Sailing without Flip Flops!! Our Alaska Cruise - May 28th, 2012 UPDATED 7/5

[lorimay]

Your report is awesome!!!!!

I definitely need to convince the hubby to book Alaska for next summer while we are on the magic in September.

Tracy Arm is breathtaking.

 

[Sarah84]

Loving your report so far, it's really making me want to do an Alaska cruise

 

[DnA2010]

Wonderful report so far!

 

[shawy1269]

OK, now i want to go to Alaska!!!!

 

[Luv2Diz]

Enjoying your TR. Makes me that much more excited for our August cruise!

 

[Calfan]

Enjoying your TR. Makes me that much more excited for our August cruise!

Me too. We sail on August 6!

 

[AquaDuck1]

I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE your trip report!!! I showed my husband some of your pictures where you were outside on the boat freezing and that made up his mind that he is taking his heavy winter coat plus layering underneath. He is planning on wearing his coat onto the airplane...with our luck we will be stopped by security for a quick search/body scan. We leave in 38 days for Alaska!!!
Thanks for the wonderful trip report and great pictures!!!
AquaDuck1 (aka Laura)

 

[scrapbookingpro]

Thanks for the great comments everyone
So glad to have to all reading along!!!

I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE your trip report!!! I showed my husband some of your pictures where you were outside on the boat freezing and that made up his mind that he is taking his heavy winter coat plus layering underneath. He is planning on wearing his coat onto the airplane...with our luck we will be stopped by security for a quick search/body scan. We leave in 38 days for Alaska!!!
Thanks for the wonderful trip report and great pictures!!!
AquaDuck1 (aka Laura)

Yes, of course WE only got very cold weather because we did NOT bring heavy jackets. If you bring heavy jackets, your weather will be nice and warm Such is the way of the universe
Regardless, you will be prepared and you will have an amazing time!!!

 

[scrapbookingpro]

I want to go ahead and start JUNEAU while I have a chance!!

Quick preview- today we rented a limo, toured Mendenhal glacier, dressed up for Pirate night, tried out the Taste of Alaska Menu, and watched Toy Story:The Musical.

SO......

Before the trip we researched every port, of course, to find a good excursion for our family. There were lots of amazing things to do in Juneau, but I felt slightly limited by 2 factors- Number one, I wanted to stay with my whole family so I didn't want to pick something that my DS could not do; number 2, the budget simply would NOT allow us to choose something really pricey.

So, in an effort to see as much as possible in an inexpensive way, we decided to rent a limo (The limo was only $20 more than a regular car, and it made the outing feel more "special"). I liked the idea of having a "tour guide" at our beck and call, and basically planned to visit the glacier and then go wherever our driver suggested.

*Note- I have to add, with a burst of jealousy, that my brother and RJ (who have no kids and bigger budgets) did the helicopter ride and dog sled on the glacier, which they said was amazing and life changing, and I'm sure it was. If you are interested in this, they used Coastal Helicopters http://coastalhelicopters.com/ and had no complaints what so ever. But I like to pretend that they just stayed on the ship and played shuffle board all day.

All Ashore time today was 6:30AM
All Aboard time: 2:00PM


Our limo was scheduled for 9AM, so we had a bit of time to sleep in. DS woke up at 7:30, which IS sleeping in for him.
Once again we could not have asked for a more BEAUTIFUL day.

It was sunny and gorgeous outside!

The forecast on the in-room channel said it would be in the upper 40s, but I know for a fact the temp made it up to 57 that day.

DH went up to the buffet and brought us down some breakfast. Then he spilled OJ on my doughnuts, so-
DH went up to the buffet again and brought us down some breakfast.
Thanks DH.

We got ready pretty quickly. My DS was pretty good about entertaining himself while we got ready each day. We had packed a couple of coloring books for him, and several cute books for him to read. One was called Larry Gets Lost in Alaska, which is about a boy and a dog who take a cruise ship to Alaska! Such a perfect book for the trip, and DS LOVED it, along with The Wheedle on the Needle, about the Space Needle Of course he also loved all of the cartoon channels on the TV.

