Spirit to Alaska Review With Pics

[tiggerman101]

tiggerman, sorry to interupt, but the hubby wants to know what you thought of the food on the Spirit? I just woke him up to look at your pics, and that was the first thing out of his mouth.

(We need breakfast), but he said, since you were in the restaurant business, do you think the food on board is great, good, par, sub par. ? Personnally, I'm with you. I love tea on the ship.

 

I never go on a cruise thinking I am going to be blown away by the food. I never have a problem with it and really like a few dishes. However, I don't consider it "gourmet". It is mass produced food done to the best of their ability when you are cooking for that many people. It is fine with me. I love the Supper Club and always go so I recommend that if you are a foodie.

[tiggerman101]

Turning back we started to head back to the begining. I kept thinking of the time so we got moving. Looking away from the glacier I enjoyed the reflections coming off parts of the lake:

 

 

Walking along beside of it Wade stopped and scooped up some ice. He was happy to be holding part of the glacier in his hand:

 

 

As we kept walking the clouds were dissipating a bit and the sun was coming out. Near the parking lot I snagged another picture of Mendenhall:

 

 

We noticed that we had about 20 minutes till the next bus so we walked around the parking lot a bit since another trail starts there and checked out the begining of it. I looked back at the glacier and noticed that the sun had parted and the top was now in view. It was beautiful to see the ice field up there:

 

 

The bus showed up on time and we jumped on. The ride back was uneventful and I enjoyed the view hoping it was still sunny back in Juneau so we could spend the rest of the time up on Mt Roberts.

[marshhawk]

Now understand the perspective problem. When your bus picture looks like it is at the Glacier, the glacier is still way off. Yes?, And then you hike down to the waterfall and the glacier is on the other side of the bay(?) So from this adventure, you are not on the glacier at all? WOW! Can you take any trail and get to the glacier itself?

[tiggerman101]

I was really happy to see that when we got back to Juneau it was still clear, sunny and stunning. We got off the bus and made headed to the tram. I was a little hesitant on the whole tram idea since it cost a decent amount and I thought it was pretty much just a viewing area. In hindsight, I am very glad we did it as there are a lot of trails, sights and beautiful vistas up there. I could have easily spent all day there walking the trails (some of which are quite long). So we walked in, bought our tickets and boarded the next tram going up.

 

Of course we had another teenage girl as the tram guide. Once again she sounded like someone had pulled a string in her back which caused her to say the exact same monologue over and over. Still, she had some interesting facts and the ride is pretty quick. It was also beautiful on a day like this. At the top we got off on the platform and caught a great view of the ship:

 

 

Looking out and over, we could see Juneau and beyond:

 

 

Looking the other way we could see across the water:

 

 

The tram lets out into a building and there are a few things here. They have a nice gift shop, a theatre and a new restaurant. We hit the gift shop real quick and walked outside. Here is the beginning of a nice trail system. You can do a loop around the top or choose to hike to one of two peaks., etc. We just picked a path and started down it.

 

It was so beautiful up here along the trails. Even in the covered areas it is something to see. Most of the time you are looking out over an incredible view:

 

 

We followed a path through the woods:

 

[mohavemommy]

I am absolutey LOVING this review! I am looking forward to doing Mendenhall. We were unable to do it when we were in Alaksa last year.

[tiggerman101]

Soon we could see a deck overlook that we wanted to get to, but first we had to cross a patch of snow:

 

 

The deck was nice and we set off once again. I wasn't sure where we were headed exactly, but I could see people moving up higher in the distance near the peak. We kept following the trail that way. We found a field and ran into a nice lady with some small children. She offered to take our picture:

 

 

I wanted to keep going up. There is a big cross near the top and it seemed like people were hiking near it. Wade was hesitant since the rest of the way up was covered in thick snow. I knew we could do it so I persisted. We just followed some footprints that dug into the snow. Wade is not too happy in this shot, but I think it is an awesome picture:

 

 

We made it up the snow hill and once again it was clear and the path was uncovered. We followed it for awhile taking a break to admire the outstanding scenery. I really wanted to go on and try for one of the peaks, but time was becoming a factor and I knew we should be meandering back the way we came. So we headed off back down the short path to the snow hill:

 

[falkcor]

hey, great start to your review!

