spruce tips, which contain a lot of vitamin C.   Native Alaskans made a tea from dried spruce tips which prevented them from getting scurvy.  When the stampeders came to Alaska looking for gold, they hated the tea and quickly found a way to turn the spruce tips into beer!

 

 

I was desperate for a big salad and this one didn’t disappoint.

 

 

Ross ordered a bowl of King Crab bisque.

 

 

The bisque wasn’t very good.  It was sort of bland, and tasted more like a flour-based gravy than a crab bisque.  (In our opinion, Tracy’s crab bisque in Juneau was far superior. )

 

I ordered a jumbo crab leg.

 

 

Ross ordered an extra jumbo king crab leg.

 

 

Both of the crab legs tasted amazing and were full of sweet meat.  They also tasted identical.  We had wondered if maybe Ross’s would be tough or overly salty since it was bigger, but this was not the case.

 

Next we wandered around Skagway for a while.

 

 

 

There was a National Park Museum about the Klondike Gold Rush which was free to visit.

 

 

The museum had lots of information about the gold rush and how difficult of a journey it was for most of the people who returned empty handed.  Obviously some found gold though.  This was an actual vault where gold was stored.

 

 

There was a fun wheel that visitors could spin to see how their journey to the Yukon might turn out.

 

 

He ended up with “You make it to Dawson City and find employment, but did not mine.  This actually fits Ross’s personality well.  Of course he would find a stable job and settle down in the middle of a gold rush. lol.

 

On our way back to the ship, we found a trail.

 

 

 

The trail was very steep although not extremely rugged  This photo doesn’t really show how steep it was, but believe me, those trees at the bottom are really far down there. 

 

 

I think I am running out of ways to say “There was an amazing view.”

 

 

It was getting close to boarding time so we headed back down the trail.  As we approached the line to board the bus to take us back to the ship, Ross realized that he had lost his Seapass card.  He suspected it was on the train car, which was probably currently approaching the White Pass Summit again.

 

Because I was with him and he had his license, this turned out to be much less of a disaster than we first thought it would be.   A security person radioed ahead and after a bit of a wait, they let us proceed on the ship with instruction to go to customer service.  We went straight to the retreat, where the concierge was able to print Ross a new card immediately

 

Since we were already in the retreat, we figured it was time for a tea time snack!  Everyday there are different types of sandwiches, fruit, treats (often the same ones that  are currently on display in Cafe al Baccio) and a couple types of empanadas.

 

 

When we got back tour our room took a nap and gathered up some dirty clothes to send to the laundry.   Since we are Elite level, we get one free bag of laundry.  Using a rolling technique I watched on YouTube, I was able to put the following in that one laundry bag:  1 pair of jeans, 2 long sleeved shirts, 2 short sleeved polos, 3 t-shirts, 10 pairs of undies and 10 pairs of socks.  

 

 

Ross was impressed.    I think I could have even added a few more things too.   Note for those without a free laundry perk, they charge per piece and that bag would have cost about $93(!), which seems outrageous.

 

 

 

Edited June 1 by SerraG

[SerraG]

 

 

For dinner we had reservations at Eden.

 

 

When we were seated, we did not realize what an astounding view was in the aft of the ship because the curtains were closed to block glare from the sun.  As soon as the sun went down, and the curtains were raised, the entire restaurant stopped moving and gasped.  It was as if everything stopped for a moment.  I started fumbling with my camera phone and a waiter from another table said, “Give me that,” and spent several minutes moving around to take a perfect picture for us.  Thank you mystery waiter!

 

 

I can not stress how much this looked like a painted backdrop from an old fashioned movie.  Another server who had been in the kitchen, turned the corner towards the windows and spontaneously gasped out loud, “Oh my God!”  Everyone just turned towards them and nodded their heads.  We understood.

 

 

We decided to do the tasting menu with each of us getting one item from each set.

 

Our amuse bouche was a cucumber slice with salmon and scallions.

 

 

Course Number 1:

A Bouquet of Garden Greens:

 

 

This was so boring.  There was almost no dressing so this wasn’t a salad.  It was practically just a head of lettuce.

 

 

This was a masterpiece, and my favorite dish of the night.  I love Mediterranean food though.  Rich and nutty yogurt, topped with sweet earthy beets, crunchy almonds salty olives and fresh cucumbers.   A revelation.  I will try to recreate this at home for a light lunch.

 

 

Course Number 2:

 

Aegean Sea Ceviche with Mango and Coriander Sorbet

 

 

Great!  Very cold and delicious.  If you like ceviche, you would like this.

 

Mulligatawny Soup:

 

 

This spicy Indian flavor of this was very good, but had a bit too much rice for our liking, especially for a tasting menu.

