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My week on the Sun 7/3-7/10 (including pre/post adventures)


ljrfrm
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We are in the same room (9277) next month. I'd love to see some pics. Thanks in advance!

 

Sorry. I didn't really take any pics of the cabin this time. But, although an old post, the cabin still looks basically the same as in this thread. Look at post #13.

 

The TV is updated and the sofa is recovered - same striped curtains though! :)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1361603

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Loving your review even more now. Not only did you stay in the same hotel we will be (that few others on here seem to) but we will be in the same cabin (9277) in Sept! Your experience after boarding (hang out, drink, munch, etc.) sounds perfect and may just end up being what we do.

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Loving your review even more now. Not only did you stay in the same hotel we will be (that few others on here seem to) but we will be in the same cabin (9277) in Sept! Your experience after boarding (hang out, drink, munch, etc.) sounds perfect and may just end up being what we do.

 

 

Wow!!! Can't wait to hear about your cruise. You will love it!!!

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When we first got into the cabin, we had several things on our bed waiting for us. The first was the Freestyle Daily for Day 1. I quickly perused it to plan for the rest of the day. We had a Latitudes card welcoming us back, and then there was another paper from Group Events confirming the Meet and Greet I scheduled for the following day. While I'm definitely not the hostest with the mostest, I enjoy coordinating these events as it gives me the opportunity to meet others on board. This time, we found a letter inviting us to eat breakfast and lunch at La Cucina with the suite guests, as well as utilize the Concierge services. While I didn't offer to organize the Meet and Greet for this perk (and previously didn't receive it when I also organized one), it was a nice surprise.

 

Soon it was time for the muster drill. We figured out where we needed to go and headed over there. Both trips on the Escape, we mustered in the theater. It was comfortable and nice to be able to sit and relax instead on lining up outside on deck. This time, we were back to the old-fashioned lineup. It only lasted about 15 minutes but I can imagine it might have been hard for someone with difficulties standing. Of course, everyone was in a good mood and there was lots of joking and talking while waiting for the official instructions to start. Once finished, we went back to the pool and met our friends. I think there might have been another drink involved as well. Soon we were on our way!!

 

We spent Sailaway on Deck 12 and enjoyed sailing under Lion's Gate Bridge. A recent poster shared an outside view of our ship sailing under the bridge - fun to see the other perspective. For us, as we sailed under, we noticed quite a few people on the bridge waving to us. We of course waved back and smiled like celebrities!

 

We had dinner reservations at 7 Seas for the four of us. Our other friends on board had just been seated as well, and we asked to sit near them if possible. We were put right next to them which was nice, and I appreciate them being able to accommodate our request. The dining room only appeared about half full - which is something we'd notice off and on throughout the week. I ordered a salad, Prime Rib and Pistachio Creme Brulee and enjoyed it all. The 2 glasses of Riesling helped wash it down. We never had any problems throughout the week ordering drinks with dinner and in fact, there were times that we got refills without even asking!

 

Following dinner, we went to Dazzles for "Sing it if you know it". Once there, we were able to get drinks quickly, and I ordered a Gin and Tonic. We were sitting in the front, and as I tend to know every word to every song (the unfortunate thing is I can't carry a turn) I ended up participating along with others. Unfortunately, my team lost - but it wasn't for lack of trying. I think we were robbed a few times - but I won't hold a grudge!

 

The sun set for us in Vancouver shortly after 10 pm. Sometime this night, we decided to step out quickly to look at the sunset. I'm so glad we did! I have to say, we saw the most amazing sunsets on this cruise - although some of them didn't happen until almost midnight, I would highly recommending making this a priority each night. You won't be sorry. Here's what we saw when we stepped out of Dazzles (note, this photo is untouched - it was really this amazing:

https://pix.sfly.com/XCa_RP

 

After enjoying the sunset for awhile, we all went up to the Sports Bar. We hadn't planned to eat anything and I don't think any of us were hungry, but the next thing you know, I found myself with an order of wings. I somehow managed to stuff them in, and then we headed back to our room.

