Alaskan cruise

[butcher bergs]

So, I'm about to embark on my very first cruise. Norwegian cruise line setting out from Seattle, going up to Juneau then returning to some place at some other time and as much as I enjoy my feet firmly planted on the ground, I gotta admit I am somewhat excited....less so about the boat part and moreso about seeing Alaska.

On Sunday, prior to boarding the floater, I will be drinking beer with two of my peoples and eating hotwings at 10am while I watch the Pats in Seattle.

Not sure what to expect from the cruise itself but I suppose that's part of the excitement. Kinda like the first time getting laid, minus the disappointment....I hope.






Any suggestions or must-see's while in Seattle or swimming for my life for shore?

[nhbubba]

My mother did one of those a couple years back with some good friends of hers. Was on her bucket list. She won't shut up about it.. really enjoyed it. I bet you will too.

[mycirus]

The weather up here has been awesome this week. I hope it continues for you. Alaska is awesome. Lots of nice scenery and fresh air. Do you know your other ports of call? In Seattle check out Pioneer square. Lots of neat things around there but its been a while since I have been. Post up your pics when you get back. Cant wait to see them.

[Gecko]

My wife did a cruise to Alaska about two(?) years back, went with her son (my step son). I think it might have been Norwegian cruise line too. Anyway, she loved it, really enjoyed herself. If you like cruise, I'll bet you'll enjoy too. Me, you couldn't get me to go on one of those things if my life depended on it (which is why she went with her son).

[ptk-napalm]

My Wife & I went up there in August on Celebrity cruise line because we wanted to see the Hubbard glacier & Norwegian didn't go there. We had a great time & Juneau is a nice port of call. You have to go to the "Red Dog Saloon" & order a Duck Fart shot, they are great!

The countryside is just so pristine, lots of mountains & very few roads where we were. While in Juneau, go on the bus ride to Menderhall Glacier it's about 10 minutes up the road & is very impressive. There is also a glacier melt there, we talked to a Ranger about how much water was passing by any given point & he knew how many cubic feet per second went by, so we did the math & it was 458,000,000 gallons every 24 hours!

[Chippertheripper]

We did an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon. All inside the prince Edward sound, on a 100' boat. That is the way to cruise Alaska. We'd get up in the morning and be feet from glaciers, in these narrow fjords, and you could look back and see bigger cruise ships that were unable to get to where we were at.

If you want a big boat party, it's not the trip for you, but it was small, very well put together, and super relaxing. Tons of wildlife, great food, simply an amazing trip.

Eat all the halibut you can stick your fork in. Enjoy.

[nt650hawk]

I rode by this place but did not stop. Supposed to be the cats meow off car museum

http://www.lemaymuseum.org/

[timmyho414]

we've gone to Bermuda 3 times with Norwegian, great cruise line. I'd love to do the Alaskan one.

I wasn't sure about a cruise either. I don't like the ocean, I got sea sick as a kid, was fascinated with the Titanic and my brothers let me watch Jaws too many times. My girlfriend talked me into it and I'm glad she did. My only advice, get a balcony suite, or live like a rock star and the the Owners Suite.

[stoinkythepig]

I hate to admit it, but the Seattle duck boat tour was great. The fish market and all the other touristy stuff is fun. If you have a chance, rent a car and drive down to Mount Saint Helens it's wicked cool.

[butcher bergs]

Just walked in the door.

A few notes before I catch some Z's:

Fuck boats

Fuck United Airlines

I need a lot more Alaska in my life

Glad to be home

Pics to come...

[butcher bergs]

Cliff's Notes: All in all I had a really good time, even though I couldn't care less about boats, and as it turns out (based on information I gleaned from others), the time we spent at sea was pretty horrible overall. I was glad to know this because the numerous hours of 12'-18' swells got old really fast.

I was thankful to have distractions such as drinking but it would not be enough to truly get a good night's rest for 3 of the 7 day trip.

Trip was - Seattle to Juneau to Glacier Bay to Skagway to Ketchikan to Victoria, BC

Weather cooperated when it mattered most during the trip

Pics posted are only the ones from my cell phone


Day 1 - Seattle, WA - Flew into Seattle Friday, landed around 3pm and didn't realize how little time I had (or didn't have) to explore some of the suggestions made here. So we went bar hopping Friday night then had brunch at the Space Needle Saturday followed by boarding the ship around 1pm. Cold and windy at the top of the Needle. Nothing much else to report.

