Day 4 - Juneau

Juneau is the capital of Alaska. It is unusual among U.S. capitals in that there are no roads connecting the city to the rest of Alaska or to the rest of North America  making it a de facto island city in terms of transportation.  All goods coming in and out must go by plane or boat, in spite of the city being on the Alaskan mainland.

Our ship was docked at around 11am . The sight docking into Juneau is beautiful. Houses perched up high in the mountains surrounded by wilderness.

We had booked the Juneau City And Mendenhall Glacier Tour through Juneau Tours  departing at 13:15.  Our group decided to have a heavy breakfast/brunch before disembarking, so we could get to the tour on time and skip any lunch stops.

Norwegian Jewel docks at the fartherest berth in Juneau. So they offer shuttle services from the berth to the bus depot (at the base of the Mount Roberts Tramway), which is where all the tours depart from.  Note that the shuttle buses don't have a common name or sign since they are subcontracted by cruise lines , one could be a large bus and other a small one, doesn't matter, they all go from Berth to Bus Depot and back. 

It was easy to fin the Juneau Tour guide at the base of Mount Roberts Tramway.We checked  with her and then waited until our bus arrived. 

Our tour guide was Vince who was an ex-Long Island,NY native. Vince drove us around Juneau stopping along the way at a couple of scenic spots. Being a transplant from the east coast and now being a long time resident Alaskan, the personal stories he shared resonated with us. His bear stories were very entertaining.  The town tour lasted about 45 mins. On getting off at  Mendenhall Glacier, you had the choice to return back on the same bus ( Goat Stop) at the designated time (and seats would be guaranteed)  OR alternatively you could return back to town on their Glacier Shuttle bus which runs every 30 mins. 

Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center has a a handful of trails. more info at https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd604841.pdf

The Photo Point Trail is a short 15 min trail where you can get some great shots of the glacier.

The Nugget Falls Trail is a 2 mile trail which though the park listed it as a 40 min round trip trail took our group took 40-45 mins just on way.  At the end of the trail you are more closer to the glacier than at Photo Point. There is a water body that separates you from the glacier but that does not take away from its majestic sight.  On one side you have the glacier, on the other you have the Nugget falls- both seamlessly merging into the giant water body. 

The last Juneau Tours bus was around 5pm, so we had to sprint back which didn't leave us much time to visit the acclaimed Visitor Center. When we got to the trail head a couple of members of our group who stayed back told us about their bear sighting which causes the Photo Point Trail to be shut down for the next few hours. 

When we got to the GOAT stop there were not too many people in sight. A call to the Juneau Tours office and we found that the shuttle that returns to town leaves from BEAR stop , a stop few feet away from the Goat stop(where we were dropped off). When we got to the stop we noticed long line of people just like us who had stayed back longer and didn't take their assigned bus back. Turned out this wasn't as big a problem as it appeared,since Juneau Tours had multiple shuttles running pickups. 

Back in town we ate some ice cream at a local shop and did some souvenir shopping. DD scored her free pendant,ofcourse!

Shuttles back to the ship run from the bus depot (at base of Mt.Roberts Tramway) .We made it back to the ship, tired and hungry ,  around 6:30 pm.

That night the jewel show was "Rock You Tonight" with songs from Queen, Journey and bunch of other music icons.  Our group was pretty tired and we skipped the show and headed straight to Chin-Chin - the Asian restaurant. DD bought sushi, which was delicious but bit pricey at $11 a roll.  Others ordered off the menu. The appetizers - spring rolls and potstickers were both delicious. The entrees were mediocre. Lets just say I have had better Kung Pao chicken. 

Day 3 - Ketchikan

Ketchikan is the southernmost town on the famed Inside Passage that sits on the Ketchikan Creek. It is referred to as the "Salmon Capital of the World". The city has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles, found throughout the city and at four major locations: Saxman Totem Park, Totem Bight State Park, Potlatch Park, and the Totem Heritage Center. Ketchikan weather is rainy with 153 inches of rainfall a year.

The ship docked around 6:30 am at Berth 4. After an early breakfast at Garden Cafe we disembarked the ship around 7:15 am . The weather was cloudy but no rain.  The town was absolutely empty since Norwegian was the first ship to dock.