Anyway, at 8:45AM we met up with Mom and Ralph who were joining us in the limo. We left the ship and walked to the end of the dock and saw:

That's our limo! We felt special.
Our driver's name was Judy. She already knew EXACTLY where we wanted to go, from the email I had sent weeks ago. I liked that. We climbed inside and she showed us how to work the heat/air and windows and offered us water and candy. Then we were off!

Here we are in the back of the limo:

A picture of the ship through the limo window:

Judy drove us through town and told us all about the different buildings and history of the place. She knew quite a lot about everything!

Then she drove us out of town and made a stop at this little camping area with an awesome river running through it. We got out for some photos.

It was a short stop because she wanted us to have plenty of time at Mendenhall.
On the way to Mendenhall:

Our first view of the Glacier. Amazing:

When we arrived Judy told us exactly where the best places to go (with a 5 year old and Ralph, who walks with a cane). Obviously we weren't going to be making any amazing hikes, but we would settle for a closer view of the glacier and as much of that fresh air as we could suck up.

We took a trail to a photo spot- it was a nice easy walk. DS took to throwing pebbles into the lake.

You can see some icebergs there in the lake:

We climbed the rocks like we were kids at a playground.

We passed the visitors center, but didn't go in:

The photo spot was awesome.

 

[scrapbookingpro]

In the photo above, you can see a waterfall in the background. Looks small, right?
Look at the picture below and you can see people standing in front of the waterfall. Still think it looks small?

Everyone said how lucky we were to have a sunny day.

Coming back up the trail.

I would have loved to hike to that waterfall. The sign said it was only a 30 minute walk, but Judy didn't think that Ralph and his cane would have an easy time walking there. We decided not to risk it, but I do think that you should, if you can

 

[scrapbookingpro]

We wanted to walk some more, so Judy pointed us to the Moraine Ecology Trail. this is the trail you would take to see the salmon. Unfortunately, we were too early in the season for salmon. But we walked the trail anyway and took in the scenery.

There are signs all along the trail that tell you about the salmon. If you are coming at the right time of year, this would be a great trail to walk.

Another look back at the glacier:

We were at the glacier for probably about an hour and a half. We all felt that we could have spent a lot more time there, and someday I hope to come back and try one of the longer trails near the glacier.
Sadly I had to admit that we could not do much more there this day, so we decided to move on.

We had no specific requests for Judy, and not a lot of time left, so she suggested a special place for DS.
She took us to this wonderful little playground with lots of slides and a great view!
Now, I know many of you are thinking, "you came all the way to Alaska to play on a playground?!" Fair enough, but since DS is our only little one and he is growing up so fast, AND he had been SO good all of the times I dressed him up and made him sit quietly and took his picture a hundred times....I really do not regret letting him have his fun that day on that cute little playground. He won't care about playgrounds forever.

It really was cute. Here is the kid-decorated mini maze:

We loved the mountains in the background:

they had tons of slides, rock wall, hopscotch, swings- a kid's dream:

Soon it was time to drive back to town.

Judy took us a different way and showed us some of the shops and restaurants.
Just an interesting building I saw-

Then she dropped us off in town so we could walk around some more.
Bye Judy!

We walked past the Red Dog Saloon-

We didn't go inside but it looked like a lot of fun.

The whole town has trash cans like this so the bears can't get in them.

We walked past several of these stair cases. So we climbed one.

Here is a view from the stairs.

A sign in a shop window:

The Mount Roberts Tram-

We stopped in a couple of souvenir shops that were really fun. We bought some "Husky Poop" (chocolate peanuts) for a friend of mine who likes that kind of silly stuff, and some "Liquid Gold" for me (Chocolate and caramel)

The Disney free shuttle was very easy to find. We waited about 10 minutes to board one and made it back to the ship at about 1:30PM.