 

Initially when we got to our room for the first time, I had a "Happy Birthday" cake on the table. There was a card from the person who sent it to me, wishing me a happy birthday (my birthday was the day after the cruise ended) and stating she had bought me the "Birthday Package". The package comes with balloons and streamers which weren't there. The room evidently was decorated while we were at dinner, as when I got back to the room, this is what I walked into:

https://pix.sfly.com/BprPnz

 

When I met our room steward the next day, he told me that the reason I didn't have the decorations along with the cake initially was because they decorated the wrong room. "No problem at all" I told him, although I do think that the other person was probably surprised to see their room decorated, especially if nobody had a birthday. Our friends actually had a case of water delivered to them accidentally as well. They were told the could keep it. Not a bad mistake for them at all.

 

Once back in the room, I read the Day 2 Freestyle Dailies and we went to bed. A successful first day for sure!!!

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Tuesday was Fourth of July!! We woke up around 7:40 as I wanted to make sure we had enough time to relax and eat a leisurely breakfast before the scheduled Meet and Greet. After spending a little time on our balcony, we went to La Cucina for breakfast. I ordered the French Toast and bacon and went to the buffet for some Muesli while I was waiting for it. I only eat Muesli when cruising - and it's definitely a cruising must for me!! The French Toast was delicious as always, but the bacon wasn't crispy. I soon learned that all I needed to do was order "crispy bacon" and it would come out perfectly.

 

While eating breakfast, we looked out the window and saw this:

https://pix.sfly.com/v6wWDd

Not sure who they were dropping off or picking up, but I watched them pull up along with us, and then a few minutes later ride away. All of a sudden, everyone started pointing and I looked out again. Whale!!! Yes, we had a friend following along with us. It was pretty cool - and definitely just the first of so much wildlife we saw on this trip. Loved it!

 

Soon it was about 10:40 and time to start heading to our Meet and Greet. I've read that the Alaskan Meet and Greets and Roll Calls in general aren't as well attended as other cruises. We ended up with probably 30-35 (just a guess) attendees and as always, we had a great showing from NCL officers. They lined up, introduced themselves and spent a few minutes with Q&A. While they weren't with us for too long, they did a nice job and definitely didn't rush away quickly like I've seen on other ships. That said, they also didn't mingle and chat with us like they do on the Escape.

 

Once the officers left we had a gift exchange. This was actually a lot of fun and we had great participation. Once the gift exchange was finished, people started to leave. While a few were still there chatting, we left as we wanted to go to the Star Spangled Banner Sing Along in the Atrium. This was a fun way to acknowledge it was the fourth of July. They brought in one of the production singers and she led us through the anthem. This came after:

https://pix.sfly.com/EoAS0U

 

We went to the Atrium bar and ordered a Mr. Worldwide. For some reason, we started calling the drink "Mr. Wonderful" and for the rest of the cruise, everytime we went to the Atrium bar, the bartender asked us if we wanted another Mr. Wonderful. "Why yes, I do please"!! Following my date with Mr. Wonderful, we went out to the pool and watched the Hot Dog eating contest. That and the drink definitely gave us the munchies again so we went into the Garden Cafe to eat. Again,this is so unlike me - I never eat in the Garden Cafe. But, the burger hit the spot yesterday so I did a repeat, and got a cheeseburger and fries. I brought them back out to the pool and ordered a margarita to go with them. Yum.

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At some point after lunch, we went to play Trivia and then to the casino. We are not big casino-goers, mainly because of the smoke. As usual, the casino was a bit smokey but it wasn't as bad as it could be. We watched our friend play slots for about 15 minutes and use up her money and admired the skills of a blackjack player or two. This visit would be our only casino experience this trip. At least it saves me money!

 

We went back to our room to read and relax and found some canapes had been delivered while we were out. Yum. It's a good thing, by this time it had been probably almost 2 hours since I'd eaten. A travesty!! The sun was shining on our deck and it was very comfortable out there. I sat out for awhile and then came back in to read in bed. Carlos the Concierge came by to see how we were doing and if we needed anything. We loved him - such a nice, friendly man -we enjoyed chatting with him on and off throughout the week. We told him we were good and not needing anything at this time. I went back into bed to read some more which of course turned into a nap. Once awake, we showered and dressed for dinner.