Our plan for the day was to take the town shuttle to Totem Bight State Park bright and early, then come back into town for lunch and stroll around.

Our first stop was going to be the Visitor Center to get the maps for the walking tour. We had printed a couple of copies from here as well . The lady at the visitor center informed us that due to construction the shuttle bus would not stop at Front -Dock Street and so we should instead board the shuttle at the Museum.

Here is a link to the shuttle bus schedule https://www.borough.ketchikan.ak.us/DocumentCenter/View/6314/Bus-Schedule-MAY-2019-Final
The bus runs every 20 mins.   To get to Totem Bight State Park we needed to take the Silver Line North shuttle.  It turns out the Museum is a common stop for both the Silver Line South and Silver Line North route.  Around 7:46 am the Silver Line South shuttle came to the stop and the driver informed us that he is headed south and would turn north and be back at same stop at 8:25 am but we were welcome to board the bus earlier than later as long as we didn't mind the long ride.  The bus was empty plus we get to see more of Ketchikan , so we went ahead and boarded the bus. Note - the fare is $2 each way and they require EXACT change.

The BUS stops right at Totem Bight State Park. You can get off and explore the park on your own, its that easy.  We took with us a print out of this document describing the totem poles inside the park. DD was our personal tour guide. The trail is a loop with clear entrance and exists marked.  The lush greenery of the Tongass Forest leads you to a rocky beach front lined with all the totem poles.

 There is a Clan House that you can visit as well.

After about an hour at the park we decided to head back into town using the Silver Line South shuttle. Once back in town we got off at the Museum.

Across from the Museum is a parking lot that you can cut through to enter the iconic Creek Street. Creek Street is a historic boardwalk that lines the Ketchikan Creek. Back in the day it was a Red Light District. In summer months you can see hundreds of salmon trying to spawn upstream in the Ketchikan Creek . It is a sight not to be missed.

After a short walk along the creek we decided to eat lunch at the Alaska Fish House. They have a limited menu of  tacos, burger, fish and chips - each served as cod, salmon or both and half/full crab.
They pride themselves in serving the freshest salmon - caught literally at the dock under their hotel and they damn right should be, this was the freshest salmon we had ever had!

After lunch we strolled around town. DD wanted to get the free necklace pendant and bracelet charm that was in a brochure that came with the cruisehip Daily. We were told that Ketchikan was the cheapest town on our cruise stops to buy souvenirs and so we did. 

The clouds had begun to clear up a bit, but the town had begun to get very crowded as well.  But not a drop of rain, how lucky are we!

All aboard time was 3:30pm.

The show that night was Comedy Of Larry Omaha which we all really wanted to watch, so DD ushered everyone out from their room at 6:45 pm sharp. We did manage to get some good seats. The comedy was supposed to be family friendly but we did find a few mature content here and there. Overall it was an entertaining and hilarious show.

That night we dined at the Tsar Palace. While at dinner, a bunch of patrons spotted whales around the Aft of the ship.Literally everyone left their tables and rushed to be back of the dining hall to catch a glimpse.

Here is the Freestyle Daily for Day 3

Day 2 - Inside Passage

This day was spent cruising at sea. Not much scenery to watch around but they had a lot of activities on board to keep us engaged.

After breakfast at the Garden Cafe , DD and DH spent some time on the court practicing soccer in preparation for the soccer shoot out event to be held that evening ( which ended up getting cancelled due to weather).

Around noon we took part in the Family Circus Workshop. DD really enjoyed learning to spin a plate on a stick!!

Lunch again was at the  Garden Cafe. Can you tell already our family loves buffet instead of a sit down?

After lunch all the ladies from our group headed over to the Bliss Lounge for a Free Ladies Pamper Party where they treated you with a few free (self-)treatments - facial,neck and eye. 

The evening show  Velvet was at 7:15 pm (and again at 9:15). We got to the theater a wee bit late since we spent some time taking pictures on the deck.  You cannot blame me for choosing the beautiful (and free) outdoor lighting vs. the indoor photo booths with fake backdrops that cost $$$.
The show was a nightclub, boogie wonderland type show. The highlight was this chubby guy in leotards with a cut out for his belly, who had the wildest of the moves on stage. That image is inscribed in my head forever !