 

 

Course Number 3

 

Truffled Risotto with pea tendrils and wood mushrooms

 

 

Very very good, but I love truffles and risotto, so it would be hard for me to dislike this.  Again, I wish I  would have been served less of it on the tasting menu.

 

Rueben Raclette with Chorizo

 

 

This was good, but not great.  it was like hunks of pumpernickel with melted cheese on top.  I do want to note that one of our Juneau Food Tour companions said this was his favorite thing in Eden.  Food is so subjective!

 

Course Number 4

 

Jumbo Lump Crab Cake

 

 

Okay, this was more of a pile of crab meat than a crab cake.  It was great in the sense that the chef didn’t get in the way of a perfect ingredient and just let it shine.

 

Pan Roasted Cababinero Shrimp

 

 

This was our least favorite dish of the night.  The shrimp were mushy and overcooked.

 

Course Number 5

 

Branzino in Crispy Bread with Bok Choy

 

 

This was prepared really well.  The branzino had a lovely crisp skin and was cooked exactly right.  It was one of our favorite dishes of the evening.

 

Rock Lobster Casserole

 

 

Again, not so much a casserole as a pile o lobster meat.  However, the accompanying sweet corn and spread under it was a really interesting combination.  Very very good.

 

Course Number 6

 

Fillet Mignon and Short Rib Wellington

 

 (Sorry I can’t find a photo of the short ribs)

 

Very good, but we were getting full.  The fillet was spoon tender and was obviously excellent cut of beef.   The Short Rib was a little lost in the “Wellington” wrapper.

 

Oven Roasted Chicken:

 

 (Sorry I can’t find a photo of the chicken)

 

Do not get this unless you just must have a piece of chicken for some reason.  It was dry.  It was chicken.

 

Course Number 7

Tasting of 3 Desserts

 

Meyer Lemon Tart

 

 

Very good.  Tart.   Better than the ones at Cafe al Bacio, but just a lemon tart.

 

Butterscotch Creme Brule

 

 

Really good. It had tiny cooked carrots on top which was odd but the waiter said “You won’t even taste them!”  and she was correct. lol. 

 

Azteca Chocolate Pie

 

 

This was probably my favorite chocolate dessert I’ve had on the shop. Slightly spicy with high quality chocolate.  Fantastic!

 

 

And a tower of treats!

 

 

These would have been tasty if they would have sent them home in a little box for us, but were impossible to eat after our giant meal!

 

 

Goodnight!

 

Edited June 1 by SerraG

[hcat]

still following..

Did that  crab leg really cost $ 79 as I think I saw listed on the Crab Place menu?  A bit pricey if it was..even for such a nice size..  Your salad  looked great...sorry the crab soup was  disappointing.

 

Your posts of the food at EDEN will help many decide on whether or not to do the tasting or reg menu.  We  did the reg menu and were very happy with our choice to go with that..  I tasted my husb crab cake..he liked it, I thought it was too salty!  We were so full, we could not even consider dessert!

[cruisetonowhere10]

3 minutes ago, hcat said:

still following..

Did that  crab leg really cost $ 79 as I think I saw listed on the Crab Place menu?  A bit pricey if it was..even for such a nice size..  Your salad  looked great...sorry the crab soup was  disappointing.

 

Your posts of the food at EDEN will help many decide on whether or not to do the tasting or reg menu.  We  did the reg menu and were very happy with our choice to go with that..  I tasted my husb crab cake..he liked it, I thought it was too salty!  We were so full, we could not even consider dessert!

$79 for one crab leg…I guess it’s for the novelty of it, but still….

[cruisetonowhere10]

4 hours ago, SerraG said:

 

 

 

Our guide from our train car suggested we eat at the Skagway Fish Co. so we headed there immediately after we got off the train.

 

 

 

There was already quite a line to even put our names on the waiting list.  We waited about 15 minutes for a table.  There was a pretty nice outdoor area where we could wait and the weather was lovely. 

 

 

 

 

Ross order a Spruce Tip Beer that we had heard about on our Juneau Food Tour, but not been able to try.

 

The beer was better than expected.  A little bitter, but refreshing.  I am not much of a beer drinker, but it didn’t seem that different from beer made from hops to me.

 

These are spruce tips, which contain a lot of vitamin C.   Native Alaskans made a tea from dried spruce tips which prevented them from getting scurvy.  When the stampeders came to Alaska looking for gold, they hated the tea and quickly found a way to turn the spruce tips into beer!

 

 

I was desperate for a big salad and this one didn’t disappoint.

 

 

Ross ordered a bowl of King Crab bisque.

 

 

The bisque wasn’t very good.  It was sort of bland, and tasted more like a flour-based gravy than a crab bisque.  (In our opinion, Tracy’s crab bisque in Juneau was far superior. )

 

I ordered a jumbo crab leg.

