The Alaskan Jewel! Welcome Aboard….You don’t Exist!

[jenseib]

Poor Claire nearly starving to death.

She clearly isn't eating enough. hahaha!

I loved watching the seals at Ketchikan.

They are so neat to see and just watch them going on like no one is there.

I really enjoyed all your photos Creek Street is so picturesque.

It is a great spot for pictures!

What a shame that the jacket was too big.

In the long run it was actually good. I washed them both when we got home and they shrunk a bit....Not a lot but definately not as big and baggy like it was before without a sweatshirt under them.

What a shame that you just missed out on the whales.

They were avoiding me ...clearly.

Looks like you had glorious weather in Juneau. This was the only port where we had rain.

Juneau was an amazing day. The weather was beautiful.

Well getting up early definitely meant getting some amazing shots! That one waterfall looks like it went on forever!

I love that Claire thought her steak was too small, atta girl!

The waterfalls were just beautiful.
Claire does love her steak.

Just joining in and enjoying all the adventures with the whole family. I am curious about Alaska but not sure about using precious vacation to go somewhere chilly! If we did go it would be on another line and not DCL, so loving your review so far. Great photos, as always.

Thanks for joining in.
Now remember this is summer, so it's not that cold there...65-75 typically and it depends on where you go and the time of day as well. And when it's in the 90's at home this is actually a nice relief.

 

[jenseib]

As you can see, today was sunny and no signs of rain. It wasn’t very cold either really.


Juneau is one way in and one way out. Obviously the big ships can’t fit under that bridge.


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Juneau’s port area isn’t as cute and quaint as Ketchikan’s but it still had a lot to see.


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And this is what was in store for us today.


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We decided to go to the buffet this morning for a nice breakfast. I think Skip went earlier and Claire and I went together.


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After breakfast we headed outside to watch the world go by.


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The Grand Princess has arrived!


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Our excursion today was a visit to Mendenhall Glacier and then whale watching…with a 100% guarantee of a whale sighting or you would receive $100 back. I believe it was stated that they have never had to give out the $100, so that was a good sign that we would be seeing a whale today!


When looking over excursions, Juneau actually had several that I wanted to do, but when it came down to it both whale watching and the glacier were 2 things I REALLY wanted to do. I debated it a bit over another one that really caught my fancy, which left at 1:30 and would take you out to Tracey Arm on a small boat and then you later meet up with the Jewel and get back on. I had read reviews of it and it sounds amazing. It was a bit more costly and I even looked if I could do both, but the timing wasn’t going to work. In the end I went with my gut feeling and went with my first choice.

I then had a few people tell me I shouldn’t have wasted my money on a whale excursion because I would see plenty from the ship. Now I had thought, well that might be true, but I bet it would be better on a boat that would stop near the whales and linger…..and thank goodness I didn’t listen to those people as we all know how many whales I have seen at this point….Last official count…a big fat ZERO!


Our tickets said to meet in the theatre at 7:30 AM. Now I had assumed this would be like DCL and you would all meet here and taken off the ship together as a group and then off to your excursion. Well that was a big mistake.


Most excursions were meeting here and they would just call off the names of each at a certain time and tell you to get off the ship and find the person with the sign for your excursion. Had I known it worked this way I would’ve just gotten off the ship with Florentina.


So we waited a short time in the Stardust Theatre and they rattled off excursion names and we left with a larger group of people….and didn’t make it too far and were at a standstill. They couldn’t get the people off fast enough and we were stuck on the staircase for quite some time. Skip grumbled that if we had left out the other exit we could’ve walked right off and he was right…but we didn’t know that earlier. The line was so slow and once we got to the correct deck we then had to weave down a narrow hallway before getting to the gangway.


It was funny as there was a family group there and were obviously separated and they were hollering back and forth…carrying on a conversation. Skip was laughing and I swear he was about to join in.


“Uncle Mike! Freddy is with Uncle David already and they are off the ship”…”Great, can you call them and tell them we are on our way”. …”Sure thing, What did you have for breakfast today, we just went to the buffet”. …”We went to Moderno and it was really nice, they sure do take care of you there”.


We were just totally cracking up. Half the ship was filled in on what the family had been doing for the past 24 hours.


Finally we made it off the ship. You can see the 2nd gangway off in the distance in this next picture and as you can see no one is on it.


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We now knew that if any other excursion called for us to meet anywhere on the ship we were just going to get off on our own instead. It just wasn’t run very well in my opinion. I must say I like the way Disney does it better. They walk you right through till you are safely in the hands of the tour operator.


We then headed towards all the buses.