 

Tonight we had reservations at Le Bistro. We booked with two promos - which we chose the UBP and 3 specialty dinners. I reserved the 3 nights at 90 days out. Literally.....at 12:01 am when we were 90 days out so I could have my pick up days/times. That said, when I got my key card, it said "UBP" on it and then also that I had 4 specialty dinners. I don't know if I somehow got an extra one, or if I had it all along and didn't realize it. But, all week I debated about where/when to add the other dinner. Our friends didn't have the plan, and were only joining us at one specialty restaurant later in the week. This night, I had Le Bistro reserved for 6:30 (just the two of us), so once showered and ready, off we went.

 

I ordered the Beef Tenderloin which was delicious. I always get the French Onion Soup as well. To drink, I started with one of the specialty drinks (French Kiss) and then moved on to wine. We were so stuffed full there was no way I could do dessert. Or could I? I ordered a Creme Brulee and at it all!!

 

After dinner we went to Dazzles to grab some chairs so we could watch The Newlywed Game. There was a string quartet playing so we sat and listened as we drank our Gin and Tonics. While we wouldn't usually go to listen to classical music, it was very nice and relaxing. They soon finished and the crowds started to build for the game. I say "crowds" but honestly, the ship never seemed too crowded. In fact, my husband kept saying that the ship must be half empty. I assured him it wasn't, I had noticed the last week when looking online that it was mostly sold out. But really, other than the pasta/pizza area and one part of the Garden Cafe, we never saw a line. And the restaurants never looked full. Dazzles did fill up for the popular events, but we never had trouble finding chairs. We also usually always ended up in the front row, with arriving only 5-10 minutes prior to it starting. This was very different from the Atrium shows on the Escape.

 

I always enjoy watching The Newlywed Game and although the questions get old because they don't change, it's always a good time with the contestants that can make it all pretty hilarious. I think it also depends on the host - and how much they "play" with the contestants to make it funny. The best host we've ever seen is Andre - who at the time was the Assistant CD on the Dawn, and then later we saw him do it again on the Escape. He is simply the best at it and if you ever get the chance to see him host, don't miss it. This time was good - but it wasn't one of those roll on the floor laughing game shows. I think this was more because of the contestants picked vs. the host. We laughed but it wasn't so funny unfortunately.

 

We left Dazzles following the show and quickly headed to the theater to catch the We Will Rock You show. This would be the only production show we saw all week. I swear I've seen this show before on another ship (or something very similar), but they did a nice job with it and we were entertained. Of course, the Gin and Tonic may have helped too.

 

After the show finished we went out on deck. It was 10:45 pm and still light out. Whales!!! We found more whales - hard to miss with everyone pointing and taking photos!! We then caught another beautiful sunset. A short while later we headed back to our cabin. We had a friend waiting for us when we got there:

https://pix.sfly.com/OyMj0R

 

I spent some time reading the new Freestyle Daily and then my book and later drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow - Ketchikan!!!

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Ketchikan today!!! Sometime overnight, the time changed - and we went back one hour. The plan was to take advantage of extra sleep, and catch up on a Z or two, even though we were due in to port by 7:00 am. We were jolted awake at 5:30 with a loud rumble and shake. As we had been in an aft cabin before, we knew about the engine noises you get at times. I was just surprised by how loud the rumbling was. I don't remember it like this - maybe the ship is breaking down? Ok, well it wasn't quite that loud, but it was unnerving for a moment when I was in a deep sleep. Anyhow, my husband was not happy at all, and grumbled a bit at the noise before rolling over and trying to go back to sleep. We would hear the rumbling and feel the vibration occasionally on other days, but for some reason, this morning caught us off guard. Was it horrible? No. Would I book an aft cabin again? Heck yes. We both dozed back to sleep, wondering how close were were to docking.