 

i've only made it through page 2 thus far, but interesting photos of seattle - i've never been there so it's an interesting little glimpse of the city...

 

as for the pics of spirit herself, well i think i'd feel right at home on that ship ;)

 

very much the same as carnival pride, though i think i prefer pride's decor in some spaces just a tad... :D

 

looking forward to the rest! :cool:

[tiggerman101]

hey, great start to your review!

 

i've only made it through page 2 thus far, but interesting photos of seattle - i've never been there so it's an interesting little glimpse of the city...

 

as for the pics of spirit herself, well i think i'd feel right at home on that ship ;)

 

very much the same as carnival pride, though i think i prefer pride's decor in some spaces just a tad... :D

 

looking forward to the rest! :cool:

 

Thanks a lot Mark. Coming from you that is a great compliment. I loved both of your reviews and only wish I had the time to provide as much detail as you.

[tntcardz]

This just keeps getting better and better. Your pictures are amazing. Can't wait for your next installment.

[tiggerman101]

At the top of the snow hill we decided to take the other path since it was a lop. I went first and it was easier going this way. I had to snap another picture of Wade:

 

 

The trail was narrow here, but it wasn't covered up so that made it much easier:

 

 

We came near the edge of the mountain here and they had a couple observation decks set up. We stopped at them to admire the view and read up on the area as they provided a lot of information about the land, animals, etc. I really wanted to see a marmot, but I guess they were hiding. The views were inspiring:

 

 

We walked through the trees and noticed how they were bent due to the snowfall that sits on the ground up here at the top. They were interesting to say the least:

 

 

At the end of this there is another gift shop of sorts with a few unconventional things in it. I was standing in there looking at a book when an ornament stuck on a window slid off and crashed to the ground. I really wasn't near it, but some weird instinct shot through me and I immediately raised my hands and loudly yelled "I didn't do it!"

 

The two clerks in there just looked at my panicked face and started laughing. They kept saying I looked like a little kid afraid he was going to get punished. So after that we walked back into the visitor's center and looked around a bit more. Now this is a horrible picture of me, but at least I found my Marmot!

 

 

After that we headed back down and to the ship. It was getting a little late in the day and we could see the line was long to get back on. It wasn't that bad when we got there so we walked in and headed to get a snack on the Lido Deck. Looking out the line had gotten much longer:

 

[ChefSusan]

I am really enjoying the review of your Alaskan Cruise! Can't wait to hear your thoughts, and see pictures, of Ketchikan and Victoria!

 

Keep up the amazing work!

[catmando]

I am marshhawk's lesser half. Your photographs and commentary are fantastic. I need to get motivated and post some of mine.

[RangerNDog]

Just an absolutly awesome review so far! Can't wait too read the rest.

[tiggerman101]

Soon it was time to sail away from Juneau. The ship pushed off and turned around. I could get one last look of the beautiful city before we took off:

 

 

My father and I watched the shoreline for quite awhile. It was interesting to see some of the giant houses all along the way. We even caught sight of a wind surfer:

 

 

Pretty soon we were out of the channel and getting back into Stephan's Passage;

 

 

We sailed on awhile and it was nice to just sit back and watch everything go by. I noticed an area that looked really dramatic off the side and realized it we were at the Taku Inlet. Looking down you could see a bit of the ice field;

 

 

I remember at some point Wade called me outside and said he could see some ice bergs way in the distance. I didn't understand where they would be coming from. Then I looked up and saw on of my favorite sights:

 

 

Yup, that is once again Seymore Glacier at the head of Endicott and Tracy Arm. We were going right past that on our way to Ketchikan.

[tiggerman101]

Well dinner went about the same as always. One night we did have a Magician come by and do a few tricks for us. He was pretty good and my mom seemed to enjoy him. I have no idea who our waiter was that night because none of them ever stood out.