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We were at the furthest pier in Juneau and unlike Ketchikan there really isn’t anything very close to the dock. Yes you can walk to things but it is a little ways away. I have been told there is even a shuttle bus running back and forth, though we never had a chance to use it today.


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A look back up at the Jewel and her life boats.


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A plane!!!!!


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The Mount Roberts Tramway.


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We were directed to our bus and found some seats. I don’t remember out bus drivers name, but he was really a nice young guy…and pretty cute too. He said he would be taking us to each of our destinations today and he also liked to give info on Juneau as he drove along.


Soon we were on our way.


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The dock area itself is a bit more industrial looking.


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There goes the tram!


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About here is where the tourist area starts. Not too far from some ships, but from ours it would be a good 10-20 minute walk.


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Our driver talked most of the way, pointing out things and giving us info on the city.


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Up next…..Mendenhall Glacier!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hey Jen, did you know that I had breakfast at my desk this morning? Nothing like those guys who were hollering back in forth with the line though. I hear they treat you right on the ship! Why in the world would they carry on a conversation like that with all those folks around. Couldn't they have waited until they met up again? Weird.

I had no clue that all cruise ships didn't handle the excursions like Disney does. I'd have been like a fish out of water trying to figure out what to do.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Juneau looks so pretty when the weather is nice. We had a lot of low cloud and did not see much of anything.

The way they organize meeting for excursions sounds like a mess. I love the sound of your excursion and I am looking forward to reading all about it, but the other option sounds fantastic, too.

Corinna

 

[KarriTigger]

I'm a little late to the commenting part of the party, but I've ready your other TR's and I really like the perspectives of the other ships you've sailed on. I want to get to Alaska, and unfortunately I think it won't be on DCL.
And our family would have swooned over any of the Deadliest Catch ships or references! We all love that show! I'm following along!

 

[dizneeat]

And it looks like another beautiful day is in the works. Breakfast looked nice and I had to really laugh when you told the story of the family shouting back and forth while waiting to get off the ship.
The start of your trip sounds lovely and I would LOVE to use that tramway up the mountain. We have LOADS of them here and I just love going up mountains in them. Well, going back down too.

 

[jenseib]

Hey Jen, did you know that I had breakfast at my desk this morning? Nothing like those guys who were hollering back in forth with the line though. I hear they treat you right on the ship! Why in the world would they carry on a conversation like that with all those folks around. Couldn't they have waited until they met up again? Weird.

I had no clue that all cruise ships didn't handle the excursions like Disney does. I'd have been like a fish out of water trying to figure out what to do.

it was pretty funny and I know others were having a chuckle over it too.
Disney really does handle excursions so much better than other lines. I had forgotten about that tid bit till it was too late.

Juneau looks so pretty when the weather is nice. We had a lot of low cloud and did not see much of anything.

It was such a nice day. We really lucked out. I went in expecting rain for every day and hoping it would be better than that.

The way they organize meeting for excursions sounds like a mess. I love the sound of your excursion and I am looking forward to reading all about it, but the other option sounds fantastic, too.

It is a mess. It just makes me wonder how Disney can get it so right and why don't others take the lead and do it the same way?

And it looks like another beautiful day is in the works. Breakfast looked nice and I had to really laugh when you told the story of the family shouting back and forth while waiting to get off the ship.

It was a very nice day. I really think in terms of ports...each day got nicer and we were so fortunate.
That family cracked me up and we saw them a few other times...well a lot of times. Some were staying in suites so we would run into them here and there as well...and they are loud talkers....very nice people...but very loud talkers. LOL.

The start of your trip sounds lovely and I would LOVE to use that tramway up the mountain. We have LOADS of them here and I just love going up mountains in them. Well, going back down too.

I get nervous on trams like that. I did to one in Gatlinburg about 12 years ago and it was cool, but still make me nervous.

 

[jenseib]

I'm a little late to the commenting part of the party, but I've ready your other TR's and I really like the perspectives of the other ships you've sailed on. I want to get to Alaska, and unfortunately I think it won't be on DCL.
And our family would have swooned over any of the Deadliest Catch ships or references! We all love that show! I'm following along!

Thanks for joining in and reading my other ones too! You are never too late to the commenting party!
There are a lot of great cruise lines that go to Alaska and yes they do things differently but they don't stay in business because people only like Disney. LOL. Yep in the grand scheme of things most of these lines have been around a lot longer. Some do some things better and some have some learning to do, but that makes them unique too. Whatever line you go on, Alaska is a great destination.

Skip loves the Deadliest Catch and he had one of the best times in his life that day.