 

At 6:40 we were once again hearing rumblings and I peeked outside. Land ho!! This was my morning view from the balcony:

https://pix.sfly.com/w4x9xC

 

We got up and dressed and headed to La Cucina for breakfast. We were once again seated by the window, which allowed me to get another view of beautiful Ketchikan:

https://pix.sfly.com/tw5OBd

 

Ok, so maybe not so beautiful, but it's nice to know there's a Cannibus shop across the street........just in case!! I ordered Eggs Benedict for breakfast and "crispy" bacon and of course had my Muesli. It was a delicious breakfast and we left satisfied. Carlos was there and checked in with us. We told him we're doing great, and we didn't need priority disembarkment today. We weren't rushing off - and we were with our friends. That said, we never took advantage of his offer - and we never had any lines while getting off the ship. So nice!

 

After breakfast I went onto the balcony to read a bit. It was sunny and hot. Such gorgeous weather! Maybe now is the time to comment that our weather was so amazingly perfect on our trip. The entire time!! I agonized over if I needed waterproof shoes, bought a raincoat, wondered which sweatshirts to bring, and wondered what to pack. In the end, we had NO rain during the 11 days we were in Alaska. We had 10 minutes of very slight drizzle on one occasion, and that was it. I don't even know if you could call it drizzle. We also had temperatures between 68-76 throughout. We wore shorts and capris often, and short sleeves with usually just a light sweatshirt "in case". We did have some cooler weather in Glacier Bay - and I wore my fleece and a vest on occasion. But boy, what glorious weather we had. So lucky.

 

We met up with our friends at 9:30 and headed off the ship. While I spent months planning our excursions, I was a bit unprepared for Ketchikan. I didn't realize this until we were out and about. The plan was to just walk around downtown, Creek Street and I wanted to go see Totem Poles. I knew there was a free shuttle but I didn't have too much information. I also knew there were two places I could see Totem Poles but didn't do too much research on where to go. This was a fail on my part, as I am usually overly organized and enjoy researching everything. Since I wasn't 100% sure where we needed to go for the totem poles, I had just planned on asking at the visitor center or somewhere about specifics.

 

So, once off the ship we went to the free shuttle. I asked where it was and we were pointed to a small covered area that was the shuttle stop. We waited about 20 minutes and the shuttle came. We were the first ones there and as people started to show up, I stayed standing near the front, because after all, I was the first one there. The shuttle finally came and everyone started trying to rush on. Luckily, we were one of the first ones on, since we had been in the front of the line. The shuttle bus driver finally told people that she was full - nobody was allowed to stand so they'd have to wait for the next one. Those that didn't get on were not happy about this.

 

There was a lady in the front seat who began to moan about how lazy these cruise ship passengers are. "Why can't they walk? It's not far to downtown". Then she said "I'd be walking if I weren't so hungover". Side note: I don't think she was hungover, but rather she was still drunk!! She and the shuttle bus driver kept talking, making fun of the tourists, and all the stupid questions they ask. The hungover lady evidently worked in the Information/Visitors Center. Meanwhile, I'm thinking "Hello Ms. Shuttle-bus driver and Ms. Visitor Center lady - we can hear everything you are saying!!!". Evidently, they also didn't like that the tourists all take the free shuttle and take up all the room from those that live here. Nice way to make us feel welcome!

 

She did have one point, and that is the Creek Street/downtown area is very close to where we docked. As we pulled up to one of the stops downtown, I went up and asked her about the Totem Poles. While on the bus and looking at the few notes I did have, I told her we think we want to go to the Totem Bight State Park. She did tell me where to catch the Silver Line bus that goes out there and we got off. Although we were only on the shuttle for about 5 minutes, it was quite interesting.

 

We went into a gift shop for a few minutes and then went out to the bus stop for the park. The bus to Totem Bight State Park costs $1 each direction. We didn't have to wait long and soon it came. The driver was very personable and welcoming and we asked him to let us know when we got to the park. It took us around 30 minutes to get to the park - I did enjoy seeing the Ketchikan Airport (so small) and we saw where Walmart was (just in case anyone needs to pick something up - it was a stop on the way).