 

I guess I will also take the time to say that we had the worst Cabin Steward we have ever had on this cruise. I am not saying he was terrible, he was just not up to the standard we have always had on our other cruises. We are very neat people. Wade is especially fanatical about this. He even makes our bed when we get up. So we were a little surprised to see that this guy never emptied our trash, etc. It wasn't a huge deal and certainly nothing I would get upset over, I just found it all a bit odd.

 

I did feel sorry for him though. We walked past our neighbor's cabin one day (you know, the one's with the loud, uncontrollable kids). The door was open and our steward was trying to clean. There was stuff everywhere. i couldn't begin to count the amount of room service plates, treys, glasses, etc laying all over the foyer area. It was disgusting. Wade held me back from taking a picture, but I was shocked. I can't believe people do this kind of thing because they know someone has to clean up after them. Sorry....I digress....

 

After dinner I wanted to try and get a few shots of the scenery around the upper decks:

 

 

It was a very nice night. It was still cold out there, but the water was very clam and the breeze was minimal:

 

 

Once again the mountains were all around and it is incredible to be sailing in this kind of enviornment. I couldn't imagine not walking around the deck some at night:

 

 

I wanted a picture of the name of our ship with some mountains, but it didn't come out as nice as I hoped:

 

 

Finally, it started to really get dark so we headed back in:

 

 

We had yet another early port call with Ketchikan in the morning and I wanted to be up early.

[MadamG2U]

I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart this review is just awesome. We are going on the Spirit the end of Aug. Reading your review has just put me in a great place. Was worried if I would enjoy Alaska, I've always done sun and fun, now I can't wait for Aug to come.

 

Keep it coming. Oh and your pics are wonderful!

 

MadamG2U

[tiggerman101]

Waking up this morning I went out on the balcony to see some really grey and overcast sky. I was a little disappointed, but we had great weather up until now so I couldn't really complain. It wasn't TOO bad, just a bit dreary. I ran up and got my coffee then sat out on the balcony and watched us pull into port:

 

 

There seems to be a lot of commercial stuff around this area and even a dockyard. It was interesting to see a ship in dry dock:

 

 

Once we docked I wanted to get off as soon as we could. Our port time was very limited with a 1 PM sailing. We didn't have much time. I had struggled with the thought of doing a Misty Fjords float plane here, but the timing meant if we did anything we would miss seeing a lot of the town. I decided to just take it easy and explore on our own. I am glad we did this because the weather stayed bad for the rest of the time we were there. I am not sure how the float plane trip would have turned out. Misty Fjords is a distance away so for all I knew it could have been beautiful out there. So we walked off the dock and were immediately on the edge of the small town:

 

 

Ketchikan is a really small town and I can honestly say that there isn't a whole lot to the town itself. There are streets that are lined with shops and little restaurants, with the infamous Creek Street in the back of the town. We kind of just walked around looking at the buildings, etc. There were some pretty little squares here and there and a lot of beautiful flowers:

 

 

We made our way back to the end of Creek Street near the funicular and lodge. We stopped to check out the creek itself. It probably doesn't show up as vibrant as it did in person, but the moss on these rocks is very, very green:

 

[tiggerman101]

So for $2 you can take this Funicular thing up to the lodge. The pass is good for all day, but we just used it this one time. It was kind of neat, but basically like an elevator. It lets you off right in the lodge:

 

 

The view from up there is nice. You can look across the town and down to the port. There was an RCL ship there when we arrived and now a Celebrity ship was pulling in between us and the RCL ship. We watched it dock and just looked around some:

 

 

The lodge is pretty small and there are a few notes of interest inside on the second level. Aside from that there is a coffee shop and not much else in the lobby. We walked out the front and looked over the totem poles they had in a circle. Going left they had the 'Married man's Trail" back down to the end of Creek Street. It looked nice so we headed down:

 

 

We were just winging it so we kind of took our time and just looked around. The path is very nice:

 

 

There are a lot of stairs so I would avoid this if you have a problem with them:

 

[Susie51]

Thank you for your humorous, detailed review and pics.