 

[jenseib]

As we drove along our driver talked about the area and how he liked his job (I think this was his first season doing this if I remember right) and he was really interested in the history and the area and knew the names of different mountains and told us stories about the areas we passed.


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It wasn’t long and we were out of the town area and it was very pretty.


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Selfie time.


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And then all of a sudden I saw it from afar as we drove by!


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Our guy parked up, told us which bus to come back to and how long we had there, which was basically an hour.


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It was just so stunning to see. And we were told today was an exceptionally clear day too.


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There is a trail that takes you to this waterfall. I believe it’s about a mile away with an estimated 20 minute walk each way.


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We hit the bathrooms and looked around the area from the parking lot at first.


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We then started down towards a trail.


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Real Live Icebergs!!!


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Skip asked if we wanted to walk to the waterfall, but we only had about 45 minutes left and I knew our walk would be slow because of his bad hips…and I didn’t want to be the one blamed when he was hurting later, so I told him we better pass on it.


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A look back at the visitor’s center.


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We took a shorter trail. Stop for a picture please!


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Look at that gorgeous sky!!!


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[jenseib]

Can you see the people at the waterfall?


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We got to the lookout area and just enjoyed the scenery. We were all wowed! A family was trying to get a picture and I asked if they wanted me to take it so they all could be in and they were thankful. They then took a picture of us too.


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It was just so amazing there. The beauty was overwhelming.


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I was obsessed with the icebergs.


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Airplane!


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Sadly this glacier is receding back at a fairly fast pace. At one time it came out to the waterfall.


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Pose for me again!


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And we handed off the camera to Claire…scary I know….and she took about 15 of us.


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We then decided to head back to the visitors center and check it out.


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As you can see, Skip took off his coat. It was getting pretty warm.


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We headed up inside the visitor’s center taking the elevator up. Claire questioned why till I gave her the choice of all the stairs. LOL.


The views were fantastic in here too.


I’ve always been one who thought some of the most beautiful places in the world are where the palm trees, blue oceans and sandy beaches are….This ranks right up there. I could spend hours just enjoying the scenery and taking pictures.


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We wandered around looking at the displays.


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We also looked through several of the telescopes.


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And then we hit the bathrooms one more time and headed off to the bus.


Luckily everyone followed the rules and we got back on the road right away. Next we were going to the docks to go whale watching….yippie!


Up next……There is only a 10% chance you will see an Orca.

 

[ilovedevin]

Awe you didn't see any bears? When we were there we saw a mom and two cubs it was so cool.

 

[bcwife76]

I could stare at those photos for hours...... breathtaking!

I'm assuming those people who got right up close to the waterfall were getting quite the mist off of it! I mean, we were in the front row for World of Color the other week and man, a light mist - ha!! We were WET

 

[dolphingirl47]

The photos are absolutely stunning. When we make it back to Alaska, we want to have a look at the Mendenhall Glacier.

Corinna

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I can not wait until I can see that one day in person. Beautiful!

 

[rndmr2]

Beautiful pictures! It was cool that you are able to get fairly close to it.

 

[dizneeat]

Lovely, lovely photos, Jen!

Keeping my fingers crossed you will see a whale SOON!!!!!!!

 

[jenseib]

View attachment 130708 Awe you didn't see any bears? When we were there we saw a mom and two cubs it was so cool.

Nope, we were never lucky enough to see any bears.

I could stare at those photos for hours...... breathtaking!

I'm assuming those people who got right up close to the waterfall were getting quite the mist off of it! I mean, we were in the front row for World of Color the other week and man, a light mist - ha!! We were WET

It was just so breathtaking...the whole trip.

I bet they did get misted.

I can not wait until I can see that one day in person. Beautiful!

I hope you do. It's just amazing.

Beautiful pictures! It was cool that you are able to get fairly close to it.

It really is a fabulous place to visit.

Lovely, lovely photos, Jen!

Keeping my fingers crossed you will see a whale SOON!!!!!!!

Thanks
I was gonna be mad if this next part didn't pan out with the whales!

 

[canyoncam]

Love the pictures. You had a very nice day for them. The scenery is lovely. Beaches or mountains: both are great areas for photography. Deserts, swamps, and plains not much but sometimes you can find beauty. I think why mountain areas top my list though is the wildlife. Hope you saw lots by the end of your trip.

 

[afinnteach]

Great trip report! Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[Timon]

Just caught up again.

I had to laugh at Claire's picture in Ketchikan when she was just about dead

Like Mommy, like daughter

Wow, you should frame that photo of Skip with the big smile on his face

Beautiful pics, reminds me a lot of where I live as we are 45 minutes away from the Rockies.

Great job on the report so far