 

Once there, we spent time walking around the park and had a nice time. I don't know if we made the right decision to go there and not Saxman, but it was nice. I probably would choose something closer the next time - but live and learn.

We saw totem poles though:

https://pix.sfly.com/Vczkoe

https://pix.sfly.com/e-o5s1

https://pix.sfly.com/nP0d-v

 

The bus driver told us what time he'd be back for pick up so we didn't have too long to wait on the other end. The bus was fairly full when it came by so we were standing in the back. About halfway back, he announced that he wasn't actually heading back downtown and for those cruise passengers that want to go back to the docks they needed to transfer on to the free shuttle. I only half-heard his announcement and wasn't really paying attention. But, multiple other passengers started getting off at the next stop and we followed. Why? I don't know. It turned out the bus did go into town - just not back to the cruise ships.....guess next time we should listen! No worries, we knew we could just take the free shuttle from there. And, who comes driving along.......our friendly (not) free shuttle driver, still moaning and groaning about tourists.

 

We gave her a big friendly thank you when we got off downtown and we were on our way. Off to Creek Street and checking out the rest of the town.

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Once we said goodbye to our friendly Ketchikan welcoming committee (AKA shuttle bus driver) we walked over to Creek Street. I loved it. Such a cute and fun area!!

https://pix.sfly.com/Ta9CaO

https://pix.sfly.com/fiJJoT

https://pix.sfly.com/HkT7z-

 

We walked around for awhile and my friend bought some new Pandora charms. I was tempted but held off on any major purchases other than t-shirts for my children, and one for me. My husband bought a rain jacket. Once our feet told us we were done for the day, we headed back to the ship, past the Cannabis store and back onto the ship. I'm used to Carribean ports and NCL out in front of the ship with towels, drinks, music and love. Getting back to port this time was a surprise, there was nada. But, I guess with the iffy weather always that makes sense - so no biggie.

 

We washy-washied and went through the security scanner and dropped our bags off at our room. Side note: When you buy something, you get some cool reusable shopping bags. Cool. Anyhow, once the bags were dropped off, we met our friends at the pool. I read for awhile, of course made use of my UBP and decided to make use of this time to check out some fleece blankets for our room. You can get these where you check out the towels - we grabbed a few to prepare ourselves for Glacier Bay and any other chilly times on our balcony. I was so glad to see we could do this. You can also ask your steward if that's easier.

 

We stayed at the pool through sailaway and then decided to head up to the room. I sat on the balcony awhile longer and then read. Which again, was code word for napped. Once awake, I showered for dinner which was reserved at Modernos. The food at Modernos was good, although I felt like they could have used a few others walking around with food. That said,we ate well and it was all tasty. I really, really wanted some pineapple and they kept skipping me. It felt like it was a pineapple conspiracy - but then I saw the hostess walk by and I told her I really, really wanted pineapple. She came through and I finally had my pineapple fix. Mmmmm. I had several Caipirinhas (specialty drinks) which were very tasty as well. This would be our second specialty dinner - we had one more booked later in the week. I still had another one to use - and I still couldn't figure out where I wanted to go. I was considering NOT using it. I hated it going to waste - maybe they'd let me bank it for my next cruise? So many first world decisions on this trip.............

 

After dinner we went to Dazzles and got another front row seat. I ordered my after-dinner Gin and Tonic and we watched the Battle of the Sexes. We then went to Windjammer which is where we would end up spending a lot of time. We enjoyed listening to Jason sing there and our favorite bartender Jonathan always took great care of us. Jason was singing music from the 80's and we sang along with him and enjoyed ourselves until he was finished. As was our habit, we headed out to check out the sunset - usually we were at Dazzles or Windjammer at this time, which made it very convenient to go out. This was what we saw tonight:

https://pix.sfly.com/8HcG8G

 

After, we went back into Dazzles for 70's night for a short while until we headed back to the cabin to read and go to bed. Another friend was waiting for us once we returned:

https://pix.sfly.com/MiS67a

 

Tomorrow is Juneau which means we have to wake up and get moving early. Time for bed!!