Day 2 - Seattle, WA to Juneau, AK - As we set sail for Juneau, the afternoon, evening and most of the next day in open water would prove to confirm everything I dislike about boats. I don't get sea sick but for me, boating (and, in part, flying) is equivalent to <insert the thing that makes you cringe> (nails on a chalk board; forks scratching a plate; teeth on a napkin; etc). A day and a half of 12' swells was less than desirable but I knew the bigger picture was that I was about to see a mere glimpse of beautiful Alaska.

Day 3 - Juneau, AK - As mentioned, the weather at sea was not cooperative on our way to Juneau. Once on land, however, the real education began with the information of how mild and pleasant the weather had been...mostly mid-50's to lower 60's and partly to mostly cloudy. From there, two of the seven of us signed up for the bike-and-brew. A 9 mile tour-de-hops followed by a beer tasting from offerings made by the Alaskan Brewing Company. As the tasting went on, I noticed that several of the 20-ish folks on this excursion did not care for the darker brews, some of which were made with smoked or pumpkin spice type ingredients. There was a couple from Mexico sitting to my left. I offered to imbibe any of the samples they did not care for. This would eventually turn into 2 more couples sending their samples my way. Not a problem!! Once the tasting was done, I realized I had developed quite a buzz as well as two new friends hailing from Salt Lake City, UT. We all stumble down the street for food then off to the bus stop to be shuttled back to the ship with just a few minutes to spare.

Below - A pic from the biking part of the bike-and-brew. Unfortunately the brew tasting was captured on my camera, nothing on the cell phone.



Day 4 - Juneau, AK (with a stop in Glacier Bay) to Skagway, AK - With everyone on board, we set sail North for Glacier Bay prior to heading south to Skagway, AK. The overnight consisted of excellent food, strong drinks and relatively drama-free floating on the open sea. As we entered the Glacier Bay area, we were informed that we were the only ship of the season given permission to get close enough to view the area of the Tarr Inlet/ Mt Barnard/ Johns Hopkins glacier. Regardless, the sight was impressive enough that two grown men needed to fight over a spot on the ship....and picking a spot was really important as the 4000 person ship was rotating on axis for over in hour at a distance of about 1/8 mile from a glacier.

Below - Another sad cell phone picture - Approaching Tarr Inlet



Below - Two glacier located at the Tarr Inlet is part of the Canadian/ US boarder




More to come...

[carsick]

Sublime. You've seen a little bit, there's some more. Alaska redefined many things for me, mostly scale of the earth. I'll go back to show my children before they grow up!

[ptk-napalm]

Just walked in the door.

A few notes before I catch some Z's:

Fuck boats

Fuck United Airlines

I need a lot more Alaska in my life

Glad to be home

Pics to come...

So sorry you didn't enjoy your trip, but! Sailing from Seattle puts you in the rolling ocean zone & that is why we went out of Vancouver. Most all of the steaming was in the inland Straits with glass smooth water.

What cruise line did you use? we were on the Celebrity which is a little smaller than the Norwegian line, but the better cruise would have been with Holland line cruises as they are a smaller ship & really cater to all of your needs.

P.S. always buy the premium drink package you will save money as all these boats charge for even water!

[snwbrdr435]

Everyone needs alaska in their lives. Wait scratch that I don't want you guys clogging up the sights for me.

[Manny]

Tell us more about this disappointment you experienced....

So, I'm about to embark on my very first cruise. Norwegian cruise line setting out from Seattle, going up to Juneau then returning to some place at some other time and as much as I enjoy my feet firmly planted on the ground, I gotta admit I am somewhat excited....less so about the boat part and moreso about seeing Alaska.

On Sunday, prior to boarding the floater, I will be drinking beer with two of my peoples and eating hotwings at 10am while I watch the Pats in Seattle.

Not sure what to expect from the cruise itself but I suppose that's part of the excitement. Kinda like the first time getting laid, minus the disappointment....I hope.






Any suggestions or must-see's while in Seattle or swimming for my life for shore?