[tiggerman101]

From the bottom we took a left and decided to follow the arrows out to a park. There were a lot of signs everywhere so we felt confident to where we were going. The area we walked through was residential and it was nice to see some of the houses out here. Many had some interesting features in the yard. We just kept walking and eventually we ended up near the hatchery where a city park is:

 

 

The park was small but nice and had a lot of green grass. They had taken great care of the landscape design do it was interesting to walk through:

 

 

From there we walked another way back. The area here was not quite as nice, but we made it back down to the street that runs near the ships. As we walked back into the town we stopped in a small cafe and grabbed some hot chocolate. Soon we were at the other end of Creek Street:

 

 

It is a pretty area and the history is interesting (it was where all the brothels were years ago). Some of the shops had some neat things, but mostly it was just your standard tourist stuff:

 

 

After that we went another way through town and browsed a few other shops. One had nothing but huge statues polished out of massive rocks. It was fantastic and great fun to look around. Most of the work was outstanding and I only wish we could afford some of that. Soon it was raining a bit so we headed back to the ship.

 

Ketchikan is a quaint little town, but there wasn't much there. We could hear cheers coming from the logging show all over the town so it seemed like people were having fun at that. I wish our time there had been longer so we could have worked in an excursion outside of town as well. Having to be back on the ship at 12:30 is just way too early. I understand the logistics, but it is a short time.

[68mustang]

We are leaving on the Sprit in a week and the entire family loves your pictures and stories.

 

Thanks

 

Rhonda

[tiggerman101]

We are leaving on the Sprit in a week and the entire family loves your pictures and stories.

 

Thanks

 

Rhonda

 

Thank you. You guys will have a wonderful time. There is so much to see. Have fun.

[jrmende63]

Now understand the perspective problem. When your bus picture looks like it is at the Glacier, the glacier is still way off. Yes?, And then you hike down to the waterfall and the glacier is on the other side of the bay(?) So from this adventure, you are not on the glacier at all? WOW! Can you take any trail and get to the glacier itself?

Marshhawk ,

I am not Tiggerman but I can answer your questions. The Mendenhall Glacier was named after my husbands relative. I know Tiggerman did not go into the Visitors center but it is nice in there and you can see how glaciers form and knick knacks for sale in there. $3 ( unless it has gone up) is the entry fee. The Glacier is not accessable from any of the trails. We landed on the Glacier with a helicopter ride. ( Best $ we ever spent!) If you walk to Mendenhall Lake ( the bay you are refering to) the glacier is on the side of the lake. But you can't get to the face of the glacier...it is too far away from the lake..even though it looks to be right there! We were there in May 2006 and there were children swiming in Mendenhall Lake...the lake was FREEZING to hubby and I! When hubby and I went to Alaska, there were hiking excursions to the face of the Glacier. We did not do those as we had our Helicopter ride to the top of the Glacier. It was so neat...if you get a chance Do the helicopter ride.

Julie

[lillian marie]

Love your review!

[tiggerman101]

Marshhawk ,

I am not Tiggerman but I can answer your questions. The Mendenhall Glacier was named after my husbands relative. I know Tiggerman did not go into the Visitors center but it is nice in there and you can see how glaciers form and knick knacks for sale in there. $3 ( unless it has gone up) is the entry fee. The Glacier is not accessable from any of the trails. We landed on the Glacier with a helicopter ride. ( Best $ we ever spent!) If you walk to Mendenhall Lake ( the bay you are refering to) the glacier is on the side of the lake. But you can't get to the face of the glacier...it is too far away from the lake..even though it looks to be right there! We were there in May 2006 and there were children swiming in Mendenhall Lake...the lake was FREEZING to hubby and I! When hubby and I went to Alaska, there were hiking excursions to the face of the Glacier. We did not do those as we had our Helicopter ride to the top of the Glacier. It was so neat...if you get a chance Do the helicopter ride.

Julie

 

Thanks for the info. I really would have loved to go into the center, but I was watching the time. I will say that the port times in Juneau and Ketchikan were a negative for this cruise. I understand given the route, but it was tight at times.