For some reason, it was FREEZING cold in the area where we boarded the ship. It was the only time I was cold all day. DH too-

 

[DisSarahK]

I've read great things on here about Judy and her limo...and your trip to Mendenhall is kind of making me wish I'd gone with her instead of the private whale watching trip. That waterfall looks amazing!!

My children would love the playground too and definitely would have talked about it for a long time. Great choice!

 

[AquaDuck1]

Did you book the limo through Disney or yourself???

 

[Chilly]

That is a cute playground.

 

[gotomu212]

No need to explain or justify the playground. Once in Paris we spent a few hours watching my then 3 year old play at a playground with all the little Parisian children. One of my best memories watching them all play and get so confused trying to talk to each other. Sometimes that brief routine resets everyone's vacation nerves.

I am loving this report. We'll be sailing at the end of August and I'm using all your notes to help me get ready (i just found out we would be going and am way behind!!)

 

[scrapbookingpro]

Sorry about the photo trouble everyone. I am working on it now!

 

[jenf22]

Sorry about the photo trouble everyone. I am working on it now!

I'm sorry about that... I've probably looked at your pictures so many times myself, I've used up all your bandwidth

Yours is my favorite trip report (shh... don't tell anyone!)

 

[scrapbookingpro]

Ahhh, photos fixed, yay!

I've read great things on here about Judy and her limo...and your trip to Mendenhall is kind of making me wish I'd gone with her instead of the private whale watching trip. That waterfall looks amazing!!

Judy was great and we really loved Mendenhall. But I would have loved to see some whales too!!! I know you'll have an awesome time

Did you book the limo through Disney or yourself???

We booked on our own, after reading some good reviews here on the Dis.
We used Juneau Limo Services: http://www.juneaulimo.com/Pages/default.aspx
They were very easy to work with!

That is a cute playground.

It IS, right? My son LOVED it.

No need to explain or justify the playground.

It's nice to know that other parents understand!! Some of my friends thought we were crazy

I'm sorry about that... I've probably looked at your pictures so many times myself, I've used up all your bandwidth

Yours is my favorite trip report (shh... don't tell anyone!)

LOL, it is fixed now for YOU!! I love sharing so I'm so glad you keep looking .

 

[scrapbookingpro]

Back on the ship!
All Aboard Time: 2:00PM

We were pretty hungry when we got back on the ship. DS had eaten already- we had stopped at McDonalds. I wasn't going to tell you guys that, but I didn't want you to think i was starving my kid. It was NOT my idea to get fast food. But the secret is out, so there you go.
DH and I did NOT eat, so we were starving. We had planned to stop and eat somewhere in Juneau, but the time got away from us and we ended up saying "Oh, just wait till we get back on the ship."

NOW, that doesn't mean that I don't have some good advice for you. If you like the good "touristy" places, we heard great things about Tracy's Crab Shack. People say it is a bit pricy, but the sea food is really quite good.

My brother can't stand eating anywhere that is overly touristy, so after his dogsled excursion he asked around in town for a really good place to eat that wasn't touristy. He was directed "over the bridge" (you would need a cab) to a place called The Island Pub, which he RAVED about and said was the best pizza he ever had.
http://www.theislandpub.com/

So, there you have it. I hope you don't eat at McDonalds.

At 2:15 there was a Wii Challenge scheduled, so I agreed to take DS, who loves to play Wii. I like to think that his game playing is well monitored and he never spends "too much time" playing, but well, that is probably exaggerating the truth a tad. We are working on it.

There were a couple of other kids playing. And then a couple of adults showed up to play against the kids, which was brave of them because they had never played before. Robin was the host.

DH went up to deck 9 to grab us some food. We had basic "pool" food- hot dogs, salad, hamburger. It was OK. We finished eating right as Wii was ending and they were about to start Origami.

We decided to go back to the room for a bit. We were feeling tired from all the walking earlier, and the go-go-go schedule we had been keeping.

