2012 July 6-20 Alaska Land and Cruise Adventure Review with LOTS of photos!

[Linda the Book Lover]

Tiramisu...my favorite. I love the rose tradition which I think is very special. Thanks for the pics of the ship since we have never sailed the line it gave us a great insight to the ship and how the passengers were dressed.

[WalleyeLJ]

Haha - the value of photos - I remember what the performance was. It was a very good singer who did a lot of songs from the 1940s-1970s, who also was very funny as he compared music from then to music today. He looks angry in the first photo, but it was just a moment while he was telling one of those funny bits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Singing and dancing on stage

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

On the way back to the room, there was a couple dancing by themselves in the main atrium, while other folks looked on. Here's a few shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upper atrium artwork

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back at our room, we had one more surprise before the day was done...

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Entering the room, we found our first towel animal critter of the trip - a little bulldog - along with our Cruise Compass and port info for the next day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now - off the bed - really!

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Tiramisu...my favorite. I love the rose tradition which I think is very special. Thanks for the pics of the ship since we have never sailed the line it gave us a great insight to the ship and how the passengers were dressed.

 

Linda,

 

The Tiramisu onboard is really tasty. This was different - less Ladyfingers - but still very good. I've got more of the ship as I go through the next few days. Hopefully they'll be equally helpful.

 

L.J.

[am-mc]

LJ - what room were you in? We have rooms on Deck 9 - near the centirum and I am curious how much noise there is by the outside glass elevators at night.

[WalleyeLJ]

LJ - what room were you in? We have rooms on Deck 9 - near the centirum and I am curious how much noise there is by the outside glass elevators at night.

 

Hey am-mc,

 

We were in 7592, first "hump" cabin on the starborad/right side, forward edge of the hump. We could see the top of the life boat cover deck (photos tomorrow), but the balcony was extra roomy. The elevators were on the other side of the atrium from us. It was our first experience that close to the atrium, but even on 70s night when it was very noticeable in the hall, it was fine in the room. It might be a different story, but at least I can tell you it was totally fine for us.

 

L.J.

[am-mc]

We are in 9094 and 9096 so we are the first hump on the Port side on the aft side of the hump. So we are kitty corner of where you were. Glad to know that the noise wasnt bad. i worried that we would have an issue. I am looking forward to the larger balcony on our room.

[Freehike]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WooHoo; we're famous! That's me and the wife in the lower right hand corner of the picture.

 

 

Great job on the pics LJ. I need to post some of mine as well.

Edited August 29, 2012 by Freehike

[WalleyeLJ]

We are in 9094 and 9096 so we are the first hump on the Port side on the aft side of the hump. So we are kitty corner of where you were. Glad to know that the noise wasnt bad. i worried that we would have an issue. I am looking forward to the larger balcony on our room.

 

Hopefully you'll be as good there as we were on our side. It was our first balcony, but it was really nice to have thatbigger than normal side of the balcony - very roomy!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WooHoo; we're famous! That's me and the wife in the lower right hand corner of the picture.

 

 

Great job on the pics LJ. I need to post some of mine as well.

 

 

Hey Eric!

 

 

How was the trip for you all? What ever happened with the M&M? We NEVER got any info for it - and we've always gotten a notice/invitation in our stateroom before. Did we just miss the memo:eek:?

 

 

L.J.

[mj]

Absolutely loving the review and pictures. Truly fantastic pictures of Alaska.

Edited August 29, 2012 by mj

[WalleyeLJ]

This was one of the few mornings where I actually woke up early on board this trip. I decided to get up and see if I could catch the sunrise and catch my first look at the Inside Passage as we steamed towards Juneau. On my way topside I grabbed a photo of the Library (Deck 9) and Card Room (Deck 10).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre dawn - always some of the best colors of the day when conditions are right

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golden Haze of Sunrise

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun's Up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the many glaciers I saw this morning as we wound our way through the channels and passages to Juneau. Last time we came through this area it was totally socked in with fog & clouds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Point Retreat Lighthouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop - the great state capital of Alaska - Juneau!

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Absolutely loving the review and pictures. Truly fantastic pictures of Alaska.

 

Thanks mj!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Done with photos for the moment, I headed to get some coffee and hot chocolate before I headed back to the room. We had room service being delivered so that we could sleep in (ya right! Well - Bev was able to at least), and just head straight off the ship as soon as we could. We elected to eat out on the balcony as there was no breeze and it was pretty comfortable out there.

 

 

 

A couple of shots as Juneau came into view as we settled in for breakfast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sea Princess, already in port

 

 

 

 

 

 

Juneau waterfront panoramic

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[sail2sea]

Awesome pictures!

