Alaskan Cruise

This trip began like so many of our trips do lately — with a deal I saw in a newsletter.  In this case, it was $599 for a 7 night cruise, including unlimited alcohol and both kids were free.  We had been planning to do an Alaskan cruise for a while and were trying to find a smaller ship but they were so much more expensive.  When this deal came up, we quickly booked the only week we both had available and invited both sides of the family to join us.  My family already had other plans but Jaime’s parents and sister were able to join us.

We arrived in Seattle the night before the cruise (we always do this to avoid any potential flight delay issues).  We didn’t do anything exciting, just a quick visit to Pike Place and dinner at Italian Family Pizza.

The first day and a half of the cruise were at sea where we partook in various onboard activities and plenty of free alcohol.  I/we have gone on several Caribbean cruises in the past and the biggest difference was the other passengers.  I usually feel a little out of place on Caribbean cruises because I am always looking for different cultures, adventure, and new experiences while the ship is full of people looking to party and sunbathe.  Alaskan cruises, or at least ours, are much more low-key.  The pools were not heated so they were barely used (with the average temperature in the low 60s), the chairs were all empty, and you could get in an empty hot tub at any time.  It was quite refreshing.

Juneau

Our first port of call was Juneau, the capital.  Jaime had found a great blog post that said to avoid most shore excursions offered by the cruise line because, in contrast with various Caribbean countries, Alaskan tour companies were all following the same rules and regulations regardless of where they are booked.

We had decided to visit the Mendenhall Glacier followed by the Mount Roberts Tram.  A tour package purchased in the tram station was about $10 less per person onshore, so it was definitely worth waiting.  The bus ride to the glacier was uneventful and the tourist center was right along the water so you could see everything almost immediately.  The main walking paths were close to a river which used to be part of the glacier a couple decades ago.  There is also a large waterfall along the cliffs to the right of the glacier.  Lydia was very excited about the waterfall so we hiked 20 minutes to reach it.  Unfortunately for her, she passed out somewhere along the hike and missed getting up close and personal.  She woke up right when we finished the return hike and wasn’t happy.  I showed her pictures of her sleeping at the base of the waterfall and she couldn’t believe it.

Afterward, we took the tram ride up Mount Roberts.  There isn’t much to see at the top other than the views down to the city.  There was a funny green-screen photo op that we did (though the cameraman never sent me the pictures via email that I paid extra for!).  Other than that, there’s a rescued bald eagle on display, a viewing platform, and a small museum that we skipped.

Skagway

This next stop is a tiny town known for a gold rush basecamp and the gateway to the Yukon.  This time around we pre-purchased the tickets for the White Pass Railway as our sources said the prices were about the same on shore.  The railroad was thought to be impossible to build and was an engineering feat of the ages.  It skirts along mountain sides and through a couple tunnels to bring people to the goldfields and, at the time, to the interior of the Yukon.  Now, the railroad is only used for tourists as it’s a very scenic and relaxing trip.

When we returned to town a few hours later, we wandered around the main drag, did a little shopping, and grabbed lunch in one of the few places that had space available.  The cruise ship guests definitely overran most of the city.  There are between 400 and 800 residents depending on season and just our cruise ship (one of 2-3 ships at each port) added over 2,500 for the day.

Glacier Bay

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw Glacier Bay on the itinerary.  I had just assumed that it was part of the inner passage on the way back.  After looking up the other ships we crossed paths with though, we realized how special we were to have it as part of the cruise.  Apparently the ship has to pay additional fees to the park service so a lot of ships take a different route.

We saw at least a dozen glaciers, including a couple of rare ones that had just opened up due to too much loose ice over the summer.  At one point, we got within a football field or two to a massive glacier and the ship spun completely around many times to make sure everyone got an amazing view.  Jaime had also just discovered the unmarked route to the bow of the ship (that is normally locked when the boat is moving) which made it an extra special affair.  Overall, it was an amazing experience.  If you take an Alaskan cruise, be sure it includes Glacier Bay.

That evening we discovered how easy it was to utilize Splash Academy for Lydia.  Our initial thought that it was specific drop-off times for short events, but it’s very flexible and Lydia loved going for an hour here and there to play with other kids for the rest of the trip.  Wish we had tried it earlier!

Ketchikan

For the next stop, we knew early on that we wanted to take a tour in a floatplane.  The prices were a bit steep on the boat — $250-280 or so a person and since I love to haggle we decided to roll the dice onshore.  After some fairly aggressive haggling and back-and-forth, I got it down to $200 a person and free kids.  After a quick van ride we arrived at the airport.  Lydia started laughing hysterically and kept saying “the plane is in the water like a boat!!!”.

The planes were 6-seaters so we had the plane to ourselves.  The main attraction for the area is the Misty Fjords National Monument and it was incredible to see it all from the air.  The flight was about an hour and a half total and it seemed like we were in a sweeping nature movie the entire time.  We even landed in the middle of a fjord and got to stand on the pontoon landing gear to soak it all up.  A great experience that was totally worth the price.

Afterward, we walked around the city a bit.  Ketchikan looked like what I expected an Alaskan city to look like.  Various colored houses and a fishing village vibe.  There is also a great old part of town with a series of houses built atop a boardwalk that overhangs a river.  It was infamous for having a lot of brothels but today it’s all shopping and preserved houses.

Victoria

Our last port of call was Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, which is about half way between Seattle and Vancouver.  The port times were 6pm to midnight which isn’t good when traveling with kids.  We decided to just take a bus into town and wander around to find dinner.  We first visited Chinatown, the oldest in Canada and second oldest in North America behind San Francisco.  We all got some bubble tea and continued walking around.  We ended up at a popular pizza place called Famoso.  The wait was quoted at 30 minutes but ended up being around an hour.  We were so glad we waited though because it was some of the best pizza we’ve ever had.

Seattle

The ship returned on a Sunday morning and since the next day was Labor Day, we decided to spend the extra time in Seattle.  After departing the ship and saying our goodbyes to Jaime’s family, we were off to check into our hotel.  We started back at Pike Place then went down the shore a bit to the Great Wheel as Lydia is obsessed with ferris wheels.  We then walked all the way to the Space Needle and went to the beautiful Chihuly Garden and Glass next door; both recommended.  For dinner we went with a local’s suggestion of Serious Pie which was good but after being spoiled by Famoso the day before it didn’t seem as great as it probably was.

That’s it for this trip!  Next up will be Bangkok in November without the kids!