Here are some things that were going on around the ship:
Toddler Time, BINGO, Pirate trivia, Mojiito tasting, Art of the Theme Show Tour and a couple of movies.

Back in the room, we started to get ready for pirate night. We usually do dress up, at least a little bit. This trip we brought some silly matching T-shirts and various accessories. I wasn't sure how this was going to go since I knew that Pirate Night would not be the same here as it is in the Caribbean.

I actually did see plenty of people dressed up, which was really fun. We went up at 5PM for some pirate character pics.

Here's Stich (love him)

Captain Hook and Smee:

Chip and Dale liked our shirts

They had this great backdrop set out with no line:

And soon it was dinner time!
So, instead of the pirate menu and all the waiters dressed in pirate clothes, tonight was the Taste of Alaska menu. The menu was fine but it definitely didn't feel like pirate night to me.
Here's what the waiters wear:

The Taste of Alaska menu is posted here:http://allears.net/cruise/men_tak.htm

They still hand out bandanas:

DH had the Roasted Dill-Scented Chicken:

Sorry to be boring, but I had a salad and a baked potato. Picky eaters are such a pain!!

Now I have room for 2 desserts!
The VERY yummy Cool N Crunch Sundae

Skagway Chocolate Truffle Torte

That sundae was no joke! So good.
Nearly everyone else at our table had the Crab Legs and said they were very good.

After dinner there was time for more pirate pictures!
Captain Jack:

DS with Robin:

As you can see, the entertainment staff still wear their pirate clothes!
Lovin' this backdrop! It was on deck 4, right next to where Chip and Dale were doing their set:

A quick pic on the veranda:

PS, if you're wondering what the shirts say, DH was "Salty", I was "Saucy", my mom was "Siren" and DS was "Rascal"

 

[scrapbookingpro]

We decided to change into comfy clothes for the show, which was Toy Story.
Of course, after we changed we found Peter Pan:

He didn't mind. He said we looked like Lost Boys. hehe, good one Peter.

Slippers at the show!

My son likes Toy Story. To be perfectly honest, it is not my favorite show. I am secretly in love with Twice Charmed on the Magic, so- I handled it.
It was still fun.

Time to go down and put DS to bed.
There weren't really a lot of activities happening this night. The Pirate Party was scheduled for 10PM and afterward they were showing both POTC:Curse of the Black Pearl (Funnel Vision) and POTC: On Stranger Tides (Buena Vista Theater).

DS fell asleep very quickly and I went up to film a little of the Pirate Party. I just wanted to get some footage I could use for editing. The party was inside the lobby on deck 3, and forgive me, but it just doesn't really work in there. I don't want to sound like a big downer, because it will still be really fun if your kids are into it and you like dancing and being silly.
But I really missed the fireworks and the other things that go on in the outdoor party. It just didn't feel right to me.

I watched for a bit, then decided to go over and see if the buffet was open yet. They would be having the buffet inside as well, in BBB. For whatever reason, I chose to go straight up to deck 9 and walk outside all the way over to BBB. Let me tell you, it was SO weird. I was the ONLY human out there. It was completely deserted and dark. Not scary at all, just darker and quieter than I have ever seen deck 9. It made me feel strangely lonely.

It was also quite cold, so I didn't linger. The buffet had just opened when i got there.

If you are not familiar with the Pirate Buffet, they always have the same foods: Taco/fajita bar, giant turkey legs, and lots of desserts.
In the Caribbean they always have crepes and ice cream too. They might have had them here, but I didn't walk all the way around so i can't be sure. I actually forgot to look for them, and regretted it because the crepes are really good.

Taco bar:

DH went up after I came back. He really enjoys the fajitas. One of these days we are going to try the turkey legs. We never do because they are So big, lol.

Tonight's towel animal.

Can anyone name this movie? We ended up watching the same 30 minutes of it EVERY night while we fell asleep

Good night Day 5!!!!!