[WalleyeLJ]

Bev caught me off guard with this wonderful candid shot while I was stuffing my face at breakfast - nothing like the hunter becoming the hunted!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went inside to grab a couple of things for the whale watching trip, and I turned around to see this giant raven on our balcony table, making off with what's left of my blueberry muffin! This was the best I could get of the thief as he/she made away with the snack! Just remember, if it's not nailed down and you aren't out there to protect, food, jewelry and the folks who snuck their tiny pets onboard may lose them if you're not careful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few shots of the harbor area and the homes on the far side of the bay from downtown Juneau

 

 

 

Juneau Multimodal Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

AM Rush Hour at the Juneau Waterfront

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where the other half (of Juneau) lives...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed down for embarkation about 10 minutes before we were due to be released. After a shot wait, we were lead from Deck 3 (the holding area) to Deck 2 where we stepped of the ship, down the gangway, and onto dry land!

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Awesome pictures!

 

Thanks so much - have a great trip!!!

 

L.J.

[DizzyDallasDi]

 

 

 

 

Are those gold sun shades on the bridge windows?

[WalleyeLJ]

Are those gold sun shades on the bridge windows?

 

LOL - no, that's the rising sun reflecting off the water in the side bridge windows at just the right angle:).

 

L.J.

[sue402001]

Love your picture of rush hour in Juneau!

[WalleyeLJ]

Once it started, embarkation took about 2 minutes! Our card scanned out by security, we were on the pier in a matter of seconds. Here's a couple of shots of leaving the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you haven't been to Alaska before, don't feel like you may have had too many Alaskan Ambers (unless you know you did - and you know who you are!) if it seems like you got off on one deck, only to reboard on another. Tidal fluctuations are widely variable throughout Alaska, sometime over 20 feet.

 

 

 

When you get off the ship in Juneau, at least at our pier, your right in the heart of the information and excursion information, booths and port side (cruise ship owned in many cases) shopping. These three photos and the next bunch were all found within 150-500 feet of the embarkation ramps.

 

 

 

Visitors Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearby/impulse shopping options...

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found our Harv & Marv rep right away and checked in. We had about 10 minutes to kill before getting on the shuttle, so I decided to grab shots of the pier side excursion booths so folks wondering about booking day of onshore can get a sense of the options and variety - coming up next!

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Love your picture of rush hour in Juneau!

 

LOL - I know - it's one of the things I like most about Alaska - transportation that isn't exactly common - or common together - in much of the Lower 48. Float planes, bush planes, water taxis, ferries, fishing boats - it's all fun to see and watch buzz around each other.

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

The first three shots are all of the excursion booths right dead smack in front of our ship, and the fourth was around the side a couple hundred feet headed towards the next mooring area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were friendly but aggressive. I already had in my mind possibly going out for a 2nd whale watch, and one of the vendors, who heard we were already booked with H&M for the morning already, told several untruths about them and their boats in an effort to win our business. Suffice to say they were NEVER getting my business. That said, I'm sure their trip would have been fine, but I still wasn't impressed with his particular approach.

 

Now - off to see the whales!

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

We rode out in the shuttle, which was more like an airport body on chassis style vehicle than the 15 passenger van we rode in back in 2009. There were 5 college buddies that rode with us who were heading out to go halibut fishing. Every year for almost two decades they all get together for a reunion trip. They were fun to chat with on the way out to Auke Bay, which takes about 20 minutes or so. Once we arrived, we were met by Jayleen, our captain for the day, and the daughter of Jay (Marv) and Eileen. We hit the restroom and quickly made our way down to the boat - the Haarvendam!

 

 

 

Auke Bay Marina Fuel Station

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of Boats - Including the Haarvendam (lower right)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving Auke Bay Harbor, heading out for Whales!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A shot of the interior cockpit area of the Haarvendam. Capt. Jayleen at the helm, my parents, and Jane, a software company trainer who was in Juneau for the week doing a trainer-the-trainer class for some State of Alaska employees. Bev, as is always the case when we get into a boat - spent the entire time out on deck with the eind in her hair. You'd think with as much as we love being on the water we'd won a boat ourselves...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opposite of the H&M style (6 person) trip, here's a shot of one of the large cruise ship boats heading out. Not only were we small and more personal - we were FASTER!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ran about 15 miles NW from Auke Bay, much further and in the opposite direction for where we went in 2009, to the far side of Shelter Island near Lincoln Island (I LOVE Google Earth!).

 

Next up - I promise - the whales!

 

 

L.J.