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Random question...

I see you noted that 9277 currently has a single serve Keurig so that's good to know! Do you recall if the creamer was real creamer or fake creamer (liquid or dried coffee mate or similar)?

Thanks!

 

The single serving Keurig was at our hotel in Vancouver and not in 9277. They definitely had a coffee pot that we used - but it wasn't a Keurig. I had to bring liquid creamer into the room - they didn't have it. Other than a few mornings, we ordered coffee from room service so also had extra creamers from that.

 

That said, just FYI - the Holiday Inn had creamers (liquid) with the single serving Keurig -and they did a great job of replacing not just the K cups but the liquid creamers daily.

Edited by ljrfrm
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The single serving Keurig was at our hotel in Vancouver and not in 9277. They definitely had a coffee pot that we used - but it wasn't a Keurig. I had to bring liquid creamer into the room - they didn't have it. Other than a few mornings, we ordered coffee from room service so also had extra creamers from that.

Sorry, I skimmed too fast looking for that info!

I assume it was one of those 4 cup coffee pots that you can use a little filter with (if I wanted to bring my own coffee)?

I'll plan to bring real creamer/milk into room.

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Sorry, I skimmed too fast looking for that info!

I assume it was one of those 4 cup coffee pots that you can use a little filter with (if I wanted to bring my own coffee)?

I'll plan to bring real creamer/milk into room.

 

If I remember correctly, it was pods.

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Actually, since we'll be in the same hotel, was it real creamer in the room? Guessing prob not...

 

Oooh, good question. I'm pretty sure it was half and half - but not 100% sure. I also think they had some other kinds in the lobby also.

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Before bed last night I put the room service request on the door. Whenever we do room service, we only order a "continental breakfast" so there is no charge. I ordered coffee and chocolate croissants. No need to order too much, as knowing us we'd go to breakfast also. In the past, room service has called when they were on their way. I loved having that heads up. Not this time. Luckily, I had just woken up and put something decent (well semi decent) on. Room service was right on time, and you gotta love those chocolate croissants. The coffee was halfway decent too - so I sat out on the balcony and enjoyed the peace. It looks like it's going to be another beautiful day! Following breakfast at La Cucina (French Toast, crispy bacon and Muesli - never gets old!) I sat on our balcony and watched us pull into Juneau....we were early!!

 

https://pix.sfly.com/CNuOiZ

https://pix.sfly.com/8cOOws

 

As I sat on the balcony, I could see Mt. Roberts Tramway that I had read about as well as the shuttle to town go by. We were excited for today - and had the feeling it was going to be an amazing day. I packed us up for the day and returned to the balcony one more time for a few minutes. I notice a very slight sewage smell. This would be the only time I noticed that from our cabin (balcony) and it was so faint it really wasn't a big deal. There would be one or two other times I noticed a slight smell while on the aft stairs (around deck 6) as well.

 

When it was time for us to meet our friends, we headed out and off the ship. As always, there were no lines at all. We had a rental car booked with Juneau Rental Car. Once we were off the ship we saw the free shuttle picking everyone up and taking them to town. We looked to our right and the rental car office was right there! Had we docked further down we would have needed to take the shuttle or walk a bit -but we lucked out........it was a mere 3 minutes walk and we were in the office and signing papers to start our adventure. Juneau...... here we come!!

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The rental car was $67.85 for the day. Not bad divided by 4 people. The car we were given seemed fine. It didn't look new, but was in decent condition. We piled in and we were on our way!

 

Our first stop was Mendenhall Glacier. We had a map and directions I printed out from my research (see, I really am usually prepared!!) and it was very easy to find. How hard is it to lose a big glacier, right? We pulled into the parking lot and looked for a spot. It was full! The guys dropped us off and went in search of parking. It was not a problem at all......there was another parking lot just up the road very close. Once parked, we walked over to check out the glacier. We took the path to Nugget Falls, which was a short easy walk away. Both were amazingly beautiful and impressive. SO worth going to see!!!

