Juneau ???
Alaska !!!

Alaskan Adventure 2026

 

Thursday, June 6: We left Morehead City midday and drove to Cary. Elizabeth and Jackson were at the Hurricanes game; they won in overtime.

Friday, June 7: We left early and caught a ride to RDU with Jackson. We had a direct flight on Alaska Air; there were no snags and our flight was pleasant. We used UBER to get to the hotel and were fortunate to be able to get our room early, although it was only 11:00 AM. We had brunch at a nearby Italian restaurant, then walked down through Pike Place Market. TAR got to see the fishmongers throw the salmon. We walked through the market and looked at the arts and crafts and a bunch of junk there to go along with it. We took a ferry across Puget Sound, and on the way back rode with a large group of teenagers going to their prom in Seattle. We were both surprised at the (lack of) clothing that the young ladies chose for their big night. Back at the hotel we went to a rooftop bar with a great view, and then had dinner at the hotel restaurant. We both had salmon and it was delicious.

Go ahead, judge all you want, we were both taking pictures.

Saturday, June 8: We were able to sleep in, and had a nice breakfast at the hotel. We took a short UBER to the Bliss. Check-in was crowded, but we went through without any holdups. We joined the $pa, had lunch and rested. We pushed back at 3:40 PM. The ship is crowded; we had a nice dinner and went to bed fairly early.

Sunday, June 9: We slept late, went to breakfast and then to the $pa. We used the large pool, then the smaller one, and then the whirlpool. After that we tried the salt room and the sauna. It is (was) very peaceful and quiet there, we lied on heated benches and read and dozed. We went back to be the commoners for lunch, then enjoyed a lazy sea day. Dinner was at Cagney’s and it was delicious. TAR enjoyed two crème brulee(s) for dessert. Afterwards we went through the casino. Upon seeing the roulette wheel, she announced to the small crowd at the table that “she knows how to play this game and she wins a lot of money doing it as long as SOMEBODY doesn’t tell her what to do.” That is an old story from Reno many years ago, you probably have heard it several times. Based on her statement I invited her to step up there and win a bunch of money and I would not get involved. She said she did not know how to get started………. true story. Got lots of laughs around the table on that one. The we went to see an elderly aborigine Canadian comedian, so-so humor at best.

Monday, June 8: As we went north, I saw several whale spouts at a distance, pretty neat to see. We arrived in Sitka. We enjoyed some more time at the $pa. After lunch we got off the ship and were concerned about our excursion not getting back to the ship in time. We worried a lot about that at every excursion, but this one especially. We should have got off the ship earlier and gone to see Sitka, our mistake. The excursion was on a 40-something steel hulled boat. We saw whales, seals, and a ton of bald eagles. We made it back to the ship in time and went to see a show called The Choir of Man. Late dinner and then to bed.

Tuesday, June 9: We were in Juneau. Up early for our excursion. The first part was a garden property. It is a privately owned area with a long ride up to a crest overlooking the bay and Juneau. There are many different types of plants (yawwwwwn), Then to Mendenhall Glacier, which was very impressive. We saw three bears at a pond going into the park. The park had many photographs depicting how far the glacier has receded recently. It was beautiful, and Nugget Falls is off to the right. Next up, we went to a salmon hatchery which due to the time of year was not operating. If you have a chance, and the means to pay for it, I would strongly recommend you go somewhere else. 

Again, we made it back to the ship in time, dinner at the Garden. If you are not familiar with NCL cruising, the Garden is kind of like the K&W. BUT, they have soft-serve ice cream, a necessity after each meal, including breakfast! Afterwards we retreated to our room, no $pa today. Dinner was great, octopus appetizer and salmon as a main course. Yes, we ate a lot of salmon on this trip and it was all good.  As we sailed along, we came up by a lot of ice that is breaking off from the glacier, very scenic. We both commented that Alaska is very pretty and scenic, but it does not compare with the dramatic fjords of Norway. We hung around the public areas after dinner for a while, then back to the room about 9:00 PM.

Wednesday, June 10: Through Icy Straight Point into Hoonah. We landed at a manufactured village; there were three other cruise ships in the port. We left early in the morning for our wildlife cruise, again, hoping we would be back before the ship left. This was a good excursion. We saw harbor seals, humpback whales and several orca whales. We saw several males, their fins were impressive, much larger than I expected. When we returned to the village we had a feast, basically a seafood boil with corn, potatoes, shrimp and crabs. We were impressed by how much meat there is on a Dungeness crab, and it was tasty. The we went back to the ship and to the $pa.

Thursday, June 11: We got to sleep a little later this morning. We got on a school bus and headed for Ketchikan. Nice little town, it is an old fishing village with about 8,000 residents, most of whom are summer only like our driver who drives school buses in Wichita Falls, Texas. We got on a duck boat, rode around town for a short tour and then down a boat landing into the water. Rode around the docks looking at old beat-up fishing boats, saw a couple of eagles. By the way, I asked one ranger why the bald eagles in Alaska look larger than the ones I see in eastern NC. He told me here is a very good reason: they are larger. Their diets are and have been much richer for a long time in these areas as opposed to our area. Nice little tour, checked off duck boat on my things-to-do list, and then it started raining as we got ready to board. This time we were the last to board, but again, the ship was not going to leave us. As we came on board, we discussed lunch options. The ship was full, and there were 20–30-minute waits everywhere. So it was back to the Garden, easy lunch and a nice view. Mid-afternoon we went to the $pa. You should know that my visits to the $pa included a few miles on the bike before I came in, and this time my plan was to grab a lounge chair, read and nap. Every single seat was taken. Every one of them…………taken. So, we went to the Observation Deck, had a drink, read, and napped. If you have to know, the book was Project Hail Mary. Supper was good. We went to see The Beatles (experience) and enjoyed it. They played music from the White Album and Abbey Road.

Friday, June 12: we got to sleep in a little since we are at sea all day. After a nice breakfast (not the Garden) we went to the $pa. Surprisingly it was not busy. Afterwards we went to the Observation Deck for snacks, then back to the room where I finished my book. Sitting on the balcony I heard some yelling on the lower decks; there were orca sharks swimming along with the ship. TAR later found some great pictures online from the stern where they were jumping. Tonight is the night we have to pack for luggage retrieval. Supper was Italian, they prepared TAR’s gluten-free. Veal marsala and osso Bucco. The we went to see the Beatles again, this time was earlier material, still very good. Back to the room, packed up and ready to go home.

Saturday, June 13: Off the ship easily, found an UBER to the airport. We were too early to check in, so we had to cool our jets for a while. After we checked in, we went in and had a nice PF Chang lunch, caught a flight to LAX, had dinner and on to a red-eye to RDU. Pleasant flight, and we were met at the airport by our son and daughter-in-law. Off to breakfast, back to their house for a little rest, and then home to MhC.

We arrived very tired but glad to be home. We were disappointed with a some issues on Norwegian Cruise Lines this time. This led to our cancelling our 2027 cruise, but then they offered us $50.00 to not cancel. Yes, a whole $50.00. Guess we will look elsewhere for our next adventure.