 

 

Ross ordered an extra jumbo king crab leg.

 

 

Both of the crab legs tasted amazing and were full of sweet meat.  They also tasted identical.  We had wondered if maybe Ross’s would be tough or overly salty since it was bigger, but this was not the case.

 

Next we wandered around Skagway for a while.

 

 

 

There was a National Park Museum about the Klondike Gold Rush which was free to visit.

 

 

The museum had lots of information about the gold rush and how difficult of a journey it was for most of the people who returned empty handed.  Obviously some found gold though.  This was an actual vault where gold was stored.

 

 

There was a fun wheel that visitors could spin to see how their journey to the Yukon might turn out.

 

 

He ended up with “You make it to Dawson City and find employment, but did not mine.  This actually fits Ross’s personality well.  Of course he would find a stable job and settle down in the middle of a gold rush. lol.

 

On our way back to the ship, we found a trail.

 

 

 

The trail was very steep although not extremely rugged  This photo doesn’t really show how steep it was, but believe me, those trees at the bottom are really far down there. 

 

 

I think I am running out of ways to say “There was an amazing view.”

 

 

It was getting close to boarding time so we headed back down the trail.  As we approached the line to board the bus to take us back to the ship, Ross realized that he had lost his Seapass card.  He suspected it was on the train car, which was probably currently approaching the White Pass Summit again.

 

Because I was with him and he had his license, this turned out to be much less of a disaster than we first thought it would be.   A security person radioed ahead and after a bit of a wait, they let us proceed on the ship with instruction to go to customer service.  We went straight to the retreat, where the concierge was able to print Ross a new card immediately

 

Since we were already in the retreat, we figured it was time for a tea time snack!  Everyday there are different types of sandwiches, fruit, treats (often the same ones that  are currently on display in Cafe al Baccio) and a couple types of empanadas.

 

 

When we got back tour our room took a nap and gathered up some dirty clothes to send to the laundry.   Since we are Elite level, we get one free bag of laundry.  Using a rolling technique I watched on YouTube, I was able to put the following in that one laundry bag:  1 pair of jeans, 2 long sleeved shirts, 2 short sleeved polos, 3 t-shirts, 10 pairs of undies and 10 pairs of socks.  

 

 

Ross was impressed.    I think I could have even added a few more things too.   Note for those without a free laundry perk, they charge per piece and that bag would have cost about $93(!), which seems outrageous.

 

 

 

I just pre purchased a laundry bag as we are going to try to pack in two carryons and two backpacks (we typically can do this but the variable weather is tricky.) Hoping to get enough jammed in to get by.  Thinking we send out on day 2 or 3 with those days of stuff (undies and socks I’ll bring enough of as those take up limited room.) Here’s hoping the plan works.  I figure when I go to pack if I can’t do it I’ll cancel the laundry pre purchase.

[cruisebeachgirl703]

Pictures are great! Love the food review too! Would you be able to post some Retreat information. Who is the Retreat Manager? Luminae Maitre'd and Host/Hostess? Luminae sommelier. Thanks.

[hcat]

3 hours ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

$79 for one crab leg…I guess it’s for the novelty of it, but still….

it looks big  but prices are high!

we get  med size in the supermarket in NY and Fla for much less...very sweet! 

Maybe Alaskan Salmon is a better buy in Alaska??

[MkeCruzn]

On 5/25/2024 at 7:14 AM, Georgia_Peaches said:

We will be on this same cruise next week.  It is going to be our first time in Alaska and like you, I was overwhelmed by the excursion options.  My approach was to identify exactly what we wanted to get out of our visit because we will likely not return due to distance and cost.  We are pretty athletic but don't have an appreciation for hiking so we ruled that out.  We have done several whale watching excursions in the past, so ruled that out.  By process of elimination we landed with a self-guided tour of Ketchikan to include the lumber jack show (which we booked directly on line, not through the ship) and a walking tour/pub crawl...in Juneau we are scheduled for a helicopter ride over Mendenhal glacier coupled with a dog sledding tour...this was our splurge.  And in Skagway, we are taking the scenic train into Canada coupled with a bike ride back down the mountain with scenic stops along the way.

 

Visit the Alaska board for more ideas!

Our Alaska cruise was in 2018, on Royal. We did the helicopter ride in Juneau (booked through the ship) and a floatplane trip in Ketchican (booked independently). Both were spectacular, but having perfect weather helped a lot too. The train trip in Skagway was excellent too... there are many comments about that on other boards.

We wandered around Juneau with the extra time we had.

There's a great spot in Ketchican for seafood, the Alaska Fish House on the harbor. Everyone goes there, even the cruise staff who have that day off, so it must be good, but it's also busy!

Have a great trip and I hope to read along as you go.

My profile photo was taken after the floatplane trip. You can see a bit of the plane in the background.