 

https://pix.sfly.com/0YKQW4

https://pix.sfly.com/Agxa_D

https://pix.sfly.com/jQ5ARw

https://pix.sfly.com/739bSr

 

Despite the full parking lot, it wasn't overly crowded. Yes, there were people everywhere, but it never felt crowded. We walked back towards the entrance and ran into a friend:

 

https://pix.sfly.com/x_fV_z

 

After spending a few more minutes posing with the glacier for some photos, we walked back to our car. We decided to skip the visitor center as we had places to go and people to see. Hopefully we didn't miss anything extraordinary there.

 

We took the quick walk back to our car. As we were heading there, several (lots) of buses began to pull up. The cruise ship passengers have arrived! I guess it's good that we made this our first stop! We got to the car, climbed in and turned it on. As the car started, we all looked at each other. "That didn't sound very good". The car sounded like it didn't want to turn on, although it did. We all shrugged, sat back and went on our way.

 

We notice we passed a Safeway store previously. We decided to stop to buy some lunch fixings. We bought some crab legs, crackers, cheese and grapes. Our friend bought some Dr. Pepper bottles and we all got water. As we were checking out, we chatted with the cashier about where we should go eat our lunch. She gave us some great ideas!

 

We got back to the car and prepared to head out. The car wouldn't start! Nothing. It was dead. Although the initial thought was it might be the battery, we then guessed it was the starter. We all just stared at each other for a moment - our amazing day was at risk. My friend pulled out the paperwork for Juneau Rental Cars and we realized their main office was just 1 mile from where we were. She called them and they immediately sent someone out to us. We weren't hard to spot. Safeway parking lot. 4 tourists. Sad looks on the faces. And then the car!

https://pix.sfly.com/6QyYuz

 

As frustrated as we were, I have to admit that they were there for us within 5 minutes. After the cables failed to jump start the car, Mr. Juneau Car Rental agreed with us that it wasn't the battery (duh) and immediately called over to someone else. He told them we were on our way and they had to have another car ready for us STAT. Five minutes later we were there, and honestly, about 2 minutes after that we were on our way in another car - a larger car - so we probably lost about 15-20 min max. I can't say I was happy with what happened - but what luck to break down right down the street from our replacement car!!

 

Once we were on the road again, we headed to one of the spots recommended by the cashier. Auke Bay Recreation Area. She told us we would see sea critters there, such as seals, otters or whales, and she told us it was pretty. Sold. We're there. What a perfect spot for our picnic. It was clearly a place many locals enjoy - as there were lots of moms with children there playing in the water. As it was such a beautiful, sunny day, everyone was taking advantage of the weather. The beach itself was rocky, but we so loved it there. They had pavilions with tables, walking paths, and beautiful scenery.

 

https://pix.sfly.com/NE15Ph

https://pix.sfly.com/3gpBgg

 

We sat and ate our picnic while watching the children play and paddleboarders do their thing. We then took a walk around the paths. We saw an area that we couldn't get to that looked interesting so asked someone how to get there. She told us this was called Point Louisa and explained how to get there (the paths don't go over there so we had to go by car). We got back into our car and onto the main road and drove just about 3-4 minutes and turned into Point Louisa. What a find!

 

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It was beautiful. And although we didn't see any whales we did see quite a few cute otters!!! Following a nice walk around Point Louisa we drove by Glacier Gardens. We had planned to go in - another friend who was just there loved it and told us not to miss it. However, we had other places on our itinerary and probably only had one hour to see it. I pulled up the information to see prices, hours, etc. $24.95. Yikes - if we had time that would be fine. I'm sure it was worth it -but would it be if we were rushed for time? I was outvoted - and we moved on to our next stop. Not before I took a photo though outside:

https://pix.sfly.com/ajTaFo

 

Of course, once I took the photo, I read that sign that told me not to take any photos prior to paying for my ticket. Whoops.