That evening was our first specialty dinner reservation at Moderno - the Brazilian Steakhouse. The menu includes a salad bar, main course of grilled meat - chicken, lamb, beef and pork , followed by your choice of desserts. They have 2-3 specialty drinks that you can get for an added cost. The main course is served with shared sides of - mashed potatoes, fried yuca and white rice.  Service was great. The server constantly brings around a type of meat and then slices it off the rack right at your plate.  The meat was delicious especially the lamb and chicken. Desserts were also delicious. My favorite was the mango and rice pudding.

Most members of our group are "a (half) glass of wine a day" drinkers, so we did not buy the unlimited drink packages (which by the way you have to buy for each person in your room). Instead we got a bottle of wine at dinner to share. At $30 it was an economical option.

Day 1 - Embarkation Day

The night before, we requested the front desk at the hotel to call in two taxis(vans) for transportation to the pier. Being a Monday we were warned that it can take 45-50mins to get to the port.
Our check-in time was 11:30 am , so we safely left hotel around 10:15am.

Vancouver port is huge. The porters helped unload the bags. Things can get crazy around here. So be watchful of who is unloading and where your bags are being taken. One mistake we did was not attaching the luggage tags beforehand (because we were unsure of how to do it). Turns out you simply trifold the printed sheet, loop it around the handle and staple the ends. The porter helped us with this. At this point all your bags are checked in and you will now get them in your cabin later in the day.

Multiple cruise ships were boarding at the port, but the staff will direct you where to go to check in.

At the checkin counter, they will check your passports and confirm with you the credit card on file to which the onboarding charges will apply. Then they will give you room keys/IDs for each person in the room , including child.  Once you get your room keys, you will go through security and after that you are ready to board the ship.

The entire check in process took about 45-60 mins considering we were a large group.

When we got on the ship we were told  that rooms were not ready yet and were directed to the Garden Cafe for lunch. Garden Cafe serves breakfast/lunch/dinner in a buffet style. We enjoyed first of our many meals at the cafe.

Around 2 pm they made an announcement that rooms were ready.

Here is our room #5574 - with picture view window.

The ship departed from the port on time. The Mandatory Lifeboat Drill was at 4 pm. Your assembly station is listed on your key card. Ours was E. The location of all the assembly stations  is in the Daily Info Sheet (see below)

After drill everyone went out on the Deck 12 and 13 to watch as we sailed away. Sailing under the Lions Gate bridge was a beautiful sight.

Since the weather was nice and warm, many including our family decided it would be good to enjoy the pool. Really not many opportunities to use the pool on an Alaska cruise !!  The pool water was warm and salty( non chlorinated).

Starting at 6 pm was the Art Scavenger Hunt in the Art Gallery.  You had 20 clues for 20 paintings and if you got them all right you won a prize - an art print and id card holders.  It was a great activity to do as a family and  we won a prize for getting them all right!

The show that night was  "Welcome Aboard Show"at 7:15 pm (and 9:15 pm)  . Its a preview of all the shows over the next few days. The theater was packed and we didn't make it in time to find good seating but caught a glimpse of some performances.

After the show we dined at O'Sheehans Bar and Grill. Their chicken wings were very good and so were their salads.  Their special that night , the Grilled Bbq Salmon was not the best.

TIP OF THE DAY: Pack some basics (medication, swim wear etc) in a backpack or carry on so that you can enjoy the pool and other facilities without having to wait on your luggage to come in. Our luggage was delivered to our rooms around 6 pm.

Day 0 - Arrival in Vancouver

We arrived in Vancouver around 11 pm. Immigration and customs was quick and easy.There is no Uber or Lyft in Vancouver, so we had to take taxis to the hotel. The airport staff at taxi stand was nice enough to call in vans for us, since we were a large group with large suitcases. 

We stayed at the Best Western Plus, Burnaby Hotel. Its about a 30-40 min drive from the airport. It cost us about CAD 42

Upon arrival the staff was very courteous and ready with our room keys. We had booked 2 Queen suites - each with a queen bed and pull out sofa. The rooms were clean and beds very comfortable. The shower was powerful too.

The location of the hotel is in a nice and safe part of suburb. Part of our group that had arrived the day before had even walked nearby to have dinner.

Hot breakfast was available the next morning