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Our next stop was the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery. Although it is free to visit, the tour cost $5 per person. We thought it was well worth it - and found it very interesting. Coming from someone who hates to eat fish and can't stand the smell of them, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

 

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The tour itself probably only lasted about 10-15 minutes but we stayed and wandered for awhile after. Once finished, we decided we had gone way too long without any alcohol and headed over to the Alaskan Brewing Company. Yum. The guys ordered flights and tried 4 types while I just had one (which they gave to me for free.....score! Was it the UBP??)

 

Time to head downtown. It was fairly easy for us to find parking, and we wandered and shopped for a bit. As any good tourist would do, we ended our day at the Red Dog Saloon. What fun!! I usually don't get too into the touristy type bars but we found the old guy singing in there hilarious. Of course, at one point I had to Facetime my son in so he could listen to the dirty songs and watch his dad drink a Duck Fart. The perfect way to end a perfect (well, minus a broken down car, which was just a minor deviation from perfection) day.

 

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We walked back to where we parked the car and drove it back to the rental car place next to the ship. How convenient to be right there! We went back on the ship, with my friend still carrying 3-4 bottles of Dr. Pepper. As we went through security, we told them she had the sodas. Honesty is the best policy, right? They told her that was fine and off she went. Ladies and Gentlemen, Dr. Pepper is now on board! They were happy campers!!

 

Once inside, we went to up Las Ramblas. Sangria Time! After some appetizers and more sangria, we headed back to our cabin to see what daily treat was left today. Clearly, we weren't eating enough yet. Good thing dinner wasn't for another hour!! Plenty of time to digest!

Edited by ljrfrm
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Dinner was at Four Seasons tonight. We had a reservation for 7:30 and the four of us were seated quickly. I ordered the beef sliders as an appetizer and the Chicken Cordon Bleu for the main course. I had eaten so much beef over the week that it was time to veer off course. I didn't expect to like to Cordon Bleu as much as I did, but honestly, it was delicious. Although I don't think I was hungry at all when we got there, I managed to eat it all. Of course, the Riesling (bottomless, they kept filled without me even asking) helped to wash it all down. I ordered the bread pudding for dessert - which was also very good. It would be the only time this week we ate at the Four Seasons - but we definitely enjoyed it.

 

After dinner we planned to go listen to music at Windjammer. I have to say, we thought the guy there was terrible. I'm not usually picky at all - but he was just not good. So we wandered to Dazzles for the Movie Trivia instead. I am SO thankful we did, it was the most hilarious thing I've ever seen in my 9 cruises I've done. Basically, the cruise staff acted out snippets of movies and we had to guess what movie. Was it hard? No. We got all 21 out of 21. BUT, we laughed so hard the entire time. I think it was so much fun for us because they were having so much fun while performing. And then there was Dan (Olsson) our Cruise Director. This was his first sailing on the Sun and he had never seen this before. He was seeing it for the first time with us. And his reaction was classic - he was laughing so hard along with us. They said they are hoping this may go fleetwide -I hope so. I'd love to see it again - and I'm sure many others will love it to. Although I enjoyed the different game shows over the week, they are always the same. It was so nice to have something new - and it was great to laugh so hard.

 

We left Dazzles and walked around a bit and went outside to check things out. We saw a cruise ship stopped in the distance. It wasn't moving. We wondered what the scoop was - I was assuming all was fine or else we wouldn't have chugged on by without helping. But what was up? We saw an NCL officer walking in front of us and asked her what was going on. Inquiring minds want to know. She immediately got on her phone and made a call to ask for us. So, the scoop was that it was an HAL ship going to Glacier Bay the next day. As it couldn't enter before a certain time, it was stopped and wasting time. All was well - it was just hanging out.

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We went back to our room, read the Freestyle Daily for the next day, met our new towel animal friend and read a bit of my book. Tomorrow - Skagway, and an early day. I put another room service request out to get my morning started - and off to bed we went.

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Any chance you grabbed pics of the dailies and/or any of the specialty restaurant menus?

 

I have all the Dailies......can try to post in the next few days. I didn't take any pics of the menus, sorry.

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